I should have known this was going to be bad as soon as I learned the name of the company the characters work for is Global International. Really, Sandie? What started as an interesting look at the despicable way tabloids get their stories descended into chaos and completely lost me. I’ve never been so inclined to DNF a book at 80%, but I powered through. The characters were all caricatures, and I honestly thought every single one of them was an idiot. I feel bad ripping on this book so hard, but it was just draining to read.

Thank you Minotaur Books and St Martin’s Press for the advance copy!!

The Trade Off is Sandie Jones’ at her best. It is so entertaining! I would say this novel is definitely more of a suspense than a mystery/thriller but the suspense will have you absolutely hooked. These journalists are so manipulative and unethical that it’s disgusting (thank goodness that this is fiction). However, their slimy need to manipulate a story made for one hell of a drama.

Read if you like:
• soapy dramas
• asking yourselves a million times what the heck is going on
• to scream at the narrators not to trust people

Not a deep book, but such a fun one! This story is about two women, Stella and Jess. Stella is a veteran reporter for “The Globe,” a trashy tabloid type paper. Stella will do anything to get the best story for the paper. On the other hand, Jess, new to the industry is not OK with how Stella gets her stories. When a celebrity does something drastic as a result of the paper, Stella and Jess’s world flip upside down.

This is a fun, easy read and I enjoyed the salacious look into tabloid journalism! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Summary: Jess has just accepted a job at a British tabloid called The Globe, notorious for breaking the usual celebrity and political scandals of the day. Jess, bless her heart, has wholesome dreams of helping to clean up the scandal sheet and wants to advocate for a more fair-handed way of reporting the stories. However, this dream is quashed when she observes the ruthless tactics that Max, the editor, and Stella, the assistant editor, will employ to get the headlines they need to satisfy their owner, Peter Kingsley. Moreover, they rule the newsroom with an iron fist, and it is risky to oppose their approach. Needless to say, The Globe has made a few enemies in its day, and now one of them is about to be released from prison, claiming that he was set up by The Globe and vowing to get his revenge. Not only Jess’s morals and ethics are in peril; now her life is in danger as well.

Thoughts: I really enjoyed tabloid publishing as the setting and the base for this novel. I haven’t read another thriller based around this subject matter and it made an interesting change. The focus in this novel is on the action rather than on character development, and therefore I found the characters fairly one-dimensional. Jess is a little too wide-eyed and innocent, whereas Stella is basically the Cruella de Vil of news publishing.

As other reviewers have noted, there were quite a few characters introduced in the book. I understand why the author did this, as it helped to demonstrate the tabloid’s typical strategy of using and victimizing the interviewees for its monetary gain. A trade off is Max’s term for the offer he makes to seal the deal with a potential interviewee. It is nothing more than blackmail, consisting of an offer to withhold potentially embarrassing or ruinous information so the individual will cooperate with the paper and provide the interview they want.

The pacing is a little inconsistent, with the first ¾ of the book being somewhat slow and then the remaining quarter hurtling toward the conclusion. I was not dissatisfied with the ending, just a little under-whelmed as it seemed a little tame. It is a good summer thriller, just not an amazing one. Thanks to Minotaur Books for the copy to read.

I had read a few reviews for this novel and noticed that the ratings were pretty varied. I have enjoyed many of Sandie Jones previous books so I automatically requested The Trade Off when I saw it was available on NetGalley.

The story is told from two points of view. We hear from the editor of The Globe, 40 year old, Stella and newbie reporter 25 year old, Jess. One of them will do almost anything for a story while the other feels the truth matters more than anything else.

Just how far will someone go for a story?

Overall, I thought this was a decent read. It wasn't emotionally taxing as some other books I've read recently. Which in a way was kind of a nice change. It was pretty slow going at first but picked up quite a bit around the halfway mark. An interesting story.

While this wasn't my favorite from this author, I'm glad I read it and I still look forward to reading more from Sandie Jones.


I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

•Synopsis•
British Tabloid
New reporter
Not as it seems

•Rating•
⭐⭐⭐ 3 stars
Not for me, but maybe for you

•Similar Recommended Reads•
Miracle Creek
Stone Cold Fox
An Anonymous Girl

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book caught my attention right away, because like Jess, I also work at a newspaper called "The Globe".

This book was fun, fast- paced, and nothing deep, nothing serious, just fun.

I’m a Sandie Jones fan so I was excited to read this ARC but unfortunately it let me down. The first half of the book felt like it was going nowhere - completely plotless. The second half picked up but was almost confusing with the amount of back and forth over who was good vs evil. It was a quick read which I appreciated but it missed the mark as far as a great thriller goes for me. It was just “meh” to me.

I have thoroughly enjoyed Sandie Jones' previous novels. This one was not my favorite. I felt like it was really slow in the beginning and I could not feel connected to the characters. This one just was a miss for me.

The Trade Off by Sandie Jones

A wild ride about tabloid journalists and the celebrities that are featured on their pages through very questionable journalism tactics 😬

Thank you @minotaur_books for the eARC copy.

Look for this fun read out on 8/15

Twisty until the very end!

The Trade Off enters into the realm of the cut throat British tabloid business and its way of telling the news. Jess is hired at the Globe to help clean it up, only to discover that the infection of the press behaving badly goes deeper than expected. After the death of one of its human stories, Jess find herself fully embroiled in the deceit and deception of the tabloid and what to do in order to stick with her own morals.

Themes: 🗣🗣📰🔪‼️🚨🦠

My thoughts: 🙂🤓😎🥸😤😡🫡🫢🫣🤔😀

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Tabloid Journalism, corporate espionage and culpability, and the #metoo movement are just some of the topics handled in The Trade Off by Sandie Jones. Main Character, Jess, an incredibly naïve young woman surprisingly lands a job with the world renown gossip rag, The Globe. Jess who waves her high moral code like a flag is shocked to find that her mentors and co-workers are willing to create the drama in a bid to be first to press with some misfortune of a celebrity. When a set-up, sting operation turns tragic, Jess vows to clean up the newspaper and set it on a course of reporting the news and not creating it.
The title, The Trade Off, actually speaks to the practice of threatening the news subject with dirt real or innuendo that won't be printed if the subject agrees to voluntarily give personal info that the tabloid wants to have the scoop on. Or, the tabloid representative might offer a carrot such as wearing some fabulous jewelry at an event or supply them with contacts to get into a movie production. You get the drift. I will taint you unless you cooperate. I might even do you a solid, if you give me what I want.
There are multiple news stories both past and current that collide with one another along with an abundance of red herrings that caused some confusion for this reader. The premise is timely and would have been better served if focus had been on one or two plot lines. The ending was an absolute no go for me.
Those that like a lot of characters and fast pacing might find they can enjoy the ride, if they are willing to accept a few missteps along the way. This one can be read in a weekend, poolside or at the beach.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an early e-copy. All opinions are my own.

Read if you like:
🔪 Thrillers
📸 world of magazines and tabloids
📰 Workplace Thrillers
🥈 Two POV

This was such an enjoyable thriller! I loved the dog eat dog nature of the tabloid setting and how it felt so real with the depictions.

I loved the thrill of not knowing how far the characters would go for what they wanted and how low they may stoop….

The pacing for the first half is a bit more slow burn but then really picks up in the second half as the story comes together fully…

I definitely highly recommend this one to thriller readers and hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Thank you so much to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my review!

DNF at 30%

I really struggled with both the story and the characters. Stella was very unlikeable and Jess was basically a doormat.

Jess and Stella end up working together at The Globe newspaper and from the start, Stella doesn’t want Jess there. Jess is not fond of Stella either. Jess thinks Stella obtains her stories immorally and that is not the way Jess works.

Many other characters enter quite swiftly and the story flows smoothly with a lot going on. There’s never a dull moment however, it’s not a total thrill ride either. There aren’t any edge-of-your-seat thrills but an interesting plot nevertheless. I learned a lot about journalism especially regarding stories about the rich and famous.

Jess is on a mission to save a celebrity from being framed and Stella is running from a dangerous person from her past. In the end we get great closure and an unexpected turn in character’s relationships. A nice, satisfying conclusion is given. A nice, exciting, entertaining read but definitely not the thriller we are used to by Sandie Jones but well worth reading!

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC. I appreciate it.

First line: “You’ve got a nerve showing up here,” he hisses, coming to an abrupt halt beside me as he leads the mourners back up the aisle.

Summary: Jess has just landed her dream job. She is going to be a real reporter for The Globe newspaper. With her new job she hopes to change the world with her reporting. But once she meets the infamous Stella, her boss and deputy editor, she sees that standing by her morals may be harder than she thinks. On her first assignment she learns that the underhanded ways of the paper can lead to some deadly consequences. How can she continue working at a place that puts sales over the lives of those they report on?

My Thoughts: I was not sure about requesting the newest Sandie Jones book. The last two books were just not that good. I wondered if it was time to move on but I am glad I picked this one up. It was a quick paced and shows the backstabbing nature of modern news outlets.

The two main characters seem to be night and day. Stella is the hardened reporter who will do whatever to get the big story. Jess is the rookie who still believes in justice and the truth no matter what. With the alternating chapters the reader sees the differences in how they deal with similar situations. But really how different are they? Both are women in a world dominated by men.

Reading this really made me think about how tabloids and clickbait is used to destroy people’s lives. How much can we really trust some of the “news” that is circulating all over social media? I think this will give readers a look at something we see every day but then question how these stories were tailored.

FYI: Suicide, rape and stalking.

The Trade Off is a great suspense thriller set in the world of journalism. How far would you go for a story? This book makes you wonder how much of it is like real life… that is a scary thought!
Very well written and this is one of my favorites from Sandie Jones.

Thank you NetGalley, Sandie Jones St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pub Date August 15, 2023.

The "Trade Off" was a total departure from the usual thrillers I read, and instead focused on the world of tabloid journalism. I loved the pacing of the story and the characters. The book also had some interesting subplots that added depth to the characters and kept me engaged throughout the entire story. I found this book to be a great choice for a beach read. The story flowed well and kept me entertained, making it the perfect companion for a relaxing day in the sun.

Main Characters:
-- Jess Townsend – new junior reporter at Britain’s biggest newspaper The Globe, hired by Max to turn the tabloid into a more reputable publication; Max wants her to work with Stella and report back to Max what she’s working on
-- Stella Thorne – deputy editor of The Globe, known for doing whatever it takes to get a story; believes Max is a better journalist than editor and feels she was wrongfully passed over when Max was given the editor’s job
-- Max Forsythe – editor of The Globe, came through the ranks working side by side with Stella, hires Jess to help clean up tabloid journalism
-- Peter Kingsley – media mogul who has monopolized the industry for more than 30 years; owns the world’s biggest-selling newspapers including The Globe, a multimedia sports channel, and a film production company in Hollywood
-- Harry – the foreign secretary’s bodyguard who Stella pays for leads; there is also a sexual component to their relationship, which Harry sees more as a real relationship than Stella does
-- James McAllister – spent four years in prison for a plot against the prime minister exposed by Max and Stella; on the verge of being released, and Max and Stella know he will want revenge

Chaotic, full of naivety and derision (based solely on the number of times the author used variations of each word), and not as great as I hoped. This is how I would describe Sandie Jones’ latest novel, which releases on August 15. I have been a fan of Jones since her debut novel The Other Woman. That said, this is the second consecutive release that has been a 3-star read for me. 🫤

In fairness, a 3-star rating means a book is okay. It’s not a fantastic read that you can’t put down and keeps you up at night, and it’s not something that you would suggest people not read. But I hoped for more. I hoped for suspense and thrill, but the book fell flat despite Jones’ background in the world of journalism.

The story revolves around the vicious world of Great Britain’s tabloid journalism, told from dual points of view—Jess in the first person and Stella in third. Hired by Max to keep an eye on Stella’s activities, Jess finds herself participating in meetings and activities that are clearly not on the up and up. Stella, who believes that Max didn’t deserve the editor position over her, will do almost anything to get the stories. She’s tough and unrelenting and intimidating.

A lot happens in this story. A potentially wrongfully convicted criminal being released concerns both Max and Stella. Jess feels guilt over the manipulation of stories. Stella personifies a take-no-crap attitude at times but is paranoid and fearful at others. And I couldn’t tell whether Max was good, bad, or otherwise most of the time…which is probably the point, but I think it just makes everything too confusing.

The plot builds really slowly, and things don’t really seem to start happening and making sense until more than halfway through the book. There are enough twists and a decent ending that I won’t give away any of the story line. It just takes a while to get there.

For a book that really started off as a slow burn, I had little hope it would pick up pace. Once it picked up though I could not put it down and read more then 50% of the book in one day. With characters you love, ones you love to hate, and ones you just aren’t sure about - this story about how much of the world media controls sheds a light on the reality of the world we live in.