Three sets of couples arrive in Portugal for a wedding and each person is hiding some dramatic secrets. I love this type of story and “destination thrillers”. There are so many hidden connections between everyone and pieces of their past that they are trying to keep hidden that it was hard to keep up at points. The bride, Ali, seemed generally unlikeable but as we learn more she become a more complete character. A lot of time is devoted to conversations and suspicions between people. It was hard to know who was really being straightforward (or if anyone was).

This book was interesting because the three quarters of the story are more of a domestic drama as we explore all of the different relationships and find out how everyone is connected. Then there is more of a “thriller” feel to the end portion. Overall I read this book quickly because I was invested in how it all wrapped up but would have loved more of the thriller feeling throughout the whole story.

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

This is the story of a wedding weekend in Portugal that turns quickly. Ali used to work for Jack who is married to Rachel. Jack introduced Ali to his brother Will and they fell in love. Rachel's best friend Noah is married to Paige. They all are staying in a villa for the weekend. And, there are secrets

A good fun read from Sadie Jones. The Guilt Trip follows a group of friends off on a destination wedding, except everything and everyone are not as they seem.
Rachel knows something is wrong with her brother in law’s bride-to-be, Ali. Weird things keep happening and they all seem to point to an affair between her husband and Ali. s Rachel finally confronts the situation, she discovers not everything is as it seems. And then everything comes to a screeching halt.
Good read. Definitely recommend especially for a summer read!

* I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley and St Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest review

Sandie Jones didn't really wow with this read. I found it to be more domestic mystery than thriller I hoped for. Thanks to netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Summer is here and so is Sandie Jones' new domestic thriller, The Guilt Trip, a novel about a destination wedding gone terribly wrong along the beautiful coast of Nazaré, Portugal. The Guilt Trip is an effortless read that is perfect to bring along to the beach or to cozy up with in the AC as you while away those long summer afternoons. Just don't look away because Jones has quite a few twists up her sleeve in this tale of love done very, very badly.

Will and Ali are getting married in Nazaré, Portugal, and Will's brother, Jack and his wife Rachel, wouldn't miss it for the world. If only they cared more for Ali, a ditzy, self-absorbed blonde, who somehow managed to ensnare Will despite being shallow and narcissistic. Yes, if only it weren't for Ali, this might be the perfect getaway. Luckily Jack and Rachel's best friends, Noah and Paige are coming along, so even if Ali tries to ruin this trip, they at least have some good company with them to make the most of it.

The three couples are staying in a gorgeous shared home, and it is there that Rachel starts to uncover some secrets that lead her to believe that Ali is hiding something major and is not who she says she is. As Rachel becomes more entangled in Ali's mysteries, troubles hit a little too close to home and Rachel finds herself in a downward spiral as her life threatens to come apart at the seams. She hopes her instincts are wrong, but what if she is exactly right?

I breezed right through The Guilt Trip, which is how I like my reading experiences to be! This was a fast, easy, and entertaining read, which straddles the genre line of domestic fiction and suspense. The first 3/4 of the novel focuses on the relationships of all the couples, before the twists and turns of the last quarter come racing toward you faster than a speeding bullet. It's a lot of fun trying to identify the "guilty" parties here, but what makes this story even more intriguing is that just like the characters in the novel, you don't know who you can trust ... if anyone.

Recommended to fans of books featuring secretive people doing bad things in beautiful places!

WOW! What a ride this book was! So hard to put down!
Rachel & Jack, Noah & Paige, Will & Ali. 3 couples, lots of secrets and tons of drama!! This is one of those stories where you think you know, but you really don't know! And that ending?? wow! Loved it!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: August 3, 2021

A captivating start to this novel about six friends on a wedding trip to the coast of Portugal. Unfortunately this plateaued relatively early on and I struggled to stay interested in the familiar trope of a close group of friends on holiday and the drama that ensues.

Our unlikeable narrator Rachel is so upsettingly insecure that it makes it difficult to read this as a female. I’d much prefer to read a strong female character. If she just had the difficult conversations with her husband and friends instead of assuming everything, this book would only be 3 chapters long.

This book should contain a TW for being fat-phobic. The big secret, the big reveal…is someone’s weight and their shame about it? In 2021 I’m shocked this made it past the editing phase. This storyline was completely unnecessary and inappropriate in this book.

Omitting information does not make you a pathological liar. Not telling someone about something you’re ashamed of in your past does not make you a pathological liar. Yet a large part of thus book is based off this premise. Unfortunately it doesn’t work. This book is exceptionally problematic when it comes to mental health issues.

I love Sandie Jones and I love all of her books, but I feel like this one sort of fell flat for me.
What I did like was this:

I have read many a story where a group of friends is meeting one of their own's new partner and that the "group" always winds up not liking said friend's partner. However in those stories, its usually a girl who is introducing her friends to the newest perfect guy she is datin and all her friends have read flags.

The Guilt Trip is one where its the boy who is has a girl friend that they don't like. There is tenstion, there is suspense, there is conflict, buuuuuttt, something was missing for me. It wasn't her usual spot on self if that makes any sense. It was a good read and I think that if you have never read any of her books, then you will LOVE this, however fans of Sandie may be a tad let down. So while I liked this book, it wasn't my favorite.

This is a quick read! The drama unfolds essentially right at the beginning, and it doesn’t stop until the last page! I couldn’t put this one down, in true Sandie Jones fashion.

My only complaint is that this was a little too long; some of the scenes were drawn out for added effect, and there was enough going on that these details weren’t needed.

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

I have mixed feelings on this book. The story sounded interesting and the pace was good. But I really didn’t like or care about the characters and their convoluted love triangle issues. The prologue hooked me right away and the twists along the way were interesting enough although I saw them coming. It was similar to The Guest List by Lucy foley so I don’t know if already having read that made it more predictable for me. Even so I did like this book a little more in the end. The writing style worked better and made this a quick enjoyable read. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy to review!

This was my first book by Sandie Jones. It is a great beach or plane read. I liked the book; however, one must suspend belief and just enjoy developments with a bit of schadenfreude because none of the characters are endearing. The story is a convoluted train wreck of a tale about two couples who accompany an ‘over-the -top’, high maintenance, excessively annoying bride to her destination wedding at an ocean front villa in Portugal. Ali, the bridezilla, is set to wed the itinerant brother of her former boss, who is traveling with his stay at home wife, the wife’s best friend, and her best platonic male friend from long ago university days. now married to her current best friend. Everybody has secrets. Everybody lies. Trust has gone missing. Appearances are deceiving. Some of the wedding logistics seem impossible to explain. This book is what I call “mind candy”. I pleasantly passed several hours on a road trip reading The Guilt Trip. It did not require much concentration. But this was a pleasant diversion that kept me from online shopping. I’ll try another book by Dandie Jones.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: August 3, 2021
I was grateful to receive this novel but then was on the fence about reading it, as it seemed all I’ve read lately are “destination wedding on an island” novels (perhaps to give us all that vacation we’ve been dreaming of for so long) and I was convinced that this one would be just another of these, complete with vapid characters and a cookie-cutter plot. Of course, I should’ve expected more from Sandie Jones, and “The Guilt Trip” certainly met and exceeded my expectations!
Rachel and her husband, Jack and Rachel’s former best friend, Noah and his wife, Paige, travel to Portugal for the wedding of Jack’s brother, Will, to the beautiful and captivating, Ali. Immediately put off by Ali’s personality and seemingly perfect appearance, Paige takes an instant dislike to Ali, but it isn’t until Rachel learns a secret about Ali, that her opinion of the bride-to-be changes, too. Soon, the couples are fighting with each other, and everyone’s secrets are unleashed. However, no one expects that one secret will lead to a tragic event that will have life-altering effects for everyone in attendance.
There are a lot of similar characters in this novel and we are introduced to them right off the bat, as they arrive at the airport. It is initially difficult to keep track of the couples (who is with whom, who has a history with whom, even who is friends with whom) but it only takes a few chapters for the characters to develop their own personalities and separate themselves from the rest.
The story is told from the viewpoint of Rachel, who shines as the protagonist as the most relatable character. Her past friendship with Noah has an Emily Giffin “Something Borrowed” vibe to it, and of course there is an undercurrent of unrequited love that plays a part in the plot. Ali starts off as being completely unlikable and selfish, but this was written intentionally, and once she begins to show her true colours, I couldn’t help but love her.
Considering all the characters and their individual secrets (from each other, their spouses, even themselves) I expected a complicated, twisted ending. But when the ending came, it was over-the-top dramatic (in a great way), completely unexpected, and it packed one heck of a punch. I was completely satisfied with all of the outcomes, and was happy to see justice served.
Jones delivers a great plot, with the backdrop of a beautifully regal estate in Portugal, where infidelity abounds and deep secrets are revealed. “The Guilt Trip” is a great bit of escapist fun that will leave you guessing and gasping until the last page.

The Guilt Trip tells the story of two couples: Rachel and Jack, and Paige and Noah. Both couples are setting off to attend the marriage of Jack's brother, Will to his fiancee, Ali. From the start the tensions run high as Rachel begins to suspect that her husband may be having an affair with his brother's future wife.

The book twists and turns and leaves the reader wondering who did what. From the start the book opens with the ending at the beginning with Rachel being questioned at the hospital. Trust me this all makes sense later when the book gets towards its closing.

The story spirals around the past and present of the couples, mainly on Rachel's continuous anxiety and suspicion that her husband is having an affair, and her best friend's Noah reminder that at one brief moment in their friendship there was the possibility between them of something more.

Rachel is left in the mind spiraling chaos of her own concerns and suspicions as she wonders just how truthful Ali is being to all of them. This suspicion only begins to extend to everyone else and who really is being honest with her. Without spoiling things I can tell you for certain that Rachel is not crazy, and yes Jack is having an affair. Well with who.... that's up to you to read the book.

The Guilt Trip left me thinking of the reality that maybe we don't really know our 'good' friends so well, and just how easy suspicion can twist our point of view. The book was a great summer read and I'm looking forward to reading more of Jones' writing. Until next time, happy reading!

Love, love, love The Guilt Trip and Sandie Jones’ mesmerizing writing style. Not only was I guessing until the very end, but there will be no more couples vacations in our future!

I have attached the link to my 7/7/2021 Instagram post. Thanks for the opportunity to review and share!

@girl_loves_dogs_books_wine

https://www.instagram.com/p/CRCf2-ZLng7/

Three couples arrive at a gorgeous villa in Portugal to celebrate a wedding. Rachel is married to Jack and has arrived for the wedding of her brother Will, to the polarizing Ali. Ali doesn’t make herself very popular with the rest of the group and in this hothouse environment with past connections, current tensions and secrets simmering below the surface, Ali and her over-the-top personality serves as a catalyst for an explosion of those secrets and lies that everyone was trying to hide.

I didn’t find this to be a super compelling read though I did push through to find out that I had figured out the major plot points/twists.

A decent mystery, not a stay-up-too-late kind but a solid entry from Sandie Jones.

Sandie Jones has a fan for life! I love her books! Great writing, such a good story and twists and turns to rival a rollercoaster! Characters are all such fun as well. Can't wait to read more! All the stars!!

I felt like this book was more of a domestic drama than mystery or thriller. I was definitely hooked in to the drama of the 3 couples immediately, although I admit that I was a bit confused about who was with who and how they were all linked together. Since it is labeled a psychological thriller I kept waiting for something to happen, but unfortunately nothing really did until the very end which all seemed very rushed, expected, and confusing. Especially the Epilogue - it had me scratching my head wondering what I just read. Overall, I enjoyed reading the book, but was disappointed in the end.

The Guilt Trip
A Novel
by Sandie Jones
St. Martin's Press
You Like Them
Minotaur Books
Mystery & Thrillers | Women's Fiction
Pub Date 03 Aug 2021 | Archive Date 31 Aug 2021

You know the blurb... Three couples go to Portugal for a destination wedding. What could possibly go wrong?
I did enjoy the first half of this book, but I believe the second half could benefit from some editing. I would have quit reading but I kept reading hoping it would get better! It didn't. Unfortunately, I am not able to recommend this book. Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.
3 star

This was all kinds of fun.
I love books like this. There’s twists and thrills and turns every other page and no matter how ridiculous some of it is you enjoy yourself. You can’t take it serious but you can love the utter craziness and madness that it belies. It’s the perfect pulpy mystery that you need in the swelter of summer. I enjoyed the read and I wish we could have had more loose ends tied up in the end but honestly it’s realistic, life isn’t cut and dry.

Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read this.

Will Hunter and his fiance' Ali are going to Portugal to get married. Will's brother, Jack and his wife Rachel, as well as another couple, Noah Collins and his wife Paige are also going along for a long weekend and the wedding. Sounds like a fun weekend, right? Ali, the bride is very annoying and seems to have a very bad habit of "embellishing" the truth as well as rubbing everyone the wrong way. As the friends get settled into their gorgeous villa high atop the rocky cliffs, secrets and suspicion start to surface.

What started off as a slow read suddenly got so good I did not want to put it down. I love Sandie Jones' books and this did not disappoint. Hang onto your hat for this one!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this very enjoyable book in exchange for an honest review.