Whew.

Rachel is married to Jack. Jack's brother Will is engaged to Ali, who used to work with Jack. Rachel's best friend is Paige, who is married to Noah, who was Rachel's best friend from college.

All of this....trouble takes place over a few days in Portugal during a wedding weekend for Ali and Will. Rachel and Paige are feeling a bit...mean girl about Ali. She's younger, hotter and ...a threat. Both the women suspect something is up...Ali seems to stretch the truth a bit and they want to find out exact what she's hiding before the wedding.

This book is...nuts. Rachel is...out of her mind. Paige is a straight up b*tch. Ali comes off like a bimbo. Noah is a wimp. Jack is a jerk. Will is Peter Pan.

That said....it was a fun read! It moves quickly and I was drawn into Rachel's messiness and into the drama of it all.

It's sure to be a hit for the beach readers and airports this late summer.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Isn't this cover hauntingly spooky?

This story started off strongly as a domestic drama full of mystery and suspense. However, the narrative soon became repetitive, circling the same suspicions over and over again. I tired of the plot halfway through but continued reading, just to discover that a major component of the conclusion is the same twist as the ending of The Other Woman by the same author. I was disappointed. I think this book could have been fantastic as a short story!

I am always in for a fast beachy read about secrets and dubious deeds, and so I was excited for this one – three couples with plenty to hide travel to a destination wedding in Portugal. The plot twists and turns were there; however, the character development just did not quite happen for me. The characters felt very flat and extremely unlikeable. The book was very dialogue heavy and, at times, it felt like I was reading a recount of what happened instead of it actually feeling like it happened in real time. Fans of this author’s previous book, may like this book, the writing style just did not work for me. Thank you for NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book!

I think that if like me you’re a reader who really enjoys thrillers and you walk into this book expecting your typical thriller you’re going to be disappointed. However, if you go into it acknowledging that this book is not that then you might really end up enjoying it.

3 couples, 6 friends, all go to Portugal for a destination wedding. It quickly becomes obvious that something is amiss. There’s a very obvious secret being kept amongst the group, in fact there are several. But as you read on you’ll learn that everything isn’t quite what it seems and this book will serve as a reminder that you shouldn’t always judge a book by it’s cover.

For those thrill seekers like myself. Well you will get your dose of thrill but only for the last 15% or so of the story, so don’t be expecting an edge of your seat thriller out of this one. I personally didn’t find any of the characters of this book particularly likable but that’s kind of what makes this story flow. It is a fairly quick and easy to read story.

The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones was just okay. It was a bit too "mean girls" meets "Guest List." I was looking forward to the fact that this story involved a destination wedding in Portugal but I barely even noticed it. There were almost no cultural references and other than what you see on the cover of the book, there is very little done to create scenic setting for the reader.

What I wouldn’t give to have been a fly on the wall observing this weekend go down!! A group of 6, friends and married, travel for a wedding. As drinks start to flow, the walls close in on secrets and betrayals. Quick paced and leaving you guessing up until the very end. A classic who-dun-it for today!

This is more in the 2.5 star camp, because at some point I realized that I didn't care about any of these characters. I'd add this to my shelf of "Brits behaving badly books" like Lucy Foley's The Guest List or Ruth Ware's One By One. But there was enough twists to make me stick with this book to the end. Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced listening copy of The Guilt Trip.

I can't say that I found any of the characters particularly likable. Even so, I was hooked from the start. The setup of the characters let you know that there was going to be a big explosion in the characters relationships. The anticipation built well and it kept me flipping pages. There were a lot of possibilities for how this was going to end and I was surprised at the twist. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

A destination wedding from HELL!

Six friends, secrets buried and a seaside villa where the truth is lurking over the cliffs edge. The first part of the book focuses on the individual insecurities, their lives as couples and their personal regrets. The second half is filled with a series of incriminations based on speculation and gossip. Which one of them will actually find out the truth to convict the others to listen??

The Guilt Trip had me invested just after a few chapters as I needed to see where the story lead the couples. The ending caught me off-guard as I didn't see "it" coming to plow me over. It was a little unbelievable, and over the top. The epilogue did leave me guessing.

Thank you NetGalley and Mintour Books for the complimentary copy for an honest review.

I loved The Other Woman by Sandie Jones, so I was really excited to see this new book in my inbox to review. Thank you Minotaur Books and Libro.FM for the advanced copy.
Destination wedding in Portugal following six friends at a beautiful seaside villa, what could go wrong? This drama is full of suspense that follows three couples over a course of a week. Secrets and years of lies start to unravel, trust is lost and marriages are on the rocks. The weekend ends with someone dead and one of the six turns out to be the killer.

This is a character driven, fast paced thriller that I did not want to put down. I enjoyed how I bounced around loving a character at one moment then hating them the next. While I did think Rachel’s overthinking and jumping to conclusions became annoying, it worked very well in the story. I did want to strangle her at some points tho.

Great writing. Gripping story line and twisted ending. My favorite book by this author.

I received an ARC of The Guilt Trip in exchange for an honest review. I have read Sandie Jones' other books and enjoyed them. That being said, I honestly feel that she is writing the same story over and over with different characters. While her books are tried to be pushed as domestic thrillers, this one really isn't. There are a bunch of secrets and you don't know who is telling the truth. The ending was a little confusing (looking at other reviews, I wasn't the only one who felt this way). I love a good domestic thriller, but this book just wasn't one.

I’m such a big fan of Sandie Jones and was so excited for The Guilt Trip, but this one just didn’t do it for me. I found it all a bit convoluted and the twist wasn’t as shocking as I’m used to from Sandie Jones’ books. This one was a disappointing miss for me.

Do you know what sounds like a disaster waiting to happen? A couples group trip. Especially when these couples are all hiding something from one another. Ding Dong, destruction is here.
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Rachel and Noah have been best friends since University. Everyone thought they were more than friends but they've always denied it. Now Rachel is Married to Jack and Noah is married to Paige. It took Paige a few years to 100% trust Rachel but now that she does, they're the bestest of friends. The final couple is Will and Ali, who actually met through Jack and the reason for this trip is because they're getting married. DOES THIS NOT SOUND LIKE THE BIGGEST CONFUSION OF PEOPLE EVERY?! Like, who in their right mind would think this trip was a good idea? CERTAINLY NOT ME!
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This was definitely a page turner, I trusted absolutely no one so it made for a quick read! Yes, I prefer to read about characters when we don't trust them🤣🤷‍♀️. I knew this book was going to be filled with twists and turns, but I wasn't expected this group of friends to be this shady towards one another. Like, my god, get some new friends people. It was literally one thing after the next happening. I may have gotten whiplash from trying to keep up with all these secrets, lies, and deception. The closer we got to the actual wedding, the more nervous I was getting. A storm was brewing and I'm not talking about the weather🤣🤣. This was definitely an entertaining read, it had its flaws but it definitely kept my turning the pages.

Absolutely loved this book! My favorite one so far!! I can’t recommend this book enough! Sandie Jones is one of the only authors who still keeps me on my toes, and sitting on the edge of my seat. BRAVO!!

From the start you can tell there will be much amiss among these three couples as they head to Portugal for a wedding! Lots of secrets follow them to a house on an island as they prepare for Will and Ali to get married. Many twists and turns throughout and I’m still guessing a bit at the ending! I love when a book has me thinking and going back to a certain scene or two! Highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley for the free e-book for my honest opinion!

The Guilt Trip was a character driven domestic drama labeled as a thriller that was a bit lacking. 3 couples are off for the weekend in Portugal for one of their weddings. We've got 2 best friends - Rachel & Paige, 2 brothers Jack and Will, Noah who has a history with Rachel and then lastly - Ali, Will's new young bride to be. From the get go, the characters are mostly unlikeable and constantly suspicious of each others intentions and their own partner's fidelity. I have to say the misdirection and twist was so subtle and probably the best part of the book. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early release copy in exchange for my honest opinions. The Guilt Trip will be available on 8/3/21.

The Guilt Trip - 3.5 stars (really enjoyed👍)

Thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Super quick synopsis: Three couples head to Portugal for a destination wedding. While there, life altering secrets are suspected and some will go to great lengths to uncover the truth - and others will stop at nothing to keep them hidden.

Told from Rachel's point of view, the majority of the story takes place over the span of a few days; from the day the group heads to Portugal, to the evening of Ali and Will's wedding reception. Rachel's personality and lack of communication did really irk me for about half of the book, but it was really interesting to watch as Ali's character evolved and the reader finds out who she is. While I did suspect the twist, it was a really, really good twisty one. I did have a pretty big gripe about one part of it, but it's definitely a spoiler. Basically for a character's own best interest, it did not make sense for them to act the way they did. Other than that, this was definitely a page turner with lots of drama and a picturesque setting - the perfect beach read.

Read if you enjoyed: The Guest List

Full review to come on bookstagram.

My first book by this author and I have to say I was excited about the premise and story line. Long wedding weekend away, 6 friends with all kinds of connections to each other in their pasts that may not be totally true. Sounds like an interesting story line!

The beginning was rocky for me as I was confused and it felt very choppy- I kept thinking it would get stronger in the end and to be fair there were some good scenes between the main characters in the back half of the book but nothing that would allow me to rate it above a three.

I would say it is a beach read kind of book meaning you can get interrupted a lot and still be able to keep your place and understanding of what is happening between these six characters who I never really felt connected to and a story line that was just too predictable.

Overall I liked this book - it was a page turner and was very twisty. However I found the ending to be really confusing, especially the epilogue. I wish the author had drawn it out and explained it a little more as I truly didn’t follow what happened or who was meant to have narrated the epilogue. I also found the writing to be a bit basic and without emotion. Still enjoyed the reading experience though, so thank you for granting me that opportunity!

I loved The Guilt Trip. I super identified with both Rachel and Paige. They are older women (I mean, not that old), but forties who are vacationing with their husbands to a gorgeous villa in Portugal for Rachel’s brother-in-law’s wedding. And of course, the bride, is much younger and kind of flawless. Which is a scenario that usually plays out pretty well, right?

You know you are going to have the jealously and every move will be scrutinized. And in The Guilt Trip, it’s no different. There’s speculation about whether Ali is right for Will, if she’s cheated, if she’s even a decent person. And of course when couples are together and there are no children to take their attention or wear them out, drama ensues.

It’s not long before rumors are flying, emotions are high and no one knows what’s going on. And it just takes off even more from there. Just know that some books are good and have an unsatisfying ending. And this is not that. I won’t say much more. This one has got it all- mystery, intrigue, an amazing setting betrayal. And the list goes on.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out today, August 3 and is the perfect book for your late summer getaway.