This was a fantastic gripping dark thriller which had me up late reading needed to know how it was going to end. This was intriguing story with excellent characters. I also liked the writing style helped build the suspense within.

When Lorraine's husband dies in a car accident, she discovers that he was not alone - a young woman was with him. Was he having an affair? Lorraine needs to know who this woman was and what she was doing with her husband.

This was a fantastic gripping story which I would highly recommend. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review.

Well this book will leave you questioning who you married and if you ever really know them! This was such a fun page turner!

The Marriage Retreat starts with the death of Lorraine's husband who is in a coma. When she awakens she has no memory of the event - although she was in the car. Lorraine must seek the truth about her husband and this mystery woman.

As secrets unfold, secrets must be kept. And they are not what you expect.

This domestic thriller is a little slow getting into it. It feels that it could have been tightened up and still had the same impact.

I recommend it, just stick with it

The Marriage Retreat is a mystery/thriller about a woman, Lorraine, whose husband has been killed in an accident. They run a successful marriage retreat program. Their success is at risk when its discovered that a young woman was by her husband's side when he was killed. She has no name, and no memory. Lorraine starts to uncover secrets in her husbands past. What lengths will she go to in order to protect all that they've built?

What I liked: This was a captivating thriller. I had a hard time putting it down. I like the slow unfurling of the story, where discoveries weren't just thrust upon you, but slowly revealed. I has a hard time guessing what exactly was going to happen and was constantly surprised.

What I didn't like: At times it felt like the story was a bit slow, but at the end, I realized the pacing was spot on. I struggled a little bit with the jump between points of view and keeping all the characters straight.

All in all, this is a book that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good thriller.

Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC read!

This was not an ‘unputdownable’ book for me. The premise interested me - Lorraine learns that her husband, who was supposed to be in London, was in a fatal car accident closer to home. Also in the car was an unidentified young woman, who survived but is in a coma. I struggled to get into the story and care about Lorraine’s search to find out what her husband was hiding, and found a lot of it to be drawn out. I did like the POVs, especially the thoughts of the character in the coma. Overall this book just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Compelling plot;
The unexpected death of a person and the subsequent discovery of his secrets is a classic that has been cleverly poured into a new story here. The events in the book develop slowly and despite some flashbacks you don't know for a long time in which direction it is going. I think some early allusions would have heightened the suspense. I liked how the initial roles of good and evil gradually dissolved. The plot is interesting and develops slowly and convincingly. I found it very nice how in the end the truth was uncovered by several people involved at the same time. I find it very difficult to develop the plot so precisely. I found the character of the widow a bit wooden, although of course she is also described as an ice princess. The language and the narrative style are flawless and I liked it a lot.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ok, so how do I even start... If you love domestic thrillers like I do, then this book is for you. The writing, the plot, the atmosphere, everything is perfect it is beautifully written.
The book follows Lorrane, the wife of a marriage "guru" Victor, who died in a tragic accident. But he was not alone when this happened. He was with a young mysterious woman who is now in a coma. As Lorraine moves on with her life and tries to reopen the marriage retreat, secrets are being discovered and Lorraine will do anything to keep the life she worked so hard for.
This was definitely a book that proves that nothing is what it seems. I love every second of it.

Thank you, Netgalley, for this ARC

Completely captivating and just what I needed to read. This will keep your mind guessing and your head spinning. Highly recommend to readers of all types.

Lorraine is visited by the gardai to be told her husband, who is currently at a convention in London, has died in a car crash in Ireland. What’s more - he wasn’t alone. An unidentified young woman was with him, and is now in a coma.

Lorraine is now left picking up the pieces of what she thought was a picture-perfect life with her husband Victor. Who is the unconscious woman? Why was Victor in the process of changing his will? And how far is she prepared to go to protect the life she’s built for herself?

The Marriage Retreat is a thriller told from multiple perspectives. There are a number of twists and turns, and the sense of claustrophobia intensifies as each of the characters learns more about what happened the day Victor died - and what led him to lie to his wife.

As a main character, Lorraine is cold and composed - laser focussed. I found it difficult to empathise with her for this reason. The other characters are easier to empathise with - specifically Aiden, Megan and Pamela.

I enjoyed the tension Elliot built but would’ve liked to see a little more depth behind some of the back stories. Carl, for example, suffered because of his own actions. What then led him to place blame so fervently elsewhere?

Overall, an enjoyable read. If you’re looking for a suspenseful, pacy read then you can’t go too far wrong here.

#TheMarraigeRetreat #NetGalley
Brilliant slow burn thriller.
When Lorraine's 'love guru' husband dies in a car accident, she discovers that he was not alone - a young woman was with him. Did this man who preached about honesty and trust lie to Lorraine? Was he having an affair? What was his secret?
Told from various pov's it will hook you from the beginning until the very end.
I really really wanted to know his all lies.
Loved it.
Order your copy today.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me an advance copy.

The book started out good but then just quickly fell flat. I skimmed through some parts but honestly didn't even finish it. Not for me.

When I started this book it held my interest and then it started to be very drawn out for me. I couldn't relate to the main character at all.
Just wasn't the book for me!
Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read and review this book!

Well this is a really dark messed up thriller about the actions you will stoop to in order to protect your reputation. Although I felt sorry for the wife left with more questions than answers after the tragic death of her husband who was found in a car crash alongside an unknown female who is now in a coma. Why was her husband not where he was meant to be and who is this girl with him. As she tries to hold her life together the truth of everything comes crashing out and she has to resort to desperate measures to save everything she loves. This is a shocking story not to be missed.

Overall I enjoyed this. The storyline held my interest and I enjoyed the multiple POVs. I liked that reveals were spaced throughout the book so that we weren't just waiting for a big information dump at the end. I can't say I liked any of the characters, but they were definitely interesting to read about.

The only drawbacks for me is that I did feel that it was a little bit long-winded and the writing style was a bit detached which stopped me from being fully emotionally invested.

I would probably award this 3.5 stars overall, rounded up to 4. It is a good story and I enjoyed reading it.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this eCopy to review

I found the Marriage Retreat very long and drawn out. The settings were well described and Serenity Falls sounds lovely. I just could not emphasise with Lorraine and did warm to her throughout the story. It seems very implausible that Naomi/Megan would be allowed to recover with her.

We follow Lorraine after the death of her husband Victor (the face of their Marriage Retreat) as she tries to find out why her husband came back from his conference early, who the young woman in the car with him was, why was he changing his will?

Lorraine's desperation to stop Victor's secrets from becoming public knowledge so that she keeps her family home grows increasingly frantic as the story goes on. Just how far will she go?

“A lie will always corrode the soul.”

When news of Victor Gordon’s death reaches his wife, Lorraine, she’s shocked. Rightly so. But when she discovers that her ‘love guru’ husband was travelling with a younger female, now in a coma, she’s devastated. Her hurt quickly turns to anger and fuels her quest to keep the lid on any further secrets that may emerge. What will this unidentified female reveal if she comes out of her coma?

There’s a lot at stake. Not just a crushed ego.

Victor and Lorraine have been married for 26 years and have a good business reputation. They live in a small village and operate a ‘Rekindle Connections’ program at Serenity Falls, an enterprise they began to allow couples the space and opportunity to take time out to salvage a marriage headed for divorce.

Now you see how bad this looks? That he was found in a car with a younger woman. Especially when he wasn’t where he was supposed to be that day!

Author Laura Elliot seeks to find out if deceit and betrayal of a loved one can turn us into someone we aren’t. In doing so, she’s crafted a charismatic man with incredible power to draw people to him and crafted a wife/business partner who is much younger and an heiress.

You’re jumping the gun. Aren’t you? You’re already guessing what direction this is going in, right?!

You’ll have to find out who this car passenger is, what lengths Lorraine will go to keep a secret, and if Serenity Falls is really a safe space where secrets can brood or if it’s a breeding ground for them.

Know this: nothing is as it seems. Nothing.

You’ll be engaged and anxious to know what this ‘perfect’ couple is hiding. Elliot has paced this domestic suspense perfectly, keeping readers in the dark until the last possible moment.

Quotes that gave pause:
“Small untruths become outright lies as you battle them into submission”
“Pain is easier to see in others when we deny our own reflections.”

I was gifted this copy by Bookouture and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Some stories start with a bang dragging you in from the first sentence. Others tease you and they ask the reader to be patient and wait a bit longer for the action to begin. Do I have a preference? No, not really. As long as the story is interesting, I don't mind strolling through the book in stead of running through it.

This book belongs to the second category, so it is rather slow moving in the beginning, but the pace picks up the further you get through the story.

Sometimes you have to wait to find out who the killer is. This is fun, because you can put your thinkg cap on and try to be more clever than the police. Sometimes you already know who it is, but the fun then is to discover what kind of schemes the killer will use in order to get what they want or to hide what they want to remain a secret.

Again the book can be found in the second category. Do I have a preference? As long as the story triggers me, I don't care.

This story is about the things people do to achieve their goals. What if they hurt others in the process? They consider this collateral damage and not really caring at all.

Maybe a bit too slow paced in the beginning for me, but an interesting story nonetheless. 4 stars

Thank you

Lies and secrets, Lorraine is on a mission to avoid them getting out into the world, ruining everything that has been built.

'The past did not die. It simply reinvented itself in the telling'.

Synopsis
When Lorraine's 'love guru' husband dies in a car accident, she discovers that he was not alone - a young woman was with him. Did this man who preached about honesty and trust lie to Lorraine? Was he having an affair? What was his secret?

As Lorraine works to keep this press at bay, she works to re-open the marriage retreat. At the same time, she is keeping a close eye on this mystery girl, she had lost her memories from the car crash - but what if she remembers and destroys everything Lorraine has built. Lorraine finds out her husband's secrets, and this mystery woman is a part of it, one that could shatter everything.

Thoughts
A little bit different to my usual thrillers, as it's more of a 'domestic' type one, but I enjoyed the secrets and the POV of the mystery girl when she was in a coma/unable to remember her lost memories.

It did take me a little bit of time to get into the plot as it was quite slow moving at the start - but found myself wanting to know more about the lies and secrets, and where it all would lead.

'More than ever, she was convinced that the real story behind Serenity Falls was shrouded with mystery, and she had barely scratched the surface'.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this copy. This review is voluntary.

I didn’t really enjoy this one. I didn’t really get the thriller vibes I wanted. I felt like I didn’t really care for the story.

I had a hard time wanting to get into this book with the way it started but stuck with it. I liked parts of the storyline but found TV parts of it confusing. I found parts of the story fairly disturbing but was fascinated with the look into how a person can justify any decisions if they try hard enough. I found the main character, Lorraine, hard to relate to but loved the other main character and she was truly the part that got me through the book.