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Consent Withdrawn
She volunteered to disappear. But once you surrender everything, how do you get it back?
Lila Torres was a high-powered attorney at the top of her game—until the numbness set in. Desperate to feel anything, she signs up for a radical program at an exclusive retreat known only as The Institute for Personal Transformation. Promising a full psychological reset, the Institute strips participants of control, identity, and choice.
But beneath the serene facade lies something far more sinister.
As the line between therapy and captivity blurs, Lila finds herself immersed in a world of coercive control, manipulative “treatments,” and emotionally weaponized obedience. Each day pushes her closer to the edge of sanity—and deeper into the terrifying
What if the only way out… is not to leave at all?
Lila Torres was a high-powered attorney at the top of her game—until the numbness set in. Desperate to feel anything, she signs up for a radical program at an exclusive retreat known only as The Institute for Personal Transformation. Promising a full psychological reset, the Institute strips participants of control, identity, and choice.
But beneath the serene facade lies something far more sinister.
As the line between therapy and captivity blurs, Lila finds herself immersed in a world of coercive control, manipulative “treatments,” and emotionally weaponized obedience. Each day pushes her closer to the edge of sanity—and deeper into the terrifying
What if the only way out… is not to leave at all?
124 pages, Paperback
Published August 9, 2025
1 person want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 23, 2025
I really loved the idea of this book and thought it had strong potential, but overall I found myself confused about what was going on most of the time. The storyline felt scattered, and I struggled to follow the direction the author was taking. There were definitely some good points and a few parts that caught my attention, but they weren’t enough to keep the momentum going. Unfortunately, the lack of clarity and detail made it hard for me to stay invested. A unique concept, just not executed in a way that worked for me.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
August 16, 2025
I received an advanced review copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.
I really like what I started out reading. The writing style was comfortable to read and engaging. My first note is commenting on how the writing style had me hooked.
The errors are tremendous and very off putting. Toward the end of chapter one, I was double checking and going back and forth making sure I read what I thought I read.
It started with “She couldn’t wait. address.*” which I thought maybe was just a marker or something until I saw it again and the entire end of the chapter repeated itself.
We end Chapter one with “tomorrow, she would drive into the mountains and…” and then we begin chapter two going back to what I guess was a second interview with Elena Martinez? (Ok I reread it, and chapter one had emails with Elena, not a meeting.) It feels extremely repetitive already though. We’re revisiting the same subjects over and over and we’re only two chapters in at this point.
The time hopping also felt nonsensical. I was left spinning, flipping back to re-check when/where in the world I was supposed to be. This was very frustrating as a reader. This book needs to be much better organized.
“The nearest town was twelve miles from the compound.”
Later the GPS signal died 23 miles before she reached the institute.
Then we’re told the nearest neighbor is 18 miles away, and they’re surrounded by 12,000 acres of state forest. It isn’t generally legal to live in a state forest, so I am failing to understand them being “surrounded” by it.
“Consultation rooms with cameras disguised as smoke detectors” - ???? Why are we being told this? This is something that would be nice to discover organically instead of being told straight up what it is.
“What happened to my own clothes?” - This is said incorrectly. What happens to my clothes? What happens to my personal clothing? There are many ways to say this that sound better.
Chapter 4 is repeated midway through. I can’t tell what perspective we’re supposed to be in. On night one, apparently the women Lila observed had confessed about their lives? I couldn’t find where they had supposedly done that. The attendant Rebecca checked on her the first night and said she had been fighting it, but Lila hasn’t had a chance to fight anything at all?
Lila wrote that she’s adapting so quickly to this routine on the night of her arrival, when she hasn’t in the slightest adapted and is already looking for defiance and solidarity with the other women.
I’ve been told about Lila’s legal, analytical mind without actually being shown. I’d rather we maybe be taken through her thoughts in an analytical way instead of being told several times how analytical she is.
I just love the premise so much, and I want to love this book, but the organization and grammar desperately need work. This needs a proper editor to check it out and fix it up.
If it gets edited and fixed up, I’d be willing to give this book a re-read and refresh my review.
I really like what I started out reading. The writing style was comfortable to read and engaging. My first note is commenting on how the writing style had me hooked.
The errors are tremendous and very off putting. Toward the end of chapter one, I was double checking and going back and forth making sure I read what I thought I read.
It started with “She couldn’t wait. address.*” which I thought maybe was just a marker or something until I saw it again and the entire end of the chapter repeated itself.
We end Chapter one with “tomorrow, she would drive into the mountains and…” and then we begin chapter two going back to what I guess was a second interview with Elena Martinez? (Ok I reread it, and chapter one had emails with Elena, not a meeting.) It feels extremely repetitive already though. We’re revisiting the same subjects over and over and we’re only two chapters in at this point.
The time hopping also felt nonsensical. I was left spinning, flipping back to re-check when/where in the world I was supposed to be. This was very frustrating as a reader. This book needs to be much better organized.
“The nearest town was twelve miles from the compound.”
Later the GPS signal died 23 miles before she reached the institute.
Then we’re told the nearest neighbor is 18 miles away, and they’re surrounded by 12,000 acres of state forest. It isn’t generally legal to live in a state forest, so I am failing to understand them being “surrounded” by it.
“Consultation rooms with cameras disguised as smoke detectors” - ???? Why are we being told this? This is something that would be nice to discover organically instead of being told straight up what it is.
“What happened to my own clothes?” - This is said incorrectly. What happens to my clothes? What happens to my personal clothing? There are many ways to say this that sound better.
Chapter 4 is repeated midway through. I can’t tell what perspective we’re supposed to be in. On night one, apparently the women Lila observed had confessed about their lives? I couldn’t find where they had supposedly done that. The attendant Rebecca checked on her the first night and said she had been fighting it, but Lila hasn’t had a chance to fight anything at all?
Lila wrote that she’s adapting so quickly to this routine on the night of her arrival, when she hasn’t in the slightest adapted and is already looking for defiance and solidarity with the other women.
I’ve been told about Lila’s legal, analytical mind without actually being shown. I’d rather we maybe be taken through her thoughts in an analytical way instead of being told several times how analytical she is.
I just love the premise so much, and I want to love this book, but the organization and grammar desperately need work. This needs a proper editor to check it out and fix it up.
If it gets edited and fixed up, I’d be willing to give this book a re-read and refresh my review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2025
Absolutely loved the opening chapter - instantly thought the premise of the book sounded super juicy!
Unfortunately, the copy I received was riddled with errors (summarised all below) due to these errors, the chapters were all mixed together, things were missing and it left me feeling really confused.
It’s a shame because the basis of the story is actually really good! I really enjoyed the character ‘Lila’ and her perspective. Not sure if it was just my copy that was corrupted but I can’t give more than 1 star to a book that was not correctly put together.
Errors -
Page 11 - Written as She couldn’t wait. address* (error)
Page 13 - The above is repeated and then the entire following pages are duplicated.
Page 24 - This was also written in the 1st Chapter, some issues with duplication or editing issue.
Page 43 - Duplicated paragraph from earlier in the chapter.
Page 46 - After the duplicated paragraph, it starts with ‘Group One: Jennifer, Maria, Catherine and Lila.’ On Page 43, they are listed as the 3 distinct personalities + on Page 46, it has changed to say Lila has not had a chance to observe.
Page 68 - Halfway through Page 68, Chapter 6: Pre-Dawn restarts and after a few pages, it is different to what I had previously read.
Page 80 - Another duplicate of a previous chapter within Chapter 7.
Unfortunately, the copy I received was riddled with errors (summarised all below) due to these errors, the chapters were all mixed together, things were missing and it left me feeling really confused.
It’s a shame because the basis of the story is actually really good! I really enjoyed the character ‘Lila’ and her perspective. Not sure if it was just my copy that was corrupted but I can’t give more than 1 star to a book that was not correctly put together.
Errors -
Page 11 - Written as She couldn’t wait. address* (error)
Page 13 - The above is repeated and then the entire following pages are duplicated.
Page 24 - This was also written in the 1st Chapter, some issues with duplication or editing issue.
Page 43 - Duplicated paragraph from earlier in the chapter.
Page 46 - After the duplicated paragraph, it starts with ‘Group One: Jennifer, Maria, Catherine and Lila.’ On Page 43, they are listed as the 3 distinct personalities + on Page 46, it has changed to say Lila has not had a chance to observe.
Page 68 - Halfway through Page 68, Chapter 6: Pre-Dawn restarts and after a few pages, it is different to what I had previously read.
Page 80 - Another duplicate of a previous chapter within Chapter 7.
August 9, 2025
I was instantly intrigued when I saw the premise of this book and couldn't wait to read it. It started off really strong, but it seemed to have lost something along the way. The events causing alarm to main character Lila were all very vague. I guess I expected more detail into the events going on and more of a sense of suspense. It's not a bad book, in fact as it's a pretty short book, I read it within a few hours. I just expected more. The ending was satisfying, but seemed resolved much too quickly.
I understand this is an ARC copy. so I understand it may not be perfectly edited, but there was at least three instances where several pages were repeated. and this was frustrating as a reader, but I am sure this will be corrected before release.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I understand this is an ARC copy. so I understand it may not be perfectly edited, but there was at least three instances where several pages were repeated. and this was frustrating as a reader, but I am sure this will be corrected before release.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
August 7, 2025
Consent Withdrawn was overall a pretty good book but in complete honesty I was hoping for more depth with the story. As I don’t want to leave any spoilers I’ll say that the plot line was great and the concept was very intriguing but I feel like I finished the book without getting further in to what could have been a major thriller. Nevertheless, I did receive an advanced review copy for free and my review is voluntary. Still, I truly believe there was so much potential to have many more twists and turns.
I also felt like I missed the desired investment in to the characters, especially the protagonist, Lila. Again, it was an enjoyable read and the concept was promising but I would like to have seen things unfold in a more in depth matter.
I also felt like I missed the desired investment in to the characters, especially the protagonist, Lila. Again, it was an enjoyable read and the concept was promising but I would like to have seen things unfold in a more in depth matter.
August 2, 2025
Lila has been feeling numb for months. In a desperate attempt to feel better she agrees to extreme therapy which turns into a nightmare.
I enjoyed this book, Lila was a great character and I liked reading from her perspective. The ending was not where I expected this book to go. The ending reason be for it all was surprising so that was cool. Good book!
I enjoyed this book, Lila was a great character and I liked reading from her perspective. The ending was not where I expected this book to go. The ending reason be for it all was surprising so that was cool. Good book!
September 1, 2025
Thus was a really good psychological thriller! It was scary and I was routing for her but unsure at first if she was crazy or not! Really kept me interested. Something that was a little distracting and bothersome - there were a couple if phrases that I feel were over used. One of them was "with practiced efficiency" and similar to that. However the story was good with a satisfying end!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews