Stella is an accomplished editor of The Globe in London. She has a reputation for getting the story at all costs. Jess is a rookie reporter at The Globe and sees things differently. She is troubled when the truth of a story starts to falter and is not interested in spreading lies. Jess is getting concerned that some of The Globe’s big stories are build on lies. When a celebrity is hounded by The Globe and then pays the ultimate price , Jess has to wonder if this story was even true. She has to get to the bottom of this one, and fast.

THE TRADE OFF was quite the story. It was a unique thriller and I really enjoyed it. It was filled with lies and deception and made me think about all the things I see on social media or elsewhere about famous people. I can't imagine having my life constantly viewed for others to judge, but sadly this story does end up with innocent people being portrayed in a false light. If you're a thriller fan and have enjoyed her other novels you'll like this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) closer to pub day.

Enquiring minds wanna know and Jess he just been given her dream job of working for The Globe, a paper that is reporting tawdry celebrity items. As Jess digs into her job she realizes that things aren’t as cut and dry as they seem in the media. Her boss, Stella, wants her to do anything for the story and Jess isn’t sure she wants to give up her integrity to do so. A fast, quick read by Jones.

Journalistic integrity and the MeToo movement collide in The Trade Off, a gritty thriller by Sandy Jones that pits two tabloid writers against each other. Rookie Jess is a new hire, surprised she was recommended for an entry position at The Globe, a mega tabloid. Her editor is Stella, a veteran who manages to tie down the best stories. How she manages this is a problem that quickly becomes obvious to Jess. When she complains to Max, the managing editor, she’s pulled into a plot which she mistakenly believes will lead to improvement. Instead, it takes her deeper into a dangerous situation.

It’s difficult to review The Trade Off without spoilers. I can say that this mystery shows the dark side of tabloid journalism and the damage that is done to its victims. Jess’s investigation links the stories of MeToo victims to The Globe with devastating results. The Trade Off is a tough book to read because you know so much of it is true. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Sandie Jones for this ARC.

I usually love Sandie Jones but this one was just okay. It is #MeToo focused but I didn’t think
It brought much originality to the topic.

I love some of Sandie Jones' previous books, so I was very excited to be approved for an advanced copy of The Trade Off. Unfortunately, this one was not a fit for me.

Yes, the premise is compelling and watching Stella create stories was interesting. However, at the 25% mark, I had to confirm that this was categorized under "Mystery & Thrillers" because The Trade Off was neither. It felt more like watching a narrative of a young journalist learning about the underbelly of the tabloid industry, which in this case was too close to reality for me to enjoy.

I was hoping for a thriller and some escapism, and if the The Trade Off eventually gets there, it takes far too long to do so.

This was a fast and action packed read, centered on 2 tabloid reporters: rookie Jess and hardened Stella. Stella will do whatever it takes to get to the top and Jess wants to breathe a little morality into the world of celebrity reporting.

The action starts pretty much right away and doesn’t let up. Jess’s naïveté is kind of endearing, though it helps create the mystery because literally everyone she works with might be taking advantage of her. Stella is somewhat likable for a character with that much ambition and doing what she does, though sometimes her actions didn’t necessarily match the type of person I was led to believe she was. The book does cause you to need to suspend your disbelief, as celebrities share things they shouldn’t share with strangers and multiple characters have dizzying changes of heart, but it’s fun overall, and the ending is thoroughly satisfying.

Overall, this was a light and enjoyable read- may not pack the punch of a standard thriller but I think it’s a perfect beach read. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

How far would you go to get the story you want to publish, even if it doesn't reflect the whole truth? Welcome to the merciless, competitive, dog-eat-dog universe of tabloid journalism! This is a realistic workplace thriller that questions ethics, crosses lines, threatens the private lives of celebrities, fabricates stories, and explores the several faces of truth.

Stella is a 40-year-old, thick-skinned, ambitious deputy editor of the Globe, whose eyes are on the prize. She aims to climb to the top by stooping lower and publishing the most scandalous stories that could earn her more success, even at the expense of ruining people's reputations.

Jess, on the other hand, is a 25-year-old rookie reporter who left her local newspaper to work at the Globe. However, she soon realizes that the dirty tricks of tabloid journalism are unethical and wonders if she's in the wrong place.

The book starts off slow and doesn't pick up until the second half, where we learn more about our two POV characters, Jess and Stella, and their differing perspectives on journalism. We also get to know about their personal lives until one of the celebrities pays the ultimate price when a story they publish ruins her entire life. She commits suicide, and Jess realizes that she has to do something to stop the people at the newspaper before they destroy more victims' lives, even if it means risking her own life.

The second half of the book is definitely more interesting, with a faster pace, more mystery, twists, backstabbing moves, and intrigues.

Overall, this book takes a realistic approach to tabloid journalism, reflecting its ugly face and emphasizing how compelling it is to survive in this industry. You have two choices: become the hunter or the prey.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this well-written corporate thriller's ARC copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

Jess is a new reporter on the Gobe, who is determined to keep her moral compass pointing true north. She works for Stella, who doesn’t have a compass when it comes to getting a scoop. But when a celebrity turns up dead, what will they do to find the truth?

Strong female characters caught in moral denim as are what Sandie Jones does best,and this is no exception,

This is a great look at the tabloid industry with all it's backstabbing, unscrupulous reporters, and journalists willing to do anything to get a good story! It centers around Stella, long-time reporter for The Globe and newbie, Jess who is trying to make a name for herself but doesn't realize to what lengths these people will go to get a lead or even an inkling of a story. There are deaths, there are drugs, there is blackmail and suicide. But there are also women who embody goodness and will fight for humanity when one of their own is wronged. I raced through this one as it's as captivating as it is entertaining!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!.

Synopsis (It's a fiction book, so it helps….)
***********************************************************************
Risk or reward. Justice or revenge. Innocence or guilt.
Alex is used to getting the story by whatever means necessary. As Deputy Editor for the newspaper "The Daily Voice", she is revered and feared in equal measure, having lost her moral compass years ago. After all, if someone puts themselves in the public eye, they’re fair game, aren’t they? So when she’s offered salacious information about a beloved TV personality, she doesn’t hesitate to splash it across the front pages. However, when the woman—devastated by the shame of the exposé—kills herself, Alex questions herself for the first time.

Jess is fresh to the world of journalism, a rookie reporter not yet beaten down by the dirty tricks of the tabloid trade. As she works closely with Alex in the aftermath of the star’s suicide, Jess learns that what the paper published is only half the story . . . Soon, Alex and Jess realize that they have more power than they first thought, but must choose between saving themselves and revealing the truth.

As an avowed fan of the ballsiness of "The Daily Mail", I really enjoyed this book as it is nice and gossipy and salacious and both funny and sad. I am also a serious fan of Sandie Jones' works and recommend them all the time to our readers as they are always fresh and enjoyable to work my way through. The characters are memorable and the story is fast and enjoyable to read: I will highly recommend it to my readers of CHick-lit and contemporary fiction...along with all of her previous books to my clientele that has not read her books as of yet.

#shortbutsweetreviews

Sandie Jones has become a masterful scribe of women characters who question their own motives, morality and secrets (as evidenced in her previous thriller “The Blame Game”). And even though the main character, newly hired reporter Jess, insists in the first chapter that she won’t be trading her morals for a by-line, well, the title might be a terrific hint of events to come.

Jess reports to super ambitious Stella, a deputy editor at The Globe, who chucked her sensibilities into a bin years ago. Stella is always dealing with “The Trade Off” — a queasy bit of blackmail tossed out to a target/victim in exchange for a bigger story, and she’s about to send Jess down various rabbit holes.

Yasmin Chopra is this minute’s hot celebrity, a TV reality show cook-off winner gracing the covers of multiple glossies. Jess and Stella both approach her, but the seemingly harmless interview that Jess obtains is corrupted by Stella’s oddly merciless additions. And overnight Yasmin kills herself.

Complicating matters are Max, the morally vague editor above Stella, and Peter, a despicable Rupert Murdoch/Harvey Weinstein tycoon and predator who only cares about the newspaper, not about its victims. Peter’s take: “To be totally honest, I don’t care what did or didn’t make her do it. She means nothing to me. What matters is my newspaper and my reputation.” Stella thinks she is prepared to give Peter a pound of flesh to get promoted over Max.

Yasmin’s suicide breaks Jess. Stella is simultaneously pondering the release of a convict who vowed to kill her 4 years ago, and she now considers terrorizing Jess in the similar way to get the young reporter to salaciously re-slant her story about Yasmin. As anticipated, the action ratchets up from this point. Is Stella really that morally compromised? Can inexperienced Jess stand up to everything that’s ready to bury her? It’s not all black and white.

I loved this thriller — it had me hooked from the start and I read nonstop to find out what would happen to both Jess and Stella. 5 stars!

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Black, blue, beady and narrow, but no green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO But the paparazzi have no qualms about trampling flowerbeds and Jess feeds white wine to snapdragons.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the copy of The Trade Off by Sandie Jones. This book sounded so good, but by the time I started it, I had forgotten what it was about. (Kindle doesn’t show the description on the “back cover”.) About 40% in I had to look it up because nothing was really happening and without more context I couldn’t stay interested. Luckily, the book and plot picked up soon after, but by then I was already disengaged. If you’re willing to wait for the real story to start, you would love this book because it was clever and twisty with some good characters. It just wasn’t really for me. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

I was looking forward to this novel since I am a huge Sandie Jones fan and she definitely blew my expectations away.. I couldn’t put this book down and finished within a few hours. Stella is the ruthless deputy editor and Jess is the brand new girl at The Globe tabloid. Jess is horrified about how they get their stories and some of the things that are printed. She is ready to quit, but stops when promised she can be a spy for the editor and not give up her values. This novel has many exciting plot twists and not everyone is who you think they are.

Stella is a ruthless deputy editor used to doing whatever it takes to make a story scintillating and sell more issues. Jess a new reporter starts to work there and she can’t believe the way that Stella manipulates people to sell a story. She is horrified that she took part in any of this and feels responsible for Yasmin’s suicide.

Jess starts to dig into what happens. I didn’t like the Peter Kingsley media mogul and all the female victims coming forward as it felt too close to real life events and I like to read to escape reality. Rich person who thinks they are above the law and do anything they want.

Alex will do anything for a story; as deputy editor for The Daily Voice, all she cares about are sales. Who gets hurt along the way isn’t her concern. Until Alex leaks an indecent story about a UK television star and the woman commits suicide. Shaken by the fact that her story caused someone’s death, Alex begins to question everything she’s been doing. Joining forces with fresh faced young reporter, Jess, the two begin looking into the story and discover that they have a big decision to make. Will they save themselves or tell the truth. A timely story, in a day when their are news “entertainment channels” and people will believe almost anything if it’s salacious enough, this book hits home