This book had a slow start with quite a bit of character building. By the end I was completely shocked with the outcome! 4 stars from me

Three couples are on holiday for one of the couples' wedding. Some are holding on to secrets from their past. Some are holding on to secrets of their present. Either way, things are bound to get dicey.

The biggest secret was pretty easy to guess early in the book, but the twists leading up to its reveal made it intriguing until the end.

3.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 -While I really enjoyed the premise of this book and the drama that follows I’m honestly left completely confused about the ending. The author makes the second half of the book so rushed and unorganized that it was difficult to follow. The last few minutes of the book has me left with more questions than answers. I’m still not sure I know what happened. I wouldn’t categorize this as thriller or mystery but maybe drama. I kept waiting for something to finally happen, and it did but left me much more confused. I did really like the character development and plot overall. Some of the characters were not easy to like and at points you felt sorry for them. Overall, a good read but I didn’t love it.

The Guilt Trip has an interesting premise. Three couples travel to Portugal for a wedding; among the six travelers are the bride and groom, two brothers, two best friends, two former colleagues, two former lovers, and many secrets! I expected a fast-paced, action-packed thriller, but this book is definitely amore of a character study. The last 10 percent of this book was very tense and exciting, but getting to that point was a bit of a slog. The main revelation that sets off the final act was very obvious to me from early on, and it was frustrating watching the characters worry, withhold, and talk around each other instead of just coming out with it and avoiding the confusion.

I give this 3.5 stars. A fairly fast paced domestic thriller where nothing is as it seems. Three couples all heading away for a wedding weekend from England to Portugal and what could go wrong - nearly everything. Following the story of Rachel and Jack, Noah and Paige, and Ali and Will. It has many common themes you’d find in a domestic thriller involving a group of six friends - unrequited love, secrets, affairs, lies, etc. The twists and turns were good and I found that this could be a good beach read or by the pool read. The ending I didn’t see coming, but other parts did seem predictable, overall it was a quick read that kept me entertained. Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the eARC.

At about 25% I actually put the book down. I found it boring and I was just not feeling much. Some time passed and I reminded myself why Sandie Jones was one of my favorite authors and decided to give it another go. Well, I am so glad I did. I enjoyed it right up til the end where Jones knocked my socks off.

First of all, thank you to Sandie Jones, the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC of The Guilt Trip. It had a great premise and thriller element which I thought immediately grabbed my attention.

The book is about 3 couples whose lives are intertwined in ways they never knew. They arrive in Portugal for a wedding weekend expecting to have the time of their lives. It turns sour very fast. I liked the build up to the reveal and I found every character believable. At times I found myself cursing the narrator, Rachel, for being naive. I overall enjoyed this book and the ending was perfect!

I just could not get into this one. I was hoping for a thriller, but this book was more of a slow-burn character study. Three couples head to a gorgeous paradise for a destination wedding. All seems well until the main character begins to suspect her husband is having an affair with another woman in the friend group. Then that main character speculates for about 95% of the book. Seriously. Nothing happens until the last 5% of the book, when sh*t hits the fan. Honestly, the ending made little to no sense to me. It was extremely dramatic but not in a good thriller way, if that makes sense. Over the top, I guess.

Overall, this book focuses mainly on relationships within and between couples, then sprinkles in a little chaos at the end. Not enough chaos or thrill for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for my gifted copy of this book.
The Guilt Trip is a story of 3 couples heading to a destination wedding in Portugal. Will and Ali are the bride and groom. Rachel and Noah are best friends and had the potential for more but now they’re married to Jack and Paige.
Someone is possibly having an affair, someone is keeping the paternity of their kid a secret, and someone was body shamed for being obese and is desperately trying to hide that part of their history. As the story climaxes, the reader gets some answers, is left with some questions, has to turn a blind eye to some plot points that seem completely far fetched.
Overall, it was a entertaining read but the ending left me confused and not super satisfied.

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced reader's copy of The Guilt Trip!

I am a big fan Sandie Jones' writing and have loved her other books, however I did not love this one. The Guilt Trip is about 3 couples who have travelled to Portugal for the wedding of one of the couples. There is speculation and mistrust and deception and that usually makes for a great read but this fell short for me. I did not care for Rachel (the main character) one bit - she came across as weak and wishy-washy and I really didn't care if things turned out in her favor. I also felt the other 5 featured characters could have had more development.

Unfortunately, this book didn't wow me but I'm already looking forward to reading Ms. Jones' next book!!

Sandie Jones has the talent to write a mystery where you think you know what is going to happen and it is exactly the opposite. This book was such a good story with twists and turns that were never expected. It shows that first impressions of people are not always what you think and sometimes people have had a rough life and the people who you think are your friends are exactly not. The characters were well developed and I felt the book left us knowing what happened, this was a one sitting book constantly keeping you on the edge of your seat to wonder what was happening next. Sandie Jones is one of my favorite mystery authors and this is another excellent book by her.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Very captivating with amazing character development. A crazy trip where you think you know what is going on but do you? I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

If you’re looking for a quick, fun, twisty thriller, Sandie Jones’ The Guilt Trip is a great choice (really any of Jones’ books are!) It’s dramatic at times in a way that is almost silly, but that isn’t a bad thing. It is highly entertaining, never too heavy, while still offering a compelling story. All in all, a perfect beach read for those looking to get lost in a book this summer!

Wow!!! This book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time! Every page was a new twist and it just blew me away. This was smart and highly entertaining.

The Guilt Trip is a slow to start novel with all the pieces coming together in the last few chapters. There is a destination wedding where friends and family fly to Portugal. Rachel and Mark are a married couple as are Paige and Noah. They are flying to Portugal with Ali, Mark's future sister-in-law. Ali seems like a gorgeous ditz and Mark has concerns about her marrying his brother.

The secrets between friends are refered to and there is much back and forth over what they want to share with one another. Lots of miscommunication and it reminded me of a television show where everyone misunderstood one another. Jealousy, betrayal and murder are the themes.

While I didn't love ths book it wouldn't stop me from trying another by this author. I just felt it could have been shorter and some "issues" were rehashed more than they ought to have been. In my opinion.
Publication date August 3, 2021 by St Martin's Press. Genre: Women's Fiction, Mystery and Thrillers.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book. I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine.

ARC Review: The Guilt Trip
Author: @sandiejones_author

Devoured most of this one on a flight from Colorado back home to Florida and then stayed up until 2am to finish it!

This is my third book by Sandie, so I know what to expect by now. Or do I? This book sets the stage right away-anxiety, doubt, questions. As a group of people all interconnected, travel to Portugal to attend the wedding of one of them, we’re left to decide who has a happy marriage already, who doesn’t, and most importantly-why.

Rachel, Jack, Paige and Noah must tolerate Ali, their travel companion and soon-to-be wife of Jack’s brother. Ali is flaky, a liar, a ditzy blond, and probably wants to sleep with your husband. Or does she?

Told over the course of one hellacious and fast-paced weekend, with flashbacks to fill in some details, this reads like a domestic thriller crossed with Agatha Christie. I’ve enjoyed Sandie’s novels, but this may be my favorite. I thought I figured out all the twists and turns. Or did I?

Overall, a great book with which to kick off summer reading season. I am already looking forward to the next one.

Beach Rating: ☀️☀️☀️☀️
Recommended: Fans of domestic thrillers, “closed room” mysteries, fast-paced reads
Drink in my Hand: Cucumber Gin Smash

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This book is about three couples going to a destination wedding in Portugal. The story started slowly and did not pick up steam until the last 3 chapters. There was a problem between the couples, but no one would step up and talk about the problem. Lots of assumptions and jumping to conclusions. The main character was very annoying since she would not confront the other characters with her suspicions, instead just worrying herself about the situation.

This story turned out to be more expected than I expected it to be! Three couples decided to spend few days before one of the couple’s wedding in Portugal. Four people from this group go way back. Two guys are brothers. The other guy is one of the brother’s wife’s best friend since university. Best friend’s wife was used to be an outsider, but now became best friends with older brother’s wife. The only remaining outsider is younger brother’s soon to be wife. Are you confused already? Good! Because things don’t get clearer as the story unfolds.

Lies and secrets everywhere. World is full of unfaithful people who wouldn’t mind betraying their closest and dearest and they can throw anyone under the bus to get away with what they did. Shortly after arrival to Portugal, suspicions started to come to surface. Everyone started to doubt each other (or control the narrative). At the end, wedding weekend turned into an ultimate showdown. A ridiculous showdown...

If you like observing group of people in a confined space for some time or like stories of wedding weekends gone wrong, you will like this story. Like I said it was bit too easy to guess, if you understand human nature well and know how people react to certain scenarios in general. But it was good break from way too serious topics I was reading about.

Read this book in one sitting. Although I guessed some of what happened, the story was good. I didn’t like any of the characters. Not sure if you were supposed to like them. All of the characters were annoying. Would recommend this book just for the story line.

Firstly, thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early. It's so very much appreciated!

This is the story of six friends coming together in Portugal for a wedding. Now, the round up of pals include Rachel and her husband Jack, Noah and his wife Paige, and Will (Noah's brother) and his soon to be wife Ali. Of course it's never that simple. Rachel and Noah were old college friends who were besties at the time, and Ali knows Jack because she used to work with him and actually meet Will through Jack. Jack cannot stand Ali for reasons unknown. As time trickles by, and while they are all smooshed together in the place they are all staying for the wedding, things get a bit stressful. Rachel just wants to get to know her sister-in-law to be better, Paige thinks Ali is a real attention seeking annoying twit, and Jack keeps starting little arguments with Noah. When the little things start to accumulate, Rachel stumbles upon something that doesn't seem so little anymore. All of a sudden there seem to be secrets and lies around every corner. As the wedding approaches, things begin to unravel leading to the final climax.
I can't tell you too much because it is a suspense/thriller so I don't want to spoil anything. This book is well written. The characters all have their own distinct personalities and a few of them are quite funny. I love the atmospheric feel this book has. When you're in the cave at one point (you'll see!) or the house they are staying in and surfing beaches, etc., you can see it all as you read it.
There was one thing that I didn't like as much about this story and that is that it was on the slow side at times. It took a long time for things to build up to something. I can see the point of the slow build up but it was a bit too slow. It built up slowly then BAM! things happened so fast and everything came together and all of a sudden the book was done. I will say that you did get a lot of time to learn the characters though. Even though some of what you learned wasn't really... well, you'll see.
All in all this was a good book. I definitely recommend giving it a quick read if you are a fan of the author, a faithful thriller/suspense reader, or just curious about it. I think you'll need to read this one and see what you think for yourself on this one. It's very well written but a little slow going.