This book started off with a great premise and I was interested till about the 50% mark, but unfortunately, the ending was pretty anticlimactic and I've read the authors other works and know she can write a better story. None of the characters were particularly likeable. I do find that sometimes I can enjoy a mystery thriller more in audiobook form if the narrator really brings it to life, so I'll give that a try before delivering my final review on goodreads. trating Overall, it just didn't deliver the payoff I was hoping for. That said, I would recommend "The Other Woman" instead.

I Would Die For You by Sandie Jones is an entertaining thriller. I enjoyed the dual timelines of California in 2011 and London in the 1980s. The whole teenage girl obsessed with a boy band aspect and the dynamics between a famous person and someone who’s infatuated was very interesting. The audiobook narrated by Imogen Wilde was well done. I was intrigued the whole way through to find out exactly what happened between Nicole, Ben and Cassie. The beginning was very enticing to find out what the secrets are. This is my third book by this author and I’m curious to read her next book too!

This was an interesting one. I liked the alternating perspectives, especially that of the boy obsessed teenage girl. Made me recall of my youth when I was obsessed with boy bands like The Jonas Brothers and One Direction, always hoping in my bedroom that I’d be that normal nobody that they’d notice. Oh boy, to be so clouded as a hormone crazed teenage girl, I simply could never again 😂.
Overall this was decently paced but I felt like the ending started to slip apart. Something about it all felt kinda “huh?” by the end of it. But not in the exciting way. Just kind of scratching my head.

The audio was pretty good. I thought the narrator did a good job

I think this is my favorite of Sandie's books. 80s rock n roll, groupies, dual timelines; it has it all. This was great for me, because I grew up in the 80s and it took me back. When her daughter goes missing, Nicole will have to relive a past she has long buried, even from her husband. Why did she leave the UK and why has a writer come to her door asking questions? This kept me glued to the story and I didn't want to let go. Imogen Wilde was a fantastic narrator!

This story goes back and forth between two time frames, London in the 1980’s and California in 2011. It is the story of Nicole and Cassie, two sisters who grow up during the rise of the band Secret Oktoberfest. Present day, Nicole is living in a seaside town in California with her husband Brad and daughter Hannah, having left behind the past and her family that she ran away from. One day, she hears a knock at the door and is confronted by a writer who is looking into the band she was involved with in the 80’s. That same day, her daughter goes missing and is later found after spending time with a woman who called herself Hannah’s “aunt”. Nicole is forced to revisit the past, trying to piece together who she is being pursued by and why they want to uncover her long hidden secrets about Secret Oktober. Flashing back to the 80’s, she relives her experiences with the band, her relationship with Ben (the lead singer) and the tragedy that occurred involving her sister and herself. This was an entertaining story with some great twists in the final chapters.

I enjoyed the dual timeline format of this story, which alternates between a small seaside town in California, and the protagonists’s earlier life in 1986 London. How Nicole’s past and present are connected is the main question that drives the narrative. I did feel that the story dragged a bit too long and could have wrapped up more effectively. There were a few points that were not completely resolved, but overall I found it an intriguing story. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook.

I enjoyed this narrator more than I've enjoyed any audiobook narrator so far. Her voice was very soothing. The two timelines is always thrilling to me to see where the timelines converge. I could tell where the story was going, but didn't realize how far. The ending!! What happens next?

Audiobook Review 📖🎧

thank you so much macmillan audio for the gifted audiobook!

I Would Die for You
by Sandie Jones
Narrated by Imogen Wilde

About the book 👇🏽

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.

🎧 My thoughts:

I really had trouble getting into this story. I thought the narration was fine but overall the story did not hold my attention. I preferred the 1986 timeline but even still, I wasn’t in love with it all. I didn’t find the characters to be likable and I wasn’t invested in the story, which really bums me out. I really wanted to love this book but it fell flat. I am so happy to see there are other good reviews for this book though!

Happy reading 📖 🎧

NetGalley ARC

I am honestly struggling to find a single nice thing to say about this one. Every single person in this story was absurd.

This book was a recipe for nonsense:
- 2 Delulu teens who think their rockstar idols are in love with them, and seem to think that matters more than family or ethics
- 1 Teenager with zero faith in her boyfriend
- 1 Husband who never noticed that his wife has been dying her hair for years (!) - does his wife not have roots she has to dye? c'mon.
- 1 Overbearing father
- 1 Enabling mother
- 1 Poor child who through no fault of her own was apparently never taught not to talk to strangers for her entire 8 or so years
- 1 Police force who bought a poorly staged crime scene
- An entire cast of characters who may well be compulsive liars
- Random occurrences of things being in American measurements instead of British, which, I'll admit, is mostly just a pet peeve of mine

I was bored out of my mind. Nothing in this story made sense, the POV transitions were confusing because everyone sounds the same, and every single twist beggard belief to the point that I was starting to worry I'd sprain my eyeballs with all the rolling they were doing. This is my third Sandie Jones book. I didn't like the other 2 that I read any more than this one, and I think it's time I admit that Sandie Jones' books are simply not for me.

Often times the audiobook narration helps lift a book like this for me, but it wasn't enough here and the accent switching just didn't work for me.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

3.75/5 (rounded up)

This was one wild ride! I was hooked from the start—which is impressive, considering most of the characters were downright insufferable. I couldn’t help but feel for Nicole, even with her flaws, while Cassie was, as another reviewer put it, utterly deplorable. There’s truly no better word for her—she was downright delusional at times.

I love a good band story, and this one delivered. Secret Oktober’s rise to fame was explored from every angle, showing how it impacted each character in different ways. The twists and turns kept me engaged—some were predictable, but others genuinely shocked me. The ending, while chaotic and fast-paced, didn’t quite live up to the build-up for me, but it was still a thrilling ride.

This book was perfect for a long day in the car. I have only read a few Sandie Jones novel so far, and I definitely enjoyed this one and look forward to reading more of her work.

Audio Comments: Imogen Wilde was fantastic. It was amusing to hear her narrate such a dark, twisty story right after a smutty romance, but if anything, it proved she can do it all!

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC & Macmillan Audio, for the advanced listening copy!

3.75/5 rounded up

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy!

This was one wild ride! I must say, I was hooked from the very beginning, which is saying something considering most of the characters were utterly insufferable. I really felt for Nicole, even though she was flawed, too. I saw another review that described Cassie as "deplorable," and I think there is no better word for her. She was truly deluded at times.

I really love a band story of any kind, and I thought this one was well-executed. We kind of saw every side of Secret Oktober's fame and the ways in which this affected each character differently. There were so many twists and turns throughout, though some of them did end up being predictable, others caught me completely off guard. The ending, while insane and fast-paced, was a bit of a letdown to me after the chaos and build up of the rest of the story.

I can easily say that I was latched onto this book from start to finish, finding excuse to do household chores or take walks just to finish it. I enjoyed it more than other Sandie Jones I've read and definitely makes me want to pick up more of hers moving forward.

Audio Comments: Imogen Wilde did a fantastic job narrating this. It was funny to hear her voice this dark and twisty tale immediately after listening to her narrate a smutty romance, but after these two I can confidently say she can do it all!

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-----------THIS COULD BE A SPOILER -----------

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but this reminded me of A LOVELY LIE in some ways, and that did make me predict certain parts of this (though they were still twister than even I expected!) earlier than I would have otherwise. -------

2.5 stars rounded up.

Nicole Forbes has tried to hide her past as an unintentional groupie of the hit band Secret October for 25 years but it all comes flooding back when someone posing as a reporter shows up at her house one day asking questions about the band. The very same day, her daughter goes missing when a supposed aunt picks her up from school. Little does she know that everything is tied together and will come unraveled…

I did not find any of these characters to be like-able in any way, shape, or form. The story bounced back and forth between 2011 and 1986 and multiple perspectives. And I found the last 1/4 of the book to be very convoluted and hard to follow. I’ve enjoyed many of Sandie’s previous works but I wouldn’t put this one high on any list. I listened to the audio and found it hard to distinguish when each character changed other than a small time stamp or name drop at the beginning of the chapters.

Thanks to #NetGalley for an arc of this audiobook in exchange for my review.

Nicole is living her life with her husband and daughter when a writer knocks on her door asking about the downfall of a popular 80s band Nicole was involved with. Flashback to the 80s and we find out that Nicole's sister, Cassie, is obsessed with the band, especially the lead singer, Ben. She doesn't know that Ben heard Nicole singing one night, and one thing led to another, and Ben and Nicole have been seeing each other and recording music in secret. This dual timeline novel jumps back and forth from the present to the 80s as we see the effects that fandom and obsession can have on some young girls. Things quickly escalate in this novel, and everything comes to a head at the end. This was ok, even though there wasn't really any closure, just not my favorite by this author. The narrator did a great job!

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

Enjoyable mystery with good narration.

Loved this! Fans of Mayluna or Daisy Jones will enjoy this complex story about a band, its members and the ones who are closest to them. Such a great read.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this title.

I listened to the eaudiobook edition, but I didn’t love it. It required me to really think about the characters and the time frame the story was in. There were lots of characters, and it bounced around more than I expected.

The ending was good, because it left it open but if you don’t like to create your own thoughts for the ending then you might want to skip this one.

This was an interesting one. There were a few times that I could not keep the characters straight, and I had to relisten to parts. There were a couple surprises, but the biggest surprises seemed farfetched and just too much. The evilness of one of the characters seemed to come out of nowhere.

The narrator, Imogen Wilde, does a nice job narrating both English and American accents.

The narrator earns 3.5-4 stars, but the book falls flat with 2.5-ish stars.

Engaging, entertaining, and well-narrated. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.

Thank you for the opportunity to read I Would Die For You. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading others by Sandie Jones. I loved the musical themes and the time hopping was well done.

Woah, this was a wild ride. I really liked the time jump between the 1980s and 2010s, and found the plot completely captivating. There were parts in the first half that were a bit slow, and some characters that I got confused, so I had to go back multiple times. But overall, this was a thrilling journey of love, jealous, revenge & chaos.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC opportunity.

#netgalley #arc