After the prologue, the first character the reader is introduced to is Frances. This was a great opener for the avid reader who will ‘get’ the subtle and not so subtle digs at the publishing industry and the trends they run right into the ground until they become a parody of themselves, forcing authors to either hop on board the train or wait for their chosen genre to become popular again. So, right away, I knew I was going have to see how Frances fared, and was all in. I couldn’t wait to see what other sardonic observations the author had up her sleeve. As I was making my way through the last half of the book, I was thinking, "Oh my God. I'm going to have to go on Goodreads and give Liane Moriarty a 3-star rating. Oh my God." 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. As the days pass they discover that Masha's methods for transformation are even more radical than they had at first thought. Halfway through, there was a genre-changing twist and things get a little serious. Although I had a suspicion, I was only partially right and the author managed to take me completely by surprise. No spoilers here, but it suddenly became an entirely different story, and the nine must band together for a solution. (I’m being deliberately vague as it’s important to go into this story blind.)

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. 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. In the end the guests are indeed challenged in many ways, some of which they definitely didn’t consent to or want to be a part of. There is some healing, some transformative times for the guests and then bonding together to try to figure out the answer to a most urgent puzzle. Sometimes dark, sometimes funny, sometimes mysterious – I really enjoyed my first Liane Moriarty book. I have seen where some say this book is not quite as good as her others. If that is the case, I am in for a real treat if I keep reading her books.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.

But honestly, the whole situation with the director of the resort and her decision to take things in a new direction I found utterly laughable. I was waiting to see just how over-the-top Moriarty would take things, and found some of it really hard to believe. I did like the way she tied things up with some of her characters, but I was really disappointed on the whole.There’s an epilogue, which I ordinarily find to be unnecessary but in this case I appreciated it. There are transformations, although not necessarily the ones the guests expected. Of course, I had my favorite characters, and Frances, the menopausal romance novelist was the one I was immediately drawn to in this story. I love snarky wit and she was hilarious. But it’s not all laughs, as some guests are dealing with serious issues, many of them heartbreaking. Overall: An extremely enjoyable & entertaining read that had me totally engrossed from start to finish! Would highly recommend! LIANE MORIARTY delivers quite the fascinating, intriguing, vulnerable, lifelike, and beautifully written read here with quirky and realistic characters, a brazen and dynamic premise and an extremely spellbinding and enthralling storyline.

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). A few sentences had faulty grammar. (Where oh where was the editor?) Anyway, they didn’t make me twitch for long. Napoleon, Heather, and Zoe, are a family that certainly looks healthy. But they're carrying around a lot of grief, anger, regret, fear, and guilt related to a tragedy that happened just three years ago. While it might have been a better idea to go on a cruise or some other vacation, they hope that the time to meditate and reflect might help them move past these issues. 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. 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.Frances is 52 years old, twice divorced, a romance novelist. Her agent just gave her crappy news. Nobody wants her new book. Then there is Maria (Masha) Dmitrichenko, a Russian immigrant. Masha, the director of Tranquillum House, is a transformation zealot – enlightenment for all. These nine guests are to be the first to start her new regime. Their destinies are in her hands. She is going to change these people, not just temporarily, but forever. There are too many characters, eleven in all. And readers really get to know only two well: fifty-something romance author Frances and twenty-year-old nice-kid Zoe, who become unlikely allies as the spa experience grows weirder and more challenging. 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. Frances is a struggling romance novelist going for a weekend away to try and revamp her life after another bad experience with romance.