Unfortunately this one was not my cup of tea. A religious thriller was not something I could get into. Although the premier was good, I found the book lacking.

The book was described as a Christian thriller. In some way it is, in others not so much. On one side the author tries to teach forgiveness and living with the Holy Spirit, on the other side self-defense, knowing combat techniques and even revenge is praised and the group, although in dire danger, does a lot of useless things instead of asking God for help. The main character is depicted as unusually liberal, so ist the pastor, but his congregation is not.
The love story is an other ambiguous point. It's nice to see that our main characters loves him as he is with all his flaws, but shouldn't he first seek healing? It does not seem like a healthy relationship, considering that his main focus seems to be to teach self-defense, his mental health depends on her and he refuses to pray.
As for the thriller factor the moments that were really creepy were rare and tension wasn't built up continuously. We don't learn why the "man in the woods" is there, what's his goal, especially after we learn who he is. And nobody seems to care.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was not for me. It sounded like a thriller, but seemed to be written for teenagers with a Christian angle. Just not my type of book.

Not my cup of tea. The book had some potential, but definitely fell short. I am not sure the author knows what the book wants to be genre wise. I couldn't wait for the book to end.

A far fetched unbelievable tale, with many learning about life sprinkled all over. Which would have been great, except for the thriller-chosen style.

This novel feels as if it was written for teenagers, through its simplistic style and "dress to impress " way, meaning all the wannabe horrific scenes, with cutting and slashing, guns and weird noises, all in this huge creepy house on the beach. Sure, it could really give one the creeps if it felt more believable. But there were all those life lessons right after each action, teachings and so much God related musings. Too many teachings.

Honestly, I expected a suspense/thriller sort. It could have been surely, were it not for my high expectations. For me this book was like a snack between 3 stars Michelin meals.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this arc. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. It is my first book read by this author. I hope to read more books by this author.

This book had potential, but fell woefully short. I think a huge part of this is that the book can't seem to decide what it wants to be - Christian, Gothic Romance, Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult, or...whatever. Instead, it tries to blend aspects of all of these genres, with the overall feeling coming off as disjointed.

What bothered me even more than the muddled storytelling, though, were the factual inconsistencies that ran rampant throughout the book. For example, the main character refers to herself as a "pharmacist" at one point and is called a "pharmacy tech" later. Or she's described as being in stocking feet at one point and barefooted a few pages later. The author also includes a lot of superfluous details that don't add anything to the story - not even proper "red herrings" one appreciates as a mystery trope. Add that to the fact that the teenagers act and speak way beyond their described ages and the book had me rolling my eyes at how ridiculous it was.

Set on an island off the coast of Maine, Retreat House is a thriller about a youth group overnight trip which turns deadly. Exploring themes of transparency and honesty, the story centers around the group’s chaperone, a young woman struggling with a secret pregnancy. When a masked in-truder slashes one of the teens, the chaperone must locate and protect the group from nighttime terrors inside and outside the retreat house.



Thank you to net galley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book it was a great experience first time reading anything from this author

Though this book had some tension and an interesting plot, I would have liked to see more character development. Also, the religious angle did not fit well with this genre in my opinion.

i would have preferred to see the characters developed more. The premise of the storyline was great; however, there were quick shifts in action without plausible buildups.