3.5 stars.

The Guilt Trip is a mixed bag. The writing is good and the pacing is solid, but the characters are terribly unlikable and the plot seriously jumps the shark. I'd call this one a guilty pleasure. I'm not mad at it, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for either. I enjoyed reading it, but certainly wasn't blown away. That being said, I'd still read another Sandie Jones book in the future.

The setup for the plot in the beginning is a little hazy. Two couples are invited to a wedding. For one couple, the invitation makes sense...the husband is the brother of the groom. The other couple? They're best friends of the first, but barely know the couple getting married. Their reasoning for being invited to (and attending) this destination wedding in Portugal is a bit illogical.

The characters are written and developed well, but nearly all of them are just whiny and entitled. The only one I think I liked at all was Noah, and even then...he wasn't exactly white knight material either. There is just a LOT of dysfunction at play. The narration enhanced this feeling of irritation. The female characters all sounded very similar and the intonation was a bit of a grating pitch. I really didn't have anyone to root for, so it was more just waiting for the implosion and watching the chaos ensue.

The plot does move at a pretty good clip and there are a lot of little setup pieces along the way that make sense, but also provide for some minor twists and turns. I did figure out one of the major twists, but it still had a good bit of tension to it and worked well. And then...the ending. Oh boy. Hold on to your seats because there was suspension of belief working here. Things may have been a little crazy up to this point, but then it went full on left turn. It wasn't believable, but it was fun...I'll give it that.

TLDR: Enjoyable, fast read with unlikable characters and a crazy ending that will have you somewhere between rolling your eyes and rolling on the floor.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel/audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

3.5 ✨This books had LOTS of drama! There was something that kept drawing me back to the book when I wasn’t reading it, but it took a loooooong time getting to where it was going. The end did surprise me in a way, but I felt like most of the action was at the very last minute. It was mostly a drama uncovering dirty little secrets about a group of people as you read it. Not bad, just not what I was expecting. Still a good read though!

This book kept my interest, and I did like the premise - three couples travel to a destination cliff-side wedding, and secrets are spilled - but it just took too long for the story to build. All the action was in the last 10% of the book, and it happened too quickly. And then the short epilogue that's meant to make you question everything you just read? I don't know - those just don't do it for me. Overall, a decent read, but it's not one I'll be recommending to friends who ask for a good thriller.

Is about a Destination wedding that goes wrong. I think I might have read something like this before. Some of the characters I didn’t connect with but besides that it’s a really good novel.

This book started out promising and I was really enjoying it but then it just got tedious. That’s the word that kept coming to mind. Too many love triangles or suspected triangles. For me, there were too many tangled story lines and it was hard to stay focused. At one point I was just tired of it and put it aside but then picked up a couple of weeks later. It ended as it began so there was some redemption.

The Guilt Trip is another thriller with cheating spouses and miscommunication tropes that leads to an outlandish ending. Be prepared to suspend some disbelief with this one, especially when it comes to the last few chapters.

The characters are all incredibly unlikable and right away, the lead protagonist, Rachel, jumps to the conclusion that her husband is cheating on her with his soon to be sister-in-law. The couples are away on a destination wedding and Rachel let's her mind run amuck, drawing conclusions from the smallest suspicions.

I found this one predictable and lack luster. I wasn't a huge fan of Jones' The Other Woman, but I thought The First Mistake was decent. I've come to the conclusion that her writing just isn't for me.

If you are new to thrillers and this genre, I could see you enjoying aspects of the story.

The title of this book could not be more perfect! I'm not quite sure that anyone in Guilt Trip escaped my suspicion of guilt at any particular point. This story is an example of how wrong a wedding could go and that you never know what secrets those close to you are keeping or how dangerous those secrets could become.

The drama was a little unoriginal in the beginning but I would argue that it got better throughout the book. I really enjoyed all the twists and I enjoyed seeing everything play out in the end. The story kinda reminded me of The Guest List by Lucy Foley but I definitely enjoyed this book more.

Six friends (three couples) go to Portugal for a destination wedding. Rachel is married to Jack. Noah is married to Paige. Ali is marrying Will, and they each have different and interesting relationships with each other. The characters have lives that were tangled together in a web of secrets and deceit. The suspense is a slow brew and the characters are mostly unlikable. In fact, this is more of a domestic drama with a touch of suspense than a thriller. There is absolutely nothing new explored in this book, but it was written in a way that left you intrigued in the story until the last page. Overall, it’s a decent read, but not one that will stay with me once the book is closed.

Friends since college Rachel and Noah at one time tossed the idea around they could be more, twenty years later they are each happily married to other people and remain friends. Rachel’s husband Jacks brother Will is about to married in Portugal to Ali a former coworker of Jacks. Noah and his wife Paige join Rachel and Jack for the wedding and they are not looking forward to it. Ali is a drama Queen and she just rubs them the wrong way, plus she’s flirty and it doesn’t help she’s gorgeous, they also feel Will
Is rushing into the marriage. Arriving at the Villa they are shocked it’s a dream, the villa is perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean. the days and events leading up to the wedding are filled with tension, Rachel feels Jack is hiding something he’s acting funny and is very hostile towards Ali, soon Rachel begins to wonder if there’s something going on between Ali and Jack, but Rachel has her own secrets she doesn’t want anyone to know, as the tension builds which each new revelation you begin to wonder when the bomb is going to go off, whose going to snap first? This was more of a domestic drama with a dash of mystery. I loved the tension you could cut it with a knife! Four stars!

A twisty thriller! I liked this one better than The Other Woman, it was fast paced and a quick read.

Have you ever taken a trip with your friends? Did everything go smoothly? I was blown away by Sandie yet again. You always suspect the person who seems to cause the most trouble, but it is the ones who always play it cool that tend to be the troublemakers. There are so many twists and turns in this book that you start to wonder who to trust and who you shouldn't trust.

The Guilt Trip is a ball of chaos and deceit all wrapped into a destination wedding weekend. A group of friends and family are gathering in Portugal for Ali and Will’s wedding. Will is brother of Jack and the story is narrated through Rachel, Jack's wife.

In this story, you will be infidelity, rekindled romances, secrecy, humor, and lots of lies and misdirection. The result is a car accident, pointing fingers and broken relationships. There was a bunch of lead up to the ending of the book and I feel the author took the right amount of time wrapping things up. It was clearly by design, but I wasn’t fond of Rachel being portrayed as clueless and constantly making excuses for people including her husband. It’s frustrating to me when women are characterized this way.

Sandie Jones had we wondering the whole time who was really being honest. It was entertaining but not as suspenseful as I was hoping.

Thank you to @netgalley and @Macmillanaudio for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.
3.5 stars – Rounding to 4 for Goodreads

I enjoyed this book! I do think tho it was more of a drama/suspense than a thriller. The characters were so flawed & not particularly likable. The first half was a little bit slow but then it really picked up in the second & got a bit wild! And i loved the twist! Totally unexpected!

Also the setting was so great and i loved the surfing scene and one was so suspenseful. The best part!

A twisted story of how five friends and an acquaintance who travel for a destination wedding return as suspects. They still pretend to be friends when in truth they are frenemies with secrets. Just by the description I thought The Guilt Trip would be a murder mystery, but to my surprise this was more of a drama with suspense that revolves around the said secrets. The plot was interesting but the writing fell flat for me, I was confused at places. I felt like the author experimented with the ending, wasn’t concrete like I expected it to be. I don’t regret reading this though.

Thank you St.Martin’s Press Minotaur via Netgalley for the arc.

Sandie Jones's books are not for me. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a suspense filled story about six friends as they get together for a wedding. Some of the story you could guess ahead of time but there were a couple of great twists at the end. Overall I enjoyed this one even if some of the events were a bit over the top and the decisions made by some of the characters were frustrating. That’s what makes the story move forward though and it’s what keeps us engaged as readers. Give this one a try if you like a suspense filled story. It’s fast paced and perfect for summer.

I'm a bit torn about this book, because for about 80% of it, I was wondering when we'll actually get to the suspense/thriller part of the story. It promises murder, but that only happens very late in the book. Having said that, I *LOVED* the complexity of the characters. When I let go of the expectation of a fast-moving thriller, I found that I actually really enjoyed reading about these vulnerable, flawed, complex characters. So I would definitely recommend this, but don't go into it expecting a thriller. It's more of a slow-burn suspense drama.

This book is fantastic! I loved every minute of the audiobook and those twists and turns in the story were amazing. The characters were complex and I loved that nothing was as it seemed. I need to get the physical copy for my shelf as this is a new favorite!

I had high hopes for this book after reading and loving The Other Woman a couple years ago. While the premise was interesting and the writing was fantastic as always from Sandie Jones, the book was a major slow burn. It took until the very end of the book to get a twist that wasn't predictable and then it was just over. The main character was so over the top and unlikable I think that played a big factor as well.