✨ARC Review✨

“The writer’s mind is a channel. When we open, glorious truths can flow in.”

The Writing Retreat was certainly a refreshing psychological thriller! It details five girls attending a month long, once in a lifetime writing retreat hosted by a well respected and equally popular feminist horror author, in her supposedly haunted estate. However it becomes clear early on, that what they signed up for is not what is transpiring. This book goes on a whirlwind of deception, jealousy, and pitting these girls against one another. It begs the question of is all of this healthy competition or crazed mind games, and are any of these people who they claim to be?

Oh this book….I am having a hard time rating this one! Did I enjoy it? Yes! It was incredibly twisty and I loved that! Was it predictable? To some degree yes, as there were twists that didn’t surprise me, considering I anticipated them. However, the biggest issue I have is literally ONE part rubbed me the wrong way, and I can’t push that aside and allow it to not reflect my review rating. **At the 70% mark there is a comment made in reference regarding the race of one of the individuals. I feel strongly that it was made in poor taste even in the context as it was intended**

What’s On The Pages:
-psychological thriller
-suspense
-deception
-jealousy / mind games
-sapphic elements
-murder

✨Rating✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

A special thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this eARC! The Writing Retreat is out February 21st, 2023!

This book starts out amazing and somehow it gets better with every page. I couldn't get enough. I was addicted. Recently I applied to go to a retreat and I joked with the author hosting it that I have read books about retreats and I wasn't sure it was the best idea.
This book is the perfect example. Sure you will end up with a book and a clear up all writers block, but at what cost?
This is perfection.

As always thank you and NetGalley and Atria Books. . This book was a wild ride. It was dark, sexual, and twisting all the way through. It probably one of my favorite versions of doing a book within a book - it wasn’t too much to make the reader bored but just enough to keep you interested. The last few chapters are jam packed action. I maybe would have appreciated a little more finale at the end with how much we get at the beginning. Solid book!

Five stars all the way!
I am blown away by this book! It had me hooked from the first page and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! I love books about writers and an isolated setting and this one did not disappoint. Ioved the dark turn it took and I was shook with each twist. I will be looking out for this authors next book.

Alex has been suffering from writers block for a year after a series of events ends her longtime friendship with Wren. She receives and invitation to an exclusive month long writers retreat hosted by her favorite author Roza Vallo at her secluded estate. Alex is beyond excited at the opportunity even when she finds out her ex best friend will also be attending.

With everyone in attendance Roza informs them that they must complete an entire new novel in the month they are there. The winner will be published and receive a seven figure deal. Alex does her best to ignore the distractions from Wren and the others however, when one of them disappears during a blizzard, the group begins to realize some things really are too good to be true.

The Writing Retreat is available February 21,2023

Thank you to netgalley and atriabooks for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This fantastic debut was as thrilling as it promised to be, action-packed, dark, and twisty, I was enthralled from page one. I could not put this book down.

This book follows Alex, a writer who is kind of a hot mess lately. She’s had writer’s block for the past year, ever since a falling out with her former best friend, Wren, she’s figuring out her identity and grappling with a job she doesn’t like in the publishing industry. She’s invited to a writing retreat by a famous female author, Roza, alongside four other female writers, including said former best friend, Wren, where a lucrative deal is on the line for one lucky winner. But everything is, obviously, not as it seems.

I thought the entire concept was extremely interesting, I’m an aspiring writer and I love to read about other writers, especially when enigmatic and mysterious Roza laid down the rules of the retreat for them: they would have to write an entire book by the end of the month, about 3000 words a day, and if they didn’t meet the word count, they’d be asked to leave.

I liked the character dynamics going on, the writing was extremely accessible, I found Alex and her insecurities relatable, I liked Roza’s harshness and her mystery and the scariness that surrounded her. She was scary! As the stakes continued to get higher, the retreat became scarier and downright deadly, a sort of dismantling of reality and if anything going on is the truth.

The plot twist was solid, some people will definitely guess it and it’s up to them if that takes away from the story or not. I personally didn’t guess it but there was foreshadowing to it that I clocked and then forgot about. I’m also not sure if I bought into Roza’s motives or the ending entirely, though I suppose thrillers often require a bit of suspension of belief a lot of the time.

Overall, I thought this was a great debut and a really solid thriller.

I enjoyed the suspense of this one. The story was interesting with some unexpected twists and turns. I loved the premise of the writing retreat and the turn that the author truly had never written her own books added a heightened sense of suspense.

I enjoyed this one and thought it was a true page turner.

Alex dreams of becoming a published author but seems to hit every roadblock possible. Then she is given the chance of a lifetime; to attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo, her favorite author. Even knowing that her ex-best friend will be there doesn't stop her. When she gets to the retreat, she and the other guests learn that they have to complete a novel from scratch in only a month and the winner will be published, receiving acclaim and fortunes. As the month goes on, Roza becomes more erratic, strange things are happening at the estate, and cruel mind games will be played.

I loved the premise of this book and found that it started strong. Unfortunately, as it went on the plot twists were stale and the villains were over the top. Even though this one wasn't for me, I can see how many will find this thriller engaging and worth a read. This is a good first novel and I look forward to seeing what else comes from Julia Bartz.

I want to preface this review and say that I rarely read ghost stories, or things about demons and/or the supernatural. It always feels hacky and cliché … well, almost always. This book still had a little bit of cheese, and you of course need to suspend reality in some parts, but this is a fantastic debut (spooks, demons and all).

Alex is a young writer, struggling with writer’s block, and struggling with her place in the world. After a falling out with her best friend, Wren, she stops writing - she basically stops existing. Nothing seemed important, until she got a crazy opportunity of a lifetime. Her favorite horror writer - hell, many people’s favorite horror writer - is hosting a writing retreat, and Alex is invited.

Once she arrives at Blackbrier for the month-long retreat to start, she realizes her former BFF, Wren, is also attending the workshop. They had quite a tumultuous relationship, so Alex isn’t happy about spending the month with her. The rest of the women there seem nice, though, and then there is the queen of feminist horror herself: Roza Vallo. Roza is a legend, having written many immediate bestsellers, and the chance to study under her tutelage is a dream come true. (Until it isn’t.)

Roza informs the group that they each have to write a novel during their month there. The person who writes the best story will be published with a million dollar advance, and soon everyone at the retreat becomes a focus group of sorts, deciding on the best. Their days are spent writing, sleeping, and examining each other’s works … but soon the unrealistic expectations and demands for more time spent writing take a toll on the group.

Then, this shit really gets good. This turns into a locked-room (literally) horror/thriller/mystery, and you also get a “book within a book” as Alex begins writing. Her book, as “The Writing Retreat”, isn’t one I’d normally be fascinated with; however, when added to the story as a whole, it was really good. The entire book was really good - the writing, the plot, the relationships and the ending all worked great together. I’m giving this debut four solid stars; this is definitely an author to keep your eye on…

(Thank you to Atria Books, Julia Bartz, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be published February 20, 2023.)

Can I be honest with you? I’m not sure what to make of this book. I’ve been pondering it all afternoon, and I can’t still make up my mind. I will say, that I did enjoy the writing style of Julia Bartz. I’ve heard that this particular novel is getting some buzz, as it should, I think. You will find this novel full of tension, women only drama, because no one can create drama like a bunch of gals getting together! and other undertones, you need to decide on.

With that said, the novel is about a group of Uber competitive women coming together for a retreat in the Adirondacks. The completion of an entire novel will win the prize. The competition is rough, and I will say winning is not the only thing at stake.

You will notice this book being marketed as “The Plot” meets “Please Join Us”. Fair enough, but if you read the blurb it may very well give the whole thing away? Startling me with a “twist” I didn’t see coming, or can’t figure out, is hard to do, anyway, but the blurb for this book left no challenge! The Blurb! That alone kind of upset the reading experience for me.

The main character, Alex, narrates the entire story. The pace, is fast, the writing very good, you definitely are engrossed by the issues of Alex, mainly, what transpires in her head, not pretty, and the goings on of the retreat. It can read a bit chaotic, which isn’t bad, but when you go so far over the top with chaos and then wrap it up with a pretty little neatly tied bow in the end, it loses something for me.

I like crazy, I do. And this novel is crazy. The story within the story, the whole retreat situation, it’s entertaining, that’s for sure, I just thought the last 25% was a bit much.

I will read Julia Bartz again, it’s not that I didn’t enjoy this novel, I was just left exasperated?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC, in exchange for a review. All opinions are solely mine.

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz could have been so so freaking good! But we had to have a forbidden love story between a Jewish woman during WWII and a Nazi? There were so many twists and turns but fuck the author for including this disgusting storyline. What the actual fuck.

I read a physical galley of this and wanted to leave a review here. This was seriously such a good mystery/thriller. Even though outside while I read this book it was over 100 degrees every day, this book made me feel isolated, frigid, and fearing for my life. The twists and turns totally pull you into the narrative and have you guessing everyone and everything.

I absolutely LOVED this book. I've been in a bit of a reading slump for a few months now and was really excited to read this. It was one of the most original books I have ever read, even from the start. This author is a knockout, and one that I will auto-buy for years to come.

One of the things I loved most about this book was the ideas and topics for other books within this book (yes that sounds confusing, but you will understand once you read it!). I've been an avid reader for years, and have always admired authors in general for coming up with original stories, even if I did not connect with the story itself. But for this author to come up with so many unique and original topics within her own novel was just so good and filling, and made the whole book and story that much better.

Something else I loved was how many characters were involved. It does sometimes get confusing when a book has multiple points of view or conversations happening, but I did not feel that chaos in this book. Every character was very specific, and it was very easy for me to visualize them from the start. They all had very unique and individual personalities that made it very easy to switch gears quickly. I also loved the character development. Without saying too much as I do not want to spoil anything, the way these characters develop is very organic and flows so well. I try not to predict what happens in thrillers, though sometimes naturally my mind tries to figure out how everything will tie together. This was full of small twists, big twists, and everything in between. Just as I thought I had it figured out, I didn't and I loved that.

I loved the setting of this book. The remote location, cold weather, creepy mansion-- this was right up my alley. It's what drew me to the book in the first place, and the fact that it only got more interesting with each page was such a bonus for me.

One last point, that really has nothing to do with the final product but that I so appreciated, was how well this author writes for an unpublished book. I've ready many ARC books with minor mistakes, typos, etc. I do not mind this whatsoever, I'm always just thrilled to have an early copy of the book, but Julia Bartz's writing was perfection. I did not notice a single word or letter out of place- it felt like I was reading the completed and finished novel without any blemishes.

Thank you so much to the author, Julia Bartz, for writing a book that completely pulled me out of my reading slump and got me excited to read again. I've been telling all of my reader friends that this is a must buy when it comes out. And thank you to NetGalley, for taking a chance on a new reader on your website and so generously lending me this title. I absolutely loved it from the first word, all the way to the last.

The Writing Retreat is a thriller about a writer named Alex who receives the opportunity of a lifetime to be mentored by one of her favorite famous authors during a month long writing retreat. Everything is not quite as it seems at the retreat.

I was immediately pulled into The Writing Retreat. I love a good creepy locked room house setting, which this book had. There are definitely some over the top elements of this book that were a little much for me at times, but overall I enjoyed the suspense of this novel and would read more from this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

Whoa. This novel was a masterclass in suspense - a perfectly spooky Gothic setting, an intimate group of women writers trying to simultaneously support and compete with one another, and the best villain I've read in recent history. Definitely worth a read for any thriller fan.

Alex and Wren are best friends that have had a rift. They are both writers and get invited to a writers retreat at the house of their favorite author, along with 3 other woman. At the retreat, they are pitted against each other in order to “win” a big publishing prize; however, weird things start happening. This is the PERFECT Halloween/creepy read and I was here for it.

Super creepy, a roller coaster ride of emotion, with a side of whodunnit. You’re never quite sure who is losing their mind in this whiplash inducing read. A beautiful portrait of becoming an adult after childhood trauma, with another story about how friendships sometimes have to end.

I seem to be in the minority here when I say that The Writing Retreat really didn't do it for me. The writing was subpar and the plot line was predictable and a little too dramatic for my liking. I also found the characters to be extremely one-dimensional. The setting was dark and spooky, though, which was the only thing that kept me reading until the end.

This book is a psychological thriller about a famous author who invites five up and coming authors to her home in Adirondacks for a month long writing retreat. The competition if fierce but there is a lot more at stake than just winning.

Holy goodness this book was a wild and crazy ride! You are automatically drawn into this book from the first chapter and are on edge the whole book! This was such a great book and I will definitely be reading more of her novels!

The Writing Retreat
My thanks to #NetGalley and #AtriaBooks for the advance copy ebook of #TheWritingRetreat by Jula Bartz. Oh, boy. This book was nothing like I could have ever expected – in a good way. It’s dark and often disturbing, twisted, and just plain creepy. Five women chosen to attend a month-long writing retreat in the remote estate of a famous horror author. Placated with delicious food, free flowing wine, and all the time in the world to write, the retreat turns out to be a little different than the aspiring authors expected. This book is just plain out of control. Calculated and clever, this book was hard to put down

Wow....did this take an unexpected turn. This book was engaging from the very start and I was really surprised by the ending. Have you ever read a book that you were so invested in, you couldn't put it down, you were so excited to finally have all the answers and then....you kind of hate the ending. LOL Not sure if its just me, but I found the big twist to be a little.....I don't know the word....exaggerated, excessive, far fetched. To be fair, I really did like this book, I just didn't love the ending.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC for my review.