The Party

Robyn Harding is my guilty pleasure. All of her books have pretty wild plots but I can't help loving them.

The party was no different, what starts as party for some teenage kids, ends in disaster and the book follows the lives of all those affected. Really enjoyed as I have with all Robyn Hardings books.

What was intended to be a simple Sweet Sixteen celebration for her daughter, Hannah, turns into a nightmare for Kim when she is awakened in the middle of the night by Hannah covered in blood. Soon Kim's carefully constructed life with her husband Jeff begins to crumble.

While this book was marketed as a suspense novel, it's really more of a fast-paced family drama in the vein of Herman Koch's The Dinner , full of unlikable characters and melodramatic in the style of a Lifetime movie. On the surface this book delivers on the promise of a tragedy involving self-absorbed teens and their parents, the type that are obsessed with organic homemade energy bars for soccer practices and Instagramable homes. It's not as suspenseful as I expected, however, as the details of the story are laid out plainly for the reader and the book focuses mostly on the aftermath of this party. That would still make for a great story if the book started out with strong interpersonal relationships and a close-knit community, which it did not. I wanted a lot more from this book and it unfortunately did not deliver. Good premise, poor execution, earning it more of a 2.5 from me.

(Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Press for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

I started listening to The Party after I surprisingly enjoyed Robyn Harding's novel The Swap. However, this was a let down. All of the characters were vapid and unlikable. I know that's the point, but their flaws were so ridiculous, it was laughable. The central premise that the story is focused on, in itself, wasn't believable, so the fact that the entire book was about the ramifications of a party gone wrong was also unbelievable. There are so many other domestic thrillers that are much more nuanced than this one. While I started listening to the audiobook, I ended up switching to the ebook so I could get through the story faster.

Robyn Harding is definitely one of my all time favourite authors, i was absolutely captivated in this story throughout. It's juicy, it's filled with drama and just how much damage one party can do.

That ending, though. So what happens? I wish there was a sequel. Still, i love that there is a glimmer of hope for a happy ending and that's what I'll think lol