Two couples, Rachel and Jack along with Paige and Noah are heading to Portugal to attend Jack’s brother Will’s wedding to Ali. Nerves are already frayed by the time they arrive to the gorgeous cliffside villa mostly because Jack seems to have developed a very low tolerance to Ali and her flightiness but Rachel begins to suspect there’s more going on than meets the eye.

There’s a lot of history between Rachel and Noah, best friends since Uni and as the trip develops more comes out about their past relationship, Paige’s insecurities and Jacks increasing disdain for his future sister-in-law despite her attempts to insert herself into his activities. Rachel does a bit of sleuthing and picks up clues that lead her to a shocking conclusion but is all really as it seems? Turns out more than one person has a secret to hide!

This is such an intriguing and suspenseful book, with full on plot twists that had my head spinning all the way to the very last page. So much deceit and treachery and just when you think you know what’s going on – the big a-ha moment – some new revelation occurs and you realize you know nothing!

The author plotted this so beautifully and developed the characters with highly distinctive personalities, making me either love, hate or empathize with them – strongly! While reading/listening to this I found myself feeling tense with the suspenseful atmosphere and an overwhelming need to know what the heck was going to happen which led to me finishing in just over a day! I was so gratified by the ending!

Narration: Clare Corbett narrates and she is phenomenal! She brings the characters to life, giving them depth and personality and making them unique and unforgettable!

Highly recommend this to any fan of the genre! My thanks to Macmillan Audio for this gifted ALC and to Minotaur Books for the gifted DRC.

I think this may have to be my last review of a Sandie Jones novel until the word developer people come up with new synonyms for awesome, amazing, and incredible. I’m running out of words to describe how much love I have for her books. All four have all been five-star reads for me. Aside from her ability to blindside me with her shocking reveals, my favourite thing about her writing is the character dialogue. Sometimes while reading from other authors I find myself wondering if that’s how people would talk in that situation, but with Sandie’s writing, I don’t even question it. Setting the scene is important but for me, dialogue is what separates my favourite authors from all the rest.

Originally I had the idea that I was going to read 20% of the book each day so I could savour the story but once I got into it I couldn’t put it down. I had to stop myself from speed reading through the descriptive parts of the story to get to the dialogue. It didn’t help that I very badly wanted to see if my guesses were going to be right. I got cocky and thought I had everything figured out early on and then as she is want to do Sandie threw in a couple of masterfully placed red herrings making me believe I had it wrong the whole time. She kept the twists coming up until the very last page. I was happy with the ending and glad that those who deserved it got what was coming to them.

The Guilt Trip is about three couples, six people that go on a destination wedding to Portugal. The amount of lies and secrets that are thrown are enough to fill an entire room.

This eerily reminded me a bit of The Guest List by Lucy Foley. Maybe destination wedding on a coast with a massive cast does it for me, ya know? Each couple has some connection to the other couples. Besties, brothers, secretive connections as well. I got lost. I actually made a web connecting the couples as to who was who and how they were connected. There were a lot of question marks and scratch outs! It was entertaining once I was able to distinguish relationships.

The paranoia and uncertainty in the trust really through me for a loop. At some parts, I wanted to shake Rachel. Other parts, just wanted to hug her. She’s that naive friend that you just want what’s best for her, even if she doesn’t know what’s best.

I did an audio/reading combo and was so happy Clare Corbett was the narrator. You may recognize her from The Girl on the Train or The One. She’s one of the narrators i am always happy to listen to and enjoy her tellings.

Overall, It started off very suspicious and strong. I was here for it. But, the she said/he said was just a bit too much that I lost interest on the truth. The ending came crashing into you for a final reveal. The very last page threw me for a loop that I read it twice. It was a quick, entertaining read, but it left me with more questions than answers. Thank you so much Minotaur and Macmillan audio for the gifted copy! The Guilt Trip is out August 3rd!

Three couples, one weekend wedding, and everyone seems to have a secret. Rachel and Jack, Noah, and Paige, Will and Ali. Rachel and Noah were friends in college, Rachel’s college sweetheart. Noah decided to take a gap year after graduating university and travel the world. It’s now 20 years later and Noah is married to her best friend Paige. Will is Jack’s brother and is getting married to Ali who seems to cause nothing but drama. They are getting married in Portugal over a four-day weekend and their closest family and friends are invited for an intimate, small wedding to celebrate together.

Ali used to work with Jack at his company and maybe all is not as it seems. As this is supposed to be a weekend celebrating Will and Ali’s marriage, Rachel, Jack, Noah, and Paige, try and keep things cordial. As Ali continues to display her impulsive antics over the weekend and Rachel is trying to get to know her future sister-in-law better, things seem to go from one bad misunderstanding to another. Not only does Jack not approve of his brother marrying Ali, but he is also having ongoing issues with Noah. Secrets can’t stay buried forever, and always have a way of surfacing. As the weekend unfolds and secrets are revealed, assuming what you do not know can cause unforeseen consequences that you never could imagine.

Remember the “Telephone” game as a child? Or even as a communication exercise in training classes? In “The Guilt Trip”, I felt like we were part of a telephone game or a big gossip session in high school and if everyone would have taken a moment to step back, talk, and listen to each other, things would not have gotten so out of control. Which of course if that would have happened, we wouldn’t have the story. I felt the storyline was going in circles and going nowhere during the first half of the book. It seemed to drag on forever. Ali was of course very annoying which is what Sandie Jones was aiming for.

As the weekend unfolds, we realize that these six friends are all hiding at least one secret and all those secrets won’t stay buried after this weekend is over. You can’t make assumptions about those that we know. The second half of the book where secrets are revealed, and the story seems to pick up speed, helps balance out the first half of the book. Overall, this was an okay read. Thank you NetGalley, Sandie Jones, and St. Martin’s Press for this Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for this honest review. #NetGalley #StMartinsPress #TheGuiltTrip #SandieJones #Thriiler #WomensFiction #Mystery

Summary:

A group of friends reunite for a wedding weekend in Portugal in a beautiful villa overlooking the sea.

Rachel and Noah had been the best of friends in college but tinkering on the possibility of more. Rachel eventually married Jack while Noah married Paige. Jack’s brother, Will, is the groom to be.

Will is marrying a younger, beautiful, and impulsive girl named Ali. Ali does not start off on the right foot with most of the group, although Jack already had gotten to know her since they used to work together. She seems needy and high maintenance. Rachel isn’t sure what to think of the girl who used to work with her husband and is about to become her sister-in-law. Paige is disgruntled regarding Ali because she finds her immature and trying to get attention about everything.

As they get into the weekend, Rachel finds out something about Ali that changes everything. Secrets and scandals began to unfurl as the weekend transpires.

My Thoughts:

Thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur books for allowing me the opportunity to receive an advanced reader’s copy of The Guilt Trip this spring.

This book reminded me a lot The Guest List, The Vacation, The Sister-in Law, The Perfect Getaway, and The Hunting Party where former friends gather for a trip and secrets and scandals are revealed.

The Guilt Trip is a quick read that keeps you glued to the book trying to figure out what is going to happen next, although some of the outcomes are somewhat predictable. The epilogue is a little confusing in what actually happened in the major climax at the end.

Sandie Jones always delivers a twisted suspenseful plot regardless, and I always look forward to her books!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for this opportunity!

I’ve held off on providing my review because I knew how I wanted to rate it but couldn’t quite pinpoint and articulate my reasons for it. I wanted to like this book. It has the great moody-looking cover and promising couples on vacation-gone-wrong premise that usually bodes well for an enjoyable thriller. But I found myself confused for much of the book? Was I supposed to take a piece of information as given? Was I supposed to *know* something the character doesn’t seem to? Or do they? There were some interesting plot developments but there was no gasp-inducing twist kind of moment. It all just sort of - happened and left me overall feeling like something was lacking. I have seen others characterize it as more relationship drama than thriller and I’d say that’s apt.

Thank you to NetGalley for not one, but apparently two copies of this book to review! This will be a combined review of the book and the audiobook.

I’ve never read a book by Sandie Jones before. I DNFed her book The Half Sister but still plan on reading her Reese pick because eventually I’d like to read them all. I’ve heard this is her best one yet which literally gives me zero hope.

This isn’t a thriller novel. At all. It’s a domestic drama book with a convenient wrap up at the end; albeit an extremely rushed ending that is extremely predictable. You see the story unfold from Rachel’s perspective and see her believe lie after lie after lie in an attempt to manipulate readers into twists. The problem is, Rachel is as gullible as they come and the twists aren’t twists…they are extremely obvious who-is-sleeping-with-who scenarios.

Overall, the characters are unlikeable as they come, bland and vapid. A very generic A-typical modern thriller. Pretty much pick up a Ruth Ware, Lucy Foley, or Megan Miranda or BA Paris novel and you’ve read this book. Unfortunately, nothing stood out to me. The writing was sub par and the setting of Portugal was incredibly meaningless. Plop this book in the middle of the Sahara Desert and it’s the same exact book.

I’m sorry I don’t have nicer things to say about this book, but it realllllllyyyyy wasn’t my cup of tea.

2 stars overall because the narrator made this basic book more interesting.

Also, semi-spoilery…but can we stop slut shaming women because they look nice, have worked hard, have opinions, and don’t take male shit? Thanks!

One of my favorite authors now is Sandie Jones.. She is on a roll with these books she is giving us! The characters are built up beautifully even though most of their characteristics suck. What a bunch of problem children they are (and they are adults!). The reader can already tell there are going to be problems during the first several chapters. First off, the group of friends is a messy situation. Rachel and Noah are long time friends and Rachel is married to Jack. Noah is married to Paige and it seems as though Paige and Rachel get along well and have been good friends for a long time. They are all going to the wedding of Will and Ali. Will is Jack's bother and Ali is a newcomer to the group.

So as not to give too much away, Jack knows Ali from work and that is all I will say on this. Everyone is connected in some way. The shenanigans go on and on until things get a little testy and serious at this destination wedding. This book is a beach read as well as a cozy, under-the-blanket winter read. Very well put together and definitely worth looking forward to and reading. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC and giving me to opportunity to give a review.

Rachel, her husband, Jack, her college friend Noah and his wife Paige travel to Portugal for her brother-in-law's wedding along with the bride, Ali. Everyone Ali extremely childish, annoying and are barely able to put up with her due to her attention-seeking attitude. Jack is absolutely irritated with Ali though they were colleagues earlier. At the wedding location, everyone seems to be hiding some major secret and Rachel is constantly doubting everything. But the main issue is she suspects her husband, Jack of cheating on her with Ali and these doubts keep intensifying day by day. What does Rachel decide to do about her cheating husband when she herself has a life altering secret that she is holding out for close to two decades.

Even though Rachel was very gullible and trusting of her husband, it was annoying when she decides to ignore each and every time. If she had decided to handle the situation in a matured way, things would have been so different but due to her own secrets, she stays silent, The secrets that come in to light span from their college days and it changes the whole dynamic among the four main characters. The first half felt slightly repetitive with constant suspecting attitude of Rachel but the second half was absolutely fast paced and I was clearly hooked by then. There were so many twists and I enjoyed the mega twist right at the end. I had to read the last page another time to make ensure I didn't miss out any small details as the ending was really cool. I am sure readers will feel satisfied that karma gets back at people who make fool of others.

I have loved Sandie Jones since I read The Other Woman. And her latest does NOT disappoint. Friends since college, Rachel and Noah, married to Jack and Paige respectively, have always stuck to the story that they were never more than friends, but were they? Traveling to Portugal for Will (Jack's brother) and Ali's wedding, the only thing you know for certain is that nothing is as it seems.

This was such a quick page turner! I read this book over two days and really liked it!

Six friends go on a trip for an epic wedding. The place is beautiful and everything should be perfect. But it's not because everybody has something to hide and secrets to carry. I was constantly trying to figure out who was lying and who was telling the truth. It was often impossible to tell!

I thought the build up was perfect and it had a satisfying ending. Well done Sandie Jones!

Unfortunately, this one really missed the mark for me. I found it a struggle to finish, the whole couples drama was utterly irritating and dry. Also, I have never been a fan of cheating as the entire premise of a novel. Additionally, the plot twist was more along the lines of a slow curve as it was very predictable.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to review this advanced readers copy.

Sandie Jones has quickly become one of my favorite authors and The Guilt Trip was one of my most anticipated releases of 2021! This book was full of secrets, lies and betrayals between a group of friends which is normally right up my alley! Give me all the juicy friends and lovers drama! However, this was not my favorite of hers. I didn't like the characters and I had a very hard time staying interested in this one. I liked this book but just didn't love it like I wanted to.

This book starts out really strong but after halfway things get a little of weird. I figured out the main plot twist early on but still wanted to see how it played out. There were lots of things left unexplained and I’m still perplexed why the author thought doing what she did at the end was a good idea? I was still hooked all the way through and still recommend reading this!

Every couple has secrets, and sometimes secrets among friends can be counter to those shared as a couple. For this set of friends, dysfunction is not just a key word, it's the norm, as they all keep secrets from each other. As those secrets seem to blossom until the 'all in one house' syndrome, so do the consequences, until suddenly lies force actions that can't be taken back. And then when the truth comes out, everyone realizes the true costs of keeping all those secrets. A real page turner, this is a perfect beach read!

Several friends arrive for what is supposed to be a fun getaway and a fabulous wedding. Instead one ends up dead, while the others are left to come to terms with secrets that were discovered, opening up old wounds, but creating second chances and new beginnings. In the end, the reader is left guessing who did what, and if you’re gullible like me, the answers will shock you. I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery and will recommend to patrons! Also a huge thanks to Netgalley! I was able to read AND listen to this one. The narrator was great!

Rachel and Jack. Noah and Paige. These couples are about to attend Ali's and Will's wedding. However, the fireworks are already popping before they even leave the airport. Will these couples survive this wedding?

This book frustrated me in a variety of ways. It felt like it didn't have an identity. Is this book supposed to be a mystery/thriller, a romance, or a drama? As a mystery/thriller, the chapters were too long. Also, the book was extremely predictable. I had a good inkling of what was going on in the first couple of chapters. As a romance, this book fell completely flat. The Guilt Trip didn't really capture the nostalgia of an old love. Also, for all of the rumored activities, there was not a great amount of steam. It felt mostly on the PG side of things when this book should have had more The Hunting Wives flair. Finally, this book as a drama failed to deliver. The plot wasn't really moving along fast enough. The dialogue was where the book was really progressing and most of the book could have just been skipped. The Guilty Trip could have been much better as a short story.

Overall, this is a big pass for me.

Sandie Jones has become a popular name in the thriller genre - which happens to be my favourite. I’ve read a few of Jones’ books in the past, so was happy to get my hands on The Guilt Trip.

The Guilt Trip had a promising plot: 3 couples stay at a gorgeous cliffs-side villa in Portugal to attend a destination wedding. Everyone is hiding something.

Unfortunately The Guilt Trip did not do it for me. There were a lot of twists and turns but they too far fetched. I love an unreliable narrator and an unpredictable ending… this one was just too unrealistic. Each turn took it a step too far.

The Guilt Trip is by far my favorite Sandie Jones novel! I read this in less than five hours. I was pulled in and couldn’t get out! I didn’t want out!
I hated characters, I loved characters, I felt for some and I was so angry at others. An anxiety trip that I actually enjoyed.
Thank you NetGalley and thank you Sandie Jones.

The Guilt Trip is a thrill of a ride. A destination wedding starring three couples, some of whom have been best friends for years. Past relationships and many secrets propel this novel along. Infidelities move the story as the reader tries to figure who is sleeping with whom. Well developed characters, not always likeable, keep you turning the pages. There are many twists and turns that held my interest throughout. Sandie Jones knows how to deliver! #TheGuiltTrip #SandieJones #NetGalley