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.

So, I was real into the premise of this one but ultimately there were some things that really didn’t work for me. With that being said I have seen a lot of great reviews for this one so you will have to make your own decision !
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Thank you Atria and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fresh idea and I loved the mostly women cast of characters. However without any spoilers, it really went off the rails at the end and changed from 5 star to 4 star in my opinion as there were quite a few instances I had to suspend belief to even think it may be possible. An interesting, creepy, haunted house book I generally enjoyed. Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Alex has nearly given up on becoming a writer when she is accepted at the last minute to a writing retreat at the home of her idol, Roza Vallo. Her ex-best friend, Wren, has also been accepted so Alex is apprehensive, but not enough to miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime. As the retreat begins to unfold, Alex is surprised by Roza's shifting moods and the mysterious history of the home. Alex is suddenly wondering who she can trust and if she will even make it out of this retreat alive.

This thriller will take you on a wild ride. I loved how much I couldn't predict the twists, and there were so many! Just when I thought I could figure it out, another twist came. There's an element of ghost stories that I didn't expect, but quite enjoyed. Overall, a solid thriller to read in winter!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this book.

This book was so boring that I stopped at Chapter 10. I just couldn’t get into it. I feel like we were getting a lot of important information, but life is too short to read things I just feel indifferent about.

A group of women in a remote location can only lead to death. Brutal, blood dripping murder.
These characters were very intriguing - our main character, Alex is struggling hard. Massive writer's block. The abrupt ending to years long best friend, Wren, has created so much isolation for Alex. Struggling to redefine herself, find friends.
Enter Roza - infamous, reclusive author with a deep cult following.
I enjoyed this book - looking forward to the next release from this author!

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ rounded up to 4

[ Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for this #gifted ARC in exchange for my honest review. ]

What a rollercoaster ride! As someone who once dreamed of being a writer (and still thinks about carving out time to write again) I was sucked into this book immediately — I enjoyed the book release party and the introduction of Roza and her writing retreat.

I love love loved the focus on writing during the beginning of the book — but as the story unfolded, my excitement dwindled. I was expecting an intense writing competition between the participants — and expected them to be cutthroat against each other and definitely didn’t expect the host of the retreat to be so evil.

I did enjoy the slow burn unveiling throughout the entire book of what happened between Alex and Wren and how that played into what happened during the retreat.

It was definitely a page turner — I wanted to keep progressing the story — but looking back after having finished, it wasn’t what I was expecting at all. I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters, so I didn’t really care what happened to them by the end.

This was a buddy read with Lauren, my partner in crime over at @girl_checkyoshelf

I went into this book with fairly low expectations, after hearing mainly negative feedback initially. I was pleasantly surprised by the first part of the book, which has more gothic undertones, but then it abruptly changed tracks and got a little confusing and messy, trying to do too many things at once.

Alex is a struggling writer, who falls into a last minute replacement spot at a writer's retreat hosted by her idol, the reclusive feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. She finds out that her ex-best friend Wren will also be in attendance, who she has not spoken to since a night of violence at a bar ended their friendship. Roza's estate has a horrifying backstory, and for a while it looked like the book was going to take the more obvious, supernatural gothic turn. Instead, the monsters are very real, and it becomes clear that Roza is not exactly who she claims to be, nor are the fellow writers at the retreat. There was a lot to unpack in this one, with themes of feminism, female relationships, and queer reckoning, but I felt it for muddled and tried to do too much. The ending was confusing and I'm not entirely sure what happened even after a reread. This was one that started much stronger than it ended for me, but would still be somewhat enjoyable for those who like secluded retreat/stuck in a snowstorm tropes.

Alex is a struggling writer. Ever since the fall out with her best friend, Wren, she hasn't been able to write a thing. But an author friend recommends Alex for a chance to experience a writing retreat with Roza Vallo, the author that she has idolized since she twelve. The individual who writes the best book during the retreat gets a book deal. When Alex finds out she's been accepted her life changes.

The retreat is in an isolated location with no cell service or wifi. Oh, and Wren will be there too. Things start out well until girls start going missing... Alex must literally write to save her life.

This book was wonderfully creepy, and I'd honestly like to read the book that Alex was working on in this novel as well as Roza's books. I felt like certain parts within the plot were predictable, but I was on the edge of my seat for most of this book.

Seriously impressed that this is a debut novel. I highly recommend this book if you like psychological thrillers. Especially if you like titles that keep you guessing until the end.

Buckle up for the retreat of a lifetime, because this book is absolutely wild!

I originally was intrigued by this novel as it sounded very similar to how Mary Shelley ended up writing Frankenstein. As a lover of Mary Shelley and everything Frankenstein has to offer, I knew this had to be as haunting and insightful on the human experience. Luckily, The Writing Retreat did not disappoint.

This book is filled with haunting tales of the publishing industry, womanhood, adolescence, queerness, classism and racism, all wrapped up into a horror-filled retreat. The stunning writing and the way the characters are developed from the get go made it hard to put the book down. Roza is so intriguing and the way she articulates her life and the world around her is absolutely beautiful.

If you are looking for a book that will intrigue you and give you insightful words on society as a whole, this is the ghost story for you.

I also would recommend reading along to the audiobook because it transports you even further into this retreat.

This was exactly what I needed it to be. It was shocking and over the top and went off the rails. And that’s what I needed at the time! I see how this won’t work for everyone. I had a fun time reading it and it was the only book that kept my attention during a reading slump. It was entertaining. And I didn’t see any of it coming and had no idea where it was taking me. The only thing I didn’t love were the excerpts from the character’s book she was writing. I felt it could’ve been disclosed without actually reading it. It took me out of the story a bit. Overall I thought it was a great time!

Thank you so much for the advance copy of The Writing Retreat! I did have some difficulty getting into this title but once I did I got completely absorbed by the story. Definitely will be on the lookout for other titles by this author. Great work!

I enjoyed this title and the overall premise. It was interesting and held my attention throughout. The horror element really wasn't that horrorfying, but the thriller part was what kept me engaged. I feel like the horror element was secondary to the story and didn't really fit in the end.

I found this to be an unputdownable read. I was constantly surprised by the twists and honestly just found the characters deliciously terrible in the best way. The writing was sharp and biting and I found it kept me picking the book up over and over, wanting to get to the next tense moment. This is definitely a great read for anyone looking for an immersive thriller.

What would you do to make your dreams come true? Would you step over your friends on your path to fame and success? How far would you go? These are some of the questions at the center of Julia Bartz’sThe Writing Retreat (Atria/Emily Bestler Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster).

Up and coming and young writers have the dream opportunit to attend a writing retreat hosted by none other than the famous mystery writer, Roza Vallo. As the young writers get to know each other and past relationships impeed progress for some, what becomes expected of them spirals out of control. The premise is unique and starts out with a bizarre hostess, her eerie, secluded estate home, and five young, impressionable women writers who are all there for a reason. As the writing game' and competition moves forward, it loses its place in reality and spirals downhill. Thanks to the publisher, author and NetGalley for the advanced copy