I LOVED this book, we have already purchased it for our library and it continues to be a hit. The way the story is told leaves you wanting more.

A fast paced thriller, this book will keep you turning the pages. I especially liked the first half. The setup was the most interesting part. The last half was also good, but did get a bit over-the-top. It was hard to believe that the villain’s plans could come to fruition like that. However. I did like the all female cast.

Really enjoyed this and didnt want to stop reading! Some parts were a little fanatical and not believable, but overall i thought it was a super unique twist on the locked room mystery and it kept me hooked until the end. The twist was a little predictable as we knew someone was going to be unreliable in the group, but i still found it to be a very compelling thriller overall.

i love reading thrillers in the fall/autumn season and this book was no exception. The book is about 5 women who are invited to a writing retreat and they each have to complete a novel from start to finish , The best one that is chosen wins a 7 figure publishing deal, however the women begin getting murdered. Soon, it becomes clear to Alex that the retreat is about more than just a publishing deal. i liked the setting because it really makes you feel isolated from the world which drives the suspense in the story. I liked Alex as a narrator there were moments where she did get a little annoying. In one scene, she's on the train and she's judging these teenage girls who just happened to look at her for a moment. There's a drug scene which is suppose to motivate the writers and it does in a way. There's another scene where alex isn't sure whether her exploration with her sexuality is actually happening or if it's just a side effects of the drugs. I think this book was well written and i'm looking forward to reading more by this author

The Writing Retreat is the debut novel by Julia Bartz. I didn't particularly like it.

The story begins with the main character Alex. When we meet her, she doesn't enjoy her job or her boss. She is also suffering from writer's block and she still stalks her ex-best friend's Instagram posts regularly.

Her luck changes when she is invited to a writing retreat offered by non-other than her favorite horror author, Roza Vallo at her home in Blackbriar Estate. Alex isn't alone, four more women are there with her: Taylor, Poppy, Kiera, and as luck will have it, her ex-best friend Wren is there too.

Roza notifies them that they will be competing to finish a book within the next four weeks and each of them will be helping edit the book of the others. Whoever wins, by having the best novel, will be getting a seven-figure publishing deal.

Alex wants to win badly. She wants to beat Wren as well. The only problem is that she has no clue how to get rid of her writer's block but she is guided toward writing a historical fiction novel based on a demon.

Then strange things started occurring......

I thought the book had a good premise and I enjoyed the first half of it. The last 20% not so much. It went off the rails and was too unbelievable to be taken seriously.

Cliffhanger: No

2.5/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Atria/Emily Bestler Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for e-ARC of the book.

Alex has a chance to attend an exclusive writing retreat at the estate of her favourite author Roza Vallo. She is as excited as terrified - she had writer's block since she had a fallout with her best friend Wren. To add more drama to the situation Wren will also be attending the same retreat. Things get complicated when Roza starts to play weird mind games.

That was an interesting read. As story starts with friendship drama then it dives into some gothic ghost vibe and finally into the thriller. Characters go through some sexual exploration. I as a reader wasn't sure what was going on and what was protagonist's imagination.

What the flagnard?

This book was weird. Not what I was expecting. It took some odd turns, then even odder, then all of a sudden, I was reading a horror novel and not enjoying it at all. I was at turns terrified, grossed out, turned off, shocked, or rolling my eyes. The plot is, quite frankly, rather ridiculous. The blurb calls it "unhinged," which I think is quite accurate. It was totally unbelievable and got even more ridiculous (and I am the type of reader who is very happy to suspend disbelief!). All of the characters were annoying. Alex, the heroine, is whiny and helpless. Wren is gross. People's motivations and reasons for behavior don't stand up to scrutiny (or stand up at all). Even Alex's writing - the book within the book - was terrible (how is she a writer?). This book felt similar to Liane Moriarty's Nine Perfect Strangers in the setup. If you thought that book went off the rails, you may not enjoy this one either - this book went totally off the rails, then picked up the rails and beat another train to death with them. (This metaphor is perhaps not working) It looks like there were many others who did enjoy this book (there's a lid for every pot!), but this was not for me.

My thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC via netgally in exchange for my (obviously) honest opinion.

This was a solid read but I do feel like the pacing was off and didn’t line up with the plot. Overall, I did enjoy it though!

I think this book works for a lot of people--but ultimately it is not my style. The story is very (intentionally) over the top, which I think many people will have fun with. I liked the concept of the story and some reveals were fun. This is best suited for readers who love stories that are a little over the top and unlikeable characters.

I love a book about books/writing/book clubs! It is such a intriguing vibe and one I will always be drawn to. I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz and it delivered big time in the creepy department but wasn't particularly overkill in the horror department. It was a quick read for me and I look forward to checking out more of Bartz' future books.

Thank you to Netgalley, Atria Books, and the author for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

For fans of Riley Sager and those who love books about books. A very unique story with twists and turns at *almost* every corner. A group of aspiring writers invited to a mansion in the woods that is home to a world renowned author. As time goes on, suspicions start to arise as to the host's true identity and intentions. An underlying LGBTQ theme with a ghostly spin. Lots to love here and something for everyone!

This was an entertaining book. It wasn't groundbreaking, but I enjoyed it enough. I liked the writing style and would be keeping an eye out for other books by the author.

Imagine this: you are a young, aspiring author, and your absolute idol decides to hold a writing retreat in her remote estate. This is the author, Roza Vallo, that got you into reading and writing in the first place. So of course you absolutely have to apply for this opportunity.

And then imagine this: you are one of the 5 individuals selected! What a dream come true!

And then, imagine this: once you get there, you find out that you must complete an entire novel over the course of the retreat, but the best one will get a huge and lucrative publishing deal! How amazing is this?!

Until people start dying.

A dream come true turns into a nightmare quite quickly in this thriller!

I really loved the characters in this novel and the uncertain relationships that were built and dismantled over the course of the retreat. The setting was eerie and claustrophobic and atmospheric all at the same time. A wonderfully unsettling read!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Julia Bartz for this egalley!

#thewritingretreat #juliabartz #thriller #netgalley #claustrophobic #lockedroommystery

Took me a while to get fully into this book as the main character wasn't wholly likeable, but I loved the setup, the twist and the idea that sometimes you don't actually know what is going on behind the scenes as a famous author brings a work to a publisher.

Meet Alex, a writer in the midst of writer’s block, hoping she can find inspiration to jumpstart her career. Enter the Writing Retreat, an invitation-only opportunity to be mentored by a famous writer with a million dollar publishing contract to the participant with the best novel at the end of the retreat
.
Roza Vallo is an idol of Alex and when an invite falls in her hands, she can’t refuse. Mysterious people & events begin to materialize as the retreat begins. The women struggle with the strict writing timelines and with trusting each other. As women start to die, the remaining competitors race to find out why before they become victims. By the end, secrets are revealed, but their lives are forever changed.

Thanks to Atria Books & NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Wow! It took me a while to get through this novel but I think this was a great debut and I was way more sucked in and curious to follow the story to through the ending than I initially thought.

I enjoyed the plot immensely, despite the end being a little bit lackluster compared to the build in the rest of the novel, but still, I didn’t mind because overall I was just really impressed with this debut. The one other critique I have is that I thought it was just a little too long, it could’ve been like 50-75 pages shorter and still told the same story, but I can overlook the length. SOMETHING still propelled me to finish it.

Elements I enjoyed the most:

✅ the plot about the writer’s life
✅ the story within this story (Alex’s character Daphne and her story)
✅ the intrigue surrounding Rosa’s house and what goes on there
✅ very casual but still there at the beginning of the book Jewish rep (I believe author is Jewish)
✅ writing style

I forgot to mention thank you to @netgalley for my e-galley of this, but I did not read it on my kindle, I did the audio version and even though it was 11 hours long, I think that I would have DNF’d it if I physically picked it up to read. The narrator did a good job of keeping me spellbound throughout the story.

I definitely should pick up more thrillers, I was very pleasantly surprised by this one! I can’t want to see what Julia Bartz writes next!!

Didn’t love this. I was just so batshit and odd. Didn’t care for the premise or the characters. It was just weird.

I was so intrigued by this story the entire time. The middle got a little slow with not much plot advancement, but overall this was a fantastic debut novel (honestly can’t believe it was a debut). I liked the characters and the atmosphere was really cozy while also being horrifying. I do wish more of a “haunted” aspect was played, but this book had everything I like and was a solid book.

Wow, wow, wow! This book honestly left me a little speechless. This was my first Julia Bartz book and I can't wait to read more by her. There were so many twists and turns my head was reeling from all that was happening. For a debut novel, she absolutely killed this one. It was full of mystery and intrigue, danger, and did I already mention the twists? There were a ton! Almost immediately after I picked this book up I knew it was going to be a 5 star and I knew it would be one of my favorite thrillers of all time. The first half of this book is extremely fast paced and keeps you on your toes wondering what's going to happen next. Then the second half propels you forward even faster until a shocking ending that I could never have seen coming. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read this and I'm so excited for what she comes up with next.

Thanks so much to Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the early copy for my review!

This was good. Had me guessing until the very end. This was my first book by this author and it sill not be the last. Enjoyed the characters and the storyline development .