A review by ncteixeira
The Retreat: A Novel by Sarah Pearse

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.