The Retreat

The Retreat follows Max who has travelled to rural France to attend a meditation retreat following some struggles with mental health. Once he arrives he finds things not as expected with a strange and disturbing Teacher in charge.

This book is a thriller with a touch of horror with potential triggers for mental health.

I didn’t find the main character, who’s point of view we follow, particularly sympathetic as he oscillates between calling the other retreat participants his family, despite barely any interaction with them, and then despising and mistrusting them.

The first few chapters use the word I more than any book I’ve ever read. Thankfully this eases off as the book continues and the writing becomes a bit easier to read.

I found the whole book quite disjointed although this could be simply as Max our narrator has a disjointed way of thinking. However I did find it quite a clunky read.

Overall I enjoyed the general plot and the book was a nice quick read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book.

The Retreat by Benjamin Compson was an engrossing mystery that will keep any reader on the edge of their seat from start to finish.
Compson’s writing sucked me in. The author's gripping plot that immediately grabbed my attention and kept me engaged throughout.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and The Book Guild for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

3.5 stars

Max decides to attend a remote meditation retreat in hopes of regaining some peace after a rough couple of months. The idyllic setting in the French countryside seems like the perfect place to make a fresh start. That is, until Max meets the staff, who seem unsettling. Then he meets the Teacher, who is even more intense. As things seem more and more shady, Max seems to be the only one concerned. Is it all in his head? Or is something more sinister going on?

The premise of the book is very promising, and it hops right into the action. The book was also a pretty easy, quick read, I think I finished it in three days or so, sailing through the story, which kept my interest to the very end. Max was an interesting character because it wasn’t clear how reliable of a narrator he was. So throughout the book, you’re trying to decide what’s in his head and what isn’t.

And, OH THAT END! Phew! It’s very good!

But I think the writing could use some more editing. It could be a bit repetitive at times, and there were a lot of exclamation points! Like everywhere! It was a little distracting! I think you get my point.

But for a first impression, the author did fairly well. I’d read another from them. And I’d also recommend this one. It’s a nice, if slightly creepy, foray into the French countryside.

Firstly I would like to thank netgalley and the book guild and the author Benjamin Compson for an early copy of his book.

This is a first time read from this author,Max and a friend go to a retreat,the retreat is quite strange the teacher was not what everyone is expecting from a retreat...who is this person? And this retreat has a strange vibe..there is abit of a twist near the end...my thoughts an okay read and a short book...could of been alot better...

“The Buddha taught us that desire is like licking honey from a knife. It appears that it will bring pleasure, but underneath there is only pain. You cannot have one without the other.”

I would call The Retreat a thriller tinged with horror – it reminded me at times of The Wicker Man.  The story follows Max, who after suffering burnout, goes on a yoga retreat to relax. 

What at first seems the idyllic getaway soon gives way to feelings of concern and fear. Something doesn’t feel right. There are strange noises in the woods, guards to enforce a curfew, and staff who are all beyond bizarre. 
 
Sounds like the perfect place to relax 😬
 
Written in the first person, it gives you insight into the thoughts and feelings of the MC, in addition to the story of what happened.  His inner monologues further often add confusion, rather than clarity, that fits the book well. 

My only slight gripe is I found Max a little petulant at times; his behaviour seemed at odds with someone who would attend a yoga retreat. He didn’t seem open to the experience, instead questioning everything through a lens of suspicion.  To be fair, that isn’t helped by Lucille, the gaslighting mental health nurse, or the Teacher – who uses his beliefs to justify his actions, even when the two don’t align. 
 
This was a fun and fairly quick read; I’m not sure how I feel about the ending – but it is in keeping with the theme. I won’t say more as I don’t want to ruin it for anyone.
 
A huge thanks to Troubador Publishing and NetGalley for the review copy of this book for review consideration.  All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

This had a gripping storyline throughout and it kept me entertained from beginning to end. The dialogue was far fetched and pressured in several places (what felt like premature confessions of loving and caring for people). It got really odd about 75% of the way through but like I said, it kept me interested. Overall a fast read!

The Retreat started out with a lot of promise and a rock-solid premise. Heartbreak, mental health, rural retreat in France, weird noises in the woods, and even weirder staff sounds like my kind of book.

Max is struggling with mental health, he just went through a tough break-up, and he decides that a secluded meditation retreat is the perfect place for him to recharge, relax, and find himself again, of course things don't go as planned. The Teacher is in your face intense and the entire staff seems off, there's a curfew but nobody will explain why, and Max seems to be the only one concerned.

Compson held my attention throughout and I really enjoyed the story. The Retreat is a fun and easy read that I enjoyed from start to finish! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A captivating thriller that unfolds at a yoga retreat. I absolutely loved that setting. This kept me guessing at every crazy turn. Excellent unpredictable and explosive twists.

This book truly took me on a ride I didn't know I was going to go on. This book definitely reminded me of Midsommar. Yoga retreats were never something I wanted to go on, but especially not now. It was a very unpredictable read.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

This story was a really engrossing mystery that keeps the reader guessing a hooked from start to finish -
such a gripping plot. Great thriller

Thank you Netgalley and The Book Guild for this ARC of ‘The Retreat’ by Benjamin Compson.

Oh I really desperately wanted to like this more than I did. I will be completely honest and say I was close to not finishing this however the fact it was fast paced gave me the push. I just found this story to have quite a lot of rambling inner dialogue. It felt too much at times. Also there was too many exclamation points. Sorry I had to say it!

Max is emotionally worn out and decides to participate in a weeklong meditation retreat in the French countryside to heal and relax. Things there are strange and suspicious from the start and quickly spiral into very dark and sinister shenanigans.
This was a fast read with many inconsistencies and even more exclamation marks. It was really really annoying. The beginning featured an insane amount of exclamation marks, which didn't help to take the story seriously. Please do edit those out. Please. They distract.
Additionally, the writing style felt very juvenile and immature.
Max therefore also felt quite immature as a character and a lot younger than he was supposed to be.
The Teacher raised red flags left and right and felt unqualified to lead such a retreat from the first sentences he utters. Why the participants all chose to stay and go on with this is beyond me.
Yet, The Retreat was a quick and easy read and the very twisty ending (together with the decreasing amount of exclamation marks after the halfway mark) redeemed it a lot.

Thank you, NetGalley and The Book Guild for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Even though I couldn’t stand the protagonist, the author presents a great story with plenty of momentum to keep you engaged. The treatment of mental health issues is interesting, especially when seeing them from the first person perspective, and perhaps shows how such matters can be very dependent on the perception of the people involved. I thought the ending was amazing!

I thoroughly enjoyed The Retreat! From the first chapter, I was intrigued and the more I found out this mysterious yoga retreat Max attends in France, the more curious I became. The dialogue was a bit cheesy, and there was way too much use of an exclamation point, but I was gripped from beginning to end.