⭐⭐⭐/5

• short, fast paced domestic suspense
• unlikable characters (I wanted to scream at the MC several times 😂)
• lots of secrets and lies

While the plot was overall entertaining, I felt like the characters weren't completely fleshed out. The epilogue helped save my rating for this one! If you're new to this author, I recommend starting with her debut, The Other Woman -- it's great!

🗣️ Thank you to @netgalley, @minotaurbooks and @macmillanaudio for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted eARC and audiobook! All opinions are honest and my own.

Naomi is a psychologist specializes in domestic abuse. She, herself, has a traumatic past so she feels she understands her clients. This leads to her sometimes becoming overly involved in their lives. When she takes on client, Jacob, she has no idea this is the client that will upend her life.
While the plot was interesting and the book fast paced, I just couldn’t connect with main character, Naomi. I found myself annoyed and frustrated with her choices. Repeatedly. Is there anyone really that poor at making choices? Over and over again?
Overall, it was okay. If you’re looking for. Quick and easy read, you may enjoy this book.
** Hige thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

Really interesting twists and turns. The narrator did a really great job. My wife hopped in and listened too and she was a big fan of this book. Would definitely recommend it!

The Blame Game is a super twisty thriller that I could not put down until I got to the end. The main character Naomi is a psychologist who specializes in domestic abuse. She seems like she's good at her job but she feels for her clients so much that she keeps pushing the boundaries of what she should do to help them. I really enjoyed all the twists in the story, trying to figure out what was happening and being surprised again and again! If there is one thing I would change, I wish it was a bit longer so we could get to know the characters a little more, as they were all very intriguing.
Karissa Vacker is one of my favourite audiobook narrators, she really brings out the personality of all the characters and I was almost holding my breath waiting to find out what would happen next!

This one missed the mark with me. I could not connect with the main character, Naomi. As a psychiatrist, I expected her actions to be much more thought out and measured, but I felt that she acted very erratically and let her emotions guide her. I felt that she kept digging a deeper and deeper hole for herself and it made me very frustrated. I felt that there were plot points that were just completely unnecessary. What I did like, was the narrator, Karissa Vacker, for the audio. I did also enjoy the twists at the end and the lies and deceptions…I didn’t know who to trust!

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, St. Martins Press, and Sandie Jones for providing me with this ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

WOW. This audiobook was AMAZING. It’s kinda hard for me to stay focused on some, but this one kept my attention locked on it the entire time. Thrilling! I really can’t recommend this one enough.

This book made me so mad. This book made me so upset and wildly uncomfortable. The main character crossed so many lines. The ending was so rushed and un-thought out. I was so frustrated for this book. I kept waiting for it to get better. I wrote in my book notebook at 24% 'WTF i hope this gets better' it didn't'

The main character was unlikable. She kept lying and making dumb decisions. She kept crossing professional boundaries and then being upset when the people in her life got upset with her. They set up this whole story line that winds up being complete rubbish. I'm just so mad.

Whereas the synopsis of this book was rather intriguing, here lately I find myself struggling with books where the MC weaves such an intricate web of lies, that could have been completely avoided, that he/she ends up making an unnecessary mess of their lives and others'. I really did not like Naomi (our MC) and was never able to connect or sympathize with her. Overall, I didn't really enjoy this one as much as I had hoped.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Naomi is a UK-based therapist specializing in helping victims of domestic violence. In her own life, Naomi is married to Leon, a man who initially swept her off her feet, and she still feels content and loved in their relationship.

Originally from New York, it has taken Naomi a long time to get to this place. Having been raised in a violent home, her mother ultimately having been killed by her father, Naomi has worked hard to move past that. Regardless, of how far she gets however, it will always impact her life. It provides the prism through which she views the world.

Because of her past, Naomi frequently finds herself becoming overly invested in her client's lives. She can't help it. It's a compulsion. For example, she currently has a client, Jacob, who has decided to leave his abusive wife. Having an empty flat available, Naomi offers it to Jacob as a temporary safe haven.

When Jacob goes missing, Naomi is concerned that his wife may have found him, but the police think otherwise. Before she knows it, Naomi is neck deep in a criminal investigation and she is the main suspect. Even her once loyal husband seems to believe she is guilty.

Naomi believes she is being framed and that her past may finally have come back to get her. Can she find Jacob and clear her name before it's too late?

Y'all, The Blame Game was such a wild, and at times confusing, ride. I enjoyed this audiobook so much. Once I started with this story, I could not put it down. I was all over the place with this. I had so many theories. I was getting so frustrated with Naomi, but for me, that was a huge part of the fun.

I haven't been this frustrated with a main character since [book:Behind Closed Doors|29437949], but again, in a way that was pure fun. If I could have reached through the pages and shaken the shit out of this woman, I would have.

If Sandie Jones goal was to mess with my mind, she 100% succeeded. Was this ridiculously dramatic, confusing, frustrating and over-the-top? Yes. Did it also leave me with that devious little grin on my face at the very end that I cherish so incredibly much? Yesssss. Did I love the overall experience!? Absolutely, yesssssss.

I thought the narrator nailed the performance of this story. She definitely kept me at the edge of my seat. The combination of the intensity of the story mixed with the intensity of the delivery was just so well done.

Thank you to the publisher, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I have enjoyed Jones work in the past, but this one is definitely a standout for me!

I love beach reads, but, for them to work for me, they need to be quick, not have a huge cast of characters to keep track of, and be twisty and entertaining. Sandie Jones’ The Blame Game checks all the boxes. I spent one blissful afternoon caught up in the dumpster fire that is Naomi’s life, and watching it burn was riveting.

Thanks for the opportunity to review! Link to 8/14/2022 Instagram post:

https://www.instagram.com/p/ChP9xEOr2_p/

I have loved everything Sandie Jones has written so I was really excited when I was granted this ARC. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I actually liked seeing an "unethical" therapist storyline and was excited to see where Naomi was headed with Jacob. I liked that I wasn't sure who to trust throughout this but felt like it it never really came together in a cohesive way. The ending was rather predictable given all of the foreshadowing leading up to it but I feel like there could have been more leadup or explanation at the end to make it more shocking. I felt a bit disappointed by the abrupt ending. I will say I enjoyed this and it was quick read but just had a lot of moving parts that abruptly came together and just felt a bit overwhelming and convenient. I still look forward to Sandie Jones' next book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Macmillan audio for the advanced listening copy of Sandie Jones newest book The Blame Game. It is narrated by Karissa Vacker who does a great job with narrating this book. She is quite talented and is a favorite narrator of many books I have loved. This is the fifth novel from Sandie Jones I have read. I've just finished and I'm still just a bit confused on the ending and I'm not exactly sure I completely understood how everything tied together. Natalie was a bit of a tough character to like - she's a psychologist who makes some unethical decisions that definitely blur the lines with her professional relationship with her clients. I felt like she was such a mess from her past that she really had no business in this profession - but since this is a fictional story we'll just go along with it.. There were lots of twists in this one - some maybe a bit over the top. I did like that the book was short but I feel like something was missing.

Loved this book. Audio version was great. Great narrator and good writing. This one kept me wondering until the end.
Highly recommend it!
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the chance to listen!

Read/Listen if you Like:
🔪 Thrillers
🔪 Missing Persons Investigations
🔪 Deception
🔪 Unlikable Characters

Book Review:
I went into this one pretty much blind not knowing really what it was about, as I do most books and enjoyed the unraveling of the story.

I listened to this one at 1.75 speed and felt that personally was the perfect speed for this one as it helped move the book along at a faster pace which helped my enjoyment as we bounced around with Naomi wondering who was trying to set her up for her missing patient.

There were plot holes for me in that in her line of work, I don’t get how they occurred that led us to where the story went and some of the reveals. I feel like to clean this one up of plot holes I noticed or things that didn’t make sense how they could have happened I would have enjoyed it more.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Minotaur Books for the ARC of this audiobook! I am so thankful to obtain a copy to listen to it in advance of its release!

I went back and forth reading and listening to this and enjoyed it!⁣
⁣
I thought the narrator kept it interested and changed up the voices well, so you knew who was talking. ⁣
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This story is center around lying, blaming, and sketchy stories. This is told through Naomi’a eyes, she’s a counselor for domestic violence victims, and while I see where she’s coming from sometimes, she tends to blur lines with her patients, which causes a lot of drama and confusion.⁣
⁣
It’s hard to believe what character is telling the truth and who the true victim is. There’s a deceitful web of lies between characters and they all have reasons for being unreliable. Mental health topics are discussed, and not everything is as it appears.⁣
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This was an intriguing thriller and I enjoyed following the chaos. ⁣
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Story
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Narrator

A quick read with some decent twists! I wasn’t the biggest fan of most of the characters which made it a little difficult to really get into the story. I also wish there was more about Naomi, her sister and her dad. I almost liked that storyline better than the actual one.

“I wish I were shocked that a grown man would ever doubt that his experience would be deemed credible enough to be believed. But unfortunately, it doesn’t matter whether you’re young or old, male or female; the greatest fear, apart from the abuse itself, is that nobody will believe you.”

Wow, I flew through this book in less than 24 hours. But…and this is a big but…I feel a bit, idk, icky after having just finished it. I find myself a bit confused.

Naomi is a therapist for domestic abuse victims. Great, right? But no. She makes every possible wrong decision in an attempt to right a wrong from her past. Every time she has the opportunity to tell the truth, she lies. I hate liars. She lies to her husband. The cops. Herself. It makes you not care for her character or root for her.

This book started off so strong right out of the gate! I had to know what was going to happen! But the ending lost some steam and credibility and I found myself confused and trying to decipher why her past issues were thrown in at all if they weren’t going to determine her present in some way.

The audio was absolutely addicting, though. I just could not stop listening. The narrator was one of the best I’ve heard and I listen to a lot of audiobooks. The accents. The emotion. The fear. She nailed it!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, Macmillan Audio, and the author for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I had suspicions of the outcome all along and I ended up being right, but the book kept me guessing along the way. Only 3 stars because nothing about it was really stand-out, but I’d recommend it as an easy read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sandie Jones for this E-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback and review.

Naomi is a great therapist. She will literally do anything for her clients, especially to ensure their safety. Her husband Leon does not approve of her willingness to help everyone. Naomi had a horrible childhood who watched her father murder her mother. This is one of the many reasons she does all she can to help her clients. When one of her clients, Jacob, goes missing after his abusive wife finds where he's living she finds herself the main suspect. Naomi is desperately trying to find Jacob who may not be Jacob and keep the police from suspecting her. Things seem to keep spiraling out of control for Naomi.

When I started this book I devoured it! I even requested the E-ARC so I that I didn't have to stop reading/listening to this book until I was done. I noticed things weren't wrapping up when I hit 90% so that's when I got worried. I really hope there is a second book coming out involving this story because it feels so unfinished to me. The ending was so rushed. We didn't get any clarification on the characters actual identities or events that may or may not have happened. I love Sandie Jones. I have devoured all of her books but this one left me wanting oh so much more.

Karissa Vacker’s narration of The Blame Game is absolute perfection. Before the end of chapter one my skin was crawling, I got goosebumps and I vowed to listen to every book she’s narrated.

The Blame Game started off much slower than I expected but it held the promise of conflict and drama to come, and I stuck with it. I definitely didn’t see the twist coming, and loved how it played out. The Blame Game was deeper than just a mystery, and I really enjoyed that, though it did feel kind of scattered. There was almost too much going on. Naomi could be frustrating at times, I feel like she made foolish decisions time and time again (like meeting Jacob at the hotel.)