This was okay, I liked the English boy band parts but left a little confused with the other timeline.

I wanted to love this so badly, but this was a bit of a miss for you. I loved the present tense plot and wish there was more of it!

Thanks to Minotaur Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for early access to I Would Die for You in exchange for my honest opinion. I switched back and forth between ebook and audiobook formats, mostly listening. This dual timeline “thriller” jumps between Nicole’s life as an adult in current day LA and her young adulthood in the 1980s in England, and I use those quotes because I think it’s more of a family drama with some withheld secrets, rather than a twist-filled thriller. The book was fine, but I thought it had a bit too much going on, and I wish the story had been fleshed out a bit. The characters are all awful with maybe one exception, and I wasn’t really invested in what was happening and/or why.
I’m glad I could read the acknowledgements to see that it was based on the author’s own experience following Duran Duran, and I wish the audiobook had included that info. Overall, I liked the audio format because it felt like I was listening to a soap opera, and I don’t know if I would have gotten as enthralled if I had been reading instead of listening. That being said, I feel like this book is a departure form the author’s typical thriller, and I think women’s fiction would be a better classification for this book.

Wow...what a gripping, fast-paced read It’s the kind of story you devour in one sitting.

Sandie Jones delivers a compelling dual-timeline mystery, intertwining the past and present in a tale of obsession, betrayal, and the dark side of fandom. Infused with the sounds and atmosphere of the ‘80s, The Trade Off explores the chaotic frenzy of celebrity worship and the dangerous lengths some will go to for their idols.

Coronado, California – 2011: Nicole Forbes has built a quiet life with her husband, Brad, and their nine-year-old daughter, Hannah. But her past comes crashing back when a young writer, Zoe, shows up at her door, digging into Nicole’s connection to the infamous ‘80s British band Secret Oktober—a band whose downfall is shrouded in mystery. Nicole wants nothing to do with it, but the same day, her daughter goes missing. The school claims her “aunt” picked her up, but Nicole doesn’t have a sister. Convinced the two events are connected, she must confront long-buried memories to protect the life she’s fought to build.

London – 1986: Sixteen-year-old Cassie is obsessed with Secret Oktober, particularly its lead singer, Ben Edwards. She will do anything to capture his attention, but her plans take a turn when Ben sets his sights on her older sister, Nicole, instead. Nicole, recently moved out of their strict, abusive home, is trying to carve out a life for herself, unaware that stepping into the band’s orbit will set off a chain of events with devastating consequences.

As the past and present collide, Nicole must uncover the truth: What really happened in 1986? Who was responsible for Secret Oktober’s implosion? And who has come back to exact revenge?

What Worked for Me
✅ Fast-Paced and Addictive: The book’s pacing is relentless, making it an easy binge-read with twists and turns that keep you hooked. The tension builds steadily, and just when you think you have it figured out—boom! Another twist.

✅ Intriguing Premise: The dark side of celebrity obsession is a fascinating topic, and the book does a great job highlighting the extreme lengths fans (and groupies) will go to for proximity to fame. The toxic relationships, manipulations, and dangerous power imbalances within the music industry add depth to the mystery.

✅ Dual Timelines Done Well: The transitions between 1986 and 2011 are seamless, with each chapter revealing more pieces of the puzzle. The slow unraveling of the past kept me engaged.

✅ Emotional Depth (at Times): While I had issues with the characters (more on that below), I appreciated the exploration of sisterhood, guilt, and trauma. Nicole’s conflicting emotions toward Cassie felt authentic, and her past trauma shaped her present fears in a believable way.

What Didn’t Work for Me
❌ Rushed Pacing and Surface-Level Emotion: The story moves at breakneck speed, but this comes at the cost of character depth. Nicole’s relationships—both with Ben in the past and Brad in the present—felt underdeveloped. There wasn’t enough emotional weight behind them, making it difficult to fully invest in her connections.

❌ One-Dimensional Characters: While Nicole and Cassie had some depth, many of the other characters felt like placeholders. Ben, in particular, lacked the charisma needed to make his role in the story feel impactful. The villains were a bit cartoonish at times, and Cassie’s descent into obsession felt predictable rather than layered.

❌ Over-the-Top Plot Points: Some twists were jaw-dropping, but a few felt absurd or forced. I had to suspend disbelief in certain moments, and a couple of big reveals earned an eye-roll rather than shock.

❌ An Abrupt Ending: After such a thrilling buildup, the resolution felt rushed and a bit unsatisfying. I wanted more closure, especially regarding certain characters and their fates.

While The Trade Off had its flaws, it was undeniably entertaining. The dual timelines, dark themes of obsession and betrayal, and rapid-fire twists made it an addictive read. If you love fast-paced psychological thrillers with a touch of nostalgia, this one is worth picking up—just be prepared for a few moments that stretch believability.

I Would Die for You by Sandie Jones was a bit suspenseful with some parts keeping me on the edge of my seat. A suspense/thriller involving an 80’s band sounded like fun. Narration was great but it was a bit difficult to follow the duo timelines at times. It really hopped around that I found it confusing at times and losing track of who the characters are and how they fit in the story. I’ve enjoyed many books by this author so I was a little bummed this one missed the mark. I may give it another try and read the book myself. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley.

Thank you to MInotaur Books for the approval to read new Sandie Jones! Excited to get my hands on this one basically just based on the author, lol. I went in to this one blind.

This was, admittedly, not my favorite story ever. I did like the storyline but the characters were mostly SO unlikable, especially Cassie, There was no one I could find to root for or really care about. Sometimes unlikable characters are fine, I can still get into the story, maybe it's wanting them to get what they deserve or wanting to see how situations play out but there was nothing here I really cared enough about in the characters lives that really made this still an enjoyable read. I hate to say it because I have loved what I've read from this author!

It wasn't until about 78% that this really started to pick up. It wasn't until that point that I really cared but then I couldn't get enough and couldn't read this fast enough! The mystery gets a little convoluted until everything begins to unravel as answers are revealed. I still couldn't really care about the outcome FOR the characters per say but like I wanted to know how this would end. But the ending..... Some readers will love this ending!

I think this story will work really well for a lot of readers. I did love some aspects and would recommend this if you love:
-dual timeline
-80s band
-slow burn mystery, it takes a while to get to some answers

I Would Die for You started off strong for me. I wanted to know who Nicole was and what she was hiding. This story was told in dual timelines, which is something I enjoy in books. I did think that this story felt a little long in the middle. I think part of that may have been that there are parts where I wasn't as invested as I was in the beginning. I liked the way everything tied up at the end, although nothing was especially surprising in the way it played out. I thought the narrator for the audiobook did a great job with this book.

This had such a great premise and I tried to follow along, but it all became too confusing to me. And that ending ... sigh.

I think the alternating timelines were good in theory, but just to hard to understand.

There were a couple of reveals I didn't guess, but the puzzle pieces were too hard to make come together.

I think this would be a fun read for any child or teen of the 80s.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-copy of I WOULD DIE FOR YOU to review.

I rate I WOULD DIE FOR YOU three out of five stars.

The author blended both timelines of the story seamlessly, as well as the genres that came together to tell this story. This was such a fun nod to the music world (which I am a big fan of) with the mystery/suspense tie in. I felt like I could have been a groupie with Cassie and Amelia through the detailed experiences that the girls have.

In 2011, Nicole Forbes is living a quiet life on Coronado Island, where she’s a wife, mother, and passionate advocate of the local seal population. She’s always been very careful to hide her young adult years in London in the 1980s, when both she and her 16-year-old sister Cassie got entangled with Britain’s hottest boy band, Secret Oktober. When Nicole’s past and present collide, her carefully constructed life is in danger of being destroyed by secrets and lies she thought she’d left behind.

This dual-timeline suspense alternates between Nicole’s first-person POV in 2011 and a third-person POV in 1986 that encompasses both Nicole and Cassie’s stories. The 1986 timeline delves into the salacious side of fandom, fueled by sex, drugs, and rock & roll. Lots of twists, turns, and drama as Cassie’s obsession with band frontman Ben Edwards spirals out of control. The narrative is juicy and fast-paced, and I breezed through the pages in less than two days. Although many plot points are resolved, the book closes on a very open-ended note, leaving the reader to intuit what happens next instead of wrapping everything in a neat little bow.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.

You’re happy at rock ‘n’ roll and groupies. But the story was so much more than that. It is well written and engaging. It was a little confusing at the end, but overall I enjoyed it and would recommend it if you’re looking for a new book to read.

I struggled with this book. I also tried to give it a chance, but by chapter 4, I had to be done. The first chapter is filled with timeline and military inaccuracies. As a retired military spouse, this infuriates me, and the author should be grateful that I gave it a chance after that. Moving forward was like reading a story I've already read without giving credit to the inspiration. It would have been simple to add a single sentence to reference the Beatles as the band's inspiration for the rooftop concert instead of ignoring that everyone knows that is where it came from, not the author's creative mind. I also found Nicole to be an irritating character, making it extremely difficult to even care about anything else coming in the story.

We start what we think will be a thriller, a daughter is taken from her school -- They say she was picked up by her Aunt. Her mom said she doesn't have an aunt! Told through a dual timeline of her life (in England) and now (no in between). The reality of it all is no thriller in my mind. It's more of a coming-of-age between very different sisters -- with a bratty psycho twist. ha!

This was a story that had the 80's written all over it, right up my alley! Based off the Euro-pop group, Duran Duran, young Cassie was obsessed with the fictitious group portrayed in this book. She and her friend found out all of the details - where they were performing, what hotel they were staying at, red carpet events and more. To say she followed them everywhere is an understatement. She "saw" things others didn't -- I will just leave it at that.

Nicole, her older sister, is more reserved -- a poet discovering her voice. In a chance meeting with the band's lead singer at a bar, they end up discovering they have more than just a voice in common.

It's a tale of family, budding romance, teen angst and deceit.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read an early copy and review. It's out now!

TW: death of a parent and SA

The Author's Note was crazy and funny because I pegged the relation right away

📚: I Would Die for You by Sandie Jones
⭐️: 2.5/5 (rounding upon #goodreads)

A great concept — 1980s rock star fangirl culture & a current day timeline filled with secrets of what happened then — that falls apart in execution.

I found myself most put off my this cast of incredibly unlikeable, selfish characters - in particular, maybe surprisingly, Nicole. A slight spoiler - but I found it unfathomable for her to put keeping her secret safe over the search for her child. Particularly when her secret is revealed and it lands so very underwhelming.

A rounded up score for the portion I listened to via audiobook — I found that the story is told more compelling via that format.

Thanks to St Martins Press via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. I Would Die for You is out now.

Nicole has a past that she has kept hidden from her husband. But it is now coming back to haunt her. Cassie, her sister, has been out of Nicole’s life for years and now….it appears..She is back and intends to get revenge.

This is a tale which took a while to get where it needed to be. It was a bit long and drawn out but I did enjoy the past history and learning what actually happened.

I sort of knew where this story was headed and who was doing what…but I did not see the twist at the end. And it is almost like there just might be a sequel. Time will tell!

The narrator, Imogen Wilde, did a good job. There are a lot of voices and she handles it well, except for the child. Y’all know this is something that drives me nuts. 😜😂

Need a family drama with a twisted ending…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

CW: SA and drug use. Multiple books about bands fall flat but this seemed to work well written by a love/star struck teen going out of her way to meet the frontman of her favorite band.

Multiple POVs, daul timelines. Lies, twists, and heartbreak. I wanted to know the ending of this book, I flew through it. I do wish there was more depth with the Nicole's marriage and the details of her sharing her secrets with him as they supposedly had an amazing marriage before all of this started.
Nicole's sister - wow. WOW.
This is a quick, keep you on your toes domestic thriller.

4.5⭐️

I Would Die for You is a psychological thriller Told in the dual time lines from the past and future. Getting to see Nicole as a teen and then as adult dealing with all that happened, you can feel for her as she trying to battle current things happening to her family! I really liked how that was done, weaving a non linear story of the past with its consequences in the future. It kept me reeling as I tried to piece it all together. I had a blast reading this and the outrageous things some would do and say for a boy band! So many different angles of mayhem to consider while you read, it was so good!

Thank you to @minotaur_books and Netgalley for my #gifted copy!

Wow, let me start out by saying that I wanted more of this book at the end. i was so looking forward to an epilogue or a few more chapters , seriously didn't want this book to end! I enjoyed the Hell out of it. Thank you so very much for this edge of my seat, bite my lip, holy crap what is going to happen next book! This one is a must read and then read again!

Nicole Forbes is a married woman with a beautiful little eight year old girl. Nicole has been going through her life for the past twenty years living with lies that are about to come crashing down around her. Someone comes knocking on her door and when she opens it the young girl says she is wanting to interview her. Nicole invites her in thinking that she is there for a different reason. Unfortunately, she is there to find out about her past and to write a book about it. Nicole does not take to kindly to that and tells the young lady to please leave. She asks her several times before she finally does.

The next thing that happens Nicole goes to the bus stop to get Hannah from the bus. Except there is no Hannah. The bus driver even tells her she wasn't supposed to be on the bus today. She goes in and calls the school. The secretary of the school informed her that she had called last week and arranged for Hannah's aunt to pick her up that day. Except that Hannah doesn't have any aunt's on either side of the families.. So, who the Hell has her daughter?

Nicole (Alderton) doesn't know if she can be put back into the Nicole Forbes. Everything is different and everything is leaking out. With this young girl that has started coming around all the things she had been trying to get her to talk about she knew it would only be a matter of time before everything came out.

Cassie was Nicole's sister and she loved her dearly and would have done anything for her. Back in the day when their mom Gigi was ill with cancer Nicole didn't live at home, but tried to come by the house to check on her as often as she could. With their father working and mom so ill Cassie was getting away with more than an average sixteen year old should ever have. She was skipping school and going to hang out where her favorite band was playing and trying to figure out a way to get close enough to hang out with one of the band members. That is how she meets Amelia. Amelia knows the band and introduces her to them and she gets up and very personal with them. She starts coming home late and lying to her father. Until one day when her mother has past away and her father tells her she needs to go get her sister. When she shows up and her sister is with someone, but she doesn't know who.

At the funeral the gentlemen that shows up out of the blue, and uninvited is Ben one of the band members. Cassie thought he was there for her and he wasn't. He was there to see Nicole. Their father told Ben to get the hell out and to leave his daughter alone. Ben stepped up and told him that he was there to see Nicole and not Cassie and that he was in love with her. Nicole stepped forward and and Cassie yelled and screamed at them and ran from the house.

This is where things will get strange and more confusing oh yes, but so much better all at the same time! This is where I will ask you what might be the secrets that Nicole is hiding and from whom might she be hiding them from?

Happy Reading!!

🥳 Happy Pub Day 🥳

I received this Arc for my honest review from NetGalley.
I'm going to rate this book 3⭐ although really I'd say 2 1/2 ⭐ but it was better than worse so I'll go up to 3 .

This book has some Almost famous/Daisy Jones vibes but of course with a twist 💀
But idk for me at least I didn't really care about the twist .. it was just so cringe as the kids say 🤣
Good idea .. not so great delivery .

I think I just wasn't in love with this largely because outside of Hannah who we honestly don't get to know I didn't like any of the characters . Some like Amelia are just straight awful . Oh Hank is cool .

Like I said Good idea though .