I was excited to read this book! Unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me. I enjoyed the flashbacks of Cassie in her youth as a groupie teen, but that was the highlight of the book for me. The characters were fine and the story was fine, but that's all it was for me - just fine. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital arc of this title.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC. I am thinking I should have passed on this one. I feel like this genre can be so hit or miss and the quality of writing is just not there sometimes. None of the characters were likeable enough to either root for them or care what happens. I was tempted to DNF but fought my way through to the end. These thriller mysteries cannot have the reader suspend all reality and just go along with the author's journey when that journey makes no sense. Conversations take place that leave you confused and the ending really did not do it for me.

Nicole is living a new life in California. After Nicole's daughter is kidnapped, the timeline shifts to a dual narrative with flashbacks from Nicole’s life in London in 1986 to now in California in 2010. Nicole has a younger sister, Cassie, who is seemingly unstable. She is deplorable and delusional, chases a rock band around town, and expects Nicole to do whatever she asks. How does this famous band change the course of their lives forever? And how does this fit into the mystery of the disappearance of Nicole's daughter?

I enjoyed the book but didn't care for the ending, which seemed to be just for shock value.

gripping story, meh ending. fun-ish characters and interesting vibes. 4 stars. tysm for the arc. would most likely recommend.

I enjoy Sandie Jones’ books and this one in particular really resonated with me. I am of the same vintage as the author and when I was reading the description of how infatuated some of the characters were of a up and coming band, my 13 yr old self felt seen. In fact, at times in the story it would give me pause and I would think back to my own young girl obsession with Duran Duran and Wham and other New Wave bands (I particularly enjoyed Jones’ acknowledgements and her own backstory of being a young fan of Duran Duran- yes I am that person who reads the acknowledgements!) I think this book is a great exploration of adolescent obsession, the cost of fame and celebrity, and a realistic portrayal of family dynamics.

Read this if you like:
-nostalgic 1980s vibes
-the insiders view into the world of an up and coming band, Secret Oktober, in the 1980s complete with groupies and the excessive rock and roll lifestyle
-dual timelines of 1980s London and 2010s San Diego
-dual POVs of rival sisters
-when fan adulation becomes stalking and dangerously obsessive
-secret past catching up to present day self, in the case of Nicole
-toxic family dynamics and sibling rivalry which also mirrors Secret Oktober’s band members relationship
-twists and turns throughout with a WOW ending

My rating: 4.25 out of 5

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press Minotaur for this eARC that will be published March 25 2025.
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I Would Die for You ~ Sandie Jones.
Wowza, this book was unputdownable. It keeps you on the edge, bread crumming the details. The twists made my jaw drops, but the ending left me stunned.
Told in duel time lines Nicole lives a quiet life with her husband and daughter in a small seaside town in California. But everything changes when a reporter shows up at her doorstep with questions about a murder that happened over twenty years ago, A murder that Nicole ran from. When Nicole's daughter goes missing, her past starts to creep back up on her.
This book was a roller coaster ride, leaving you breathless at every turn. Sandie Jones wove a tale of obsession and scandal so craftily you won't see the collision course she has set you on until your final gasp leaving you gob smacked. This book gets ALL the stars, her best yet!

Rock groupies have existed for as long as rock has existed. Maybe even before. Lots of books have approached the topic. This book tackles it in a different light.

Sixteen year old Cassie is obsessed with Secret Oktober. She imagines that she’s going to be in a relationship with Ben Edwards, their lead singer. When she shows up at a pop-up event, she befriends Ameilia who has been a groupie for a while. Amelia knows the band and thinks she has a relationship with the drummer Michael. Amelia ropes Cassie into hanging out, skipping school and work, and following the band.

Nicole is Cassie’s older sister. Nicole is a singer/songwriter who is working the circuit trying to make something of her career. When Nicole crosses paths with Ben, she does her best to keep him a secret from her sister. Nicole knows Cassie’s obsession and doesn’t want to hurt her in any way. But as Cassie and Amelia get in deeper with both their imagined relationships and the band, things turn ugly.

The book jumps between current day and the 1980s. It develops into more than just a book about a band and relationships. It’s about hiding your past and having to confront it later in life. It’s about secrets that you never should have kept and truths that should have been told. I never expected the ending to turn out the way it did. It’s kind of wild.

Enjoyed this one and would recommend it. Definitely kind of chick-lit with an edge.

I really like Sandie Jones’s books but this one was a little different from her previous work. I didn’t feel a connection with the characters and some parts of the story felt disjointed. It was still a good read for me but not what I’m used to from her previous work. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of I Would Die For You by Sandie Jones
This book was fantastic, I loved it! Great characters and plot. Perfect amount of drama and twists. I loved how the story was told by two of the main characters, and in both past and present.
This is the first book I've read by this author, I'm hooked! Will be putting her on my to be read list for sure

Sandie Jones is not on the top of my list for favorite psychological thriller authors! This book will grab you from the beginning and not let you go until the very last page - and even then - you'll be saying to yourself "Are you kidding me?!" You will not be able to put this book down! Thank you Sandie Jones for another GREAT thriller!!

This story was an thrilling story from an author I don’t know or haven’t read before! Will look at finding other things by this author. I am grateful for the early access, thank you to those that allowed it!

2.5 Stars – A Mixed Experience

This book had a lot of potential, and there were elements I really enjoyed. The writing style was engaging, and the plot had a steady pace that kept me turning the pages. I typically love dual timelines, but in this case, they didn’t quite come together in a satisfying way. The transitions between past and present felt a bit disjointed, making it hard to fully invest in either storyline.

One of the biggest struggles for me was the characters. I never felt truly connected to them, which made it difficult to care about their journeys.

As for the ending—I’m still not sure if it was abrupt by design or meant to set up a sequel. Either way, it left me feeling unsatisfied rather than eager for more. Overall, while the book had a strong premise and solid writing, it just didn’t fully come together for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

You can’t choose your family, and this book really makes that sentiment hit home. As the story flips back and forth between 80s London and 2010s San Diego, it’s hard to determine at first how the stories might be intertwined. Howvwer, it seems that the secrets that Nicole Forbes has spent decades trying to hide have finally crossed the Atlantic when a woman name Zoe knocks on her door and asks questions about her past.

This book took me a couple of reads to get into, but once I made it about a quarter of a way through I was hooked. I have to say that Cassie is as normal of a sociopath as one could write for much of this book. Stick with it to the end for some surprising twists and an expected ambiguous Sandie Jones ending.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

Definitely didnt work me the back and forth POVs didnt just work me. For some reason the timeline seems off.

I Would Die for You was my first book by Sandie Jones. It goes back and forth between 2011 in California and London 1986, following two sisters.
While I enjoyed the London chapters better, it still wasn't enough for me. The characters were not likable at all. Even by the end I just did not care to even see how it ended. Even with the twists it was just very predictable. The ending was very abrupt and felt like cliff hanger. Second book, maybe? But I would not plan on reading it. I will plan on giving her another shot and plan on reading something else by her(any recs appreciated) since I am not the type of reader that reads one book and be done with an author.

I do have to say, I went back and forth between the audio and digital copies. The best part of the book was Imogen Wilde. I really enjoyed her as a narrator and plan to put her on my list of narrators I enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press/ MacMillan Audio for an advance copy in exchange for a honest review.

I wanted to love this so much more. The secret past catching up, the 80s throwback, a popular band, all that had such a good foundation to a great story. I did not like the switch between 1st and 3rd person, it made the book feel disjointed. The story was face paced with a lot of suspense but the ending felt rushed and unfinished.

I have never read anything by Sandie Jones before, but I like trying new authors. I'm usually a fan of dual timelines, but this one kinda fell flat for me. The surprises or twists weren't super shocking or entertaining. Overall, kinda meh

2.5 stars rounded up. I have read this author before and have really enjoyed her books, but this one did not work for me. I was not invested in any of the characters. I liked the idea of the story, but some of the pieces were confusing to me - the Zoe storyline for example. I think I might have liked this book more without the thriller/mystery aspect.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In London, sixteen year old Cassie is obsessed with the band Secret Oktober and believes she and her friend are in relationships with two of the band members. She has an older sister Nicole, who is a singer/songwriter who is trying to make it by playing at bars. We also meet Nicole 24 years in the future in 2010 when she is married and living in San Diego with a daughter who know nothing about her past in London. It is a past she wants to keep hidden.

3.5 stars.

I read this one pretty quickly. It alternated between 2010 and 1986 and there were a lot of references to the secret Nicole was keeping about her past. This made me want to know the secret and keep reading to find out what it was, but when you have that kind of anticipation, there needs to be a major payout and I am not sure it was enough. We could guess that someone died but we didn't know who and we didn't know why. When we found out it was ok. Ultimately it was an ok and quick read but nothing overly interesting.

Sandie Jones newest book I Would Die for You tells the story how falling in love with a rock star can come back to haunt you later in life, while destroying your family. Nicole lives in California with her husband and daughter where she spends her days petitioning to save seals on a local beach. One day, a woman comes to her house and asks about Nicole’s long buried secret about her connection to the hottest rock star in the 1980s on the same day that her daughter’s non-existent aunt picks her up from school, causing a panic. Is there a connection between the two events? What will her husband do when he finds out she’s been withholding her role in the tragic events on the end of the band? And what exactly does she know about the day the music died?

Positives: What a great nostalgic return to the music of the 1980s and the style that came with it. It’s like every girl who fantasized about being the girlfriend of a guy in the band lives vicariously through Cassie and Nicole. (Hello NKOTB groupie right here!)

Struggles: This book is considered suspense/thriller, but I would say only the last 15% of it could fall in that category. The book is more of a family tragedy/nostalgia plot in 1986 and how that family tragedy impacts the 2010 storyline.

Thank you to NetGalley and for the advanced copy. Opinions expressed are my own. This book will be published on March 24, 2025. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

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