Six friends, three couples, and a picturesque wedding. What could go wrong? Apparently murder and mayhem when long lost secrets and recent reveals brought them all out to the forefront.

Author Sandie Jones’s books had always intrigued me. I went into this with much gusto. Unfortunately, this entire book was formulaic, but I had hoped for great gossip from the gang. I expected it to start with a bang, but the women were mean to each other in the name of friendship.

The first half had only self recriminations and insecurities by lead characters who were apparently in their early 40s and needed botox. Sheesh!!

All 6 of them were varied, though how they remained friends was a mystery to be solved for another day. I would have walked away from this friendship long ago. But this was fiction, so it was allowed as it added to the thrill of pent up anger.

The book meandered most of its way, and the main lead got an opportunity to spew her venom. I cheered. Yayy!! At last something was happening here.

The ending was good predictable. Much ado about nothing. The (high) drama in this book was inversely proportional to the suspense (low).

After reading the authors previous novel The Other Woman I was really excited to recieve this ARC but in all honesty I was just left feeling frustrated.

This didn't feel like it was even written by the same author! Even the writing style didn't match. This felt more like a soap opera than a thriller, more about who's sleeping with who, who likes/dislikes who etc.

The whole book can be broken down into 2 parts... 90% build up to what you're hoping is a brilliant ending and 10% of an ending that was done and dusted way too quickly.

Basically a no from me,

Thanks to netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC.

Wow
This book was amazing I loved it, kept me guessing right till the very end of the book thought I knew what was going to happen then another plot twist. A brilliant author can’t wait to read her next book.

A really good easy, fast read. A trip to Portugal for a wedding. A tight knit friendship group with a newcomer - the bride. A body and lots of suspects. Good twists to find out whodunnit.

The Guilt Trip is centred around the upcoming marriage of Will and Ali in Portugal as a group of friends and family join them in a stunning villa to celebrate. Will's brother, Jack, and his wife, Paige are there along with friends Rachel and her husband, Noah. It is clear from the outset that there are tensions in this group of 40 somethings and as the novel progresses, secrets are revealed.
I found the book quite difficult to get into and the slow pace didn’t help to capture my attention. A good edit would help the book become more readable and focused.

I have loved everything about this one. This is well-written and a book that I have been completely unwilling to put down. I am a huge fan of this author and cannot wait for more.

This was a bit of slow burner for me and as I have previously enjoyed some of her other titles, this one I found just didn't make the mark. I enjoyed the storyline but did not connect with the characters as much as I wanted to. It is worth a read but I don't think its as good as her other titles.

Thank you Netgalley

A really good read that had you guessing throughout as to where the storyline was leading only to have a massive twist at the end that you didn’t see coming !!

I found this book a bit slow at the beginning and maybe a bit more romance than thriller. But I loved the setting and did enjoy the story. Not my favourite by this author but definitely worth a read.

The Guilt Trip was a decent read, I thought. I have to admit that I didn’t like any of the characters but I think that actually helped in this read.
The book starts at the airport, getting ready to jet off to Portugal for the marriage of Will and Ali. The other two couples have known each other years, Jack and Rachel are married and have a teenage son and Noah and Paige are married with a teenage daughter. It is obvious from the start there is quite a bit of tension between the couples but you are led to believe it’s from incidents in the past. When they arrive at the cliff side resort things start to heat up a bit with a few things happening and being revealed and also some misleading information making you dislike one character more than you should.
I enjoyed this easy read, it did start off a little slow but I think that was needed to enable you to get to grips with the couples and their histories.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Even though I enjoyed this it didn't wow me. Part of me thinks it might have been better as a duel timeline. Where we get flashbacks to the lead up to the incident to add more suspense.
Instead we got 90% of build to an incident we don't really have any details about. Then the aftermath was so short I felt like I was missing part of the book.
We go from a chapter of police asking questions then the very next chapter the trail is done and everything has moved on. We are missing so much information from between the questioning and trial. It felt unfinished.
The characters were unlikeable and slightly annoying that I didn't really care who was involved.

It felt obvious Paige wasn't who she said she was with how she was behaving at times. I felt it was given away she was the mistress not Ali with how she lied about not having a conversation with Ali to then say she did actually moments later. Or when she didn't want Rachel to talk to Ali that she should do it instead.

Even best friends will keep secrets from one another. But what if those secrets turn deadly and someone ends up dead? This is the premise of this thrilling read, and will keep you glued until the end!

I wouldn’t categorise this book as I thriller I don’t think. It has an element of suspense but the situations that do arise between the characters seem more and more unlikely. Add to that the unpleasant characters of practically everyone in it and I’m sorry to say I wasn’t very enamoured.

This was an enjoyable read but with very difficult characters.

Rich, judgemental narcissists make relating very hard.

All of the characters were unlikeable.. Rachel and Noah were bitter and twisted by their own choices, Jack was a disgusting human being (& I hate women fauning over such a man) & Paige was a grotesque caricature....who I cannot imagine anyone would want to call their best friend...let alone on every other page!

However the story itself was tense and I intriguing and I was really looking forward to where it went. I really enjoyed the first half but around the mid way point it lost steam and I absolutely hated the ending.

That was quite a wedding! However the one thing after another that happened became more and more ludicrous until it was so unbelievable that I struggled to read the end.

I am also not a fan of "make your own mind up" endings.

Think maybe would have worked better being shorter with not so much padding.

Thanks to the author; publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An easy summer read
Didn’t have me hooked
But read it till the end
Not one of her best books
But I would read more of her books as I have enjoyed her others
Thanks NetGalley

This book is everything i wanted. I loved the isolated island trope so much. I think the author did such a good job of keeping you entertained and engaged. I flew through this book. Stunning, would recommend.

***ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.co.uk in return for an honest review***

Six friends travel to Portugal for a wedding. A weekend that will change their lives forever.

A great novel full of suspense, the twists and turns coming thick and fast from the beginning. I devoured this book in a couple of days, each new development urging me to read just a few more chapters and then a few more.

📚 BOOK REVIEW 📚
By Sandie Jones - Publication Date 19th August 2021

This book started with several couples at the airport, who are going on a trip for a wedding. These are couples that have clearly known each other a long times. Safe to say there is some friction between certain characters and as the book goes on, we find out why this is so. Someone isnt coming back from this wedding !

I did enjoy this book but the only thing for me personally, it wasn’t as fast paced as I normally like. Some great twists at the end of the book!!

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It took me a while to think about my feelings toward this book after finishing it and I’ve decided 3 stars is an accurate reflection for me - I definitely enjoyed parts of it but ultimately I felt like 90% of the book was a build up of suspense to the ‘big moment’ which was all over in about 5 seconds. Maybe I was anticipating a prolonged event or just something more but either way I felt quite underwhelmed by the direction the story took towards the end which is a shame because I was pretty gripped up until then.

I did guess the major plot twist before it happened but I still found the reveal enjoyable because it was subtle and done well. This is basically a story full of deceit, backstabbing and lies so perfect for fans of domestic drama - I definitely wouldn’t categorise it as a thriller. It’s a decent enough read that has its moments but there is too much I’m unsure about to say that I completely loved it. Also, something I couldn’t help but pick up on: the phrase ‘so and so’s jaw spasmed involuntarily’ was used far too frequently and it started to grind my gears after the 3rd/4th time of seeing it. NOBODY’S JAW SPASMS INVOLUNTARILY SO REGULARLY, IF AT ALL. I know it’s pernickety but my review would not be 100% honest if I didn’t include my feelings on this!

Big thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Very slow going more of a romance than a thriller.
Three couples all old friends go to Portugal for a wedding of two of them.
Lots of secrets they all have but the characters are so unlikeable that you couldn`t care if anyone's secret is safe or not.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.