Thank you Netgalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the chance to read an advance copy of The writing retreat by Julia Bartz. I enjoy both suspense thrillers and books about books/writing so I thought this debut novel would be a perfect book to read, and the premise sounds fantastic, but I just couldn't get into it. I was not a fan of the writing. After putting it down several times, I finally DNF it. With many wonderful reviews, maybe it wasn't for me, but others may enjoy it.

The Writing Retreat is a psychological thriller about a famous author who invites five up and coming female novelists to her home in the Adirondacks for a month-long writing retreat. The competition is fierce, but there is a whole lot more at stake than just winning.
I liked the book within a book concept and the pacing that kept you intrigued till the end. There was some wording and phrasing that I didn't love but in general the plot of the book to keep reading and want to know what comes next.

I really liked the premise of this novel and found there were many elements I enjoyed - but overall, it just wasn't a big hit for me. I honestly can't put my finger on exactly what fell flat for me, I just found I had to keep reminding myself to pick it up - it wasn't a "can't put down" one for me. That being said, I've seen a lot of positive reviews and could see this being very popular for book clubs. Solidly written, just not a favourite for me.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy to read and review - all opinions are my own.

- THE WRITING RETREAT is one of the most unhinged books I've ever read, and I was completely along for the ride.
- I don't want to give away too much, but if you love a thriller where both you and the main character can't decide who's in on it, what's real, and how it's going to end, this is your book.

DNF. While the premise sounded interesting, respectfully, the content was not for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me an ARC.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Alex is struggling in her personal and professional life when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to attend an exclusive writing retreat hosted by her favorite author...but the invitation may not be all that it seems.

This book has an exceptional premise, and the vibes (winter locked room thriller with an AND THEN THERE WERE NONE type plot) were outstanding. I’ve heard so many good things and went into this read extremely excited—especially because it was a BOTM pick and I usually have great luck with their choices.

Unfortunately, this one ultimately fell a *little* flat for me. It wasn’t bad (as evidenced by my 3.5 stars) but I found the plot a bit too unbelievable, and felt like the ending was very out-of-character/didn’t fit with the rest of the story. I also wanted more of a twist or reveal—everything seemed pretty predictable the whole way through.

All of that said, I do want to emphasize that I’ve seen some amazing reviews of this one and you might like it a lot more than I did! And, the writing is generally good and engaging—I’ll definitely still be giving this author a future try for whatever she writes next.

Recommended if you like: locked door mysteries; women’s wrongs; books about books

CW: Kidnapping/confinement; blood/death/violence; toxic friendship/emotional abuse/gaslighting; sexual encounters involving questionable consent

I tore through this book. Wow! As a writer and thriller fan, this knocked it out of the park. I can't even imagine the terror of writing an entire novel in a month against four other talented writers for a million dollar deal. The pressure! Plus the creepy house and the intimidating Roza, not to mention the awkwardness of the BFF break-up. Such a fantastic premise that this debut author not only pulled off but blew me away. Highly recommend.

The Writing Retreat
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
-
Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Julia Bartz for providing me with an eARC of this book. This is my honest review.
-
Let’s take the idea of NaNoWriMo, turn it up a thousand notches, and throw in a cryptic writer and a creepy house that may or may not be haunted to tip it over the edge! Welcome to the Writing Retreat!
-
With a cast of unreliable characters and an uneasiness that slowly creeps in, the Writing Retreat made for an entertaining read. I really liked that at times it almost felt like gothic fiction. Very desolate and unsettling and liminal. I wish it had leaned into that and the paranormal aspect just a teensy bit more.
-
I’m a serial guesser when it comes to movies and books, especially mysteries and thrillers 😂 I tried not to guess here and just enjoy the suspense of it all, but I couldn’t help it! You can kinda guess the ending, but it’s still fun watching everything unfold. I loved the book excerpts within the book and how it tied into Alex’s own experiences.
-
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. If you’re looking for a new thriller or a book that’s easy to fall into, give the Writing Retreat a shot. It is available for purchase in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook format.

4 out of 5 stars for me. I was able to predict the ending which for me is always a bummer. Overall, it was a good read. Different than my usual thrillers. I enjoyed the character development & the setting was pretty cool.

The Writing Retreat
By Julia Bartz

👯‍♀️ We start out meeting our female MC who has been getting over a BFF breakup over the past year. She and her former BFF and now rival end up being selected to attend an exclusive writing retreat in a big rambling estate with their favorite author. This select group of women are chosen to join the month-long writing intensive with the promise of a seven-figure publishing deal for the best novel at the end of the month–and not long after arriving, some strange things start to occur.

Read this if you like:

❄️ An atmospheric read (secluded, rambling estate in a snow storm)
🔐 Locked Room Mystery
👎 Unlikeable characters
📚 A book within a book (fun parallel)
🐉 Sapphic thriller with strange sexual interactions—no lie, second best quote in this book was…’I had sex with a demon, and then I passed out, and then I woke up in my bed.’
💭 A bit of suspended reality
🌀 Dark and Twisty

One of my favorite quotes from this novel, referring to an author interview early in the book:

‘These lovely people all trooped here in the scorching heat because they wanted to learn about us. Isn’t that the whole point of author events? To get a glimpse into the life and mind of the person who’s been whispering into your brain for the last ten hours?”

✍️ I just love that. Is that why we’re so interested in hearing from our favorite authors? To get a glimpse into the life and mind of the person who’s been whispering into your brain?

What's better than a debut novel that rocks your socks off?? Even when a writer is brand new to me, I feel this giant swell of pride when they create a stellar story, one that feels like it's been crafted from years of experience. … And clearly The Writing Retreat was no exception!

Young, budding authors are invited to a month long retreat at the home of a famous horror writer's glorious Victorian mansion in the middle of the woods. This is the opportunity of their lifetime, being handed the tools and time (and atmosphere!) to focus on and create their first novel, their ultimate masterpiece. Almost immediately, the stakes start to rise, the rules intensify and the tension between contestants thickens.

The sinister vibe of the book is always present, but grows quietly as the plot progresses. From the very beginning, you know *something* isn't right, but what is that something? The story flowed so naturally and the characters were very believable and real, nothing about this book felt forced. I was really impressed with the pacing, the build up of the underlying story, the mystery, all of it! I'm incredibly excited to see what Julia Bartz comes up with next!
Thank you netgalley, Simon & Schuster Canada and Julia Bartz for providing me a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

I was really excited to receive this as a digital early copy through Net Galley. This is Julia Bartz's debut novel and I enjoyed her sister's last novel, so was excited to read the latest from this storytelling family.

The premise of this story is fantastic. Young, hungry authors, invited to a mysterious well-known horror author's gothic retreat? Yes, please!

It's a little spicier than I expected, but not overly so. Some of the elements of the story I had a hard time fully buying into, but overall I'd recommend this book. The pacing is good, the character development makes sense, and the suspense keeps you flipping the page.

REVIEW: The Writing Retreat

Author: Julia Bartz
Genre: Thriller
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

💬 “I knew what it felt like to have a good idea. The concept would trigger something, a little ember deep down in the belly. You’d have to be careful not to hold it too tightly. But you could feel it—the expansive glow of all the possibilities.”

Content Warning(s): Murder, Sexual Content, Gun Violence, Drug Use

📚 About the Book: Alex is an aspiring author working a dead-end job in educational publishing. When she’s invited last-minute to a writing retreat with her favorite author (Roza Vallo), she feels hope for the first time in a while… except her ex-best friend (and the reason for her year-long writing block) will also be in attendance. Turns out Roza’s techniques are… unusual, to say the least. Alex and the other girls slowly descend into madness as they try to discover what’s really going on.

💭 My Thoughts: This was definitely FOR ME. I don’t read a lot of thrillers because I tend to not enjoy them, but holy moly I couldn’t put this down. I personally loved the characters and the setting. I also love, love, loveeee books about writers writing. I really enjoyed the excerpts of the book the main character was writing during the retreat. Of course, there were a few strange things that happened in the story that were never fully explained, but I really didn’t mind. I cannot believe this is a debut. Big fan!

💌 Read this if you like… haunted houses, gothic vibes, and books about writers.

"Well." Rosa sighed, sitting back. "They've certainly tried. But it's as I suspected: most people only have one true masterpiece within them."

I heard about this book ages ago when one of my coworkers at Joseph-Beth told me to be on the lookout for it. He didn't have much to say, except that it was a book about writers; so, when I saw The Writing Retreat on NetGalley, I automatically requested it. Now that I have read it, I know that while The Writing Retreat may seem just like a book about overlooked, unpublished, aspiring writers, it's actually so much more.

Synopsis:
Alex is a writer. She's never been published, she's had writer's block for a year, and she spends her days editing other people's academic works, but in her core, Alex is a writer. In fact, Alex has been a writer since she first read Roza Vallo's feminist horror novel Devil's Tongue. Roza inspired Alex to write, and even brought her to her best friend, Wren, another writer and die-hard Roza fan. The two girls were thick as thieves, joining writer's groups and moving in together, acting as the other's lighthouse in the darkness of the poor pay and unfulfilled dreams that comes with living in New York City.
But, after one confusing night, Wren suddenly distanced herself from Alex, moving out of their apartment, and shunning her from the writing community they had built. Betrayed, broken-hearted, and abruptly facing writer's block, Alex spends the following year with her head down. That is until her friends sends a sample of Alex's writing to Roza Vallo and she gets chosen to join Roza's elite writer's retreat in Upstate New York. The retreat is famous for propelling young female authors into publishing stardom, so despite hearing that Wren will be attending the retreat too, Alex packs her bags and prepares for a month of writing.
Yet when Alec arrives, Roza surprises the five girls with an impossible request: over the course of February, each woman will write an entire novel––3,000 words per day––that Roza and the group will edit. Furthermore, at the end of the month, Roza will chose her favorite to publish with a seven-figure deal, and her ringing endorsement. With no time to waste, Alex throws herself into writing, deciding to write about Blackbriar (Roza's estate) and its original inhabitants, Horace, Daphne, and the spirit Daphne channeled, Lamia.
As Alex delves into the spooky history of Blackbriar, she and the other girls start noticing Roza's own spooky habits. Dark games, haunted basements, emotionless maids, and Roza's swift mood swings make Blackbriar seem like less of the welcoming, cozy retreat the girls were promised, and more like the pace they'll have to fight to escape. When one writer vanishes the night of a deadly snowstorm, Alex realizes that it might not be a matter of escaping; she has to write for her life.

My thoughts:
This novel was far creepier than I was anticipating. I love mysteries and thrillers, but this definitely dipped more into horror than I'm used to. Nevertheless, I did really enjoy the psychological aspect, and I always appreciate an unreliable narrator.
Although I was instantly hooked by Roza's malicious intent, a the storyline of Wren and Alex's failed friendship didn't intrigue me as much. I loved reading about the interactions between the five women and the dynamics that formed in the manor, but Alex and Wren's past wasn't really a mystery I was dying to solve. In the same vein, I appreciated the excerpts of Alex's novel interspersed throughout the story, but I found the subplot of Horace, Daphne, and Lamia to be hard to follow, especially as the real-time mystery ramped up.
I love a good twist, and this book certainly didn't disappoint. Bartz did a phenomenal job of leading into a twist the entire without giving too many details, so when it happened I was still shocked. However, I did find the ending to be a little bland considering the build up, and it definitely felt like she could have done something more creative with the time jump.

Overall:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it was nice to read a different genre after reviewing so many romance novels recently. I think the cover is spectacular, and for a debut, Julia Bartz did an amazing job making the genre her own. Although it was quite dark in places, and perhaps more experimental than I'm used to, The Writing Retreat is a book I won't be forgetting for a long time.

I had high hopes for this book, but it ended up just being average, unfortunately. All the characters were unlikable and the book really dragged through the middle. I feel the author just put too much into one book. I hope her following books will be better, as I see potential in her writing.

This book was FANTASTIC!! I love to read psychological thrillers and also some mystery and horror novels. This was a little bit of all of those. The character development grew along with the plot and I was sucked into the story more and more as I continued to read. There were so many things that I did not see coming in this novel! I love how twisted it all was.

The author did a phenomenal job of incorporating the stories that the writers were creating into the main storyline. It added to my overall enjoyment of the novel to have stories within the story. The book was descriptive enough so that it was easy to visulize everything that was happening, yet not so descriptive that it took away from the story itself.

There are many things that I would love to say about this book but I don't want to include any spoilers. If you enjoy this genre, I highly recommend adding this book to the top of your TBR pile. This is the best psychological thriller I've read in a long time!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #AtriaPublishing for an eARC of #TheWritingRetreat by #JuliaBartz - 5 stars and I will definitely be reading more by this author in the future!!

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. I was excited to read this book and I really enjoyed the first half of it. However, the second half of the book really took a turn which made it feel like a completely different book. The conclusion of the story was satisfying, but I still have so many questions about the characters' motivations in this book and there were details which seemed like clues in the beginning which went absolutely nowhere. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Writing Retreat has gotten a lot of advance buzz in my circles so I was thrilled to get to read it. It's about an invitation only retreat for a month long writing session at a famous author's home. Our main point of view, Alex, has been suffering writer's block since the fight with her best friend of many years, Wren. They both want to be authors and work at other jobs, who also love Roza, the famous author. The retreat is supposed to be for female writers in their twenties and they are both 30.

When a mutual writing friend, connects them with Roza's agent, they both end up being invited at the last minute. Alex is nervous for many reasons. She's worried about seeing Wren, her writer's block and yet delighted to see and know Roza more. I won't spoil the story, but I got feelings that were a cross between Mean Girls and Lord of the Flies, with a shadow of And Then There Were None. The situation and the writing demands and the personalities were all intense.

The retreat started out exciting and a bit competitive, with the women getting to know each other and working on interesting stories. There were excerpts of Alex's story which related to an old tale around the previous owner's of Roza's home. I have to say I skimmed the snippets as I found them kind of boring. The actual events though were a bit terrifying and devolved into survival mode.

I enjoyed reading and it reminds me of a personality test which has everyone with modes for regular circumstances and under stress. The four modes were Controlling / Taking, Supporting /Giving, Adapting/Dealing and Conserving / Holding. For example, someone might ordinarily be Controlling / Taking but under stress they become Adapting / Dealing. Anyway, it was fascinating to see the women shift to different styles with their stress levels, and also become focused on what truly mattered rather than petty squabbles.

The things the women learn about each other and their situation are shocking. What twists! I found the conclusion to be a little sad but satisfying.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books/Emily Bestler Books for gifting me a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review of the debut novel, The Writing Retreat, by Julia Bartz - 4 stars!

Famous novelist Roza Vallo has invited five women to join her at Blackbriar Estate in the remote Adirondack Mountains. They are to be there a month, finish a complete novel, and the winner gets a million dollar publishing deal. Alex had just about given up on her writing, after a major blowout with her best friend, Wren. When she finds out that Wren is also coming to the retreat, she is completely nervous but determined. From the beginning, there are strange events happening at the estate, and Roza has pitted the women against each other. But when one goes missing during a snowstorm, everything changes.

I was very excited to read this book by the sister of Andrea Bartz, a favorite. Obviously writing must be genetic! There is a book in a book here and I have to say that I wasn't enthralled with those portions. I'm always one for a locked room mystery, and the creepy estate and snowstorm only added to the tension. Some of it was a bit over the top, but still a worthy debut. Anxious to read more from this author!

This novel was BONKERS. Narrator Alex is given the opportunity to attend a writers' retreat hosted by her favorite author Roza Vallo at a remote cabin in the isolated snowy woods...along with her estranged former best friend Wren. The first half of the book or so was odd, but it held my attention. Then the book became extremely bizarre, twisted, and way too out there in the second half. I didn't care at all for the supernatural elements in the novel, nor did I think the excerpts from Alex's work in progress really added anything to the book. The premise was intriguing, but the book ended up being too weird for me and also extremely sexual in a way that didn't seem at all necessary. Overall, this was not my jam.