Relaxation...recovery...revenge...

When I saw other reviews were mixed and a couple DNF, I was surprised as Karen King has always been a winner for me with three out of four of her thrillers being 5 stars. But having trudged my way through this one, I can see why. It was quite drawn out and very much a slow burn. But the premise was intriguing so I stuck it out. OK, so it did get better but not till around 65% when things really started to pick up and by that stage I was flipping the pages at the speed of light. Before that, it was all yoga, breathing, nature walks and munching kale, olives and chia. Yeah, na.

Eva and Jose have spent the past two years renovating the villa he inherited from his grandmother after her death some five years before. Their dream was to open a wellness retreat...a place to relax, reflect and just unwind. Eva, who had her own baggage of secrets, was now a wellness coach practicing yoga, mindfulness and massage. Jose was a chef who grew his own vegetables and everything at this retreat came from what they grew themselves.

As an introductory special, they decide to offer six places at half price for a week's trial before opening to the public for summer. The bookings are snapped up right away and Eva is shocked to discover that her old college friend Saskia is among the guests. That wouldn't be so bad if Saskia didn't come with her own set of problems and the past she represented to Eva that she has tried so hard to put behind her. Saskia betrayed twice before...is she coming to do it again? Or is she just over thinking things?

Jose's cousin Carlos is also amongts the guests, whose families have been estranged since before they were born and no one revealing what the feud was about. But is Carlos jealous that their grandmother left the villa to him? Is that why he has come? To get his revenge for an inheritance he feels he should have also had a part in?

The remaining guests are two couples. One British - Nathan and Bianca. The other American - Sean and Adrienne. Both saw the opportunity for rest and relaxation under the sun. But are they all they appear to be?

Someone is out for revenge. But who? And who are they seeking revenge against? Eva and her secret past? Or Jose and his inheritance? Or is it something else altogether?

I had to shake my head at Eva who jumped up and down at Jose keeping secrets when she is doing the exact same thing! Pot...kettle...and all that. I didn't particularly like any of the characters, though Eva and Jose were kind of sweet. Most of the guests were pretty unlikeable. But then that's the nature of the beast.

There were plenty of twists and I liked the ending because comeuppance was had for the villain in the end, but it took a lot to get there. It wasn't King's best but it was still entertaining enough.

I would like to thank #KarenKing, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheRetreat in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

5 stars don't do this book justice, its easily a 5+ from me! This read is psychological fiction at its finest.

Eva is a woman escaping a troubled past, who is living out her dream by opening a wellbeing retreat in rural Spain with her Spanish partner, Jose. The couple offer a discounted price for a trial break to celebrate their opening, and to their surprise, both see a name from their past amongst the holiday makers! This realisation is met with some unease from both Eva and Jose, and unfortunately their fears are justified when things start to go wrong on the retreat, is this mere bad luck, or is someone sabotaging the retreat?!

This is one of those wonderful books where multiple motives are possible, casting suspicion over every guest with the delightful use of smoke and mirrors further adding to the intrigue. I won't say more for the risk of providing spoilers but I will absolutely say that this is a book that readers of this genre will utterly devour!

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

Eva and Jose are making their dreams come true by renovating an old Spanish farmhouse and opening a retreat. They plan a trial opening with a small number of guests, determined to impress them so the word spreads about the retreat. However, things immediately begin to go wrong and it seems like one of the guests is trying to ruin things. A brilliant, tense thriller that keeps you guessing until the end. Loved it!

DNF. Unfortunately, the dialogue in this book is far too stilted for me to continue. The premise is great, but this is not how real people speak to one another. I’m sure it’s a good book, but I can’t get past it.

Things don’t always go as planned!

Are you superstitious? With a Friday 13th publication date, King’s upcoming release will shatter all our preconceived notions about unlucky. Let this established author show you that good things (such as her addictive psychological thriller ‘The Retreat’) do indeed happen on this infamous date!

King writes to examine the impact of secrets and lies and in doing so, she brings us to question if some mishaps are actually plans that were doomed from the start.

Jose and Eva are on the cusp of realizing their dream - turning Jose’s grandparents’ home tucked away in the Andalucian mountains of Southern Spain into a wellness retreat. In an effort to tame pre-opening day jitters, they decide to offer an Easter trial run - a discount to the first six people to book. The result is an eclectic mix of past and present, strangers and friends with ulterior motives. El Sueño, meaning ‘the dream,’ will soon be the center of attention - and not the kind that Jose and Eva had in mind!

The story is built around secrets and the three R’s; relaxation, recovery, and revenge.

Readers are kept on their toes as they know that the foundation (of both the marriage, friendship, and business venture) will crumble when the secrets are set free. When we start to see ‘cracks’ appearing at this soft opening leading up to the big day, readers are hooked and pointing fingers as they follow the mysterious events, looking for answers. Added to this tension is the question of sabotage - is someone purposely sabotaging this dream? Why? Perhaps recovery isn’t all it’s cracked up to be!

King is masterful at misdirection and at creating a setting we’d all love to visit. Her love of Spain and Spanish cooking will pull you into this richly layered story and her well-plotted mystery will keep you entertained.

While there are some eye-raising moments, this is a captivating read that will ignite your inner sleuth.

Will Eva and Jose’s relationship survive the secrets? Who’s sabotaging their dream? You’ll need to pick up King’s upcoming release come October 13, 2023.

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

I hate to give bad feedback, because it takes guts to write a book and put it out there for the world to read. But unfortunately, this was not well written, repetitive, and just plain obvious. Although I did take the time to finish in case I was wrong, or I missed a good twist among the inexperienced writing. I wish I had a better review, but thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and truthfully give my opinion on this book.

The retreat is a fun whodunit book. Jose and Eva are test running their new wellness retreat by inviting 6 individuals to come and stay for half price. A crazy coincidence has them each not only knowing one of the lucky 6, but also each having a large fallout with them as well. Soon after the guests arrive, someone starts slowly sabotaging the retreat, ensuring it doesn’t go well. Everyone is a suspect and it’s soon revealed that Jose and Eva may know more of the guests than the originally thought.
This book kept me guessing. I was back and forth on who I thought the culprit was. This wasn’t an intense, gripping book and I did find myself bored during some parts. Overall this was a fun, casual read.

I really enjoyed the ending, the first part of the story is ok, but a bit drawn out before the excitement happens. Great location and the last part is really great. It kept you guessing.

José has inherited a house from his deceased grandmother and turns it into a retreat along with his girlfriend Eva. The first group of guests are arrived, but Eva is not excited about it. Her old college friend is arriving and she has a secret she doesn’t want to tell.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

The setting sounded perfect. A retreat in the countryside of Spain where people could go off the grid for a week to take in the scenic beauty, eat healthy, relax with massages and rejuvinate with yoga and other mindfull exercises. For José and Eva, opening up their very own Relaxation Retreat is a dream come true. They are just about ready but before a full grand opening, decide to do a soft launch and invite six people following them on social media to visit them at 50% off.

The spots sell out and the six guests arrive for the week. The guests include:

Saskia - Eva's former best friend. They have not had contact in many years after a falling out.
Carlos - José's cousin. They do not have a relationship as Carlos is the "black sheep" of the family due to his fathers side of the family being disowned.
Adrienne & Sean - Adrienna knows one of the owners from

It is definitely an interesting group which has gathered and does not take long for strange things to start happening around the villa.

The story really took on a "Clue" vibe for me. Lots of twists, accusations, lots of suspicions, no reason to trust anyone but not quite figuring out who was behind everything and why. I really enjoyed how the story was written and when I thought "oh yep, I know who did it" something would trigger me to think "hmm maybe not, it was this person I think" so I never really knew. I, just like the characters in the book, was also accusing everyone in my mind lol

It's a slower burn book but very well written and held my attention, I finished it over the course of two nights. If you want a good mystery book without a lot of blood and gore, this one is perfect. It was the first novel I read by Karen King but won't be my last!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the digital advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a slow burn. A little bit too slow for me. But I stuck with it as you try and work out what is going on and who did it and suspecting everybody.

Wonderful book and so well written. So many twists and turns. i read this book in a day - i could not put it down. I have ordered more of Karens books and i cant wait to read them. A gifted writer and i loved the descriptions of the weather, trees etc - it made me feel like i was in Spain.

truly brilliant book.

I would first like to thank Net Galley, Karen King, and Bookouture for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jose and Eva have made a dream retreat in the mountains in Spain - built from a dilapidated villa Jose inherited from his beloved grandparents. They invite a group of six at 50% off the cost as a trial run in exchange for sharing the retreat/villa on their social media.

Pretty much as soon as the guests arrive, things start going wrong. It's clear someone wants to sabotage the villa. Everyone seems shady at some point and both Jose and Eva have secrets.

This book was a slow burn, I enjoyed the morsels along the way but in my opinion the twist at the end wasn't enough of a reward.

Thanks to netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

When a couple opens a relaxing retreat for the first week they run a 50% off special to hopefully get some good clients booked. As the guest show up it become clear that they are not strangers at all. They all seemed to have a past with the owners. At first I enjoyed this book. The retreat in Spain was ideal. I loved hearing about how they fixed up his grandparents place. The story has a slow start and a lot of the “problems” are really juvenile. For example goats eats the food in the field or a heavy statue almost falling on someone’s head. I really had to suspend belief with this one. It felt a bit like a lifetime murder mystery. If you are looking for an intense thriller this might not be for you. If you want a light cozy read this will probably be your cup of tea.

I found this really entertaining and it kept me up whilst I was finishing it as I wanted to know who was behind it. There were enough twists and turns to keep me entertained, I did want to throttle some of the characters but that is half the fun of the read.

Looking forward to reading other books by this author

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and bookouture but the review is entirely my own.

This is a really good psychological thriller it has plenty of suspenseful twists and turns and the ending was unexpected. The characters were intriguing, the story itself was enjoyable and the style of writing was perfect. I have read many books by this author and have loved them all.. looking forward to the next one out. I would recommend this to anyone who likes reading this genre.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for a honest review.

A couple, Eva and Jose, restore an inherited family home into a relaxing retreat. Eva and Jose host a trial run at the retreat to work out any issues that may arise before they actually open full time. The couple wasn’t planning to host anyone they knew, but as it turns out, each guest is somehow connected to one of them. When things start going wrong, they think someone is sabotaging the retreat…but WHO?

I was really looking forward to this read, but it surprisingly fell flat for me. I felt like this book took forever for me to get through, there was a lot of unnecessary fluff and not much “suspense.” In the end, there was an unexpected twist; however, it was seemingly out of no where and didn’t fit the plot as well as it could have.

I do appreciate the opportunity to read this ARC—thank you NetGalley and Bookouture!!

The Retreat by Karen King will keep you gripped till the very end, with an unexpected twist. Kings writing is impeccable.
Every book I have read by this author has been intriguing with suspense.
Her books are always an excellent read! Karen's latest book was no different The Retreat was an excellent story with superb twists and turns from the beginning that made it a great page turner. The storyline and characters were excellent. Kept me up and turning pages way past my bedtime.
The suspense and plot was very well thought out with lots of twists and turns that ensure you won’t put the book down.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in return for my honest review.

Relaxation. Recovery. Revenge…

This is what I call a "popcorn book." Fun in the moment, but utterly forgettable at the end of the day.

I have read a few books from this author and never been disappointed, a great storyline that kept me on the edge of my seat with great characters The storyline was full of twists and turns and what a brilliant ending with so many culprits which I never guessed and my opinions kept changing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this exciting ARC which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC.
A couple organizes a small retreat for a handful of guests as a trial run before the grand opening of their hotel villa. Chaos ensues.
I loved the rustic Spanish countryside setting. The goats and Jose's vegetable garden really set the mood.
The pacing was perfect. The author did a great job strategically releasing backstory and moving the narrative along. The incidents escalating built tension which was echoed in the inner monologue of both MCs, each harbouring their own secrets.
The two POVs worked well and I liked that additional POVs were introduced at the very end of the book. Since there was only a handful of characters, we really got to know each of them. Everyone had a motive and I think they were all resolved very nicely at the end.
Loved all the twists at the end. There was a lot happening in the final quarter of this book.
Five stars - I recommend!