What do you think?
Rate this book
The Perfect Retreat
Full of sex, secrets and scandal, this new novel from e-book sensation Kate Forster, will have you hooked.
Can you live on love alone?
Willow Carruthers – British Oscar winner, style icon and mother of three is facing a crisis: she’s broke, discovery of her partner’s infidelity has left her a single mother and, if the banks have their way, she’s about to be homeless.
Meanwhile nanny to Wilow’s children Kitty, is desperate to keep her job and knows just the place they can retreat too – her crumbling ancestral home in the Bristol countryside, Middlemist House.
To both women in their hour of need, the idea of leaving LA seems brilliant in theory, until Kitty’s brother Merritt returns home unannounced.
From London to L.A, The Perfect Retreat is pure escapism - full of sex, scandal and intrigue.
Can you live on love alone?
Willow Carruthers – British Oscar winner, style icon and mother of three is facing a crisis: she’s broke, discovery of her partner’s infidelity has left her a single mother and, if the banks have their way, she’s about to be homeless.
Meanwhile nanny to Wilow’s children Kitty, is desperate to keep her job and knows just the place they can retreat too – her crumbling ancestral home in the Bristol countryside, Middlemist House.
To both women in their hour of need, the idea of leaving LA seems brilliant in theory, until Kitty’s brother Merritt returns home unannounced.
From London to L.A, The Perfect Retreat is pure escapism - full of sex, scandal and intrigue.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
198 people are currently reading
1067 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 237 reviews
March 14, 2013
This is the first Kate Forster book that I have read – and wow – I am THRILLED to have discovered this wonderful author!
Willow Carruthers has it all – a house that many people would be envious of, an Oscar sitting on her shelf, three children and a rock star husband. It seems like the perfect life! But suddenly everything comes crashing down – her personal life is not only in tatters, but everything is splashed across the tabloids for all to see. Kitty Middlemist is nanny to Willow’s three children, and is facing problems of her own. However, Kitty offers Willow and the children the perfect place to hide and escape away from it – Middlemist Manor, the ancestral home of Kitty and her older brother, Merritt…
The Perfect Retreat was gripping! A few pages into the first chapter I was hooked – and I didn’t put the book down until I had finished the very last sentence. I spent a glorious afternoon immersing myself in this book, the characters and their world, and it was brilliant.
The characters were fantastically written, whilst reading the story I felt as though I knew them, and I genuinely cared about what happened to them, which compelled me to carry on reading. My favourite character was Kitty Middlemist, she opened her home and her heart to Willow and the children, and she was keen to do her best for others – she shone from the page and I was so pleased to have ‘known’ her character! The other characters were equally as interesting to read about, I enjoyed getting to know them, their personalities and reading about their journeys.
I would describe The Perfect Retreat as the ultimate escape book! It has everything you could want in a book – sex, scandal, secrets and a fantastic plot line! But as well as the smiles and fun, Kate Forster highlights a few serious topics in here too so there really is a bit of everything. Above all this is a delightful and fun read and everyone should buy it!
I laughed with the characters, I cringed with them, I felt for them when they were going through hard times and struggling to find their way, and all throughout I was cheering them right on until the very end. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I must admit I was quite sad to finish it. This is a brilliant novel from Kate Forster and I’m already looking forward to her next release!
Willow Carruthers has it all – a house that many people would be envious of, an Oscar sitting on her shelf, three children and a rock star husband. It seems like the perfect life! But suddenly everything comes crashing down – her personal life is not only in tatters, but everything is splashed across the tabloids for all to see. Kitty Middlemist is nanny to Willow’s three children, and is facing problems of her own. However, Kitty offers Willow and the children the perfect place to hide and escape away from it – Middlemist Manor, the ancestral home of Kitty and her older brother, Merritt…
The Perfect Retreat was gripping! A few pages into the first chapter I was hooked – and I didn’t put the book down until I had finished the very last sentence. I spent a glorious afternoon immersing myself in this book, the characters and their world, and it was brilliant.
The characters were fantastically written, whilst reading the story I felt as though I knew them, and I genuinely cared about what happened to them, which compelled me to carry on reading. My favourite character was Kitty Middlemist, she opened her home and her heart to Willow and the children, and she was keen to do her best for others – she shone from the page and I was so pleased to have ‘known’ her character! The other characters were equally as interesting to read about, I enjoyed getting to know them, their personalities and reading about their journeys.
I would describe The Perfect Retreat as the ultimate escape book! It has everything you could want in a book – sex, scandal, secrets and a fantastic plot line! But as well as the smiles and fun, Kate Forster highlights a few serious topics in here too so there really is a bit of everything. Above all this is a delightful and fun read and everyone should buy it!
I laughed with the characters, I cringed with them, I felt for them when they were going through hard times and struggling to find their way, and all throughout I was cheering them right on until the very end. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I must admit I was quite sad to finish it. This is a brilliant novel from Kate Forster and I’m already looking forward to her next release!
December 15, 2018
“Well I’m off to bed” she said.
- “Alone?”
- “Yes!”
- “Shame. What’s your name then?”
- “Kitty.”
- “Goodnight little pussy” he said sexily, and she felt herself go weak in the knees.
Um, EW! Was that supposed to be sexy??
The characters in this book are all unsympathetic and not very bright! The constant name dropping is dated and the famous heroine seems to be based, very thinly veiled, on Gwenyth Paltrow. Cue mega embarrassing audition where she speaks in a “perfect English accent” and pours the tea like a country lady. I’m not that picky in chick lit, but this is too stupid. And 100 pages in there is no heat or romance. Just because someone wears a crisp white shirt, has dirt under his fingernails and a “mop of brown curly hair” does not a Darcy or Mellors make. Also viewpoints keep changing mid scene in very confusing ways. Suddenly we’re hearing the thoughts of a five-year-old. I’m abandoning!
- “Alone?”
- “Yes!”
- “Shame. What’s your name then?”
- “Kitty.”
- “Goodnight little pussy” he said sexily, and she felt herself go weak in the knees.
Um, EW! Was that supposed to be sexy??
The characters in this book are all unsympathetic and not very bright! The constant name dropping is dated and the famous heroine seems to be based, very thinly veiled, on Gwenyth Paltrow. Cue mega embarrassing audition where she speaks in a “perfect English accent” and pours the tea like a country lady. I’m not that picky in chick lit, but this is too stupid. And 100 pages in there is no heat or romance. Just because someone wears a crisp white shirt, has dirt under his fingernails and a “mop of brown curly hair” does not a Darcy or Mellors make. Also viewpoints keep changing mid scene in very confusing ways. Suddenly we’re hearing the thoughts of a five-year-old. I’m abandoning!
May 23, 2017
This book is amazingly written and shouldn't be missed!
June 15, 2017
And they live happily ever after....
This is what I need in my hectic life right now.
This is what I need in my hectic life right now.
October 3, 2022
I'm not one to be a snob about this chicklitty romance novels as they’re the kind of thing I’d probably end up writing, but I have a few observations about this one.
Everyone is of means – and I mean, significant means. Do only poshos get to have any fun around here? Probably, yes, because normal people are too busy earning a living and wouldn’t be able to get into the right parties to find fellow beautiful, landed gentry to go to bed with. True escapism, perhaps, can only be into a world where financial security is assured.
Jumping to the romance. In the modern sense, of course. Foreplay really isn’t the done thing, it would seem, and every climax is simultaneous and penetrative. Forgive me, but it grinds my… gears. Fnar. If you’re doing to write sex, do better.
Sooo many clichés. The hurt, brooding divorcee, the film star, the social climber, the tamed lothario, the frumpy PR ‘girl’ who is surprisingly clever despite her dowdiness. I just couldn’t even. And the Film Directors in Heaven watching over Cannes? Just no.
Why not rate it lower? It wasn’t terrible? The children were sweet characters, and the old director luvvie was well-formed too. The writing is fair, if lazy. The plot was wholly predictable, the denouements in plain sight. But I forgive. Just.
Everyone is of means – and I mean, significant means. Do only poshos get to have any fun around here? Probably, yes, because normal people are too busy earning a living and wouldn’t be able to get into the right parties to find fellow beautiful, landed gentry to go to bed with. True escapism, perhaps, can only be into a world where financial security is assured.
Jumping to the romance. In the modern sense, of course. Foreplay really isn’t the done thing, it would seem, and every climax is simultaneous and penetrative. Forgive me, but it grinds my… gears. Fnar. If you’re doing to write sex, do better.
Sooo many clichés. The hurt, brooding divorcee, the film star, the social climber, the tamed lothario, the frumpy PR ‘girl’ who is surprisingly clever despite her dowdiness. I just couldn’t even. And the Film Directors in Heaven watching over Cannes? Just no.
Why not rate it lower? It wasn’t terrible? The children were sweet characters, and the old director luvvie was well-formed too. The writing is fair, if lazy. The plot was wholly predictable, the denouements in plain sight. But I forgive. Just.
March 12, 2013
4.5 stars.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review.
I haven't read Kate Forster before (shame, shame, I know) so I didn't know what to expect. First of all, I was drawn to this book by its wonderful cover (yeah, I know, how old am I??? But anyway, the cover is brilliant) and then I read a synopsis. And then I started to read.
What can say, this book have me hooked from the very first page. There was not a moment that I've lost my interest or was bored. The writing was just flowing, it is written in a magic way, I just wanted to read, and read and read.
The characters were great and they were really developing through the whole book. At the beginning I didn't like Willow at all, she was so selfish and childish but she must have grow up and it was really great to see how she is fighting. At first I thought, Merritt, oh my, what a bore and then quickly I took my words back. No bore at all. The children were great, Poppy was a real character, I am already scared when I think that my Sophie can be like her in the future:)
There are a lot of characters in this book actually, but each of them brings something with them. All are connected with each other, there is a lot of drama but also a lot of funny moments. What I especially liked about this book is that Kate Forster is writing about really important issues, such as illiteracy and autism, and not only about trivial stuff.
What I missed in "The perfect retreat" is Kerr stirring much more troubles. After his phone call I was expecting much more action about children but there wasn't any, and this is why I give this book 4.5 stars.
It was really a great read, about people who must really fight for their lives, feelings, families.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review.
I haven't read Kate Forster before (shame, shame, I know) so I didn't know what to expect. First of all, I was drawn to this book by its wonderful cover (yeah, I know, how old am I??? But anyway, the cover is brilliant) and then I read a synopsis. And then I started to read.
What can say, this book have me hooked from the very first page. There was not a moment that I've lost my interest or was bored. The writing was just flowing, it is written in a magic way, I just wanted to read, and read and read.
The characters were great and they were really developing through the whole book. At the beginning I didn't like Willow at all, she was so selfish and childish but she must have grow up and it was really great to see how she is fighting. At first I thought, Merritt, oh my, what a bore and then quickly I took my words back. No bore at all. The children were great, Poppy was a real character, I am already scared when I think that my Sophie can be like her in the future:)
There are a lot of characters in this book actually, but each of them brings something with them. All are connected with each other, there is a lot of drama but also a lot of funny moments. What I especially liked about this book is that Kate Forster is writing about really important issues, such as illiteracy and autism, and not only about trivial stuff.
What I missed in "The perfect retreat" is Kerr stirring much more troubles. After his phone call I was expecting much more action about children but there wasn't any, and this is why I give this book 4.5 stars.
It was really a great read, about people who must really fight for their lives, feelings, families.
April 7, 2022
Trashy rom was just what I needed
April 22, 2013
I loved this book, as the story starts Willow is very self centred and in her own world.
Kitty the nanny seems very immature, but very kind to the children.
This book follows the main characters as they all have personals demons to overcome.
As the story unfolds you come to care about all the characters/
I stayed up all night to finish this wonderful book.
Kitty the nanny seems very immature, but very kind to the children.
This book follows the main characters as they all have personals demons to overcome.
As the story unfolds you come to care about all the characters/
I stayed up all night to finish this wonderful book.
May 11, 2022
Drivel. What more can I say .
March 22, 2022
A delightful audio-only read from Kate Forster.
I thought it would be an easy read chic lit set in London and the British countryside (which is always a hook for me) but it was actually much less cheesy than expected. It focuses initially on a famous movie star Willow and her family life, along with the nanny, Kitty. After coming into financial difficulties and an impending divorce, Willow and her 3 children move into Kitty's family mansion.
Lots of intertwined love stories commence and I enjoyed all the characters stories, rather than my usual ho hum chic lit feelings about boring and often "doormat" characters. I empathized and was hopeful for all the characters and although the ending was predictable, it took some interesting turns to get there!
Such a fun read, and the reader was really good. It's spicy and very open door. Free with the Audible Plus catalog.
I thought it would be an easy read chic lit set in London and the British countryside (which is always a hook for me) but it was actually much less cheesy than expected. It focuses initially on a famous movie star Willow and her family life, along with the nanny, Kitty. After coming into financial difficulties and an impending divorce, Willow and her 3 children move into Kitty's family mansion.
Lots of intertwined love stories commence and I enjoyed all the characters stories, rather than my usual ho hum chic lit feelings about boring and often "doormat" characters. I empathized and was hopeful for all the characters and although the ending was predictable, it took some interesting turns to get there!
Such a fun read, and the reader was really good. It's spicy and very open door. Free with the Audible Plus catalog.
March 31, 2024
I was enjoying this story up to a point.
But then it got extremely predictable and completely over the top in the syrupy stakes.
It started so well!
But the author decided to take it down the neat and tidy path, and we all know life isn’t “neat and tidy”
The part at the end with Harold was just a push to far for me into cliques.
Most of the characters however, were fun.
I loved Ivo, but could not stand that Kitty Character which, made this book a chore to read through their chapters at times.
And please, don’t get me started on the epilogue
Ugh!
But then it got extremely predictable and completely over the top in the syrupy stakes.
It started so well!
But the author decided to take it down the neat and tidy path, and we all know life isn’t “neat and tidy”
The part at the end with Harold was just a push to far for me into cliques.
Most of the characters however, were fun.
I loved Ivo, but could not stand that Kitty Character which, made this book a chore to read through their chapters at times.
And please, don’t get me started on the epilogue
Ugh!
October 2, 2025
4.5⭐️ I loved this book and would recommend.
April 13, 2013
A good holiday chick flick
Read
April 11, 2020A real chick lit book. A definite feel good read, no surprises or complicated plots - just what was needed during lockdown.
February 20, 2025
I am rather confused how to rate this book...
It has too much of a happy ending if that makes sense. Hearing all of the stories twin together then separate then come back again is cool, but also, there was a lot of sex and it was shocking to say the least.
I love the ending, but damn, everyone was horrible!! They had to be written that way to get them to this ending, but hot damn...
Also, Willow saying a four house bedroom in London "would have to do" was so funny and I had to stare off into the middle distance to come out of the shock.
It has too much of a happy ending if that makes sense. Hearing all of the stories twin together then separate then come back again is cool, but also, there was a lot of sex and it was shocking to say the least.
I love the ending, but damn, everyone was horrible!! They had to be written that way to get them to this ending, but hot damn...
Also, Willow saying a four house bedroom in London "would have to do" was so funny and I had to stare off into the middle distance to come out of the shock.
February 25, 2022
3.75... almost a 4 but not quite. Don't get me wrong it was good, had me hooked - I did enjoy it throughout. But, to me...the ending was just a little yawn, blah, blah, blah. heard it all before. Sorry Kate, if you're listening. It was very well written and sweet and feel good. It just felt like she'd put all this effort into the book that she couldn't be bothered with the ending. #bitingmyfist
February 15, 2023
This was a cute book that follows an a-list star through her separation, failing career and money woes. When she’s got no choice but to move, her nanny offers up your family home as an option. She meets the English family and settles in to a different life, but what happens when reality comes calling?
Easy to read and interesting enough, a good summer beach read.
Easy to read and interesting enough, a good summer beach read.
April 19, 2023
Read this book after stumbling across it by accident. Luckily, I read the Prequel first, which is called Perfect Chance.
It it has several characters, but Willow and Kitty are the main ones.
It's an easy following story with a few twists and turns, but on the whole, I enjoyed it, and I would recommend it.
It it has several characters, but Willow and Kitty are the main ones.
It's an easy following story with a few twists and turns, but on the whole, I enjoyed it, and I would recommend it.
May 5, 2022
I kept waiting for the story to get going. Some very cringey parts with some characters saying lines and phrases totally out of character! Disappointed as basic storyline had great potential with a movie star splitting from her husband. If I had read this rather than listened I may have given up.
June 24, 2024
Può una lettura leggera essere così brutta da farti passare ogni fantasia di lettura? Evidentemente sì, perché all 35% questo l'ho serenamente abbandonato.
La protagonista poi è così antipatica che già da sola farebbe passare la voglia di leggerlo
La protagonista poi è così antipatica che già da sola farebbe passare la voglia di leggerlo
April 16, 2024
Cute little audible listen.
July 19, 2024
Cute easy read
October 24, 2024
Loved this story so much! Was a great story and loved the plots!
July 3, 2025
Not bad, just pretty predictable. Lots of swearing, not the worst I’ve read but not something you would listen to with little ears in the room. I’d say 2.5 star.
December 10, 2025
I loved this book!
October 14, 2024
3.5. I loved the characters in this one. They all seemed very much individuals.
March 17, 2013
I loved Kate Forster’s modern, sassy novel The Perfect Location last year so I had high hopes for her new release The Perfect Retreat.
The book has a great mix of characters from all different walks of life and the story includes each of the characters own personal storylines so there isn’t one main character similar to in her previous book.
The lovely Kitty is a nanny for celebrity Willow’s children. Willow needs to get back in the spot light so she can financially support her children after they become homeless. For the time being Kitty offers Willow a lifeline by letting them move into Middlemist Manor, the home both Kitty and her brother Merritt have inherited.
Merritt is such a loveable gentleman, he is very traditional so the way he coped having a celebrity and her three children living under the same roof was a surprise. He seemed to warm to the children with ease.
Some of the disabilities that the characters have were very delicately written about and both disabilities I have never come across in a fiction bool before so it brought something very unique to this book.
I was shocked by the way Willow’s relationship with her children at the beginning of this book, they seemed to come across as a hindrance to her but thankfully as the storyline moved along it was great to see the change in her relationship with the children which made me warm to her character a little more.
There was a large helping of romance in this book with a splash of the sauciness we had in the last book. I was hooked throughout the whole of the book I really couldn’t put it down. I would have liked to have found out more about the secrets Ivo had uncovered but this may just be me being greedy!
If you’re looking for a book full of romance, fame and fortune then this is the book for you.
The book has a great mix of characters from all different walks of life and the story includes each of the characters own personal storylines so there isn’t one main character similar to in her previous book.
The lovely Kitty is a nanny for celebrity Willow’s children. Willow needs to get back in the spot light so she can financially support her children after they become homeless. For the time being Kitty offers Willow a lifeline by letting them move into Middlemist Manor, the home both Kitty and her brother Merritt have inherited.
Merritt is such a loveable gentleman, he is very traditional so the way he coped having a celebrity and her three children living under the same roof was a surprise. He seemed to warm to the children with ease.
Some of the disabilities that the characters have were very delicately written about and both disabilities I have never come across in a fiction bool before so it brought something very unique to this book.
I was shocked by the way Willow’s relationship with her children at the beginning of this book, they seemed to come across as a hindrance to her but thankfully as the storyline moved along it was great to see the change in her relationship with the children which made me warm to her character a little more.
There was a large helping of romance in this book with a splash of the sauciness we had in the last book. I was hooked throughout the whole of the book I really couldn’t put it down. I would have liked to have found out more about the secrets Ivo had uncovered but this may just be me being greedy!
If you’re looking for a book full of romance, fame and fortune then this is the book for you.
April 7, 2013
Willow Carruthers has everything in life that anyone can wish for, three beautiful children, a rock star husband and an Oscar for her brilliant acting. Picture perfect? Not at all. Her son is an autistic child, her husband is cheater and well her Oscar is just a mistake. Willow’s life shattered when she had to leave her house and had to take refuge in her Nanny, Kitty Middlemist’s house in the country. It’s not just some house rather it’s a Middlemist Manor which is sprawled over acres. When Willow came into this house she hadn’t even thought in her wildest dreams that she would fall in love with Kitty’s brother Merritt. While struggling to get used to her new life and controlling her wildest and wettest desires in front of Merritt, Willow landed a role in a period drama which is supposed to be shot at Middlemist Manor and which will bring enough money for her to put end to her financial sufferings. Along with the film crew arrived Ivo who had laid more women he can remember. Ivo fell for Kitty at first glance but it’s not only lust, this time he wants more, may be a relationship. Everything seemed to be working out smoothly until Willow’s husband came back into her life like a bad news and Ivo revealed Kitty’s biggest secret to everyone which broke her heart into tiny pieces. Everything has fallen apart in front of their vary eyes and they could do nothing but watch. This is a fantastically written novel with beautifully woven plot line. This book has drama, sex, tears, pain, joy and a life. The story line is supremely engaging and you would never want it to end. Just pop into your beach bag and off you go.
April 17, 2013
Really enjoyed this book. I thought it would be an easy read chic lit but it was actually much less cheesy than I expected! It focuses initially on a famous movie star Willow and her family life, along with the nanny, Kitty. After coming into financial difficulties and an impending divorce, Willow and her 3 children move into Kitty's family mansion.
Lots of intertwined love stories commence and I enjoyed all the characters stories, rather than my usual 'bleugh' chic lit feelings about the soppy characters! I empathised and was hopeful for all the characters and although the ending was predictable as usual, it took an interesting turn to get there!
I really enjoyed this book and shed a little tear at the end. (But don't tell anyone....)
Lots of intertwined love stories commence and I enjoyed all the characters stories, rather than my usual 'bleugh' chic lit feelings about the soppy characters! I empathised and was hopeful for all the characters and although the ending was predictable as usual, it took an interesting turn to get there!
I really enjoyed this book and shed a little tear at the end. (But don't tell anyone....)
April 16, 2022
I came across this whilst browsing free titles on Audible. I needed light reading for a city break and this fit the bill. It’s frothy and predictable but the first two thirds have a good story. It’s drops off in the last third.
I became distracted by the overdose of adverbs. Characters don’t just close a door, they close it ‘firmly’. They don’t walk, they walk ‘purposely’. Simple he said/she said scenarios are unnecessarily seasoned with ‘he said sadly’ and ‘she said distractedly’.
There is lots of gasping, tears in the eyes and detailed descriptions of soft furnishings. There’s also plenty of hetero sex with absolutely no foreplay where everyone orgasms in seconds. All fine if you want total escapism.
I became distracted by the overdose of adverbs. Characters don’t just close a door, they close it ‘firmly’. They don’t walk, they walk ‘purposely’. Simple he said/she said scenarios are unnecessarily seasoned with ‘he said sadly’ and ‘she said distractedly’.
There is lots of gasping, tears in the eyes and detailed descriptions of soft furnishings. There’s also plenty of hetero sex with absolutely no foreplay where everyone orgasms in seconds. All fine if you want total escapism.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 237 reviews