Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of I Would Die for You by Sandie Jones in exchange for an honest review.

I started out really liking this book but the ending is WHAT???? I need more of what happened.

2.5 rounded up This intrigued me based on the setting of the 80’s music scene. The dual timelines worked at first, but soon this whodunnit became more twisty than a whole bag of pretzels…and not in a good way. It was purposely unclear not only who committed the crime, but who the victim was. Throw in a lot of overused tropes, unlikable characters and a completely unrealistic criminal mastermind…this was too much.

🎵Back in the 1980’s, Cassie and Nicole are experiencing such a terrible, emotional situation with their beloved mom slowly passing away. They are in their teens and trying to figure it all out. Cassie loves the band, Secret Oktober, and somehow lucks out and meets a girl who can get her backstage. After that, all of the chaos begins to take place.

🎼Fast forward to the present, Nicole has a suspicious stranger appear at her door asking for the story of what took down the band, back in the 1980’s. Nicole has knowledge that others don’t have. She has secrets she has not shared with her husband even. This has to go away, quick; but it doesn’t.

🎤The story has a dual timeline told by Nicole and Cassie. This book is totally different than Jones’ other ones. I like it. Totally liked the plot, but it didn’t have the eerie vibe I thought it might. However, Jones is one of my favorites and her writing is so good! I like the fact that the band, Secret Oktober, is based on Duran Duran. It brought me back to the 1980’s, which was so fun. This was an enjoyable read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC of this book.

I'm ashamed to say that I Would Die for You was my first read by Sandie Jones, but I'm excited to dig into her backlist.

The story alternates timelines between California 2012 and London 1986. Nicole Forbes lives a quiet life in a small seaside Californian town with her husband and daughter. Her quiet world is rocked when someone shows up at her house asking questions about the downfall of Secret Oktober, an uber popular band from back in London 1986. She pushes that person back out the door only to realize that her daughter never returned home from school.
It's 1986- and 16-year-old Cassie is obsessed with Ben Edwards, the lead singer of Secret Oktober. She does whatever she can to get herself in his orbit and be with him, but when Ben discovers her older sister, Nicole, singing at a local bar, he can't help but feel drawn to her, setting in motion a collision course that could tear their family apart.

I Would Die for You is full of suspense and shocking twists The writing gripped me from the very first page and kept me hooked. I flew through this book! The ending left my jaw on the floor! I think I might have thrown my phone down and yelled "WHAT!" You'll definitely want to read this if you love 80 rock and roll and/or family drama.

What a master illusionist this author is…. While having you looking one way she is expertly weaving another story with her other hand that will reveal itself you at the end of the book to leave you flipping back wondering how you could have been so blind to miss the signs.
This book kept me engaged from the very beginning to the very last jaw dropping revelation.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for a chance to review. Unfortunately, I had a hard time connecting with this one. Out of respect for the author, I don’t think it fair if I share my views on social media because I didn’t finish the book. Again, thanks for the opportunity… unfortunately, this one is a pass for me. I only added the star because otherwise the review wouldn't go through.

There’s aren certain books whose storylines are over used… this is an example. Girl escapes family and secrets follow her to a murderous end. I am tired of this scenario. In addition, this book takes this premise to a shaky conclusion. I had no idea what the last paragraph was supposed to mean. A cliffhanger for a sequel perhaps. I will not be reading it.

A twisted tail for sure. A sister that is obsessed with a band member, a secret music collaboration, secrets, secrets and more secrets. How can she expect her husband to handle finding she has held secrets for years. Does he even know her? There are so many pieces to the story that pull together. Did she forget where is came from and what happened? A good thriller that I stayed up too late reading. I liked it.

Very suspenseful and full of twists—several times, I thought I had things figured out, but then the author put in a twist that I didn't expect!

I will say, the ending wraps up rather abruptly and is kind of ambiguous. I thought we needed a few extra chapters to wrap things up. I also would have liked to see some of the characters, like Brad, Nicole's husband, more developed. Brad and Hannah were important to Nicole, but they ended up being rather one-dimensional.

Also, I'm so glad I was never a band groupie, making a fool of myself chasing after some random music group! I may have done silly things as a teenager, but nothing that silly, thank goodness. :P

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them. I tried a few times and couldn't get very far as it didn't hold my interest.

Nicole, a British expat, has started over in America, but her past catches up with her when a reporter uncovers her ties to the band Secret Oktober. The band’s tragic downfall fractured her family, straining her relationship with her sister Cassi, who also fell for Ben, the same band member. When Nicole’s daughter goes missing, she must face the past she thought she had escaped. While the story explores loss and mystery, Nicole’s underdeveloped character and the overly predictable ending left me disappointed.

This was a fast-paced psychological thriller that bounced back and forth between two timelines. It had a strong hook in the beginning. One thing I sometimes struggle with is being more interested in one timeline than the other and that happened here. I was more invested in knowing what was going on in the 2010 timeline. Even though they connected, I liked the pacing of that timeline better. Things felt a little rushed sometimes, which often worked in the story's favor. The mystery was definitely gripping and the twists were great. I did enjoy the ending but wish there would have been a little bit more at the end to tie the story up better. Overall, an enjoyable thriller.

I received a free copy of, I Would Die for You, by Sandie Jones, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Nicole is all about saving the seals, until her daughter goes missing. In the 80's Cassie is in to music. This book tells the story about Nicole and Cassie. You never really know who people re, people are so good at hiding their true self. A good read.

The latest novel by Sandie Jones is told in alternating timelines: California in 2010 and London in 1986. Nicole is living in California after leaving her home in London. This was following a tragedy and death of a member of one of the biggest pop bands of the 80’s. In the current timeline, Nicole’s daughter has gone missing the same day a reporter shows up to discuss her role in the death of the pop star. Nicole believes these events to be connected. In the 1980’s timeline we follow Nicole’s sister Cassie who is obsessed with this band and one member in particular.

Having grown up in the 80’s and maybe having some borderline obsessions with certain bands at the time, this book resonated with me. I also love the author’s note of how much of this was autobiographical with her obsession with Duran Duran. (Obviously not the murder parts). I found the story well written with great character development. She did an excellent job flipping between the two timelines without confusion. This was a really good book.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press for the advance reader copy. This is my honest review. 4⭐️ Publication date March 25, 2025

I was interested in this book because it really seemed like it would grip me as a music lover, however, I found the timelines confusing and jumbled. The characters were all pretty much unlikeable - Cassie being particularly obnoxious. The relationships were dull. The ending definitely felt rushed and all that suspense really led up to a disappointing and predictable ending.

I feel as if this author has potential so I am interested in trying another read sometime in the future!

Thank you Minotaur Books for allowing me to read and review this ARC.

I will start by saying that as a music lover, I loved the concept of this book. It’s all about tying the love of music with the threat of obsession. Which seems great, right?

However, I was not a fan of the way it was written. The dialogue did not seem realistic most times, and the “twists” were very unsurprising and honestly had no shock value. Also, I did not buy the “love” story at all… I wanted more development about their feelings and more focus on their story, rather than Cassie’s crazy obsession 😅

Also, wtf was that ending? It was SO incredibly rushed and the last page honestly made me more mad than anything. Like, I invested all this time in the 3 characters and THAT was all I got ? 😭 It honestly made the the whole story feel irrelevant.

I hate to say it, but I just wanted so much more. I thought the plot had so much potential, and maybe if the story was longer, better developed, and had better dialogue, it would have been fun book.

This book was a good, quick read that kept me guessing. It takes place in a dual timeline. I feel that the author handled the dual times very well
which kept me reading on to unfold the next part…..
I enjoyed it very much and would recommend this mystery.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC. …..

I was invited by the publisher to read this book, and I probably should have passed. I had previously read another book by this author and didn't like it, but I decided to give her one more chance. She's just not for me. All of the characters were unlikable, though some were more loathsome than others, and there was very little character development. Cassie was a complete whack-job. She was a pathetic, delusional, terrible person. I've never been able to relate to girls who go completely hysterical for celebrities so that doesn't help. I also had a hard time believing that Ben was Nicole's great love when it seemed like they barely spent any time together. The ending is totally abrupt and leaves you on a cliffhanger. At least this was a fast read and it only took me a few hours to get through it. I don't think I'll read any more novels by Sandie Jones though.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Sandie Jones has such a way with writing. I devoured this!!! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I liked this one until maybe halfway thru. It started out strong and really grabbed my attention but then it seemed so predictable that it lost me. Won’t deter me from reading more from this author in the future. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review