Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
Three couples travel to Portugal for a wedding. They are staying at a gorgeous villa on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Rachel and her husband Jack, along with their friends Paige and her husband Noah are not looking forward to the wedding of Jack’s brother Will to Ali. Rachel and Paige are best friends and Noah is Rachel’s childhood friend. Jack was previously Ali’s boss.
Nobody, other than Will, seem to care for Ali and they can’t seem to understand what Will sees in her. Rachel begins to notice that Jack acts strangely around Ali and begins to wonder if there’s something going on between them. She confides in Paige who is totally ready to fully support her friend. However, there is history between Rachel and Noah and Jack is uncomfortable with it.
As the weekend leads up to the wedding, secrets come out that threaten to hurt friendships. At the wedding, things take a disastrous, fatal turn.
I thought the book was well-written but dragged at times. First book I’ve read by this author and while I will read more books by this author I’m not sure this one should be as long as it is. I did predict one aspect of the story but didn’t see the twist at the very end. ( )

Wow so you think you know your spouse? Think you know your friends? You think first impressions are always correct? Any guesses of what anyone is capable of?
This is a fantastic beach book ( I use this term for books that don’t require intense concentration, but do offer a fantastic story and situations that make it hard to put the book down).
2 married couples accompany a third couple who are engaged- to the couples destination wedding in Portugal.
Let the secrets start trickling out until they become a waterfall.
Great book! ( )

Six friends, a destination wedding, Portugal…what can possibly go wrong? Filled with paranoia and suspense amongst the friends. I didn’t care for the audio version of this. The narrator had a loud piercing voice that was bothersome. ( )

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 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. ( )

Lots of cheating and lying going on in this book, although there are so many cross-accusations that it becomes confusing as to who is cheating on whom and who is lying or telling the truth. I wish I had counted the number of times a character asked another character "are you OK?" or "is everything all right?" - it must have been at least 40, no exaggeration. There was way too much sharing by Rachel of her innermost thoughts, which became quite repetitive and annoying. I found the over-the-top ending ridiculous. I would say this is one of Sandie Jones' weaker books. ( )