Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio for the complimentary copy of the book!

I was drawn to the premise of this book because hello I love me a band and I am self proclaimed fangirl. So I knew that this book would be for me.

This book is told from two timelines - the past (1986) and the present (2011). It took me a bit to get used to the timelines. Mostly because the timelines are told from two different perspectives. In the past we are in the perspective of a young Cassie and in the present timeline we are in the perspective of her older sister Nicole.

The premise doesn't really say this but I would say that when we are in the past timeline, I would say a theme of that is obsession. Cassie is only 16 years old and has this admiration for Secret Oktober specifically for the lead singer Ben Edwards. And it only progressed as she got a taste of what it was like to be near him. And a cycle of events that occurred changed the course of everyone involved lives.

In the current timeline, Nicole lives a simple life with her husband and daughter in California and all is normal until her daughter does not get off the bus. The school claims she had been picked up by her aunt in which Nicole had previously authorized. But we learn that there couldn't be an aunt that picked her daughter up. Between the disappearance of her daughter and being visited by a journalist, Nicole starts to spiral thinking back to the incidents that occured years ago.

I was pretty invested in the storyline. Because the perspectives were every other chapter or so, I would be left wanting more which kept me going with the story. I wouldn't say that there was anything jaw dropping when some of the reveals were brought to light. I'm trying to be vague without spoiling but the way Sandie wrote left things up for interpretation until you got the answer. I think for me with the last quarter of the book, things were moving so fast that I was trying to piece together everything that was happening (total me thing and no fault of the author).

Imogen Wilde was the narrator and I thought she did a pretty good job handling both perspectives. I would have loved a 2nd narrator to help distinguish the two a bit more. But I thought Imogen brought an emotional side to her tone especially when Nicole was going through the motions of not knowing where her child was. Mixed with Sandie's writing, the audio listening experience kept me on edge and I credit that to Imogen's narration.

This is my first Sandie book and I am looking forward to reading more from her!

3.5

I WOULD DIE FOR YOU
Sandie Jones

Nicole now lives in California with her family. She used to live in London. She used to be involved with one of the biggest bands in British history. And the writer at her door wants to know all about the days that Nicole has worked so hard to forget.

Exposed and vulnerable, hoping to keep this secret from her husband, Nicole goes back in her mind to revisit those days. And try her hardest to keep that life from infiltrating her current.

I did not like this one by Jones. The storyline is garbled and the dual timeline does not help.

The characters are flat and wispy. I had no emotional attachment to any of them and I found it hard to root for Nicole.

I'm sorry this one didn't work for me.

Thanks to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for the advanced copies!

I WOULD DIE FOR YOU…⭐⭐

I did not expect this book to be....what it was. I'm not sure what I was expecting but I was left feeling let down. I have enjoyed previous Sandie Jones releases, but this didn't have the same flair the previous ones have had that kept me engaged and needing more.

Fun, easy to listen to thriller! Lots of threads that come together in a cool way. Love Imogen Church’s narration!

*I Would Die for You* by Sandie Jones is a nostalgic and fast-paced thriller that taps into the feverish energy of teen boy band obsession—something that really resonated with me, having lived through that craze myself in the '90s. The dual timeline structure was a great choice; it kept the momentum going and made me eager to find out how the past would catch up to the present. The shifting perspectives added intrigue and helped maintain suspense throughout the story.

That said, I found myself struggling with how much the characters' decisions stretched believability. Some of their conclusions and reactions felt disconnected from logic, and by the time I reached the ending—especially those final few sentences—I was more confused than satisfied. It didn’t seem to tie back to any earlier hints or plot points, leaving me unsure of what had actually happened or why. Still, the book had its fun moments, and while the characters were over the top, they were entertaining. I’d give it 3 out of 5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced listener copy—it was definitely an engaging ride, even if the destination didn’t quite land.

I Would Die for You by Sandie Jones is a twisty family, pyschological thriller with dual timelines that helps give readers a full picture of the main character. But then, you begin to realize that she is not a reliable character.

I enjoyed this one on audio but it was not my favorite Sandie Jones. Some parts dragged but overall I Would Die for You held my attention and I was eager to find out what would happen in the end.

There were a bunch of twists and turns that I did not see coming, but some were a bit much.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my gifted audiobook copy.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this audiobook as I wasn't enjoying the narrator or the story itself. The premise sounded very compelling but somehow I wasn't interested in it while it was unfolding. This is the first time I read a book from this author so I don't know if I would try another.

In I Would Die For You, two sisters get entangled with a very popular British boy band in the 1980s when a tragedy occurred and it comes back to haunt them 25 years later. This was a twisted psychological thriller where we knew something bad happened but we didn’t know what for most of the book. Since Harry Styles is my most favorite person ever, I loved the little glimpse into the boy band life and having it tied up in a thriller made it more fun. It kept me on my toes and was entertaining to see it all unfold.

I Would Die for You an okay read. The story toggles between the 1980: and present day, giving a glimpse in obsession, family drama, and the energy of fandom. While the premise was interesting, some of the twists didn’t land for me, and the characters were hard to fully connect with at times. The audiobook, narrated by Imogen Wilde, added a nice touch, with here performance giving the characters more dimension. If you’re in the mood for a light thriller with a nostalgic vibe, this one might be what you need.

✨Arc Review ✨ Out now ✨

Nicole Forbes lives a quiet life in a small seaside town in California with her husband and daughter. The last thing she’s expecting is a writer to show up at her front door asking for her personal insight into the downfall of the biggest British band from the 80’s. Answering these questions will unveil the threads of a life she put behind hers.
On the same day, her daughter goes missing from school and they claim her Aunt picked her up… only she doesn’t have an Aunt.
Nicole believes there is a link between the two and she’s forced to revisit her memories from the 80s to protect everything she has now.
The past~1986: Cassie is obsessed with the hottest band in London, Secret Oktober. She has the most intense crush on leading man, Ben Edwards. She will do anything to get his attention. When Ben discovers Nicole, Cassie‘s older sister singing at a local bar he can’t help but feel drawn to her. It sets in motion the collision course that could tear their family apart.

🎤 This gets good right from the start! It’s quite fast paced which is always a good thing for me and my attention span. The dual timelines will have you quickly turning the pages trying to piece together everything. It wasn’t super twisty and was pretty predictable but I didn’t think that took away from the enjoyability at all. My only gripe was that I couldn’t stand a lot of the characters and some of their emotions/reactions to certain things didn’t line up or match what was going on, in my opinion.

Overall, I would recommend this and am definitely interested in checking out more from @sandiejones_author

Thank you for the advanced copy from @netgalley

I was disappointed with this book. I had a really hard time finishing it. None of the characters were likable. As a mother myself, I had a really hard time with the present day Nicole, being more worried about people finding out about her past and thus withholding information about her past that could potentially help find her daughter.

I was so disappointed in this book. I really enjoyed several of the earlier books by the author, but the last few have left me uninspired. It took all I had in me to force myself to read until the last page. There are too many wonderful books to spend my time on trudging through one that wasn’t a good read. I did not care for the characters and the twists and turns did not leave me gasping in shock. As a dual timeline book, I felt like I was constantly trying to figure out exactly what time period I was in. The characters are unlikable and the story line did not keep my attention. I hate to say that I think this is the last time I will attempt to read a book by the author. After having loved, The Other Woman, I thought she would be one of my favorites. But I have been sorely disappointed with her recent releases.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Adult
Adult Fiction
Fiction
Historical
Historical Fiction
Mystery
Suspense
Thriller

Review of I would die for you by Sandie Jones

I really enjoyed books by this author and was excited to get approved for the digital and audio of this one on NetGalley. I liked it quite a bit and it was a quick listen for me. I loved the dual timelines but I was especially interested in the 1980s timeline. I love 80s music so the band aspect was super fun. It was a great mystery and I was definitely interested in both the story and the characters.

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

4.25 rounded to 4. Overall a good book that made me want to know more. The storyline moved along with good pacing and character development. However, the end wraps up very quickly and there were questions unanswered. Very good audio.

Advanced listener copy provided by Macmillan Audio but all opinions are my own.

Another Thriller option for fans of unhinged suspense in 𝑰 𝑾𝑶𝑼𝑳𝑫 𝑫𝑰𝑬 𝑭𝑶𝑹 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝒃𝒚 𝑺𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒆 𝑱𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 out March 25th from @stmartinspress & @macmillan.audio.

I have come to expect a more popcorn level thrill from Jones and this one met my expectations.

This story involves a boy and a band with 2 sisters, the chaos fanaticism can bring, and how far you are willing to go to protect the ones you love.

I thought this was a fun, lighter suspense. It did tackle some deeper themes of fandom and fame, but overall, it was an entertaining read. It is one where suspension of likelihood must be employed, but I also feel like that can be fun in fiction. This really felt like a great option for a TV movie.

I added the audio, narrated by Imogen Wilde to the digital. I loved her voice for the younger, 80's timeline. She sounded quite young for the older one, but she did go between accents well. I was able to adjust with the dates given at chapter changes.

Thank you, publishers for sharing these formats with me via @netgalley though you can get them now wherever you get books!

This book started out strong, getting me intrigued right away. I liked the dual timeline. It made a lot of sense for this story and it's been a while since I've read one of those. However, I quickly began to have some issues with this.

While I really enjoyed where the story was going for the most part, all of the characters were stupid and I found myself rolling my eyes a lot at their thoughts. They made so many emotional leaps that just don't make sense.

Early on, future Nicole called Ben the love of her life, but I literally never saw any evidence to show it. We saw the beginning of their relationship and the end, but never saw the middle and therefore had no proof of them being in love.

Most of the reveals at the end ended up being predictable and not exciting while others were too outrageous.

I actually got this one both as an ebook and audiobook on NetGalley, so thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Macmillan Audio for the ARCs!

An intriguing premise with a dual timeline and a missing child, but ultimately felt a bit predictable. The audiobook narration was fine, though I didn't connect strongly with all the characters. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

The beginning started out pretty slow but the last half of the book was awesome. It was full of dark twists and turns. You never really know who is to blame and you get to experience this story in two time lines from two perspectives, which I really enjoyed. I think the author did a great job of making it clear which chapters were which sister. I hope there’s a second one? It can’t just end that way???

Thank you for the advanced copy.


I have enjoyed Sandie’s book in the past. Sadly, this was my least favorite. I enjoyed Nicole’s point of view. Audiobook was fine.

TW/CW: Language, drinking, smoking, cancer, drug use, underage drinking, cheating, rape, death of parent, toxic family relationships

*****SPOILERS*****

About the book:
Now: Nicole Forbes lives a quiet life in a small seaside Californian town 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 put behind her 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.

1986: Sixteen-year-old Cassie is obsessed with the hottest band in London, Secret Oktober. 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.
Release Date: March 18th, 2025
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 320
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Writing style was okay

What I Didn't Like:
1. Confusing timelines and characters

Final Thoughts:
This book felt like such a roller-coaster for me. At first I wasn't enjoying it but then I got to the middle of the book and was invested. Toward the end though just too much is thrown at you.

The back and forth with different characters added with the different timelines came off confusing at times and I would have to read back who was talking and when it was.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator made the husband sound more Scottish than North American. I think she did an okay job but I wasn't too impressed with the male characters. They came off too cartoonish at times.

Mike was over the top villain and it was too too much. Yeah, I no there are men out there like that but in this book it just was way way unnecessary. It's like you knew in the beginning who the villains were.

I did not like that in the last like 85% we were introduced to a character who was never even talked about before and suddenly now this woman is everywhere with Cassie. I kept thinking what was the point of introducing her other than being a witness to everything that happened and someone that Nicole could find out information from.

For some reason and Nicole subconscious they paint like every character is dead. Your led to believe that Cassie isn't even alive anymore when Nicole acknowledges that Cassie is alive when she comes back. I don't know maybe I missed something but it felt very confusing. You're also led to believe that Ben was killed. And that's not how your subconscious works. I am just so sick of Thrillers treating your mind of the main character like that you can pretend that people are dead when really they're alive and living somewhere else.

Like I said this book started off with me almost wanting to dnfing it but I kept on going and I ended up liking the middle then I get to the ending and it was a flap for me

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Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.