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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder
Moderate: Car accident
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thanks to PRH audio for the ALC of this YA thriller. This had a crazy premise but it did deliver. While there were definite YA style poor decisions and some glaring plot holes, I did desperately want to know it would end. There was far more death and some inferred violence for a YA novel than I expected. But if you want a youth version of a Ruth Ware, this is it for you!
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
This was a 3.5 for me, rounded down to 3 mostly because of the last line and chapter of the book.
Bessie and her group of very close friends are the type of rich that makes problems disappear. Over a holiday weekend, the friends tell whatever lies necessary to get out of their boarding school without adult supervision so they can go to an abandoned castle owned by one of their families. They will host the best party of the year. But when a torrential rain and wind storm cancels the party and traps the friends in the castle, things go from bad to worse. Someone is picking them off one by one and it seems like the threat is closer than anyone wants to believe.
I enjoy a twisty closed-room murder/thriller and Preston does a good job here of keeping tension high once we get to the point in the narrative where everyone is in the castle. The setting too, is very well done for this kind of story: creepy abandoned and run-down castle, terrible weather, an impassable moat, and hidden rooms. The fact that most of the characters are unlikeable and come off the page as spoiled made me feel better about my own sense of schadenfreude while reading, which I think is necessary in order not to lose your audience.
The last chapter - and specifically the last line of the book - all but ruined this story for me, though. There's just to much "Aha! Tricked ya!....AHA! Tricked ya again!..Just kidding, tricked you AGAIN!" in a short few pages for me and the tricks are not something that the narrative hints enough at for a reader to have discovered on their own or grown to care about. The result is that I was left feeling uninvested in what was supposed to be a big reveal and I didn't care since the necessary details came out of nowhere. Sure, this meant that I couldn't see the end entirely clearly (did guess the killer but not motive), but it also meant that I didn't care about who made it out in the end.
Still a fun read, but not something I'd rush to add to a friend's TBR.
This was a 3.5 for me, rounded down to 3 mostly because of the last line and chapter of the book.
Bessie and her group of very close friends are the type of rich that makes problems disappear. Over a holiday weekend, the friends tell whatever lies necessary to get out of their boarding school without adult supervision so they can go to an abandoned castle owned by one of their families. They will host the best party of the year. But when a torrential rain and wind storm cancels the party and traps the friends in the castle, things go from bad to worse. Someone is picking them off one by one and it seems like the threat is closer than anyone wants to believe.
I enjoy a twisty closed-room murder/thriller and Preston does a good job here of keeping tension high once we get to the point in the narrative where everyone is in the castle. The setting too, is very well done for this kind of story: creepy abandoned and run-down castle, terrible weather, an impassable moat, and hidden rooms. The fact that most of the characters are unlikeable and come off the page as spoiled made me feel better about my own sense of schadenfreude while reading, which I think is necessary in order not to lose your audience.
The last chapter - and specifically the last line of the book - all but ruined this story for me, though. There's just to much "Aha! Tricked ya!....AHA! Tricked ya again!..Just kidding, tricked you AGAIN!" in a short few pages for me and the tricks are not something that the narrative hints enough at for a reader to have discovered on their own or grown to care about. The result is that I was left feeling uninvested in what was supposed to be a big reveal and I didn't care since the necessary details came out of nowhere. Sure, this meant that I couldn't see the end entirely clearly (did guess the killer but not motive), but it also meant that I didn't care about who made it out in the end.
Still a fun read, but not something I'd rush to add to a friend's TBR.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
The Party by Natasha Preston follows the story of Bessie, our FMC, spending her spring bring with her friends planning a party at a “glorified and luxurious” castle…or so they thought. While journeying to this castle, Bessie and her best friend Kash, realize that everything is not what it appears to be.
For those who enjoy a ya mystery, this is good and enjoyable. Preston keeps you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out where the killer is, but more importantly is the killer among the party.
Within the story I wasn’t a fan of how it did sound more childish at times, when the characters are supposed to be between 17-18 years old. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of how it was. Star predictable in the sense that I guessed the killer early on.
Aside from the topic of age, I really enjoyed the side plot of the “incident” that happened previously to our main character. This “incident” really transforms each of the characters in their own respective way, showing the path that they chose to take after having their life shifted.
I would like to thank Natasha Preston and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.
mysterious
medium-paced