I had a hard time in the beginning with the book being slow but I enjoyed it throughout the end I would rate it a solid 4/5, thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me a copy to read.

The Guilt Trip
Sandie Jones

“It’s exhausting trying to be the person you think you want to be, when all you really want is to be happy being the person you are.”

Three couples, all friends, head to Portugal for a seaside wedding weekend. Before their plane is in the air, the lies and betrayals and secrets begin.

A reminder that—behind our shiny exteriors—we all have a story. And, we shouldn’t be too quick to judge.

A fun, breezy, read to tuck into your beach tote this summer.

This book is full of amazing characters, some have been friends for years and others have just met one another. The drama starts almost immediately when a small group of friends are meeting to attend Ali & Will’s destination wedding. There are so many secrets and lies in this story - so much fun to read. This is a must add to your TBR pile!

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this book!

This was a very enjoyable book--so many secrets and lies between this group of friends, it was hard to see where it was going to lead, but it was fun getting there. A perfect beach read for those who like twisty stories set in exotic locations. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading other works by Sandie Jones. Although this book didn’t hook me as well as her previous novels, I did enjoy it. The twist was obvious to me, but I did still enjoy the story. Not my favourite thriller, but a decent beach read.

Two couples travel to Portugal for the wedding of obnoxiously perky Ali and Will, her betrothed. What was expected to be a relaxing time shockingly turns tragic.

I really liked this book. It was really sordid and fun. I marveled as each secret was laid bare before us, exposing the incestuous web of deceit the three couples had become hopelessly entwined in.

I've enjoyed previous Sandie Jones books, so I'm not surprised I enjoyed this one as well.

I felt this was really more of a drama then a thriller. It was filled with relationship problems and suspicion, but I felt like the thriller-y part of the book didn't really hit until near the end of the story. It felt like a lot of build up until the true conflict began and then it was all a bit rushed. I also found the ending confusing, and I'm not entirely sure what happened or how it happened.

This book really uses the age old theory ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’ as its lesson. But how do you know the difference between your friends and your enemies?
We are forced to re-evaluate every relationship Rachel has built her life around: her loving husband Jack; her best friend Paige, her oldest friend Noah and her best enemy Ali. Who is to be trusted when the friends all travel to Portugal for Ali’s wedding. What seems like a festive weekend away turns to a nightmare when lies are told and limits are pushed.
I loved the suspense and was kept guessing until the end!
Who can you really trust…?

A destination wedding in Portugal. A seaside mansion to stay in. Being with your best friends. What could go wrong?

Rachel and Noah have been best friends since they were in university together but are now married to Jack and Paige and the four are a tight knit group despite questions about past feelings between the two. They are heading to Portugal to attend the wedding of Jack’s brother, Will and his fiancé Ali. Ali is outgoing and tends to rub the other couples the wrong way, especially the flirting she is doing with Jack. As the festivities begin the secrets and truths the 3 couples are hiding intertwine and cause deadly repercussions.

This book is fantastic, by far my favorite of all of Sandie Jones’ books. I loved the setting, the characters and all the secrets. I didn’t want to put it down and wish I could read this again with fresh eyes.

Rachel and Jack seemed to have it all. A perfect marriage, a beloved son who just left the nest, and a great romantic life. When Jack's younger brother Will, is set to get married in Portugal to his over-the-top bubbly fiancé, Ali, Rachel and Jack set out to attend, despite finding it hard to be in Ali's presence for long periods of time. Rachel's best friend Noah, and his wife, Paige, are also set to attend. But right from the beginning of the trip, Rachel begins to suspect something strange is going on between Jack and Ali. Clue after clue begins to emerge, but Rachel doesn't know how or when to approach the topic, with whom, or if she is just imagining things. Jack wouldn't cheat on her, would he?

As the wedding weekend continues, many secrets begin to emerge and Rachel finds herself wondering just who she can trust. Friendships and long-standing marriages may erupt, and it's hard to know who will leave the weekend unscathed.

I've read and enjoyed Jones' other titles, and enjoyed the first half of this one. The plot was building up strongly and I was waiting in anticipation for it to take off. I kept waiting for something to happen, and it just took too long to happen. I also saw the "twist" coming a mile away. The ending was a bit confusing and hard to believe as well. I still enjoyed the book, but it's not one I would read again. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

I want to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press (Minotaur Books) for allowing me to read and review an advance copy of The Guilt Trip by author Sandie Jones.
This is a soap opera/beach read with lots of lies and secrets.
Rachel is married to Jack. Paige is married to Noah. Ali is engaged to Will.(Jack’s brother). They are flying to Portugal where they will all stay in a mansion on a cliff overlooking the ocean for the destination wedding. It seems Rachel and Noah were previously best friends. Maybe more! Who is really the father of Rachel and Jack’s son? Has Jack been unfaithful? Is Ali to be believed? The anticipation for the wedding and reception will keep you reading. Quite the ending!
The Guilt Trip publishes August 17th.

The Guilt Trip is a solid 4 star book for me! Three couples travel to Portugal together for the wedding of Ali and Will. Rachel and Noah have been friends since college, but passed on being a couple themselves. They respectively married Jack and Paige, with Jack being the grooms brother, and Paige being Rachel's best friend. Can we just say messy and complicated, lol? Add in the fact that no one really likes Ali (other than the groom!), so when questionable behavior ensues, anger flairs, words fly and couples who seem so together may not be. The first half of the novel was quite slow. We see inside Rachel's thoughts, her regrets, her suspicions. Once you hit the second half, though, hold on! Things escalate quickly at the wedding, and every time I thought I had things figured out, more revelations came to light. There were a few moments that I thought were ridiculous and all I kept thinking was high school drama. This would be the wedding no one would want to go to if they don't like drama, tears, or shenanigans, lol! The ending brought everything into alignment, and with it the reminder that you think you may know people, but sometimes our opinions of other's are not always spot on.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Sandie Jones for the AReC of The Guilt Trip. I'll be sharing this review on Goodreads and on Instagram in the next few days.

What could go wrong at the destination wedding of Will and Ali? A lot, and I didn't even have to read the description to know this because, hello, Sandi Jones's book! So who then is attending this wonderful event?
Rachel and Noah were best friends in college. Now married to Jack and Paige, they are still friends and both couples are happy. Or are they? There seems to be some doubt about what actually transpired between Noah and Rachel. Must just be a rumor though since both marriages are strong, and they are now all good friends. The past is the past and it has no bearing on the future right?
Then there are the soon-to-be-married couple, Will and Ali. Will is Jack's younger brother, and everyone was surprised that he is ready to give up his nomadic ways. No one thought he would ever settle down, especially not with the very annoying Ali. But what do Jack and Paige have against her? She may be young and flighty, but if she makes Will happy, that should be all the counts. Not so fast. A confession from Jack goes over like a lead balloon and changes everything. Should someone tell Will or should they all keep their mouths shut?
As I mentioned, it is Sandi Jones's book so nothing should be taken at face value. I may have yelled that at some of the characters more than once! Lies, twists, and deceit are piled on top of lies, twists, and deceit. I had the best time trying to wade through the lies to get to the truth. Holy summer beach read, I thought I knew where The Guilt Trip was headed, but for the most part, I was wrong! I suspended some of my disbelieve that it took twenty years for some of these secrets to come out, because, what fun would the story have been then!

Another great book by Sandie Jones! It's a page turner, you will not want to put it down! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Shocking and surprising. I stayed up all night reading this book and I don’t regret it all!! A perfect beach read.

A tale filled with twists and turns of infidelity and betrayals.

I felt like the book was marketed as a mystery, but seemed more of a domestic drama then anything. There were so many miscommunications and I just couldn’t “feel” for the characters. The ending felt a bit rushed and didn’t matched the pace of the rest of the book. That being said I did think the book was well written, but I was overall disappointed and it missed the mark for me.

I want to thank NetGalley, the author and publisher for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

Rachel and her husband, Jack, along with Rachel's best friend, Paige and her husband Noah are headed to Portugal to attend the marriage of Jack's brother to Ali. The 3 couples lives are intertwined with many secrets and lies. While partying and drinking heavily the day before the wedding, mind games and innuendos begin to cause Rachel to question things she has been told. The suspense continually builds as the lies pile up and make Rachel suspicious of those around her. The wedding day proceeds as the truth surfaces and ends with a surprise climax.

This is my first Sandie Jones book, and after seeing many of my trusted reviewers love her previous books, I was excited to have the opportunity to pick this one up. So thank you Minotaur for the opportunity

However, I found myself having difficulty wanting to pick it back up and after reading three chapters - I put it down. After hearing from another trusted friend that it took her 100-150 pages to get into the plot, I knew that I just had to set it down. I usually wait to DNF until around page 50 and I made it to page 54.

Maybe it will get better, but for me I just didn't find my attention grabbed enough to carry on reading. There was too much drunk, middle aged adult pettiness and not enough introduction into mystery to hold my attention. I'm not one to enjoy plots that center around confessions and a lot of drinking.

I'm sure this book will be great for others, but I don't think this was the right time for me to pick it up. I just wanted to share this review so that others have something to go off.

I think this book would be perfect for anyone to pick up on vacation or as a summer read.

I'm still interested in reading Sandie's other books in the future after seeing other friends enjoy the other works.

Rachel is doing her best to keep the peace during a time her extended family will be coming together to celebrate the marriage of her husband Jack's brother Will to his flighty, somewhat vapid fiancé Ali. Jack appears to detest Ali, irritation radiating off of him at her mere proximity. This strikes Rachel as odd because Jack is, in part, responsible for this union, having introduced Ali as a colleague to his brother. Rachel begins to develop suspicions about their relationship and why Jack seems hellbent at avoiding Ali whenever possible. Could there be a history she's unaware of? And given Rachel's own past and complicated feelings for her best friend Noah, does she even have a right to feel indignation? A secret or two threaten to be unveiled during this romantic destination wedding in Portugal. Who will be exposed...and what will be the irreparable damage done?

At the beginning of this book, I was all in. I empathized with Rachel, enjoyed the snark or Paige, thought Ali was a twit, and Jack was a stick-in-the-mud. But early on, I began to feel like I was slogging through, skimming the story whenever possible. I don't believe I missed any important details by doing this. A big chunk of the plot is set during the wedding, and it was literally the most fraught and dramatic intimate destination wedding in the history of small gatherings. You would have to be very, very bad at reading a room to miss the tension and drama swarming around...which was pretty much the case for all the minor characters mentioned. Will was probably the most oblivious character of them all. I just thought all of the drama being revealed at a wedding was too convenient and unrealistic. I didn't find the plot that engrossing and was bored with it pretty quickly. Not a thriller I would recommend.

The Guilt Trip is definitely a good, twisty-turney read that kept me guessing who could be the “good guy” or, more often, “good girl.” It’s well-written and fast-paced, though the dialogue felt a little forced at times. I also scratched my head at some of the “secrets” revealed, fighting the urge to shout: “y’all have been friends for 20+ years and NOW, at this destination wedding, is the appropriate time & place!?” This one’s also full of excellent examples of reasons not to make assumptions or jump to conclusions and emphasizes the importance of communication in relationships.
Overall, it’s a quick, easy read with some sexy thrill. I’d definitely recommend it to fans of friendship dramas, love triangles, catty girl books, and beautiful destination descriptions.