Nicole Forbes answers her door one day to find a writer, Zoe Mortimer, asking her questions about 1980s band Secret Oktober and her relationship with the members. If this weren't bad enough, her daughter, Hannah, is picked up from school by her aunt. Hannahh doesn't have an aunt. Nicole remembers what happened twenty-five years that forced the band to stop performing. Is Zoe's asking questions have anything to do with Hannah's disappearance?

The story unfolds in two timelines, the present in California, where Nicole now lives with her family having changed her identity, and 1986 London, where she is originally from.. In 1986, Cassie, Nicole's sister, is a groupie, in love with Ben Edwards, lead singer of the band. Nicole is a singer/songwriter performing at a club. Ben hears her sing and the two become collaborators and lovers. The band's rock and roll lifestyle includes drugs, partying and other unsavory choices which the news media reports. Nicole is heartbroken about it all, especially when she learns her sister is a part of that lifestyle. What happened all those years ago? Were Nicole and Cassie involved?

This book was a bit disappointing to me, based on the synopsis I was expecting something more from this author. I did not like either Nicole or Cassie. The author attempted to give us some twists and turns, but I was not engaged. I would have given this an extra star except the ending really disappointed me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for an ARC. The review is my own.

Events of her past rapidly catch up with Nicole when her daughter, Hannah, is picked up from school by her “aunt”. Also, a reporter shows up on Nicole’s doorstep inquiring about those events of many years ago. This is a quick paced mystery with complex characters. The two timelines, the events of Nicole’s sister’s obsessive fan crush on a member of the band Secret Oktober and Nicole’s actual relationship with the same band member take some twisty turns until both timelines come together in the present. A good, well written read. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

This is a dual-timeline book that alternates between 1986 in London, and 2011 in California. In the 1986 timeline, Sixteen-year-old Cassie is obsessed with the band Secret Oktober, harboring an intense crush on the leading man, Ben Edwards. She is willing to do anything to stand out, and capture his attention. But when Ben discovers Cassie's older sister Nicole singing at a local bar one night, he can’t help but feel drawn to her, setting in motion a collision course that could tear their family apart In the 2011 timeline, Nicole lives in the small seaside town of Coronado with her husband and daughter.. One day a writer knocks on her door asking for her personal insight into the downfall of the biggest British band of the 1980s—threatening to unravel the threads of a life she left behind years ago. That same day, her daughter goes missing and the school claims that her aunt picked her up.....but she doesn't have an aunt. Convinced of a link between the two, Nicole is forced to revisit long-abandoned memories from her past to protect everything she now holds dear.

I normally love this author's books, but this one was a miss for me. It was a bit of a slow burn for most of the book, Cassie was thoroughly unlikable, and to be honest, Nicole wasn't much better. The only difference between the two was that Nicole at least had sanity on her side. I needed someone to root for, and I didn't have that. I didn't really feel invested in their story either. I wanted to like this, but this one just wasnt the book for me.

Very “Girl with the dragon tattoo” vibes! It’s gripping, fast paced & a definite page turner! You’ll be reading until the wee hours if you start it too late!

Huge thank you to NetGalley, Sandie & Minotaur for the advanced copy of this book! It was an honor to be selected!

What to expect:
⭐️Dual timelines (past & present)
⭐️Dual POVs
⭐️Long held secrets
⭐️Complicated relationships
⭐️British boyband and fandom
⭐️Psychological thriller


TW: discussions of a child being kidnapped, drug use, sexual relations while using drugs, unwanted sexual advances, rape, murder, cancer illness of a parent and mental illness.


Thoughts:
Gripping… you won’t want to put it down. I can’t attest to this authors previous work or how others felt about this story but I actually really enjoyed it. Once I started it I couldn’t put it down. It is told in two perspectives of voice which are two sisters. The combination of the stories and how they twist is pretty crazy. The overarching story of the band, their crazed fans and how these sisters fit in is pretty spot on for many people I know in the industry who over time grew in popularity. The ending and last few chapters coming together were pretty insane. The last page will have you going WHAT!?! Or NO WAY!!?? There are some deep conversations with heavy trigger warnings I highly recommend being aware of before dipping in to the story as they are center focus for much of the implosion and events of the whole story.

There were a few areas that At first I will say I struggled with as a non YA aged reader. this past/present story telling spends a bit of time building the past storyline. At times it felt almost too naive & young for me. Something that would be more YA. Once you get beyond the early building of it and see how the present storyline fits in, you loose that I’m too old for this feeling. It is a bit slow to get off and understand the whole story coming together BUT once you do it is a FAST rolling ball. One you will be chasing to the end!

Synopsis:

California, 2011: Nicole Forbes lives a quiet life in the small seaside town of Coronado with her husband and daughter. She is not expecting a writer to knock on her door asking for her personal insight into the downfall of the biggest British band of the 1980s—unveiling the threads of a life she left behind years ago. The same day, her daughter goes missing and the school claims her aunt picked her up . . . but she doesn’t have an aunt. Convinced of a link between the two, Nicole is forced to revisit long-abandoned memories from her past to protect everything she now holds dear.

London, 1986: Sixteen-year-old Cassie is obsessed with Secret Oktober, the hottest band of the moment. Harboring an intense crush on the leading man, Ben Edwards, she will do anything she can to capture his attention among the throngs of groupies at the band’s scandalous backstage parties. But when Ben discovers her older sister Nicole singing at a local bar one night, he can’t help but feel drawn to her, setting in motion a collision course that could tear their family apart.

Infused with the sounds of the 80s, this thrilling novel from the inimitable Sandie Jones explores the chaos that the frenzy of fandom can provoke.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC. I enjoyed the story and as a fan of Sandie Jones this did not disappoint, The story had a strong plot and great characters. I didn’t expect the ending felt the story had a lot of originality which I feel like can sometimes not happen in the genre.

Thank you Netgalley & Minotaur books for an eARC ♥️♥️

The doorbell rings, and everything changes. For Nicole Forbes, a quiet life in small-town California is shattered when a writer arrives, asking about her connection to the iconic British band, Secret Oktober.
As the past begins to unravel, Nicole's daughter goes missing, and the school's explanation raises more questions than answers. The search for truth becomes an all-consuming force, driving Nicole to confront the secrets she's kept hidden for decades.
The story is a masterful blend of 80s nostalgia and heart-pumping suspense, with the dark side of fandom and the intoxicating power of celebrity taking center stage. Sandie Jones weaves a complex web of characters and events that will keep you guessing until the very end.

This book started off slow for me but then caught my attention about halfway and left me with a cliffhanger. This was a dual timeline (1986 & 2010) that revolved around a past rock band murder and a present day kidnapping.
I hope there is a sequel because I need to know what happened.
Thank you St. Martins Press/Minotaur Books for sending me this ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

This is the second eARC by Sandie Jones I have had the plesaure of reviewing. This book featured one of my favorite things, a dual timeline. There was drama at every corner. I wish we had more time to live with the aftermath of the twist, but overall this was good and fun.

This is my first read by this author and I will probably read more from her in the future. Told in dual POV as well as dual timelines, the story of a rock star (pop star maybe lol) and the women who changed his life forever but perhaps not in a way we all expect. Throughout the story, you are pretty sure what happened but as any story of this time, not all is as it seems. There were some twists that I didn't foresee but it still felt a bit disjointed in the telling (and I am assuming it was to throw us off kilter a bit). And that ending? Still reeling a bit on that one. 3.5 stars for me.

2.5 rounded up to 3.

Dual timeline following two sisters, Nicole and Cassie, and a band that is quickly rising as one of the biggest in the UK. When dark secrets from Nicole’s past starts catching up to her 24 years later, she’ll do practically anything to keep the past buried.

I think this started off really slow, but I was living for the drama in the past timeline. The characters were unlikeable, but in a fun way. I thought the present timeline and how it connected to the past was quite obvious, so I lost interest during the 2010 chapters.

The ending/big reveals came too late to be satisfying, and I really disliked the last page. I was hoping for that big moment but it just… ended :(

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I think I see what this book was going for, but there was a lot going on and I'm not sure it all held together. Constructed from 1980s flashbacks and a 2010s narrative, the book tries to look at fan culture and obsession. (I kept thinking of watching an old Brady Bunch epidode of Marcia obsessed with some guy named Davy Jones, someone I had never heard of). I felt the band members could have been better developed, and that too many facts were withheld form the reader until the very end.

This was not my favorite. The timeline was confusing and hard to follow, and I wasn't too shocked or suprised at the twists.

This was....not it. The cover gives the wrong vibes. The characters are insufferable and I couldn't stand any of them. The story took way too long to get to the point that we all already knew.
I'm surprised I finished the whole book so for that it gets two stars but I definitely want my time back.

Thank you to the publisher for the copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book was a swing and a miss for me. A classic case of great ideas, but poor execution. I will say that it was an easy read and I was 100% curious to see where the story was headed so that’s definitely a positive. My biggest issues were the characters and the pacing. Nicole was fine, but I really didn’t feel like I got to know her well enough to really care about what happened to her. Cassie was COMICALLY delusional and immature and not in a good way. I think had the book focused on why she was so obsessed with the band, it would have made her storyline a litter more complex, but it just came across as ridiculous and a little cringey. The pacing was QUICK and too much so. I felt like we could have had maybe fifty more pages to really flesh out characters and smoothed out a few plot points that felt thrown in without reason. I did enjoy the dual timelines and POVs and I liked the fictional look at the groupies of the 80’s, but overall, it just wasn’t for me. Also, the ending was so freaking abrupt and frustrated the heck out of me.
CW: drug use, rape, stalking, murder, kidnapping violence

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced digital reader’s copy!

This was the first book I’ve read by this author, but definitely not my last. I was completely engrossed in this book as the author took us from California 2010 to London 1986. The back story was the better part of the book, but the California part more than made up for it with the final 1/4 of the book. I loved Nicole and detested Cassie right from the beginning. Their twisted sister relationship was simply chilling. The ending found my mouth hanging wide open and my brain going…..whaaaaat.

This review is entirely voluntary and reflects my personal opinions.

I Would Die For You by Sandie Jones tells the story of Nicole a mom and wife living a life in San Diego. Until a reporter shows up asking questions and her daughter goes missing. The author tells the background of Nicole as the past timeline which is woven through out the story. It does help move the story along and makes you keep reading.

The characters needed more substance. The husband-wife relationship seemed like an afterthought. I did pick up on the little sisters’s craziness. I had to read the ending again to make sure I got it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur for this ARC selection.

I usually really enjoy books with dual timelines and/or multiple perspectives, but this one did not work for me. I’ve read this author before and really enjoyed her writing but this book felt like work and I didn’t think it was ever going to end. Even when the book ended it didn’t really feel like an ending. It felt more like the author just stopped writing. It wasn’t the worst book I’ve read, but while i would recommend this writer to a friend, I would suggest a different book.

I didn’t love this book but the writing was still good. I just didn’t like the characters or the overall storyline. Thank you for the advanced copy!

It felt like there was just way too much going on in this story. The twists kept coming and I didn't connect with the story like I hoped.

What a great book. It alternates timelines between when Nicole was just out of school and 25 years later married with a daughter. We hear about her younger sister Cassie and her obsession with Ben from a boy band. Everything slowly entwines together. The reveals are worth the wait The ending will make your Jaw drop. Still not completely sure what happened.