"What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive" - That is the first thought that keep going through my mind. Six people go to a destination wedding but not all will be returning. The group of 3 couples have so many secrets between all of them that no one knows who's telling the truth and who is just constantly lying and several of them can do nothing but lie. Ali and Will are getting married and they wanted to share it with Will's brother and sister in-law, Jack and Rachel. Also on the trip is Rachel's college friend and wife, Noah and Paige. All of their lives are all tangled together through family, business or life long friendships but none of them know the truth about each other. While on this trip they beginning to discover what each other seems to be hiding and only one person knows everyones truth and they are ready to spill all the dirt. Unfortunately, tagedy strikes and all the secrets come out at once. So who's left standing at the end? You have to read this suspenseful book of love, life and betrayal.

I liked that it was mainly just about the 3 couples and only 1 POV. It kept my attention to find out why the trip was so guilty!

Will and Ali are having a destination wedding in Portugal. His brother Jack, the best man, Jack’s wife Rachel and their friends Noah and Paige are spending the weekend with them in a cliff-top villa to celebrate. What should be a time of celebration turns into days of deception and suspicion. At one time Ali worked for Jack.. while their working relationship ended when she was fired, Rachel believes that Ali and Jack are now having an affair. Ali is a drama Queen and nobody believes anything that she says. Noah and Rachel were in a relationship before her marriage to Jack and there are still strong feelings between them. Will just wants to marry Ali and is oblivious to all of the tension around him.

It is difficult to find much to like about these people. As they prepare for the wedding, Rachel watches for any sign of an affair and brings angst and tension to almost every page. When the day of the wedding arrives, secrets that could damage each of these people are revealed and tragedy ensues. The guilt trip is a catastrophe waiting to happen, but it is difficult to look away until you see who survives. This was a quick and ultimately satisfying read with a number of unexpected twists.I would like to thank NetGalley and St Martin/Minotaur Books for providing this book for my review.

I alternated reading and listening to the audiobook of The Guilt Trip. I found it to be suspenseful and explosive. The characters are all together for a wedding. The intrigue lies in the relationships and figuring out who is lying to whom. The story culminates as the wedding unfolds. The writing is easy to read and perfect as an audiobook, as well. The narrator is outstanding, and I enjoyed both the style and cadence of her reading.

I received an ARC and audiobook from St. Martin Press and Macmillan Audio through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

First time reading this author and I am hooked. I loved the amazing twists in this story. The book kept me engaged and had my mind flowing with ideas of how the book would end. A Must read for sure.

OK - so we know by the title that someone is going to be guilty in this book but who? And for what? Turns out almost every character had something for which to feel guilty and it was fun watching the clues pile up and trying to figure out who did what and with whom!! Lots of twists and turns in this one with an ending that turned out just right!

Great beach read for sure.

I enjoyed reading The Guilt Trip, the new thriller by Sandie Jones, which has a clever comical undertone like it's predecessor hit The Other Woman.

I have been looking forward to reading this ironic thriller for awhile, thank you for providing me with this entertaining digital ARC!

It took me a couple of chapters to get into this book, but after the story was set up, I couldn't put it down, wanting to find out what was going on. It is full of twists and turns and the title, The Guilt Trip, is really the perfect title. It's hard to say much without spoiling it, but you shouldn't assume who you should root for because everything will change. I wish it had just one more chapter, to delve into that ending a bit more.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

I enjoyed Sandie Jones’ The Half Sister and really enjoyed it. I went into this title with high hopes, but it did not meet my expectations.

This is a good book with an interesting story. However, I felt it lagged a bit in places. I didn’t like any of the characters, except the bride, who was hated by all the other characters.

That said, this is a fine suspense thriller that I would recommend to my patrons.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I have read several books by this author, and know that this one is not my favorite. However, it certainly kept me reading...in fact, I was having a battle with my Kindle battery to see if I could finish the last few pages before it completely died. I made it! The story is basically about three couples who are at a destination wedding. Two are already married and the third will be married. They all have secrets they are keeping from each other. Rachel's guilt over her secret is the main one, to begin with and it causes her to start imagining that all sorts of things are going on between the people in her group. But is it the way she believes it to be? How many of us have secrets from friends and spouses that we hope they will never find out about? What could the repercussions be down the line, not only to them, but to members of the family? Certainly something to think about. One big complaint about the content of the book was that the author constantly used the phrase, "he/she said in a high pitched voice," After reading this for about the 8th time, it grew very annoying.

The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones is a domestic thriller about six friends who travel to Portugal together. Three couples--two of them have been married for years, and the other couple is having a destination wedding. There are a lot of secrets revealed, and then something terrible happens at the wedding. This story kept my interest, but none of the characters were likable. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Rachel and her husband Jack are in Portugal for Will (Jack's brother) and Ali's wedding. Rachel's best friends, Noah and Paige, are also guests at the wedding and the 6 of them stay in a posh bungalow off the coast. Tensions are high as Jack isn't a fan of Ali's but won't let his brother know. Rachel isn't sure what Jack has against Ali, but assumes it's just because she frequently exaggerates things and is always full of energy. As the weekend commences, secrets that are being kept start coming to light and things end in tragedy.

Who is telling the truth and who is lying? Read the book to find out!! It's more twisted than you imagine.

I had a difficult time really connecting to any of the characters in this novel, as they were each intense in their own way, and not necessarily likeable. I'm sure the author did this purposefully to keep the reader questioning the validity of everything. The setting was easy to visualize as it was well described and, it helped to set the mood of the story. The story was fast paced and easy to read. I give it 3.5 stars, rounded to 4.

Thank you to #Goodreads and #St.Martin'sPublishingGroup for an ARC of #TheGuiltTrip by #SandieJones in exchange for an honest review.

A destination wedding with your closest friends… sounds amazing, but secrets, lies, and guilt are what’s found. This book has many surprise twists and turns and keeps you wondering until the very end. It is a great summer read you won’t be able to put down.

Rachel and Jack are off on a trip to Portugal where Jack’s brother, Will, is to marry Ali. Their good friends, Paige and Noah are going too. There will be 40 guests and this group of 6 people will be staying in a nice villa during the wedding week. The villa is perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the water. It’s very pretty but also quite dangerous.

Ali comes across as very outgoing but also silly at times and her dress isn’t always appropriate. Tension quickly builds making Rachel wonder is Jack could be having an affair with Ali. But Ali is spinning another story and Rachel doesn’t know what to believe. In addition, she’s keeping a deep secret of her own.

The characters all have their petty little arguments and distrusts of one another. I had to really concentrate to keep up with who was who. Petty and silly are the two words that come to mind about this book. I think the author appears to be hard pressed to make a story where none exists. I have read this author’s books before and find they are hit and miss. For me, this one was a miss and a perfect example of making a mountain of a molehill. To be fair, the ending is quite dramatic which I’m sure readers will want to hang on for.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The guilt trip

Having finished this amazing book in less than 6 hours, I can confidently say it is a great relationship thriller sure to keep you on your seat and guessing endlessly what the truth could really be. I am in love with the characters, their growth and the twists and turns they are put through in the span of this novel. Not only was I continuously gasping at certain points, but I was so emotionally connected to these characters that the ending was more than what I could ask for. Hands up praise to Sandoz Jones. You’ve got a fan for life!

#thrillsandchills #review #NetGalley

Review: 8/6/21
Read: 8/6/21

The premise of this book is what intrigued me - friends (all of whom have secrets) spending the weekend in Portugal to celebrate a wedding. There was no doubt things were going to spiral out of control.

The problem is - I just didn't care about any of the characters. They are all surface-deep, with very little - if any - redeeming qualities. The closest to a 'main' character - Rachel - is emotionally stunted, and I found her to be the most annoying of the bunch. Ali, the one character that the author wants you to believe is an empty airhead, is the only one I had any real connection to.... and even that was flimsy.

Also, the plot just dragged along. I understand this was done to create tension, but it just made it even harder to care about what was going on in the story. Things picked up once the wedding started, but again Rachel and her insecurities overwhelmed everything else.

I saw the ending coming well before hand, and it wasn't a big surprise.

If you like stories that only scratch the surface, then you will like this one - it would make a good beach/vacation read. Otherwise, you can skip.

As the story starts, we meet Ali, a walking, talking, mess of unreliableness, acting wild and crazy when drunk (or pretending to be drunk), mega liar, blushing bride to be. She is marrying Will, brother of Jack. We see the story through Rachel, Jack's wife and staunch defender (for now) of Ali.

Once at the beautiful Portuguese villa I realize I don't want to hang around any of these people. Ali, Jack, and Rachel meet up with Will, and longtime friends, Noah and Paige. Rachel and Noah have a history back to their college days, Jack and Ali have history from work, and once the rumor mill gets going between the group, tensions and suspicions run wild and rampant. Infidelity is a main topic, with lots of almost evidence, lots of lies and misdirection, and nobody saying what needs to be said.

Just who is lying and who is telling the truth?

Six friends, Rachel, Jack, Allie, Will, Noah and Paige goes to Portugal for a wedding weekend. The friends all stay in a villa, close to the ocean. As the weekend goes on all hell breaks loose, what do you expect when two of the women doesn't like the third one. Most of the characters are likeable, but Allie is portrayed as that friend that's an airhead, extremely bubbly and perky that it's annoying, dreading spending any time with. With the revealing of secrets and twists in this book it keeps one turning page after page. This book had me on the edge of my seating waiting to find out if what Rachel was thinking is true. OMFG this ended, this is a must read book. I highly recommend it.

A wedding on an island in Portugal set up the perfect vibes for this thriller. Ali and Will are getting married on an exotic island and are at the center of the story along with two other couples. Will’s brother Jack and his wife Rachel along with Rachel’s friend Paige and her husband Noah are living in the same villa with the bride and groom. The thriller revolves around the relationship and tension between these three couples. There’s infidelity and deceit and violence to top it off.

There are alleged affairs but the readers don’t find out until the last few pages who was actually having an affair. Ali is beautiful and attention-seeking, Rachel and Paige find her infuriating and their dislike towards her is apparent from the very beginning. Rachel and Paige are best friends but Rachel was also friends with Paige’s husband Noah and they had a romantic relationship in the past. Everyone is doubting everyone else, and we readers are just following these messed-up relationships throughout the book.

The ending is dramatic and violent and comes out of the left field. The less that is said about it, the better.

This thriller was an average read for me personally. I did not guess the ending or solve the mystery but I wasn’t even trying. I just wanted to get through the book. The premise is exciting and the atmospheric vibes are immaculate in this thriller. But character building felt very weak. For a large part of the book, I had a hard time telling characters apart. They were all written blandly and I did not care about any of them. The plot also felt weak with not much going on, it only seemed like a delaying tactic to keep the reader guessing. The ending was also unnecessarily dramatic and a twist that this thriller did not need.

Not a book I would recommend to anyone, it’s an okay read and bearable to get through if you really want to read it, otherwise, it is fine to skip.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sandie Jones and St Martin's Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy how Jones' novels are fraught with tons of drama and lies! This one is no different and I found myself racing through the novel to see what these characters were up too. I definitely thought I knew where the whole thing was going and I believed that we already knew the twist, but man was I mistaken! There are so many twists and turns in this one that it is easy to get lost in it for an afternoon, trying to find out who the guilty parties are. I thought I enjoyed most of the characters until the ending and they all show their true colors. Definitely recommend as I think it is my favorite of hers yet!