What a dizzying debut! From the edgy and (very) flawed characters to the gothic, claustrophobic, glitzy atmosphere, this book is sure to leave any thriller fans on the edge of their seat. This novel takes the "how far are you willing to go for your dreams?" to a whole new terrifying level.

Our protagonist, Alex, is a struggling writer trying to survive a mundane publishing career she hates. With the help of a newly successful writer friend, she is given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend a very mysterious and sought-after writing retreat with esteemed author, Roza Vallo. The catch? Alex must attend with her former best friend who now hates her guts due to a troubling accident. The house where the retreat takes place may also be haunted, snow storms in the area are known to bury residents in for days if not weeks at a time, there is no WiFi or cell service, and it turns out Roza herself seems to be a tad...unpredictable. Oh, and Alex has had writers block for the past year. What could possibly go wrong?

The layers in this story are fantastic-- I absolutely love how we as an audience have to dive into the mind of an author crafting their masterpiece. So many stories within stories begin to take shape and Alex is left questioning everything around her, and everyone. What is real and what is part of the plot? Is it even a plot, or have things truly gone off the rails? How far is too far to push someone into creating their work of art?

Through all of the twists and turns and emotional hurdles authors must overcome to get a book out, I am happy to say that Julia Bartz hits a home run with The Writing Retreat.

Thank you for this early copy of The Writing Retreat. I loved this book & found it very hard to put down! Great story, great twists.. highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this! I didn't realize this was a debut novel-- it was really tightly plotted and I enjoyed the characters a lot. I didn't anticipate the direction that this book was going in, so I was really surprised by the way all the threads wove together at the end of the book. A really solid debut--I'm really looking forward to more from this author.

Wow, what a great debut novel. I thought this was going in a totally different direction and found it be so suspenseful. I had not expected the ending and the group of characters how they intertwined was definately thrilling. If your looking for a new author you should give this author a try.

This book had a very slow start. I had a tough time connecting with the main character and sympathizing with her. It took more than half of the book for it to become thrilling so it is definitely more of a mystery than a thriller. If you enjoy books about books or authors, you might like this. It also has strong elements of the modern LGBTQ+ experience which I thought were a bit heavy handed, and could have been executed better.

Overall, I didn't really enjoy my time reading this. I don't think it was for me.

First of all I'd like to say that this book was really well written. I wasn't a fan as you can probably tell by my star rating. However, I think the content just wasn't for me. If the synopsis interests you I would definitely give it a try because like I said, it was well written.

The first half of the book I found kind of boring and I didn't really enjoy the story that was being written within the story. At about the 50% mark it got better for me but still didn't really grab me or wow me. I kind of just wanted it to be over.

Overall, I think some parts of the book were good (the writing like I mentioned before), while others fell flat for me. Even though I wasn't a huge fan I would still recommend this book to someone who read the synopsis and was interested.

I think this is gonna be a book that people are either gonna love or they're not and you won't know which you are till you try it.

Five lucky young writers are chosen to attend the writing retreat with well-known horror author Roza Vallo, sounds like an up-and-coming writers dream, but this story turns to a nightmare. Roza has an alternative agenda with creepy games planned, and expectations that are high with a cost if you don’t comply. Definitely has some unexpected twists and turns. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and found the characters, relatable and likable. Each character had a trait or two that I didn’t particularly care for also didn’t particularly enjoy the blurbs about sex involving a demon character. Still would highly recommend!

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria books for my advanced electronic reader copy in exchange for my honest review!!

Alex dreams of becoming a published writer. Her favorite author is putting on a writing retreat which she luckily gets into after another contestant drops out. The only issue is that her ex friend Wren will be there. She is dreading having to face Wren but excited for this once in a life time opportunity. Things start off well but take a dark turn when one of the contestants goes missing. Suddenly everyone in the retreat is in over there heads. Will they make it out alive?

I loved the characters and the dark themes of this books. It had me hooked from the beginning. I highly recommend!

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

Wow, what a debut! The premise of this novel is bananas in the best way. Roza Vallo, A famous female horror author, hosts a month-long writing retreat at her lightly haunted yet gorgeously lux mansion deep in the woods of New York. The application process was extremely competitive and only five budding authors nabbed a spot. Upon arriving, the women learn that they will each be required to write an entire novel under extreme conditions and whoever writes the best one will be published with Roza’s full support.

I really enjoyed this book! I personally love a book within a book format, and I think Bartz incorporated excerpts from Alex’s (MC and retreat participant) novel within the story’s conflict seamlessly. It added even more intrigue and creepiness to the main plot. The relationships between the characters were tense and the setting was suffocating. The climactic chapter endings kept me glued to the pages.

The Writing Retreat was a solid 4 stars for me! If you like dark, twisty, spicy thrillers that are a little insane, this is the book for you. Congrats Julia Bartz on your impressive debut! Thank you NetGalley and Atria for the opportunity to read this ARC!

#NetGalleyReview

This book has such a unique storyline. Alex, our main character, her nemesis/ex best friend, and three other strangers are invited to a writer's retreat hosted by their favorite author. Things start off well but quickly take a turn for the worst. Lies and hatred emerge. The hostess, Rosa, begins to play evil games with her guests, turning ghrm against each other. Alex begins to unravel some truths, all the while writing a novel that could ultimately spare her life.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I was somewhat disappointed with the ending though.
3.75 out of 5 stars

This book was so freaking good!!! I enjoyed reading every minute of this book. I will definitely read this book again and I will definitely be buying a physical copy of this book. I loved the remote setting of the book. I devoured it in one evening.

💭 DAMN. I devoured this book. This was nearly impossible to put down—had I not had a job, a husband, and children, I wouldn’t have. This is definitely a one-sitting type of book. This was much darker than I imagined and the story took a huge turn that I wasn’t expecting. It’s been awhile since I’ve read a thriller & this was the perfect one to pick up.

👉🏻 DON’T MISS THIS. Get this pre-ordered immediately… it comes out on 2/21 and you’re going to want to read this while winter is wrapping up. It’s definitely an atmospheric, creepy & suspenseful winter thriller.

The Writing Retreat was taught thriller which was a nail biter until the end. Alex is chosen for a prestigious writing workshop with an enigmatic author in a secluded countryside retreat...so what could go wrong?? The workshop becomes an all out competition to create a full novel in a month's time. As the reader peels back the layers there is something very wrong with this scenario. And while, I enjoyed the premise and did not like the main characters of Alex and Wren enough to be fully invested in their stories. I was more intrigued with the lesser characters of Keira and Zoe and how the struggled to survive. I also thoroughly enjoyed the story within a story of Daphne and her demon. Overall it was an intriguing story with a great deal of potential and enjoyable read.

Thankfully I had lots of extra reading time during the holidays because wow, I had so many great books to read! I just realized the author is sisters with another favorite author of mine, Andrea Bartz! I didn’t know that before reading and I’m not surprised. Lots of suspense here and I lost sleep on this one late at night! Just one more chapter!

I really enjoyed this one. There’s the secluded remote setting, the interesting cast of characters with their unknown motives, and the unique plot about the writing competition.. Add in some twists and shocking reveals, and you have a great rollercoaster of a thriller. This was a fun and engrossing read and I recommend it.

The Writing Retreat is a twisty and fast-paced thriller with lots of surprises that keep you turning the pages, especially from about the halfway point. The plot is intricate, too, with many threads woven together (the present, the history of the mansion where the retreat is held, and the novel (within the novel) that main character/narrator Alex is writing.

I like the premise a lot: A select group of women is invited to the writing retreat of their dreams, hosted by their long-time writer idol, Roza Vallo. Very quickly, Roza metamorphoses from idolized mentor to unpredictable taskmaster and mistress of the mysterious and macabre. The setting and unfolding events are deliciously creepy, claustrophobic, and edgy, with plenty of sensual/sexual encounters. Secrets and hidden agendas abound. We are held captive by suspense and tension at every turn.

The five young women participants are multidimensional, well-developed, both strong and shady. Like Alex (main character and narrator), we’re never quite sure who can be trusted. Motives are continually called into question. I felt constantly suspicious and on the alert, both tantalized and afraid to find out what would happen next.

What I most liked was the development of the main character Alex, who grows in self-knowledge, confidence, and determination throughout the story. However, I wondered whether to trust Alex or whether she would prove to be an unreliable narrator, locus of yet another layer of deception. For me, the story overall was a bit too gothic and bizarre — nightmares and/or hallucinations? over-the-top turns of events — but I think most readers will really like it. And I did like it most of the way. But for me, the end of the retreat strained credibility. And the last section of the book (post-retreat) fell flat. I expected a more surprising and dynamic ending — one last big twist or reveal that didn’t happen. Nevertheless, Julia Bartz is a talented writer and I’ll be there for her next novel, for sure.

Many thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy.

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz is a highly suspenseful story of five young female authors who are desperate and eager to publish their first book. They all respond positively to an invitation by the well-known author Rosa Vallo to attend a month-long writing retreat at her secluded mansion. But from the moment they arrive at her estate, surprises and challenges await them. Some of the surprises are quite sinister. The challenges Rosa Vallo presents to them at times undermines their collegiality and confidence as writers. This psychological thriller is fast-paced and will keep you reading well into the night. The Writing Retreat is an amazing debut novel and I highly recommend it.

I loved this one. The setting is one of my favorites. I enjoyed the look back at the main characters friendship with Wren. I’m not sure what I thought of the ending. I was surprised Roza let them live.

2.5 stars, rounded up. Not a fan of this one, unfortunately. The story was fine, the pacing was good, but I guess I've seen these sorts of isolated, single-location thrillers done too many times, and done better. Writers writing about writers is also done too often, and has been done better. The writing here was very bland, no flavor in the voice, and the descriptions ("know pulsed in his neck), setting and characters were all so stereotypical, the dialogue very trite and sometimes cringey. ("Can I say 'peeps?' "Come on peeps.") Just no nuance. I knew this wasn't for me when I saw an LGBTQ discussion obviously forced in early on. Yes, it plays a part in the meat of the book, but here it seemed almost token, like the author was struggling with (again trite) ways to address it, never going deeper.

With that said, I rounded up because I think certain types of genre readers will enjoy it. It just wasn't for me.

Unhinged. Completely unhinged. This is one of those stories where I didn’t particularly like any of the characters but was so invested that I literally couldn’t put it down. This story pulled me in with its unreliable characters, jealousy, lust, and creativity. Alex, the MC, was intolerable most of the story but somehow managed to make me hope for her writing success. The story felt repetitive as the characters were doing the same thing every day but the games/assignments Roza planned really set all the eerie vibes and gave us a way to learn about all the characters. The atmosphere was dark, twisted, and cold the entire story and there were multiple twists and turns that left me questioning my sanity.

I did struggle with the rating because of a few things. The discussions about pronounces and race felt forced for the sake of inclusion, and I wish there would have been a TW about women being drugged and supposed demon/sex with a demon. But the main reason I hesitated with the rating was because of the part about a Jewish woman falling in love with a Nazi during the war. It felt romanizing and insensitive, and honestly held no value to the story.

But overall I thought this was the perfect cozy thriller! It kept me on my toes and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the story. It gave me “No Exit” vibes so if you enjoyed that one as much as I did, you’ll probably enjoy this one too!

Big thanks to Atria Books Publicity Department for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.