Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a an honest and fair review. The first line "My husband saved other people’s marriages, but his secrets will destroy ours…" this line was all I needed to be intrigued by this book. Set in a couples retreat, where couples go to work on their relationships issues I was very invested in finding out just who the lady was that was found with Victor when he had his car accident, I stand in the mortuary and take a deep breath before identifying the body of the man I’ve been married to for twenty-six years. Honesty and trust were the bedrocks of our marriage, and we helped other couples repair their relationships too.
Now my whole world has been turned upside down and I don’t know what to think. A woman lies in a coma, in a stark, white hospital room. She was by Victor’s side when he died. The police have been unable to identify her and I’m forced to confront the painful reality that my own husband was hiding something. My grief is laced with anger. How could he lie to me?
But as I begin to uncover the secrets of my husband’s past, I discover the shocking truth about the woman with no name and no memory. And to protect my family, I have to make a choice.
A choice that will turn me into a liar, just like Victor.
And will end in murder… Another enjoyable thriller from this author, it was well paced with some good twists. It will definitely leave you side eyeing your partner and wondering if you really know as much about them as you think you do. #themarriageretreat #lauraelliott #bookouture #tea_sipping_bookworm #goodreads #kindle #netgalley #getlitsy #thestorygraph #thriller #bookqueen #bookstagram

This was the first book I've read by this author, I was intrigued by the synopsis but found myself bored while reading the book. I found there were too many characters and the plots dragged on. Maybe 2/3 of the way through the storyline got a little bit better and more interesting.
ARC from Netgalley

Very slow paced domestic thriller. Loved the promise of a marriage retreat but too many characters sadly to follow to find out who “no name girl” was

I am very conflicted about this book and I have no idea where to begin.

<i>The Marriage Retreat</i> focuses on Lorraine and Victor Gordon's hotel-turned-marriage-retreat for couples struggling, offering a five-day stay to rekindle their connection. But while the two are helping others stay connected, their relationship is not what it seems.

This is a very slow-pacing thrilled and I skimmed pages because the descriptions wouldn't end. It easily could've been half the book and it wouldn't have changed any single important detail to the main story. I felt like the story was just rambling and rambling for pages and, as much as I read, I was getting nowhere.

Lorraine, the main character, is unlikable and couldn't relate to her at all. She claimed that she, too, had so many secrets from her husband, but I only read one and her husband knew it.

There were too many POV changes and I didn't particularly care for any of them.

Based on the description, I didn't think Victor would die so early in the book and spend the rest of the book exploring that. It was just too long. I almost DNFed so many times but stuck around and, honestly, I wasn't that impressed.

</i>Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for a free arc. </i>

Laura Elliot’s The Marriage Retreat is the story of Lorraine and Victor Gordon. After Lorraine receives some shocking news, she realizes that appearances aren’t always what they seem, and one action will have shocking consequences for those involved. One of the main questions in the novel is - do we really ever know those we think we know? I voluntarily read this complimentary copy of this well-written book full of secrets that will have you guessing until the end.

I was really excited to read this as the synopsis is so intriguing (and although it rarely impacts my decision to read a book, I loved the cover too!). Unfortunately while it had initial promise I didn’t finish it. I found it very slow to gain pace and thus it was hard to be that interested in any of the characters or the central mystery.

⭐⭐ The Marriage Retreat by Laura Elliott
Rapid Review
Billed as a psychological thriller, this was a slow paced book that did not draw me in.
Though the setting is a marriage counseling retreat, there were too many intertwined characters that were not necessary.
The car accident death of Victor Gordon with a mysterious surviving girl was a great premise.
The unraveling widow, Lorraine Gordon is an interesting character with a past that dark.
This book would have been wonderful if a tad shorter by cutting out the unnecessary characters.
I was granted this ARC by #NetGalley and #Bookouture. Thank you for this opportunity.

I had a struggle getting through this one just because I couldn’t feel a connection to Lorraine at all so I didn’t care much for her story.

Thank you so much @Bookouture for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 17 August 2023)

SYNOPSIS | Victor & Lorraine have been married for 26 years and they jointly run a marriage retreat called 'Rekindle Connections' which aims to give couples the opportunity to salvage their marriages & rekindle their love for each other. Victor dies suddenly in a car crash close to home except he is supposed to be at a conference in London & he was travelling with an unidentified young woman who survived the crash but is in a coma.

WHAT I LIKED:
- the concept of a marriage retreat

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- the story felt drawn out to the point where the narrative lost its momentum
- I simply wasn't invested in solving the mystery of 'No Name Girl'
- the characters backstories didn't feel flushed out enough & seemed to randomly appear whenever it was convenient to drive the story forward
- it is rare for me to say that I didn't enjoy the writing style, but I struggled with it here

I was given this as an ARC by NetGalley to kindly review. The book was released August 17th! So if you’d like a copy it’s out now!

(I was late in this review as I’ve been ill)

This book follows Lorraine and Victor, they run the Rekindle programme at their marriage retreat, serenity falls.

Victor is in a fatal car crash, which astounds his wife as he was supposed to be in a totally different country at the time - even more astounding, he had a female in the car with him.. she is now in a coma and unidentified.

The book follows Lorraine’s story to try uncover who “No name girl” is. Surely her husband hadn’t been unfaithful? It would go against the whole ethos of their (very successful!) livelihood. As Lorraine gets deeper in and closer to the truth a lot is revealed, about Victor, his past, Lorraine.. how far would she go to secure her future, that’s now been threatened.

I enjoyed this book SO much. I liked that we seen from no name girls point of view too, how everything was revealed piece by piece. The twists! Didn’t see them coming!

It was a bit slow in parts.

The story line of “The Marriage Retreat” by Laura Elliot is strong. I felt that the middle 50-75 pages were a bit slow. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives but would have also enjoyed chapters from Aidens point of view!

I also enjoyed that as a reader, you are thrown right into the plot and there is just enough going on for you to try to put together the the difference story lines.

This book is well written and will engage you with the inner thoughts of many characters and their motives. You will continuously wonder what happens next if you can get through the slow beginning/middle. Thanks NetGalley!

The Marriage Retreat is a slow burn domestic thriller. There are lies, betrayals, twists and turns. This book left me question my own relationships. How well do we really know the ones closest to us?

Thank you, Laura Elliot, and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

* Thank you for this ARC! *

I really wanted to love this book. The idea is great, and it's well-written. It does a great job at making you love and subsequently hate the characters.
But it drags for too long.
There is substance in the first third, then it's just... too long, and then it picks up again towards the end.

It's still a good read, but not fast-paced at all.

Lorraine and Victor run the Rekindling Connection programme at Serenity Falls. Their aim is to save failing marriages.

The Gardai turn up to inform her that Victor was killed instantly in a car crash, also in the car was a young woman in her twenties who is in a coma. Victor was supposed to be at a conference in London. Who was the young woman and why did he lie to her about his whereabouts? They had been married for twenty six years and had vowed to never lie to one another.

Lorraine begins to uncover the secrets of her husband's past and the shocking truth of the woman with no name and no memory. To protect her family she has to make a choice, a choice that will turn her into a liar like Victor!!

A great read, an interesting plot but for me the pace was a little slow to begin with but it did pick up.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This one was a little long and dull for me.
There is a lot of back story into Lorraine’s life and although it adds to her and victors story, it does become a little much. The twists and turns finding out who the mystery woman was wasn’t enough for me in this case

I read a few reviews on goodreads claiming that the beginning was tough to get through however I felt exactly the opposite. I started reading this while on an airplane flying from California to Florida and could NOT put it down!!! I love the authors writing style and the thrilling aspect of the “mystery girl.” I found myself wanting to know all about the lies and secrets and found this a very enjoyable domestic-type thriller. I can’t wait to read another by this author! (Also I really loved the more classic names like Lucy and Eloise for characters!)

Being relatively new to the thriller genre, receiving an ARC of this book from NetGalley got me really excited to dive into it immediately.

On the whole, the book is solid, although it takes a bit of time to gain momentum (which is a mix of anticipation and impatience on my part; I want the story to progress quickly, yet I also want it to last). The revelation of the plot twist is what truly engaged me and kept me invested as the story eventually gained pace. Somehow, there's a certain element that I can't quite pinpoint that feels missing from the book. Additionally, the twist, while intriguing, didn't deliver the jaw-dropping impact I had expected.

For someone who's uncertain about their affinity for thriller and mystery genres, this book would serve as an excellent choice. It gently introduces you to the elements while also acting as a stepping stone towards more intense narratives.

Filled with lies, drama, deceit and questionable morals..

This read was a hard start for me but quickly turned into an interesting read that made me question what I'd do in Lorraine's shoes. When the twists started, they didn't stop until the very end turning it into an enjoyable read! What a way to live when you question those closest to you every step of the way. Though it was hard to relate to the main character at first, it easily makes you wonder who you could trust be it you.

I juggled between 3 and 4 stars, and met in the middle with 3.5. Overall, a good read with a slow start and heightened end. #themarriageretreat #netgalley #goodreads #bookstagram #review

I was really exited to read this book, but unfortunately it was too slow burn for me and I just couldn't get into it. I DNF'd at 50%

I changed my mind more than once about how many stars to give this book. Ultimately, I've settled for a 3.5 rounded up to 4. But what was it about this read that left me so conflicted? As is often the way it's not one single thing.
The book itself is gripping, in the early stages it was interesting to think about how I might deal with the things that our main character Lorraine deals with what happens to her. With everything that she thought that she had suddenly under question its understandable that some of her decisions might be a little questionable.
One of the areas that I struggled with in this book, is that I found it harder and harder to relate to Lorraine. While I don't have to like the main character, it does help if I can understand what they are facing and going through even if I don't agree with their actions, but I struggled here.
There's a lot going on in this book and the girl with no name that we meet in the opening chapter is really key to everything. There were a few twists and turns, but nothing too unexpected. I find it hard to believe that people didn't recognise people from photos, which happened on more than one occasion.
It was a good read and one that kept me gripped, but just didn't quite make it to a great read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.