I gave this book the good college try, but eventually abandoned it because the characters were so incredibly annoying. I read exactly half of the book to see if I would start to enjoy it, but unfortunately, the characters and their creepy relationships with one another became more than I could bear. Jones can write - decent set-up for the plot, good description, good dialogue, but with no one to cheer for, the book fell flat for me.

The Guilt Trip is SO good! It's full of twists and turns, lies and deceit! This book will hook you from the first page until the last. Literally couldn't put it down and keep being wrong on my guesses! Sandie Jones never disappoints and this one might be my favorite!
Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Guilt Trip will keep you on the edge of your seat with the many surprises found in this gem. The book is hard to put down as you will enjoy spectacular scenery vividly described by the author as well as a story that unfolds to reveal mysterious activities. Highly recommended! Thank you to NetGalley.

Oh, unholy wedding weekend. The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones is awash in secrets and it's not just one person... it's pretty much the entire cast of characters. Three couples who are either related by birth, marriage, former romances, or workmates and all trying to hide some very horrible secrets. If one secret comes out, the whole symbiotic relationship will fall like dominos and when the crap finally hits the fan, someone is dead. This all goes down during a wedding weekend where the three couples share a luxury home and too much liquor. My stomach was in knots but in a good way. What a delicious read and what a yummy plot. As the book implies, carrying around a ton of guilt makes it hard to live a good life. Well done Ms. Jones!

Strong on the suspense end of a thriller. I felt like the book spent too long in the waiting stage. The ending was also a little too perfect for me, I’d rather it not have been such a tightly wrapped bow.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Guilt Trip is about 4 friends, 2 couples, attending a wedding in Portugal. None of them are particularly a huge fan of the bride, Ali, but seeing as it's Jack's brother, Will, they must go. Laurie and Noah have been best friends for the longest and since then, she had become best friends with his wife Paige. Ali's a bit over the top in everything she does to put things mildly and tends to rub people the wrong way, especially Jack. The book is told from Laurie's point of view. Laurie just can't figure out why it is that Jack despises Ali so much when they used to work together. They even introduced Ali to Will. You spend a lot of time in Laurie's head while she tries to figure everything out and it gets tiring in there. This lady can really beat herself up. She spends so much time playing the comparison game and we know that never turns out well. So much of the book is spent analyzing Laurie's marriage to Jack and if she made a mistake not going with Noah all those years ago. Life is as it should be, right? Maybe not. It all starts to unravel. This page just wasn't a thriller in my eyes. It was a drama and then the second part just went sideways on me. I didn't see it coming and I think I'm still confused by the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced copy of The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones.

Ah, the travel novel, so decadent during a pandemic. The novel starts with a frantic airport scene and an engaged couple to build excitement and mystery. The novel has lots of beautiful scenery and travel which is perfect to read right now. This would be a great novel to take on a trip or to read at home if Gatwick Airport or European travel is on your mind but not in your plans.
This read easily and flowed smoothly. It's a great summer beach read for someone who doesn't read a lot. it will be engaging for sure!

After loving Sandie Jones’ THE OTHER WOMAN, I was so excited for the opportunity to read her newest work — THE GUILT TRIP, coming August 2021!

I started this book a week or so ago and found it a bit hard to get into — you get hit with 6 main characters at once, and I was having a bit of a hard time telling who’s who. Once I sat down and committed some time, I quickly became engrossed and finished the book in under 24 hours! There seem to be a lot of new releases centering around a wedding or honeymoon, and this one tops them all. A 5/5 for sure!

It’s Ali and Will’s wedding, which will be a special destination event! Will’s brother and his wife are attending along with another close friend couple. While the other two women are content to secretly make fun of the over enthusiastic, over exaggerated bride — two of the men seem to have some secrets brewing. Will the weekend away be a disaster? Will the wedding go on? Will everyone survive? You will want to find out!

One thing I especially loved is that it wasn’t told from differing perspectives. So many thrillers seem written that way, and I always find it so convoluted and confusing. This was fantastically written, and I feel like I was truly shocked when I learned all the secrets — and there is a “whodunnit” aspect, but the true shocker in this book lies in discovering the morals, history, and secrets of the six main characters. Never be too quick to judge someone…

This is one worth pre-ordering now so you don’t miss it this summer!

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for my review ARC. All opinions are my own!

I should not have believed the hype about this book. The beginning pulls you in but after the first one third of the story I was begging for this over the top wedding to be over with already. Ughhhh. Just not my cup of tea... Besides being dumb, the lead character Rachel becomes more and more unlikeable as her story starts to unfold...her cold husband Jack and old boyfriend Noah and his wife Paige are the other characters who fill up this tale of infidelity and treachery.. We are supposed to believe they are four old "friends"all invited to celebrate Rachel's brother in law Will's wedding to the (perfect Goddess) Ali....I am sorry I just was not a fan of this one. I do think Sandie Jones is very easy to read but this plot just did not sit well with me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review..

The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones is about several couples traveling to Portugal, for a destination wedding. Rachel, future sister-in-law to the bride-to-be, tells the story of a wedding weekend quickly unraveling with alleged affairs, strained friendships, and life-shattering secrets. The story will definitely keep you on your toes, guessing what is really going on.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this eARC for an honest review. #NetGalley, #TheGuiltTrip #SandieJones

Thank you NetGalley, Sandie Jones and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of The Guilt Trip. This is my personal review.
I had such high hopes for this book when I read the description. For me it just did not hit any of my expectations I had for it. It had a lot of drama but no real mystery. It was a book that for me will not stick with me. The writing was good, but the story was lacking. I was able to read it but never connected with anyone in the book.

A surprisingly involving and tense domestic drama that unfolds over three days at a destination wedding on a European island with couples whose long-time friendships and marriages are tested, frayed, and reexamined. Their back stories are nicely filled in without distracting from the main plot, as secrets are revealed and priorities reexamined, but the denouement is less satisfactory than the preceding pages. It's not exactly an enjoyable read, but it resonates even after the clumsy ending.

Here we have yet another thriller where the female narrator acts completely ridiculous, jumps to stupid conclusions and drinks too much! WTF is wrong with these female authors who continue to write female narrators like this? I am SO tired of it and I am going to keep giving these authors low ratings until they STOP doing this! ENOUGH! Women are strong. Women are smart. Empower women. Stop making them bumbling idiots! How about you make the men in the stories the bumbling, drinking idiots? Are you afraid that won't sell enough books?

This review was also published on Goodreads. This book will be released on August 3, 2021.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While the premise was fully enthralling, I wasn't for the most part of the book. To be honest, I skipped loads of pages to get to the dialog so I could follow the storyline. I was fully annoyed with the character Rachel and insisting on being obtuse about what was really going on. The last 25% or so of the story became a page turner. And although this made the story interesting, it wrapped everything up too nicely, too quickly. If the whole book had followed that line of intensity, it may have been a much better read. But it wasn't completely unredeemable. A few elements did surprise me. Overall, not a horrible read, just not what it is marketed to be.

The Guilt Trip was my first read by author Sandie Jones, and I cannot wait to dive into her other novels! Rachel and her husband Jack travel to an idyllic spot in Portugal to attend the wedding of his brother Will and fiancee Ali along with best friends Noah and Paige. The book moves back and forth between characters and the past and present. Relationships are put to the test. The plot was full of drama, and the ending was a complete surprise! This book was so entertaining and hard to put down!

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC!

I was so lucky to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and opinion. Sandie Jones is one of my absolute favorite authors and I patiently wait each year for her new release. I couldn't wait to sit down and read this and let me tell you it's so worth the wait. I LOVED this book! Her writing gets better and better with each book she publishes. This is no exception! My advice - get outside and read this book ASAP!

Wow! This was such a great book. It really kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time (I read it in 2 days!!) I will be recommending this one to everyone!

(SPOILERS)

I enjoyed this book, but the ending let me down.

Heads up: the synopsis makes this book sound like a murder mystery, but it isn't. (To be honest it wasn't particularly thrilling either— I'd probably categorize it as a drama.)

The Guilt Trip follows three couples as they go from London to a stunning Portuguese villa for one of their weddings. Plenty of drama ensues— mainly focusing on infidelity and betrayals — but there are also sweet moments of friendship and loyalty to balance it all out.

It's a fun, twisty, and quick read that proves appearances can be deceiving. The rushed and confusing ending, however, didn't match the quality of the rest of the book.

The 'fatal misunderstanding' happens towards the end, and it's wrapped up disappointingly quickly. I don't understand why it's even referred to as a misunderstanding. Rachel assuming the affair was with Ali was a misunderstanding. Paige driving a car towards her lover's wife and accidentally dying in the process was fatal, yes, but not a misunderstanding. Am I missing something?

Actually, the entire ending confused me. Jack must've had the worst lawyer ever if they couldn't get the court to throw out that "evidence." Sounds like no witnesses could say if a person jumped from the vehicle moving towards them or not, which is incredibly convenient, and therefore there's no real evidence putting him in the car *at the time of the incident*.

Then there's the epilogue. Did they lie about what they overheard? Was Jack in the car at all? I don't know, because the author didn't make it clear enough.

3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Three couples travel for a destination wedding to the beautiful shores of Portugal, and get more than they bargain for. Rachel and Noah have been BFFs since college. While they harbor secret feelings for each other, they are both happily married to other people, Jack and Paige respectively. Jack’s brother, Will, is getting married to Ali, who is impulsive and rubs Jack and Paige the wrong way. As the weekend unfolds, relationships are tested, betrayals surface, and lives are endangered.

This book reads more like a domestic drama then a “locked room” style book, which is what I originally thought based on the synopsis I read. (It seems other reviewers agree! Also, the book info looks more accurate now). With that said, the secrets and betrayals among the group were interesting and held my attention. There is no “thriller” aspect until the very end, which I felt was too quick and a little blah. I liked where Rachel’s story ends up.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.