I really enjoyed the unexpected twists. It focuses on a writer’s retreat in a remote area where a group of strong women writers are placed with some competition between them. A chilly book with lots of twists!

Alex is a writer, or, at least, she used to be a writer. She's been suffering from severe writer's block since an intense falling out with her best friend (there may have been blood involved). But, another writer friend has just scored her a spot at a highly competitive writing retreat in rural upstate New York hosted at the home of Alex's favorite writer, Roza Vallo. Now Alex is facing an incredible challenge for a writer in top form: write a novel in 28 days. There are four other women at the retreat and the one who writes the best novel over the next four weeks will win a highly lucrative book contract. Miles away from civilization with no cell service or internet access, the lush estate might prove to be a gilded cage, especially as the snow falls, the power goes out, and one writer vanishes.

The pacing started out a little slow for my tastes, but by the halfway point, I was invested in what was going to happen, even if the plot seemed far-fetched at times. Alex, our first-person narrator, took some time to warm up to, but I appreciated the growth that I saw in her character over the course of the novel. A solid, but heavy-handed thriller.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria for this ARC. This book was amazing! Strong feminist characters, intriguing plot, what more do I need?

I can only imagine what authors go through to get a book published and I enjoyed how The Writing Retreat takes a bit of that struggle and stress and ties it into a thriller dripping with suspense.

Alex has had writer's block since her and her bestie had a falling out over an intimate night together. When she receives the exclusive opportunity to attend a writer's retreat with a well known horror writer she jumps at the opportunity. Add the twist that ex-bestie will be attending and that there is some really weird things occurring and you're just getting started.

There are multiple elements that you'd think would be competing for center stage but in truth they molded well. A mixture of character's with different traumas, Alex's personal realization of her sexual preferences and the weird ritualistic requirements of the competition to crank out a story in a month. Some parts felt a bit rushed and underdeveloped while a majority of the novel kept me on my toes wondering what would happen next.

I do feel the story Daphne segments took a little away from the flow of the plot even though I liked the creativity of adding them. I finished this in two days wanting to know how it ends. It's atmospheric, twisty in a way I didn't expect, slightly predictable but overall a fun read to get sucked into. Thank you Simon and Schuster for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. This little thriller is out now!

I had high hopes for this one but it fell very flat fr me. The dialogue was stilted and unbelievable, and the writing process in this workshop was so over the top it lost me as it went on. This definitely was not for me, but YMMV, as always. Just know that this book purports to be about writers writing together, and the cutthroat nature of a workshop and post-fallout female friendships, but it's actually just a lot of cattiness and drugs.

I absolutely LOVED The Writing Retreat! It is exactly my cup of tea! I was kept guessing the whole time and shocked at the twists and turns. I can't wait to read her again!

Very interesting read of a group of potential authors on a retreat coordinated by a well known author, that turns into a horror story of kidnapping, killing, deception, with a semi winner of an ending. A little crazy story line, fairly unbelievable, but entertaining.

💻The Writing Retreat💻

“What would it feel like to hold your own book in your hands for the first time? For it to be a physical object, a thing that people paid for?”

Alex ponders this daily yet suffers from writer’s block for over a year since “the incident.” What happened with her ex-best friend Wren has completely taken over her mind; she can’t get over it. Even worse, Wren is also a writer & shared the same friend group. So, it’s inevitable that when Alex goes to support a mutual friend at her book signing event SHE will be there.

Which is harder a friend break up or relationship? Both Wren & Alex have childhood trauma causing each to have very different personalities. While one suffered physical abuse, she finds it easier to walk away & move on; the other remembers years of emotional neglect & finds herself clinging to every good memory they had together.

When push comes to shove who will give in? Will it be to forgive or for revenge?

Both are invited to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at their IDOL Author Roza Vallo’s Blackbriar Estate in the Adirondacks of New York. This Victorian Mansion was renovated to re-create the home originally built in 1881 by oil tycoon Horace Hamilton. The house has a haunting past of demons, witchcraft, & death, which is exactly why Roza likes it.

“It’s perfect for Roza…The same dark, disturbing vibe as her book.”

When they arrive the pair quickly realize getting along will be the least of their worries. Who is Roza really & what’s going on in the house, with her staff & the other house guests?

“…This wild frenetic energy coursing through me was more like abject terror.”

“Being the focus of her gaze was like nothing else I’d ever experienced; like being pinned down as she cracked open my skull, staring impassively, considering the slimy things inside.”

“What is to give light must endure burning.”

💭Are you in a Book Club? Is it IRL or Virtual? What was your March pick?

🏷
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3.5 ⭐️. 5 wanna-be writers were invited to a retreat by a well-loved and popular author for a month. But it was not the retreat they were expecting.

The book is fast paced and suspenseful. Although I was intrigued by the plot, how it ended left me with more questions than answers. Some scenes did keep me engaged. The dialogue between characters were so-so.

Thank you, Netgalley and Atria Books for the eARC in return for an honest review.

✨ Review ✨ The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

Thanks to Atria, #netgalley, @bookclubfavorites @BookClubFavorites, @simonandschuster for this free book for review!

This book follows Alex and a group of four other women who set off on a writer's retreat at the remote gothic mansion of famous novelist Roza Vallo. Alex has idolized Roza since she was a child, and this is a dream for her writer's-blocked-self. But her former bestie // current nemesis Wren is also one of the writer's chosen.

The book follows the women as Roza Vallo pushes them to write at a punishing pace, and as things start going awry, the women are left stumbling trying to find out if there are shenaningans at play or if they are just super stressed.

I enjoyed the build-up of this book, but eventually it just got a little weird/unrealistic for me; and at the same time I wasn't really invested in the ending.

This was one I wanted to love but it just didn't hold up to the hype.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: thriller/mystery
Pub Date: out now!

Hello Spicy thriller. That was a very welcome surprise. Usually I will read a thriller and there is no spice. This threw me for a loop. I loved this read. Will highly recommend to my friends.

This was engrossing at first, but then didn’t hold my interest throughout. It was disappointing as I had already invested time and energy into the first half, but then didn’t even finish the book.

This book hooked me in quickly, and I was very fascinated by it. There were aspects of the book I was less excited about, but I was entertained. I don't feel satisfied with the ending, but it was a fun read. ⭐⭐⭐

I love a locked room mystery so I was excited to read The Writing Retreat. What struck me the most about this novel was the pacing: the big reveal happens about 67% of the way through, and the rest was a wild ride. I love the premise of a highly selective writing retreat gone wrong. And I like the book-within-a-book that the main character is writing. I would definitely recommend this book, especially for fans of Lisa Jewell and Lucy Foley.

This book...this craaaaazy book! Man, oh man - the plot twists had me at the edge of my seat, holding my kindle tighter than necessary. I was honestly hooked from the very first page.

Bartz's writing style was gripping and captivating. The gothic setting and behind locked doors situation the characters have been put in? Absolutely genius. I loved reading the perspective of the unreliable narrator especially.

Loved the idea of this book and was enjoying the beginning, but it didn't deliver. Sadly, I didn't care for quite a bit: subplots, characters, book in a book, etc.

I loved this book! It got so unhinged at the end, but I just needed to keep following the chaos to see exactly what was going to happen. I gave this 4 stars and it'd because of the ending I knocked off a little. Otherwise, a really enjoyable debut!

WOW! I loved this one SO much! Had just the right amount of shock and wow factor. Fast paced and kept me guessing until the end. 4 star

4.5/5!

Give me all of the locked room mysteries!! I’ll honestly probably never turn down the chance to read one and I love seeing what spin the author will take with them. 

Bartz casually leads the reader into the plot of this story. I loved the methodical set-up before getting to the retreat, which allowed me to get to know our main character, Alex, before the chaos took off. Once we get to the retreat, things start to move at a rapid pace with a sense of tension oozing through the pages. Bartz smartly added in the estate’s history as a book within a book narrative, which we get to enjoy through snippets mingled within the chapters. Pair that with the claustrophobia of being at a sprawling remote estate in the middle of a snow storm and you’ve got a recipe for binge reading. 

The Writing Retreat is probably one of the most unhinged locked room mysteries I’ve read recently. If you love tension, drama, and downright crazy characters who will stop at nothing to get what they want, you need this on your TBR! I’m absolutely shocked this book is a debut novel and I’ll have my eye out for more from Bartz in the future.

A huge thank you to Atria Books for my gifted copy!

The Writing Retreat has a really cool premise-- a bunch of young writers meet at a famous author's home for an exclusive writing workshop. From there, strange and violent things start happening, and the girls don't understand if it is the work of one of their colleagues, the author, or the haunted mansion where they are staying.

Unfortunately, the execution does not live up to the idea. This thriller has a lot of angst-- with our main character so miserable about a friendship falling out that it is really hard to grasp when we actually find out the reason for said split. The other characters are flat, and the outrageous plot conclusion takes you right out of the story.

I enjoyed the representation (LGBTQ+ and not all white characters), I think the plot needed to be tidied up. I am a little tired of the narrators with so much misery that they can't see what is right in front of their faces.