Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from The Wellness Retreat by Dawn Kurtagich, which releases on September 8th 2026.

Perfection comes at a cost.

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.

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The post Read An Excerpt From ‘The Wellness Retreat’ by Dawn Kurtagich appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

By #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, the first book in a stunning new series about a mortal girl who finds herself caught in a web of royal faerie intrigue.

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Oryx and Crake is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. 

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community.

The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox

A bewitching epic fantasy about a revenge killing, a mysterious scroll box that has survived centuries of fires, and the book that changed everything

The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness

A magical novel, based on a Japanese folk tale, that imagines how the life of a broken-hearted man is transformed when he rescues an injured white crane that has landed in his backyard.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

William Goldman’s modern fantasy classic is a simple, exceptional story about quests—for riches, revenge, power, and, of course, true love—that’s thrilling and timeless.

Take A Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

USA Today bestselling author Talia Hibbert returns with another charming romantic comedy about a young woman who agrees to fake date her friend after a video of him “rescuing” her from their office building goes viral…

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl is a coming-of-age tale of fanfiction, family, and first love.

On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers

Nominated for the Locus and World Fantasy Awards, On Stranger Tides is the book that inspired the motion picture Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides—non-stop, breathtaking fiction from the genius imagination that conceived Last Call, Expiration Date, and Three Days to Never.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman comes a remarkable quest into the dark and miraculous—in pursuit of love and the utterly impossible.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

A dazzling novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived, from the internationally bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive and How To Stop Time.

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author, a thrilling and addictive new novel—a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth—set in England at the dawn of a new era: the Middle Ages.

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

From the award-winning author of Station Eleven, an exhilarating novel set at the glittering intersection of two seemingly disparate events—the exposure of a massive criminal enterprise and the mysterious disappearance of a woman from a ship at sea.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

An isolated mansion. A chillingly charismatic aristocrat. And a brave socialite drawn to expose their treacherous secrets. . . . From the author of Gods of Jade and Shadow comes “a terrifying twist on classic gothic horror” (Kirkus Reviews) set in glamorous 1950s Mexico.

Teeth in the Mist by Dawn Kurtagich

Three generations of women uncover an ancient evil in this epic genre-bending horror-fantasy — a “fearless” Faustian tale perfect for fans of Kendare Blake and Ransom Riggs (Cat Winters).

The post 15 Books That Will Help You Escape appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Now that it’s officially fall for half of the world and the weather has turned cold and crisp for half of the world, it means it’s also time to welcome the Halloween season! It’s that time of the year to get spooky, to spend your nights watching and reading horror until Halloween ends, and of course, to put up crazy decorations and wear costumes! To help you spice up your Halloween reads, we are here to suggest a few books and themes that would be perfect for a Halloween binge!

Read A Classic

There are many options you can choose for this prompt, including Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dracula by Bram Stoker, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, and Inferno by Dante.

Read A Book About Witches

What’s Halloween without a few witches? The obvious choice for this prompt would be Harry Potter, but if you want something different, you can read Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia, A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, How to Hang A Witch by Adriana Mather, and Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. Or you know, you can always read the book adaptation of Hocus Pocus!

Read A Book About Curses

Any kind of curse will do! You can read Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Compulsion by Martina Boone, The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw, and Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton.

Read A Book About Foreign Myth/Folk Stories

For this prompt, you can read The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and obviously Rick Riordan’s books. If you want something new, you can read an East Asian stories anthology, A Thousand Beginnings and Endings.

Read A Book About Grim Reapers/Death

I really love reading death as a personification, as death/grim reapers always have such a unique voice. They can be really had to find as there are rarely books about them, but you can read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Scythe by Neal Shusterman, A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore, and Death or Ice Cream by Gareth P. Jones

Read A Book With An Unreliable Narrator

Unreliable narrators is defined as a narrator whose credibility has been compromised, either because they are the culprit, didn’t remember what happened, or something else. Some of the books with unreliable narrators are The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin, Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas, The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins, and The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich.

Read A Book With A Creepy Cover

I think we can agree the Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series have creepy covers! Other options include Daughters unto Devil by Amy Luckavics, Say Her Name by James Dawson, and The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

Happy October! Let us know if you plan on reading any along with the books you will be reading this Halloween in the comments below!

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