Member Reviews

This was a really fun audiobook it was mysterious and kept me wanting to listen. I just had no idea what was going to happen or what the big mystery was going to be. The beginning was a little confusing to keep track of all the different characters and who was partnered with who, but once I got that it was a lot easier to follow. I thought the setting was cool and liked that it all took place around a wedding. This just really kept me guessing and I had no idea how it was going to all resolve. I do think I am still confused about the ending. There are a lot of different things you could believe and I am still unsure if I missed a small detail that would have made everything make more sense.

Was this review helpful?

I would rate this a 3.5 stars and rounded it up to 4.

Rachel and Jack are flying to Portugal to attend Jack’s brother, Will’s wedding to the flamboyant Ali. Ali insists on Rachel’s best friend Paige and her husband, Noah attend also. There’s history between a number of them which makes for a drama filled with suspense and a few twists. ⁣

For the most part, I enjoyed this book but at times Rachel annoyed me with how much she got into her head and speculated on possible scenarios. If you like domestic dramas, this book is for you. ⁣

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this title. Wow wow wow! If you want a page turner grab this book and prepare to read from start to finish in one sitting.
6 friends travel to a wedding in Portugal. Upon arriving tensions rise as each couple starts wondering if their partner is cheating and lying. I will admit there were quite a few characters to keep up with but this really reminded me of The Guest List which was one of my favorite reads. I couldn’t believe the ending! Let’s just say add to your must read right now.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed the narration of The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones. The story was very well written as well and Jones continues to put out extraordinary work!

Was this review helpful?

This book was really good until the end. The ride was interesting but then all of a sudden it’s just over. The build was too much for the ending. I feel that more needed to be done with the ending for this to be a solid thriller. Honestly it was great until then but that killed it for me.

Was this review helpful?

This audio was so good! I became immersed into Ali & Rachel almost immediately. I thought I had it figured out soon after the book started but I also knew it couldn’t have been that obvious! I don’t want to give anything away and spoil this book, but I will say the writing was great and the audio book was just as good. I would definitely recommend it!

Was this review helpful?

This book was such a bore until the last 20% or so. This is mostly full of relationship drama for characters that weren’t very developed. For a “gripping thriller,” it was pretty mundane. Perhaps it would have been better with a prologue of the mystery at the beginning to get an idea of what was to come. I appreciate the audio copy from NetGalley and the publisher and sorry I didn’t enjoy this more.

Was this review helpful?

Married couples Rachel and Jack and Paige and Noah join Will and Ali for their destination wedding in Portugal. After arriving at a beautiful seaside villa, tensions start to rise as secrets, lies, betrayed friendships and infidelity are brought to the forefront. Things quickly escalate and nearly everyone has a devastating secret they will do anything to hide, and as truths threaten to be revealed, it is apparent that some secrets are too big to remain hidden. Secrets are dangerous and by the end of this trip one of them will be dead, the rest of them will be changed forever.
It start out slow, but the middle to end moved much faster.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Was this review helpful?

Ali and Will have planned a destination wedding set in the beautiful Country of Portugal, inviting some of their closest friends Rachel and Jack, and Paige and Noah. Rachel and Noah have been best friends since college and Will is Jacks brother. While Rachel is excited to get to know her future sister in law better, Ali’s antics rub everyone in the group the wrong way. As the weekend unfolds, so do long forgotten secrets that threaten not just the marriages of all three couples but possibly their lives.

This book kept me guessing to the very last pages. A little slow going until about halfway through and very character driven. Just when I thought I had someone figured out there would be a curveball. For a nice quick read full of lies, secrets, and the realization you may not know someone as well as you originally thought pick this book up!

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillanaudio for this audio arc in exchange for an honest reviews.

Was this review helpful?

I want to thank Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book. Rachel and her husband are in Portugal for her brother in law's wedding to Allie, a girl who is a bit too flirtatious for Rachel's liking. This book was hit and miss for me. I went into this book thinking it was a mystery/thriller, but it was more of a family drama. Rachel is convinced her husband is having an affair with Allie, and isn't sure how to approach the topic.I had a difficult time liking any of the characters, but wanted to see how it was going to end. The ending was a bit grey for me as well. I'm not sure if the ending is actually what happened or if it was all a lie. I did like that the author brought in secondary characters to vouch for the characteristics of the one character. If you like books with endings that let you bring your own interpretations to the table, then this book is for you.

Was this review helpful?

The book was entertaining and the narration was excellent. It only gets 3 stars because the twist in this one is virtually identical to the twist in this author's other book. It felt kind of stale. Had I read this one without knowledge of her other book, the rating would have been higher. But having the same basic thing happen in both books made it less enjoyable.

Was this review helpful?

The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones is a book full of couples drama.

"Two couples - Rachel and Jack, Paige and Noah - head to Portugal for the destination wedding of Jack's brother, Will. Will's fiance, Ali, is younger and is determined to have as much fun as she can imagine. As the festivities get underway, secrets come to light. Who can be trusted?

And now someone is dead..."

This is more adults behaving badly drama than thriller. The story is mostly told from Rachel's perspective. She is a "worst case scenario" character. She sees something and makes a big jump in her assumptions. And it's always bad. This is fiction but as a reader you keep telling this character to take it easy and go have some conversations. It's annoying after a while. Jones doesn't really let us know what's happening until the end. And she does that with a wild scene at the wedding reception. A few surprises at the end.

Great audiobook performance from Clare Corbett - I know she had a good time with "Drunk Ali"

Fans of books like Big Little Lies should enjoy the drama here.

Was this review helpful?

There was a lot going on in this book but it kept me interested and guessing how it was going to end. I felt like I was guessing the whole way through whether it should be considered a thriller or family drama. The overall feel was soap opera and the characters were somewhat unlikeable but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I couldn't decide who to root for throughout it. Overall, I liked the book and loved the ending.

Was this review helpful?

This was my first book by both this author and this narrator and while I did enjoy the narration, the boom was just kinda meh. Completely predictable and I kept waiting for a major twist but it never came. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 because of the narrator. It reminds me of a soap opera, with everything thrown in and trying to see what will stick.
Rachel and Noah have been friends since uni, despite a one time hook up that they’ve vowed to never repeat or tell anyone about. They are both now married to other people and are headed to Rachel’s brother’s wedding to Ali, a girl who none of them seem to keep in high regard based on rumors and gossip.
The story is told through several POV, and you can’t quite make out which of them is the actual truth. Most of the characters are quite unlikeable and then you realize that they are all intertwined in more ways than they are each willing to admit to, and you think that things will really take off, but it just doesn’t happen.
Who’s lying and who's got what to gain by it?
Thanks to Minotaur books and Netgalley for this audiobook arc in exchange for my review.

Was this review helpful?

3.5 stars. Good book. Definitely a lot of lying and misdeeds going on in this group of friends and family. I sort of figured out the who done it, but there were a few curveballs. 3.5 stars if I could. Thank you as always for Netgalley for my early listen on audio book.

Was this review helpful?

I love a good mystery. Especially a mystery filled with drama, but this book was not it. The main character Rachel is not a fun narrator to follow. She jumps to too many conclusions off zero evidence leading the reader to want to pull their hair out. A majority of the main characters in the novel are very unlikable. The drama drawled out too long and the mystery of who is cheating is easy to solve. The climax happens around the 90% mark and took place way too late in the novel.

I did like the setting of the novel and the development of Ali's character. The novel had a lot of potential, but unfortunately the unlikable characters and weirdly paced plot kept me from enjoying the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an audiobook version in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you @macmillan.audio @netgalley for ALC of the book. I was really excited to read a story about 3 couples on a destination wedding. This book gave me The Guest List vibes. I was confused with the audiobook with whose perspective the story was coming from. Even just 6 main characters, I was still confused. There’s a lot of twists and turns and the last few chapters packed a lot of info and the epilogue left me more confused then I started.

Was this review helpful?

"Rachel and Noah have been friends since they met at university. While they once thought that they might be something more, now, 2 0years later, they are each happily married to other people, Jack and Paige respectively. Jack’s brother Will is getting married, to the dazzling, impulsive Ali, and the group of six travel to Portugal for their destination weekend."

When Rachel learns something about Ali, she feels compelled to confront her and make sure that Will finds out before the wedding. But what is the actual truth ... and who is living the lie ....

This "he said, she said" soap opera of a thriller takes place at a vacation house on the coast of Portugal where it seems that everyone has secrets to hide and jumping to conclusions can get you killed. The book is well-written and engaging - a bit too soapy for me though. Clare Corbett's narration is excellent.

Was this review helpful?

A domestic thriller set in Portugal. Rachel and her husband Jack along with her best friend Paige and Paige's husband and Rachel's long time friend Noah have traveled to a resort to celebrate Jack's brother Will and his fiancee Ali.'s wedding.

We know from the start that a death takes place during the weekend. But this is not a locked-room-type thriller, much more a domestic slow burn novel in which the events are detailed though Rachel's eyes. From the start we see how the couples do not get along and it's a guess who will not last the weekend and if it is a murder.

I enjoyed the audiobook reader. - she has a soft English accent and was able to play the voices of all the couples well. The book is well-written and kept me guessing for some time.

I did not enjoy the Rachel character who many, many times thought her eyes were deceiving her, or it was just a dream, or suddenly she would wake up... basically a very passive person who wanted to bury her head in the sand. The end was disappointing and did not fit with the rest of the book in my opinion.

However if you like a twisty thriller, this audiobook will keep you guessing for many hours!

Was this review helpful?

The Guilt Trip focuses on a group of friends vacationing in an exotic location for a wedding. Insert lots of soap opera drama, adults behaving badly, and a few million secrets for fun! Wait… haven’t I read this book like a million times?! ⁣
⁣⁣
⁣I found this entire book tedious. Not only did I find the plot overdone, but I couldn’t keep any of the characters or couples straight for the first 60% of the book! They were just not unique or memorable enough. ⁣
⁣⁣
⁣Do you enjoy books with lots of backstabbing and infidelity? Do you like a ridiculously long buildup for a single thrilling event? If so, this book might be perfect for you! Unfortunately, it was a miss for me! ⁣
⁣⁣
⁣Two stars! ⭐️⭐️⁣
⁣⁣
⁣Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of The Guilt Trip. It’s available on August 3, 2021.

Was this review helpful?