Six friends, three couples, a stay at a cliff side villa in Portugal and a weekend of wedding festivities. Amidst all the partying is a tangled web of lies, deceit and suspicious minds. ⁣
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Ok, I'm just going to put it out there = this book was not for me. It felt slow. I was on edge, waiting, wanting, desperately pleading with the book gods, for something good to happen. Given, there was a lot of suspicion, secrets, lies and sneaking around on the part of many of the characters. But this was just one of those books where I honestly did not like a single character. I'm ok with that when it's the kind of characters you love to hate, this was simply not that for me. I hated them all. Period. ⁣
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In all honestly, had this not been on audio, I probably would not have finished it. I didn't really care one way or the other what was really going on, who was lying to who and who did what with whomever. Plus, I was sure I knew exactly what was going on & surprise - I was right. So, no surprise - which is way underwhelming when you have to wait till almost the bitter end for something to actually happen. ⁣
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I don't generally rate books too low but this one just really did not work for me. I almost didn't post this review because I don't want to sound whiny or negative but I strive to be honest and open here. That means, being transparent when I don't love a book. In the end, this is simply my opinion. The great thing about books and reading is that it's 100% a personal and subjective experience. You might love this one. I hope some of you do. Sadly, it just wasn't for me.

Worst wedding ever! Rachel, her husband Jack, their friends Noah and Paige, are in Portugal for the wedding of Jack’s brother Will and his fiancée Ali. The six of them are staying in a luxy villa on the coast for a couple of days prior to the event.

The structure felt a lot like a Lucy Foley novel, but unfortunately without enough interesting characters to keep things moving along. Even a reader (or listener) who isn’t paying that much attention will be able to guess at least some of the secrets without too much trouble and then be annoyed that it takes so long to get there, or maybe that was just me.

We know right from the start, in the Prologue, that Something Happens and that these six characters are somehow involved. We then shift back a few days and live through the trip right from the start when ditzy Ally has apparently forgotten her passport.

It soon becomes clear that each of the six has a secret and this all come out over the course of the next few days. There are affairs and other entanglements, suspicions, and recriminations. Unfortunately there just isn’t enough plot to keep the novel moving at a decent pace - there is a lot of filler where our narrator, Rachel, speculates on various things and muses about what will happen if she does various other things and this just bogs the whole book down.

The narrator of the audiobook does a very good job of keeping all the characters separated with a range of different tones and accents (I thought her Ali was particularly and appropriately annoying) but even she seems to find the whole thing rather wearying as she starts yet another chapter in which nothing much happens.

This is a decent enough thriller but, frankly, there are so many others that are better that I wouldn’t bother.

Thanks to Macmillan and Netgalley for the digital review audiobook.

I wish I could say I enjoyed the novel but I did not. The narrator of this novel did a great job. The story though was not good. I had trouble finishing it.

I guess that what I liked most about this was the narrator. I had high hopes for this novel and it was such a disappointment.

This book is fantastic! I loved every minute of the audiobook and those twists and turns in the story were amazing. The characters were complex and I loved that nothing was as it seemed. I need to get the physical copy for my shelf as this is a new favorite!

I ended up liking this book more than I thought I would. It's a domestic thriller. It was kind of predictable but I still enjoyed it.

What a wild ride! Jones did a great job sewing the seeds of suspicion throughout the novel. The dynamics between the couples, both past and present, were fun to follow, and to figure out where they would lead next. While it was enjoyable, the three star rating comes from the fact that I found the plot to be fairly predictable, and that there wasn't much "action" involved until the last quarter of the book or so. The narration was good, If you enjoy thrillers, this one is definitely worth the time.

This was a slow burn character driven thriller. It took most of the book to get to where it was going. As a result, the plot stalled for me several times. A lot happened in the last 15%, which led to some confusion on my part I'm sure i probably missed a twist or two. The ending wasn't all that clear to me. I listened to the audio which made it difficult to go back and re-read passages for clarification. Perhaps written format would be better for this book. The audio performance was average and the narrator did a good job.

I received an advanced audio copy from Netgalley and MacMillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

Six friends are going to a destination wedding. There are secrets between the friends. I loved listening to the audiobook, but the plot was a little flat. I really couldn't care about any of these couples or what they get up to.

This book took forever to get started. It wasn't until Chapter 11 that I really got into the book. There are some beautiful twists and exciting plot points. It goes on longer than it should but at least you got a full resolution.
I enjoy a good bit of this but there was a slow build-up that would make many people turn away.

The thought of a destination wedding to Portugal sounds fabulous but quickly becomes complicated. Everyone has secrets that they are determined to keep hidden from the people closest to them.

The bride and groom, Will and Ali, are excited to begin their new lives as husband and wife, but Ali may not be telling the entire truth to her new husband. Meanwhile, Will’s brother Jack and his wife Rachel are at odds with each other when suspicion of cheating comes to light. Noah and his wife Paige, who are best friends with Jack and Rachel, are having marital problems. Could it be that the relationship between Noah and Rachel has reverted back to their college days when they were more than friends?

Deceit and betrayal, lies and suspicion swirls around six main characters, coming to a boiling point the day of the wedding. The answers to all of the questions will not be revealed until the wedding is over – but will it be too late for any of them to survive? The Guilt Trip is full of twists and turns that keeps readers guessing until the final chapters. Who, if anyone, is lying?

This fast-paced suspense filled novel is perfectly plotted to keep the reader engaged from the first pages to the last. The characters are interesting and fully developed. It was fun to try and figure out who was lying and who was cheating – and who wasn’t. I loved to hate some of the characters and felt sorry for others. The last chapter let me know if I was a good judge of character or completely mistaken. I loved it.

Clare Corbett did a marvelous job narrating this audiobook. She speaks clearly, making the book come to life for listeners. Audiobooks are perfect for busy people. There is nothing better than listening to an interesting book like The Guilt Trip while cleaning house, knitting or just relaxing.

I’ve read several books by Sandi Jones, and have enjoyed all of them. She is a New York Times bestselling author and deservedly so. I highly recommend all of her books, especially her latest, The Guilt Trip.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Copyright © 2021 Laura Hartman

"The Guilt Trip" is an entertaining domestic thriller. It follows the main character, Rachel, her husband Jack, and their best friends Noah and Paige as they set off for the destination wedding of Ali, who is marrying Will (Jack's brother). There are a lot of characters/couples to keep track of at first, but the author and narrator do an excellent job of distinguishing between the different characters and their relationships so it wasn't hard to follow at all.

Ali comes off as a bit of a hot mess at first, but there may be more to her than meets the eye. She is beautiful but flawed, and her friends/acquaintances/future family members aren't sure she and Will are well-suited to each other.

Rachel is something of a mess herself--she suspects her husband might be cheating on her and her obsession over whether this is true and how to prove it basically drives the novel. Her relationships with her best friend, Paige, and Paige's husband Noah are also complicated by their shared past.

Rachel's obsession about her husband's possible infidelities grows a bit wearisome over the course of the book, but there are plenty of surprises, twists and intrigues to keep the story moving and hold the reader's interest.

Recommended for those sho enjoy a lighter domestic thriller with some comedic moments and plenty of drama.

Hmm, so you want the good stuff or bad stuff first?

Ok, good stuff:
Narrator was really good! Easy to understand, good pacing and tone, not overdone or too much ‘acting’ here. Very listenable.

The story itself was pretty interesting- you don’t know anything about anyone! Every character is unreliable in what they know, or think they know, about each other. The characters slowly reveal themselves… until the bad stuff.

The bad stuff:
THE LAST TWO CHAPTERS?? Like… what did I just read? There was so much build up, and then everything was lobbed at you at once and then it was over. It just seemed like a rush to tie everything up at the end. Looking at other reviews shows that some readers like that but it left me feeling crabby. Definitely one you have to read to know where you stand!

** I received an audiobook copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Sigh. I hoped for a domestic thriller …. What I got was a particularly bad soap opera with no real suspense. I’m not taking about a fun prime time soap like “90210” or even a classic mainstay like Eastenders or General Hospital. More like “Passions” but without the witch or talking doll. (Now that’s weak!). Loads of filler with little real intrigue and unlikeable characters. I think this will be my last book by Ms. Jones unless something drastic changes.

I listened to the audio version, and frankly I wasn’t crazy about the narration either. A lot of the beginning consonants were dropped or slurred, making it difficult to follow along or tell which character was being referenced.

That said, thank you so much to #MacmillanAudio and #NetGalley for the ARC. I enjoyed the opportunity to check out this book even though it wasn’t my cup of tea.

I wasn’t sure if I was gonna give this one a shot. I have read all the authors books, but they haven’t been my favorite. But this one sounded amazing I loved the destination wedding setting so figured I should give this a shot.

Unfortunately it fell flat for me. The audio was how I got through this, I think I would have dnf if I was reading it. The narrator’s performance was incredible. She did a beautiful job with several different characters throughout.

As for the story, too soapy with no action. I just didn’t find myself invested and found the book overall forgettable. I really did want to love this one, it just never grabbed my attention. I think the problem was the first half of the book is filled with Rachel’s inner thoughts and suspicions, and basically how unhappy these couples are in their marriage. The last half things started to pick up, but by then I was just trying to finish.

This book is really good. So full of twist and turns. Who did what with who. Who’s telling the truth. Kept me interested until the very end

This was a wild thriller with so many unlikable characters who were caught in their lies, deception and cheating. But I was attached and committed to see where these characters went only to be let down with the story going off the rails with an ending that I didn't understand. But I loved the narrator's acccent.

This book frustrated me. I was super into it for the first 2/3. I couldn't wait to see how the beginning met up with the end and I was all into the drama that was unfolding. I kept reading and was go glad to be on a long drive.
THEN it went downhill quickly. The last third was weird, and honestly so confusing. I was not the only one who did not figure out or understand exactly what the ending was. I googled it and there was a ton of people asking or looking for an explanation on why the ending really was.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the early listen. I did enjoy this story very much. Narrator did a wonderful job telling the story. Held my attention from the beginning to the end.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a soap opera-esque, dramatic rollercoaster ride for the entire book. You meet 3 couples who are attending a wedding in Portugal but what you don’t realize (at first) is all the deception going on between the 6 characters. Oh, the lies! There are past relationships, affairs, and all the backstabbing you can handle. I listened to the audiobook and it was difficult to press pause - the talent of the person reading/narrating was incredible. The only thing I can criticize is that the ending wasn’t exceptionally clear. I had to re-listen to the last couple of chapters to get a better idea. Highly recommend!