Reviews

The Retreat by Sarah Pearse

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aarireads's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

3.0

ncteixeira's review against another edition

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2.0

“The Retreat”, by Sarah Pearse

2 stars ⭐️⭐️

I wasn’t a fan of “The Sanatorium”, the author’s debut book, but I was curious about this one, as the setting sounded very interesting, and I wanted to see if the author’s writing and storytelling skills had improved.

Unfortunately this was very disappointing.

I don’t even think she tried that hard.

The idea or concept were similar to the first book.

There is no depth or character development, and the storyline wasn’t that enthralling.

I confess that I re-started the book 3 times. I should have taken it as a clue.

Perhaps there are too many characters for a book of 368 pages (hardcover edition) that is divided into to 99 chapters (plus one epilogue, plus a chapter titled “two weeks later”).

One thing is for sure: someone knows how to choose a cover.

Hardcover (Penguin Publishing Group): 368 pages

e-book (Kobo): 346 pages (default), 96k words

audiobook narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden: 10.6 hours (normal speed)

PS. I tried the audiobook, which I borrowed from the library. Unfortunately the quality of my edition was not very good. The voice sounded as if it was confined to a small box. And the narrator was quite boring, in my opinion.

lottevanderpaelt's review against another edition

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mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

hollyxbear's review against another edition

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5.0

This series is really good. Quite a quick read but its just what I needed to get out of my reading rut. I wish this author came out with the next books sooner so I can keep reading them.