I want to thank the publisher and author for the digital and audio copy of this thriller. I enjoy her books, and this one was no exception. It’s set in the fast paced, cutthroat world of tabloid publishing, which I thought was a very fun aspect of the book. Although it is a thriller, and that becomes apparent at the end, it read mostly like a drama. It had a few slow spots, but overall I enjoyed it. I liked the two main female protagonists quite a bit and liked how their personalities and relationship to each other progressed. I would recommend the audio.

Synopsis:

For Stella, deputy editor of The Globe, the choice has always been clear. It doesn’t matter how low she has to stoop—getting the best story is what she’s built her reputation on.

For Jess, The Globe’s rookie reporter, the story stops when the truth does. But she knows that the dirty tricks of the tabloids will be hard to overturn.

And when a celebrity is hounded by The Globe and pays the ultimate price, Jess wonders just how much Stella and the paper are responsible. 

Determined to show the world what the tabloid is capable of, Jess will do whatever it takes to uncover the truth, but she needs to watch her back, because someone else is prepared to kill to bury it.

Jess wants more than anything to climb the ranks of writers and editors in the news industry, The Globe is her big opportunity to do that, but it comes at a cost. The Globe is infamous for telling stories early, but in the publishing industry they're infamous for cooking the books. Jess believes this is her opportunity to correct their wrongs, to bring change to The Globe with the support of the editor, but others in the ranks have a different opinion. Stella knows the editor position should have been hers, she's the reason The Globe gets all the exclusives, she does the work. Taking a newbie under her wing isn't in her plans, nor is the man she put behind bars coming back to take her down. As the two fight for justice, both ethically and not, things get dark for The Globe and the famous stars they manipulate.

The Trade Off has an incredible concept, but it missed the mark for me. I had so much compassion for Jess and Stella equally grew on me as we got to know her, but the pacing was too slow and the character development occurred too late in the novel for me. The first 50% took ages to get into, I spent over a week just reading it, but the last 50% flew by and had my full attention. The novel hits on an incredibly important part of social media, gossip news, and the human impact, but doesn't get there in a way that will hold readers attention.

I think this will be a hit with a lot of readers, I think it's timely and important.

Thank you to Minotaur and NetGalley for the ARC of The Trade Off. All opinions in this review are my own.

I have held off writing my review of The Trade Off because I feel like I am still trying to process what I think about it. I liked the newspaper is exposed for entrapping celebrities for headlines angle, but Jess's naivety were grating after awhile. She took a job at The Globe, a tabloid, so it was hard to understand why she was so shocked by everything that was happening. She used her morals to judge the other characters which got to be annoying after awhile. The uneven pacing throughout the story didn't help her either. However, I liked the reveal at the end and how everything came together.

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books and the author for my advanced copy of The Trade Off.

This novel explores the lengths that the media will go to in order to get “the story” on celebrities. While I enjoyed this aspect of the story, I just didn’t connect with the characters the way I wanted to. Stella is a veteran journalist and Jess is new to the game. We experience the story through the eyes of each.

This book does tackle some heavy topics and it’s slow to start. The second half picks up pace and was more enjoyable than the first half.

I definitely recommend, as always, to check it out for yourself

I really enjoyed this twisty suspense novel. I loved The Other Woman, so I had high hopes for this one. I liked the dual points of view and the concept of the UK tabloids. I thought the author perfectly straddled the line between what is right and wrong and how far is too far to go for a good celebrity story. It was a quick and engaging read overall.

What a great newsroom drama! This booked is filled with so much intrigue and suspense. Thank you, NetGalley.

What lengths would someone be willing to go to to get the story? This Dual POV thriller follows two tabloid writers and the messy world of that industry. While I did find the storyline interesting, the story and the slow pacing did slow me down a bit when reading this one. It didn’t really give me thriller vibes, more so just workplace drama.

3.5/5 ⭐️

Thank you to minotaur for the review copy via netgalley. The Trade Off is the kind of read that should have been a win for me, a story of truth/lies, revenge/justice but the characters were not likable and I could not find a way to get engaged with the plot or the characters. There was not for me enough plot development/character growth to help me stick with a story that was not as compelling as expected.

Oh, you should offer a trade off.

I can only imagine where the inspiration for this book came from. This book is well written and draws you in. You think you know what's coming and in some ways you do but also it hits you at the end. I really enjoyed this book!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing this ARC.in exchange for an honest review.

Jess is a new reporter at The Globe, a tabloid in London, working with Stella, a more experienced and ruthless "journalist". Jess quickly learns that the "reporting" they do may not be on the up and up and wants to make things right.

This book was mediocre at best. There was a little bit of interesting detail on tabloid journalism. There was a #metoo element. There was some suspense at the end but it didn't really hold my interest. I didn't find Stella's change I behavior to be realistic. I have liked other books from this author but this was a miss for me.

The Trade Off is a workplace, dual POV thriller that to me was a bit of a slow burn. Told in the first person perspective of Jess, a wet behind the ears new hire at The Globe, London's most well known tabloid newspaper, and the third person perspective of Stella, the cutthroat second in command, I had a bit of a hard time connecting with the characters in the alternating tenses. When Jess is sent on her first big assignment to get an interview with a cooking contest winner with a murky past, she realizes the lengths that The Globe, and Stella, will go to to make sure they get the story they need to sell papers. When a crime kingpin that Stella and Globe editor, Max, singlehandedly put behind bars with their exposé is granted parole, all the threads that have been woven together start to become unraveled. This was a solid workplace thriller, but there were many side stories with various celebrities that had been wronged by The Globe that I felt could have been streamlined. I saw the twist coming, but I do enjoy a good redemption arc, and when the bad men get their just desserts.

This book shows how far some tabloid publishers will push the limits just to get a good story even if it means using deception. Jess, a new reporter, questions the tactics of her editor, Stella and now her integrity is being tested. When she learns of plan that went drastically wrong, she has to put her conscience first. Jess is in a tough spot and fears for her safety as she sifts through the truth and doesn’t know who to trust.

It took me awhile to get into this book because I wasn’t sure where it was going. Nearly midway through, the story picked up pace and the true colors of the characters began to show. There were some really good twists and suspenseful moments but I would classify this as a mystery more than a true suspense thriller.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I’m a HUGE Sandie Jones fan. So I am sad this book fell a little flat.

It wasn’t one of her best works, but it also wasn’t one of the worst books I’ve ever read.

The Trade Off is another outstanding thriller by Sandie Jones author of The Other Woman, a Reese’s Book Club pick. It’s intriguing plot and in-depth portrayal of the cutthroat goings on at a tabloid newspaper, something Jones herself is very familiar with will shock the reader. Along with characters you will love/hate and a story which will both infuriate and surprise, The Trade Off is a must read.

Jess finally gets her big break as a reporter for The Globe, a tabloid paper. She is both nervous and excited. She wants to make a difference. She is also very, very naive.

Stella is the deputy editor of the paper. She and Max, the editor of The Globe have a long history of breaking unbelievably insane stories. It’s Stella’s dream to become the editor of the paper. Stella will do anything for a story…even by helping it along to make it much more sensational. Years before she and Max actually put someone in jail.

During Jess’s first assignment, she witnesses just what lengths the paper will go to assist a story along and she is shaken. She can’t forgive herself for the part she played. She realizes The Globe builds stories out of thin air.

But when Jess is promised it will never happen again, she agrees to another story. Unbeknownst to her she is once again used and this time the outcome is tragic. There was no reason for Stella to do what she did.

So, Jess begins to investigate Stella and what she discovers puts her not only in the line of fire but opens up a long-buried hornet’s nest. But even with what Jess knows, she can’t believe what is truly happening and that she is in danger. All she ever wanted to do was fight the good fight for those who couldn’t and now she is the target.

The Trade Off is an intense psychological thriller with incredible twists in the story lines and an exceptionally powerful ending.

Thank you #NetGalley #MinotaurBooks #SandieJones #TheTradeOff for the advanced copy.

I believe this is my second Sandie Jones book and knowing that she writes good thrillers, I decided to give The Trade Off a try!

While I found the author's take on the "me too" movement to be well handled (especially when it comes to newspapers aka The Globe in this case), the plot didn't especially scream thriller to me. The pacing was slow and I found neither character to be one I truly liked.

Thank you Minotaur books and Netgalley for my earc in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book will definitely make you ask questions about yourself and what would you do in the same situation. If you knew the story was not really true but a lie would you still tell the story. This was a thriller and page turner. Each of Sadie Jones’s books just get better and better. A must read and this book will make a great book discussion for any book club.

Jess has just been hired by the globe. She is their newest, rookie reporter. This is her dream job. But she soon realizes the unethical and dangerous tactics that The Globe uses to to get a story is not her idea of news. Jess decides to reveal all the dirty secrets but this may just be the death of her.

This story has quite a few corrupt, degenerate and viscous characters. And this is one of the reasons I did not enjoy it as well as many other readers. The underhanded and atrocious deeds got a little old for me. But, this story does get better the further you go along, especially surrounding Jess. Jess starts off a bit mousy but she comes into her own in a big way! You will need to read this to find out.

The narrators, Nathalie Buscombe and Sofia Engstrand had excellent tone for all the bad people in this book! They are probably the reason I stuck with it! Sandie Jones read the prologue to this novel. And I love a book where the author has a hand in the narration. It always adds to the realness of the tale.

Need a story about the British media…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

This was an engrossing thriller. The story revolves around Stella and Jess and what they are willing to do to report a story for their employer, The Globe newspaper. Stella is the seasoned reporter and Jess is the newbie. The more Jess learns about the newspaper’s reporting practices the more disillusioned she becomes about her career so she decides to try and tell the accurate story. Stella has slowly lost her integrity when chasing down a story and as time goes on she starts to question what she’s doing. As Stella and Jess start to challenge how the paper is run deceit and lies are uncovered and the tension ramps up. Can Stella be trusted or will she still do anything for a story? Overall an engaging book with interesting characters.

this one took me awhile to finish! i guess i wasn't completely drawn into the story? while i always enjoy reading different takes on the media because it's usually fast-pace and keeps you on your toes, this one missed for me and i was kind of bummed by that. it was pretty slow developing. not sure i would recommend this one.

The Trade Off is a psychological thriller that focuses on tabloid journalism. It is my sixth book by this author.

This book is set in the UK and focuses on two female main characters Stella and Jess. Stella is a deputy editor/journalist at a tabloid. Jess is a rookie journalist hired by the editor to work under Stella.

The story started off a bit slow for me. The things that these people did to get their stories was horrifying. The book did pick up towards the end. And it did get quite interesting. But I just wasn't super invested in these characters. And most of them were extremely unlikable.