I don't care what anyone says about this book, it was fantastic! The creepy setting, the cult vibes, and the pov of the writer's themselves. It all really worked for this storyline. I read this with several of my book club members and it was a truly interesting discussion of who liked it and who didn't. I was super impressed with where the author took the story at the end, and I will definitely be reading more by her in the future.

Personally, I found this one hard to buy in to. It all seemed a little over the top with two many crazy things going on. It really took away from the mystery for me. However, this is perfect for readers who want crazy twist after crazy twist!

Whoaaaa! This one started off really strong for me, and I loved the premise of the book; the opportunity to participate in a writing retreat hosted by your favourite author. The setting was great too, definitely gave off creepy vibes. But as the book started to move forward it was plot twist after plot twist...and it just became really unbelievable. Dare I say, over the top unbelievable!

Overall the story was decent but it just fell short for me.

I know others have loved it, and there are many five star reviews but this is just a 3 star for me.

I'm grateful to the publisher + NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Everything about this “book blurb” screamed to me – YOU WANT AND MUST READ THIS BOOK - THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU!”

Boy was it not for me and for that I am very sad. I am not sad for just me, but for the author who put their heart and soul into this book, for NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books that allowed me to read an advanced readers copy, and also for the time I wasted reading a book clearly not aimed at me as a reader. Once again I am waxing on about modern-day book blurbs and the lack of or intentionally misleading information they provide a reader. I know publishing books is about SELLING books first and foremost. But for the writer’s sake I hope it is more about selling their book to those that will appreciate their story. I requested to review this book based on the blurb .. seriously this was absolutely the only information we receive, when we choose books.

While this story had its compelling parts, it also included strong language and explicit heterosexual and lesbian sex scenes and constant contradictory actions by the characters trying to point out how socially modern thinking they were. Overall, it felt that the author wanted to make sure you knew she was aware of the many social issues that are going on and show she supported them. Her attempts to incorporate them into the characters just felt as if she was checking off a list of current social topics. These moments of social awareness often felt clumsy, deliberate and disruptive to the flow/progression of the storyline. The characters ages ranged in the 20’s to early 30’s but came off as extremely immature and rather uninteresting, except for the author that hosted the writing retreat.

Now this was really just a personal reaction, but I was put off by a very glaring improbability about the mother of the main character being two years of age at the end of World War II. The primary storyline (there are flashes back in the past and a dual line story that emerges) is meant to be in the present day, meaning everything pointed that it was based in the 2020’s with references to influencers, various social media and social commentary. That would mean our 30-year-old protagonists’ mother would have to be 77-80 years old, which means she would be having her daughter when she was 47-50 years old. I am not saying there are not women having children at this age – but in the context of the story this is incredibly not plausible and was never pointed out. I know it is not much, but it was used by the author to loosely tie the writing retreat’s host with our protagonist. But it is WWII history – so easy to check and get right! Unfortunately, there are numerous other opportunities to have placed the storyline around other horrific events in our history and have it work within the timeline. Do not insult your readers knowledge and do some research.

The shame of it is, that if more had been provided to me as a reviewer, I would have never picked this book up – the language and explicit multiple sexual scenes are not books that I enjoy. The crassness of the characters and their immaturity was additional issues. So basically, I feel that this has tainted my whole enjoyment of this book. So, take my low star rating with a grain of salt, but I felt that it was an incohesive story that wanted to be a psychological thriller, that just felt like a grungy aged-up Scooby Doo mystery. I mean the contestants (meddling kids) are warned off at the beginning by a creepy old local saying he wouldn't go there, strange things happen. Obviously, I was not the target audience, which is why rather than not reviewing or simply saying not for me, I wanted to put this out there for others to know more of what they are getting themselves into before purchasing.

What a debut! The Writing Retreat was a fun ride that had me guessing for sure. I am looking forward to more from this author.

FAV BOOK OF 2023
(so far)

The whole writing retreat element was amazing. As a literary nerd, if I had a chance to work with one of my heroes at their estate?? I'd jump at the opportunity. This is wonderfully sapphic, with multiple mysteries operating at the same time. I was equally engaged in the main plot and the bits of the novel our protagonist worked on.

This book is for the sad literary girlies and for those who love a good mystery thriller.

I love a great psychological thriller! This book had me hooked and kept me guessing! Would recommend!

What in the whiny hell is this?! I honestly could not wait to put it down and get out of this character's perspective. It's unbearably self pitying and just trying too dang hard to...I'm not sure....be something. You lose the story for the angst and I'm over it.

**Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC**

initial thoughts: I really wanted to like this book, but it was just not for me. I really liked the first 30-ish%, but then after that, the book just completely lost me. It does get great reviews from others, so it does appear most folks have enjoyed this book.

the premise & location were great, but the execution completely lost me.

I’m always interested in books that feature writers and the inner workings of their brains. This book starts off interesting. Five young writers are whisked off to a month-long retreat at a famous author’s house for an exclusive retreat. One lucky girl will get a fabulous contract and get to work with said famous author.
They live, eat, and sleep their novels. The famous author, Roza plays these convoluted games that didn’t make sense to the story.

The book was dark and had some creepy moments, but it kind of went off the rails for me. I was on a luxury rail car and then a conductor came over and put me in 3rd class. I guessed what was going to happen and it felt fake. Like TaDa this evil thing is happening, but where’s the shock? The logistics did not work.

I love bizarre and weird tales, but this did not do it for me. I’m glad it’s over.

This was a weird book. I’m a bit more removed now from when i read it and i still haven’t figured out if its good or bad weird. But weird is definitely the feeling. Its gothic, murder craziness that is definitely not my style. I was engaged at first because i love books about writers but this went off the rails quickly. Some of the twists were good and I liked the mystery aspect of it but it turned dark fast.

Wow! This was a crazy thrill ride! I loved the concept, setting, characters, storyline. It had a good mix of suspense, intrigue, character development, with just the right touch of horror/supernatural without it turning weird and unbelievable. I never got tired of reading this one because there were so many twists and turns that I couldn't wait to see what happened next!

Writing Tips from Psychopathic Murderer

I am absolutely blown-away by the sheer genius of “The Writing Retreat” that is a must-read--especially for aspiring novelists. Along with being a superb primer of writing tips, this thriller fiction is laden with complexly drawn characters; remote, almost claustrophobic atmospheric keenness; and psycho killers creeping out from all directions.

Is there a hidden agenda when young females are invited to participate in a famous author-sponsored month-long writing seminar at a remote Victorian house during the winter?

Are the legends of murders, ghostly and demonic possession, and channeling spirits true about the original owners of the beautiful, yet creepy mansion?

Are the young writers merely competitive or is there something more to their nervousness and paranoia? Who can be trusted and who may have ulterior motives?

The Writing Retreat will keep you engage from the first to last paragraphs. I consumed this book in less than a day, I was completely enthralled in this metafiction about writers and their work.

TheBookMaven

⭐️⭐️.5

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙐𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙨𝙮𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧’𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙚.

📍 Read if you like:
• Crazy Endings
• Atmospheric Reads
• Toxic Female Friendships
• Writers competing

What the heck did I read with this story?!?

I really believe this book had so much potential to have been an asking book, I mean the premise was so interesting. Unfortunately, there were a few issues I had with the book.

The beginning of the book was quite interesting. I saw many mixed reviews beforehand so I was questioning why people didn’t enjoy it… and then the ending came and I understood everything.

The last 30% (give or take) was where the book went downhill quickly. It was so far-fetched and bizarre. It was also super rushed.

While the story was super eerie and atmospheric, I didn’t care too much for the characters… especially not the romance aspect part of it.

I get why some people loved this book, but I didn’t care too much for it. It had an interesting plotline, but the ending ruined the book for me.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Atria Books for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Murder, sexual content, death, gun violence, drug use, violence

Very suspenseful, pulse pounding, and addictive thriller! I loved the setting of BlackBriar estate and the characters

This book took me a while to get into but once I got to the retreat itself I couldn't stop reading. I was pleased that the twists were genuinely surprising. The characters felt developed and the ending was a really nice balance of resolution without it feeling contrived. I'm excited to recommend this book to my readers.

I really liked this thriller! I found that it was fast paced and had great twists. This was my first book that I read by this author and I would pick up another!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy of this book.

It was…interesting. A wild ride. There were parts of it that were just plain insane. The pacing was not consistent and I think that’s why I started it and didn’t finish it for a long time. It was definitely a popcorn read for me the last 1/3 of the book.

3.5/5

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz - 5/5
General Fiction - Mystery & Thriller - Women's Fiction

When given the chance to attend a writer's retreat at the home of a feminist horror writer, Alex instantly packs her bags. Everything about this book gives me goose bumps. The friends to enemies' drama between Alex and Wren are what truly made this a relatable book, and I love being able to empathize with situation in a story. This book left me feeling on edge, waiting to see what was going to happen next with Alex and the other characters attending the retreat.

This is a mystery & thriller worth the read, it'll keep you guessing and wanting more till the end.
Avaiable for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, BookShop
Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC.

I wanted to read this book when I heard the description. Being invited to a house in the country for a writing retreat and then someone ends up vanishing. It sounds like a good locked room mystery. But sadly, this one just wasn't for me. I enjoyed the first half and then it went in totally different direction and lost me. I love a good spooky book, a mystery and some horror, but this book just wasn't what I expected. It was too outlandish for me and ended too easily. I expected more a bang.