This book was all over the place for me. It jumped around a lot and I had to really think about what the author was trying to tell. I definitely had some strong feelings about the characters, especially the villain. Overall, it kept me intrigued throughout. I was disappointed with the ending and how it left it way too open to interpretation about what might happen next without really telling us much. I was invested in wanting to know all of the outcomes and I just did not get that.

I would die for you

A story of a super obsessed fan girl who grows up and has her past creep up on her. Around the same time Cassie was hanging with the band, the lead singer gets murdered. The scenes where Cassie was clearly obsessed but thinking that they’re in a relationship after one after party was so cringe, she was in such denial!

Her sister, Nicole, however catches Ben’s attention at a local whole in the wall bar and they have an instant connection.

This story goes between past and present, in the present Nicole is married with a daughter, who goes missing the same day that a reporter came to ask her about more from her time “with the band.”

This was a quick, engaging read. I needed a thriller as a palette cleanser and this was perfect ! Mysterious, but not too dark.



Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Release date 3/25!

I enjoyed this book. Nicole is looking for her daughter, Cassie who goes missing. The multiple point of views added to the story in a unique way and I thought it was balanced. The writing style was interesting and I found it difficult to decide what I thought of each of the characters at the end.

An absolute page turner!! I loved this book.

This story follows two sisters, Cassie and Nicole who are growing up in England, Cassie is obsessed with a local boy band and soon she's sneaking into concert venues without her parents knowing. Nicole is the older sister trying to keep her family together while their mom is dying.

The plot jumps from current time to the past. Nicole has left England and started a new life. But one knock on her door brings the past tumbling back along with all the secrets she's tried to keep buried for 25 years.

Thanks Netgalley, Sandi Jones and Minotaur books for this ARC!

I don’t know how I feel about this one. Half of the book reads as YA because it jumps into the past. It also switches points of view from Cassie as a teen to Nicole as an adult. The YA point of view makes the book feel disjointed.

I’m also unsure how Cassie could function. She never went to school, and yet never got in trouble for being truant. And it’s clear she’s suffering from delusions, and sadly, no one in her life strives to get her help.

Jones often writes unlikable characters that are adults who can’t or won’t communicate with each other. That’s not everyone’s cup of tea. We see how Nicole immediately starts distrusting her husband, even though she’s the one keeping secrets. It makes it hard for readers to root for her

But the drama is what keeps you engaged with the story, and there’s definitely a ton of that here.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded interesting to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

This dual timeline follows Nicole in the 1980’s and 2011. She ran away from something tragic and has dedicated the following decades to building a new life. But her worlds collide after a stranger appears at her door and then her daughter goes missing. There’s no more running from her old life as the truth will find a way out no matter what.

This is a suspenseful read full of obsession, family dynamics, passion, and regret. While slow building at times, the stage is impeccably set to bring everything together at the end. The ending leaves the reader wondering what may happen next.

An exciting, twisty thriller where the past catches up with the present. I am not 100% sure what to make of the ending, but this one certainly kept me guessing and the pages turning.

Loved this! Suspenseful, fast-paced & a great author! This is the third book I’ve read and hope to read many more.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A rock band novel mixed with a psychological thriller was right up my reading alley.

I think that most young people have had crushes on their favorite singers or bands. Yes, I had posters up in my bedroom. Yes, I bought those teen magazines that promised an article and a centerfold picture. It’s fun to imagine, to swoon, and to fantasize about all of the what ifs, but most people know that they are never going to be with their celebrity crush.

I Would Die for You goes back and forth between London 1986 and California 2011. In 1986, the reader gets to meet Cassie and Nicole, sisters who are both into music. Cassie has a major fascination and obsession with Secret Oktober’s lead singer, and Nicole is an aspiring singer/musician. Much to their family’s dismay, Cassie’s preoccupation with this band is consuming her life. When she meets another superfan at one of their events, she is now able to get even closer to the band and her dream man, Ben Edwards.

In 2011, Nicole is living with her husband and daughter in Coronado, California. When a writer shows up at her home looking for the inside story of what happened to Secret Oktober, Nicole realizes that her old life may be about to get exposed, despite her efforts to keep it a secret all these years. Not only has someone found her, but her daughter gets picked up from school by a woman she refers to as “auntie,” despite never meeting an aunt before. Nicole is certain that these two occurrences are related, and she is desperate to not only find her little girl, but also to keep her secrets buried.

I really enjoyed the back and forth in this novel. During the 1986 chapters, it is a fast-paced story of a fan’s obsession that is as fascinating as it is frightening. There is the typical rock and roll lifestyle, plenty of debauchery, and also a bit of a love story. Yes, a love story. It was a page-turning, addictive read that kept me anxiously flipping the pages. During the 2011 chapters, we get Nicole’s desperation to keep her family together and try to keep the past in the past. How did anyone find her? Why do they want to talk to her about Secret Oktober after all these years? I wanted to know, too!

Sandie Jones has written a page-turner that kept me completely enthralled. It kept me on pins and needles and my nerves rattled right until the final page. And that ending? Whoa!

*4.5 Stars

I was absolutely hooked by I Would Die for You by Sandie Jones from the very beginning. The switch between different times and different points of view in order to tell the almost Shakespearean tragedy of two sisters made the book gripping and suspenseful as different threads of the storyline were revealed.
I stayed up way too late reading, anxious to see how everything tied together. I was definitely gearing up to give the book five stars.
SOME MAY CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING A SPOILER.

And then I got to the ending. I'm not sure if things are meant to be left hanging, or if the author is setting things up for a sequel, but for me it made all of the enjoyment I had reading up to the last few pages go sour.
In the end, I was as disappointed in a book as I have ever been.
I do appreciate being given an ARC of the book from #NetGalley, but I won't be reading any more of Jones' work.

I was excited to read this book! Unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me. I enjoyed the flashbacks of Cassie in her youth as a groupie teen, but that was the highlight of the book for me. The characters were fine and the story was fine, but that's all it was for me - just fine. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital arc of this title.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC. I am thinking I should have passed on this one. I feel like this genre can be so hit or miss and the quality of writing is just not there sometimes. None of the characters were likeable enough to either root for them or care what happens. I was tempted to DNF but fought my way through to the end. These thriller mysteries cannot have the reader suspend all reality and just go along with the author's journey when that journey makes no sense. Conversations take place that leave you confused and the ending really did not do it for me.

Nicole is living a new life in California. After Nicole's daughter is kidnapped, the timeline shifts to a dual narrative with flashbacks from Nicole’s life in London in 1986 to now in California in 2010. Nicole has a younger sister, Cassie, who is seemingly unstable. She is deplorable and delusional, chases a rock band around town, and expects Nicole to do whatever she asks. How does this famous band change the course of their lives forever? And how does this fit into the mystery of the disappearance of Nicole's daughter?

I enjoyed the book but didn't care for the ending, which seemed to be just for shock value.

gripping story, meh ending. fun-ish characters and interesting vibes. 4 stars. tysm for the arc. would most likely recommend.

I enjoy Sandie Jones’ books and this one in particular really resonated with me. I am of the same vintage as the author and when I was reading the description of how infatuated some of the characters were of a up and coming band, my 13 yr old self felt seen. In fact, at times in the story it would give me pause and I would think back to my own young girl obsession with Duran Duran and Wham and other New Wave bands (I particularly enjoyed Jones’ acknowledgements and her own backstory of being a young fan of Duran Duran- yes I am that person who reads the acknowledgements!) I think this book is a great exploration of adolescent obsession, the cost of fame and celebrity, and a realistic portrayal of family dynamics.

Read this if you like:
-nostalgic 1980s vibes
-the insiders view into the world of an up and coming band, Secret Oktober, in the 1980s complete with groupies and the excessive rock and roll lifestyle
-dual timelines of 1980s London and 2010s San Diego
-dual POVs of rival sisters
-when fan adulation becomes stalking and dangerously obsessive
-secret past catching up to present day self, in the case of Nicole
-toxic family dynamics and sibling rivalry which also mirrors Secret Oktober’s band members relationship
-twists and turns throughout with a WOW ending

My rating: 4.25 out of 5

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press Minotaur for this eARC that will be published March 25 2025.
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I Would Die for You ~ Sandie Jones.
Wowza, this book was unputdownable. It keeps you on the edge, bread crumming the details. The twists made my jaw drops, but the ending left me stunned.
Told in duel time lines Nicole lives a quiet life with her husband and daughter in a small seaside town in California. But everything changes when a reporter shows up at her doorstep with questions about a murder that happened over twenty years ago, A murder that Nicole ran from. When Nicole's daughter goes missing, her past starts to creep back up on her.
This book was a roller coaster ride, leaving you breathless at every turn. Sandie Jones wove a tale of obsession and scandal so craftily you won't see the collision course she has set you on until your final gasp leaving you gob smacked. This book gets ALL the stars, her best yet!

Rock groupies have existed for as long as rock has existed. Maybe even before. Lots of books have approached the topic. This book tackles it in a different light.

Sixteen year old Cassie is obsessed with Secret Oktober. She imagines that she’s going to be in a relationship with Ben Edwards, their lead singer. When she shows up at a pop-up event, she befriends Ameilia who has been a groupie for a while. Amelia knows the band and thinks she has a relationship with the drummer Michael. Amelia ropes Cassie into hanging out, skipping school and work, and following the band.

Nicole is Cassie’s older sister. Nicole is a singer/songwriter who is working the circuit trying to make something of her career. When Nicole crosses paths with Ben, she does her best to keep him a secret from her sister. Nicole knows Cassie’s obsession and doesn’t want to hurt her in any way. But as Cassie and Amelia get in deeper with both their imagined relationships and the band, things turn ugly.

The book jumps between current day and the 1980s. It develops into more than just a book about a band and relationships. It’s about hiding your past and having to confront it later in life. It’s about secrets that you never should have kept and truths that should have been told. I never expected the ending to turn out the way it did. It’s kind of wild.

Enjoyed this one and would recommend it. Definitely kind of chick-lit with an edge.

I really like Sandie Jones’s books but this one was a little different from her previous work. I didn’t feel a connection with the characters and some parts of the story felt disjointed. It was still a good read for me but not what I’m used to from her previous work. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of I Would Die For You by Sandie Jones
This book was fantastic, I loved it! Great characters and plot. Perfect amount of drama and twists. I loved how the story was told by two of the main characters, and in both past and present.
This is the first book I've read by this author, I'm hooked! Will be putting her on my to be read list for sure