Review coming soon. Thanks to Sandie Jones, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC; the opinions are mine.

Pub Date 8.3.21
#TheGuiltTrip #NetGalley

I received an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review

Not my favorite from this author- definitely not her best. Hope the next one is up to snuff

The book grips you from the very first page: who is dead, who is she, why does she feel responsible for what happened and most of all, why can she not tell the police the truth? The twists and turns of this book and the lies that end up truths and truths that end up lies all culminate in a knuckle biting ending of murder and attempted coverup. I never saw it coming and I had to get to the end to see what was going to happen.
All this being said in the buildup of the suspense I got more annoyed than excited. Rachel was so beaten inside but then portrayed as strong; I just couldn't wrap my head around it. Her character was too weak and afraid. I enjoyed reading this book but I will recommend it to my friends who really like this genre.
Thank you to Sandie Jones for writing this thrilling book and for St. Martins Press for allowing me to read and review it.

Fast paced with so many twists you don't see coming. I did think the constant overthinking from Rachel was quite tedious. All of the issues could have been resolved even just a little bit of communication and that got old after a while.


This should not have been labeled as a thriller however, its more of a family drama. Still a quick read, it was fun.

Out August 3rd and cannot come soon enough! Sandie Jones does it again with a book full of twists and emotions and has you chomping at the bit to find out what is happening.

Rachel, Jack, Noah, and Paige are off to Portugal for the wedding of Will and Ali. The group has quite an intertwined history with Rachel and Noah being long time college best friends, Jack and Will being brothers, and Ali having been previously employed by Jack; quite the smorgasbord wouldn't you say? With the trip emotions are running high as trust begins to fade between the friends/couples all amounting to a horrific accident at the end of what should be a joyous wedding.

I have to say, the writing in this is fabulous! The in depth internal dialogue you have with Rachel on her past and present gives you a sound protagonist and an instant liking to her. It makes you wonder do you ever truly know who your friends are? Thank you to Sanie Jones, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4000060391
Blog link: www.instagram.com/whataginger.reads

The Guilt Trip is about two couples (Rachel and Jack; Paige and Noah) who are attending the wedding of Jack's brother Will and Ali. Ali is a dramatic person and it seems like everyone has an issue with her except for the groom and Noah. What should be a memorable wedding in Portugal leads to disaster as secrets are revealed and latent animosities come to a head.

The Guilt Trip was, unfortunately, not a good read for me. I thought it would be suspenseful and thrilling, but it was more of a domestic drama (think The Dilemma by B.A. Paris). I found the book riddled with cliches that are often found in that genre. Miscommunication. Marriages with secrets and affairs. And a lot of repetition. As a result, the problems seemed trivial because I felt like I've read them so many times before in other novels.

It seemed like all of the characters asked the main character Rachel if she was okay every five pages. Rachel, as a character, was bland and used avoidance to deal with her issues. Thus, she felt weak and wasn't a strong protagonist that you felt like rooting for. The other characters were not much better and were so bitter from the very beginning that I wondered how Ali seemed oblivious to all of the negativity. I understand the wedding invitation to Rachel and Jack because of family ties, but including Paige and Noah because they are friends with the two seemed like a stretch especially for a destination wedding.

I deduced the twist very early on and, so, there was nothing exciting that unfolded over the course of the novel. Overall, this book was a disappointment. It was not a gripping read as promised and was more of a very very slow burn.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

THE GUILT TRIP by Sandie Jones revolves around 6 friends - 3 couples - as they head to a villa for a destination wedding that’s filled with drama, misdirection, affairs, and...murder?

At the start of this book, I was quite excited. The pace was fast-moving, and it was clear right away who these characters were and what could be expected of them. That quickly deteriorated when these 40-something adults (and one 20-something who was way more mature than all of them) got into drama that was so petty I had to keep reminding myself that these were FULL-GROWN adults and not angsty teens.

The lead character, Rachel, is also so dim and self-obsessed, that I found myself wanting to get through her inner monologues as quickly as possible. This book could have easily been half as long if all of her repetitive thoughts and questioning were cut out completely. The final few chapters were also just so quick and randomly thrown out there that I wouldn’t even consider it a twist.

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me.

Publication Date: August 03, 2021

*** special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review ***

Posted to Goodreads and The StoryGraph: 05/18/21
Posted to Instagram (Bookstagram): 05/20/21

I enjoyed this intriguing domestic suspense novel where nothing is as it seems when three couples attend a destination wedding together in Portugal, and major drama ensues.
Not many likeable characters, but very compelling with constant twists and turns that revolve around anger, infidelity, trust, friendship, buried secrets, betrayal, and jumping to conclusions.
Big thanks to NetGalley, Sandie Jones, Minotaur Books and St. Martin’s Press for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a page turner; I feel like I am out of breath and my head spinning. So much going on so fast. What a twist! The characters were so visible in my mind. I am still thinking about this and putting pieces together a day after reading it. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC

I thoroughly expected this to be a murder mystery a la The Hunting Party or The Guest List and those expectations left me feeling disappointed.

This book started off strong and the character development was wonderfully done. I love that it was told through the perspective of just one of the group, Rachel, because we learn as the book goes how incorrect her assumptions and her trust in certain members of the group really are. This sets up a delicious unfolding of events that culminates at Ali + Will's wedding.

This was a great drama piece that left you desperately wanting answers to the questions hanging over the group, and I loved Ali's redemption arc as we learned more about who she really is. But the "final misunderstanding" felt so rushed and so starkly different from the rest of the book that all I could do in the end was close the book and audibly ask "wtf was that."

I'd give the first 75% of the book a solid four stars but the ending ruined it for me sadly.

This book had me sucked in from page 1. 6 friends, 3 couples and SO many twists and turns. I was team Rachel from the beginning, she was definitely my favorite character and I loved to hear from her point of view. The reason I gave this 4 stars was because the last 10% or so was so unrealistic to me. It was just a bit too much and not fully necessary. I still highly recommend!

Well, that took several turn of events I wasn’t expecting! 🤯 Rachel, Jack, Paige, Noah, Ali, and Will head to Portugal for the weekend for Ali and Will’s nuptials. Over the course of the weekend, we learn the deep, dark secrets of each of their pasts, and how they are now colliding in the present...and it may change all of their lives forever. Much of the novel is spent learning about each of the six friends from the perspective of one character, Rachel. We learn that the opinions Rachel forms about each friend, and the things she learns, may or may not be accurate, making the reader second-guess each and every one of her thoughts. Jones does a really brilliant job of creating complex characters that almost jump off of the pages as if they are real. The second half of the book continues the character development, with quite a bit of action added in, as well. Just when you think you know what’s happening and you know what each friend is capable of, Jones twists it in a direction you will never see coming. Brilliantly written with beautifully developed scenery, characters, and plot twists, this is a novel you won’t be able to put down until you reach the end.

I really wanted to love this book. St. Martin's Press is my go-to publisher for wonderful novels, but The Guilt Trip simply wasn't for me. I understand the ARC of the book is an uncorrected proof, but the awkward dialogue tags, tense shifts, and grammatical errors contributed to my lack of enjoyment. I wish I could offer more enthusiasm, but do appreciate the opportunity to read and review the story. Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley.

The Guilt Trip is a fast paced book that kept my attention. I read it quickly because I needed to know how it ended. The majority of the book was simply trying to uncover all the secrets between the characters. It wasn’t until the very end that a murder mystery is thrown into the mix. At that point the book picks up speed and then it ends. It was nice to have the secrets revealed at that point but the murder aspect caused some confusion. I’m still not exactly sure what the ending means. The book was pretty strong early on but didn’t wrap up well. There weren’t enough details and lots of holes. I liked the story and the mystery but I think it needed more. I’d rate it 3.5 ⭐️.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

Sandie Jones never disappoints! The Guilt Trip is such an intriguing, twisty story. A fast paced thriller full of secrets and the unexpected. I loved the character bonds and friendships, along with the detailed group dynamics that the author provides. Full of drama and betrayal, this novel is a must read!

Wow oh my drama! I was so excited to be approved for this ARC because I LOVED the author’s other book “The Other Woman.”

Before diving into this one, keep in mind it’s more of a slow burn drama. I went in expecting a murder mystery/thriller, and left me feeling a little disappointed. For all the drama and build up, the ending wrapped up too quickly in my opinion. Honestly, I was left with a lot of unanswered questions.

Several parts of this story felt well written, but some parts felt a little wordy. It had my attention once the secrets started to spiral, I just wish the ending wasn’t so rushed!

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for this advanced copy!

I can’t say that I feel guilty about not liking The Guilt Trip. The story is devoted to three couples and the interplay and doubts that enter into their relationships as they spend time together leading up to and immediately after the marriage of one of the couples. As they spend this time together the two couples not getting married keep finding reasons to get mad and doubt each other’s fidelity. Is it horrible that a quarter of the way into the book I was hoping one of the characters would end up dead and they’d spend the rest of the book trying to figure out who did it? No such luck. Just ongoing drama and increasing paranoia by Rachel, the narrator, about the affair she’s convinced her husband is having with Ali, his future sister-in-law, and at the same time worrying that her husband and best female friend will find out exactly the depths of her relationship with her best friend from university. It doesn’t help that Jones makes these characters inconsistent – they’re going to call people out for who they really are! No wait, don’t say anything until after the wedding! But we need this out in the open as soon as possible! Make up your bloody minds about what you’re going to do and quit annoying me because any sympathy I had for any of you disappeared about twenty pages into the story. I couldn’t help but feel the need to rush through the book to just get away from these whiny, obnoxious, drunk people that at the slightest provocation allow themselves to spiral out of control. The ending was unexpected and satisfying, but it just wasn't enough to save the whole book.

This was a fast-paced read, though I couldn't help but think that a lot of the issues between these characters would have been solved by asking the right questions and just talking to each other, rather than jumping to conclusions. The book primarily centers on Rachel, who, along with her husband Jack and 2 best friends Noah and Paige, travels to Portugal to attend the wedding of her brother-in-law, Will. Will is marrying Ali, who is over a decade younger than Rachel's crew, and tends to get on their nerves.

Once the group is ensconced in their fabulous cliffside retreat, secrets begin to come out and Rachel becomes suspicious not only of Ali, but of others around her. There are also some unanswered questions related to her relationship with Noah, who was her best friend in college and is now married to Paige. Rachel drove me crazy for most of the book by constantly making snap assumptions and being skeptical of almost everyone.

Even though Rachel questioned lots of things, not all of her accusations were unfounded, and I did enjoy following the constant twists and turns as the book unfolded. While I felt that some of the suspicions were clear red herrings, there were other revelations that truly surprised me. There is not break in action throughout the entire book.

Overall, I liked the story despite my annoyance with Rachel, and appreciated the suspense and surprises. I also thought the ending was tied up nicely, which I know some people don't find realistic, but I always appreciate. I'd recommend the book to those who enjoy thrillers and domestic suspense. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

THIS is the exact book I am looking for after reading something super heavy and serious. I had so much fun with “The Guilt Trip.” It gave me “The Guest List” vibes, but with many more troublesome, twisty character plots. It made me think “wow, how well does anyone know their partners and best friends?” I enjoyed the rapid-fire clues and indiscretions, and would definitely put this in my 2021 beach bag! Travel, surfing, sand, and crazy people: perfect summer book.

Wow! I loved The Guilt Trip! Oh what a tangled web we weave! In the Guilt Trip I quickly learned I needed to ferret out who is lying more and who was lying less. And if there is anyone left standing...will that person be a liar or a truth-teller? This fast moving destination wedding story will pull readers in and not let go until the very end.