High on Drama, Deficient in Excitement

If you are looking to read a suspense novel, this probably is not for you. It’s a soap opera, an endless soap opera filled with constant angst, devious antics and definitely high on drama.

The novel takes place in Portugal where two British couples, Jack and Rachel, and Paige and Noah, are present for the wedding of Ali to Jack’s younger brother, Will. That should have been enough characters but there are secondary ones tossed in to stir the pot and try to make it more interesting. Everyone has an emotional problem leading to the traumas of the plot.

Every page I turned read like the last page. Most of it was filled with Rachel’s passionate and physical reaction to possible guile and treachery. I do not believe there was one scene absent of emotional response, heart beating so fast or windpipe frozen in shock. It was too much. Maybe it had to be because the plot was banal and tiresome.

Everyone seems to be questioning their own life choices until the final climax of the book. The tension kept mounting until someone drives a car to cause a fatality to any number of characters but particularly, Rachel. I’m afraid, dear reader, you would be sadly disappointed if you were wanting multi-faceted characters and a mystery that would shock you.

My gratitude to NetGalley and Minotaur for this pre-published book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I follow Reese’s book club and recognized Sandie Jones as the author of one of her previous picks, The Other Woman. Even though I haven’t read it yet, I was excited to have a chance to read her new book, The Guilt Trip. Unfortunately, it did not pan out well for me.

The Guilt Trip centers around three couples: Ali and Will who are getting married, Will’s brother Jack and his wife Rachel, and their best friends Noah and Paige. They are all staying together in Portugal for the wedding and things start off tense and only get worse from there.

There is plenty of drama going around, but I was never able to buy it. I just did not believe any of the stories that Jones was trying to play off. I was skeptical of the character development and the storylines. It just seemed too obvious that people were reading things the wrong way and I couldn’t buy into it.

Also, I found the main character, Rachel, extremely unlikable. We find out that she may have been keeping a secret for over twenty years and in my opinion her betrayal is unforgivable. She comes off very hypocritical throughout the whole book and it is hard to empathize with her.

Another thing that bothered me were some of the details throughout the book did not match up. Rachel mentions being pregnant at twenty-four, but then later she mentions being twenty-two at the time she conceived. No matter how you slice it, those ages don’t match up and although a small detail, it severely affects the timeline if you were trying to follow one of the mysteries.

As this book gets closer and closer to the end, things get more and more dramatic. It was like a soap opera where the end of each chapter is another “bomb” being dropped before commercial break. But again, I was never convinced of the storylines and as the truth comes out (which I suspected all along) I just wanted to finish it so I could be done with it.

I think this story had so much more potential and unfortunately it was the writing and story structure that I didn’t like. The ending wraps up so quickly even though that was arguably the most shocking part. I think if this story was set up completely differently, it would have sold me. I would have liked starting with the dramatic ending without knowing the details and had more and more revealed as you read on. That might have made it more suspenseful and believable.

Sadly, I cannot recommend this book at all. For some reason I did not connect with these characters or their problems. I just never believed what the author was trying to sell and that made it difficult to really get into this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed this novel. Great suspense, a cast of not particularly likeable, but interesting characters, a gorgeous locale - the perfect beach read. Putting six old friends with secrets together on holiday is always a recipe for drama - and this story delivered.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.

The Guilt Trip is filled with family drama. Sandie Jones writes a twisted story that kept me guessing how this book would end. I am still scratching my head at what really happened. It is a book that I am still talking about and want to discuss with other readers.

I read this book from start to finish. This is the kind of thriller where the characters, the setting and play are irresistible. Perfect guilty pleasure read.

This is a dark thriller about 3 couples attending one of the couple’s destination wedding. One of the women, Rachel, is trying to find out the truth of what is going on between the 6 friends. As the title indicates, it seems like every single one of them is guilty of something and it of course all comes to a head on the wedding day. While the ending is a little more drawn out (and pretty gruesome!) this was an enjoyable summer read.

This story was an enjoyable read. I loved the twists at the end of the book. The writers description of the resort in such a way that I pictured the scenery. I events in the story were a bit outlandish but entertaining. Thank you for the advanced copy of the Guilt Trip!! I gave read your other books and I am always entertained!

Sandie Jones hits it out of the park again with this thriller. Filled with twists, great characters, and had me guessing until the end. This would be a perfect rainy or snowy day read when you want to get lost in a network of lies.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read an advance reading copy.

I feel like I will be the rare unpopular opinion on this one. I so wanted to love this book but the characters just really grated on my nerves. This is a book full of suspicions, jumping to conclusions and lots of secrets being revealed in a wedding trip. I’m sure lots of people will love this book - it just wasn’t one for me. I did like the ending of it though. Thank you Minotaur books for the advanced copy.

Want a book that will keep you guessing with all its drama, secrecy, and lies? This is the one for you! It’s also a perfect beach/vacation read!

The Guilt Trip kept making me go back and forth about EVERYTHING! Is he cheating? Is she just reading too much into things? Is she cheating? Did they have an affair? What the heck is going on here!?! I DID guess what was going on, but was constantly second-guessing my own thoughts.

It was crazy over-the-top with red herrings and I loved it!

I’m still not 100% I understood what happened at the end, but I’m also glad it wasn’t tied up in a neat little bow. There ARE things I wish the book answered, but I won’t reveal them because they would be huge spoilers.

It was interesting from the first page, and the excitement just kept building. This is my favorite of Sandie Jones’s books, so far!

Sandie Jones is becoming one of my favorite authors. Her books are filled with secrets, betrayals and well-rounded characters. I enjoyed the twists and turns in THE GUILT TRIP. I found myself rooting for characters I originally disliked, and I was surprised by the ending.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book! I love Sandie Jones as an author! This book was slow to start and for some reason I had trouble keeping the characters and their relationships straight. I found some elements of the storyline predictable. Several of the characters, especially the main character, were annoying and their behavior was just not realistic. That being said it did have some twists and turns. Some of which I saw coming and some I did not. Provided suspense until the last page.

This is definitely a fun read, in summertime or otherwise! The story focuses on six interesting characters (3 couples) heading off to a destination wedding and a stay in an amazing villa. There’s suspicions amongst the group of various affairs and misguided feelings leading to lots of tension. Everything culminates at the wedding as ultimatums are made and the guilty parties scramble to maintain control. Entertaining up to the very end!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I love Sandie Jones’s writing. She writes my kind of thrillers, and this one was no different: a group of friends where everyone has a secret and you have no idea who to trust. I could not put this down, right from the start.

I dropped my rating by a star because of the ending - it felt just a little too rushed for me, and I actually had to read over the final pages a few times because I was a smidge confused. I think it we were given just a little more insight, I wouldn’t have been left feeling quite so whiplashed. It was still satisfying, but not perfect.

Highly recommend this one!

The Guilt Trip is in intense book of different personalities being stuck together in one location, just awaiting a boil of emotions. Rachel and Jack's marriage seemed great until they were in this position and everything started unraveling. Why would Ali marry Will if she's actually involved with his brother, Jack? Nothing is clear in their alcohol infused emotions. Can they get though this wedding without an explosion?

Let me tell you, explosions there will be. SO many things start coming to a head. It's hard to put this book down and the ending is unexpected. Keep this one close for your interesting Summer read.

The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones was a good beach read for a thriller. It was a quick read for sure. I really enjoyed her previous book, The Wives, so I thought I would give this one a try. The plot twists of this story were just ok compared to The Wives. I was able to predict who was with who fairly early on because one of the main characters was too easy to pinpoint as the adulterer. I was a little disappointed with The Guilt Trip since The Wives was much more of a twist/thriller. As I said before though, it was a quick beach read that didn't require too much attention to details like some thrillers. I hope she continues to develop as an author with more thrillers to come!

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Publishing for this Arc, what a fun, twisty, perfect summer read. I am a fan of thrillers and I really enjoyed this plot and the approach Ms. Jones took in revealing twists and turns. The pacing was fast, the engagement in the plot and characters was quick and consistent, and the plot fit a lot of my favorite thriller tropes (friends/family, secrets, trips, exotic locations, and insecurities with twists and fast pacing). I also appreciated that the book, even with twists, was not too silly as some thrillers can be and that the plot had drama too it, not just twist and turn after twist and turn as those books just end up being messy. I can tell that Ms. Jones had a goal of entertaining readers, bringing them on a fun escapist summer read, and that she also had fun developing the story, the characters, and the plot. I have a of friends who enjoy thrillers and this is one that I can easily recommend.

Rachel and Jack are headed to Portugal for the wedding of Jack's brother Will. Will's fiance Ali is bubbly and beautiful and try as she might, Rachel just can't warm to her future sister-in-law. Also along for the wedding are Noah and Paige, Rachel's long-time friend and his wife, who has become Rachel's best friend. Settling into their stunning villa overlooking the beach, the six find that their petty disagreements and issues will soon overflow into much bigger clashes.

This started off a bit slow for me, trying to keep everyone's relationship straight, which with only 6 main characters doesn't seem like it should have been so difficult for me. But there's quite a bit of history that comes a little at a time and I think that slowed me down. Once I got a handle on all of that, I was sucked in and couldn't put this down. Everyone has a secret and everyone suspects everyone else and they are all tangled up in each other's lives. A nice juicy novel that I really couldn't wait to see how it all turned out!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Available August 2, 2021.

This was the first book I have read by this author and I loved the details of the characters. Two couples and Ali were heading to Portugal for Ali’s wedding to Will. Jack is Will’s brother and he is married to Rachael and then Noah and his wife Paige are the couples. Rachael and Noah were best friends forever and Noah wanted more but never told Rachael his feelings until she becomes involved with Jack. Ali is a bit challenging when it comes to managing her life. She forgets and misplaces things such as her passport to get on the plane. Jack truly cannot stand to be around Ali and she used to work for him. Rachael thinks it is because he had her let go but then she starts having suspicions that Ali is having an affair with Jack. There is so many secrets with all of these couples that you keep thinking what is the truth? I loved how what suspicions the couples have may not be the actually truth and how the author makes you start believing them. It is the kind of book you want to keep reading to see what is going to happen next or what is a lie?

I received an ARC for free from Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily!

This book has more twists and turns than a rollercoaster at Six Flags.
I thought for sure that I had the twist figured out very early on and honestly was a little pissed that it was so clear. However, I was WAY off and ended up being very surprised by this book until the VERY LAST PAGE. The story revolves around a group of friends who are leaving to go to two of the friends' wedding in Portugal. However, all is not as it seems. There appears to be an affair going on with some of the members of the group (Two? Three? All?) which threatens the very integrity of the friendships.
The book was very engaging, fun, well-written and I could not put it down from about halfway through up until the end. It is the kind of book you stay up all night reading (I should know, I did it.)
The character development was very well done and I thought Ali's character arc was absolutely perfect.
Although for a few spots I got mildly confused by the wording (I was maybe just tired from staying up all night reading the book...) all in all this book knocked it out of the park.
Thriller? Yes.
Twists? Yes.
Affairs? Yes.
As good as Big Little Lies but honestly, I thought, less predictable in many ways. Grab it!

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.