I tend to listen to audio books as I'm falling asleep, and I kept waking up with this one still running and some really strange twists being revealed--fortunately, I was curious enough to go back and get the lead-up, but truly, there were some really surprising shifts that worked for me, somehow. The last bit didn't work for me though--there was something that felt anti-climactic, some revelation that was missing or character whose acquiescence was pushed too far.

Daisy and Craig are on a seven day marriage retreat to complete The Eden Test, a test designed to give their relationship a second chance. This is all while the naïve Daisy is being cheated on by her husband, Craig. And that's just the beginning of things.

I’m not the biggest fans of domestic thrillers, but the synopsis really stood out to me and I’m so glad I gave it a shot. It's very clear early on that these two are keeping massive secrets from one another, and that isn't even the biggest issue they face! The setting and the pacing on this story is extremely well done and will keep you on your toes.

This one is definitely slower, although it's difficult to notice at times, and the final twist isn't very twisty, but it was a fun ride none the less. I will say, this book deals with some very VERY heavy topics that include, but aren't limited to talk of miscarriage, abortion, and abuse. They don't beat around the bush with these either.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance reader copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Summary: When Daisy and Craig’s marriage hits the rocks, Daisy signs them up for The Eden Test, a week-long retreat for couples who need to reconnect.

Thoughts: As soon as I saw that this was being compared to Rock Paper Scissors, one of my all time favorite thrillers by Alice Feeney, I knew I needed to read it ASAP. This was a very quick, bingeable read with some really fun twists. The writing is very easy to understand and pulls you in from the beginning.

That being sad, I had a few issues with this book. First and foremost, as other reviewers have noted, the author misrepresents both miscarriage and infertility. As someone who has experienced both, I really take issue with the lack of research done on this issue, particularly as this author is male writing about female reproductive health, and incorrectly.

Read if you like:
•domestic suspense
•quick reads
•twisty plotlines
•marriage in crisis

Thank you to Flatiron Books and Minotaur Audio for my gifted advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

Eden test

What a twisty domestic thriller! Or more of a domestic mystery maybe? I don’t know! Either way, it was a wild ride! A married couple, both with so much they’re hiding from each other, go on a week long trip for their anniversary to reconnect. Something seems amiss right from the start, and even as secrets are revealed, there is still so much more to the story than you realize! I couldn’t get through this one fast enough to try to figure out what was really going on! I enjoyed that it alternated POVs between the spouses and allowed you a glimpse into what they were really thinking! With questions like, “Would you change for me?” And “Would you kill for me?” They are determined to see if they are able to salvage their marriage and grow stronger than ever. While this definitely had some nuances that didn’t add up, it didn’t distract me from the plot. I really enjoyed this one, all the way down to the ending! I enjoyed the audio of this one greatly! It was very well done and the narrator did a great job of keeping pace with the story and adding emotion in the right moments to keep me so invested! This one is everywhere right now for a good reason, grab a copy when it is released April 25th.

This book was a bit of a wildcard for me. I requested this advance listener's copy from NetGalley. And while the cover was not something that I gravitated towards at first, the synopsis was a bit intriguing. I thought the idea of a couple's retreat where they essentially have to answer some hard questions to analyze their marriage was a good set up for this story. I knew this was a domestic suspense story, so I was interested to see where this would go and what turns it would take. Ultimately, I did not care for the characters, especially the main character, which made this a hard listen. I found the initial storyline and the seven important questions got lost in the rest of the events. It just didn't seem to deliver what the synopsis promised. But looking at other early reviews for this book, I seem to be in the minority with my thoughts. There are also some very important trigger warnings for this book that I feel should be included in the synopsis.

“The Eden Test” is a fascinating domestic suspense novel that had me hanging on, waiting to see just how this story was going to progress…because you knew from the start that there was definitely more going on than what appeared on the surface. The story started slowly, and the “escape to a remote cabin” aspect reminded me of novels such as Lisa Unger’s “Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six,” but with an unusual marriage-counseling component thrown in. It may simply be that I read too many crime novels, but I was sure that a serial killer was going to arrive to spoil the bucolic, rural setting of the upstate cabin where Brooklynites Daisy and Craig arrive for a weeklong retreat to save their floundering marriage. That did not happen, to be clear, however the author creates a vibe that you sense from the start: something is afoot. The premise is that each day the couple will receive a question to ponder and discuss, and that at the end of the week they will be “forever changed” according to the rather hands-off therapists who run this retreat. As small conflicts start to arise, mostly between the couple and the townsfolk who do not seem to like city people at all, the reader will wonder just where this is going. Are these interactions real? Or, are they set up by the “Edenic Foundation” running the retreat to test the couple? I loved the suspense and the ways in which you were tossed about as you learned more about Craig and Daisy and how their backstories were relevant—or not—to what was happening, and I adored the constant biblical allusions, which were thoughtful and clever. I thoroughly enjoyed this book on audio as the narrator did a wonderful job of giving life to the characters. I really was not sure how this book was going to end, but it wrapped up quite successfully. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook, which I highly recommend.

Thanks you for the opportunity to review this ALC.

It's usually easy for me to decide if I like a book or not. The Eden Test, however, left me with mixed emotions. I think the book had potential, but it fell flat with a fairly predictable twist. None of the characters were likable and the plot dragged a bit until the second half of the book.

My mind is still RACING after reading the Eden Test by Adam Sternbergh. I have read some of his past work, and it is always suspenseful thrillers that make you second guess every page.
It is not a secret that Daisy and Craig’s marriage is on the rocks. Criag is having a not-so-secret affair, and Daisy has been too involved in her acting career. That is why Daisy signed them up for a remote program to work on their marriage. Seven Days. Seven Questions. One goal- to fix your relationship. The Eden test was invented by two couple therapists. You have a different question every day to reflect on your relationship and challenge hard conversations. By the end of the 7 days, it will either be make or break.
This book was great! Just when you think you had the book figured out- BAM- it changed. This book was entertaining with a different concept, and I especially liked the Adam and Eve nuances in it. I feel like I do not want to say too much without giving spoilers away- but it was a fast paced- enjoyable read. Was not my favorite all time thriller, but one I would recommend to anyone to pick it up. The Eden Test by Adam Sternbergh comes to shelves April 25th, 2023, and it is a 4-star read!

Ready to put your marriage to the test?

A couple is in marital trouble. Perhaps a secluded retreat somewhere is just what the doctor ordered. A place where therapy comes in the form of answering seven questions. Will they have the answers!?

Sounds exciting right!? When I read this premise I instantly wanted to jump right in! I love family dramas and domestic thrillers. But it just fell short of…well…everything!

Ingenious plot but the seven questions felt lost, as though the author begrudgingly threw them in periodically because he promised them to us in the blurb.

The whole storyline became convoluted. I didn’t care for our lead couple of Daisy and Craig. While all the side characters just left me confused.

I listened to the audio and truly felt an additional narrator would have balanced the reading.

Overall I found it to be somewhat disappointing. Maybe my expectations were too high?!💁🏻‍♀️

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio 🎧

This was a marvelous book. I was fully invested in the novel--both the novel and the audiobook versions were phenomenal. The choice of the female narrator for the audiobook was perfect. The suspense built and continued to escalate with a strange, enticing, unbearable, and yet unable-to-turn-away-from sense of dread. I was really happy with Sternbergh''s follow-up novel to THE BLINDS, which was also brilliant. This was a great book!

Pros: I thought this book had an interesting premise. I listened to it on audiobook and thought it worked well in that format. There were some Gone Girl vibes to this book, which is a positive thing.

Cons: There are just so many thrillers out there that this one will not stand out to me/I won’t remember it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read this book.

Quiet a twisty thriller. It was very engaging and some great twists throughout. The characters were very complex and interesting. I was on the edge of my seat for much of the book.

Interesting premise of a couple headed to a couples therapy retreat....but is all what it seems? And what about those two dead bodies? I enjoyed the narrator a lot. The plot was interesting but I guessed the ending ahead of time. Still, the twist was well executed!

Seven Days. Seven Questions. Forever Changed.
Daisy and her husband Craig are on the rocks, to say the least. Craig is a serial cheater and Daisy, has a damaged past. She pretends not to notice a lot about her marriage but she can sense the end is near. Daisy decides to book a getaway to a couples therapy retreat called Eden as a last-ditch effort to salvage the relationship. Each day at the retreat they are presented with a question to answer together as a couple to learn more about themselves.
They decide to give it a go and from the minute they get there, everything seems slightly off. I couldn’t put my finger on what was going to happen but not really much happened to say the least…
This is a slow burn. You very slowly find out more and more about Craig and Daisy. Not much was interesting to me. I thought there would be more to it? I didn’t really find the characters likeable so ultimately I didn’t care if they lasted. This lacked depth for me.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, Bloom Books & NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan for the opportunity to listen to his audiobook.


Wasnt sure where this was leading too. It was entertaining. Ending was kind bad.. BUT I still liked the ride along the way. Feeling generous with the 4- its a good 3.5

Since the beginning of time, man's been tempted by forbidden fruit - afforded a choice between right and wrong. Choose right and enjoy the fruits of your labor . . . choose wrong and suffer the consequences. In Adam Sternbergh's The Eden Test, a couple confronts a crisis. Should they forsake all others and fight for their marriage 'till death do they part? Or give in to temptation with another bite of forbidden fruit, dooming their marriage and souls forever? Daisy and Craig each made bad choices in the past. The Eden Test Retreat is their chance to make the right choice . . . if they survive.

Daisy's an actress who shuns the spotlight, careful to keep her face off social media for reasons unknown to all but her. A desperate woman and wife harboring deadly secrets, she has to know if she can trust her serial cheater husband Craig when the going gets perilous. What'll he do if faced with an "or else" ultimatum? Will he fight for her? Daisy needs answers and after coming across an advertisement for a couples' marital retreat called The Eden Test, she jumps at the opportunity to sign them up. The Edenic Foundation guarantees results if couples follow their plan. Seven days alone in a remote upstate New York cabin. Seven questions that force couples to reflect on their flawed marriage and reconnect with their inner feelings. Forever changed.

Craig is fuming when he comes home from work to find Daisy's note directing him to drive to a remote cabin - an anniversary surprise she says. Daisy doesn't know Craig's prepared to tell her their marriage is over, after which he'll board a plane for Caro with his hot, young mistress. Daisy's waiting at the cabin . . . and tomorrow, Lilith will be waiting at the airport. What's a man to do? Craig figures after three years of marriage, he owes Daisy a face to face kiss off so he reluctantly makes the harrowing drive to the cabin. Upon arrival, Craig finds it harder than expected to deliver his rehearsed breakup speech, and the longer he postpones confessing to Daisy, the more he second guesses his decision to leave. Maybe he'll stay a day or so and see what happens. What Craig doesn't yet understand is Daisy has secrets of her own - ones that fuel the chaos erupting around them when bizarre things begin occurring. Strange noises in the woods, dead animals left as calling cards, threats intensifying from volatile locals . . . and their own lies and secrets oozing out. Suddenly, their peaceful retreat turns into their worst nightmare.

A week in paradise quickly mutates into a fight for their lives with all the creepy vibes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. I swear I could hear the Hitchcock opening theme music, Funeral March of a Marionette, sounding warnings in my head as its ill-boding strain resonates throughout the last half of The Eden Test. A malicious undertone permeates every page as the action accelerates until what starts as a fight for their marriage turns into a battle for their lives. Sternbergh's delivery is razor sharp and precise with descriptive imagery that brings a beautiful location to life before it morphs into a somber, menacing setting they may not survive. As this couples' situation turns dire, the action swells and I burned through pages seeking answers.

I highly recommend the audio version of The Eden Test rendered by Carlotta Brendan as it's the perfect way to become fully immersed in this story. Her voice breathes life into the characters, enhancing the sense of urgency as events snowball out of control. Dual points of view allow readers in both characters' minds, revealing critical backstory as well as the hidden intentions of Craig and Daisy. They can lie to each other . . . but not to readers.

The Eden Test is smart, witty and highly entertaining from cover to cover. Sternbergh brilliantly delivers a propulsive, unique, tension laden thriller that this reader couldn't put down. Highly recommended to fans of domestic suspense and suspense thrillers. The Eden Test is one of my 2023 favorites.

3.5 stars. I am a little conflicted in rating this one. I totally binged it, but it was absolutely over the top. Even more, I have read about the criticism surrounding the inaccuracies regarding a major (and triggering) plot event. As someone who is not knowledgeable on this topic (and not a particularly sensitive reader), I would not have been as bothered by this element had I not been made aware. I do think that especially since this author is a male writing about female struggles, it is problematic.

The problem with reading (well, listening) as much as I do is that there are only so many plots in the world, and so it's easy for novels to become redundant. This book, at least, was not that. But. I will authors didn't feel the need to add that second twist at the end that strains my ability to suspend disbelief.


Review copy provided by publisher.

I went into this one with no expectations and no idea what it might be like—but wow, this one was different! I just finished it and am going with….3.75 stars rounded up. It was original, definitely far fetched but that made it fun. Dark, for sure. Lots of symbolism which I found fun. Thank you to NetGally and McMillan Audio for the ALC.

I absolutely loved the premise of this book, the Eden Test, and all the possibilities. I was fully invested throughout most of the book, several plot twists that did surprise me, I just wanted a little bit more. I’d still give it a strong 4 out of 5 stars!