The Namaste Club is a group of rich people at a yoga center, using mindfulness and yoga practices to become their best selves. But... the people on the retreat are probably not there for the right reasons. All the women are typically lost in their own world, hyper aware of appearances, and judging the "enlightenment" of others.

Overall, the narration was good and I think this is a good book for anyone interested in rich people being absolutely absurd. However. I don't think it really suited me specifically.

Part of me loved and related to this book. I have been on my own healing journey and exploring yoga, meditation, breathwork, etc so I was intrigued by Shakti’s character and Barbara as they were doing the most spiritual work. Also having been on fitness retreats it was interesting to hear and experience each character’s perspective. I even started feeling empathetic towards CA, a character who I did not connect with at all towards the beginning. I would recommend this for a light read, a wonderful story to experience on a summer day looking up at the clouds.

BOOK✶REVIEW
#ad much love for my advance copy @williammorrowbooks + @asha.sue.elias #partner
& @harperaudio #partner for the ALC

🆃🅷🅴 🅽🅰🅼🅰🆂🆃🅴 🅲🅻🆄🅱
< @asha.sue.elias >
ᴀᴠᴀɪʟᴀʙʟᴇ ɴᴏᴡ

🫣 So the pub day changed and instead of an early review this is now a LATE review - but good news! Because you can run and get a copy today!

“‘It was terrifying, really, how someone could look so relatively normal on the outside but possess such crazy dark personality traits on the inside,’” (p. 150).

“It's so easy to make yourself invisible. When people think that you aren't listening to them, they'll forget you can still hear what they are talking about. Then they'll say all kinds of things as though you aren't even there,” (p. 158).

Welcome to the Namaste Club yoga retreat. It’s bound to be a week you won’t forget. Drop the fakeness and pick up the vodka because any good retreat isn’t really a retreat without the booze, drama, and people dying. Also, don’t forget about Bubba - the resident alligator. He knows where to hide the bodies.

Memorable:
Moon Cycles 😂
Nama-slay
Jennifer 😂😂🤦🏼‍♀️
Bubba

I first discovered this author last year and it’s been a love affair ever since. This book is seriously perfection! Short chapters, characters you just love - mostly, and a plot that keeps you hooked and entertained throughout.

This book has it all! You’ll laugh, be intrigued wondering who the kiIIer is, and flipping the pages late into the night. What is better than a yoga retreat? A yoga retreat that comes with an 800 lb friendly alligator 🐊 who is more than willing to help you hide the body.

The Namaste Club by Asha Elias is a must read for thriller lovers. I had so much fun reading it. And know you will too.

The story alternates between the characters’ POV: Jessica, Martina, Shakti, Indira, Carol Ann. It also alternates leading up to the retreat, during the retreat, and after the retreat. It’s a ride!

🎧 Also listened to the audio and it was perfect also. The multiple narrators for the different characters made this audio! An entertaining listen.

#NamasteClub #williammorrow

🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Namaste Club 1 Asha Elias

Y’all already know rich people behaving badly is one of my favorite tropes—and The Namaste Club delivers it with a side of satire and a splash of spicy margarita energy. Asha Elias, who gave us Pink Glass House (one of my favorite debuts last year), is back with another sharp, hilarious, and sun-drenched takedown—this time of the wellness industrial complex.

Set at a luxe Florida yoga retreat filled with influencer vibes, questionable enlightenment, and an actual alligator named Bubba (yes, really), the story follows a group of wealthy, chaotic women trying to “transcend” their issues. Instead, secrets unravel, alliances shift, and the gator isn’t the only thing with bite.

Special shoutout to Carol Anne—possibly one of the most awful characters I’ve read in a long time. And that’s saying something.

If you like your beach reads messy, funny, and full of drama, this one’s for you. I did the audio of this one and really appreciated the great production quality.

I knew this book would be a wild ride after that first line! This book caught me in from the beginning and I can only describe it as unhinged from the start. A bunch of bougie, self absorbed yogis go on a yoga retreat in Florida except there’s some secrets, sinful behavior, and a hungry alligator waiting for a treat.

The audio was fantastic with a team of narrators! I loved listening to this book. The time jumping, multiple POVs, and different characters made it a fun listen.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook!

I really wanted to like this book, but the characters were just too odd for me The narration was good.

This book was wild! I like the imagery and the quirkiness of the characters. I could really see it all playing out in my head. It was a little over the top but in the best way!

When a book starts with "Florida man partially eaten by alligator at luxury yoga retreat" you know you're in for a fun time!

A variety of characters (and personalities) attend a yoga retreat. What ensues is madness rather than wellness.
This book is light on substance but full of humor/satire regarding the wellness industry, Florida society, and politics.

I listened to the audiobook, and it was easy to keep all the characters straight due to multiple narrators.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Just inland from Florida’s glam Treasure Coast, The Namaste Club is where yoga, chaos, and satire collide—and I devoured every sun-soaked, snark-filled page! Wealthy divorcees, a silent heiress, a tradwife on the run, a hunky yoga bro, and yes—a resident alligator named Bubba. What could go wrong during Transcendence Week? (Spoiler: a lot. And it’s hilarious.)
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Sharp, outrageous, and wickedly fun, this book is like a spicy margarita with a twist of murder. Perfect for fans of dark humor and social satire.
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Big thanks to @williammorrowbooks and @harperaudio for the ARC & ALC!

Last year I raved about this author’s debut, Pink Glass Houses, and now she’s back with just as juicy and captivating of a story about Miami’s elite on a lavish yoga retreat!

It’s told from multiple POVs, which intricately comes together to tell the full story of what exactly happened on this retreat, all leading to the death of one of the retreat members. This is a cast of messy female characters that you can’t decide whether to love or hate, but each has an important message for the reader. We get to know an extremist-trad wife mom, a yogi desperate to escape her past, business partner moms with a scandal on their hands, and several other colorful characters that deliciously adds to this eclectic cast.

I love a book that can bring social and cultural issues to the forefront in such a creative manner and Elias knows how to do just that. Not only is she able to do so with each individual character but also while dissecting health & wellness culture and what it means to be on a journey of self discovery. This is a delicious, juicy, and unputdownable read. It’s laugh out loud satire perfectly balanced with jaw dropping drama. The audiobook was a must and I binged this in practically one sitting. While singularly narrated, she differentiated each character expertly!
I’m such a sucker for books where you get to be a fly on the wall of the wealthy behaving badly. So, if you also loved her previous book, or enjoyed The White Lotus, 9 Perfect Strangers, The Real Housewives, or Pineapple Street, then make this your next bingey beach read!

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ★★★★★ 𝟓
𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭: I loved it!
Thank you @harperaudio @williammorrowbooks @netgalley for my #gifted ALC!

The Namaste Club follows a motley crew of characters who come together for Transcendence Week at the Namaste Club. There are divorcee best friends Indira and Jessica, conservative gun-toter Carol Anne, Barbara, who’s chosen to take a vow of silence during the retreat, and Daniel, the hot yoga teacher in training. They are led by their young, blonde yoga instructor with a fake Indian accent, Shakti. They share the resort with a twelve-foot alligator named Bubba. By the end of the week, one of the attendees ends up dead in Bubba’s jaws.

One of the blurbs for this book said that it’s White Lotus meets Nine Perfect Strangers and as fans of both, I have to agree. It’s got a serious murder mystery plot line that is interspersed with moments of hilarity. It wasn’t so funny as to be madcap, which I appreciated. I’m not a fan of screwball humor.

Like Nine Perfect Strangers, we know up front who was killed. Then the story goes back to the beginning of the week and goes from there, tracing what led up to the person’s death. It was well-plotted and took some surprising turns towards the end.

This is Asha Elias’s second book. Her first, Pink Glass Houses, is a satire about PTA moms. I’m definitely reading that soon. I think she may be the next Liane Moriarty!

LOVE the full cast!!! I think the audiobook is the way to go on this novel, as it captures each character's personality.

The Namaste Club was a fun and engaging listen—perfect for summer! I enjoyed the humor and realism of the characters, and the story had just enough depth to keep me invested while still feeling light and entertaining. It even made me look forward to doing my household chores, which is when I usually listen to audiobooks.

What truly set this audiobook apart was the full cast performance. Each narrator brought something unique to the table, and together they elevated the story to a whole new level. I listen to a lot of audiobooks, and this is hands down one of the best performances I’ve heard.

Story: 4/5
Performance: 5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book could have been fun — the setting was quirky, the multi-POV format gave it some good momentum, and there were moments that made me smirk. But ultimately, it just didn’t land for me.

The biggest issue? The politics. They were way too on-the-nose and pulled me out of the story every time. What could have been a light, entertaining retreat-gone-wrong story turned into something that felt like it had an agenda, and not in a subtle way.

While some characters had promise (Barbara’s vow of silence was amusing, and Daniel had his moments), I never really connected with anyone. It felt like caricatures instead of people.

Honestly, I wouldn’t listen to this again. It had all the ingredients for a good time — drama, satire, an alligator….. but the execution just missed the mark.

What a wild, hilarious, and totally addictive book! The Namaste Club was such a fun listenI! If you love the genre of rich people doing bad things, then this is an absolute perfection! Think Emma Rosenblum meets the White Lotus Thailand girls trip group.

The cast of characters is incredibly horrible and not at all zen. I was especially obsessed with the MAGA trad mom and her chaotic brand of drama had me dying. The frenemy besties who work together gave off serious passive-aggressive energy, and the mysterious yoga instructor had you wondering what her secret was. Plus an older practitioner who’s taken a vow of silence, a hot-if-you-like-man-buns teaching assistant, and a pair of lesbian caretakers and a alligator running the camp, and you’ve got one juicy, sweaty mess of a story that I was obsessed with.

This audiobook was awesome and the narrators made it the perfect summer escape. Twists, secrets, self obsessed people in activewear… what could be better to listen to on the beach!

I was initially really drawn into this by the way the author developed each of the characters and their relationships together one by one. I thought it was perfectly set up but began to lose interest as the yoga retreat went on. I did find the characters compelling but found the plot a bit muddled and confusing at times. I did think things came together in the end but the ending couldn't quite save the book for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Yup so if Asha Elias writes it, safe to say I’ll read it!

Pink Glass Houses was a favorite of mine in 2024 so I was very excited to dive into The Namaste Club. I listened to this book on audio and admittedly it took a bit for most of the narrators to grow on me. Ultimately, the audio played out well for me and even the despicable characters really grew on me (in their own ways!).

When the novel shifted to the remote retreat and included a murder I had a sinking feeling that this book was going to devolve into a locked room mystery which is so not my speed. And maybe some readers will categorize it that way but it read so differently for me. The book was more about the growth and evolution of the characters and their relationships and the murder was almost an afterthought. I just loved the journey to getting there and figuring out what ultimately happened!

This book was humorous, occasionally shocking, and oh so fun. I do recommend the audio though again, some narrators were much better than others (I did appreciate the full cast!).

Elias has done it again and I can’t wait to see what this creative mind comes out with next. Thank you to William Morrow and Harper Audio for the copy.

I found 'The Namaste Club' by Asha Elias to be hilarious satire. A cast of deeply flawed characters finds themselves on a yoga retreat in Florida, and Florida fun ensues. Readers should be prepared for the characters being the extreme of each of their tropes (again, it is satire), but these days, even the extremes don't seem too far out there. I appreciated Elias's ability to find humor in what could be a disheartening political climate.

Thank you to Asha Elias and Harper Audio for the ARC of 'The Namaste Club' in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the audio version of this book!

This is the game of Clue set at a yoga retreat. The characters in the story are extremely different with strong personalities and stereotypical. This book removed the humor that is found in Clue and swapped for spice. I found the female characters to be a vicious and catty. With a cast of characters up to around 10, it was sometimes hard to follow but the different voices were helpful.

This book was very mid for me. I’m a yoga instructor, been to many retreats and met wonderful people. I’m not sure what I thought the storyline was going to be, but this didn’t do much for me. I wanted to love it and it feel flat.

didn’t expect to reach nirvana via Namaste Club, but here I am—spiritually unwell and absolutely loving it. I devoured this book in a day because I was riveted. Every character is a walking red flag wrapped in yoga pants, but Carol Anne? Blessed, oppressed, and downright GOLD. She was so perfectly written I had to put a bookmark in and physically show people like, look at this insanity. Every character is spiritually toxic, and I was deeply aligned with the chaos.