Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced copy of The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones.

Ah, the travel novel, so decadent during a pandemic. The novel starts with a frantic airport scene and an engaged couple to build excitement and mystery. The novel has lots of beautiful scenery and travel which is perfect to read right now. This would be a great novel to take on a trip or to read at home if Gatwick Airport or European travel is on your mind but not in your plans.
This read easily and flowed smoothly. It's a great summer beach read for someone who doesn't read a lot. it will be engaging for sure!

After loving Sandie Jones’ THE OTHER WOMAN, I was so excited for the opportunity to read her newest work — THE GUILT TRIP, coming August 2021!

I started this book a week or so ago and found it a bit hard to get into — you get hit with 6 main characters at once, and I was having a bit of a hard time telling who’s who. Once I sat down and committed some time, I quickly became engrossed and finished the book in under 24 hours! There seem to be a lot of new releases centering around a wedding or honeymoon, and this one tops them all. A 5/5 for sure!

It’s Ali and Will’s wedding, which will be a special destination event! Will’s brother and his wife are attending along with another close friend couple. While the other two women are content to secretly make fun of the over enthusiastic, over exaggerated bride — two of the men seem to have some secrets brewing. Will the weekend away be a disaster? Will the wedding go on? Will everyone survive? You will want to find out!

One thing I especially loved is that it wasn’t told from differing perspectives. So many thrillers seem written that way, and I always find it so convoluted and confusing. This was fantastically written, and I feel like I was truly shocked when I learned all the secrets — and there is a “whodunnit” aspect, but the true shocker in this book lies in discovering the morals, history, and secrets of the six main characters. Never be too quick to judge someone…

This is one worth pre-ordering now so you don’t miss it this summer!

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for my review ARC. All opinions are my own!

I should not have believed the hype about this book. The beginning pulls you in but after the first one third of the story I was begging for this over the top wedding to be over with already. Ughhhh. Just not my cup of tea... Besides being dumb, the lead character Rachel becomes more and more unlikeable as her story starts to unfold...her cold husband Jack and old boyfriend Noah and his wife Paige are the other characters who fill up this tale of infidelity and treachery.. We are supposed to believe they are four old "friends"all invited to celebrate Rachel's brother in law Will's wedding to the (perfect Goddess) Ali....I am sorry I just was not a fan of this one. I do think Sandie Jones is very easy to read but this plot just did not sit well with me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review..

The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones is about several couples traveling to Portugal, for a destination wedding. Rachel, future sister-in-law to the bride-to-be, tells the story of a wedding weekend quickly unraveling with alleged affairs, strained friendships, and life-shattering secrets. The story will definitely keep you on your toes, guessing what is really going on.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this eARC for an honest review. #NetGalley, #TheGuiltTrip #SandieJones

Thank you NetGalley, Sandie Jones and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of The Guilt Trip. This is my personal review.
I had such high hopes for this book when I read the description. For me it just did not hit any of my expectations I had for it. It had a lot of drama but no real mystery. It was a book that for me will not stick with me. The writing was good, but the story was lacking. I was able to read it but never connected with anyone in the book.

A surprisingly involving and tense domestic drama that unfolds over three days at a destination wedding on a European island with couples whose long-time friendships and marriages are tested, frayed, and reexamined. Their back stories are nicely filled in without distracting from the main plot, as secrets are revealed and priorities reexamined, but the denouement is less satisfactory than the preceding pages. It's not exactly an enjoyable read, but it resonates even after the clumsy ending.

Here we have yet another thriller where the female narrator acts completely ridiculous, jumps to stupid conclusions and drinks too much! WTF is wrong with these female authors who continue to write female narrators like this? I am SO tired of it and I am going to keep giving these authors low ratings until they STOP doing this! ENOUGH! Women are strong. Women are smart. Empower women. Stop making them bumbling idiots! How about you make the men in the stories the bumbling, drinking idiots? Are you afraid that won't sell enough books?

This review was also published on Goodreads. This book will be released on August 3, 2021.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While the premise was fully enthralling, I wasn't for the most part of the book. To be honest, I skipped loads of pages to get to the dialog so I could follow the storyline. I was fully annoyed with the character Rachel and insisting on being obtuse about what was really going on. The last 25% or so of the story became a page turner. And although this made the story interesting, it wrapped everything up too nicely, too quickly. If the whole book had followed that line of intensity, it may have been a much better read. But it wasn't completely unredeemable. A few elements did surprise me. Overall, not a horrible read, just not what it is marketed to be.

The Guilt Trip was my first read by author Sandie Jones, and I cannot wait to dive into her other novels! Rachel and her husband Jack travel to an idyllic spot in Portugal to attend the wedding of his brother Will and fiancee Ali along with best friends Noah and Paige. The book moves back and forth between characters and the past and present. Relationships are put to the test. The plot was full of drama, and the ending was a complete surprise! This book was so entertaining and hard to put down!

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC!

I was so lucky to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and opinion. Sandie Jones is one of my absolute favorite authors and I patiently wait each year for her new release. I couldn't wait to sit down and read this and let me tell you it's so worth the wait. I LOVED this book! Her writing gets better and better with each book she publishes. This is no exception! My advice - get outside and read this book ASAP!

Wow! This was such a great book. It really kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time (I read it in 2 days!!) I will be recommending this one to everyone!

(SPOILERS)

I enjoyed this book, but the ending let me down.

Heads up: the synopsis makes this book sound like a murder mystery, but it isn't. (To be honest it wasn't particularly thrilling either— I'd probably categorize it as a drama.)

The Guilt Trip follows three couples as they go from London to a stunning Portuguese villa for one of their weddings. Plenty of drama ensues— mainly focusing on infidelity and betrayals — but there are also sweet moments of friendship and loyalty to balance it all out.

It's a fun, twisty, and quick read that proves appearances can be deceiving. The rushed and confusing ending, however, didn't match the quality of the rest of the book.

The 'fatal misunderstanding' happens towards the end, and it's wrapped up disappointingly quickly. I don't understand why it's even referred to as a misunderstanding. Rachel assuming the affair was with Ali was a misunderstanding. Paige driving a car towards her lover's wife and accidentally dying in the process was fatal, yes, but not a misunderstanding. Am I missing something?

Actually, the entire ending confused me. Jack must've had the worst lawyer ever if they couldn't get the court to throw out that "evidence." Sounds like no witnesses could say if a person jumped from the vehicle moving towards them or not, which is incredibly convenient, and therefore there's no real evidence putting him in the car *at the time of the incident*.

Then there's the epilogue. Did they lie about what they overheard? Was Jack in the car at all? I don't know, because the author didn't make it clear enough.

3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Three couples travel for a destination wedding to the beautiful shores of Portugal, and get more than they bargain for. Rachel and Noah have been BFFs since college. While they harbor secret feelings for each other, they are both happily married to other people, Jack and Paige respectively. Jack’s brother, Will, is getting married to Ali, who is impulsive and rubs Jack and Paige the wrong way. As the weekend unfolds, relationships are tested, betrayals surface, and lives are endangered.

This book reads more like a domestic drama then a “locked room” style book, which is what I originally thought based on the synopsis I read. (It seems other reviewers agree! Also, the book info looks more accurate now). With that said, the secrets and betrayals among the group were interesting and held my attention. There is no “thriller” aspect until the very end, which I felt was too quick and a little blah. I liked where Rachel’s story ends up.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

The Guilt Trip-written by Sandi Jones was the first book I’ve read by this author and I enjoyed it very much. This story is based on the friendship of two couples, Rachel and Jack and Paige and Noah. Rachel and Noah were best friends in college and remained best friends for 20 additional years even though they were married to different people. It is a story based on love, trust, and betrayal with twists and turns around every corner. Every time I thought I had it figured out, I was wrong! I found this book very difficult to put down and am very much looking forward to my next read by Sandi Jones.


Review written by Irene G

The Guilt Trip is reminiscent of Lucy Foley's The Guest List and Ruth Ware's One by One. A group of 6 friends, 3 couples, travel to the Portuguese coast for a destination wedding. Once there, secrets begin to become uncovered that have potential to destroy relationships. The bride, Ali, is prone to histrionics and drama......but what is really happening here? Is Ali the one to blame for the drama that ensues? While the storyline and plot of the book are interesting, the book left me wanting more. I felt it was slow moving at times with an abrupt ending. There was a long, and somewhat drawn out, build up that came to a quick climax. I felt that I wanted more at the end of the book. Thank you to NetGalley, Sandie Jones and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book.

This was fun! The main characters were perfectly annoying (realistic!) and I was hooked pretty quickly.

I did predict one of the major twists, but there were little pieces I did not see coming.

I like trying to guess who the "bad guy" is, especially when everyone is doing something sketchy. It actually made me annoyed with my own husband, because each of the characters were suspicious and guilty in aspects of their marriage.

3.5 stars, rounded up

Book Review for The Guilt Trip
Full review for this title will be posted at: @cattleboobooks on Instagram!

3 Stars
I read the description and though I would really like this book. It was hard for me to finish. I guessed a lot of what was going to happen in the book before it happened.
The Guilt Trip is about 6 friends- 3 couples, who travel to a villa in Portugal together for a wedding. The drama starts almost immediately and doesn't really stop until the very end. I did enjoy the way Rachel and Ali’s relationship developed throughout the book.

Thank you to Net Galley & Publishers for the exchange for an honest review.

When Rachel and Noah met in college, they thought they might have a future together, but twenty years later, Rachel is married to Jack and Noah is married to Paige. Now with Jack’s brother getting married to Ali, the three couples head out for Portugal for the wedding. Rachel and Paige are both uncomfortable around the volatile Ali, but while Rachel tries to get to know her for her brother’s sake, Paige is completely put off. Over the course of the weekend, jealousy, secrets and guilt threaten to tear apart marriages and friendships, and may even cost someone their life.

The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones is a gossip-filled thriller that reminded me of grown-up Pretty Little Liars. From the opening few chapters I was absolutely hooked. I flew through this book, because I needed to know what the answers were to the questions that were brought up. The constant lies, betrayals, twists and turns kept me guessing and although the ending was very dramatic, I really enjoyed it! It was well written, with fantastic character development, especially Rachel, and I really loved the dimension Ali added to the story. The author skillfully wrapped up the conclusion and I liked the way how the karma worked for each character. Everyone got what they deserved. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Minotaur Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my opinions.