The Guilt Trip is a mind-twisting story of how lies and deceit can pile up and ruin a marriage, a friendship, or even a life.

Rachel and Noah have been friends for years. They had a brief "will they or won't they" stint, but they are happily married to their own spouses now, and Rachel is good friends with Noah's wife Paige. Jack's younger brother Will is marrying Jack's former employee, Ali, and that means a group trip to Portugal. The group can't deny how exhausting Ali can be, but they tend to just ignore her antics rather than stop them. After Jack shares information with Rachel and Paige that Ali is cheating on Will, things quickly devolve into a web of confusion. Rachel spends most of the rest of the book trying to determine if Ali is having other affairs and with whom, leading her to distrust anyone and everyone around her.

I did really enjoy this story, for the most part. The first half of the book was really tight and engrossing. Rachel's paranoia over Ali's role in their lives draws readers and listeners in and doesn't let them go. Unfortunately, I found the second half a bit too loose, leaving a want for just a bit more editing. I found the chaos of this last half a bit confusing, especially because I was listening to it. It was a different type of domestic thriller than I was expecting, which I liked because it subverted my expectations. Claire Corbet's narration was gripping and had my attention from the start.

Overall rating: 3.5/5 (rounded to 4)

The Guilt Trip will be available for purchase on August 3rd. Be sure to add it to your Goodreads shelf. Also, be sure to check out Sandie Jones’s website!
I was lucky enough to be able to listen to this Advanced Reader's Copy through my partnership with NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

There is so much chatter about this book, that I was really excited to get the chance to read it. However 1/3 in I am struggling to follow the storyline and connect with the characters. I want to say that I think this is due to the narrator as I am reviewing this as an audiobook. There is something missing from the expression and dialogue on the audiobook.

So I want to give it a fair shot again and read it in print when it comes out.
So far I really like Rachel. I think she is sound in her friendship with others and genuine in getting to know Ali.
So once the book is published, I will give this a try again.

This was more like a 3.5 for me. I really enjoyed the first half but then it all just kind of fell apart a bit. I went from not wanting to put it down, to checking to see what percentage I had left. The story and characters are just seemed to fade as the story progressed. It also just really reminded me of The Guest List, and I liked that story better. I’ll read more by this author for sure, but this one just fell a little short.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

If Good Company and The Guest List had a literary baby, The Guilt Trip would be the resulting offspring. Decades-long friendships threaten to be upended by decades-old secrets during a destination wedding with a “locked in” mystery vibe.

I felt like this book had a promising concept and lots of potential, but I didn’t fall in love with the execution. Sandie Jones has created memorable characters with clearly defined personalities and backstories—her characterizations possibly being the strongest element of the novel!—but seems to have sacrificed something in the way of setting and atmosphere-building in order to get there.
With the book being set in Portugal for a destination wedding, I expected elaborate descriptions of Portuguese scenery, architecture, and culture to be included. I felt a little let down to find that the entire story could have literally happened in Topeka, Kansas, and almost nothing would have had to change.

Additionally, I struggled with the pacing of the plot. Very little action happens in the first 75% of the book, with much of the plot progression centering around rumors, speculation, and suspicions, even though Rachel (the main character) has very little actual evidence to support her theories. Conversely, the final 25% of the book moves so fast that it is almost trying to play catch-up with itself, and my head was spinning just trying to keep up with who was telling what story and who might be lying.

Despite all of this, Jones’s writing style absolutely is propulsive and kept me reading - I had to know how the story ended, and finished the entire book in one day. I listened to the audiobook and loved the narration so much that I didn’t want to turn it off! It’s a quick read, great for a long drive or a vacation, if you’re okay with taking some good with some not-so-good.

——

A huge thank you to Sandie Jones, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A group of long-time friends takes the trip of a lifetime when one of them gets married. It seems only the groom cares a jot for the bride, but everyone is willing to get through things for his sake. Soon, it's obvious that there is a deeper undercurrent beneath the jovial facade and nobody will remain unaffected by the impending fallout. The narration is spot-on, pulling the listener into the depths of the story. For fans of psychological suspense.

I wanted to like the book and I did like the story. However the narrator threw the whole thing off for me. It was quiet and then would get really loud. Then quiet again. It was kind of frustrating to try and listen to.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio version of the latest suspense novel by Sandie Jones - 4 stars! I alternated between the audio and digital versions of this book. The audiobook narrator, Clare Corbett, did a great job with this cast of characters - I was easily able to differentiate between the characters speaking and her voice had a great quality with good pacing.

The story takes place with 3 couples headed to Portugal for one of their weddings. Rachel and Jack, married for 20 years; their good friends, Paige and Noah; and Jack's brother Will and fiancé Ali. There is history between the couples - Rachel and Noah have been best friends since university, even close to making it more than friends. Jack introduced Will and Ali, as Ali once worked at his company. Ali's addition to the couples' friendship is a bit grating - she's quite outgoing and everyone seems to be questioning her actions. Then those actions become too much for any of them to ignore any longer.

This was an enjoyable read and I was anxious to find out how it would all play out. Everyone was keeping secrets and motives to themselves and there were lots of questions along the way as to the truth. Since the prologue opened with one character in the hospital after an incident, you knew it wasn't going to end well for all of the characters. Another good read by this author!

An entertaining audiobook thriller. Great narration. Very clear differentiation between characters. The ending was a bit off/didn’t quite fit the plot to that point, but overall a fun read.

This was an alright domestic thriller. Some of the choices Rachel made were a little iffy. Like her train of thought didn’t make a lick of sense at some points. She was really sitting there and making excuses for her husband. The ending came literally out of nowhere! I was so flabbergasted!! But these couples’ relationships were a train wreck you couldn’t look away from and that’s what made it so entertaining!

I’m still not over the ending. I did not see it coming and I’m not sure it really went the vibe of the story. Either way, it was wholly entertaining.

3.5⭐ I really wanted to love this one as I loved "The Other Woman" by this author. I actually started reading it and DNF'd it, but then I saw the audiobook on netgalley and went with it. I was able to listen to the whole thing this way. I loved the narrator Clare Corbett. Her accent was lovely, and she did a fantastic job! Overall I thought it was a pretty entertaining, quick read with lots of drama, and secrets. So it does start out slow, or at least it did for me, but the middle to end moved much faster. I'm happy I went with the audiobook.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy and audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own!

Ok, first let me start by saying went into the review section of Goodreads before writing this review. I just want to be transparent. I wanted to see what others were saying in comparison to how I was feeling. I still feel very much the same as before I had read them.

As one reviewer described, this book is very much like a soap opera/telenovella. No joke! It was all so dramatic and some of the characters so were over the top. It was entertaining for a bit, then started to get tiring. With everything going on and all the different characters, it was kind of all a jumble at times and hard to keep track of who was doing or saying what.

All of a sudden out of nowhere comes this big scene, nope, didn’t see it coming. Nor did I think it was necessarily the best way to start bringing that story together and to it’s conclusion. There’s all this madness and devastation going on, which I guess was the “big bang” of the story, but just seemed to add more confusion as to what was actually going on. I would have liked to see more twists earlier in the story and throughout instead of what we got in this “shocking” event.

I honestly don’t remember much about the surroundings and scenery that would have made us feel like we were at a destination wedding. There was much lacking there to pull you into the scenes. Honestly, it was mostly commentary and inner dialog which was not enough to make me enjoy any of the characters. Sigh.

I know this all sounds bad, I didn’t hate it… It had potential, it just didn’t quite hit the way it all could have. It was my first introduction to this author, but I’d still like to check out other works by Jones.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

The Guilt Trip has three couples traveling together and going to a wedding in Portugal. There are many rumors passing amongst them about who is having an affair and who knows about it.

I found this to be a pretty average marriage thriller. It did become a bit tedious with the amount of secrets being passed around and having to keep track of who knows what and what lies are in play. I'm not sure I related to any of the characters because they all seemed pretty flawed to me, mostly in the same way. It did keep me guessing till the end. The ending was also extremely bizarre and not something I would have seen coming. I did think the narrator did a good job distinguishing the characters with her voice and thought the audiobook itself was well done.

If you like mysteries involving couples, gossiping women, and a group of liars then this one is for you.

I received a copy of this audiobook free from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sandie Jones for this audio-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback and review.

Rachel is headed to her brother-in-laws wedding in Portugal. Her husband Jack doesn't seem so thrilled to be going especially cause his brother is marrying Ali a former co-worker of Jacks. Ali seems to be a little out there and overly confident. For some reason she seems to grate on Jacks nerves. Rachel and Jack's best friends Paige and Noah who are also married are joining them. At first it seems like it's going to be a normal destination wedding with some fun. It quickly makes a turn for the worst and things seem to go downhill.

I really enjoyed this novel from Sandie Jones. For me personally it seems like Sandie Jones' novels are a little hit or miss but this one is a hit for sure!! I enjoyed this one so much I listened to it in less than 24 hours because I wanted to know what was happening.

<b>This domestic thriller was an average read for me. A story that felt like a soap opera, with too many gossipy women, so I didn’t find it as gripping and explosive as publicized. I had a hard time keeping the three couples—six main characters—straight. I listened to the audiobook, which I felt was worth finishing, but I doubt I’ll remember much of it in a week or so. But that cover was 5 ⭐️’s!</b>

Although the writing and narration were both very good, this one wasn’t for me…at this time, anyway. Once in a while, I’m in the mood for one of these juicy, soapy-type thrillers. But after reading some excellent books recently, it just didn’t grab me. I quickly grew bored with the women’s gossip and jumping to conclusions.

<b>My Rating: </b> 3.5 ⭐️’s (rounding down)
<b>Published:</b> August 17th 2021 by Macmillan Audio
<b>Audio:<b/> 10 hours, 30 minutes

<b>Recommend:</b> Yes, if you’re in the mood for a soap-opera type thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley / Macmillan Audio / Sandie Jones for this digital ARC, in exchange for my honest review!

#NetGalley #Edelweiss #TheGuilt Trip #MinotaurBooks #MacmillanAudio #SoapyThriller #PortugalVacation #Wedding #ClareCorbett

@realsandiejones @MacmillanAudio

Six friends head to a beach side town in Portugal for a destination wedding weekend. Rachel and Jack (brother of the groom), Paige and Noah (the best friends), and Ali and Will (bride and groom) start this trip off with drama and secrets to unfold.

There are many secrets to unpack here throughout the entire book. I did not find any characters to be very likable and each of their secrets just kept bouncing around. It's a LOT of drama to keep up with. I kept having to remind myself who knew what secret and who was connected to who. There are several good twists, but unfortunately, it's so much drama to keep up with, that I found I wasn't very invested in any of the characters or their backgrounds.

This one is less murder mystery but more keeping up with who has had a past relationship with who and what secrets came out of those relationships. However, I did really enjoy when characters started to discover more about another person, their misconceptions were put to the side and they could appreciate the other person more.

The guilt trip is definitely a five star read. If you are a fan of Hunting Party, this is a book for you. What happens when couples go to a destination wedding in Portugal

So I selected this audio book to listen to because it sounded like an interesting mystery thriller and unfortunately the closest thing resembling that only happens in the last 45 minutes of the audio book.

Three couples go to Portugal for for a destination wedding for one of them. Once they get there things start coming out about this person has been cheating on this person and this other person cheated on that person, and that unfortunately is what 90% of the book was about.

I think the book might have been a bit more interesting if what happened at the end happened at the beginning instead and then we learn how we got to that point.

This book started out with such promise but just absolutely fell apart in the middle and the ending was just bizarre. I felt like the author just got tired of writing and decided to end it.

I personally really enjoyed this one. The couples and who exactly was with who was a little hard to keep up with at first, but easy to adjust to. This is definitely a perfect beach side thriller with lots of drama and an interesting dramatic between a group of friends. I highly recommend for the roller coaster ride this books takes you on alone!

I tried to read this book, but thought if it was read to me than maybe the story would come across less cheesy. While the effort was earnest, the story was still lacking believability. I feel like this is still in the editing stage and not finished.