3 out of 4 stars
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The Retreat by Chariss K. Walker is a fictional novel about Amanda’s struggles after she loses everything she has ever loved. The book starts with Amanda taking care of her sick mother, Susan. She thinks that everything is wonderful, until she goes home to pick out an outfit. While there, she finds her husband in bed with another woman. Amanda does not know what to do so her friends talk her into going on a retreat to get away from everything that has been going on.
While on the retreat, Amanda encounters many things that change her outlook on her life and decide that she can’t live the way she has been for the last year-since she caught Billy cheating. At the end of the retreat, she immediately starts looking to sell her home and move. Before she can do that she must first need to realize what will make her as happy as she was when she was younger.
I love how everything that Amanda encountered in the woods on the retreat has significant meanings to her way of living back home. Everything made her realize that her marriage had ended a long time ago. I think that Chariss did a good job of relating the animals in the meadow to both Amanda and Billy, her husband, especially when she found him cheating. I did not, however, understand how the Native American woman at the store knew about everything that was occurring in the woods, and I wish that part of the story was developed a little bit more.
There were also a few spelling and grammar errors in the book (more towards the end), but I do not believe that there was enough to detract the reader from getting the message or enjoying the read. Although the storyline was fine, I had a hard time getting pulled into the novel in a way that I could not put it down. Another thing that I disliked in the end was that it became a little repetitive once she began her move to Santa Fe.
Another problem that I had with the book is that I didn’t find it completely believeable. The fact that a bear would come up to you in the woods and then follow you back to your cabin without harming anyone is a little unrealistic I think.
I would rate this 3 out of 4. It is a nice feel-good novel that will help readers get over the hard times that they are currently going through. If you are going through hard times in life, I highly recommend this book. I think it could have been a little more developed, as I wish I knew some more of the story in Santa Fe, but overall it was a fun easy read.
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The Retreat
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