This audiobook hooked me from the start and had me fully immersed in 80s glam, fandom frenzy, and the dark secrets fame can bury. It’s twisty, nostalgic, and surprisingly emotional, as a dual-timeline thriller that kept me guessing until the very end. 🎤🕶️

We jump between 2011 California and 1986 London. In the present, Nicole’s quiet life is shattered when a writer starts digging into her past just as her daughter goes missing. In the past, we follow her younger sister Cassie, a teen obsessed with the band Secret Oktober and things go very sideways when Nicole ends up in the spotlight instead. The timelines slowly converge, and let’s just say… the payoff is worth it. 👀

The narration was excellent. The voice acting brought both timelines to life, with just the right amount of tension, emotion, and '80s glam-rock edge. It gave the whole story a cinematic feel. 🎧✨

This book is perfect for fans of:
🎸 Dual timelines + family secrets
🧨 Slow-burn suspense with emotional payoff
🎤 1980s nostalgia + toxic fame
🎧 Audiobooks with strong, immersive narration

Whether you lived through the 80s or just love a good retro thriller, this one will keep you listening late into the night.

I really enjoy Jones' writing style. I would recommend this one for sure. I was all in until the end. I felt like the ending was abrupt and sudden and left me feeling confused. The dual timelines and POV sometimes felt confusing. So overall there were bright spots and some that just didn't work. But I'd still recommend it.

I love a good dual timeline novel. In I Would Die for You, I feel like the 1980s timeline was a lot more interesting than the current. When Cassie was telling the story, it really did feel like Ben was into her, but when someone else was narrating, you could see just how cringey Cassie's fangirl obsession was. The ending of the book made me want to throw my kindle across the room so if you have a good protective case on your own kindle add this book to your TBR.

This was my least favorite book by Sandie Jones. Honestly, it felt like it was written by someone else entirely—who kidnapped Sandie Jones, and can we please have her back?
Others might enjoy this more than I did, especially if you're into stories about obsessive groupies and twists that don’t quite land. The premise starts off strong: Nicole is living a quiet, seemingly normal life with her husband and daughter, until her carefully constructed peace begins to unravel. A stranger shows up at her door asking questions about the breakup of one of Britain’s biggest 80s rock bands. What could that possibly have to do with her?
But that’s not the only strange thing happening—her daughter is picked up from school by her "aunt"... only, Nicole's daughter doesn’t *have* an aunt.
While I was intrigued by the present-day storyline with Nicole, which had a solid sense of suspense and tension, the parallel storyline involving the 80s band and their obsessive fans felt disjointed and overly chaotic. It was just too messy for me, and I found myself dragging through those chapters.
I’ve had a hit-or-miss experience with this author, and unfortunately, this one landed on the “miss” side for me. That said, I’ve read all her books so far, and I’ll still keep picking them up—here’s hoping the next one is a return to form!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I Would Die for You
By: Sandie Jones 
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Pub Date: 3/25/25
This is my pick for thriller of the year! Sandie does an incredible job of melding the characters' timelines together between 1986 and 2010 the story follows two sisters and their everyday lives until things begin to spiral. There are so many secrets and twists and turns it really keeps you guessing until the shocking end!

I just finished I Would Die for You by Sandie Jones and here are my thoughts.

Nicole is living a small town life in Coronado with her small family but her past comes crashing to her doorstep when a young woman comes asking questions about her past and then her daughter goes missing… She has worked hard to forget about her life back in london… Her sister's obsession with a band leads to lives being destroyed and Nicole isn’t willing to relive it but now her child is in danger… She may not have a choice.

This book was awesome right up to the end. I found the ending a bit weird to be honest. It didn’t seem well thought out and it was twist over twist crashing over a twist and it didn’t need it.

I particularly enjoyed the narration and the past. The current day… It didn’t work for me. The husband acted like a total freak. I get why she fled.. I get all that but there were so many things that felt disjointed. The girl showed up at the door and the reason she was there she didn’t explain at the door, we find out later but the reason she didn't tell her in the first place… STUPID. Nicole pretending that she didn’t have a sister when the school said that’s who picked her up. It was all mental. I dunno I think the magic was in the past and the lead up to the big event. The writing was really good but there were just some elements that didn’t sit well with me.

I really thought the story had some really excellent elements. I loved the build up. I wish the ending wasn’t so outlandish. Having said that, I did enjoy the book and I think I am in the minority with the ending but I think an opportunity was missed.

3.75 stars

Thank you to @macmillanaudio @netgalley and @minotaur_books for my gifted ALC and ARC.

This book was a rollercoaster! It has family situations that tug on your heartstrings, childish drama, nostalgic boy-band obsessions, down right crazy obsessions, reckless behavior, and a romantic relationship forming all at once. I really didn’t know what was going to come next. I went from rooting for Cassie, to feeling bad for her, to wanting her to take a chill pill. Once I got into the plot I couldn’t stop listening just to see what would happen next.

Nicole is content living her quiet life and leaving events of the past in the past, until one day there is a knock at the door...she realizes she has to revisit something she thought she put away forever.

This book goes back and forth between the past and present. I mostly liked the present parts but it was slightly difficult to bounce between both eras. I found the "past" chapters to be a bit confusing and made it less difficult to carry on.

I found the storyline to be intriguing in most sections and there was a lot of build up to the reveals, but I was hoping it would be more exciting. The major reveal kind of fell flat for me and was a bit disappointing.

This is the first novel I've read by Sandie Jones but it won't be the last.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks @macmillan.audio for an ALC.
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This book takes being a fan to a whole new level. Back in 1986, teenage Cassie becomes completely infatuated with a band called Secret Oktober, especially lead singer Ben. She’s obsessed. Her sister, Nicole, an aspiring musician, also finds a connection to the band. At the same time, both girls are dealing with their mother’s terminal illness. These musical connections are an escape.
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Fast forward to 2011. Nicole is living under a new identity in California. She is hiding her past from her husband and daughter. When her daughter doesn’t get off the school bus one day, and the school tells Nicole her aunt picked her up, her lies start to catch up with her and she starts to spiral.
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Something terrible happened in 1986, and as the story flips between past and present, the truth unravels bit by bit. How far will sisters go to protect each other and confront old demons?
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This one is dark, twisty, and features one character so sinister they’re downright chilling. The cliffhangers at the end of each chapter kept the tension high.

Imogen Wilde did a great job narrating with emotion and was amazing at building the tension

Intriguing story of a young woman, Nicole who seems to have a perfect life living in Southern California with her husband and daughter. That is until one day a woman shows up on her doorstep bringing up the past and threatening to destroy everything she has worked so hard for. When Nicole’s daughter is taken from school everything becomes escalated, are the two connected?

This was a suspenseful story that kept me interested. I really enjoyed the way the story was told alternating between the past and the present, There were a couple of unexpected twists that I appreciated and I was I was invested and really liked the story until …the last quarter . It kind of lost its focus and seemed a little rushed. I still have unanswered questions. Overall it was a page turner, it had a good plot but the ending hurt my rating.

The narration for the audiobook was done very well. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3 ⭐️

Twisted until the very last page. Hooked, leaving you guessing until the very last scenes as past and present tangle together in this wild and action packed ride.

I Would Die for You” by Sandy Jones is the third ARC I’ve received from her, and let me tell you—I was so excited because I absolutely love her writing. And wow, this one did not disappoint! We’ve got kidnapping, blackmail, a missing child, sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll, and even murder—all wrapped up in that gritty UK vibe that makes it feel so real and intense. The plot was super unique, and the pacing kept me hooked the entire time. It was a really fun listen, the kind of audiobook you can’t stop thinking about once it’s over. Sandy Jones truly knows how to deliver the drama!

When I first started this book, it gave me Daisy Jones mixed with A Star Is Born vibes. As it progressed, the vibe morphed into something else altogether... something dark and dangerous. I won't lie, I was intrigued to know what role the MC played in breaking up the band.

However, as the book entered into "wrap up the mystery" territory, the reveals weren't as explosive as I was expecting. The antagonist became a bit one note and predictable. The final twist felt disappointingly unfinished.

The plot involved two sisters with feelings for the main singer of a famous band in the 90s. The plot alternated between the events leading up to the band's ruin in the 1990's, and a woman hiding in her current life trying to forget the past. Fireworks explode when the two stories merge.

This book had a ton of lying, cover-ups, manipulation, and deception. Readers who enjoy a slow plot build-up, rock'n roll fiction, and good vs. evil characters will probably like this one.

The audiobook performance didn't work for me and impacted my overall enjoyment of this book. The voice was too weak and whiny sounding and left me struggling to stay engaged. Thank you, Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Sandie Jones delivers a gripping dual-timeline thriller that delves into the dark side of 1980s pop fandom and its haunting repercussions decades later. Set between 1986 London and 2011 California, the story follows sisters Cassie and Nicole, whose entanglement with a charismatic British rock star leads to obsession, betrayal, and long-buried secrets resurfacing. Jones masterfully weaves themes of fame, family, and the perils of idolization into a suspenseful narrative that keeps readers hooked.

Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio for the complimentary copy of the book!

I was drawn to the premise of this book because hello I love me a band and I am self proclaimed fangirl. So I knew that this book would be for me.

This book is told from two timelines - the past (1986) and the present (2011). It took me a bit to get used to the timelines. Mostly because the timelines are told from two different perspectives. In the past we are in the perspective of a young Cassie and in the present timeline we are in the perspective of her older sister Nicole.

The premise doesn't really say this but I would say that when we are in the past timeline, I would say a theme of that is obsession. Cassie is only 16 years old and has this admiration for Secret Oktober specifically for the lead singer Ben Edwards. And it only progressed as she got a taste of what it was like to be near him. And a cycle of events that occurred changed the course of everyone involved lives.

In the current timeline, Nicole lives a simple life with her husband and daughter in California and all is normal until her daughter does not get off the bus. The school claims she had been picked up by her aunt in which Nicole had previously authorized. But we learn that there couldn't be an aunt that picked her daughter up. Between the disappearance of her daughter and being visited by a journalist, Nicole starts to spiral thinking back to the incidents that occured years ago.

I was pretty invested in the storyline. Because the perspectives were every other chapter or so, I would be left wanting more which kept me going with the story. I wouldn't say that there was anything jaw dropping when some of the reveals were brought to light. I'm trying to be vague without spoiling but the way Sandie wrote left things up for interpretation until you got the answer. I think for me with the last quarter of the book, things were moving so fast that I was trying to piece together everything that was happening (total me thing and no fault of the author).

Imogen Wilde was the narrator and I thought she did a pretty good job handling both perspectives. I would have loved a 2nd narrator to help distinguish the two a bit more. But I thought Imogen brought an emotional side to her tone especially when Nicole was going through the motions of not knowing where her child was. Mixed with Sandie's writing, the audio listening experience kept me on edge and I credit that to Imogen's narration.

This is my first Sandie book and I am looking forward to reading more from her!

3.5

I WOULD DIE FOR YOU
Sandie Jones

Nicole now lives in California with her family. She used to live in London. She used to be involved with one of the biggest bands in British history. And the writer at her door wants to know all about the days that Nicole has worked so hard to forget.

Exposed and vulnerable, hoping to keep this secret from her husband, Nicole goes back in her mind to revisit those days. And try her hardest to keep that life from infiltrating her current.

I did not like this one by Jones. The storyline is garbled and the dual timeline does not help.

The characters are flat and wispy. I had no emotional attachment to any of them and I found it hard to root for Nicole.

I'm sorry this one didn't work for me.

Thanks to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for the advanced copies!

I WOULD DIE FOR YOU…⭐⭐

I did not expect this book to be....what it was. I'm not sure what I was expecting but I was left feeling let down. I have enjoyed previous Sandie Jones releases, but this didn't have the same flair the previous ones have had that kept me engaged and needing more.

Fun, easy to listen to thriller! Lots of threads that come together in a cool way. Love Imogen Church’s narration!

*I Would Die for You* by Sandie Jones is a nostalgic and fast-paced thriller that taps into the feverish energy of teen boy band obsession—something that really resonated with me, having lived through that craze myself in the '90s. The dual timeline structure was a great choice; it kept the momentum going and made me eager to find out how the past would catch up to the present. The shifting perspectives added intrigue and helped maintain suspense throughout the story.

That said, I found myself struggling with how much the characters' decisions stretched believability. Some of their conclusions and reactions felt disconnected from logic, and by the time I reached the ending—especially those final few sentences—I was more confused than satisfied. It didn’t seem to tie back to any earlier hints or plot points, leaving me unsure of what had actually happened or why. Still, the book had its fun moments, and while the characters were over the top, they were entertaining. I’d give it 3 out of 5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced listener copy—it was definitely an engaging ride, even if the destination didn’t quite land.

I Would Die for You by Sandie Jones is a twisty family, pyschological thriller with dual timelines that helps give readers a full picture of the main character. But then, you begin to realize that she is not a reliable character.

I enjoyed this one on audio but it was not my favorite Sandie Jones. Some parts dragged but overall I Would Die for You held my attention and I was eager to find out what would happen in the end.

There were a bunch of twists and turns that I did not see coming, but some were a bit much.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my gifted audiobook copy.