The Wellness Retreat, Dawn Kurtagich (Review by Rachel Taran)

This book started off really strong for me: Chronically-ill Jaimie has had a rough go of life. Dealing with her endless physical pain on top of the deaths of her parents, a divorce, and the loss of her career as a professional cellist has been challenging enough. On top of that, her flighty sister Sybill has disappeared (again). This time, however, feels different. Jaimie has evidence that her sister is actually in trouble and needs her help. So, she embarks on a journey to complete a two-week spa retreat on the remote island where her sister had been working.

Everything about this premise had me hooked. When Jaimie arrives at the spa, we get to meet a variety of characters, like the local ferry boat driver, the spa staff (including the mischievous teenage daughter of the spa manager), and the small group of spa-goers that will experience the retreat right alongside Jaimie. With so many characters, it immediately sparked my suspicion into who to actually trust and how they each might be involved in the increasingly weird happenings at the spa and on the island.

For me, that is where my interest in this book faltered. It felt like whatever was going to happen would fall short of an expectation that had been built throughout the entire book. So much of the story felt like it was just going in circles with very little progress to move things forward. While so much of the book was realistic fiction, the end was….very much NOT realistic. I have no problem with fantasy or magic, but it felt like the magical twist came out of nowhere when the rest of the book felt like a different genre.

Overall, the premise of the book was interesting, and I was rooting for Jaimie the whole time. This book is a decent read for anyone who, like me, is into cults and mysteries. But, be warned that the ending might not provide a conclusion that you would have expected.