II seldom give a book less than 3 stars but this is one of those. The blurb sounds like it could be a decent enough thriller but it failed to impress.

The author spends so much time trying to tell us the whole scene is creepy that it is in fact nothing of the sort just repetitive nonsense. A group of strangers spending a week in a wellness retreat in Sweden is not exactly innovative. Coupled with fallen trees that leave the place cut off and guests surrendering their phones and devices puts all elements in place. That however is where it ends.

I’ve nothing against dislikable characters in a book but these are all just infuriatingly foolish. Situations that occur are either plain daft or so contrived as to be unbelievable in the worst sense. Where was the editor?
Not recommended but I’m sure there will be some that will enjoy it for what it is.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for this review

I had high hopes for this book, I am a great fan of things that sound similar to and then there were none.

But this book wasn’t the right fit for me.

Bella has gone to a retreat that her sister arranged for her, on the same day Bella has to take her son to university. Understandably, having been a single mother his whole life she finds this incredibly hard but manages to get to the retreat. From there this story fell apart a bit.

Bella is suspicious and concerned from the second she gets there and becomes frantic with concern about the retreat very quickly which leaves no room for the story to progress naturally.
The book doesn’t return from the paranoia and the conclusion seemed a little too coincidental and a little too unfinished.

"The Wilderness Retreat" by Jennifer Moore is a solid enough thriller. After reading this you WON'T want to go to Sweden or sign up for a "relaxing" week away from it all. I liked the characters and Bella's descent into madness however I do keep asking myself the question "how did the culprit manage to ensure that everyone who needed to be there, was actually there?"

I really enjoyed this story and really liked the main character of Bella and enjoyed reading her story. Very dark and sinister at times, a perfect psychological thriller xx

I loved the sound of The Wilderness Retreat. A small community thriller set in a spa-esque setting... perfect.
I was soon gripped in the story of Bella leaving her son at university and heading off on a birthday trip to ease the pain of the separation.
I loved the way Bella's story slowly unfolded, and I would have loved to know more about the other characters on the retreat with her. Especially Lena and Oscar, and Hammar, as they were a great group of supporting cast members. Creepy and unsettling, the mystery of the notes and the maggots and Bella's slow demise were revealed carefully and with a resolute ending.

Recommended read.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

Very enjoyable and a fun read! I had to finish this in one go, I could not put it down!

Highly recommend :)

I was fortunate to get an advance copy of this book via NetGalley - thanks!
I chose it because of the title and blurb; the setting was atmospheric - you are in the wilderness, with a group of strangers, and your hosts takeaway your mobile phones!!! 😱
However the content was not what I was expecting; less thriller and more a recount of Bella's life and way too much reference to her son, Asher.

I really enjoyed this! I was slightly dubious as I’ve read two thrillers recently (for book club - I don’t normally go for thrillers) and didn’t rate either of those - badly written, unbelievable and unlikeable characters, over-contrived plot twists. This book, however, was in a different league. There was no guessing or predicting the ending, the characters were more authentic, the plot was complex enough to be gripping but not too contrived. I was hooked - couldn’t put it down! I picked it as it was only on NetGalley for a short time and I am so glad I did! A great read, highly recommended. Thanks NetGalley for the advance copy!

Loved the setting to this book. Beautiful retreat in a forest with luxury food and drink and an interesting set of characters. Obviously you know something is going to happen, and I was hoping for a great original storyline, especially as there have been so many other books recently set in an exclusive remote resort with secrets to be unravelled. Unfortunately, despite a promising start, the book did not live up to expectations and was very repetitive and silly. I missed out big chunks of the story but didn't seem to actually miss anything important. Sorry it just didn't work for me.

An edgy, suspenseful thriller set in a Swedish wilderness retreat with an interesting mix of well developed characters. The intriguing plot moves at a steady pace with surprise twists and turns while the retreat provides a dark and menacing atmosphere and an eerie sense of isolation. Recommended.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley UK for the ARC.

I love a good thriller so I jumped at the chance to read for free for 24 hours on NetGalley. On face value I enjoyed The Wilderness Retreat.

The story centres around Bella, a 38 year old single Mum, a music composer for film scores. Asher (her son) and sister plan a week away in a Swedish retreat to take her mind off Asher leaving to go to University and allow Bella to focus on her work. While there Bella discovers that another guest is the person in the world she would least like to spend a week with. Very quickly, things turn sour and it seems someone is planning something sinister, with mysterious notes, sick guests, and goings on which make everyone doubt Bella, and even makes Bella doubt herself.

I liked Bella, I could identify her musings of "I'm just a 38 year old single Mum, why me?". Though I hope in my life it's always more trivial than being on a wilderness retreat with someone trying to, at best play mind games, and at worst murder me. Bella flitted between being quite naive and taking people at their word, while also suspecting everyone in turn. I can't help but think if I suspected someone was messing with my mind, I would take everything they said with some skepticism.

I twigged who the adversary was, and why, fairly quickly. Though the usual "the culprit is who you least suspect" wasn't very helpful as Bella did suspect everyone in turn.

I didn't really understand the big reveal about why Lena, the journalist, was digging around for information, and felt that part was a bit rushed.

On the whole I enjoyed The Wilderness Retreat, and will look out more books by Jennifer Moore. Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy.

The wilderness retreat is full of unreliable characters, all with their own secrets and agendas- leading to anything but the tranquility and inner peace promised in the brochure.
With things going scratch in the night and relationships fraying and falling apart hour by hour the author cleverly uses the unreliable narrator to throw the reader off course in several places.
As the threads come together and the terror ramps up a final notch the book gets darker and darker!
Great read!

It doesn’t happen often but I’m almost lost for words. This certainly wasn’t the ‘gripping psychological thriller’ that encouraged me to request it. I couldn’t wait to get to the end and thought it was a pointless and ridiculous plot. I was absolutely sick of hearing about the wonderful Asher – past and present. I was utterly fed up of reading about the stupid things Bella did, and her pointless hallucinations, and I thought all the characters were complete nutters. I’ve only upped it from one star to two because I quite enjoyed the very beginning and hoped it would progress to a good thriller. Sadly, it didn’t.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book

Bella starts the book dropping off her son Asher for his first year at university. She is a single mum and is obviously struggling with this transition to a new life.

After drop off she drives to the airport, she is heading to a wilderness retreat, a gift from her sister Rachel. From the first day strange things keep happening and Bella finds herself the object of ridicule with nobody on her side. What is the truth and who is behind it all?

This book is quite a creepy thriller (in a totally good way!) We get hints throughout of the old Bella-Izzy, and how her son Asher was conceived.

Really enjoyable and definitely kept me guessing. I’m glad I took the chance and read it.

The first book I have read of 2023 , such high standards have been set !!! I hope everything else I read measures up to how good this is.
A real thriller , dark and fabulous. I couldn’t put it down. Would recommend 110%

This enjoyable thriller is set, as the title suggests, at a lodge serving as a retreat in deepest Sweden. This is a psychological thriller rather than something too gruesome and scary. At the start of the novel a seemingly disparate group arrive at the retreat, which initially seems idyllic. It is a beautiful building set in a forest with a lake for wild swimming. The food is wonderful, the drink flows and the staff are friendly and helpful. Of course this changes and the setting becomes more claustrophobic.

The final straw for Bella, from whom's point of view the story is written, is when someone from her past turns up as a guest speaker. As things unravel Bella suspects various of her fellow guests and staff of causing problems. The tension is kept up to the end when the real "baddie" is revealed. Recommended.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

To begin with, this story started to work towards Oscar as one of the main characters in the book, but not for long
The retreat was for a week but at times it seemed longer than a week. The middle part of the book seemed to falter, but luckily it did regain its momentum about three-quarters of the way through.
Any parent will recognise the feelings that Bella went through when her son went off to university for the first time. The emptiness in the home. This was well portrayed.

What caused the missing fingers with one of the star characters? I would have loved to have been told.

The different fonts that were used for the past and present modes made reading this easier.

Overall a long read with a twist at the end.

Holiday, Eight Guests, Every reason to be afraid.

Bella’s world revolves around her son Asher and when she drops him off at university she doesn’t know what she will do without him. The answer is to flee to a wilderness retreat, escape from the outside world yet she finds herself plunged into a world that’s more than she bargained for.

I’ve got mixed feelings about this book, I really enjoyed the start and how it all came together at the end but the middle section felt repetitive and I found myself skip reading to get to where it picked back up again.

Thank you to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#TheWildernessRetreat
#JenniferMoore

Ive just spent about a week with Bella. Bella has a son that has just gone off to University. To combat 'Empty nest syndrome ', she has been booked to go on a Wilderness retreat. Except, things aren't what they seem. The more Bella's past catches up with her, the more chilling things become... A perfect read for a cold winters night.

The story starts slow and even though it does pick up halfway through, I did not warm up to Bella… I found her behaving like a child - moody and sulky and a bit off the rails. Even if one is upset when kids move to university, her obsession was unreal. I wish that she could have been portrayed a little stronger as a personality.