Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC!

Plot: A group of wealthy and dysfunctional people women attend a wellness retreat to find happiness. We know from the prologue that someone is eaten by an alligator, but we don’t know anything about the circumstances. As the story unfolds, so does the drama.

Review: This is my second book by the author, and I loved it! I truly had a blast. I liked Pink Glass Houses a little more, but this had the same tone, smooth writing, and fun characters. Fans of the White Lotus would love this.

4.25⭐️

Laugh out loud funny, characters you'll love to hate, cleverly written and unique storyline... The Namaste Club was all this and more. All in the setting of my home state Florida! I couldn't put this down! This was one great book!!

First of all, Carol Anne might be the hardest to like character I have ever read. She was just awful in an over-the-top way and I spent much of my time rolling my eyes at her. The yoga retreat is an interesting backdrop - I've encountered "yoga girlies" who make it so much of their personality that it was refreshing to see a group of people who wanted to do yoga and get some rest and distance from their lives. The characters are all wonderfully three-dimensional and I was NOT expecting the ending. Highly recommend!

Another great thriller from the author of Pink Glass Houses!

The Namaste Club is a wellness retreat in Central Florida that caters to the wealthy.

Jessica and Indira are best friends who attend yoga classes in Miami with their teacher/guru, Shakti. Barbara, an heiress and Daniel- a bro turned Yogi-also attend these yoga classes. Carol Anne is a super conservative Floridian from Vero Beach who has had some difficulty lately due to her beliefs, and she decides to attend this retreat as a way of proving she is working to change her judgmental behavior.

As each member attends this retreat at the Namaste Club during what’s called Transcendence Week , they are confronted with aspects of themselves that need work. But they’re also forced to engage with each other regardless of their stance on religion, politics and lifestyle. But as secrets come to light, friendships are challenged and eventually when one member of the retreat is found dead, the peaceful yoga retreat ends up being anything but enlightening.

Thank you William Morrow and Netgalley for the ARC and Prhaudio for the ALC! I thoroughly enjoyed this book! If there’s one thing I love about summer reading, it’s thrillers featuring badly behaved wealthy people!

A satirical look at the world of wellness retreats with a mystery reminiscent of The White Lotus. With laugh out loud moments and a cast of unlikable characters, this is a great beach read.

Thank you to William Morrow for the gifted book!

I was so excited for this book after loving her debut, PINK GLASS HOUSES!

A lot of the elements/vibes are the same as her first. We still have crazy characters and over the top drama, but unfortunately this one was lacking on the plot aspect for me. I was waiting and waiting for something exciting to happen for most of the book and it never really came.

I feel like I knew each of the characters well enough by the end, but they were all so one-dimensional and the same several facts and characteristics were repeated about them each over and over. It became so repetitive at times that i was wondering if I was reading the same section twice.

Overall, I was disappointed in this one, but will still read what she writes next!

2.5 stars rounded up for GR.

The Namaste Club by Asha Elias (book cover is in image) is aptly described as White Lotus meets Nine Perfect Strangers. With its ridiculous tropes of some of affluent Arch-types in of both the left and right wings of the US political system, it had me laughing out loud throughout.

The full cast of narrator made this an enjoyable listen, giving each character an unique voice. I had access to the eARC and ALC and was easily able to transition between the book and audio.

Thank you, William Morrow, HarperAudio Adult | HarperAudio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the eARC and listen to the ALC. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: Jul 01 2025

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Last summer I loved this author’s debut, Pink Glass Houses. This summer, The Namaste Club gave the same perfect vibes, just in a different location. Elias’ writing style is very “Real Housewives” which I prefer to a lot of other summer releases which skew toward romance.

Genre bender! Mystery, satire, beach read.
If you like hilariously unlikeable characters, this one’s for you. I would recommend the audio to get the full cast narration.

Like PINK GLASS HOUSES pokes fun at Miami PTA moms, this one jabs at all the different characterizations you get in Floridians.

This was a fun summer read

Asha Elias's The Namaste Club is a hilarious and suspenseful ride set at a luxury yoga retreat in Florida, where a diverse group of wealthy, eccentric women gather for "Transcendence Week." Their quest for wellness quickly devolves into chaos and dark humor when one of the attendees ends up in the jaws of the retreat's resident alligator, Bubba, forcing the others to confront their secrets and the true nature of their "enlightenment." This satire of the wellness industry and Florida's elite offers a deliciously fun and suspenseful escape perfect for a beach read.

📚: The Namaste Club by Asha Elias
⭐️: 3.5/5 (rounding down on #goodreads)

The Namaste Club, located in Florida's Treasure Coast, is home to yoga retreats, meditation practice, and (apparently) death. When a group of 5 yogis arrive for Transcendence Week with their yoga instructor, they all expect a week of self-discovery - but not all of them end the week transcended in the way they hoped.

This was a quick read that could be classified as a beach read -- it has a dose of suspense, a couple small twists, and a cast of insane characters. An overall average score for the plot and writing staying pretty surface level. It was a fun read, but it wasn't one I got a ton out of.

Thanks to William Morrow via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Namaste Club is out now.

What I liked: A wacky satire of wealthy Miami women making bad decisions while at a week long luxury yoga retreat.

What I disliked: Bubba the alligator did not need to die!

This story was an over-the-top Florida satire with several clichéd characters: the handsy male yoga instructor trying to sleep with all his students, the wealthy woman looking for enlightenment, the religious republican judging all around her. The synopsis of the book sounded fun but it was all just a bit much.

Several people attend a weeklong yoga retreat, hoping for a reset and some relaxation. Instead we have drama, hookups, random killings of animals, and opposing political views. None of the characters were really written to be appealing, more just to create conflict.

I did enjoy the way everything was wrapped up, with karma coming for those who most deserved it.

Thank you so much to William Morrow for the gifted book!

Asha Elias is becoming a favorite for Liane Moriarty style, atmospheric, fun, stylish fiction. This one pokes at Florida through Elias's insider point of view, and has a wildly interesting cast of characters and a story leading up to a very satisfying culmination and ending. The setting of a yoga retreat and drama between the characters lends itself to a lot of potential for tension and plot. This has a lot of similar vibes to the author's debut, and I don't think readers who liked the first one will be disappointed in this.

A yoga retreat is planned for a quiet area around Melbourne, Florida and a group of women plan on going.

Jessica and Indira have been good friends for a long time. Both are divorced. Indira’s husband became quite wealthy during their marriage, thus she is rich. In addition, she has her own jewelry business which is doing quite well. Jessica’s husband did not leave her well off so with two children to care for, she needs a job and Indira has her working with her on her business as the marketing manager of the jewelry business. Both women go to yoga often so when Indira insists that both go to the retreat, Jessica reluctantly agrees.

Carol Ann is a successful realtor in Miami. She recently caused a stir at her children’s school when she called out some woke people that has now embarrassed her husband He reads about the yoga retreat and insists that it would be good for her to go away for awhile. So, she agrees.

Barbara is deeply feeling the vibe of the retreat and has strong feelings about it all. So, to enhance her stay, she has decided to take a vow of silence for the week.

Shakti is a young woman who has taken over leading the yoga classes and will be the leader at the retreat. With her, she brings Daniel a young man who wants to be a yoga leader and decides to attend the retreat as well.

I really liked this author’s book “Pink Glass Houses” so I was eager to read this book. First of all, I am not into yoga and the more I read about it here, it simply reinforced my non-interest in it. The characters are weak minded and when we got to the blatant anti-MAGA political dialogue, I realized that I had been sold a farce of a book. First of all and rule number one that I think all authors need to learn is that when you defiantly put your political views front and center in a book you write, realize that you are potentially turning off a lot of readers. They will remember this and avoid reading your books in the future. So, no thanks to this book.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was so excited for this as I’d just read Oink Glass Houses (must read)

This book definitely kept me entertained! It starts with a murder at a fancy yoga/meditation retreat run by a wellness influencer and her apprentice. Four very different guests gather—each with their own quirks, judgments, and personal baggage—and things start to unravel.

It’s a mix of mystery and messy people with strong opinions, which was both interesting and annoying at times (the characters, not the story… okay, maybe both). But I flew through it. Some twists surprised me, others felt a little out there, and there were moments that dragged a bit, but I stayed curious the whole time.

It’s fast-paced, offbeat, and definitely has something to say about ego, wellness culture, and how people see each other. If you’re into twisty character-driven stories with a side of drama, this one’s worth a look.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun read about what happens at a yoga retreat at a Florida wellness center. There was a good mix of Florida sterotypes, real emotions, and drama. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was thankful for an advanced copy through William Morrow.

The premise is that a dead body shows up at the yoga retreat. The story is told from several women's perspective. Four of the women are participants in the yoga retreat, one is the yoga instructor, and one is the woman who lives and works at the wellness center, which used to be a kind of preserve. The story unfolds as you get to know the characters the week before the retreat and the week of the retreat. All the while, you meet the significant others, or some ex-husbands, and interesting wildlife that can only be found in Florida.

All in all this was a pretty campy book but I enjoyed the lead up to the climax of who killed Daniel.

I read this book with high hopes of liking the characters and caring about what was going on with them. But I was reading and did not enjoy much of this book.
I really did not need to read the political stuff in the book. There was too much for me to wade through and get to know the characters. I am sure that there are many readers who will adore this book but for me it just missed the spot.
Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the copy of The Namaste Club. This is my personal review.

Great book! The characters are complex but an interesting reflection of America today.

The book is set in middle Florida with the environmental challenges of wildlife and nature. This is a yoga retreat gone wrong. Friendships were tested, personal growth was encouraged and boundaries were stretched. With an ending that was not expected at all. Highly recommend for your beach bag this summer!!! Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Publishing for this advance copy.

The Namaste Club by Asha Elias was a hilarious, fun and entertaining read.
These group of ladies who keep you so engaged and laughing.
The writing that hooks you immediately.
And this phenomenal story that keeps hooked.
I ate this book up.