The Guilt Trip

I have been dreading reading this arc just because I've never read anything by this author before and with good reason because I was greatly disappointed. I was really excited to receive this arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review because it was categorized as a mystery thriller and those are my favorite. However, this novel is farther from being a mystery thriller that I can even imagine. The first ninety percent read like a family/romance/drama and the last ten percent had a slight resemblance to a thriller but just barely. I was hoping to find a new favorite thriller novel, but this was definitely not it.

To begin with, The Guilt Trip is about a woman named Rachel and her husband, Jack, who are invited for a weekend to Jack's brother's wedding. However, as things get underway, Rachel starts being suspicious of her brother-in-law's bride and starts to suspect that she may not be exactly who she says she is. The plot was just eh, very mediocre. It wasn't anything too out there and yet I do enjoy the closed location trope, if it's done well but, in this case, it was not executed well in my opinion. The first ninety percent of the book read like a romance drama, and I was frustrated because that's not what I signed up to read. For this reason, it stretched for far too long and what should have been a quick read, became a bit longer one.

Secondly, the characterization was okay, as was everything else in this novel. The characters felt bland and none of them stood out to me and felt even remotely real. I didn't really care what happened to them and only kept reading because I find it my duty to finish a book to its very end and give my brutally honest opinion of it. I wish we would have seen more into the characters' psyches, aside from just the romance aspects that they had to other characters in the story. The uninteresting characters made for a rather difficult time getting through the whole story.

Finally, the writing style was okay, if maybe slightly above average for my tastes and preferences. I like the simple writing style; however, it might have been a bit too oversimplified. I am happy to say that it didn't make the story any harder to read, which is a good thing. However, it also didn't add anything to the story either, which could have helped immensely in making me feel as if I was immersed in the story and actually living it myself.

In conclusion, I would not recommend this book to thriller lovers because it's very hard to call this even somewhat close to what a thriller is. Maybe fans of romance dramas would enjoy it or someone who is looking for a rather easy and very forgettable read but otherwise I wouldn't waste my time. I will check out some of the author's other works in the future because I would like to give her work another chance and would like to find a book of hers that would resonate better with me and be more my taste.

The twist in The Other Woman had me floored when I listened to Sandie Jones' previous novel. So when I got the chance to listen to the Guilt Trip I was very excited! Here's the good and the bad.

I'll start with the things I liked. I really like the main character, Rachel. I think Jones did a very good job at capturing what it's like to wrestle with inner demons and your past and how it can make the way you look at others a bit skewed. Especially in someone that is an honestly good person. The dynamics between the three couples were fun, put you on edge, and was even cringey at times (but in a good way). I did at times second guess my opinions of each character. If you are a fan of reality television or soap operas/dramas I think you'll enjoy this book.

Now for what I didn't care for. I felt this book is misleading. I went in thinking that it was more of thriller when I think it is more domestic drama/ contemporary fiction. There is a brief “who dunnit” and there is some thrill trying to figure out if someone is lying and if so, who. Overall, though, I felt like I enjoyed it more thinking it as NOT a domestic thriller. If I was to to look at this like a thriller more, I feel like I'd be more disappointed. I knew from the beginning some of the main “truths” about the characters. The twist was interesting and entertaining but overall not incredibly exciting and a bit underwhelming. I may be comparing this to the author's previous book The Other Woman which I found the twist very exciting and I did not see coming so I would in no way exclude this from your TBR. However, if you are a die hard Thriller fan and doesn't enjoy the more domestic books this may not be for you. If you are just get into thrillers this may be the perfect book for you because there are aspects of it that are thrilling.

Overall I enjoyed this book and was entertained. However, I did not feel it was a thriller. I also suggest going into this as blind as possible. I think that if I would have read the description before I'd have been a bit disappointed while listening. But I went in only knowing the author and her previous book so I think that helped me enjoy it more. The narrator for the audio was fun to listen to as well.

*Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins Press, Macmillan Audio and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.