This was the first book I have read by this author and I loved the details of the characters. Two couples and Ali were heading to Portugal for Ali’s wedding to Will. Jack is Will’s brother and he is married to Rachael and then Noah and his wife Paige are the couples. Rachael and Noah were best friends forever and Noah wanted more but never told Rachael his feelings until she becomes involved with Jack. Ali is a bit challenging when it comes to managing her life. She forgets and misplaces things such as her passport to get on the plane. Jack truly cannot stand to be around Ali and she used to work for him. Rachael thinks it is because he had her let go but then she starts having suspicions that Ali is having an affair with Jack. There is so many secrets with all of these couples that you keep thinking what is the truth? I loved how what suspicions the couples have may not be the actually truth and how the author makes you start believing them. It is the kind of book you want to keep reading to see what is going to happen next or what is a lie?

I received an ARC for free from Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily!

This book has more twists and turns than a rollercoaster at Six Flags.
I thought for sure that I had the twist figured out very early on and honestly was a little pissed that it was so clear. However, I was WAY off and ended up being very surprised by this book until the VERY LAST PAGE. The story revolves around a group of friends who are leaving to go to two of the friends' wedding in Portugal. However, all is not as it seems. There appears to be an affair going on with some of the members of the group (Two? Three? All?) which threatens the very integrity of the friendships.
The book was very engaging, fun, well-written and I could not put it down from about halfway through up until the end. It is the kind of book you stay up all night reading (I should know, I did it.)
The character development was very well done and I thought Ali's character arc was absolutely perfect.
Although for a few spots I got mildly confused by the wording (I was maybe just tired from staying up all night reading the book...) all in all this book knocked it out of the park.
Thriller? Yes.
Twists? Yes.
Affairs? Yes.
As good as Big Little Lies but honestly, I thought, less predictable in many ways. Grab it!

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

THE GUILT TRIP is a domestic drama -- three couples fly to Portugal for a fun wedding weekend, but all is not as it seems. These are people with some history between them, and that slowly comes to the forefront.

You've got Rachel (our main character) and her work-obsessed husband Jack, his nice brother Will who's about to marry life-of-the-party Ali, and judgy Paige and her husband Noah (who was Rachel's best friend before Jack came along). So much of the middle of this book is Rachel having suspicions, trying to talk herself out of them, and winding up talking herself into them. That is, it's a slow burn; don't expect much action (at least, until the climax).

I enjoyed getting into this one, then read the last 75% in one sitting. Having enjoyed two previous Sandie Jones books, I do think the second half of THE GUILT TRIP could have used further editing. There's simply more introspection on Rachel's part than is needed (it gets quite repetitive). And the ending itself is confusing. I *think* I know what happened, but the very last page seems to want to introduce some doubt. I honestly couldn't tell if the epilogue was trying to turn the ending on a dime or imply that it was thanks to Rachel that Jack was rightfully found guilty. Was it actually Paige alone, but the watch framed Jack (who didn't help himself by all the lies he told)? If so, why would Paige do that? Who was she aiming at?
I don't necessarily mind an open ending, but I don't think that was the intention here -- I really just think it was written in a confusing way (which I find frustrating).

Ultimately, this was a fast read, and I love a wedding weekend as the setting. The play on "guilt trip" was interesting. But I can't help but compare THE GUILT TRIP to THE OTHER WOMAN and THE FIRST MISTAKE, and I think those two were stronger novels. (At the same time, some tightening and a clearer written ending -- either to explain what really happened or to lay out the different possibilities the author wants to imply -- could easily make this one a 4-star read.)

This was a book that was for the most part interesting... There were lots of turns and twists, but I somewhat left the major plot was predictable. Now, that is not to say there are not some interesting twists, because there are! it seems throughout the entire book all the characters are lying... to themselves, to one another, and eventually to the police. The end was wrapped up with a bow, but once you think it is over, there is 1 final piece of the puzzle added!

I had a really hard time connecting to the characters in this book. Their hatred for Ali did not make a lot of sense, the relationships were not well developed, and their personalities were not distinct.

I was excited for this book because of the setting, but I found that the setting did not really play into the story at all and there was not any description of the setting to make it come to life.

There was some suspense towards the end, but overall this was a miss for me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "The Guilt Trip" and all opinions expressed are my own. DNF - I just could not get into this book AT ALL! I give a book 2 days of reading and I think that is more than enough time. Did Not Finish.

Rachel is headed to Portugal for her brother-in-law's wedding to Ali, whom she soon suspects is having a secret affair with her husband Jack. Crossed between wanting to find out the truth and trying to keep a 20-year-old secret involving her college friend Noah from Jack and Noah's wife Paige, Rachel is thrown into a very stressful trip.

The Guilt Trip kept me wanting to read more from the beginning. I couldn't put it down. I loved Sandie Jones' book The Other Woman and was SO happy to receive this copy of The Guilt Trip to review. This was a page turning book that keeps you guessing right up until the last twists at the end. A must read!

I feel like I signed up for a thriller and got a drama that was mostly a bunch of "friends" being suspicious of each other. Gotta say, if these are your friends, what are your enemies like? The first 20% was fun and you think, something's going to happen. The next 60% is lies and speculation. The last 20% stuff happens- more or less. Overall, not a bad book, but not much of a thriller and I could have done with about half as much of that middle section.

The Guilt Trip is a good book. It draws you into the friendships of over 20 years. Off to a destination wedding with a hyper bride it could be fun. But the bride may not be who she appears to be. Secrets come out. But, I cannot believe the secret between Rachel and Noah was never noticed before. I needed to know more about what happened with that secret.

Sandie Jones has earned herself a spot near the top of my psychological/domestic thriller list, and her newest book The Guilt Trip lives up to the excitement, drama, and twisty story I have come to expect from this author.

Three couples arrive at a gorgeous retreat ahead of Will's wedding: Will and his bride-to-be Ali, Will's brother Jack and his wife Rachel, and Rachel's college best friend Noah and Noah's wife (Rachel's current BFF) Paige. Jack, Rachel, Noah, and Paige all seem to find Ali to be at best annoying, and at worst a pathological liar. But, is it really Ali they should be worried about? Nearly everyone has a devastating secret they will do anything to hide, and as truths threaten to be revealed, it is apparent that some secrets are too big to remain hidden.

I like all six main characters, and it is not at all overwhelming to keep up with the personalities, dreams, and secrets of so many people. Even when the additional wedding guests begin arriving for the big day, the characters are so well-defined that it is easy to keep everyone straight. The story grabbed me right from the start, the middle was well-paced, and the twisty ending was well-done. There were a couple of slow moments in the middle where we spent a little too much time speculating about who might be doing what, but those moments were so few and the rest of the book so drama-filled, it was not a problem at all. I read this book much faster than most books I pick up. I had to find out who was guilty of what! I hope you'll pick up a copy of The Guilt Trip, and enjoy it as much as I did.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ms. Jones, and publisher St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Loved it!!! Read this in 3 days - could not get enough! I thought I had it figured out and then the last ~20% of the book totally threw me. Definitely recommend

This is my first Sandie Jones book. I was not disappointed. As an American there were some terms and phrase that I didn’t immediately understand, but Jones does a great job of clearing up any confusion. The anticipation was killer and it kept me turning the page. I love a book that you can’t immediately unravel the plot. This was a good read.

Great book! I read most of it on my drck outside in the late Spring sunshine. Perfect beach read for this summer.

A group of British friends travel to Portugal for their friend's/brother's destination wedding. Good character development, you got to knew about the characters and who they really were as the story developed.

Good drama/mystery. I need more of this author!

Thanks to Net galley for my ARC.

This book was not for me. The characters are all loathsome bores with too many lame secrets and terrible communication skills. I’m entirely unclear on why on earth any of them would go on this trip together when they obviously can’t stand each other even though they are all supposedly the best of friends.
I could see this working as a beach book, but I am not a fan.

I was so sure I had this one wrong, was actually hoping, but I wasn’t and it’s okay. I read a lot and I do mean A Lot of mystery/thriller/suspense novels so it’s hard to surprise me. The real enjoyment comes from liking the story even though you think you already know the underlying conflict.

This story will make you angry, it’ll make you question the characters’ morality, it’ll make say “wow.” A well written story that keeps you reading.

WOW! Why haven't I heard of this author before??? Better late than never. I did not think this book was going to be as good as it was. It was full of twists and surprises and the ending... OMFG! This book had so many lies, secrets and betrayals that it almost made my head spin. After reading a string of mediocre, predictable thrillers, I am finally on the much needed cannot put down thriller train again with The Guilt Trip and the book I read before this, Dark Roads.

This book is highly recommended if you do not want something predictable. Yes, the small wedding scene has been done before in thrillers, but I can assure you, nothing like this! If you need another suggestion after you read this book, Dark Roads (also on netgalley) was enjoyable as well.

I was just so impressed with this book and will definitely read more from this author! and might buy this book at publishing.

Thanks to Netgalley, Sandie Jones and St Martin's Press Minotaur Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 8/3/21

Well, this one was okay for me. Not my favorite thriller ever, but not something I hated. I thought the plot was pretty interesting, but honestly, there were too many characters for me. I felt a little bogged down in the requirement to learn who everyone was and all their dark secrets. Sometimes having this much going on really works, but in this case, it was a bit too much for me.

I did like the ending. I thought it was twisty and fit the story.

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

This was an eh domestic thriller, the writing wasn’t; too impressive, and there’s a lot of telling instead of showing, and I feel as if half the dialogue was super unnecessary, especially between Paige and Rachel. I understand it’s too build a relationship, but Paige and Rachel were just such shallow characters that I couldn’t see any relationship or substance with them. The characters, except Ali, all feel extraordinarily shallow to me, and their backgrounds are all vague and boring, especially Noah?? Like there’s subplots with him and he does stuff, but I feel as though he could be replaced by a lamp and it’d be the same book. The twists were really solid though, and I feel like the plot was pretty good. If the characters were worked on just a bit, I feel like the book would have the potential to be great.

This Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones is described as a thriller/mystery. There was nothing thrilling about this one. The story tells of 3 couples who travel to a destination wedding in Portugal. There are two siblings on the trip: Will and Jack. Let's see, Will is going to marry Ali. Jack is married to Rachel. The other couple is Noah and Paige who are friends of Jack and Rachel; it's all too confusing. Rachel starts suspecting that her husband is having an affair with Ali. Her friend Paige agrees. Rachel and Noah still have feelings for each other from the past. As the wedding soon approaches; there will be a horrible accident. But is it really an accident? Hmmmmmm.......and which two of these characters is actually having an affair?

Well, that's the review! I was disappointed in this one since I had loved the other two books written by Sandie Jones. On a positive note, I did want to know how it all ended. Of course, I can't tell; no spoilers

If you're looking for a story about adults behaving badly; this one is for you!

This one releases on August 3, 2021.

Ok, this book took me on this wild ride that I was not expecting, I was literally blindfolded throughout this whole ride, that's how crazy this book was. The mystery is mainly, is Jack cheating? and that opens up a whole new can of worms in this book.

We have 3 couples, all going to Portugal, for a wedding. Will and Ali are getting married, Will is Jacks little brother, Jack is married to Rachel, they have friends Paige and Noah coming as well, since they are also invited, and Noah is Rachel's best friend from college. PHEWWWWWW, that's a lot to take in, BUT this whole set up is wild, mainly because Rachel and Noah have history, Paige brings up the past which is annoying as hell, a grown woman talking about that while shes "allegedly" happily married for almost 20 years?? I found that odd for her to even talking about.

Jack is also weird, because he cant seem to look Ali in the face and he actually cant stand her, and that was awkward as well. All of these characters were all shady but Will. And the mystery behind whats going on HERE is finally solved, but the ending was really confusing. I felt like I was missing something.

Other than that, I liked the twists and the turns, and the secrets revealed, I am all for the drama!