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We meet all the guests and their quirks and behind the scenes antics. I was laughing out loud throughout this book and the snarky humor and over the top spa stay was a blast! I really enjoyed Big Little Lies and I wondered how this one would compare. Ms. Moriarty has a way of developing characters that I learned to find a bond with, even though they were all very different. The novel is told from multiple points of view and yet the audiobook flowed seemlessly between the characters. If you like snarky humor, as I do, then you’ll find much to enjoy here. I appreciate an author who can write subtle satire and I loved the wit of the author and the sly digs into self-important authors, the publishing industry, our obsession with age, appearance and ‘wellness’, and the psycho-babble of some spirituality gurus. These people and others expect that their stay won't be all pampering and relaxation, but they're not prepared for all that the health resort is going to throw at them. It's going to take some work to make change happen, but they have no idea just how far the director of the resort is willing to take things. It's going to be more than fasting, yoga, massages, and hikes in the beautiful countryside. In some sense, their very survival may be at stake—certainly their willingness to fight for themselves will be challenged. A washed up romance novelist, a family broken by tragedy, a has-been football star, a young couple whose marriage is faltering, the wife who has been left for a newer model and the lawyer who has commitment issues. Nine perfect strangers all broken in their own way looking for a make-over, a rejuvenation.

That's what is bringing nine people to Tranquillum House, an exclusive health resort in a remote part of Australia. They're coming to lose weight, to detox a bit from the alcohol they've become fond of, to get lots of spa treatments and massages, and to get a jump on the problems that have been plaguing them. In 10 days, the resort promises, they'll feel totally changed. I LOVE a good health spa, and the remote Tranquillum House sounded absolutely breathtaking. Nine people sign up for a 10 day visit to achieve a "cleanse" and do a bit of recharging. They have absolutely no idea whats in store for them. Lets just say the rather exotic director, Masha is downright creepy and she might be a bit of control freak. At one point Masha tells her guests, "This is a health resort, not a prison." Hmm...time to worry I'd say! Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can’t even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be. A claustrophobic, extra sarcastic, smart, unconventional mystery about 9 people who keep big secrets, find themselves at the weirdest place with extra unconventional and unethical methods to help them solve their problems But they will be eventually forced to confront each skeleton they hid in their closets. Frances can’t open the gate to the Wellness Resort. She entered the correct code several times - but it still won’t open. Twenty frustrating minutes go by and new guests arrive.

Monolingual examples (not verified by PONS Editors)

This one's written in the way so many are these days, where the narrative switches from one character to another with each short chapter. But in this case, there are NINE characters staying at the health resort, with NINE different narratives, plus another 3 or 4 characters who run the resort, who are also weighing in with their thoughts for the reader.

This one started out STRONG... ( of course... it's Liane Moriarty), but it didn't stay strong, and frankly, it could've been better. It was okay. Definitely not her best. She was a terrible winker; she found it hard to close only one eye and had been told that her attempt looked like an extraordinary facial spasm.” Great veins,” he said. Nurses often said that about Frances’s veins. She always felt momentarily proud and then kind of depressed, because what a waste of a positive attribute.” Let's just say it's not one of those books that kept me reading late into the night. After about the fourth or fifth person weighed in with their feelings about the same... exact... event, and their chapter ended, I just thought, "Okay, that's enough for tonight." And I closed the book. My first Liane Moriarty novel - I was intrigued by this one after the hype surrounding Big Little Lies. This may not be indicative of the quality of her other novels, but I found this to be cliched, predictable and ridiculous.

So a problem fairly soon into the book was I just was not connecting with any of the characters. It's not that I found them unlikable, it's more I just wasn't all that interested in their lives. Not even the romance writer did anything for me. I was bored for the first half of the book and then finally something peaks my interest but it just goes into ridiculous territory so I couldn't even enjoy it.

I loved this novel. One of the reasons I rounded up to 5 stars is because I know I’ll remember the plotline for a long while (memory longevity factors into my rating).Sometimes it’s just a matter of the right book at the right time! This audiobook was just what I was looking for and I spent much of the time listening to it on a beach while often laughing to myself. Finally, the last word in the novel is devoted to trashing book reviewers, a move that comes across as petty and weird, especially coming from a novelist who's basically become critic-proof. Ben and Jessica are a young married couple whose relationship has definitely seen better days. All Ben seems to care about is his fancy new sports car (well, it's a Lamborghini, so can you blame him?) while Jessica has spent tons of money on plastic surgery to make herself look better (at least in her eyes), yet her husband doesn't ever tell her how great she looks. They're hoping some marriage counseling might make the difference.

He’d thought, full of love and testosterone, that he would protect his woman from bad men and heavy furniture and upsetting food.” Stereotyping is a problem with other characters as well. The book’s single gay character stops on his way to the spa to buy a case of really good wine and dreams of having a child who's a mini-me. The book’s only minority character is relegated to the thankless role of boss-worshiping flunkey. There is also nonstop gratuitous bashing of women who have body image issues (she really doesn’t need to lose weight! she just thinks she does), women who choose to have plastic surgery, and women who devote time to social media. The brief validation these characters get at the novel’s conclusion in no way compensates for the repeated scolding they weather throughout the rest of the book. Not to mention the fact that these aren’t solely women’s issues. This book is weird, because it’s sort of a meta-thriller-character-exploration that has no genre and hates genre convention, and what’s perhaps even weirder is that um… this is Liane Moriarty’s brand now.That being said, the payoff truly is excellent. The book ends its chosen arcs with about eight different quality character endings, including but not limited to an amicable marital breakup that subverts expectations, a sendup of romance novels & commentary on the thriller genre that ends one couple’s story, a very sweet coming-to-jesus moment for one couple, and an excellent and very feminist ending for one woman. This remote health resort called Tranquillum House is located in Sydney- Australia, built in 1800s and renovated into a secluded place providing extra pampering, luxury, mindfulness, medication, soul healing etc. So I'm laughing at a lot of things in the book although almost every character had some serious things going on in their lives and very real reasons to be depressed, sad, discouraged and on the verge of giving up. Then things really go lopsided and it was interesting reading how the characters handled the situation. I'm thankful for the sappiness of the book and can see Fran writing the ending and I loved it. At one point, the book breaks the fourth wall in a trippy, meta way that I actually liked. We get dialogue from Frances’ editor: “!!!!” and “cliché?” which is just darned cute. But what a long way to travel for a mild joke.