✨BOOK REVIEW

I am a sucker for thriller books centred around complicated, life long friend / couple dynamics so I knew I was going to enjoy this one. The novel was everything I expect from a thriller; fast passed, twisty-turny and kept my attention all the way through. I will say, I wish that the single narrative voice was a multiple POV or that it was structured a bit differently; the novel is written in third person limited with many flashbacks / memories peppered throughout to give the reader background on the characters relationships and at times, I found it a bit confusing. I am partial to multiple narrative voices / POV when it comes to thrillers, so this could just be a me thing, but with 6 characters and their past and present relationships to keep track of, I found it got a bit convoluted.. Also, I didn’t think the twist was overly shocking. I expected it to play out that way approximately half way through but I really enjoyed reading the book and appreciated how the author meticulously structured the plot was

The Guilt Trip is about 6 friends- 3 couples, who travel to a villa in Portugal together for a wedding.

The drama starts almost immediately and doesn't really stop until the very end. Although I didn't overly care about the characters or the outcome of the plot line, Sandie Jones has a way with twists and turns that kept me turning pages until the end (even if I did roll my eyes quite a few times).

If I'm being honest, I was expecting a thriller and this book fell a little flat for me. The description didn't match what was actually happening in the book and it definitely felt more drama than suspense.

This book reminded me a lot of The Guest List and I think if I hadn't read and enjoyed that one so much, I would have enjoyed The Guilt Trip a bit more.

It also reminded me of an extended 90210 episode which is fine, but wasn't what I was really looking for right now. I mean, the fault lines appeared in the friendships as soon as they landed in Portugal and I was often left thinking 'what kind of friends are these?'

I don't know, maybe I've been in isolation too long or maybe I need a break from this genre.... life seems too short for drama. At least, this kind of drama.

I've been super drained lately and needed a break from the heavier books I've been reading. This book was definitely light. If you need a quick palette cleanser grip lit for the beach or something, this might be it.

Giving this a 2.5/5.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

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I really did not enjoy this one at all sadly. I think this is a bad case of mismarketing; based on the synopsis I was expecting a locked room mystery, similar to The Guest List, which is one of my FAVORITE tropes so I was VERY excited to be approved for an arc of this one!
But oh boy...this was NOT a thriller at all, we spend the first 80% of the book dwelling on the secrets and affairs of the couples, most of which are based on miscommunication, and it felt very repetitive and I kept wondering when the action was gonna pick up. We don’t get to the murder part of the book until the last few chapters and then everything is wrapped up pretty quickly. It actually reminded me a lot of The Dilemma by B.A. Paris - a book by a thriller author that was really more of a family drama, and also suffered from mismarketing.

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The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones
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🏝Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for letting me read this ARC!
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🏝Who's read The Guest List? This book has major creepy, beach wedding/something bad is gonna happen vibes. The burn is slow, the suspense is intense, and the family drama is binge-worthy. Pick up this book when it comes out in August!
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🏝Rachel and Jack are happily married.... or so they think until Jack's brother's destination wedding. Rachel really wants to dig to the bottom of the rumors that Jack is having an affair with his brother's future wife..... but maybe Rachel isn't that innocent either...

Amazing. I wasn't the biggest fan of her last book but this redeemed everything. This book was full of high tension, secrets, affairs, and I genuinely felt like the characters were flushed out. I was worried about the conclusion. The ending can make or break a story like that. But the author killed it. Karma is a b----.

Thank you for the arc and opportunity to review this book.
I was intrigued by the title, cover and description, but the execution of the book fell flat. There was an excessive amount of dialogue that made the book tiring to read. Some of it was talking in circles and the twists were predictable. I also did not connect with the characters.

I am a huge fan of Sandie Jones' books so I was delighted to get this one! And we know from the get-go that this will be one amazing twisty novel! Six friends travel to Portugal for Ali and Will's wedding. Of course each of these people has a backstory that is intertwined with the others,,,so I dare you to try to read it in more than one sitting! I couldn't do it (fortunately my husband knows I'm a Book Nerd so why argue with me)! Each chapter has Jones ramping up the drama and always the last sentence has you thinking, "I can't wait until tomorrow for this!" So just settle in for more surprises than Christmas ,as true to form, she doesn't disappoint and your head will spin for sure! Maybe my favorite of hers so far! Loved it!

I enjoyed this book; it was a fast-paced suspense/thriller that did a good job of keeping me guessing- I can see it being a fun/soapy by the pool read this summer.

I have read previous books by Sandie Jones and really enjoyed them so I was excited to read this one. I had high hopes going in however, this book fell short for me. It was an okay read but not great. I didn’t care much for any of the characters, the writing was slow at certain points, and the ending was predictable. There was a lot of drama and not very much suspense. It wasn’t quite what I expected or was hoping for.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s press for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC

I feel like this was super predictable. The characters were not particularly likeable and all the plot points felt half baked. Like it should speed up and slow down all at the same time. I liked her other books but this one most definitely fell FLAT.

I finished this feeling confused at how things could spiral so intensely over 3 days. We’re supposed to believe most of the characters knew each other for 20 years and didn’t recognize odd behaviors that allegedly would’ve been going on for the last 3 years? I found myself skimming the last 25% or so. I found the ending pretty unsatisfying and didn’t make a lot of sense knowing what we know of the characters involved.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was your typical mystery thriller. It was an easy read to novel that I enjoyed reading, but at the same time it wasn’t anything new. In fact, I was able to guess every single “twist”. Maybe I’ve just been reading a lot of this genre recently, but nothing surprised me and it felt rather easy to guess what was going on. So for me this was a good and decent read, but not necessarily anything new or extraordinary.

I love Sandie Jones' books. This one started off great and I thought the characters were good. The story was interesting, waiting to find out what was going to happen. Then I started not liking any of the characters, which is something that makes me less interested in the book because I need to care about someone, and in this case I didn't. (If Will had been more of a central character, I might have cared about him,) Then the ending was confusing and felt contrived. But, I really enjoyed most of the book. so this is 3.5 stars rounded up to four.

I'll be honest, I'm still not sure what happened. But I couldn't put this book down and I really enjoyed the writing style. This is an addictive thriller with a gorgeous atmosphere and characters that will keep you guessing. Definitely a quick weekend read.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Wow!! This was one crazy ride!! It kind of reminds me of Desperate Housewives and their train wreck trips.

A group of friends, and I use that term loosely, take a trip to Portugal for a wedding. While there secrets and lies abound and start coming out.

It had some nice twists and turns. I did figure out the ending about 2/3 in but it was still a good, fast paced, interesting read.

I think the fact that it feels like a soap opera kept me turning the pages even though at times all the characters are hard to like.

I have quite enjoyed Jone's other books and this was no exception.

I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Guilt Trip follows 3 couples as they travel together to Portugal for one couple’s wedding. There are secrets, jealousies, and infidelity amongst this group and it takes until the end to really see who was a loyal and honest friend with the others.

There were so many things about this book that I enjoyed. The plot was intriguing, I understood the characters, and I genuinely wanted to know who was cheating and what all of the secrecy was really about. Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the book was marred by less than great writing. There were too many times when there were blatant plot holes or things just did not flow well from one paragraph to the next. I hope that it can be fixed before publication because I saw a lot of potential in this story.

The Guilt Trip is Sandie Jones'fourth novel and it was a really fun, twisty thriller. I absolutely loved her first two books but was not a fan of her third book The Half=Sister as that seemed to me to be more of a women's fiction and not a thriller. Although I was a tad worried it would be like that again, I was very happy that it wasn't for me. This book definitely gave off The Other Woman vibes. I was sucked into the story from page 1. This book is full of twists and turns. I had my guesses and sometimes I was second-guessing myself as I was reading.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Marti's Press for an advanced copy of this book.

I've really enjoyed Sandie Jones' previous books and the synopsis for this one sounded so compelling. However, I'm disappointed by the story itself. I was expecting a thriller and this is more of a drama around complicated friendships. Usually Jones' books are packed with suspense; by the time I was 30% through, the only tension seemed to come from one character's grating personality and the questionable, but not interesting, behavior of another. Additionally, everyone felt so one-note. I didn't finish this book, but I look forward to trying her next one.

Sandie Jones is back with another engaging tale in The Guilt Trip! Rachel and her husband Jack travel to Jack’s brother’s destination wedding, and there the drama begins. As if emotions don’t already run high at weddings, Rachel comes to think that her husband may be having an affair. However, the tides keep turning and she isn’t sure whom to believe - the resplendent bride that denies ever sleeping with Jack? Her husband of 20 years that is accusing the bride of blackmail? Her best friend that accuses the bride? Or even her best friend’s husband, with whom Rachel shares a significant secret that threatens to tear about both their marriages? Events continue to climax until the wedding reception, when everything comes to a final, appalling halt.

Although I eagerly read this book and found it tough to put down, several of the characters were seemingly too cliched for me to find them believable and really invest in them. The bride, Ali, is portrayed by Rachel as strikingly beautiful but quite self absorbed and childish; others paint a picture of her inner beauty matching her outer beauty. Rachel is quick to believe whomever has spoken with her more recently, but does make critical moves to get to the bottom of the mystery. Overall, this was a quick read that I enjoyed and didn’t want to put down - good for a rainy day or a day at the beach.

The Guilt Trip comes out on May 31, and you can pre-order using the link below. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Sandie Jones for the advance copy!!

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

First off, I have been a fan of Sandie Jones since I read The Other Woman. What a twist! It's been months since I read it, and I still remember the ending. This is pretty exceptional, considering I tend to forget the plots of most thrillers that I read. I was looking forward to reading this book when it comes out in August. I was so excited to get approved to review this book before its release date. Thank you again to the publisher for this opportunity!

The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones is a gossip-filled thriller that reminded me of grown-up Pretty Little Liars. One of the character's names, Ali, probably reminded me of that show, which was my favorite show a few years ago, but the secrets, lies, and jealousies of the main characters also reminded me of PLL. When I first read the plot of The Guilt Trip - three couples at a destination wedding, but some of them are keeping secrets - I was ready for a typical thriller set in an exotic location. I wasn't expecting how juicy and gossipy this book would be. It reminded me more of Crazy Rich Asians than it did The Other Woman, to be honest. There is some action near the end, but for the most part, the story revolves around the three couples and their relationships with each other.

Rachel and Jack, a married couple, are heading to a destination wedding with Ali, the wife-to-be, who is going to marry Jack's brother Will. From the beginning, there seems to be something off with Ali. Here's an excerpt from Chapter Two when Rachel and Jack are discussing Ali with Paige and Noah, another couple:

"“So, what’s your problem with her?” Paige asks, like a dog with a bone.
Jack looks into his glass, as if he’s deliberating whether to say what he’s about to say.
“I . . .” he starts, before looking around. “I . . . just don’t trust her.”
“Why not?” asks Paige.
“P . . .” says Noah, warning her not to push it.
“I’ve got my reasons,” is all that Jack says.

With that ominous note lingering in the air, the couples continue with their fun vacation at their exotic locale. The wedding goes off without a hitch, but tensions are brewing. People are keeping secrets, and someone is determined to reveal everything.

Overall, The Guilt Trip is a fun beach read that is more of a drama than a thriller. When a twist was revealed and one of the characters turned out to be more than what they seemed, I thought it was funny, as opposed to shocking. There is also an attempt at a twist ending, but I found it to be rather ambiguous and not clear-cut at all. The ending definitely wasn't as impactful as the one in The Other Woman. Even though this book wasn't much of a thriller, I am still giving the book 5 stars because I enjoyed reading it. I had trouble putting it down and was hanging on to every word of the dialogue, because I was really invested in the relationships between the six main characters. If you're looking for a book with relationship drama, and need something more light-hearted than a typical thriller, you won't regret checking out this book with it comes out in August!