What a ride! THE GUILT TRIP by Sandie Jones took me on a twisting and thrilling journey with so many secrets and assumptions that had me believing everyone was guilty of something.
Three couples staying together in Portugal for the wedding of one of the couples. Family and best friends for years. Do they really know each other? Are the relationships really what they seem? Are any of them NOT hiding anything?
An ideal one to toss in your vacation bag to enjoy while relaxing in your favorite spot. Jones will keep you guessing, and you won’t feel guilty for enjoying the trip through this novel.
Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#TheGuiltTrip #SandieJones #Minotaur #StMartinsPress

This book was so much fun! It totally reminded me of Lucy Foley’s The Guest List which was one of my favorites last summer. The Guilt Trip takes place at a destination wedding in Portugal. It was the perfect escape for someone who hasn't gotten to travel since Feb 2020. Counting down the days until I can go to a cliff side villa in Europe! Six couples travel to the villa for the wedding of their good friend and his new bride. However, each of the six main characters is not what they appear to be. Secrets unfold through the book as the suspense mounts. Unlike The Guest List, I genuinely liked some of the characters in this book which made it easier to root for them (obviously excluding Jack who I couldn't stand). The bride, Ali, was actually lovable despite being annoying at times. I love a good psychological thriller with lots of twists & turns and The Guilt Trip did not disappoint. This was a fun summer beach read and my first introduction to Sandie Jones. I can't wait to pick up some more from her!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sandie Jones, Minotaur Books & St. Martin’s Publishing Group for the ARC!

Y’all. Omgosh. This book 🤯 definitely did NOT disappoint. I was on the edge of my seat. Ok bed 😂🙈 trying to figure out who. What. Where. What!?!? Six friends off to a beautiful location to watch two friends get married. But. One is super obnoxious. One can’t stand the other and accuses the bride of cheating on her soon to be husband. Two are sweethearts from the past that should have been but the timing was always off. Definitely sit back. And buckle up. #theguilttrip #sandiejones #reesewitherspoonbookclub #stmartinspress #minotaurbooks #netgalley #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #bookrecommendations

After finishing this, I had to sit down and think about what the hell it was I just read. There was so much drama jam packed into the last 10% of the book that my head was spinning. I'm even tempted to go back and reread the last few chapters because it felt like it happened so fast. This is both good and bad because the ending was so thrilling that it absolutely saved the book for me, however it shouldn't have had to. I felt like most of this book was leading up to the one big, dramatic event where everything crashes down. The rest of the book kind of just felt like development and a lot of filler and I wish we had gotten a bit more drama and twists revealed earlier. Just as I thought I was going to lose interest, the drama started to ramp up. It felt like every single person was connected in some way, which can make for a great story but can also get quite confusing. It was easy to keep everyone straight thankfully but I did have to go back a few times to pick up key details. Overall, I thought the shocking ending really saved an otherwise pretty slow book. I would consider this more of a slow-burn domestic thriller. I look forward to reading more from Sandie Jones as I have enjoyed all of the ones I've read so far.

Holy pulsating jaw Batman. (This phrase is used a lot lol) The inner dialogue is hard to read at times. Overall good story line.

Three couples - Paige and Noah; Rachel and Jack; and Will and Ali - arrive at a Portuguese villa to celebrate the wedding of Will and Ali. But even though the location is idyllic, things quickly turn sour when tensions rise and suspicions about what is really going on behind closed doors rise. As secrets are revealed, it’s up to Rachel to try and figure out what’s really going on and who’s really telling the truth.

We know from the prologue that there’s a death in the book - but the who, why and how are the big questions that hang over the book from that point on.

This is an intense domestic thriller, with rumors swirling at every turn. Even though the couples are supposed to be on vacation, there’s obvious tension from the very beginning, and that just sets the scene. There’s plenty of twists that certainly kept me guessing throughout the book, until the truth was finally revealed.

It’s definitely tough to figure out who to trust in this one and that makes it even more exciting. When you can’t really trust anyone, it becomes much more suspenseful as you try to discern who’s lying through their teeth and who’s telling half-truths, and who is telling the actual truth. And yes, all of those scenarios factor in, which makes things even more interesting.

Needless to say, this book really kept me intrigued and I was excited to figure out what was going to happen in the end. And it was well worth the wait, in my opinion. Fans of suspense and thrillers will quite enjoy trying to put this mysterious puzzle together.

Having read an earlier book by the same author, I looked forward to The Guilt Trip, by Sandie Jones. I love reunion stories and destination weddings. This novel promised and delivered on both. Unfortunately, the first 70 percent of the novel concentrated on the angst of women on the cusp of middle-age and some obvious marital discord. The ramp up to the ensuing crisis and resolution was slow and lacked tension. The last 30 percent was very exciting with lots of twists and turns! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an electronic ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed THE GUILT TRIP, an enjoyable, surprising thriller about three couples traveling to Portugal for a destination wedding. This story pulled me in and was completely entertaining, start to finish. I'd recommend this for Sandie Jones' fans, or fans of Lisa Jewell, Tana French, or other similar authors. A fun escape with twists and turns I didn’t see coming, and compelling characters.

I kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I’m still not sure who did it. This was well written and so enjoyable. The story really pulled me in, and I wanted to know what was happening who was the villain. But sadly, it wasn’t all cleared I’ll in the end, and maybe I missed the clues but that is why it got 4 stars instead of 5.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

If you are a fan of Sandie Jones, this is will be a good read for you. Held my attention, I may not remember it forever, but a good summer read!

Always fun to read, and the pages flew, but I couldn’t get past the idea that all the characters were vaguely cartoon-like and screechy. It’s a definite fun beach read, but it could have been tighter and had more depth to the characters. But, certainly I’ll happily read the next one.

This book seemed liked it was meant for me, but ended up being the complete opposite.

My biggest complaint was with the assumptions and miscommunication. I would have (and do) expect better from adult characters. For the love of God, just have an grown up conversation! All the drama was way too high schoolish for me; the characters were extremely unlikable; the ending was totally unrealistic; and there were several things that didn’t make sense to me (how did Ali’s mom get down the stairs and across the beach to the wedding venue in her wheelchair, for one?)

The judgmental treatment of Ali by both Rachel and Paige was an immediate turnoff, as was the slut and fat shaming.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Sandie Jones, and Minotaur books for an early copy of this read for my honest review.

I've read other books by this author, and I was hoping that this read would be just as good as the previous one, and when it wasn't, just knowing about the author was enough to keep reading.

I wasn't a big fan of any of the main characters, and I had a hard time with all of them really not knowing the others, even though their friendship had been years in the making.

This really didn't fit in as suspenseful as the previous books, and I didn't really like the ending at all. I've still got this author on my list of favorites though and will watch for the next one to be released.

The Guilt Trip's beautiful cover and intriguing premise immediately drew me in! I am a sucker for a destination wedding story (I know that is very specific, but it's true) and this one fit the bill. It's definitely a slow burn, but it held my attention. The ending felt a little rushed and not quite as satisfying as I had hoped for, but I enjoyed it overall! I'll give this one 3.5 stars. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

This is a new author for me which I enjoyed and look forward to reading more from her in the future. This is a well written story that brings twist and turns to a new level. The author's use of details not only give the story a realistic feel but also kept it engaging. The characters are relateable and I enjoyed them. They pulled me into the story from the beginning and kept me turning pages to the end. This is a story that is full of action and I had a hard time putting it down. This is a story about six friends and one tragic situation that changed lives for everyone. This is a case where jumping to conclusions could bring apart friendships and marriages. What will the secrets do these relationships? This is a great story that I enjoyed and what the characters brought to the story. An engaging story of frienship, secrets and marriages. I highly recommend this book.

I must be in the minority on this book. It had lots of good reviews but i couldnt get into this book at all The characters and story just fell flat for me.

I finally just read The Half Sister in June and didn't love it. I also didn't love this one. Which is disappointing because I loved her first 2! I gave The Other Woman 4 stars and The First Mistake 5 stars! I don't know if I'm just not into these domestic thrillers anymore or what. I will keep trying because her most recent are by no means awful or bad. Just not quite as good. Maybe I just think she should've gone where my head went instead of where her head went. lol. I want it my way! Whatever.

This book is a destination wedding gone wrong. No likable characters but definitely a beautiful setting, Portugal! And I love the cover! I'm not big on themed covers where even though the books are unrelated, there's a theme. Like Riley Sager's bookcovers. You see one, you KNOW it's Sager. Or Stephanie Perkins' 2 horror novels. Or Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen's bookcovers, though it looks like The Golden Couple is decidedly breaking that mold. I like covers that actually show parts of the story. And this one does.

But speaking of story, I just didn't care for it. I guess there's only so many ways you can go in a domestic thriller but I felt it was weak. So not my favorite but I think I did like it more than The Half Sister.

I couldn’t really get into the book and the main character was just not observant. The ending was kind of confusing and I satisfying. It did have a good summer vacation feel but overall it fell flat to me.

The ending was unexpected, and the events leading up to it were suspenseful. I sped through this book in two evenings, as the characters and their stories were captivating. The author did well to keep up the pace and throw in some curve balls. This is a recommended quick and enjoyable read!

What a trip! From the first page to the very last, I was caught up in who is lying and who is telling the truth. Sandie Jones has written a suspenseful thriller, with many twists and turns. I loved the storylines, the layers of deceit, and the mystique of the Portugal coastline. Thank you NetGalley for my copy. My comments and opinions are my own.