What price would you put on beauty? What would you be willing to loose?
Strangers from different places meet at this new beauty clinic (ex-asylum) were you surrender everything for a new you. Will it be worth it?

We got spooky gothic vibes from the start.
🚨TW: eating disorders and diet culture🚨 Sadly I find these topics were not treated with respect and this alone was a big no for me. DNF, as it was too slow paced, we get various POV’s with no purpose and the story just goes nowhere.

Thank you NetGalley for my copy!

“Discipline and diet determine your destiny”

There are multiple POVs & it was confusing at first because the chapters aren’t indicative of whose POV it is , but once you know the characters it gets easier and flows nicely. I loved the old patient files randomly thrown in between chapters for more backstory and context. This very much gave me ‘A Cure for Wellness’ movie vibes mixed with the book ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’. I loved the sinister concept of extreme beauty regimens. As a former pageant contestant, I sadly can relate and know many that can also relate to ridiculous standards and ridiculous lengths to achieve them. The ending was intense and anxiety inducing - in all the best ways! I love how everything unfolded!! Also, loved that there was a glossary of English Usage for US Readers at the end. For someone who reads a lot of British authors- I love learning new phrases. My favorite in this one being “guts for garters”

BLOG TOUR REVIEW 



Review for 'The Clinic' by Sally-Anne Martyn. 


Read and reviewed for ZooLoos Book Tours, Joffe Books, NetGalley and Sally-Anne Martyn. 


Publication date 27th October 2022.


This is Sally-Anne Martyn's debut novel. 


I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'Perfect for fans of Freida McFadden, Colleen Hoover and Lucy Clarke' and that 'Fans of One of the Girls, Nine Perfect Strangers, Sarah Pearse, Sue Watson, Alice Feeney and Patricia MacDonald will love this taut, dark thriller.'I am a HUGE fan of Freida McFadden and Sue Watson so am looking of the book lives up to this statement. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Joffe Books. I have yet to read a book published by Joffe Books that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book). 



This novel consists of a prologue, 92 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!



This book is based in Crowthorpe, North Yorkshire , England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. I have visited and holidayed in England on a couple of occasions so am looking forward to see if I recognise anywhere. 



This book is written in third person perspective with the main protagonists being Doctor Rebecca Cavendish, Jenny and Jenny. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything. 



This book is extremely well written with vivid descriptions that really set the scene and kept me on the edge of my seat. The cover and synopsis suited the storyline perfectly. 


An absolutely spine tingling page turner!!! 


Love, LOVE, LOVED this absolute page turner!! It may be the first book I have read by Sally but I can promise you it won't be the last!!! . The storyline is absolutely ram packed with mystery, tension, suspense and OMG the twists just kept on coming again and again!!! Every time I kept telling myself one more chapter the one I was in ended at a point where there was no way I could stop reading so I absolutely devoured it in one sitting!! I absolutely LOVED the creepy asylum setting which turned this psychological thriller into a fantastic creepy and gothic horror where women are just dying to lose some weight and look good. I am a huge fan of horrors and anything that is set in asylums are definitely a huge bonus for me and will guarantee I will read it!!! I loved the unique storyline which is actually extremely thought provoking as well as quite sadly realistic. We live in a world where how you look seems to be more important than who you are on the inside. When I was younger size 10 and 12 was considered slim but now it is size 6 and 8 and anything over seems to be considered too big which is a disgrace. Women are always getting body shamed on person on the TV and everywhere you go there are adverts for slimming products, photos of models and magazines filled with beauty products. It would be amazing if we could all compliment each other for who we are and where every woman picked each other up instead of putting others down. Anyway, sorry I digress this book just goes to show the lengths people will go in the name of beauty and what happens when it becomes an obsession. I WAS absolutely blown away by the twists and considering I read approximately 30 books a month that is certainly no easy feat so a HUGE congratulations on that Sally. If you are looking for something unique, filled with suspense and that will blow your mind then this is definitely the book for you!! 



DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT READING THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE CLEARED YOUR SCHEDULES AS YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PUT IT DOWN!!!  


I wasn't just 100% invested in the storyline but also in the characters. Every single one of the characters were well defined, realistic and strong. They all had their good and bad sides and I enjoyed watching how the different women reacted to each other at the clinic. My heart absolutely went out to Jenny who had been originally locked up in the asylum for being a typical teen and her life spiralled downhill from there. Sadly you would like to think this would never happen in reality but I was absolutely shocked and disgusted when I discovered a lost of things that would have got you sectioned many years ago and if you are a woman reading this then that would have included you!! Thank goodness times have changed!! I really hope that Jenny does get the answers she is looking for and I would have loved to know the truth but sadly in real life you don't get all the answers you want. However, the ending does have me hopeful that there will be a sequel so fingers crossed 🤞. It wasn't just Jenny I felt sorry for but for each of the women who didn't feel they were good enough as they were and that they had to go to a clinic whether for themselves, to win back an ex or to continue to model. It does make me sad to realise how realistic these characters are and how many women out there are slimming for the same reason. I can't say I felt sorry for all the characters but I also won't say anymore as I don't want to spoil it for future readers. However, you can't get along with everyone and each of these characters had the perfect personalities to make this book as addictive as it was!! 


A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Sally on what promises to be a massive best seller!!! I WAS absolutely shocked by the twist!! I can't say anything else but when you've read it you'll know!!! Welcome to my favourite author list Sally and here's to your next explosive success 🥂!!! 


Overall an absolutely addictive, mind blowing, creepy gothic page turner that will keep you up with a racing heart until you've finished!!! 




Genres covered in this book include Crime Fiction, Thriller, Women's Detective Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Debut, Suspense, Women's Crime Fiction, Detective Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Fiction and Women's Sleuths amongst others. 



I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Angela Marsons, Helen H Durrant, Rachel McClean, One of the Girls, Nine Perfect Strangers, Sarah Pearse, Sue Watson, Alice Feeney, Freida McFadden, Colleen Hoover, Lucy Clarke, Patricia MacDonald and just anyone who is looking for a page turning addictive read!!! 



378 pages.



This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle, free on kindle unlimited and £8.53 (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!! 


 


Rated 5 /5 (I loved it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook. 



Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews 



#TheClinic #SallyAnneMartyn #JoffeBooks #BookReview #BlogTour #BooksOnTour #ZooLoosBookTours #NetGalley 



@Bookworm86 @bookworm1986 @ZooLoosBT @SallyAnneMartyn @JoffeBooks @Netgalley 



https://kcmw86.wixsite.com/bookworm86


https://m.facebook.com/Bookworm1986/?ref=bookmarks


https://m.facebook.com/Bookwork86/?__tn__=%2As-R


https://www.instagram.com/bookwormwhitlock86/


https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/34299953-kirsty-bookworm86 


https://mobile.twitter.com/kcmw86

Today, is my spot on ZooloosBookTours blog tour for The Clinic by Sally-Anne Martyn. I read this psychological thriller as a paperback proof copy for this tour, and I’m so happy to have taken part on this blog tour and an earlier read along as I really loved this tense and thrilling thriller. It is published by Joffe Books whose novels are always perfect reads.
I loved the spooky setting for this novel. A cold, dark ex-Victorian-asylum in a remote Yorkshire location seemed like a perfect setting for the creepy weight-loss clinic in this novel. I love reading novels set locally and this was simply a perfect read for me.
I also loved the character development in this thriller, and finding out more about the main characters as the story progressed. I found this novel a thrilling and exciting read. It is the first thriller by the author which I’ve read but I’d love to read more in the future as I really liked reading The Clinic.
This novel gripped me right from the start, and it held my interest and attention from page on right until the end. I knew from early on that this novel is going to be a five star read and if I could have given it 6 stars I would have done. I’m sure other readers will like it too, especially if they are fans of thrillers and psychological thrillers.

Thanks for letting me read this book, which I found so interesting as most women always want to lose weight, and go to health farms to do just that.
The women who went to the clinic thought it was a health farm, not knowing they were going to a closed lunatic asylum to do just that.
They lost weight alright by just not eating, and I presume anyone will think again about going to a place to get thin.

The Clinic by Sally-Anne Martyn
#ad #gifted

This was a harrowing read but so good! It delves deep into the beauty, wellness, diet culture we find ourselves in these days and attacks it head on. We all know how bad the diet culture is but it's so hard to get out of that way of thinking.

One of the main characters, Dr Cavendish has her screwed the wrong way in terms of her beliefs. Her expensive beauty retreat claims to make women achieve the life of their dreams but in reality it is a chance to control and manipulate them further by telling them more lies about their bodies and lifestyles. The women on the retreat face a brutal regime that leaves them pretty much exhausted daily....but many many pounds lighter on the scale.

I was pleased to read Amy's character had some more sense to her and that she questioned things more. She began delving deeper and didn't like what she found. It seemed she was a victim of those around her and their incorrect views on how someone should look. I felt an affinity to her probably because I weigh the same as she did at the start of her stay - this also horrified me, knowing that on my really down days, I'd probably take that as a sign I need to change my body, years of ingrained diet culture whispering in my ear.

I've begun an essay I feel but ultimately it's a really great book, well written, well researched and a great psychological thriller.

Ps loved the Author's Note at the end, tied it all up and I hope opened the conversation further for people to call out diet culture.

This book was crazy! Dark, suspenseful, full of plot twists. I flew through the pages and couldn’t put it down. It left me wanting more but in the best ways possible! Loved it.

Oh you clever, clever book you. Just when you think you have pieced it all together wham you are mistaken and you have to start all over again. Great book,

I had serious FOMO when I saw the @instabooktours readalong for this but I was kindly accepted the book from @netgalley so I didn’t feel too left out!

I had so many thoughts as to where the story was going and who was who but I was so wrong, I never would have guessed who Dr Cavendish was at all.

The moral of the story for me hits home, I have always suffered with being on the heavier side of life and my weight plays havoc with my mind. So much so, I have tried things to get rid of certain parts and it has been unsuccessful. I’ve been on a diet for the past 2 years and successful lost nearly 2 stone but my mental health for the way I look has hit rock bottom.

This was such an incredible book, it showed the extent some go to to look a certain way that society nowadays says you should look like and what people will do to get that ‘model look’. Im trying to remind myself that we are all human and our bodies are beautiful but its hard when you’re overweight :(

Dr Cavendish was a douche from the get-go. You could tell she had a vendetta but against what, it took me a while to figure it out. I also felt a bit ‘iffy’ about Robert, he was very much a creep in all ways.

I wondered where Jenny came in to it all but at the end, it all made sense and fell in to place and very smartly written. Amy was a great, strong minded character who fought for her friends until the end.

I really enjoyed it, so much so, I binged it in about 20 hours. A fantastic book to end a great month of reading for me and to finish on Halloween!

Thank you to @netgalley for allowing me this ARC and to @sallyannemartyn for writing such a fantastic thriller. I’m obsessed, and I want to say, your acknowledgement at the end regarding weight and how we look, touched me.

And a thank you to Vic (@instabooktours) for sending me your prompts and allowing me to use them!

The Clinic is a dark and quite sinister story which drew me in immediately. It had plenty of twists and turns and I really quite enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for my ARC.

TW: If you have food or diet-related triggers, then proceed with caution as this book & this review deal with fat-phobia & diet culture.

Six women are chosen from dozens of applicants to attend the Beautiful You clinic which has been established in what was a Victorian asylum, then psychiatric hospital, until it was finally closed down in the 1980s. The clinic offers the women a program of exercise & beauty treatments, & when the women arrive they are greeted by Dr Cavendish, her two assistants, Kim & Tina, & physical fitness coach, Robert. The women, Amy, Gaynor, Audrey, Caroline, Vicky, & Jasmine settle down to their routine for the next few weeks. There are a few odd things, such as contract they all had to sign, the fact their suitcases were checked for 'contraband', the very restrictive diet, the 'vitamin' injections, & the nightly pills - but they all seem to get a good night's rest & the first week most of them successfully lose weight.

Still, the clinic is situated well away from the nearest towns & apart from the four staff & a few security guards patrolling the grounds, they are isolated & their phones have been confiscated from them. Meanwhile, former patient, Jenny, is paid by an ambitious housing developer who wants the land the clinic is built on, to sneak into the old building & take photographs of any health & safety breaches. Jenny was in the old hospital for over 10 years & knows her way around the building, but whilst she is there, she realises that there is something not quite right.

The narrative is told mainly by Amy, with some chapters from Jenny, & Dr Cavendish's point of view. Cavendish starts off as gently encouraging the women but as some start to rebel against the strict diet & exercise regime, that veneer is gradually chipped away. The clinic is marketed as self-improvement but let's be honest, it's a weight loss clinic, & those who fail to live by the rules are punished. Amy sneaks a chocolate bar & some sweets in but when Dr Cavendish finds out (she checks her 'guests' rooms whilst they are exercising), Amy is given laxatives, but even this didn't prepare me for the conclusion of the book.

It's a gripping read that examines the societal pressure on people, women especially, to look physically perfect. The clinic's motto is “Diet and Discipline Determine our Destiny”, basically looks matter & to be successful, you have to look the part, no matter what it takes. 4.5 stars (rounded down)

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Joffe Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

A sinister read about the depths in which we will go to achieve that “look” that society deems beautiful for us women. Skinny, clear skinned, perfect makeup, long hair, you know, THAT endless list.

In this book, we focus on a group of women, mostly Amy, who weren’t going on some fad diet or trying some dangerous workout methods, but a little bit of all under the guidance of Dr. Cavendish at the “Beautiful You Clinic.”

All of the women had something holding them back from feeling their best, whether it be a husband who left because his wife “let herself go” or the abusive husband or the model who the agencies say is “too big” or just the average girl like Amy whose parents sent her because they know she’s miserable and want better for her…they are all there for themselves or someone else and truly believe this will work as the application process is extremely extensive and the women are hand picked by the Dr. Herself.

“Though she could never be described as obese, it didn’t matter to Amy-each pound above the weight the magazines said she should be was a pound of failure.”

Right away it’s obvious that not only is this place going to be the hardest the women have ever worked, but that the doc’s proven methods may not be all that legal. All of the women are just so used to believing they need to look a certain way that they’ll do anything to achieve it. The slogan the clinic lives by is “diet and discipline determine our destiny.” I mean really….I’d RUN.

One of the moments that truly made my jaw drop was during a treatment the doctor hyped up as some special treat for the girls. They walk into the bathroom and are literally plastic wrapped with hot showers going to sweat off the weight and then are locked in for what was supposed to thirty minutes but ended up being much longer. At this point, after the crippling workouts, a single carrot stick for meals, and women disappearing…some of the women were officially done.

“The lights above glowed through the mist as Amy closed her eyes and tried to visualize not being bound in plastic in a hot room.”

Then we have Jenny who was an ex-patient of the shut down asylum where the clinic is now housed. We get to read some of her patient files from when she was there and it explains why she’s on the path that she is. The matron of the asylum seemed to just want Jenny there to put her through hell rather than Jenny actually needing to be there. I truly felt for her and her story. It was disturbing to say the least and I’d be traumatized if I were her also. Not to mention that Jenny had horrendous parents so s he really had no support other than the love she met inside.

When Jenny’s sent on a mission to take down the clinic, she finds much more than she ever thought and down the rabbit hole she goes of figuring out what is actually happening under Dr. Creepy’s care and WHY.

The shock at the end is what gave this book four stars from me. While I guessed the happenings of the clinic pretty early on, there was something else I did NOT see coming and my mind was blown.

This book went out with a bang and I was super happy with it.

I didn’t think I’d enjoy this as much as I did. I hate reading about the brainwashing society puts us through and the overly stressful ways in which us women are lead to live. The thoughts put in our heads as young kids to look a certain way makes me cringe. BUT this book was an eye-opener and I highly recommend giving it a shot.

Let me know in the comments about any crazy diets you’ve tried and how you came out feeling when it was over.

Just know you are beautiful no matter your color, weight, height, hair, clothes, style, whatever, you’re YOU and that’s the most beautiful thing we can be. I’m happy I’m raising a girl who will always forge her own path and know she’s rockin’ it the whole way!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Joffe Books, for providing this digital ARC with me in exchange for my honest opinion.

Please check out this review and many others on my blog, sweetbooksomine.com

I really enjoyed this book...
A clinic that is set to reform you into the person you want to be but not is all as it seems and my god it isnt.
The clinic is set in an old insane asylum even better i say, I can not wait to read other books by this Author if they are anything like this one they will be brilliant.

A clinic that is supposed to create a ‘beautiful you’ goes a lot further than anyone could have imagined for the weight loss goals of the doctor in charge. A sinister book with some interesting twists.

Snap, Crackle, Pop! 😳😯🤯😳😱

Beauty is skin deep... right? Holy caboodles & doodles! Insane in the membrane! If you want an absolute gothic thriller with a tinge of horror this is perfect for Halloween! Absolutely dark, creepy & undeniably insane in the best way possible for a thriller! If you enjoyed Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty, this is gonna be up your alley, with a devious twist. It is absolutely darkly and slightly disturbing but yet so darn delectable like the best piece of dark chocolate cake with a surprisingly yummy filling! This sensational, highly gripping novel will leave you with chills, goosebumpies & needing the light on! An absolute heart-stopping thriller that never stops and amps up continuously from one sinister event to another. Grab your pet, your stuffy, heck even grab your neighbour! Because you will not want to read this alone! This is going to give you the creeps in the best way! PS: I highly suggest comfort food / snacks with this one darlings!

Mყ 𝐒ყɴ𝐨ρѕιѕ: What lengths would you go to go to achieve your beauty and health goals? Dr. Cavendish has opened up a health & beauty clinic in an old Asylum building a year ago and has showed some promising success. With six new ladies to enter the program, she's ready to make their dreams and goals, reality. But how far will Dr. Cavendish's methods go?

Thank you to NetGalley & Joffe Books for this ARC.
Release Date: Out Now! Happy Pub Day!

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭: 4.5 / 5 Jack-o'-lanterns! 🎃

THE CLINIC by Sally-Anne Martyn.
Would you go to a beauty clinic that promises to transform your life? If you’re prepared to put the work in. It seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. An all-inclusive stay at a top-of-the-line wellness retreat for a month of pampering and luxury. Not just anyone gets in. Guests are hand selected. They promise big results: a total transformation. All you have to do is take a few pills every day. Join in the activities. Make some new friends. But then you start to lose track of time. The meals get smaller. Everything is taken away from you. And the guests start disappearing . . . Will you be next?
Really enjoyed this book. Gripping and tense. 5*.

Thank you to Joffe Books for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

A weight loss clinic set in an old asylum where terrible things are reported to have happened.
The guests are hand selected by the Doctor in charge, and are promised that if they stick to the rules completely, take part in the activities, and take a few pills and injections, they are guaranteed to hit all their goals. What could possibly go wrong?

One of the women ends up being taken to hospital, yet some of the others think they can hear her shouting for help through the vents.

I liked this book, but didn't love it. For me the best part was the examination of the reasons people would go to something like this, and the lengths that people would be prepared to go to to get thin. A scary look at the toxic culture of weight loss.

The writing felt a bit clunky at the beginning, with a little too much description, to the point the doctor character almost seemed a little objectified. But from about half way in it got a lot better and the pace picked up.

Overall I'd give it a 3/5 as it was a good read but not one I would read again, or still be thinking about in a few weeks.

Undercurrent Of Menace…
What is really going on behind the doors of the flash new beauty clinic? With guests clamouring to get in, three women with secrets and a doctor that may well be unscrupulous, it’s difficult to say. What is clear however is that the now beauty clinic was once an asylum with a potentially dark history. A slow creeping suspense and an underlying undercurrent of menace make this a tension fuelled read.

Thank you Joffe Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 5 stars for a DNF as I am unable to comment on the overall quality off the book. I was intrigued by the premise as I love a rich person retreat vibe with a lil murderous activities. However, I struggled to get into this. I respect this is a debut, and i believe the author has potential. One of the biggest turn offs was the constant use off the main character's full name,including her Dr. title. This made the writing seem amateur and choppy.

This was a book that instantly intrigued me. The latest slimming retreat for women set in an abandoned asylum. Initially everything seems perfect however gradually the guests uncover the secrets behind the facade.

The book focuses on Amy, a guest in the clinic and Jenny an ex patient of the asylum. Both characters and that of the doctor Rebecca who runs the clinic are well developed and relatable.

The book was very suspenseful and although not much happened Initially there was more than enough hints to keep me intrigued.

Without giving too much away although I suspected one twist the others were very surprising and I enjoyed how the author interwoved past and present together successfully.

Highly recommend this book and I am looking forward to reading others by this author.