Member Reviews

A gripping psychological thriller with twists I didn't see coming! The suspense and tension build so well, and the characters are intriguing, making it a perfect pick for thriller fans.

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2010: It's an ordinary day in the seaside town of Coronado for Nicole Forbes. A bit odd, perhaps, that a writer appeared at her home asking about the biggest British rock band of the 1980s, but every story is bound to resurface at some point. Then suddenly, the day isn't so ordinary anymore. Nicole's daughter is missing; picked up by an "aunt" she doesn't have.

And everything Nicole thought was long-buried threatens to unearth itself.

1986: There's nothing bigger in Britain than the band Secret Oktober, especially to teenage Cassie. Desperate enough to do anything to get closer to lead singer Ben Edwards, Cassie's fandom morphs into an obsession before long with the encouragement of groupie Amelia. Bit by bit, Cassie manages to get closer to the inner circle of the band, until a single chance encounter between Ben and her sister Nicole threaten everything.

"I Would Die For You" is, regrettably, far from Sandie Jones' best work, readers. With a premise that doesn't feel quite like Jones' usual style and a synopsis that all but gives away the story itself, this was a haphazard, hard-to-get-into "thriller" that didn't seen to comfortable fit in any one genre for me. The characters lacked depth, motivation, and plausibility, and the writing was choppy at best. Sandie Jones, blink twice if you can hear us! This doesn't seem like you!

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Captivating on some levels but frustrating on others due to the jumpy timelines, I Would Die for You moves quickly through a story with family - friend - fan drama at its highest. Set primarily in England with the rock band era as background, the book tells of obsession and passion of several different types.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

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I have loved this authors books in the past but I just couldn’t get into this story line. It fell flat for me and I didn’t care for the timeline jumps.

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Sandie Jones never lets me down. Her books offer an unputdownable experience that grips me from beginning to end. This book was no exception.

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Wow!! What did I just read?! I couldn’t put this book down!! The characters were well developed and I found myself staying up way past my bedtime to finish it. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this incredible book! I will definitely be sharing it with all of my fellow book lovers!

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I read this book in about 24 hours. I was not able to put it down! It kept me interested the entire time. I liked the mystery/suspense and twists it had all throughout. There were many unlikable characters in this story, with Cassie being my LEAST favorite female character. She was such an immature, psychotic 16 yr. old who apparently needed therapy! There were so many times I lost my patience with her. Nicole was also irritating at times. Why not tell the truth since the beginning?! A lot of the things that happened could have been avoided if she had just told the truth! Michael was my LEAST favorite male character. That guy needed to be in prison for the rest of his life, but I guess he got what he deserved. Needless to say, I was very intrigued and kept wanting to know more. It had a great number of twists that I was not expecting, which was great!

The only character I felt bad for, was Ben.

I was not too happy with the ending BUT I could see why the author would go for it. The story has to repeat itself!!

This was a 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ for me!

Thank you to Netgalley and Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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In Sandie Jones new book, she brings you on a thrilling ride where you are questioning what is going on until the bitter end. The book follows Nicole, a wife and mother, who is living with the repercussions of her past. Through back flashes, the reader is given the opportunity to live her early years and find out what is haunting her in the present. The plot keeps the reading going but the ending leaves a little to be desired...

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Nicole Forbes has a good life. She has a good marriage, a young daughter and a job she loves in California. She is fighting to provide a sanctuary for seals on the beaches of her community. When a journalist comes asking her questions about an event 25 years in her past, Nicole’s world begins to spiral out of control. Next, her daughter disappears and says the person she was with was her “auntie”. She cannot deny that these events are because of what happened in the past she never wants exposed.

The story alternates between the events of the present and the events in her early adulthood back in the U.K. To hide her past, she has never talked about her birth family to her husband . The lies keep driving a wedge between them. In the 80’s, Nicole’s sister Cassie was a star struck teenager chasing her music idol Ben Edwards. But Ben hears Nicole singing one night at a hole in the wall bar and wants to collaborate. That relationship takes a path Nicole never anticipated. One fateful night, it all comes apart and everyone’s life is turned upside down.

As the details are revealed, all the pieces of the story of that night fit together. But Nicole may be too late to keep those events from destroying her new life. She is trying not to lose her husband and daughter but someone wants to ensure she is pays for what she did.

This book keeps you guessing. Who is taunting Nicole now? What really happened that night? Someone died but who and why? So many questions that need answers. Twisty and suspenseful until the end.

Thank you to St. Martin Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and rate this book. I will definitely be watching for more from Sandie Jones in the future.

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This was my first novel by Sandie Jones and I really enjoyed it. This is a super gripping and fast-paced read. The story is captivating and I couldn't wait to find out what happened

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My first thought upon finishing this book was, "who body-snatched Sandie Jones???" This did not seem like her work at all. NONE, and I cannot emphasize this enough, NONE of the characters are likeable. The plot is very meh, pretty easy to put all of the pieces together. At the end of the day, I just didn't care what happened to anyone because they were all so horrible. Definite miss for me. I was very disappointed, because normally I find her books both fun and thrilling.
I will not be recommending this to others.

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

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I found the characters unrelatable and the plot developments implausible, which hindered my engagement with the story. The pacing felt uneven, and the ending left several questions unanswered, leaving me dissatisfied.

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This definitely has 'Daisy Jones and the Six' vibes with the 2 alternating timelines between the past and the present, California in 2011, and London in 1986. As a teenager, Cassie was a big groupie of the band 'Secret Oktober', and became obsessed with it's lead singer, Ben, who only has eyes for Cassie's sister, Nicole. This caused a lot of tension between the two sisters, as you can imagine, and sets the stage for competition, envy, and betrayal.

Pan to present day where Nichole is living a quiet life in California when a reporter shows up at her doorstop wanting to interview her about her days with the band. This coincides with the disappearance of her daughter, and the plot thickens.

There's a good story here and decent character development, but the main characters were just not that likable. The ending also seemed rushed and underwhelming. The two sections of the book are told from different points of view-one in the first person, and one in the third person. This might be challenging for some folks to keep straight, but it made it a bit more interesting to me. Nothing to brag about here as I feel this plot line has been done many times before.

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Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Mystery Thriller

This mystery thriller is told in a nonlinear way in a dual timeline. In California in 2011, we follow Nicole, a married woman with a young daughter. Her daughter goes missing the same day when a writer visits her at home, asking her about a British band from the 1980s. The school informs her that her sister came and took her daughter. Things of the past will have to open up, and Nicole will have to face them.

Then, the past timeline goes to the 1980s, following Nicole’s 16-year-old sister, Cassie. Cassie’s obsession with the lead singer of a British band makes her take some drastic steps just to catch his attention, but when the singer gets drawn to Nicole instead, things get complicated between the sisters.

Nicole’s present timeline is narrated in the first-person style, while the past timeline is narrated in the third style. This was my first time reading a book by the author, and I liked her writing style. The story has many interesting themes, which I enjoy, especially those involving family dynamics. The sibling relationship was quite interesting, too. The narrative concentrates a lot on how past decisions affect your future life.

I usually don’t enjoy love triangles, but surprisingly, the two sisters being in a love triangle did not bother me in this story. I would have given this book a four-star rating if the ending had been stronger. Unfortunately, I feel the ending was somewhat underwhelming and didn’t match the excitement of the buildup. This is a personal opinion; you might think differently if you read the book. Maybe you would like how the story wraps up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC of this book.

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Thriller readers, get your popcorn ready!!! 🍿Because the upcoming Sandie Jones is full of family drama, rock and roll, and unrequited love gone wrong! Told in a dual-timeline format, this book follows two sisters whose lives became entangled with the hottest rock band of the 1980s with devastating consequences. Fun, frothy, and impossible to put down, this is absolutely one to add to your TBR. Out 03/25!

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This was a gripping mystery-thriller that constantly keeps you guessing about what is going on. It's mostly set in London, 1986 when Nicole and Cassie are teenagers. Cassie is obsessed with an up-and-coming band, a groupie in the making, particularly when it comes to the lead singer Ben.

In 2010 California, Nicole and her husband Brad are activists trying to protect the seals on the beach. Then her daughter is taken from school by her "Auntie" and after leaving her past behind 25 years ago, she is determined to find out who this "Auntie" is and what she wants from her family.

The back and forth, past and present, rolls along quickly. There are definitely some troubling signs with the family, especially with Cassie's delusions that she is involved in a relationship with Ben. But with their mother dying from cancer and their father being overprotective, Nicole tries her best to distance herself from the family.

Overall, I thought it was an engaging book, although the characters weren't really developed enough for me. The twists were good, and the ending was abrupt and left to interpretation, but I still enjoyed it.

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This book was a quick read for me (I couldn't put it down!) and captured my attention throughout the story. It was a cat and mouse, with chapters alternating between "then and now". I thought it seemed rather unbelievable, that young girls would have such easy access to rising stars, until I read the acknowledgements. Take time to read the Acknowledgements! Oh My!! The ending not only took me by surprise, but it did so more than once. A very twisty, and thrilling read.

Thank you @NetGalley and @St.Martin'sPress @MinotaurBooks for giving me the opportunity to read Sandie Jones new book, I Would Die For You.
I will definitely be recommending to my friends.

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A wild ride that bounces between the past and present. At first I was puzzles with how it would all come together in the end, but it kept me on the edge of my seat!

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This is dual timeline mystery about a woman who moved to California and reinvented herself after a traumatic adolescence/ young adulthood involving some tragic events. She lost her mother to cancer, has to deal with a dysfunctional father and younger sister and had a romantic relationship implode with a British rock star.
She is reinvented with what seems a happy marriage and a daughter.
What follows is whirlwind of disasters that threaten to destroy her new life. There are many flashbacks to the 1980s - the music scene and the whole culture of groupies and obsession .
All in all for me this book was just too much. I finished the book because it was well paced and had hopes for some redeeming - but the characters were uniformly unlikeable and none could communicate with each other effectively.
I found the ending frustrating.
Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur books for a chance to read and give my honest opinion.

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Wow! The twists and turns will keep you guessing. At the start of the book, the 2 timelines and different narrators was difficult to follow. But now that I've finished reading the book, I think that confusion helped to build the story because it kept you guessing in what happened.

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