While Roza Vallo, our protagonist’s favorite author, isn’t a cult of personality, she does carry a serious case of charismatic authority which draws young, female, feminist horror writers to her like moths to a very lovely and mysterious flame. But charisma only lasts so long and it only runs so deep before it wears off and the charisma is gone. And the element of mystery a person holds is as a house of cards: All it takes is one tiny tremor or huffed disbelief of doubt before it collapses and everything that seemed so mysterious before now simply looks like a dangerous con. The aftermath? Spoilers, my loves.

The famous author lives in an isolated mansion, miles away from civilization, and notoriously shuns publicity. The mansion was the location of a grisly and unsolved murder and unsolved crime that no one has ever been able to explain but has always been surrounded by conspiracy theories and occult rumors. It is here, in this gothic setting, that Roza decides to host a month-long writing retreat for a handful of up-and-coming female horror writers under the age of 30. For a month they’ll have no contact with the outside world while they all sit down to each write an individual novel and workshop them with Roza and each other every day. It’s winter, and soon they’re all snowed completely in.

And this being a thriller, well you know nothing is exactly what this means. Yup: There’s malarkey afoot, and not the fun kind. And almost no one is who they seem. Whether that’s for good or ill is for you to find out.

I want to skip over what most people are going to talk about in their reviews: the mind games Roza plays, the concept of publish AND perish, of every character being trapped in a different way and finding a way to break free, the group’s collective trauma, and more to touch on a theme I had to sleep on to get untangled in my mind, because I wouldn’t have been coherent enough last night to write about it.

Both Roza and Alex (our protagonist) are of Hungarian descent, which tickled something in the back of my mind. You know who else was Hungarian? Countess Elizabeth Bathory. While history goes back and forth on whether or not the stories of Bathory bathing in the blood of young, female virgins to maintain eternal youth and beauty are completely made up by men who wanted to demonize her, brand her a serial killer and witch so they could take her lands for themselves or whether she truly was a serial killer (this was the 16th century and history is written by the winners), Roza reminds me greatly of Bathory, with her need to be surrounded by young, female writers who spend their days and night trapped inside her home with her, no escape, working constantly day and night to provide their lifeblood (their writing) for Roza, following her every direction and playing her games (sometimes to their own physical and mental detriment, as if being tortured), until eventually madness starts to unravel and young blood begins to spill and things become so serious a Sword of Damocles might as well be grazing these young writer’s scalps. In more than one instance of pop culture females either bathe in young blood or make creams and unguents with young blood in them in an effort to stay young, beautiful, and powerful. And this is where I find the ties to Roza: Roza loves the power and prestige the publishing world gives her, but in order to maintain it, she needs to stay relevant. So, much like a modern-day Elizabeth Bathory, Roza Vallo needs young, fresh, female writers to bring new blood in the form of their writing to her demesne…because forever isn’t guaranteed.

The ending to this novel was perfect, in my opinion. I couldn’t get enough of it. I thought it fit the feel of the novel in a surreal and sublime way.

Now, this could’ve been a five star novel if it weren’t for some anachronisms in the plot that any serious fan of thriller novels (given the genre of literature these characters write, there’s no way they wouldn’t have read a great deal of thriller novels; as well as suspense and mystery) would’ve thought of that could’ve solved more than one serious roadblock in the plot. It was an easy catch, in my opinion, and something so obvious was something I couldn’t ignore.

All in all, it was a fantastic read and I know I’ll be recommending it.

I was provided a copy of this book by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, views, and opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone and are expressed of my own free will. Thank you.

File Under: Psychological Fiction/Psychological Thriller/Mystery/Suspense/Thriller/Women’s Fiction/Murder Thriller/Suspense Thriller/Gothic

Very fast paced, the main story didn’t take long to grab my attention. The setting of a writing retreat in the manor of a near-mythic horror novelist, Roza Vallo, is undeniably captivating.

Five young female writers are selected to attend the retreat, with personal writing sessions with their role model, gourmet meals with a personal chef, and a strict schedule to create their life’s masterpiece, what could go wrong?

Some of the attendees are harbouring dark secrets, and the manor itself is the home to a long dormant mystery.

At the centre of the story is 30 year old Alex, who has suffered with writer’s block for a year, since the nasty friend break-up of the century, with fellow writer, Wren. When they both find themselves at the retreat, directly competing with each other to win a contract with a major publisher, old and new alliances will be tested.

It seems like frenemy drama and writer’s block may be the worst of Alex’s worries until some unconventional writing methods are forced upon her and eventually threaten her and her friends lives.

The secondary story doubles as Alex’s novel, titled The Great Commission, about a painter named Daphne who previously inhabited the mansion and allegedly summoned a demon. I did not find it detailed or interesting enough to include chapters from it in the narrative. I kept forgetting what was going on and didn’t find it well written.

The writing style overall keeps the reader on the fast track to finishing, but it doesn’t leave much to the imagination. All tell, no show. And it seems like it was a little rushed, especially toward the end. At one point while hiding from enemies, the main character goes to sleep behind a statue. Which definitely seems like a choice someone in life threatening danger should not make.

I do like the ending and how it all wraps up. I ended up being far more interested in Roza Vallo and her past novels than I was in Alex or Daphne.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for allowing me to read this book in return my honest review. I wanted to live this book. I loved the premise but that was short lived. Some chapters were great and kept me engrossed in the stories while other chapters made me want to claw my eyes out. I also hate annoying main characters and Alex was very annoying.

This book is more about sexuality, especially the lesbian kind, than it is about a writing retreat. It is, however, a view of queer sexuality which grants it a kind of demonic destructive power. The set up of the book is that a rich, successful writer hosts a retreat for young 20-something female writers in her Gothic home. The retreat turns into a sort of competition with the writers spewing out 3000 words a day for a month with the prize of a publishing contract dangled before them. In the process, Julia Bartz throws virtually every gothic horror trope int.o THE WRITING RETREAT, turning the novel into a grab bag of twists, turns, and other machinations. To name just a few, we have a book within a book, hidden rooms, drug-induced sexual encounters, a remote and isolated mansion, a snow storm locking everyone into the building, supernatural demons…

There are so many different threads that it's possible to get caught up in the constantly morphing plot and forget that there's not much depth or substance to the book. The author is very good with WHAT is happening, but not so much with WHY. The reader is expected to believe that the dangerous behavior of virtually all of the characters is caused pretty much by everyone's obsession with Rosa, the writer who is running the retreat. While it is certainly possible that one character, or maybe even a couple, could be so obsessed, it stretches belief beyond the breaking point to believe that every character would go to the lengths the plot takes them to because of a fixation on a single woman, no matter how magnetic. This is especially true since Bartz' characterization of Rosa is virtually unidimensional. She is a true villain, resorting to manipulation, drugs, torture, and murder to get her way.

The plot is so outrageous that I found myself reading it with (figuratively) my hands over my eyes. What will our mentor, her hangers on, and her mentees resort to next in Bartz' hands? What can Bartz possibly have in mind for the ending? Because of this, the book is a fast read and one that is hard to put down. As I consumed the last page and closed the covers, however, it already felt like something I had read in the past before moving on to better fare.

The Writing Retreat, by Julia Bartz, is a dramatic thriller set at an isolated mansion wherein a handful of young writers are mentored by an elusive superstar novelist. It's basically "what if NaNoWriMo but murdery?"

It's got a slow start; I spent quite a bit of time wondering if we really needed all this backstory and emotional baggage, and I still think it would be just as comprehensible and effective in a much tighter form. But once it gets going, it never stops. This book takes a whole lot of turns and twists and goes way off the rails... and then keeps going, finding new rails to go off of. I enjoyed reading it, and certainly gobbled it up quickly, but it's kind of...occasionally...too absurd. Too messy. Too melodramatic, without having been that kind of book from the very start. Still - it was a pretty fun read, and one I think will be enjoyed by fans of Ruth Ware or Riley Sager.

Thanks to the publisher for the advance review.

I knew from the first page that I was not going to like this....

One of the most annoying things in the world to me is someone being so obsessed with another person and desperate for their attention... Alex is obsessed with her ex best friend and does nothing but think of her and online stalk her and think about all the times they had together in the past where she was a needy desperate friend. So now she’s needy desperate and obsessive... her whole personality is Wren’s ex best friend... why aren’t they friends anymore? Reasons... If that wasn’t bad enough she’s also incredibly insecure like 13 year old girl

The idea of a secluded house with a group of writers with sinister things happening sounded interesting but all the sinister stuff wasn’t that sinister there wasn’t any suspense it was rather predictable and an ok read but not great I did at least make it to the end. It wasn’t the worst thing I ever read but it was not great.

Really enjoyed! Loved the hooking up detail that made their friendship (and subsequent break up) extra complicated. Loved that the end didn’t have some crazy twist and we got to see things wrap up over find vs in a few pages!

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.25⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: psychological thrillers📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
I was hooked in from the start and couldn’t put it down.

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Action packed thrillers
Creepy estates
Character development
Dark and twisty reads
Unique plots
Gothic vibes

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Books about writers
Interesting characters

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
The ending was a little over the top

completely original and a good one to pick up.

Love the isolated setting and all the characters. Cannot wait to see what else this author puts out.

The Writing Retreat
eARC Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

The Writing Retreat had me intrigued from the cover and the description right off the bat!

It’s about a group of women who are invited to a writing retreat, hosted by an author they all idolize. Only issue? When they arrive, the author surprises them all and informs them that they must have an entire novel written by the end of the retreat. What starts as a seemingly clever way to get their creative juices flowing, turns into a sick and twisted game that has all attendees questioning the motive of the retreat.

I liked this one! It had some really intriguing points, but also some very slow ones. I thought the idea was great, but there were times it fell flat. The second half almost seemed a little too unrealistic and didn’t really match the first half almost?

Again, I did like it and loved the setting a lot!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Well that was interesting. I'm not a hundred percent sure what I just read. Was it a locked door mystery? Was it a horror in the vein of And Then There Were None? And then we also add in some sexual tension and some possible psychic visions? And I was left asking what is the plot of the story I was reading and what was the plot of the story being written at this writing retreat. If this book had stayed with just one of those plot lines I feel like it would be less a struggle to understand. This book has moments that keep you on the edge of your seat but in the plethora of psycholocial thrillers and horrors this just failed to have a large wow factor. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e copy for a honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
"The Writing Retreat" by Julia Bartz was such an unexpected read.
It was one wild ride from beginning to end.
The plot was interesting & original.
This was the author's debut novel & I can't wait to read what she decides to write next.

this was a little over the top and slightly unhinged at points. but in a fun way!

** I received an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. **

This book was much darker than I was expecting! I was thinking "oh a writing retreat, how fun will that be?". Reader, it was a fun read but for the participants, not so much! And I loved it! I did not see those twists coming and I love it when that happens! I am definitely adding this author to my TBR!

#TheWritingRetreat
#NetGalley

this book was sick and twisted. It started off spooky and scary; this big 'haunted' house with this elusive author, plus a group of women who have never met before (aside from two). From the moment the retreat was revealed, you were aware something terrible was going to go down.

At first the writing was a bit confusing; Alex didn't come off as a strong protagonist at first and I wasn't sure if she was reliable or not. However, that changed as the story went on and once everyone was at Briarwood, Roza's estate, you were hooked.

I mentioned above that the book was inspiring and that's because of the writing portion. I love books about writers so the idea of a writing retreat (without everything that happened in the book) sounds delightful and I might try to take myself on one at some point.

As the book goes on and stories start to unravel, I became very weary of everyone at the retreat, from Roza to the other writers, to Roza's employees. Something was up, something wasn't right but until you get to the first climax of the novel you're unaware of how screwed up everything is.

One of the women goes missing and that's when the book really picks up; that's when secrets start spilling out of the woodwork yet, you can't be too sure who to trust or what is really happening.

I can't say much more without giving away the entire plot but you will never see the rest of this book coming. This will be a completely type of thriller than you're used to. The Writing Retreat one of my new favorites!

At the start of this book, main character Alex works in publishing and is an aspiring author herself, but has been suffering from writer’s block ever since a fallout with her former best friend Wren a year before. Then she gets the chance to attend an exclusive writing retreat run by her favorite horror author Roza - too bad Wren is attending as well. As soon as they arrive at Roza’s extremely secluded estate and you hear there’s spotty cell service, no WiFi, and a snow storm on its way, you know things are going to go down.

The first half of so of the book is pretty slow with a gradually building sense of suspense and lots of atmosphere - while this might bother some people, if you know me, I love a good slow burn. Sadly though, once the action gets going, things rapidly go way off the rails with just beyond ludicrous, preposterous, over the top crazy things happening and the book just went way, way downhill for me.

This has been compared to The Plot, but other than being about writing and a book within a book (and Alex’s book as excerpted is not good), it really is quite different in tone and writing.

This one was a big miss for me, but judging from reviews so far, it’s one of those love it or hate it books as others are raving it. I’m looking forward to discussing with my book group where so far it seems like most people were not fans.

2.5 stars

I didn't like this one. Slow and not what I thought it would be. Cover is eye-catching but the story is slow paced and meh.

This has many 5 star reviews but it wasn’t for me!

I love books about books, and I love books about the writing process-even more. That is what I was expecting, but that isn’t what I got!

Alex has always wanted to be a published author, so when she receives a once in a time opportunity to attend a month long writer’s retreat at the home of her Idol, best selling feminist horror writer, Roza Vallo, she can’t turn it down. Even, the fact that Wren, her former best friend, and current rival, will be there, won’t stop her from accepting.

As the attendees arrive, they are told that they will be required to write an entire novel from scratch during the month, with the winner receiving a life changing seven figure, publishing deal.

Let the games begin!

Would Roza eliminate the writers, one by one, as they go, until just one is left standing? Or will they not know the winner until the final pages are written?

Roza’s methods of motivating the writers to reach their 3,000 word count per day, include hurtful barbs, and LSD. And, Alex finds herself wondering if the (open door) self pleasuring, and the sexual explorations she experiences with the other women are hallucinations or awakenings?

This was NOT the cut throat writing competition I was expecting to read about.

This book started strong, with the focus on WRITING but as Roza’s ways of “encouraging” the women to create became increasingly OTT, I became increasingly less and less interested in this story.

In fact, it’s one of my LEAST favorite books this year. Sorry.

This debut novel from Julia Bartz, sister of best-selling author Andrea Bartz.

A buddy read with DeAnn. Is she on Outlier Island with me, or did she write one of the 5 star reviews? Be sure to check out her thoughts on this one, as well.

AVAILABLE NOW!

This was a very dramatic and stressful book. It kept me guessing to the end. I didn’t care for book excerpts but the main story was great! I was shocked at how it turned out but I liked the ending!

I love isolated thriller and books about books so I was very excited for this one.

Alex is a 30 year old unpublished writer who has had a huge falling out with her best friend. She gets invited to a month long writing retreat for a few chosen women at her favorite author’s estate. Of course her ex best friend is invited too, and things go down hill from there.

The premise for this one sounded so good. Too bad the author decided to throw in every social issue she could think of. The characters acted like spoiled teenagers so much that at times it read like a YA novel. Not only are they unlikable, but they only achieve true creativity through illicit sex and illegal drug use. These things became more of a focus in the book than the original premise and that ruined it for me.