I’ve been so blessed on NetGalley approvals lately - my fingers were crossed so tight to get this one.

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

Y’all this is another one you must read. I couldn’t put it down. I started it last night and I had to finish it. So many good twists and turns. Since it’s a novel about novelists, it’s the perfect about of meta too. I love a good thriller and this one checked all the right boxes imo.

pub date - feb 21 2023

Just a little excerpt from the blurb: “Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn’t dampen her excitement.

But when the attendees arrive, Roza drops a bombshell—they must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for this ARC!

I really enjoyed this book and I could NOT put it down. This is an incredible debut from Julia Bartz and bravo to her for writing this amazing story. I loved so many aspects of The Writing Retreat; the inserts from Alex’s story, the slow burn and let’s not forget the drama between Alex and Wren. This book touches on subjects that other books don’t and I have a lot of respect to Julia for doing so!

If you’re looking for a twisty thriller in an isolated location, read this book! You won’t regret it.

I truly hate to leave a one star rating on any book, but try as I might I could not find any redeeming qualities about this book. The characters were extremely difficult to like, let alone enjoyable to read about. The premise is so intriguing but the execution is lacking substance. I kept turning the page hoping it would be better as I went on, but I was disappointed. I wouldn’t recommend this one.

Writers have long identified as tortured artists who suffer for their craft. What would you sacrifice to pen and publish the perfect novel? Would you betray those closest to you? The Writing Retreat is a deliciously dark and sinister psychological thriller that will leave you guessing until the final page. Just when you think things can't any more bizarre, the wheels come flying off the bus. A fun, fast-paced bloodbath of a read.

I really enjoyed this novel. I love a good female-centric storyline. I have to admit that the story did not go where I was expecting but I felt like the turn of events was well executed. The author had great character and storyline development. There were some tense parts that were real nail-biters but that’s the sign of a good thriller. I’m looking forward to reading more by this author. 4.5 stars.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #AtriaBooks for the advanced reader copy. I’m leaving my honest review voluntarily.

“The Writing Retreat” is a very engaging read—it kept me captivated through a very long day of travel! I loved the contrast between the dialogues involving writing and publishing and the supernatural elements involving the history of the house where the retreat takes place, and how they fit together seamlessly. There were many unusual and unforeseen events that took place at this retreat and I was fascinated by the characters, how they interacted, and how they responded to the challenges that unfolded. All in all, this was an unexpected story that sucked me in and I enjoyed every minute of the book—In would highly recommend it! Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

4.5/5
Alex is an aspiring writer who works in the publishing field to pay her bills. She is resigned to never being published herself when she gets invited to an exclusive writing retreat held by her favorite author, Roza Vallo. The only downside is her ex best friend, Wren, will also be in attendance. Alex decides to deal though because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. From the start, the retreat is weird and demanding. They have to produce a ton of pages per day, all while satisfying whatever whim Roza has. However, things get worse when one of the participants goes missing while they are snowed in. As Alex and the remaining participants investigate, they discover something more sinister lurking.

I really enjoyed this one! It was full of tons of twists and turns, some expected, some not. I had to know what was going to happen next, which I feel like is a hallmark of a good thriller!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, this was a fun one with lots of twists and turns that kept me engaged to the very end. The Writing Retreat is largely a locked-room thriller that takes place at a mysterious author's remote retreat. She invites young, emerging female writers for a month long retreat and things quickly turn strange. Some of the plot twists were predictable but I still really enjoyed this one. Fast, exciting read.

Thank you Netgalley but I'm also an outlier here....

This was probably the worst thriller I have read this year lol. So many things I could go off about but I won't because some will spoil the book. This has potential it really did but so many random things that weren't needed. Or drawn out at the end.

I’m disappointed by this one. The cover was so fun and really drew me in, but the story left me wanting more. It was just meh overall

A famous author offers the opportunity of a lifetime to 5 new female novelists. The chosen women will spend a month at a remote estate under the tutelage of an author they all admire in hope of becoming just as famous. On arrival they discover that there is a catch, as there always is: write a novel in a month. They must produce a predetermined amount of words every day, submit it to the author and she decides if it’s worthy of her time.
   And if she doesn’t like it? Well, that’s where it gets interesting.
   So many mind games at play……..the hostess pits one against the other, a prior relationship between two of the women unfolds, deceitfulness at its best, a violent snowstorm that removes any opportunity to leave……but could they even if the sun was shining?  Maybe this generous author isn’t quite as creative as expected.
   Ms Bartz’s vivid descriptions had the reader totally engrossed in this psychological thriller.
   Who knew book writing could be so dangerous!

What a fantastic debut!! Thank you Julia Bartz!!

While this book unfolded not as I had suspected, I was delightfully surprised and engaged with the plot and the at times unlikable characters.

Alex wins a spot at an exclusive writer's retreat with her favorite author. Unfortunately, Alex's estranged best friend also wins a spot and they will have to live in close quarters for a month at the retreat.

When the other attendees arrive, they are told they must complete an entire novel from scratch in one month and the person with the best novel will win a seven-figure publishing deal.

Let the games begin!!

Madness and murder enuses in the haunting, gothic setting.

The book touches on friendships, feminism and LGBTQ themes.

Thank you Julia Bartz, Atria Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy.

4 stars rounded up. This book is a RIDE. There is a lot going on, perhaps too much, but the bones are good enough that I couldn’t help but give this a high rating. I really liked the concept of the retreat and the suspense was well timed. All the characters were unreliable and I definitely felt on my toes. I really did not need the Daphne/supernatural bits, including the book excerpts, and they took me out of the real story. I’m sure they will appeal to someone, but not for me. Bartz definitely knows how to write a good thriller and I look forward to the next.

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

So...this book was fine. I'm honestly not entirely sure how to review this because I feel like it's a really interesting concept but it didn't work out for me. Maybe it's something I'd recommend to someone else because it does have some interesting elements like a reclusive writer who's completely unapologetic in the way she lives, a writing retreat in what could be considered a haunted house, games that pretty much remind me of Saw. But, for some reason, all of there really incredible things just didn't work out for me in the sense of this particular story.

This was a twisty little thriller about a group of young women writers who are handpicked by a famous eccentric writer to stay in her gothic mansion and write with her as a mentor for a month. I went through about 5 different theories about where this book was going and what it was really about thematically, which kept me pretty invested in it until the end. Some thematic aspects of it didn’t totally come together for me, but the plot did have me in its grip. Lots of things I found interesting: toxic female friendship with a queer angle, supernatural happenings, increasingly erratic behavior from multiple people, and an underlying question about what is really going on.

A creepy and unputdownable psychological thriller with a horror twist. Totally Epic. The setting, a writers retreat in the snowy woods is perfect. Unlikeable female characters, my favorite, twisted relationships, murder, and more! I loved it.

I'll preface this: thrillers aren't always my go to, particularly when the 'red herring' isn't masked very well or the ending jumps out at you from the get-go. I get bored quickly, or find myself flipping to the final pages to see if I guessed it correctly.
NOT. THIS. STORY.
This was an excellent, thrilling, fast paced, non-anticipatory story from start to finish. A perfectly creepy setting, just the tiniest bit of magic, secrets upon secrets, opportunities to let narrators lie slightly that actually work, and a story of overcoming adversity all nestled up in the literary world: I loved every single second of The Writing Retreat.
The ending is actually one of the strongest points. Without revealing too much, the ability to showcase trauma recovery in such a valid, truthful way was really refreshing. The ending isn't tied in a neat bow like so many other thrillers do, and I loved the lack of neatness.
Pick this up. It's excellent. I was so glad I had the opportunity to devour this, and I'll definitely be looking for more from the author.

DNF @ 18%

I'm very sorry to DNF this but it's just not a good book. The writing feels juvenile, which isn't inherently a bad thing but it just did not work with this book. For example, the main characters literally go around in a circle and introduce themselves to each other and tell the reader exactly what they need to know. This could have been done in a much more creative way and teased it out more over various chapters. There were also some incredibly superficial paragraphs about race and pronouns that made me feel icky. It came across as just a way to tick the "diversity" box.

It honestly felt like a high school creative writing project. I read some other early reviews and the spoilers are not something I care to read so I'm not going to waste my time with this one. I hope it finds its audience!

The Writing Retreat is dark, disturbing, twisty-turny, and eminently enjoyable. What begins as a fairly typical "former best friends, now rivals competing for a prize" story set in the world of publishing quickly turns into a Gothic-infused thriller. Some twists and turns you'll sense coming, but the payoff is still pleasurable... and the twists and turns you don't see coming will leave you open-mouthed in surprise. A remarkable debut novel! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this one early.

Avoid the blurb--it didn’t spoil the twist for me, but it helped me to figure it out early on, which slightly ruined my reading experience.
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!