What could go wrong at a wellness retreat at a Spanish villa? Turns out, a lot!
Eva and Jose are realizing their dream of hosting wellness retreats and invite a small group of guests to try it out before everyone else. Soon, things start to go wrong and the mishaps become more and more dangerous.

I enjoyed the premise and the setting was a great change from the usual closed door hotel mystery. There were a lot of coincidences, but those could be overlooked. However, the amount of ruminating the characters did about what was happening and why was too much for me. I would have preferred additional view points to break it up.

I was not able to finish the book and therefore do not feel that I can give an unbiased review about the book, its plot, characters, or the author's work. I might revisit this book at a later time and finish it then, but not right now.

A quick read - a couple inherits a home and create a bed and breakfast. I enjoyed the closed door trope - who has the connection. Lots of behind the scenes goings-on. I liked it.

#TheRetreat #NetGalley
We meet José and Eva in this story. They have created the most wonderful holiday retreat in the Andalucian mountains in Southern Spain.
A home that used to belong his grandparents.
This has been a labour of love for both of them and finally it is ready to accept guests and they couldn't be happier.
Deciding to have a trial run, they both decide to accept just six guests to their retreat offering them a discount. They'd like feedback on what they have created.
When they notice that Carlos, a cousin of José who has been estranged through a family feud going back over the years, has signed up for the retreat, they can't help wondering what his motives are for wanting to take part.
Another person to sign up for the retreat is an old friend of Eva's, Saskia. Eva feels their friendship ended with one leaving down the other quite badly so she is baffled as to why her former friend would want sign up to their retreat and reconnect.
But they want to think positively and so they welcome all their guests to their retreat and delight in showing them what they have to offer.
When a series of mishaps happen with no explanation, José and Eva begin to wonder is someone trying to sabotage their beautiful dreams.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me an advance copy.

Everyone has a secret in this fast paced, high energy, whodunit. Jose and Eva worked hard to turn their home into a relaxing get away and decide to invite six lucky winners the opportunity to visit prior to the grand opening. Tensions rise immediately when included in The Retreat’s first visitors are Jose’s estranged cousin and Eva’s ex-best friend. While already on edge, weird things keep happening and they get harder and harder to explain away as accidents. Is it just bad luck? Is someone sabotaging the business? In a cast of characters who all have something to hide, you will need to read to the end to find out and I recommend you do.

The ending of this book was very disappointing. The dialogue between the characters was blah, I thought it could have been better. I liked it but I couldnt say I loved it.

She has longed for the life she now has and will stop at absolutely nothing to keep it. I was terrified of how far she was willing to go.

Loved this book!

It was perfectly paced! It didn’t have too much going on at once, it gave away a little at a time. It was atmospheric and thrilling!

The authors description of the villa had me wanting to join the retreat! It sounded absolutely beautiful. I really enjoyed all of the characters and their personalities. It really could have been ANY of them. They all had secrets and reasons to want to take Jose and Eva down. It truly kept me guessing until the end!

What a great read. Super entertaining and thrilling! Definitely recommend this read!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for sharing the ARC!

Eva and her partner José have invested their savings to transform his grandparents' family home into a vacation haven. The narrative unfolds as they welcome their inaugural guest for a trial run before the official summer season kick-off. Little do they know that some of these guests harbor grudges against them.

Set against a picturesque backdrop with likable main characters, the initial promise of this story intrigued me, especially as a fan of revenge tales. However, it falls slightly short of expectations. While the thriller aspect is introduced early with a body in the swimming pool, the suspenseful events are deferred until the final fifty pages. Throughout the majority of the book, the atmosphere resembles a soap opera, laden with secrets and lies that manifest more as pranks than perilous threats. Despite the plausible motive for business destruction, the sense of imminent danger was lacking.

The book does redeem itself towards the end, delivering the promised suspense and plot twists, though, for me, it came a bit too late. This is a narrative best enjoyed by readers who relish character-driven dramas, viewing it more as a soap opera than a thriller. Those seeking a character-centric drama with surprising twists at the conclusion might agree on it deserving of a four-star rating.

This book took me longer to read because I have experienced what Bianca has experienced and any time it was mentioned I needed to take a mental break before continuing. I considered not finishing just because of this trigger, but I was enjoying the story otherwise so I just took some breaks and kept going when I was ready.

I’m glad I decided to continue on because the story was good. It was a slow burn and the first 70% just slowly sets up everything and the majority of the “action” happens at the end. I definitely fell for the red herrings and didn’t see the ending pieces falling the way they fell.

This suspenseful thriller weaves a tale of betrayal, guilt, and the haunting past that resurfaces to threaten a seemingly idyllic life. The story unfolds in the tranquil setting of a Spanish farmhouse turned retreat, where the protagonist, with a carefully guarded secret, faces the sudden reappearance of an old friend, Saskia.

As the sunlight dances on the turquoise pool, the protagonist's initial joy turns to icy fear when confronted by the familiar face. The narrative skillfully delves into the complexities of the protagonist's relationships, unraveling the past betrayal by Saskia. The idyllic life in Spain, built with a new love, José, seems perfect, but the protagonist harbors a dark secret that could shatter it all.

The tension escalates as mysterious occurrences, like a stained water fountain and a revealing note, hint at a threat looming over the protagonist. The fear intensifies, knowing that someone at the retreat is aware of the buried truth and seeks revenge.

This is a riveting exploration of how past actions can cast long shadows over a seemingly perfect life. The protagonist's struggle to protect their newfound happiness adds depth to the story, creating a compelling psychological thriller that leaves readers guessing until the final revelation. If you enjoy tales of secrets, suspense, and the unraveling of hidden truths, this novel is a must-read, showcasing the author's ability to craft a gripping and atmospheric thriller.

I did not finish this book. I could not get into it and the writing felt very robotic. It wont let me choose "I will not be giving feedback on this title"

An easy read, and a good page turner! I was definitely into it as it is set in Spain (where I’m from) and there’s some descriptions and feelings that are home to me which is nice.

The plot is itself is quite a good one and could have been exploited better. Some of the things that happens are a little far fetched and the story goes at a very slow pace which can be a little annoying. Except from that, I think it is an alright thriller that one might like to read while on holiday.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for letting me read an advanced copy.

This was a bit of a disappointment. Normally I love a crime thriller as much as the next person but something about this was a little boring. I don’t know if I just didn't pick it up as often as I needed, as I read it in lots of little chunks rather than big sittings. It just felt a bit silly at times. Having said that, if someone needed an easy to read book for busy stressful times, this would fit the bill

INTRIGUING mystery about the apparent attempt to sabotage Jose & Eva,s' dream venture of a lifetime. Totally enjoyed & RECOMMEND fully. Thanks to NetGalley & Bookouture for this ARC in return for my honest review.

After coming upon this book on NetGalley, I was very intrigued by the suspenseful plot and thought that this would be a fun and short thriller to get into in between my other books. Sadly, this book was just not for me. I really loved the atmospheric vibe to this book and how it was set in a Spanish villa along the beautiful countryside and mountains, but that was pretty much the only aspect that I liked about the book.

I’m usually not a fan of slow-burn thrillers and I just thought that this book was very slow paced and lacked any sort of shocking twists. I thought some of the book was very predictable at times, and it tried too hard at times to get the readers to look in other directions of who the culprit might be. I thought that some of the dialogue was very awkward and unnatural, and I just couldn’t connect with these characters at all.

Overall, I thought the reveal at the end was okay, definitely not shocking but I was for sure surprised, and I just thought the ending was a little rushed. Again, I did love that this book was set in another country and how atmospheric it was, but unfortunately I just could not get into the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent read, I loved the characters and the storyline which had an underlying sense of dread running through it. And the location setting was beautifully written and descriptive, so much so that you could picture yourself there.

The launch of their Spanish retreat is finally underway, and Eva and José are determined to make it an absolute success. They’ve put so much time and money into renovating the crumbling villa into a wellness getaway, but will it be enough to impress their guests? They hope so, and it seems their guests do as well. So then why does it seem like one of them wants to sabotage Eva’s and José’s hard work?

Because soon after their guests’ arrival, strange “accidents” start happening. Little things that could be brushed off as mistakes, but as they begin piling up, neither Eva or José can shake the feeling that their strokes of misfortune are anything but coincidental. One of their guests has come for some sort of revenge, but neither Eva or José are willing to point fingers. Not when they both have secrets that would not only destroy their business, but their entire lives…
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This one was a bit of a bummer. It wasn’t very suspenseful—it was more like an intense drama. The person behind it became too obvious early on, and the motives behind all the secrets and revenge were really underwhelming. Also wasn’t a fan of how the ending was so picture-perfect. I don’t know, I guess I just prefer messier, darker thrillers with more complex plots. If that’s what you’d prefer too then i’d recommend skipping this.

I was looking forward to this after reading a really good book by Karen before, unfortunately for me nothing really stood out about it. I feel like I’ve read so many versions of the whole retreat/holiday story recently they all feel so similar.
It was really slow to get going and just felt like it was lining up the suspects for most of it rather than anything really happening.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this arc.

Told from alternating characters perspectives the premise of this book is good. I enjoyed the setting of the book and overall thought it was a good mystery.