Omg y’all Sandie Jones is so amazing!!! Wowwwww. Her writing style is phenomenal and I love the characters. She always brings them to life! Great tripper and the storyline is so great. Must read!

Three sets of couples, who are also friends, head to Portugal to celebrate the upcoming marriage of Will and Ali. Unfortunately, the longer they are together, the more secrets are exposed. Are they secrets or are the lies?

It’s a pet peeve of mine when female authors write really dumb protagonists. That might sound harsh, but I am not asking for likable characters, just ones who aren't totally oblivious. I had high hopes for The Guilt Trip, because I liked the author’s previous book, The Other Woman. Unfortunately, it was not what I had hoped. The plot felt predictably recycled and the characters like caricatures. Rachel in particular annoyed me with her blindness to what appeared obvious to me as the reader. It's got a very soapy quality, which can be fun at times yet didn't really work here. I'm sorry to write a negative review, but if you decide to read it, I hope you have a more enjoyable reading experience than I did.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinpress for this Advanced Readers Copy that punished on 8/3.

This drama features 3 couples staying on the coast of Portugal for a destination wedding weekend. The bride, Ali, is at the center of all three couple’s domestic dramas and seems to collect everyone’s secrets, infidelity, and lies. The bulk of the story takes place in a 3 day period and has an explosive ending, that I didn’t quite see coming.

The Guilt Trip felt like a dramatic soap opera- pretty entertaining at times, but also immature, repetitive, and predictable. There was a ton of unnecessary inner dialogue by the main character that I felt could have been skipped. If you’re looking for a fast read that will you a surprise at the end, check this one out!

What a tangled web these six people create when they decide to go on vacation together. They are all together to get to know Ali, who is Wills fiancé. She is one big hot mess, but as Will is Jacks brother all the friends are going to give it their best shot and go in with mostly open minds. The villa is beautiful and as the days go by more if revealed and it isn’t good. Tension grows, everyone is suspicious and no one likes Ali even a little. The conversations wreak havoc on their group as individuals, friends and couples. There is lots of drama some anticipated and a bit unexpected. I enjoyed the read, the twists and turns, some a surprise and some not. Enjoy the read. Its worth your time. It was definitely worth mine.

Okay, I admit I really did read this in part due to the cover. I had made a joke that a ton of books were coming out that looked the same and that I'd take on reading them all. Little did I know that all of them would be about destination weddings. Those are some of my faveeee. Give me a beautiful destination, a brewing storm, and some unruly guests and I am all about it. The Guilt Trip is, no surprise, about a secret, or rather many, that are threatening to consumed each guest. The guilt in this story is like a whole separate character, a character that wants to take over.

I read The Guilt Trip in one sitting, staying up too late to witness the secrets being exposed. In a fun twist of events, I did not see the reveal coming and I definitely did not see the last 10% playing out how it did. Rachel, the person whose perspective we watch the events unfold from, appears to be trying to be the bigger person, but her own secret is threatening to come to light. Her husband, Jack, is massively angry at something, her best friend, Noah, is hinting at knowing something, Noah's wife, Paige, seems to want to egg everyone on, the bridge, Ali, is taking everything just a bit too far, and her groom, Will, is none the wiser. Throw in a pile of secondary characters, and well, The Guilt Trip unfortunately becomes a soap opera. Like a soap opera, I couldn't look away, but I admit it was too much. It got to the point that I knew all the secrets and twists couldn't possibly all be revealed, not every plot could be completed, and there was no way the book could end cleanly in the number of pages available to it. Did I keep reading though? You bet.

The Guilt Trip may suffer a bit from having just so much going on, but it's enjoyable, like a reality show about the rich but in the pages of a book. I wish the ending had given us more, it really lacked the full drawn out reveal I wanted, but I have to say I loved that I didn't see anything coming. Sandie Jones puts it all in here, so if dramatic suspense is your thing, this is the book to grab.

I enjoyed this suspense novel.

Three couples are in Portugal for the wedding of one of the couples, but it seems that everyone is hiding something. As the wedding celebrations unfold, more and more secrets are uncovered.

This was very readable, and the book kept me in suspense. I did have an issue with the main character - she just seemed really gullible. I know that it’s a plot device, but I kept wishing she would just communicate with the people around her and ask them questions directly. It was hard to be sympathetic to her because her actions were so frustrating! Despite that, it was a good book and I would recommend it to readers who enjoy this genre

Four close friends are off to Portugal for the luxurious wedding of Will and Ali. Will is madly in love with gorgeous Ali but everyone else are not very accepting of her. There are so many dirty little secrets and harmful lies among this group that could have major, disastrous life changing effects and it becomes a time bomb just waiting to go off and unbeknownst to Ali she may be the one to light the fuse. Six seemingly happy people out to celebrate a new life beginning unfortunately when the bomb went off only five will make it home alive.

What a wonderful book to escape from reality. Sandie Jones wrote such an enjoyable and entertaining story that I just couldn't stop turning the pages fast enough! It was a clever psychological mystery that took me into the minds of all the couples with their suspicions, harsh judgements, loyalties threatened and some outright paranoia playing in there. Deliciously devious and tantalizing, I just couldn't get enough even though all the characters were driving me crazy and a few were not very likeable. The story played out completely different than I expected by the end of the book. Many red herrings and fun twists. I recommend this book to any reader who enjoys an unrealistic but extremely enjoyable domestic/thriller. I am looking forward to reading man more of Sandie Jones books.

I want to thank the publisher "St. Martin's Press - Minotaur Books" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel and any thoughts and opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given this captivating mystery a rating of 4 DELICIOUSLY TWISTED 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Stars!!

The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones is a fantastic and fun read. Deception, love, friendship, family, affair, secrets and a wedding are all dealt with in this interesting and eventful novel. It’s a “can’t stop reading this” type of plot that will leave you guessing until the very last page. This author has done a wonderful job creating the storyline of Guilt Trip and making the reader know and care about the characters. Such an enjoyable story with one surprise after another! I was privileged to be able to read this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you to Sandie Jones, Montaur Books and netgalley.

4.5 stars but I will gladly round up to 5 as I did not see the entire ending coming and I must say I could not put The Guilt Trip.

I loved the unlikeable characters and even cheered some of them on.

Twists and turns kept the light on well into the night so I could find out what happened.

Sandi Jones never lets you down and The Guilt Trip is no exception.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for a an entertaining read.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley. My review opinion is my own.
I am a fan of the author's prior books . Ms. Jones as a author i found on Net Galley and have enjoyed reading. This was a interesting domestic drama that was a unusual suspenseful read . Three couples, all friends with history go to a beautiful location for a wedding of one of their friends. .No one likes the bride to be and she does not like all of their friends. Tensions arise right away and distrust, betrayal and secrets cause all manner of troubles. While I did not connect with the charcters I kept reading as the second half of the book was enthralling to conclusion. A fun read for all that enjoy domestic suspense with a mystery. I look forward to further works by the author.

I definitely think that there were really good aspects to this story, but I do think that at times the characters were a bit exhausting. This book starts off with a bang, and honestly it wasn't even a few chapters in when I was slightly overwhelmed. We had Ali who was a bit of a dramatic drunk, who was marrying Will, and Will is the brother of Jack who is the husband to the main character Rachel. This is a story that is in an exotic location, filled with drama, infidelity, loss of trust, and it becomes a dramatic storm. This book felt like it would be the best shown in a movie format, as I think the plot and characters were having to be sort of on top of each other in a way that feels more overwhelming in a book format than it would in a movie. I do think this was a good book, I just think there was a little too much happening. I felt a little bit underwhelmed with the ending and was left wanting more, but also glad to leave the world with these characters. I do think the author is a good writer, but I just don't think the story was for me.

Although this book read like The Guest List by Lucy Foley, it was still very enjoyable. I enjoyed the banter and constant drama between all of the characters. I love a good love triangle and this definitely kept me on my toes.

Sandie Jones has a knack for quick paced domestic dramas and thrillers. The Guilt Trip is no different! While the main character is a bit frustrating at times, there are enough twists and drama to keep you reading, without any loll to make you sit this one aside. A solid three stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

So, I liked the story overall, although some of the characters (like Ali, Rach and Noah) all seemed like they were in a telenovella. There was just so much going on, it felt like reading a daytime soap opera. There were moments of brilliance in the story though, like when <spoiler>Rachel looks out her bedroom window into the pool, sees two people going at it, and runs down to catch her husband red-handed but it was Will, not Jack</spoiler>. I enjoyed it but it could have been so much better given the story premise.

I received an e-ARC of this book by the author and publishing via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. You can check out my goodreads review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3973406435

The Guilt Trip follows a group of six friends to Portugal for the wedding of Ali & Will. Will’s brother, Jack is there with his wife, Rachel. Their friends Noah & his wife, Paige round out the group. Shortly after arriving, secrets begin to come to light, rumors are spread & ultimately the reader is left to try to figure out fact from fiction. The guilt trip is attributed to more than one friend for more than one reason and persists to the last page. A fast-paced ride that illuminates, loyalty, betrayal and what friendship really means. Thanks #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What a twisty mess of relationships this book is! I will admit, I was a little hesitant going in because the cover and synopsis had very similar vibes to The Guest List, which storyline has already been a little overdone, but I did find The Guilt Trip had some extra elements that made it it's own story.

All of the characters sucked, in one way or another. Except Will, he was the star of this book. They all had super obvious faults that added to the absolute mess of relationships this book had to offer. Ultimately, it was fairly obvious, in my opinion, whodunit, but I still found it very surprising how it all played out in the end. I found a lot of the bulk of the book very repetitive, with Rachel circling constantly on her thoughts and emotions that were just the same over and over, which is why I'm not rating it higher. It needed a little less Rachel whining and a little more drama. There were some original thoughts for sure, but it did have similar vibes to other storylines I've read like this one. I enjoyed it's setting of Portugal, though! This was definitely more of a slow burn mystery than a thriller.

Thank you NetGalley, author Sandie Jones, and Macmillan Audio publishing for giving me a free arc audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
3 stars
This is my second book by this author. The first book I read by this author was "The Other Woman" and I absolutely loved it!
Six friends will take a trip together for a wedding ,but will the secrets each of them has brought with them on the trip come to light?
While this book is marketed as a thriller, I just did not feel this story qualified as one. This book has more of a feel as a contemporary fiction with lots of drama such as one might fine watch a daytime TV soap opera. I could find none of the characters likeable. Each was selfish, shallow, and down right deceitful. I felt removed from these characters. I could not find that I could relate to any of the characters, which made it feel like I was an outsider looking in. Most of the first half of the book was filled with Rachel’s inner thoughts and suspicions, her dialogue and interactions with the other characters and how unhappy these couples were in their marriage. It was redundant. The second half was just a big secret reveal by each of the characters with a very quick wrap up. The writing and the pacing kept me wondering how much more drama was going to be introduced, so I had to keep reading until the very end. The scenes I did enjoy was the wedding venue and the restaurant! It was well detailed and beautiful. I would not say I would recommend this book to fans of thrillers, but I might recommend this book to those who love marriage/couple dramas. I would like to read another book by this author in the future.

Phenomenal thriller by the incomparable Sandie Jones! I was rocked by the ending; I never saw it coming!

Enjoyable! It was a bit confusing at times, but overall I really liked the storyline and twist at the end. I was convinced I had figured it out on page 10, but I was in for a treat! Would recommend.