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ellemnope 's review for:
The Guilt Trip
by Sandie Jones
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars.
The Guilt Trip is a mixed bag. The writing is good and the pacing is solid, but the characters are terribly unlikable and the plot seriously jumps the shark. I'd call this one a guilty pleasure. I'm not mad at it, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for either. I enjoyed reading it, but certainly wasn't blown away. That being said, I'd still read another Sandie Jones book in the future.
The setup for the plot in the beginning is a little hazy. Two couples are invited to a wedding. For one couple, the invitation makes sense...the husband is the brother of the groom. The other couple? They're best friends of the first, but barely know the couple getting married. Their reasoning for being invited to (and attending) this destination wedding in Portugal is a bit illogical.
The characters are written and developed well, but nearly all of them are just whiny and entitled. The only one I think I liked at all was Noah, and even then...he wasn't exactly white knight material either. There is just a LOT of dysfunction at play. The narration enhanced this feeling of irritation. The female characters all sounded very similar and the intonation was a bit of a grating pitch. I really didn't have anyone to root for, so it was more just waiting for the implosion and watching the chaos ensue.
The plot does move at a pretty good clip and there are a lot of little setup pieces along the way that make sense, but also provide for some minor twists and turns. I did figure out one of the major twists, but it still had a good bit of tension to it and worked well. And then...the ending. Oh boy. Hold on to your seats because there was suspension of belief working here. Things may have been a little crazy up to this point, but then it went full on left turn. It wasn't believable, but it was fun...I'll give it that.
TLDR: Enjoyable, fast read with unlikable characters and a crazy ending that will have you somewhere between rolling your eyes and rolling on the floor.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel/audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
The Guilt Trip is a mixed bag. The writing is good and the pacing is solid, but the characters are terribly unlikable and the plot seriously jumps the shark. I'd call this one a guilty pleasure. I'm not mad at it, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for either. I enjoyed reading it, but certainly wasn't blown away. That being said, I'd still read another Sandie Jones book in the future.
The setup for the plot in the beginning is a little hazy. Two couples are invited to a wedding. For one couple, the invitation makes sense...the husband is the brother of the groom. The other couple? They're best friends of the first, but barely know the couple getting married. Their reasoning for being invited to (and attending) this destination wedding in Portugal is a bit illogical.
The characters are written and developed well, but nearly all of them are just whiny and entitled. The only one I think I liked at all was Noah, and even then...he wasn't exactly white knight material either. There is just a LOT of dysfunction at play. The narration enhanced this feeling of irritation. The female characters all sounded very similar and the intonation was a bit of a grating pitch. I really didn't have anyone to root for, so it was more just waiting for the implosion and watching the chaos ensue.
The plot does move at a pretty good clip and there are a lot of little setup pieces along the way that make sense, but also provide for some minor twists and turns. I did figure out one of the major twists, but it still had a good bit of tension to it and worked well. And then...the ending. Oh boy. Hold on to your seats because there was suspension of belief working here. Things may have been a little crazy up to this point, but then it went full on left turn. It wasn't believable, but it was fun...I'll give it that.
TLDR: Enjoyable, fast read with unlikable characters and a crazy ending that will have you somewhere between rolling your eyes and rolling on the floor.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel/audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *