I absolutely loved “The Other Woman”, but this novel fell flat for me, personally. I was waiting for suspenseful moments or twists but they just didn’t manifest as I hoped. Got through it, but not my favorite. Definitely try it for yourself though, because it may be more your style that mine!

This book was difficult to get through. Nothing really happens until the second half… and tbh I almost dnf’d. Ending was rushed. Could have been an interesting plot but it fell short. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

Stella is the deputy editor at The Globe, a popular newspaper based out of London. She has a reputation for being fierce and always getting the story that she wants, no matter the cost. Jess is hired as a rookie reporter at The Globe and does not fit in from the start. Jess is horrified as she begins to see how The Globe comes by their stories. When The Globe publishes a damning story about a well-known celebrity, Jess gets a glimpse of how much harm these stories can cause and how little truth might actually be behind them. Jess decides that she must get to the truth no matter the cost.

I hate to say it, but this book was a miss for me. The story switches back and forth between the points of view of Jess and Stella but I didn’t find either point-of-view to be very compelling. The story moved along at a very slow pace and seemed to be overly focused on the job of being a journalist rather than the tension between the characters. Maybe this is because the author previously worked as a journalist and has a lot of experience in this field but to me, it got very redundant. Even the moments that should have felt tense, didn’t have that feeling for me. I will continue to read what Sandie Jones writes. This one just wasn’t for me :)

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really struggled getting into this book. It was very slow, and nothing really happened until about the half way mark. The characters were pretty unlikeable, and I just didn’t care what happened to them. The last 20% or so of the book were interesting, but not enough to carry the whole book. I think maybe if I was more into back stabbing and politics I might have enjoyed this one. Or if I was a salacious tabloid reader. I just never felt invested in the story. I also think that this book is mislabeled as a thriller. Nothing exciting really happens so I would classify it more as contemporary fiction.

If you are looking for a glimpse into tabloid journalism them check this one out late summer, August 15th.

Thank you to the publisher St Martin’s Press, @stmartinspress, and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Instagram link will be added once posted.

Not my favorite from Sandie Jones but I did enjoy the whole publication storyline, just not much of a mystery/thriller. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I was excited to read this book because I enjoyed Jones' last one. However, The Trade Off did not please me as much as I had hoped. Three stars.

I have enjoyed other books by Sandie Jones, but I had a hard time enjoying this one. It’s the story of Jessie, who starts working at a tabloid but seems to be anti-tabloid material. She’s working under Stella who is determined to get the story no matter what. I just didn’t love the characters and it made it hard to get into. The last quarter of the book was a lot better than the beginning, in my opinion.

I received an advanced copy from Netgalley, but the thoughts are my own.

I loved "The Other Woman" so this book was a must-request, and I always love a plucky gal reporter story; Evil paparazzi,, glam celebs, a stalker and and evil boss with girl on girl crime - it's all here for a great pool read! Even though this book is released as a stand alone I would love another book about Jess!

Stella is an accomplished editor of The Globe in London. She has a reputation for getting the story at all costs. Jess is a rookie reporter at The Globe and sees things differently. She is troubled when the truth of a story starts to falter and is not interested in spreading lies. Jess is getting concerned that some of The Globe’s big stories are build on lies. When a celebrity is hounded by The Globe and then pays the ultimate price , Jess has to wonder if this story was even true. She has to get to the bottom of this one, and fast.

THE TRADE OFF was quite the story. It was a unique thriller and I really enjoyed it. It was filled with lies and deception and made me think about all the things I see on social media or elsewhere about famous people. I can't imagine having my life constantly viewed for others to judge, but sadly this story does end up with innocent people being portrayed in a false light. If you're a thriller fan and have enjoyed her other novels you'll like this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) closer to pub day.

Enquiring minds wanna know and Jess he just been given her dream job of working for The Globe, a paper that is reporting tawdry celebrity items. As Jess digs into her job she realizes that things aren’t as cut and dry as they seem in the media. Her boss, Stella, wants her to do anything for the story and Jess isn’t sure she wants to give up her integrity to do so. A fast, quick read by Jones.

Journalistic integrity and the MeToo movement collide in The Trade Off, a gritty thriller by Sandy Jones that pits two tabloid writers against each other. Rookie Jess is a new hire, surprised she was recommended for an entry position at The Globe, a mega tabloid. Her editor is Stella, a veteran who manages to tie down the best stories. How she manages this is a problem that quickly becomes obvious to Jess. When she complains to Max, the managing editor, she’s pulled into a plot which she mistakenly believes will lead to improvement. Instead, it takes her deeper into a dangerous situation.

It’s difficult to review The Trade Off without spoilers. I can say that this mystery shows the dark side of tabloid journalism and the damage that is done to its victims. Jess’s investigation links the stories of MeToo victims to The Globe with devastating results. The Trade Off is a tough book to read because you know so much of it is true. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Sandie Jones for this ARC.

I usually love Sandie Jones but this one was just okay. It is #MeToo focused but I didn’t think
It brought much originality to the topic.

I love some of Sandie Jones' previous books, so I was very excited to be approved for an advanced copy of The Trade Off. Unfortunately, this one was not a fit for me.

Yes, the premise is compelling and watching Stella create stories was interesting. However, at the 25% mark, I had to confirm that this was categorized under "Mystery & Thrillers" because The Trade Off was neither. It felt more like watching a narrative of a young journalist learning about the underbelly of the tabloid industry, which in this case was too close to reality for me to enjoy.

I was hoping for a thriller and some escapism, and if the The Trade Off eventually gets there, it takes far too long to do so.

This was a fast and action packed read, centered on 2 tabloid reporters: rookie Jess and hardened Stella. Stella will do whatever it takes to get to the top and Jess wants to breathe a little morality into the world of celebrity reporting.

The action starts pretty much right away and doesn’t let up. Jess’s naïveté is kind of endearing, though it helps create the mystery because literally everyone she works with might be taking advantage of her. Stella is somewhat likable for a character with that much ambition and doing what she does, though sometimes her actions didn’t necessarily match the type of person I was led to believe she was. The book does cause you to need to suspend your disbelief, as celebrities share things they shouldn’t share with strangers and multiple characters have dizzying changes of heart, but it’s fun overall, and the ending is thoroughly satisfying.

Overall, this was a light and enjoyable read- may not pack the punch of a standard thriller but I think it’s a perfect beach read. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

How far would you go to get the story you want to publish, even if it doesn't reflect the whole truth? Welcome to the merciless, competitive, dog-eat-dog universe of tabloid journalism! This is a realistic workplace thriller that questions ethics, crosses lines, threatens the private lives of celebrities, fabricates stories, and explores the several faces of truth.

Stella is a 40-year-old, thick-skinned, ambitious deputy editor of the Globe, whose eyes are on the prize. She aims to climb to the top by stooping lower and publishing the most scandalous stories that could earn her more success, even at the expense of ruining people's reputations.

Jess, on the other hand, is a 25-year-old rookie reporter who left her local newspaper to work at the Globe. However, she soon realizes that the dirty tricks of tabloid journalism are unethical and wonders if she's in the wrong place.

The book starts off slow and doesn't pick up until the second half, where we learn more about our two POV characters, Jess and Stella, and their differing perspectives on journalism. We also get to know about their personal lives until one of the celebrities pays the ultimate price when a story they publish ruins her entire life. She commits suicide, and Jess realizes that she has to do something to stop the people at the newspaper before they destroy more victims' lives, even if it means risking her own life.

The second half of the book is definitely more interesting, with a faster pace, more mystery, twists, backstabbing moves, and intrigues.

Overall, this book takes a realistic approach to tabloid journalism, reflecting its ugly face and emphasizing how compelling it is to survive in this industry. You have two choices: become the hunter or the prey.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this well-written corporate thriller's ARC copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

Jess is a new reporter on the Gobe, who is determined to keep her moral compass pointing true north. She works for Stella, who doesn’t have a compass when it comes to getting a scoop. But when a celebrity turns up dead, what will they do to find the truth?

Strong female characters caught in moral denim as are what Sandie Jones does best,and this is no exception,

This is a great look at the tabloid industry with all it's backstabbing, unscrupulous reporters, and journalists willing to do anything to get a good story! It centers around Stella, long-time reporter for The Globe and newbie, Jess who is trying to make a name for herself but doesn't realize to what lengths these people will go to get a lead or even an inkling of a story. There are deaths, there are drugs, there is blackmail and suicide. But there are also women who embody goodness and will fight for humanity when one of their own is wronged. I raced through this one as it's as captivating as it is entertaining!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!.

Synopsis (It's a fiction book, so it helps….)
***********************************************************************
Risk or reward. Justice or revenge. Innocence or guilt.
Alex is used to getting the story by whatever means necessary. As Deputy Editor for the newspaper "The Daily Voice", she is revered and feared in equal measure, having lost her moral compass years ago. After all, if someone puts themselves in the public eye, they’re fair game, aren’t they? So when she’s offered salacious information about a beloved TV personality, she doesn’t hesitate to splash it across the front pages. However, when the woman—devastated by the shame of the exposé—kills herself, Alex questions herself for the first time.

Jess is fresh to the world of journalism, a rookie reporter not yet beaten down by the dirty tricks of the tabloid trade. As she works closely with Alex in the aftermath of the star’s suicide, Jess learns that what the paper published is only half the story . . . Soon, Alex and Jess realize that they have more power than they first thought, but must choose between saving themselves and revealing the truth.

As an avowed fan of the ballsiness of "The Daily Mail", I really enjoyed this book as it is nice and gossipy and salacious and both funny and sad. I am also a serious fan of Sandie Jones' works and recommend them all the time to our readers as they are always fresh and enjoyable to work my way through. The characters are memorable and the story is fast and enjoyable to read: I will highly recommend it to my readers of CHick-lit and contemporary fiction...along with all of her previous books to my clientele that has not read her books as of yet.

#shortbutsweetreviews

Sandie Jones has become a masterful scribe of women characters who question their own motives, morality and secrets (as evidenced in her previous thriller “The Blame Game”). And even though the main character, newly hired reporter Jess, insists in the first chapter that she won’t be trading her morals for a by-line, well, the title might be a terrific hint of events to come.

Jess reports to super ambitious Stella, a deputy editor at The Globe, who chucked her sensibilities into a bin years ago. Stella is always dealing with “The Trade Off” — a queasy bit of blackmail tossed out to a target/victim in exchange for a bigger story, and she’s about to send Jess down various rabbit holes.

Yasmin Chopra is this minute’s hot celebrity, a TV reality show cook-off winner gracing the covers of multiple glossies. Jess and Stella both approach her, but the seemingly harmless interview that Jess obtains is corrupted by Stella’s oddly merciless additions. And overnight Yasmin kills herself.

Complicating matters are Max, the morally vague editor above Stella, and Peter, a despicable Rupert Murdoch/Harvey Weinstein tycoon and predator who only cares about the newspaper, not about its victims. Peter’s take: “To be totally honest, I don’t care what did or didn’t make her do it. She means nothing to me. What matters is my newspaper and my reputation.” Stella thinks she is prepared to give Peter a pound of flesh to get promoted over Max.

Yasmin’s suicide breaks Jess. Stella is simultaneously pondering the release of a convict who vowed to kill her 4 years ago, and she now considers terrorizing Jess in the similar way to get the young reporter to salaciously re-slant her story about Yasmin. As anticipated, the action ratchets up from this point. Is Stella really that morally compromised? Can inexperienced Jess stand up to everything that’s ready to bury her? It’s not all black and white.

I loved this thriller — it had me hooked from the start and I read nonstop to find out what would happen to both Jess and Stella. 5 stars!

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Black, blue, beady and narrow, but no green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO But the paparazzi have no qualms about trampling flowerbeds and Jess feeds white wine to snapdragons.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the copy of The Trade Off by Sandie Jones. This book sounded so good, but by the time I started it, I had forgotten what it was about. (Kindle doesn’t show the description on the “back cover”.) About 40% in I had to look it up because nothing was really happening and without more context I couldn’t stay interested. Luckily, the book and plot picked up soon after, but by then I was already disengaged. If you’re willing to wait for the real story to start, you would love this book because it was clever and twisty with some good characters. It just wasn’t really for me. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.