This book was soooo unlike the books I normally reach for. On Goodreads, people are referring to it as a “romantic suspense” but honestly, I would totally disagree.

This book is for all the Liane Moriarty fans out there. It really gave me the vibes of “Big Little Lies” mixed with a touch of “The Husband’s Secret.” This story was fast paced but really easy to follow. It comes with a huge cast of characters but they were easy to keep track of and each had extreme personalities that helped me grow attached to each one. It was an extremely juicy story and honestly, the narrator Rachel was a reliable lead but had a huge mean-girl-bitch-streak to her that I made me really enjoy her.

I have been seeing so many harsh critiques for this book and I really think they are all unfair. My biggest bone to pick with this book was the fat shaming. It felt unnecessary and a weird plot twist….it’s 2021 we can’t seriously be fat shaming people. (Spoiler: one of the skinny hot female leads, was secretly fat when she was younger…it reminded me of the movie “She’s Out of My League” when she confesses to having webbed toes. “WEBBED TOES IS NOT A DEFECT!” There really was no reason to include this into the story. It didn’t add to it rather just gave me a yuck feeling to reading about it”

While this book may not be earth shatteringly unique, I really really enjoyed this. It was truly original in plot and I only left this book feeling excited about what happened!! This would be the perfect beach read!!

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review!


For more reviews, check me out @bitchinbookclub_

I’ve been pretty behind on reading and reviewing the past couple of years, so I stopped accepting submissions awhile back to focus on catching up to be fair to the hard-working and talented authors who’s books I’ve read over the past few years and never sat down to review. But when I saw this book, I have to admit, I barely even skimmed the description before requesting it.

The premise of The Guilt Trip is totally one that I would typically pick up (and it reminded me of another story I read – The Vacation by TM Logan). But it wasn’t the description that captured me. I have to admit that I requested this book solely based on where it takes place. The moment I began skimming the description and saw it was centered in Portugal, I was hooked. When I saw Nazaré – that was it for me. For a little background on me, I am Portuguese-American and have spent several of my formative childhood summers specifically in Nazaré, where my family has an apartment. I am always so happy to see my often overlooked country get some attention!

As for the story itself, The Guilt Trip centered around a small circle of friends thrown together based on their connections to each other. They all travel to Portugal to celebrate one couple’s wedding. The book starts off with a prologue that alludes to a terrible incident at the end and is then told mainly from Rachel’s perspective.

Rachel, the bride’s future sister-in-law, takes the reader through the wedding weekend leading up to the aforementioned occurrence. The bride (Ali) is marrying Will, who is Jack’s brother and Jack is Rachel’s husband. Paige and Noah are married to each other and also attending the wedding. Noah and Rachel were best friends throughout college and had feelings for each other, but denied anything ever happened between them in order to maintain their friendship without making their spouses feel threatened.

It’s clear that the dynamics within the group are complicated and each person shares a secret connection with one or more members, so it’s not hard to imagine that a wedding weekend staying in close quarters with the booze flowing would result in some disconcerting clashes. I’ve read a lot of these genre, so I pretty much figured out the end in advance, but it in no way took away from the storyline! It was fast-paced and easy to get immersed in the book, and I found myself riveted page after page (well past my bedtime)!

The Guilt Trip

Wow, what an amazing fast paced mystery this book was. I think it was the fastest I’ve gotten through a book in awhile! I was so drawn to it and couldn’t wait to return to it over the two days that I read it! I will definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good mystery. It’s full of suspense, lies and betrayal!

Three couples head to Portugal for a destination wedding. Jack and Rachel, Noah and Paige have known each other for over twenty years. Will is Jack’s brother and the one getting married to Ali. Ali gets mixed reviews from the group before the trip, but while on it, the others find her assertion into their lives as troublesome! They all left as friends but this trip will change their lives forever and how they view their relationships with one another.

This book has some great plot twists. Clearly Jones wants us to see one person as the instigator when really it is another. I was so happy I was correct in my prediction thanks to well placed foreshadowing.

I definitely want to go back and read some of her other books to see what I have been missing!

Don’t miss this book out 8/3!

Six friends in Portugal for a destination wedding. What could go wrong?

Everything. Everything goes wrong. The couples in The Guilt Trip find themselves living in a soap opera. There is drama, drama and MORE DRAMA from page 1. I had to make a little character list cheat sheet for myself so I could remember the connections in this web of deceit.

I need to note that I read this book in less than 24 hours. Once I started, I could not put it down. The secrets were a bit predictable, but that didn't stop me from wanting to read the reveals for myself. It was a bit like watching an impending train wreck and I couldn't peel my eyes away from it.

The premise and synopsis are familiar to other domestic thrillers, but the ending is NOT predictable. If you predicted that chaos, I'd say you need to take your chances and play the lottery because you've got a gift for guessing. I actually had to read the ending pages a few times to take in the details. I'm still processing, but I did enjoy the surprise element.

Overall, this is a quick read and packed with entertaining drama.

The Guilt Trip is super quick read and perfect for a trip to the pool or the beach. I did find that the book spent a lot of time building up to the action, and then it fell flat for me. Overall, I would still recommend it as an easy mindless read.

Thank you to Sandie Jones, St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

2 stars
The Guilt Trip
By Sandie Jones

I really enjoyed the first part of this book but the further it went on the less appealing it became. his would have been a much better story without all the sex and lies. I could not finish because I realized I did not even care what happened. The Guilt Trip is just very trite because men and women are capable of having relationships with each other without sex entering the picture!
I am giving it two stars just because the beginning was so good.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley.

This tale was a bit slow moving, in my opinion. The narrative was awkward and strained. I didn’t hate the book, the subject matter being interesting, so will try this author again.
Thanks for the ARC opportunity.

What an excellently written and entertaining book! I got an advanced copy of the audio book version of this and could not stop listening to it. I started and finished the audio version in one day.

For the story - it includes complex and entertaining characters. Lots of emotions in the book but just as many for the reader/listener as the story translates so well and it is so easy to feel like you are in the place of the characters. They are relatable and flawed in a perfect combination.

The narration was just as good as the story. Clearly able to distinguish between the characters.

I will be recommending this book to my suspense reader friends.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the arc of this book.

I went into this book blind but expected it to be a thriller. At about 60% of the way in, I found myself wondering when the thriller aspect would come into play. In my opinion, it never really did. I would call it more of a domestic suspense, and thought I'd mention that for anyone else that is anticipating a thriller.

This book definitely kept my attention and I was eager to get through it and get some answers as to what was really going on. Some of the answers were predictable, some took me by surprise. I did find the plot and dialogue to get VERY repetitive at times and felt that whole scenes could've been cut from the book and it would've had no impact on the storyline.

While none of the characters were likable, I was still invested in their stories and wanted to see where things would end up. As for the ending....it was a bit strange, erratic, and sort of out of left field - but not in the way where it's a shocking twist that you didn't see coming. More like an ending where you're asking yourself if it really fit into the rest of the story or if was a believable direction for the story to go, given what you knew of the characters.

As for the epilogue, it left me a bit confused. We are not told who is narrating the epilogue, and I don't know if that was intentional to leave the reader guessing, or if it was supposed to be obvious and went way over my head. I don't mind being left guessing, but I prefer to know that I'm MEANT to be guessing rather than wondering if I missed something altogether. I reread the epilogue three times to see what I missed, but was still left feeling unsure of what was being implied, which is a weird way to end a book, in my opinion.

Overall, I'd rate this one at 3.5 stars. It wasn't a bad book, but there were certainly elements that could've been better. If deciding whether to skip it, borrow it, or buy it, I'd definitely suggest borrowing this one from the library (though I do have to admit that the cover is gorgeous and would look lovely on a bookshelf).

Three couples, vacation and tons of drama! There are so many things going on and found myself rooting for someone and heavily irritated with the same couple of characters. The first few chapters isn't as intense but as the drama unfolds, whoa! I stayed up to finish it.,

Another year, another Sandie Jones book. This one was very much a domestic thriller. Three couples, one wedding, one and a half affairs. Keeping the characters straight in your mind is easy (which I point out because sometimes it's not!), but I didn't really like any of the characters much. 90% of the book is Rachel, our main character, trying to sort out who is sleeping with whom. The book really doesn't get interesting until the very end. However, it was a very quick read - I think I read it in about 2.5 hours. 3.5 stars rounded down.

“ ‘I wish I hadn’t got pregnant so young,’ she says thoughtfully. “But I would never have done anything about it once it had happened.’ “ <— this speaks to my soul ☺️

The Guilt Trip gives you three couples traveling to a seaside Portuguese villa for the wedding of one of the couples, Will and Ali. Of the other two couples, Jack and Rachel are married and best friends with Noah and Paige. Yet Rachel and Noah were college sweethearts and Noah is Rachel’s the one that got away. Also Jack and Will are brothers. Whew. Confused yet? Me too.

2 1/2 ⭐️ rounded up to 3. I felt that the book started off strong, albeit with some very unlikeable characters. Ali seems ditzy, attention seeking, and immature. Jack is ornery. None of them seemed all that reliable. Then they arrive in Portugal and the shit really hits the fan. Affairs are unearthed, but we’re not sure amongst whom because everyone is lying. You’ve gotta give me at least ꪮꪀꫀ character to root for, otherwise who cares who is cheating?!

Towards the end of the book I just found it rushed and a bit confusing. I actually had to reread the last chapter and the epilogue because twists were 𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓁𝓁 being thrown in and I wasn’t even sure what was happening at that point.

I did enjoy the audio version more than the print. Clare Corbett has an amazing accent and she did a great job giving these mostly unlikable characters some heart and emotion.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins Press,
Macmillan Audio and the author for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones is a book about a weekend getaway for a destination wedding gone wrong— where secrets are revealed and you don’t know who you can trust! Rachel and Jack are traveling to Portugal to attend the wedding of his brother, Will, to the over-the-top, Ali. Also joining them is Rachel’s best friend, Noah and his wife, Paige. When it seems like just about everyone has a secret and in the end someone ends up dead— you don’t know who to trust or what to believe.

First of all, I want to say that I feel as though this book reads more as a domestic drama than a thriller book. To me— this book was more about the drama between the different characters and the different couples. And I will say, there is LOTS of drama in this book. If love triangles and relationship secrets are your thing, then this book would be for you!

I have to say I got a bit confused by some aspects of this book including the ending. It seemed as though things happened so quickly in the end and I had some questions that I would have liked answered. Also one of the secrets, I figured out pretty early on in the story.

I did get very invested in the characters of this book, especially Rachel and Noah and their backstory. I also read this book very quickly— I could not put it down. The end of every chapter left you with a little cliffhanger, so you wanted to keep reading. I also really enjoyed the setting of the story. Portugal was the perfect escape for a wedding getaway. I loved the descriptions of the scenery and couldn’t help but wish I was in that villa, too!

Overall, I would say if you’re looking for a domestic drama with lots of relationship drama and secrets amongst a group of friends, then this book is for you!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Three couples - a destination wedding in a remote area of Portugal. Some of them don't even like one another. what could possibly go wrong? Pfft! What a wild ride.

Book #57
The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones
Release date is 8/3/21
⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book follows 3 couples as they travel to Portugal for a destination wedding.

I had a lot of issues with this book. Starting off with 3 couples it was hard to figure out who was with who. I had issues with the writing style. There were times when the character would be mid conversation and then she would remember something from the past and suddenly we were reliving a conversation from the past for several paragraphs. There was no like header or anything to indicate it was from the past so it was very jarring. Overall Rachel was in her head so much in this book it was difficult to get through. The twist I figured out way before it happened. The foreshadowing was done through a conversation that made it blatantly obvious in my opinion. This was not a good book for me. I was expecting a thriller and not a book focused entirely around cheating. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. #bookreview #theguilttrip #sandiejones #mysterybooks #netgalleyarc

Maybe 3.5 stars. One of my life rules is to avoid high drama people. Another is to live as truthfully and transparently as possible. Case in point is this book which is really more like a soap opera. The three couples are full of secrets and as the wedding weekend unfolds, and the lies begin to unravel, even the lies are not what they seem.

This was really not my kind of book. I didn't feel much compassion for any of the characters. By the time I got halfway through with it, and was starting to sense some of the plot turns, I probably would have stopped reading but because it was a short enough book, I worked my way through without feeling like my time was wasted. The twists felt unrealistic but if you are in the mood to suspend reality, it could be a fun ride for you. The detail at the end confused me and I'm not sure if that was on purpose or not.

3 couples, with a multitude of secrets, come together in Portugal for a wedding weekend. I thought the premise sounded similar to several other stories I have enjoyed recently. Unfortunately, this one fell a little flat. It didn't quite cultivate the same atmosphere, and the characters were all unlikable. However, I was interested to find out how it all wrapped up, as not all of the plot points were predictable. Thanks to the publisher and another Galley for an advance copy in return for my feedback.

THE GUILT TRIP by Sandie Jones is about two couples who travel to Portugal together for the wedding of a third couple in their friend group. From the outset, tensions simmer among the group due to clashing personalities, sibling protectiveness, long-held friendships, and maybe some dark secrets. Throughout the trip, some of these secrets will rise to the surface with disastrous consequences.

The book starts off strong with some character and relationship building and hints of what's to come. Even if the characters are hard to tell apart, the setup for a fun story full of intrigue and threats and alliances is all there. However, the story sits on one note for almost the entirety of the book. It's a constant dance of "Which characters are sleeping with or have slept with which other characters?" with no real answers nor interesting or surprising discoveries. Then the climax pops out of seemingly nowhere to the point where I actually thought it was happening in the main character's head at first and had to reread the passage, because surely this event was too random to be occurring in this book. But no, it was real, and the story comes to a conclusion that somehow manages to be too drawn-out and too hastily wrapped up at the same time.

I really wanted to like this thriller, but unfortunately, it was severely lacking in thrills. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC!

Drama, drama, and then more drama! Damn, remind me to never go on vacay with this crew! (Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ALC of The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones!)
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The Guilt Trip is a crazy thriller that works because it leads the reader down so many red herring paths. I guessed some of the twists, but not all of them and was happy that there was some mystery left til the very end.
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Jack & Rachel and Noah & Paige are headed to Portugal to celebrate Jack's brother, Will as he marries the love of his life, Ali. While everything on the surface appears to be a fun couples' trip with a celebration at the end, there are several hidden secrets encompassed within this group of people. Not everyone is as they seem. (Duh duh duhhhhh)
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I generally enjoyed this story and wanted to know what would happen - it definitely was a page-turner. However, it felt like it took a bit too long to "get there" and there were so many repetitive details that I could have done without. Essentially, this could have probably been a short story and I would have found that a bit more enjoyable. 3.5/5. Fun summer thriller, but not likely one that will stay with me.

This book was less thriller, and more domestic drama. I didn't love it until it was about 75% finished, which normally I hate in a book. However, the ending was WILD, which really helped my rating. It was hinting all along that someone could be hurt/dead, but when the book was 80% over, I kept thinking "WHEN is this going to pick up??" And pick up it did - absolutely loved the ending.

If you're a fan of domestic thrillers, I would recommend this one!