Hell. yes. This book is bonkers, and SO FUN. What a ride! I can't imagine this not being a huge hit when it comes out next month. THE WRITING RETREAT is a fast-paced, thrilling story that I truly had a hard time putting down. Alex is a writer with writer's block who gets the dream of a lifetime to go on a writer's retreat hosted by her favorite author. The catch? Her ex-best friend will also be there, and the experience is a lot more complicated than she thought. Will Alex be able to get her stuff together and take advantage of this chance to write the novel she's always wanted? Or will her past get in the way?

Let me tell you now - you won't even BEGIN to guess what happens at this retreat. The zigs and zags are hilarious and shocking. Julia Bartz (sister of Andi Bartz, another fantastic thriller author!) deftly takes us on a journey through the dark comedy of the publishing world, narcissistic writers, and the mother of all secrets. It's so twisty and fun and you'll try to guess where it's going but you won't be able to. Read this soon so you don't fall behind when everyone else reads and spoils it for you!

A tense, gothic locked-door thriller that I couldn’t put down! This story is unhinged, in a good way. Yes, there are some weak moments in the plot, but that didn’t necessarily bother me. The characters are unlikable in a way that really adds to the storyline. All in all, a strong debut!

This was a wild ride, I don’t think I’ve read anything like this before

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

1 star. What a struggle to get through. Messy teen drama in a supposedly adult thriller package.

Every single character sounds and acts like a whiny teenager from a mediocre YA novel. Be that the attendees of the writing retreat, who are in their mid-twenties to early thirties or the famous author host, who is in her mid-fifties. Every one of them was annoying to no end. Also, the characters’ ages make no sense, considering their backstories. Several of them can’t be the age the book tells us they are, unless they are all secretly time travellers.

All of the dialogue is weird, awkward and unnatural. Which is also true for the random sex dreams that are thrown into the mix and the odd descriptions of breasts and nipples. And every single item of clothing is described in tedious detail. The characters also seem to think that the name Poppy is the most exotic and uncommon name that they have ever encountered… another example of the strange writing choices. And let’s not even talk about the historical fiction novel that one character is writing and the very many current-day expressions used in that book-within-a-book.

The blurb-promised snow storm doesn’t occur until more than halfway through. There is almost no plot and what little there is, makes no sense, is incredibly obvious and just feels like messy teen drama most of the time. The first half of the book reads like a weird attempt at a gothic novel, only to turn into a strange attempt at horror in the second. Neither work.

I was so excited to read this book, but unfortunately, I only ended up being relieved that it was finally over by the end.

Would you leave everything behind for a month if you had the chance to attend a writing retreat contest sponsored by your favorite author. What if your former best friend, now someone who won’t even look at you would be there. For Alex, someone who hates her job, misses her friend, and oh yeah has a severe case of writer’s block, there is really just one answer. She puts the negatives aside and focuses on spending a month with Roza Vallo, an author she idolizes. She won’t let Wren (former friend) or anyone ruin this once in a lifetime chance.
Roza is holding it at her home, the extremely isolated Blackbriar Estate in the Adirondacks. Poppy, Taylor, Wren, Kiera, and Alex will have to play by Roza’s rules. Write an 80,000 word book in one month. But strange things happen in this place. Roza uses some shall we say strange and certainly unusual methods to pull the best writing out of these five hopefuls. Pretty soon, handing in their daily pages and meeting that assigned word count might be the least of their concerns.
I kept flipping the pages wondering if any of my ever-changing guesses about The Writing Retreat would be correct. (Spoiler: I didn’t get much right.) It’s a great location for a creepy book especially when you add in the fact that it happens during February and a snow storm means that they are even more isolated. It also has one of my favorite things, a book within a book, and it’s a debut. The story definitely went in a direction that I did not expect. Who could ask for anything more!

I have never read a thriller like this and I doubt I’ll come across anything like it again. Atmospheric, cinematic, eerie and uncanny— I could not get enough!!! Thank you for this ARC!

The Writing Retreat is everything I wanted it to be and more. The perfect combination of horror, thriller, and mystery, this book features a book within a book that doesn't suck, an enigmatic cult(ish) leader, and twists you will not see coming. It's a propulsive read that keeps you guessing, the very definition of unputdownable. I want to describe it as Lock Every Door meets Behind Her Eyes, but it is completely it's own thing. But if you enjoyed either of those books, this one will not disappoint.

Ugh I wanted to love this one so badly! But sadly, am disappointed. The writing was good at times but not consistent. The characters were awful. Every. Single. One of them. I felt like I was reading about 13/14 year old junior high kids when they were all supposed to be in their 20s and 30s. Roza was the most interesting character but even she couldn’t save the story. Took about 2/3 of the book for anything interesting to happen and by then I was no longer invested.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced e-reader copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

This book has flaws (I'll discuss more below), but I can't help appreciate how the author went for it with the ultimate track the plot took- I wondered if she was going to Go There and she did. It's over the top and darkly camp, and it will NOT work for everyone. For me, I found it to be a bonkers good time as we watch this group of women who desperately want something navigate an increasingly unhinged situation. It's a lot about the complexity of female friendship and sexuality in the face of systems that pit women against each other, and that ultimately worked for me
The main flaw from my point of view is pacing - this would have been much more effective without the interstitial excerpts from the WIP novel. I also think bringing more of the action into the first 30-40% would have benefited the overall sense of suspense.
I also want to mention that there are cringe and problematic things said, done, & thought in this book. it's pretty clear to me it is from the POV of the characters rather than being authorial attitude, but if you don't like or want to read people saying/doing/thinking bad things, and particularly if you are sick of wlw tropes in mystery thriller, be ye forewarned
CW: mental & physical abuse, distasteful use of N@zis in a in-world novel

Thrilling read. A once in a life time writing retreat with your favorite author is a dream come true for Alex, the only downside is her former bff will be there too. From the beginning this book will have you waiting for the next twist to see if what you think you have figured out is correct. So many twists and turns and hidden secrets. Such a great read!!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley, Julia Bartz and Simon & Shuster for hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

I was drawn into this one—it was evocative, fast paced and surprisingly sexy, and then midway it fell flat on its face with all the big “reveals.” The plot devolved into something genuinely laughable; even the author mocks her own villain as akin to a Carmen Sandiego meme. The subplot of our MC’s sexual identity is threaded throughout, without any satisfactory conclusion. Another “plot soup” of a novel that had tons of promise, but tried to be too many things at once.

One spoiler here: Taylor’s character started out as the resident feminist ally and then did an insane 180 with dialogue straight out of Nightmare Before Elm Street, bitch. What happened here? I truly can’t imagine this weirdly aggressive, hard-knocks stock character turning out a novel that Carmen Sandiego wanted to steal. This plot was so weird, man.

If there's one name to know in the publishing world, it's Roza Vallo. A world-renowned feminist horror author, Vallo is the preeminent inspiration for aspiring writers like Alex, whose recent fallout with best friend Wren has left her in the throes of isolation and severe writer's block. As Alex's hope of rediscovering inspiration to write wanes, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity falls into her lap: a coveted spot in Roza Vallo's exclusive month-long writing retreat at her home Blackbriar Estate, which holds its own renowned history.

But not only is the retreat that promises fame and a seven-figure book deal to one lucky attendee is more than it seems, Roza Vallo didn't get where she is by being a conventional writer.

At first glance, I loved everything that "The Writing Retreat" promised: a book about books, an eerie, near-gothic setting at a historical estate, and a propulsive, fast-paced plot. The pacing and plot both wove together beautifully; Bartz has penned a pretty atmospheric, plausible thriller here. That is, I should say, until the end begins to unravel a bit.

Overall, I found myself deeply-engrossed in the story. It's clear that Bartz was trying to tackle not only the dark side of the publishing industry and some neighboring themes but some pretty hefty social commentary as well; the former landed well, the latter were overly heavy-handed to me and lacked the emotional component they needed. Nonetheless, "The Writer's Retreat" is a binge-worthy popcorn thriller that offers a few rewarding twists and is bound to please readers interested in the writing process. 3.5 stars rounded up!

5 star amazing debut! Dark, twisty, gothic vibes!
An enigmatic author with a cult like group of fans hosts a writing retreat for women only.
Alex is picked to go at the last minute after somebody drops out. She is beyond ecstatic as Roza Vallo has been her favourite author since she was young girl. One little snag- she’s had writers block for the past year. One bigger snag- the woman who used to be her best friend, and the cause of her writer’s block, will also be there.
The 5 women participating in the retreat are brought to an old estate, set in the middle of no where, with no cell service. Roza’s schedule and techniques seem quant and eccentric at first, but dangerous and menacing the longer they are there.
The author is adept at setting an unnerving and sinister atmosphere and creating a sense of delusional paranoia from the main character, who is revealed to be an unreliable narrator. I was completely riveted by this story and highly recommend this thriller!
I’m grateful to NetGalley and Atria Publishing for providing me with a digital ARC of this book.

I read about a third of the the book before deciding that I hated it. The character were obnoxious and childish and I didn't care for the writing. Based on the reviews I've read, I'm glad I didn't waste any more of my time on it.

This book was definitely surprising and not what I expected. I didn’t love the first 60% as much as the last 40%, when the action really took off and the stakes became intense. The characters were interesting, and the plot was great. I was intrigued to figure out exactly what was going on. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early opportunity!

Rocky Horror Picture Show meets Most Dangerous Game, meets Elizabeth Bathory. The Writing Retreat is disturbing yet arousing. Unfortunately, it just makes it to a three star rating for one big reason. I felt like I was reading two different books, which is ironic given one of book's reveals. The first half was so scary, my own screams woke me up at night. The last 30% or so didn't feel like the same author's writing, the storyline was loosely held together with multiple escapes and deaths that did not make any sense. More importantly, the distaste of a happy ending was alluded to a few times yet...this story is nicely tied up. I was incredibly invested in the first half because of the mystery and supernatural components but the anticlimactic ending was very disappointing.

My honest review is in exchange for the advanced readers copy from Netgalley.

An incredibly fast paced and sort of provocatively sexy novel, this was actually a very quick read for me.

Alex has landed herself an incredibly exclusive and sought after month long retreat with her favorite author Roza Vallo. The catch is, her ex-bestie Wren is also invited to the same retreat. Al and Wren drifted apart a year ago, after a mysterious event that neither of them has fully processed.

Joining them on the retreat is the bubbly Poopy, the straight shooter Kiera, and the incredibly animated Taylor. To top things off, the retreat is at Roza Vallo’s famous home The Blackbriar Estate that has a haunting history of it’s own.

What will happen during this month long writing retreat? Will friendships grow? Or will animosity take root? Are all these writers who they say they are? Is Roza who she says she is? Read this quick and sexy novel to find out!

⭐️: 4/5

A year after a falling out with her best friend that left her with severe writer’s block, aspiring author Alex gets the news that she has been invited on an exclusive writing retreat hosted by her favorite author, Roza Vallo. The catch? Her ex-best friend is also going to be in attendance, and all the participants must finish an entire novel in a month, competing for a single, once in a lifetime publishing deal. As the retreat progresses and Alex begins to fall victim to Wren’s manipulations, Roza’s behavior becomes more and more concerning, and Alex starts to suspect that the writing retreat is a front for something sinister and dangerous.

Next time you’re in the mood for a dark, unsettling, closed door thriller, look no further. The Writing Retreat had so many twists and turns that once I hit 50%, I couldn’t put it down until the end. From the synopsis (which yes, I always read before starting a book) combined with the slightly supernatural, demonic themes introduced early in the book, I was unsure what kind of thriller this was going to be. I’m not going to give anything away, but it honestly elevated my reading experience and made the ending harder to predict, not knowing that thriller “trope”, if you will, this was going to fall under. The start was admittedly a little slow, which I attribute to the normal heavylifting of setting a backstory for a whole cast of characters, as well as introducing a book within a book, but obviously the action picks up immensely for the second half. I also realized halfway through that the author is the sister of the author of We Were Never Here, which was a Reese’s Book Club pick that I unfortunately did not enjoy at all, so don’t let the author association dissuade you from this one if you also weren’t a fan. The Writing Retreat is dark, a little erotic, and surprisingly feminist, and I enjoyed it a lot!

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Do you like to read thrillers that verge into unhinged and bizarre territory? If you do, this one may be for you. I like when things get kinda weird, I’m always looking for a unique angle and I think the author found one here. The setting was great and super atmospheric, you have an isolated estate with an epic snowstorm so you get a locked room style mystery. You also have a book within a book as there’s chapters from Alex’s book sprinkled in as she works on her novel during the retreat and I live for that stuff. I also always like reading about toxic female friendships and Wren and Alex have some serious drama both in their past and the present. It’s a slow burn but still has suspense and dread and the lead up to the ending was pretty out there but also fun. A solid debut, it won’t be for everyone but if you like weird, outlandish and dark try it.

This thriller definitely keeps you guessing and does not have the traditional genre tropes. The closest I read to this was "The Villa. That saying, it personally wasn't for me simply because I couldn't get over how much I disliked the majority of the characters. The plot itself was very well executed and the mystery itself was definitely engaging. There was a book within the book, and I love that style of writing. For that reason, I will still give this book 4 stars, and continue to read other works by this author. In my opinion, a book can still be good, even if I personally can't relate/ dislike all the characters. There were quite a few different directions this book went in, which I appreciated, and I am sad to say, well I guessed an "obvious" this person is not to be trusted, I definitely did not guess the main twist.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.