It took a really long time for this book to finally get going. Like other people have commented, I expected a different story based on the synopsis so that was a letdown. The storyline was pretty predictable and I didn't feel particularly invested in any of the characters.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book started compellingly but got bogged down in the lead protagonist”s endless internal dialogues. I skipped through many of them. As many have noted none of the characters is likeable and many of the situations ring melodramatically untrue

Sandie Jones is one of my Favorites and if I could give this book 6 stars I would! In typical Jones fashion I was guessing until the last page! A small wedding weekend with affairs and secrets make for a page turner that I couldnt put down! Readers will love the back and forth of who the real
villain is! Thank you for the advance copy!!!

I've loved Jones' some of Jones' previous works, so when I saw this one was available on NetGalley, I was thrilled to be approved. After a string of heavy reads, I was looking for something a little lighter, and thought a wedding thriller was the perfect remedy.

No one is that thrilled to be traveling to Will and Ali's destination wedding in Portugal. Ali has a tendency to get on everyone's nerves, but the friends have been tight for years, so they band together, put their grievances aside, and try to enjoy the weekend. But as Jack confesses some lingering doubts about his brother's fiance, Rachel finds herself questioning everyone around her. Are her suspicions grounded? Is she seeing things that aren't there? Everyone has a secret, and the wedding is going to bring them all to light.

I liked this book.

To start with what I liked: Jones' writing is effortless and engaging. The voices were distinct, and her ability to move between characters made this a quick, well-paced read. I didn't particularly like any of the characters, but you really don't need to in order to get lost in the weird relationship-angles happening here. There are plenty of twists, and because every character is unlikable, unreliable, or downright sketchy, there's a constant tension running through the discourse. Who can we believe? Who is telling the truth? Is *everyone* lying? The ambiguity and back and forth is wonderful.

Without going into spoilers, however, I didn't care for some of the "big reveal" secrets, some of which realllly missed the mark for me. It could've been a plot point taken out of any late 90s rom com and seemed really out of place in a 2021 read. Not that there isn't merit to the character's motivations and feelings, but having that be "the secret" that is almost capable of ruining her wedding day just didn't sit right with me.

This wasn't a homerun for me, but I think many readers will enjoy the twists, as there are plenty and the characters keep you guessing.

Overall, The Guilt Trip is a slow-burn drama with an likable cast full of secrets and deception.

Big thanks to Minotaur and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I usually really enjoy Sandie Jones’ books, but this one fell flat for me. The premise is one we have all read before and most of the twists were quite predictable. Also, all of the characters were so unlikeable, it was hard to root for any of them.

Lots of good juicy twists and turns written in signature style. A great escape for the afternoon in this crazy world that we are now living in. Thanks

Three couples go on vacation together to celebrate the days before Ali and Will's wedding. Twisted secrets, affairs, and interconnected romantic relationships come to light. Ultimately, there is a major tragedy. This book fell a little flat for me and I struggled to really connect with the storyline. However, im glad I read it.

Holy WOW! What a fun ride! Reminiscent of Lucy Foley’s The Guest List & J.T. Ellison’s Her Dark Lies, The Guilt Trip takes us to Portugal for a destination wedding. But everything is not as it seems with the six main characters, mainly the bride Ali, who appears to be rubbing everyone the wrong way.

I honestly liked Ali from the beginning. She’s like that annoying little sister who deep down you just love. It was evident from the beginning she was a bit flighty, but had a good heart & it was hard not to cheer for her. Jack, on the other hand, I disliked from the start. While it absolutely shocked me how his character played out in the final pages, I knew from the outset he couldn’t be trusted. What man makes his wife share a suitcase for a trip abroad because he’s too cheap to pay for luggage? One that’s having an affair apparently! I’m so happy Rachel & Noah found one another in the end. Their loved seemed genuine & a better match than their previous spouses. As for Paige - she was easy to see through too. She had issues with Ali from the outset, though it really wasn’t clear why. It wasn’t until their scene together on the beach that I really turned on Paige & believed her to have more to her story than what we knew.

I love a good psychological thriller with lots of twists & turns, and as always, Sandie Jones delivered! Grab this book when it hits shelves in August!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sandie Jones, Minotaur Books & St. Martin’s Publishing Group for the ARC!

I have enjoyed many books by this author, but this one was "just ok" for me. It was a quick, entertaining read, but overall, it didn't seem very suspenseful or thrilling. By the "45% read" mark, I had already (correctly) predicted a major part of the story. The remainder of the book was just fitting the pieces neatly together. I would rate it 3 - 3.5 stars.

Another page turner by Sandie Jones. Every page has lies, twists and betrayals. Who’s lying, who’s keeping secrets ,who’s cheating on who. This gripping page turner has you glued till the very last twist

Hooray! So good ! So good! So good!
I felt like I ran 10K marathon. I can’t move my hands. I clasped my reader so tight and now my poor hands suffer from the worst kind of addicted reader’s cramp syndrome ( I don’t know if there is disease like that: I could be the one invented it so they may feel free name it after me!)My heart is pounding so fast! It pumps in my ears like the worst kind of mashup of techno- death metal rhythm.

Cancel your entire schedule! Call it sick! Cancel your husbands, your kids, your colleagues, your friends! This book earns your entire focus! Grab your finest bottle of wine, reserved your favorite couch at your home, just lay down, disconnect your phone, put your ear plugs, wear your most comfy PJs and jump into this beauty blind! Hundred percent enjoyment is guaranteed!

This book is smart, exciting, intriguing, stimulating, twisty fun! Think about 6 close people seem like know each other very well gathering around an exotic Portuguese villa to celebrate two of them’s wedding reception as they grit their teeth, clench their fists, barely restrain their boiling anger, fantasizing to cut throats of each other, keeping very dirty secrets which may change everything in their relationships and ruin their entire lives! Are you sold? You’d better be!
Let’s make a quick look at the synopsis!

Ross and Rachel have been friends forever and they have never gotten a break! Okay! I tested you to make sure you’re still reading. I’m correcting: Noah and Rachel has been friends since their college time and everyone has thought they were destined for each other but as we see after 20 years later, they chose to marry with different people, had kids and interestingly Rachel became best friend of Noah’s wife Paige as Noah learned to tolerate Rachel’s husband Jack. So they’ve been seeing each other for years as long time family friends.

When Jack’s wanderer brother Will decides to tie the knot with dazzling, young, beautiful, daunting Allison ( Ali) : an old employee of Jack’s company, they find themselves at a gorgeous villa in Portuguese perched on a cliff-edge overlooking surfing beaches of Nazare!

Seems like they have time of their lives but they don’t! Sorry Rachel, you’re not the baby Francis and you’re doomed to put in a corner. Even though you’re performing last dance scene of Dirty Dancing with your husband, only dirty thing about your marriage might be bunch of terrifying secrets that ruin everything you’ve worked for!

Before they arrive the location, Rachel feels husband’s hostility around Ali and Ali acts so strange. When Jack comes clean he tells them Ali had an affair with one of his company’s coworkers, Rachel still feels like her husband didn’t tell the entire truth. He still rejects to warn his brother because he doesn’t want to risk their relationship.

Ali’s extra flirty manners around her husband force her rethink the situation. Could be the guy Ali’s cheating Will, her own husband?

But unfortunately Ali and Jack are not the only ones keep terrible secrets from them! Rachel has its own which can damage everything in their beautiful lives! But time is moving fast! The marriage ceremony is about to begin! Each of them is ticking bombs! Guess who is gonna blast first and create a massacre?

I was thinking to give four stars this book because I found some characters so much naive ( yes Rachel, you’re a saint but be a little wiser to gather the clues dancing in front of her eyes) and some of them are truly irritating. ( I’m not gonna give my names. No intention to ruin the surprises) But I liked the gripping, engaging story line, smart, complex development and rich, layered characterization.

The author skillfully wrapped up the conclusion and I liked the way how the karma worked for each character. Everyone got what they deserved.

So I’m rounding up 4.5 to 5 heart pounding, high tension, I think I will wear gloves from now on not to bite my nails anymore during whirlwind, extremely gripping readings stars!
I think this is my favorite book of the author.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Minotaur Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Great story and suspense overall a good read kept my attention for a couple hours a solid novel.. Thanks to net galley for the opportunity.

3 solid stars.

Since I enjoyed the author's previous works, I was excited to receive The Guilt Trip as an ARC! Three couples travel to a beautiful villa in Portugal for Will and Ali's wedding weekend. What's supposed to be a romantic getaway quickly goes wrong as all the secrets and lies pile up and everyone is a suspect.

The story moves fast and I was able to finish in just a few hours. However nothing too exciting or thrilling happens until the last few chapters, and I can't say the ending was too surprising for me as there were clues throughout the book that hinted towards the big reveal. All in all, it is a good read that I would recommend.

Special thanks to Netgalley, the publishers, and the author for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Amazing book with more twists and turns than a mountain road! I loved the well-developed characters who kept me guessing and suspecting. I had to read it in one sitting to find out the ending. Highly recommend.

I really enjoyed this book! The twists and turns were perfectly timed! It kept me hooked from the very beginning to the twisted and unexpected end!

Never judge a book by its cover. There has been an accident and somebody has died. Six friends go on vacation, together, to celebrate a couple getting married. There should be joy and happiness but soon after the story starts, all I see is jealousy and secrets. This was an entertaining story. It kept me interested from the beginning. Sandie Jones is one of my favorite authors and she never disappoints. Thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author, for allowing me to read a copy of this book.

A mystery that will make you appreciate a good marriage. The Guilt Trip has some predictable moments in it, but the overall feel and characters will make you forget that. It is a well written novel and Sandie Jones does a nice job tying everything together at the end.

2 couples, plus the brother of one of them and the bride-to-be go to Portugal for their wedding. All starts to go wrong on arrival when some of the friends suspect the others of having affairs etc. It ends in a death on wedding day and everything changes in these people's lives. A good page turner with a slightly predictable ending.

This is a really good mystery about a destination wedding that goes horribly wrong. Three couples are in Portugal for a wedding, but the bride becomes the center of suspicion when clues lead two of the couples to believe that there is marital cheating. As the lies and secrets pile up and become more twisted, it becomes harder to figure out which are true and which are imagined. I found it hard to put down. I did feel there was a bit too much repetition, but I honestly loved the book and was definitely left reflecting on the ending. I’m still not sure if it was all resolved, since there were unanswered questions.

Thank you Netgalley for this really engaging mystery.

This book will probably sell well, but I found it a bit dull and did not finish it. I did not care for the characters. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.