The Wellness Retreat

by Dawn Kurtagich

The Wellness Retreat has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.

Genres: Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Adult, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Fiction

Audible Audio

First published September 8, 2026

About the author

DAWN KURTAGICH IS AN AWARD-WINNING HORROR AUTHOR.

Her debut novel, THE DEAD HOUSE, was a YALSA Top 10 Pick, An Audie Award Nominee and an Earphone Award Winner. It has been optioned for TV by Lime Productions. She is also the author of THE CREEPER MAN / AND THE TREES CREPT IN, NAIDA and TEETH IN THE MIST, and BLOOD ON THE WIND. Her adult debut novel, THE MADNESS, was pre-empted in a two book, six-figure deal and was published in August 2024. Her next adult novel, DEVIL’S THORN, was announced in 2024, another two-book, six-figure deal, forthcoming in 2025.

By the time she was eighteen, she had been to fifteen schools across two continents. The daughter of a British globe-trotter and single mother, she grew up all over the place, but her formative years were spent in Africa—on a mission, in the bush, in the city and in the desert.

She has been lucky enough to see an elephant stampede at close range, a giraffe tongue at very close range, and she once witnessed the stealing of her (and her friends’) underwear by very large, angry baboons. (This will most definitely end up in a book . . . ) While she has quite a few tales to tell about the jumping African baboon spider, she tends to save these for Halloween!

When she was sixteen, she thought she'd be an astronomer and writer at the same time, and did a month-long internship at Cambridge's prestigious Cavendish Laboratories. At the age of 25, she received a life-saving liver transplant. Her doctor’s still have no idea why her original liver (Leonard) failed. She is enjoying life with her new liver, Lucy.

She leaves her North Wales crypt after midnight during blood moons. The rest of the time she exists somewhere between mushrooms, maggots and mould.

Reviews

[suspenseisthrillingme]

A haunting and nuanced tale that touched this chronically ill reader to her core, The Wellness Retreat was not only an escape for yours truly, but a mind-bending trip into a slow-burning mystery with a touch of both gothic and supernatural horror. Taking place at a luxury wellness retreat with definite cult-ish vibes, the atmosphere and setting were easily the stars of the show. Otherworldly, vivid, and downright chilling, it gave the island itself a very character-like feel as the misty bogs, torrential rain, and pounding waves swept right into my bones. Don’t get me wrong, there was more to this story than the Scottish isle where it took place. With relationship drama, a deeply developed narrator, and a twisty last third that shocked me but good, it was quite the cinematic story of survival, sisterhood, and power that was tense and creepy while also delivering emotional depth.

In spite of my love for the lyrically narrated storyline, eerie supernatural elements, and deeply immersive storytelling, the respectful look at chronic illness was still what got and held my attention. Turning the wellness retreat setting into a relevant plot point instead of just a sinister backdrop, it had me feeling my own desperation as I locked into the emotion of this well-crafted story. You see, I could easily put myself in Jaimie’s shoes. But it didn’t stop there. Oh no. After all, the gradual ascension to the crescendo was well worth it when I reached that Homeric yet poignant finale. Preceded by twist after twist that turned the very genre of this book on its head, I was truly blown away by the time I reached the last page. So if a Dorian Grey-meets-Sirens-esque tale with a supernatural side sounds like your cup of tea, grab this book now. It was quite the ride. Rating of 4.25 stars.

Read if you’re a fan of:
- Supernatural elements
- The wellness culture
- Genre-bending stories
- Cult-like vibes
- Folklore/mythology
- Chronic illness representation
- Lyrical descriptions
- Slow-burning suspense
- Roiling tension
- Relationship drama
- Supernatural/gothic horror
- Atmospheric settings
- Divisive endings
- Immersive storytelling

SYNOPSIS:

Jaimie Vane used to measure her life in concert halls and standing ovations. Now she measures it in symptoms. The chronic illness that ended her career as a cellist doesn’t have a name or a cure—just a long list of things her body can’t do anymore.

When her wild child younger sister Sybil reinvents herself as a live-in staffer at an ultra-exclusive wellness retreat, Jaimie assumes it’s another phase.

Until her messages stop.
Until the voucher arrives.

Talamh Dhubh, a black-sand island in the middle of a wintery sea and home to Saoghal Spa, is a place for guests to be reborn. The founder, the enigmatic and glamorous Cyan Blache, promises restoration. Clarity. Transcendence. Whatever ails you, Saoghal will draw it from you. For guests willing to surrender completely, body and soul, the results are nothing short of miraculous.

Jaimie tells herself she’s only there to find Sybil. Not to drink organic detox smoothies or pour herself onto canvas in art therapy. Not to lie in the mineral baths and bask in the curiously soothing black mud. Not to believe the guests and staff who say Saoghal changed their lives.

But the longer she stays, the lighter her body feels. The quieter her pain becomes. The easier it is to forget what she was like before she got sick.

At Saoghal, healing is real.
And so is the cost.

Because the island doesn’t merely cure the visitors who revel in the embrace of its rich, black mud…it ensnares them. And the ones who arrive broken don’t always leave.

Thank you Dawn Kurtagich and Hanover Square Press for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

PUB DATE: September 8, 2026

Content warning: chronic illness, medical trauma, anxiety, death/murder, sexual content, kidnapping, confinement, violence, blood, gore, body horror

[Dozelina 666]

Confession time.

I initially requested The Wellness Retreat because...

I liked the colors on the cover.

That's it. That's the sophisticated literary reasoning we're working with here. :D

BUT then I read the blurb and thought... okay, isolated Scottish island? Mysterious wellness retreat? Missing sister? Former asylum? Stormy weather?

You have my attention.

Jaimie and her sister Sybil couldn't be more different. Jaimie is the more serious one, while Sybil is the extroverted, adventurous sister who's always off doing something new.

So when Sybil suddenly announces that she's found herself at an exclusive wellness retreat and is completely at peace there, Jaimie isn't exactly convinced.

Then Sybil stops calling.

The retreat keeps assuring Jaimie that her sister is simply busy testing products and doing various activities, but when Sybil leaves her a voucher for a free stay, Jaimie's alarm bells start ringing louder than Santa's sleigh.

And off to Scotland we go.

The journey itself isn't easy for Jaimie. She used to have a promising career as a cellist before chronic illness and pain completely changed her life, and even everyday activities can take a considerable amount out of her.

Still, she's determined to find Sybil.

She arrives at this isolated retreat on a tiny Scottish island in terrible weather, barely makes it there, discovers the place used to be an asylum and...

COME ON.

At this point I was practically rubbing my hands together.

Give me the creepy stuff.

Except... it took a while for the creepy moments to arrive.

Jaimie doesn't immediately reveal her connection to Sybil and instead starts investigating while pretending to be another guest. She gets to know the other residents and staff, reluctantly participates in some of the treatments and even gets a little...

cough cough

...personally acquainted with one particular member of staff.

Woop woop...

But then something genuinely strange happens.

Jaimie starts feeling better.

The treatments she was so skeptical about actually seem to be helping her chronic pain and fatigue.

Which creates a pretty interesting dilemma. She's there because something clearly isn't right and her sister is still missing... but what happens when the suspicious place you're investigating starts giving you something you've desperately wanted back?

Unfortunately, the first part was painfully slow for me.

And I think that ultimately had the biggest influence on my rating. It took so long for the story to really get moving that I struggled to connect with it and its characters as much as I wanted to.

The second half was considerably more interesting. We finally get some twists, a body enters the equation, things become increasingly strange, and there are supernatural, or paranormal-ish elements that made me much more curious about what was actually happening at the retreat.

I do have slightly mixed feelings about this being marketed primarily as horror, though.

With an isolated Scottish island, stormy weather, a former asylum, a missing woman and a mysterious wellness retreat, the beginning gave me expectations of something much darker and creepier. Instead, the story eventually felt more like a modern wellness thriller/mystery with some darker and supernatural elements.

Not necessarily a bad thing!

It just wasn't quite the horror experience I expected from that setup.

Overall, The Wellness Retreat had a fantastic premise and a setting that immediately grabbed me, and I enjoyed the second half considerably more once the mystery started unfolding. I just wish the first half had moved a little faster because by the time things really kicked into gear, I'd already spent too much of the book struggling to become invested.

Also, apparently requesting books because “oooooh, pretty colors” occasionally results in Scottish wellness-retreat conspiracies.

There are worse methods of choosing books, I guess...

3.5⭐

Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss+ for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All opinions are my own.

https://turnthepagewithana.blogspot.c...

[Pav S. (pav_sanborn_bookworm)]

4.5 stars!

Wow, this book was quite different— in a good way! If you’re into dark, gothic tales sprinkled with a touch of the supernatural, this mystery will captivate you. But before we dive in, let’s take a moment to appreciate the stunning cover! It should resonate deeply with the essence of this book!

The main character, Jaimie Vane, is grappling with a chronic illness. Her sister, Sybil, has been out of touch for a while, but suddenly reaches out for help, sending Jaimie a voucher for a stay at a luxurious spa. With no one able to give her any information about Sybil's whereabouts, Jaimie decides to go undercover as a guest while indulging in some amateur sleuthing. Surprisingly, she starts to feel better after attending several treatments, all the while unaware of the positive impact the treatments are having on her. Amidst all this, she encounters the enigmatic Cyan Blache, the spa's founder, whose peculiar personality and behavior add an interesting twist to the story.

Naturally, this all unfolds in a secluded location, heightening the sinister atmosphere. To make things even more eerie, the spa is situated in a former asylum that once served as a prison! If that doesn’t send shivers down your spine, I don’t know what will! The mystery and unexpected turns come rushing to the surface, immersing you in Jaimie's struggles and the bizarre environment she finds herself in. What’s even more poignant is that the author draws from her own experiences living with a chronic illness, making the story all the more relatable.

Having visited Scotland myself, I can vividly imagine the setting and the chilling atmosphere. Although it moves at a slower pace, it's tough to set aside because there's always something happening. If you appreciate Scottish tales rich with folklore, supernatural elements, and complex characters with disabilities, this story will pull you right in. It offers a modern take on beauty treatments spiraling into the unimaginable, keeping you hooked until the very last page. So, if you’re daring enough to visit this spa, enjoy that mud bath—but be careful; you might find yourself getting sucked in! Ha!

Thank you, @TheHive @HarlequinTradePublishing and @NetGalley, for the gifted DRC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Novelandlatte]

Thank you to HTP Books and The Hive for the ARC and ALC via NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

The Wellness Retreat is a slow-burn horror/thriller that will string you along the entire time, and you won’t mind at all!

The plot is incredibly engaging and there is always an element of the unknown which kept me coming back for more over and over. I truly didn’t know where the story would go!

I genuinely connected with our protagonist Jaimie. I felt her pain, her angst, her aches. I appreciated the chronic illness/pain rep. I also felt her desperation for finding her sister Sybil.

The Scottish/Welsh dialect on the page can be hard to read. If it wasn’t for me watching Outlander I would have stumbled more. The audiobook version is fantastic and I enjoyed being able to hear the narrator’s accent as well as each character’s personality shine through the dialogue. It made it that much more immersive as I did a tandem read. Ell Potter is a fabulous narrator and I’ll be seeking out other books she has read!

I didn’t realize it would have demonic/otherworldly vibes towards the end and honestly didn’t pick up that throughout the book. That is the reason for the 4 stars, as it felt kind of out of left field and I didn't sense that in the first 3/4 of the plot. Instead of being shocking, it felt more like it wasn't connected.

This story will leave you with a chill down your spine. The Wellness Retreat starts out with an uneasy edge but transitions into something melodic as you go. Don’t get too comfortable though, that’s where they want you… ;)

[Kat (Katlovesbooks) Dietrich]

3.5 stars

The Wellness Retreat by Dawn Kurtagich is a horror/thriller novel about a woman with a chronic illness who travels to a remote Scottish island spa to find her sister.


Let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Harlequin Trade Publishing | Hanover Square Press, and of course the author (Dawn Kurtagich), for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.



Okay. this was really good.  However, it was really long and drawn out, very slow moving.

I liked how folklore was woven into the story. The setting of a really remote island that once held a prison, and then an asylum, all added to the mystery, and to the atmosphere.

The plot is about family, and how far you would go to protect your loved ones.  But it is also about the island, and how far some would go to protect their home.  It is about isolation, physical and emotional.  It is about the power of nature.

I liked Jaimie.  Her chronic illness somehow defined her, which made for an uncomfortable read at times.  Perhaps it made me aware of how we are often judged by a health issue which is no fault of our own.  It also made me hope for an unrealistic cure on a remote island, where I would never be able to leave -- not sure that is a good thing.

The actual wellness center seemed to be a little extreme (although I've never been to one), and for all the time spent outdoors in the seemingly never-ending rain, I think Jaimie may have at least caught a cold, maybe pneumonia...

Overall, it was a rather creepy, very atmospheric read, but it moved too slowly for me.


For a more thorough review of this book and others (including the reason I chose to read/review this book, my own synopsis of the book, its author information and a favorite quotation or two from this book), please visit my blog: http://katlovesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

[She’s Stranger Than Fiction]

The last time Jaimie heard from her sister, Sibyl was working at a wellness retreat in the Outer Hebrides. Unable to contact her, Jaimie uses her gift certificate to visit the spa and the island on which it sits. She quickly learns that nothing is what it seems.
This gothic horror/thriller had me in its clutches from the beginning. The setting is brilliant - a spa in an imposing gothic building hewn from the stone of a remote island and clogged with the mud mined from its ancient bogs. There is nothing wash-rinse-repeat about the plot. Its supernatural, gothic, folk, and survival horror themes are displayed in a new and fresh way. The story twists and turns in ways that I might have had hints of but would never have guessed the whole. This book is slow burn and filled with creeping dread. The culmination of the story feels both epic and inevitable, and yet I was stunned. I loved it.

Thank you to Hanover Square Press, Dawn Kurtagich, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader’s proof. I hope everyone enjoys this as much as I did.

[Kirk]

Dawn Kurtagich does it once again with The Wellness Retreat. Jaimie Vane realizes that her sister has disappeared and sent her an SOS code disguised in an email along with a gift for a fourteen day trip to Saoghal Spa. Jaimie has an undefined chronic illness that causes her a lot of pain. She loses her pain medication and her cane along the way to the spa. At first, she holds her secret about searching for her missing sister close to her chest. After several spa treatments, involving the healing mud from the island, she starts feeling better and in less pain. She starts questioning more people and lets her true intentions slip. She starts to research about the island and people who have disappeared after visiting. The townspeople don’t hold the spa in high regards. I never would have guessed this mystery or the horror that many of the guests have faced. A Fall/Spooky read set on a Gothic island with the perfect blend of mystery and horror. Think twice about that miracle cure before committing. 4.5 stars, rounded up. ARC was provided by Harlequin Trade Publishing/Hanover Square Press via NetGalley. I received an advance reading copy for free and I am leaving this feedback voluntarily.

[Charissa Wilkinson]

I received this book courtesy of NetGalley for the purpose of a fair and honest review.

Overview: Jaimie Vane was once a celebrated cellist. Then her father got sick, and her sister disappeared. They have been keeping in touch, until recently. Sybil disappeared from her job at a wellness retreat. What happened to Sybil? What is going on with the bogs? And why are some people being found in the bogs, and not in good shape? Let's find out.

Dislikes: We get a rather dark story here, one just a little too close to the nihilistic border.

The country folk and the retreat members were kept at loggerheads. Perhaps things would have been different for all involved if the communication between both sides was better.

Likes: Jaimie and Sybil were dedicated to keeping in touch. It made the search fit better.

The town folk even found some inroads with Jaimie. That's a good thing for her.

Conclusion: This was a decent story, just darker than I prefer. If you like dark horror based on folklore, then this book is for you. Enjoy the read.

[Heathers_readss]

This was such a creepy and atmospheric read. The idea of a luxury wellness retreat on a remote Scottish island already had me intrigued, but add in a missing sister, dark folklore and some seriously unsettling vibes and I was hooked. I especially loved the setting because it really felt like its own character.

The pacing was a little slow in places, especially at the beginning, but once things started to unravel I was completely invested. I loved the mystery and the eerie atmosphere, and there were definitely moments where I had no idea where the story was going. Definitely one to pick up if you like gothic thrillers, folklore and creepy isolated settings.

[Tori]

No because what the actual fuck did I just read...? This was the weirdest and longest book. I had to force myself to finish it, and even then I wish I wouldn't have. Not worth it to me.

[Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle]

Jaimie gets a coded SOS from her sister, who has vanished after taking a job at the most suspicious wellness retreat ever created. And instead of saying, "You know what? The police can have this one," she cashes in the complimentary voucher and heads straight to an island where everyone smiles just a little too much and keeps insisting she's going to feel transformed. Absolutely not. The moment strangers start describing themselves as "reborn," I'm already swimming back to the mainland.

The funniest part is that Jaimie arrives determined to rescue Sybil, and then the spa immediately starts working on her. Her chronic pain eases. She sleeps. She feels lighter. Suddenly she's taking mud baths, doing art therapy, eating suspiciously healthy meals, and I'm sitting there yelling, "Girl! You came here for your SISTER!" This island had the world's most effective customer retention program.

Cyan, the glamorous woman running the retreat, has the exact energy of someone who could convince you to hand over your wallet while thanking her for the opportunity. Everyone around her seems peaceful in that very specific way people do right before you find out they're in a cult. I never trusted a single smiling face on that island. Not one. Every conversation felt like someone was gently trying to sell me enlightenment and identity theft at the same time.

The setting absolutely carried me through so much of this book. That black-sand island, the endless winter, the ancient folklore, the bog, the abandoned prison and asylum history...the whole place felt like it had signed a contract with bad decisions centuries ago. Even before anything truly awful happened, I would've slept with one eye open and my suitcase packed.

I also really liked that Jaimie's illness wasn't magically forgotten the second the mystery showed up. Watching someone who's been trapped inside a body they can't trust suddenly experience relief was genuinely emotional. That hope made everything else feel even more unsettling because once you desperately want something to be true, it's amazing what you'll stop questioning.

I will admit there were stretches where I wanted the story to stop admiring the scenery and get back to asking why literally everyone was acting like they had signed the world's creepiest employee handbook. About halfway through I found myself thinking, "Someone please either explain the bog or throw another horrifying revelation at me." Thankfully, once things started clicking into place, they really started clicking.

This ended up being one of those books where I enjoyed the ride more than the destination. I loved the creepy wellness cult vibes, the Scottish folklore, and the unsettling feeling that the island itself had opinions. I just kept waiting for everything to crank up one more notch. Still, I never regretted taking the trip...from the safety of my couch.

This lands at 3.5 stars for me. It had me side-eyeing every wellness influencer I've ever seen online and reminded me that if someone offers miraculous healing on a remote island, maybe ask a few more follow-up questions before packing your bags.

Whodunity Award: For the Most Aggressively Suspicious Complimentary Spa Voucher Ever Mailed

And thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC. Next time someone offers me an all-inclusive wellness retreat on a mysterious island, I'll be checking for ancient curses before I check the spa menu.

[Hope Stewart]

The Wellness Retreat by Dawn Kurtagich: Come for the Creepy Asylum, Stay Because the Plot Keeps Wandering Off
This book has everything. An abandoned prison. A former asylum. A remote Scottish island. Sinister folklore. A missing sister. A luxury wellness retreat with enough red flags to upholster the Titanic. It should have been an unsettling gothic thriller that kept me reading long past my bedtime.

Instead, it seemed determined to ask the far more pressing question: "Yes, but who is everyone attracted to?"

The missing sister is supposedly the reason we're here, but the investigation often feels like an inconvenience interrupting everyone's complicated romantic feelings. The mystery keeps trying to get started, only to be shoved aside for another round of longing glances and emotional angst. By the halfway point, I wasn't sure if I was reading a psychological thriller or watching the world's least productive dating show.

And can we talk about the characters? Everyone's physical appearance is treated like a personality test. If they're gorgeous, they're fascinating. If they're rugged, they're dependable. If they're delicate, they must be deeply haunted. I started expecting someone to solve the mystery simply because they had particularly expressive cheekbones.

The biggest crime isn't even the romance. It's the wasted setting. You give me an abandoned asylum on an isolated Scottish island and somehow make it feel less interesting than everyone's relationship drama? That takes commitment. The island, the retreat, the folklore, and the history all promise something deliciously creepy, but the book keeps glancing at those ideas before saying, "We'll get back to that. First, let's process our feelings."

Spoiler: it rarely gets back to that.

The pacing is almost impressive in its consistency. Every single time the story builds genuine tension, every single time I think, "Finally, now we're getting somewhere," it immediately slams on the brakes. It's like watching someone sprint toward the finish line only to stop for an in-depth conversation about their crush.

There are flashes of the novel this could have been, and that's what makes it frustrating. The atmosphere is strong when the book remembers it exists. The mystery has potential when it's allowed on the page. The backstory is genuinely intriguing when it isn't treated like optional bonus content.

I kept waiting for the prison, the asylum, the folklore, or the missing sister to become the main event.

Apparently the love hexagon had other plans.

This isn't a bad book so much as a book with spectacular priorities in the wrong order. It had all the ingredients for a chilling, unforgettable gothic mystery and somehow decided the garnish was the entrée.

Two stars. One for the atmosphere, one for the wasted potential. The abandoned asylum deserved a better novel than the one it was trapped in.

[Janine]

Horror-tinted creepy and atmospheric slow-burn thriller blending folklore with a focus on wellness cults by a master writer of this genre. Horror genre lovers get in line for this one!

Jaime Vane is a celloist who’s performed in many concert settings but for the last seven months has been the victim of persistent pain. It seems no one can help her when she receives a mysteriously coded message from her sister, Sybil, who’s been working at an ultra exclusive wellness retreat in Scotland. Jaime knows something is wrong. Then she receives a voucher from Saoghal Spa, where Sybil is, on the isolated island of Tamalh Dhybh she sets out to find her sister. Once there though, Jaime finds the regime, the mud baths, and food of the spa is somehow healing her and she forgets why she’s come. But then things start to become sinister.

The book starts with a Scottish folklore tale of a girl thrown into a big for religious purposes - this sets up the foreboding atmosphere of this intense novel. Once on the island, the story is divided into days that Jaime is there. As Jamie acclimates, she becomes engaged with the staff and other retreaters (Cyan, Astraia, Ava, Sophie, Cici, Catriona, Jean, Aubrey, Isla, Freya, Rhea, Ben, Shaun, Lisa, Aiden, Ryan - there are a lot of characters). A romance might have possibilities but she can’t find Sybil and Kelly, someone mentioned by Sybil, is found lying on the grass after three weeks in the bog. The atmosphere grows intense as tales and ancient evils are revealed through newspaper stories, history of the island, dark tales, and strange happenings. Then there’s Ethel who lives on the island and knows its dark side. And finally comes the Dark of the Moon. Underpinning this is the revelations of the dark side of the wellness retreats where greed is the end all and be all.

I have to say while horror based on folklore is not my favorite sub-genre, this one worked for me. It’s such a creepy intense read. The whole island itself is a character - that bog and the folklore tale add a depth that keeps on giving. Suffice it to say this is another Dawn Kurtagich winner for me.

My thanks to NetGalley and Hanover Square Press to allowing me access to this ARC.

[Corinne’s Chapter Chatter]

Did you ever read a book where the narrator sounds like they’re putting on an accent, only to find out they’re actually from the place they’re portraying? That’s what I felt reading this audiobook, which I was graciously granted from The Hive via NetGalley.

El Potter was lovely, and she has a really pleasant tone. It just sounded “off” to me as she switched between different dialects, and at times the accents weren’t consistent. It was distracting, but it’s not why I gave this 2⭐️. If anything, I think it was more of a miscast that accentuated some of the challenges I was already having with the prose itself.

I genuinely don’t know what this book wants to be. Combining mystery/thriller/gothic horror genre with romance is popular right now, and I am absolutely here for that combination, when it works. Unfortunately, here the romance repeatedly got in the way of the other elements. Any time the mystery started gaining momentum, it would be interrupted by a glance, a touch, or some yearning that diverted the action, and suddenly we were off into the next romantic entanglement.

The writing itself just felt “off.” It was chock-full of bizarre similes, and the structure was so predictable you could practically set a clock by which beat was coming next. And yes, I know the FMC was a cellist, but having the prose and dialogue constantly salted and peppered with musical terminology was excessive. Instead of adding depth to her character, it repeatedly pulled me out of the story.

Unfortunately, there were so many strange choices that pulled me out of the book that I spent more time outside the story than in it. The constant stops and starts were frustrating rather than propulsive, especially when the main twist was incredibly predictable and I found myself just wanting to get to it already.

This had so much potential. Unfortunately, somewhere between the genre mashup, the prose, the pacing, and the predictable plot, it lost its way. For me, there was simply too much working against it to make the experience an enjoyable one.

[RavenReads]

Well, now I want to go to an all inclusive spa in the Scottish countryside. Unfortunately, I think that's about the only thing this book successfully convinced me of. Talk about a great premise: an ultra luxurious wellness retreat tucked away in a remote Scottish peat bog, where Jamie arrives searching for answers about her missing sister. The spa itself is so vividly described that, for a while, it almost completely overshadowed the mystery I was supposedly there to solve. Give me the robes, massages, fancy food, and creepy isolated setting and I'm in.

Unfortunately, the pacing made getting there feel like a very long journey. The first half in particular moves at a snail's pace, spending a great deal of time establishing the characters and the retreat before the mystery really begins to take shape. The character development is actually one of the stronger aspects of the book, but I think the story could have accomplished the same thing with considerably fewer pages.

And then there were the romances. So. Many. Love triangles. Overlapping relationships, romantic entanglements... Ugh. I am not a fan of the trope under the best of circumstances, and here it felt like there were simply too many romantic subplots competing with the actual mystery.

Thankfully, the pacing does eventually pick up, and the final stretch moves considerably faster. But then the story takes a sharp turn into some very strange territory that didn't quite feel like it belonged with the rest of the novel. I appreciate a weird ending, but this one left me more confused than impressed. There is a genuinely cool book buried in here. The setting is fantastic, the premise is intriguing, and there are some great character moments. Unfortunately, the slow pacing, excessive romantic drama, and tonal shift at the end kept it from becoming the atmospheric mystery I was hoping for. So... beautiful Scottish spa? Absolutely. This book? Meh.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Dawn Kurtagich for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Lauren]

Thank you to Hanover Square Press, Harlequin Audio, and NetGalley for the free advanced ebook and listening copy - all thoughts and opinions are my own!

One of the themes I have really been enjoying in books lately has been the wellness retreat or company that’s actually super culty, especially set in a remote setting that just gives off just the right touch of an “off” atmosphere! The Wellness Retreat is no exception and is in fact one of the most atmospheric, moody, and suspenseful books I have read recently, making it the perfect read as we head into the colder and darker months of fall and winter.

I really enjoyed the audiobook, and immensely appreciated hearing the Scottish Gaelic words being pronounced, as it helped me a lot to be able to hear them correctly in my mind! Each character was well-voiced and many even had different accents, so kudos to the narrator, Ell Potter, for her excellent voicing, as it truly added to the story.

At the heart of this story, I loved seeing the love that Jamie had for her missing (even though somewhat estranged) sister Sybil, and how she continued to try to find her even when her chronic illness fought against her own efforts. I always like seeing the realities of chronic and unseen illnesses being represented in books I read, and as the author herself stated that she also struggles with chronic illness, I felt that it was handled in an accurate and respectful way. While this leans more towards an atmospheric suspense thriller than horror, I do like that there were some horror elements to this story!

So if you are looking for a dark and moody atmospheric thriller full of dark histories, cult-like wellness retreats, isolated Scottish islands, and a bit of folklore and Druids, then The Wellness Retreat should be next on your TBR!

[Carrie Mercer]

Jaimie is a former cellist whose career was derailed by a mysterious chronic illness she can’t get a diagnosis for and can’t seem to shake. When her younger sister Sybil takes a job at an ultra-exclusive wellness spa on a remote Scottish island and suddenly stops responding to messages, Jaimie uses a conveniently timed voucher to get herself through the door and find out what is going on.

The concept here is genuinely compelling. A mysterious island spa with cult vibes, a missing sister, supernatural elements woven into the atmosphere. It had everything I wanted from this kind of story. And the setting itself really does deliver on mood. The atmosphere is cold, gothic, and layered.

The problem is the pacing. The first half of the book moves at such a slow crawl through the daily rhythms of the spa that it starts to feel like the story is going nowhere. I understand the intention was to immerse you in the retreat experience before things begin to unravel, but it went on too long. By the time the tension finally builds, it has some catching up to do.

When things do start to go sideways, there’s genuine momentum. But then the story goes quite far off the rails in a way that left me more confused than unsettled. The supernatural elements are interesting in concept but weren’t explained clearly enough for me. I finished the book with real questions about how the island and the mud actually worked, what each character’s role was in it all, and what the rules of this world were. For a horror-adjacent book, the lack of clarity undercut the creepiness rather than adding to it.

Good concept, uneven execution. Worth reading if the premise speaks to you, but it falls short of what it could have been.

[Erika Skye]

3.5 ⭐️

Jaimie hasn’t heard from her sister, Sybil, in weeks when an encoded message arrives begging for her help. Sybil has been living and working at a luxury wellness resort on a remote Scottish island, and Jaimie makes the trek there – in the middle of a cold and stormy winter – to search for her. Beyond the massages, mud baths, and art classes, something sinister is lurking, and Jaimie is determined to uncover the twisted secrets of the spa.

This book combined a little bit of horror, mystery, romance, and folklore – and it was a lot of fun. The way the history and ancient legends of the island were woven into the story was fascinating, and I loved uncovering all the sordid details behind the resort. It reminded me a little bit of Rouge, which also examines wellness through a horror lens, but I much preferred this author’s writing style.

I will say I got a little bit annoyed with Jaimie at times, particularly the entire week she seems content to spend relaxing (??) before actually taking any action to find her sister. I could see her inaction really frustrating readers, but know that things do pick up partway through the novel. And, there was always a solid emotional foundation to the story that left me invested and racing to find out the ending (which did not disappoint at all). I also really want to have a mud bath now.

*DISCLAIMER: Thank you to HTP Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book for the purposes of providing an unbiased review.*

PUB DATE: September 8th, 2026

[Islay Hawthorn]

Having read Teeth In The Mist by Kurtagich years ago and loved it, I went into this book expecting a great horror story. I didn’t expect it to be folk horror, but it was and I loved it!

In this book we follow Jamie, a chronically ill cellist who is trying to figure out what happened to her little sister, Sybil. Sybil wrote her a coded email asking for help from a wellness retreat called Saoghal on a remote Scottish island. After sending the email, Sybil disappeared and no one will tell Jamie anything about where she is.

This was a good medium-paced book. The way the story unfolded was interesting and engaging. It was a character driven story with strong and well-developed characters. The ending felt a little rushed and unfinished in some ways, which is why I’m giving it 4 stars.

I really liked the depth of each character and their intertwining stories. I really empathized with Jamie and understood where she was coming from and why she was making the choices she made. I feel like Kurtagich is really good at writing truly human-feeling characters, and this book was not an exception to that.

While I liked the ending in general, it felt a little rushed, convoluted, and cliché. I spent a lot of the last few chapters confused and unsure about what was happening or why. The final ending felt good, but I wish the ending had continued at the pace of the rest of the book. I think it sped up to create more intensity, but that speed really took from the book, in my opinion.

I would happily recommend this one despite my issues with the ending. It is still a great story and worth a read! 4 stars!

[Marielle]

How to hook me for a thriller/horror?Give me sisterhood, an isolated setting, and have one sister willing to go completely off the grid to save other.

In this story we have Jamie who is plagued by a crippling chronic illness and is barely making it through her days, while the advice she gets from doctors seems to amount to little more than 'try harder'.

Jamie has a wild child sister Sybil who takes a job at an ultra-exclusive wellness retreat, Saoghal Spa, in a remote island of Scotland. When Sybill’s messages stop but an email with a voucher for the spa arrives along with their secret SOS code, Jamie knows she had to go and find her.

Jamie is quickly taken in the by the extravagance of the spa, as well as the devoted staff and the services, such as art therapy and black mud treatments, while she searches for her missing sister.

While curated and shiny on the outside, it's easy to tell there's something deeply wrong going on behind the scenes of Saoghal. As she begins to investigate, she finds strange occurrences tied to the sea. And also, somehow, her body is starting to heal itself.

This gets progressively darker, stranger and more supernatural as Jamie uncovers what’s really happening at Saoghal, and I loved the way those elements were woven into the mystery.

I first discovered Dawn Kurtagich through The Seventh Sister, and I’m realizing she has a very specific brand of horror that REALLY works for me: fierce sisterly devotion + creepy atmospheric settings + folk-horror energy + supernatural weirdness. Apparently that is my exact formula.

A great spooky season read.

[The Chapter Belle]

Jaimie Vane was once a talented cellist, but a chronic illness stole not only her career, but her marriage as well. Her sister, Sybil, is the only family she really has left, though they rarely speak now that Sybil works as a wellness consultant at an exclusive retreat on a remote Scottish island.

When Sybil leaves voicemails with cryptic pleas for help, Jaimie cashes in her voucher for a free stay and crosses the winter sea, determined to find out what's really going on.

Despite arriving to investigate her sister's disappearance, Jaimie soon finds herself immersed in the retreat's mysterious treatments, where the spa's seemingly magical mud begins to ease the chronic pain she's lived with for years.

On paper, this had everything I love - a remote Scottish island, gothic atmosphere, Scottish folklore, an abandoned prison, a former asylum, a missing sister, eerie wellness culture, touches of the supernatural, and an unsettling sense that something isn't quite right. It should have been an absolute winner for me.

Unfortunately, I felt those incredible elements were overshadowed by the constantly shifting romantic tension. I came for the unhinged mystery and creepy atmosphere, not the longing glances. The ending also didn't quite land for me, which was disappointing because the setting had so much potential.

That said, if you're looking for an atmospheric, gothic mystery to curl up with during spooky season, especially on a dark, stormy fall night, this one is still worth considering!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC!

[Virginia]

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Spice: 2/5 - one scene VERY on page.
Rating: 3/5

I loved PARTS of this book, but I wanted MORE. I wanted more cult, more horror, more creepy remote island. I wanted LESS love triangle. The book itself was fine, but I felt like the premise was SO cool only to be let down by the focus on the sexual tension of it all.

What I liked:
Jamie's character felt well developed, and I loved the portrayal of living with an invisible illness and advocating for yourself until you're blue in the face only to have doctors not take you seriously. That's such an important thing to bring to the forefront. I love the cult, folklore, horror aspects of the book and wished they had been further developed. I loved the setting. It felt very claustrophobic and creepy.

What didn't work for me:
The love triangle/romance aspects of the book. I just feel like they took up valuable page time that needed to be spent developing other aspects of the plot. Ultimately, none of it really mattered for the story, so it was wasted space that could have been used to give me more of the culty, folklory horror that I wanted. The side characters all felt very one note to me. To the point that all of the spa workers were interchangeable in my mind.

Overall, this book felt mediocre, but it had really good bones. I just wish that more page time had been devoted to the creep of it all.

[Victoria Reads]

So you take an elite spa in a building that used to be both a prison AND an asylum, and you add a remote Scottish island in wintertime, plus a dash of Scottish folklore, and you have the recipe for my perfect book! Not gonna lie, I was googling this to see if it really existed so I could experience it for myself!

Jaimie, a former cellist with a severe case of fibromyalgia, basically rots away at home until she realizes that her flighty sister, Sibyl, has sent her a coded email asking for help. Thankfully, that sister has also sent her a voucher for a free two-week session at the miracle spa where she works, so Jaimie musters up all her strength and heads to the remote and stormy island.

Sure, she's looking for Sybil but first she takes time for a few days of relaxation and luxury spa treatments and art therapy with a handsome instructor. I don't blame her.

But wait, is it her imagination or are the mud baths actually healing her pain? And is that art therapist interested in her? Maybe she can put off searching for Sibyl just a bit longer...

Finally she actually starts looking for answers and discovers [spoiler] and [spoiler] and then [spoiler]!!

Such an atmospheric and engrossing read! I loved it!

Thanks to Hanover Square Press for the ARC! Please make this spa happen!

[Sue - Recos and Reads]

Many thanks to Libro.fm for the early copy of this audiobook.

This was an intriguing mix of horror, thriller, mystery, fantasy and romance, but for me, there was just a little too much going on.

Jamie’s life is incredibly challenging. She’s living with a debilitating illness that no one seems to understand, and with only one family member left, her sister, who is often off pursuing her next adventure. So when Jamie receives an encrypted message from her sister asking for help, she knows she has to find her. Her sister has been working at a wellness spa for two years, and Jamie soon discovers that something is very wrong.

The story certainly kept me curious. The prologue introduces what feels like an ancient ritual, before we jump into a modern-day mystery, with plenty of romance woven into the mix. By the time everything comes together at the end, I could see how the pieces connected back to the prologue, but I still felt a little as though I’d suddenly stepped into a different book.

I think part of my struggle may simply be that I don’t read this particular blend of genres very often. There were definitely some interesting ideas here, and I can see this appealing to readers who enjoy their mysteries with a healthy dose of the supernatural, romance and horror. It just wasn’t quite the right fit for me.

[Megan]

Jaimie has lost herself between her chronic pain and depression, until she realizes she hasn’t spoken with her sister for their regular call. Sybil has been away on a remote island working at a wellness spa, but hasn’t missed a check in… until now. Suddenly, Jaimie is frantic to see when’s the last time she spoke with her sister, diving into voicemails and emails to discover a hidden message in an email - SOS - along with a voucher to come to the wellness spa. When the police don’t listen, she takes it upon herself to travel to the spa and discover exactly what happened to her sister, but she encounters more than she expected. The spa’s mud treatments actually help her pain, but something sinister seems to be happening.

This one was interesting. It was a cross between a folklore telling versus a horror wellness retreat, so I had some high hopes for it. Overall, however, it was just okay. I struggled to stay immersed in the story and some of the pieces felt a bit jagged and forced together. I appreciated the atmospheric setting and love when it becomes part of the characters.

Final rating: 3.5 ⭐️

Recommended if you like: folklore retellings, horror

I received an advanced copy of this novel via NetGalley, but all opinions are my own.

[Weronika]

It was one of the ARCs I was the most excited about and unfortunately it was a disappointment... because of the writing style. Something about short, one-word sentences really pulled me out of the reading experience. Even worse, they did not really make the narrative dynamic or emotional, they were just annoying. Combined with a couple cliche phrases, it... was not pleasant to read for me. I chose not to post my rating on goodreads because this style might resonate better with other readers. The novel itself reads as "vibes" rather than plot: it reminded me of Netflix's "Sirens", a movie "A Cure for Wellness", and other fiction about suspicious cults (this is a third ARC this year with an adjancent topic: I don't name others since they are all ARCs). I typically love such topics, but this one wsa not executed well: it felt like it should be more (more cult, more horror, more of everything) and it did not deliver. It is a pity because it had one of the strongest prologues I read in years—and a twist that I predicted very quickly!

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for this honest review.

[Deborah]

I received a gifted audiobook copy of THE WELLNESS RETREAT by Dawn Kurtagich from Harlequin Audio.

THE WELLNESS RETREAT follows Jaimie Vane on a quest to find her sister. Jaimie was a promising musician who was hit with a debilitating chronic illness which left her reliant on aids for walking. Even so, when she gets a coded message from her sister requesting help and the authorities don't take her disappearance seriously, Jaimie is determined to make her way to the retreat where her sister was working.

The wellness retreat is located on an isolated island that is not easy to reach, but Jaimie finds a way to get there. She's quickly enmeshed in the wellness retreat itself and the islanders who resent the retreat's presence there, even as she continues to look for her sister.

This book hit a lot of buzzwords for me, and I am glad that I picked it up! The island setting was fascinating and full of the dark atmosphere that I really enjoy in this type of book. I also really enjoyed seeing Jaimie's determination to find her sister, even as she had to deal with her chronic illness.

I felt like there were a few times that the story slowed a bit for me in the middle and Jaimie's search for her sister did get a bit set aside at times as Jaimie became fascinated by some of the fascinating locals, but the author did well at bringing everything together in the end with some interesting twists!

[The Sewist's Bookshelf]

⭐ (Story) 4
⭐ (Narrator) 5
📚 Tropes/Themes: psychological horror, Gothic horror/thriller, chronic illness rep
👀 Single POV 3rd person
🎙️ Single narration (Ell Potter)
⏰ Approx 7.5 hours @ 1.75x
💔 Content warnings: medical experimentation, body horror, death, institutional/medical abuse
🎀 Special editions: none

I really enjoyed this story. It's a slow build that kept me coming back, and the creepy northern Scotland setting lends the perfect Gothic atmosphere to the story.

I think the world building/folklore is probably my favorite part, especially at the end as everything starts coming together, but I do wish more had been done with it.

I will say it felt fairly predictable, probably because it's marketed as The Picture of Dorian Grey meets A Cure For Wellness but I don't think that took away from the story, and there are some unexpected twists at the end.

My only complaint is the romance aspect of the story. IDK, I get it but ultimately it seems unnecessary and the same effect could've been achieved without it

That said, this is a solid and satisfying Gothic horror/thriller that would be perfect for spooky season TBRs.

[Jess Reads]

Thank you to Harlequin Audio for the advanced listener copy. This audio production was done well. Elle Potter, the narrator, did a good job with the different accents.

This has all the components of a book I would love; folk horror, a cult, rich people behaving badly. However, it just didn't come together well.

The pacing was very inconsistent. It felt like everytime the plot would start to pick up momentum it would come to a complete stand still again to talk about one of the many romantic relationships. It made the book feel like a contemporary romance set inside of a thriller background.

The book opens up with a very folk lore/fantasy vibe, but then transitions to a modern day setting, which it keeps for 95% of the book. Then the last 5% just goes completely off the rails and back into fantasy. The book would have benefited from more inclusion of the fantasy aspects throughout and less "does he like me? I think he likes me".

The commentary about how women are treated within the healthcare system was pretty spot on, although heavy handed.

This book does require a pretty big suspension of disbelief and not even in regards to the fantasy aspects.

2⭐️

[Stella]

Jaimie is a former musician who is suffering from a chronic illness. Every day is full of pain and struggle. When she realizes she hasn't heard from her sister Sybil. Searching through her emails, she realizes Sybil has sent her a coded message as well as a gift certificate to come to the wellness spa where she works. Jaimie knows she must go to find her sister.

Upon arrival, Jaimie loses both her pain medication and her cane. With the help of the local lighthouse keeper, she manages to make her way to the spa in the bog of the remote Scottish island. Sybil is nowhere to be seen, and Jaimie starts feeling better after a few mud baths and treatements. As the time goes on and the more Jaimie learns about the history of the island and the spa, the more she knows she must save her sister, by whatever means necessary.

This was a fun read, full of mystery and cult-like storylines. I did find that it dragged a bit in the middle. I wish that the bog mystery/history was deeper and expanded on a bit more but overall this was a good read for the upcoming fall season.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.