A Twisty Plot..
With a nigh on perfect lifestyle, Ruth seems to have it all. Everything is about to shift when an unthinkable situation drastically changes everything. The question is - did she or didn’t she? A credible cast of characters populate a twisty plot in this psychological suspense where not everything is as it seems.

Ruth's life implodes after she accidentally drops a friend's new baby at a holiday party. Her fiancé blames the accident on Ruth's drinking. The baby's mother insists that Ruth's actions left her little boy badly injured and warns their mutual friends that Ruth isn't safe to be near anyone's children. I love domestic thrillers, especially the ones that involve parents and young children. Watching a happily child free career woman try to clear her name and convince everyone that she's not entirely to blame was extremely entertaining. More than once, I wanted to give her a good hard shake and call her an idiot because she was making her own situation worse and worse. The plot wound and twisted and I definitely didn't expect it to end the way it did.

This book had my undivided attention right from the first page. It just flew by and I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen.

A fast read with an element of suspense around every corner. I decided to read this book due to its plot, and I was not disappointed by the premises of it, however, there were some parts in the book that could be questioned. The unravelling of the whole mystery seemed a bit too unrealistic, yes I know it’s a book, but some parts of the unravelling could have been a bit more realistic? Like what was that element of the whole *spoiler* cheating *spoiler*? When it was revealed what was the purpose of that one specific paragraph surrounding Carrie and Poppy? Additionally, the last few chapters before it came to a close, I felt that there was some aspects of a plot hole. Despite all this, I still enjoyed the book- though I was infuriated with Ruth’s friends, especially Mihika, whom I dislike very much. Overall I’d rate this book a 3.5/5 for keeping me on my toes and wanting to know the answer to it all.

I must admit, when it comes to thrillers I have a tendency to work them out mid novel and while I did figure out some pieces of this twisty read, I could never have guessed all the trippy things that unfold at the end.

This book is fast-paced, anxiety inducing, and again the twists honey…the TWISTS! While I’m still not sure how I feel about the main character, Ruth, and her choices throughout the novel, I’m certain I enjoyed this read.

Synopsis:
Ruth loves her life in London – she has a high-powered career and a handsome and successful fiancé. This Christmas she’s bringing him back to her home town to meet her family and school friends, one of whom, Holly Murphy, has a new baby.

But, as the Christmas Eve party is in full swing, the unthinkable happens – Ruth drops the baby, injuring the little boy.

Or did she?

Ruth becomes convinced she didn’t cause the baby’s injuries, that they were inflicted before the party, that the Murphys are not the lovely family they appear to be

Wow! I read the first 50 percent of this book in one sitting. It was really gripping and I found myself wanting to read more to try and figure it out. The ending was a little lack luster for me but all in all I would recommend this book to a thriller/suspense loving reader. 3.75 stars!

This book kept me waaaaaay up into the night!/early hours of the morning.
I absolutely loved it and could not stop until all was revealed!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this ARC! The Party by Nora Valters will be out November 16th!

4 ⭐️

Well, I binge-read this today. Started in bed this easy Sunday morning and read 60% of this book until my day had to start. Nevertheless, I did manage to finish it with another reading spree at the end of today. What a story! This thriller is extremely fast-paced and intriguing, with so many character-driven twists and turns and a very interesting protagonist.

A little synopsis:

Ruth loves her life in London, her job, her fiancé and her overall life. She brings her fiancé, Kofi, back to her hometown Salisbury to meet her friends and family. One of her friends, Holly, recently had a baby, but during the Christmas Eve party, Ruth accidentally drops the little boy and injures him - or did she?

Ruth is convinced the injuries weren’t inflicted by her and she goes on a mission to figure out what is happening, all to be sure the little baby is safe. She’s facing some real backlash though, when her fiancé can’t handle the situation, her friends blame her for injuring the baby and she loses her job. Nevertheless, Ruth is determined to find out the truth and make sure the baby is safe.

A very well-written thriller that had me on the edge of my seat sometimes. I thought the pacing was amazing, the characters were very interesting and the plot was well put together. I did however predict some of the twists and turns already before they were being revealed, hence the 4 star rating. Definitely a recommendation, though!

I found this a different take on the genre but my only complaint was there was too much emphasis on romance

I really enjoyed the narration and it really suited the story

Many thanks to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Party was an easy breezy read, perfect to tap through on a Saturday afternoon or a day at the beach. This novel centers around our home girl Ruth and spins from the events of the first chapter where Ruth accidentally drops a baby at a Christmas party. Ruth becomes obsessed with baby Dylan and family (Holly and Hubby) she can't believe she created all the bruises that seem to be on baby day after the accident.

This book had me scrunching up my forehead, the acts of the characters were just so frustrating, I swear there was not one likable person in this entire book :') okay maybe Ruth's mum. The male characters were actual trash, this author has got to have a problem with men ngl. The way her friends all dropped her like a hot cake over an actual accident had me so confused, posting photos in their group chat of the baby's bruises, telling Ruth to stay away from them all, I mean these people have been friends since childhood was that realistic?

SPOLIER - the biggest shock that had my jaw dropping to the floor was at the end of the book when Ruth took back her fiance, who literally dumped her, fired her, didn't support her and basically called her an alcoholic. Ruth had the sense to knock her toxic father to the kerb but why couldn't she do the same for Kofi? Ruth get it together.

This was a unique read that kept me engaged, though it wasn't my favorite book this year. The story centers on Ruth, who drops her friend Holly's baby, causing him some injuries, and is susequently shunned by her entire group of friends as well as her own father and boyfriend. Ruth thinks there is something going on with Holly and that maybe Ruth wasn't the one hurting the baby after all, and sets out to get to the truth.

I struggled a bit with the fact that pretty much everyone Ruth knew turned on her. I didnt' feel that this would happen in real life with a tight-knit group of friends (not to mention her own family, though there were some background issues there). However, this did make for added suspense when Ruth refused to give up on her intuition despite the fact that everyone thought she was crazy. I appreciated that she wouldn't let go, but questioned whether I (or anyone) would have done the same things. There are a couple crazy twists at the end of the book; one was satisfying and the other one felt like a BIT of a stretch, but the author did do a good job of building a plausible case for it to happen the way it did. The ending felt just a tad unrealistic to me but I rather enjoyed how it all turned out.

Overall, I thought the story was sound and it stood out in a crowded genre, but I had some trouble getting beyond not only Ruth's actions, but those of her so-called friends. I'd give the story 3.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Okay .. so this was my first ARC. I started it and felt like there was absolutely no way I would give it over three stars. Well here I am giving it four .. because WHAT?! My mind is honestly blown. I loved that the "who did it" wasn't so far out there and definitely believable .. but everything else that was happening was just crazy! There is so much going on in this book, there is so much to unpack! The reason I gave it four stars instead of five was because the whole first half of the book was so cringe and out there, with what the main character was doing. Like I actually hated the main character at the point. But the second half just turned it all around and I binged it in a day. Just read it. Do it.

A superb fast paced thriller. I absolutely loved the story and couldn’t stop reading it. It’s perfect for all readers, especially thriller lovers.

Wow, what a book.

Ruth lives in London with a successful job and boyfriend. Every Christmas she returns to Salisbury to attend her school friends annual Christmas Eve bash. Holly her friend has just had a baby and she accidentally drops the baby. She knows it was a mistake, but has to find the real truth about why baby Dylan has bruises on him.

Everything about this book was brilliant, didn’t want to stop reading. It’s a psychological thriller with twists that nobody saw coming. Quick read that keeps you guessing until the end.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy for an honest review.

Sounded like it was going to be a great read..for me it was too much speculating this or that constantly over and over..found myself skimming through it because of this.
Just wasn't for me hope others enjoy it.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book! I really found myself rooting for the main character, Ruth. She is desperately trying to find out what happened to her friend's baby that she dropped at a party. Something did not sit right with Ruth and she is determined to find out the truth. She takes some pretty drastic steps and does not hold back - however, no one believes her.

It was interesting to watch this story develop, with everyone thinking Ruth is simply crazy. There are some crazy twists and turns, especially in the last portion of the book. I highly recommend this for anyone who loves a good "whodunit" sprinkled with some fun mind games and thrills.

This was a middle of the road thriller for me. I was hoping for something a little more interesting based on the unique premise, but I just didn't find myself enjoying it all that much. There were some surprising twists, but overall the quality of the writing was not the best for a thriller.

I have to say that I was gripped from the first page and read it over a couple of days.
The twist was pretty good, and although I suspected part of it, there was also a part that was very surprising.
The story plot is pretty good and I feel like there was a great potential for this book to be great. But some part were unnecessary long and some parts were rushed.
It was overall a good read but through the book, there was many times where I felt a little uncomfortable by how far and careless the main character would behave to pursue her feeling that something was wrong.
And her relationship with her friends, her boyfriend and her family is pretty terrible! They are all unsupportive, judgmental and some are quite mentally abusive. I really have a hard time understanding why she would accept this from so many people. And although she finally realise it towards the end, I cannot believe she took her boyfriend Kofi back.
I did enjoy the read, it is what I call and easy and catchy read.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Nora Valters for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

What would happen if you were blamed for something that appeared to be worse than it was? That's the fate of Ruth when she returns home for Christmas one year, only to accidentally drop her friend's baby at a holiday party. Ruth knows the baby didn't get its injuries from the fall, and she's determined to find out what caused them.

One by one, her friends disavow her after her relentless badgering for the truth. Her own father thinks she's lost the plot! Her fiancé is so angry with her he leaves her to go back to London. Only her mother and her friend Lewis are still on her side. What she does next leads to the final reveal.

Ruth's character was well developed, and I truly felt her pain when her friends' gossip took off. I loved her mother and was happy to see her revisited at the ending. While the book held my interest, it seemed like it took forever to get close to what was causing the baby's injuries, but then the last 10% of the book was rushed and over the top. Overall, the book was suspenseful and an easy read.

Thanks to NetGalley, Inkubator Books, and Booksprout for an advance reader's copy.

Wow this book is amazing. It's one of those books that when you look back on it you realise all the clues were there all along. But did you seem them no! Did you know what the ending would be no! It was like going to watch derren brown live. Showing you all the answers screaming in your face. But you don't put it all together until the very end when you want to reveal it to you. Great work.