This is Asha Elias at the top of her game. I devoured this biting, hilarious novel in two or three sittings. It's not just a fun mystery; it effectively satirizes the scary and regressive undercurrent in the wellness industry. In short: I came for the drama, but stayed for the perineum sunning.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Marrow for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Another sassy satire from Elias, say no more! I absolutely LOVED Pink Glass Houses so I was thrilled to receive this ARC. Rich people behaving badly is one of my favorite tropes and nobody does South Florida justice like Elias. The Namaste Club is thrilling, sexy, laugh-out-loud funny and boasts a cast of characters that you can’t decide to love or loathe.

Elias masterfully weaves together a colorful cast of Miami’s elite to tell the story about what happened at the Namaste Club, a lavish yoga retreat for reflection and redemption, during Transcendence Week. Over-the-top in the best way possible, we follow the hilariously superficial journey of two mom friends that found themselves trauma bonded and recently divorced, an extremist local mom and self-proclaimed trad wife who got herself into a sticky situation, a billionaire’s daughter taking a vow of silence, the “token man” looking to further his journey as an apprentice, and their fearless and charismatic yogi leader. All come to the retreat with their own baggage and stamp of self-deception.

The Namaste Club vividly deconstructs the absurdities of modern wellness culture, and gives a peek behind the curtain of what really goes on at these luxe retreats. The plot is well balanced and flows with no shortage of cat fights, secrets, thrills, and murder… oh and daily “hikes” and downward dogs. A page turner from the jump, flowing from how each of the attendees found themselves making the trek to the retreat on their own journeys of release, relaxation, and redemption to their big aha moments of self-discovery, that may be just as simple as embracing their own flaws.

5/5!!!!

The Nameste Club is hilarious! I literally could not stop laughing at so many different parts of this story. The characters were everything, annoying, funny and a little odd. Sometimes you really do just need to read a silly not serious book and have a good time and imagine you are a character in the book.
This is a funny book I highly suggest for times you need a break from your usual reading preference and get out of that book slump.