The Guilt Trip

One-Sentence Summary: A lush destination wedding in Portugal threatens to turn disastrous for three couples who fail to keep their secrets buried.

My Thoughts: What a soap opera! This domestic suspense novel was an entertaining (though sometimes frustrating) beach read, narrated by Clare Corbett. She did a great job keeping me engaged with a varied cast of voices.

Billed as a thriller, THE GUILT TRIP is more a slow-burn drama with a bit of excitement at the end. A group of three couples head to Portugal for one of the couple’s wedding, but years of secrets and lies between them turn paradise into a nightmare.

A lot of misunderstanding could have been easily cleared up if they actually talked to each other! The story was told from show more Rachel’s POV (sister-in-law of the groom), and good grief she was naïve at times. Rachel and the bride, Ali, were the most developed characters, but the others could have been fleshed out more. I would have preferred a stronger mystery element, but the drama did make me curious to see how it all played out.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

I was always confused by Harry decided to go so public with their side of the story, and this book really explains it so elegantly. I'm glad he got the chance to get to a point that he could openly tell his side. Someone needs to make the step to change the narrative, and peel back the curtain.

The royal family in the press is no different than Jersey Shore show. No sellable story? Make it up.

This memoir is eye opening in many ways. While it's definitely all the tea you'll ever want on the drama that went on during every aspect of Harrys life, it's also much more than that. The book gives an inside look at a scared little boy that no one really gave any mind to. So many spares before him went through this painful experience. Living in a show more fish bowl with everyone wanting to see the fish they decided lived inside all while he is screaming, banging on the glass to just be heard.

The tragedy of how his mothers death tied in with the media, did anyone even learn anything from that? It seems like all that was learned is that, if the media wants a story, they need to create it and no one that buys their stories will hold them accountable forever for it. Because the press doxed his military location innocent people died. There should have been more outrage from the public, stopping buying of that paper or whatever. But no, it was just another story, another payday.

So many people want an inside peek at someone's baby, someone's pain, someone's moment. "Well they sign up for it by being famous." but the majority of the stories in the papers are made up. Does the public really want fake stories? Would they rather hear the famous person's truth or the media's lies? Is there a way to be famous while also having a private life? A line that respect deems uncrossible?

Harry tells his story (in the audiobook he narrators) so well, the pain is palpable. The lack of anyone getting him a therapist after his mother's death, the way the game was set up for him to lose all the way at the beginning. It's painfully raw. But sadly understandable. Everyone in his family has to pick a side, they have to throw family under the bus to keep up their own persona in a positive light. Would the family releasing statements at each point Harry demanded for them done anything to change the outcome? Who knows. So many want drama even when there is none to be had.

Harry was a throw away. He did all the drugs, drank himself into bad press, all because it was okay for him to look wild. It was his job as the spare to not get the mental help he needed, to be the bad apple of the family. Would his mother have been any different if she'd lived? How much earlier would Charles have married had they been able to continue to funnel lies about Diana to the press? Or would her living have over shadowed his existence for the rest of his life?

The society we live in has created this problem with the press. It's also going to have to create the solution. Harry's story plays out all over the world, celebrities being stalked, their kids being harassed. We want media to consume, and we build up these celebrities by demanding access to their lives, but is any human really capable of withstanding the press? What's worse, it's more than just asking the famous person to bare the burden, everyone they ever speak to also has to bare it. How many people would have been able to not give in if they were in her dad's situation?

If you have no interest in the royals or Harry, this book is an interesting perspective on the press, and a behind the curtain view of what the tabloids do to the person being displayed on them. It will make me think twice about giving a click to stories in my feed, giving views to media.

TW: Death-parent-animal, Suicide, Miscarriage, Addiction, War. show less

What a fun ride! The characters were really well written, the atmosphere was perfectly described and the tangled web of relationships was well explained. There were a few things I'd unraveled, but there were still a few surprises, which for me makes for a great mystery. I will seek more from this author and I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good story about friendship, betrayal and destination weddings.

When a pathological liar is trying to ruin your life, you’re not really sure what to believe, but feeling guilty for minor indiscretions is nothing in comparison. This long weekend vacation in Portugal will end up changing everyone’s life and lies will be brought out into the open.
Jones delivers an entertaining mystery with turns you can anticipate but also twists that you can’t. The characters are the chess pieces in this strategic game of who’s who and who is guilty of what. I read this one in a day, I was so enthralled and couldn’t wait to see what ultimately occurred. Not my last book from this author, that’s for sure!
*I received an arc from the publisher through NetGalley for an honest review

I like suspense, and I LOVE a locked-door (or isolated island) mystery, so I'd expected to enjoy this one, but this didn't do it for me at all. There are two couples, Jack and Rachel, and Noah and Paige, going to a destination wedding where they kinda all hate the bride, Rachel and Noah have been friends since college, and still maintain a wonderful close friendship where they understand each other better than their spouses, and Paige spends loads of the book talking about how well-suited Rachel and Noah are, and how it wouldn't even be cheating if old friends got together and.... Ugh.

Anyway, it's not a one-star because there actually WAS a surprising twist with the bride's past.

this was fun but felt too manipulative as i was reading. i felt like i could both see what she was doing and pick out who was good/bad throughout, in too obvious a way. still, it kept me engaged, but it wasn't as well done as i'd like.

Thanks to NetGalley for an audiobook copy of The Guilt Trip. This is an easy read, I was able to listen to the entire novel in one setting. The narrator did a great job voicing the characters and bringing the dialogue to life.
I have enjoyed Sandie Jones’s previous novels, but I felt that this book fell short for me. One character was set up to be a fall guy from the beginning, so I knew immediately that the storyline about that was a misdirection attempt. It was too blatant. Then the crash scene-quite a bit out there. But, the last chapter, as in all her books, leaves you with a jaw dropping reaction.