I enjoyed this title and the overall premise. It was interesting and held my attention throughout. The horror element really wasn't that horrorfying, but the thriller part was what kept me engaged. I feel like the horror element was secondary to the story and didn't really fit in the end.

I found this to be an unputdownable read. I was constantly surprised by the twists and honestly just found the characters deliciously terrible in the best way. The writing was sharp and biting and I found it kept me picking the book up over and over, wanting to get to the next tense moment. This is definitely a great read for anyone looking for an immersive thriller.

What would you do to make your dreams come true? Would you step over your friends on your path to fame and success? How far would you go? These are some of the questions at the center of Julia Bartz’sThe Writing Retreat (Atria/Emily Bestler Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster).

Up and coming and young writers have the dream opportunit to attend a writing retreat hosted by none other than the famous mystery writer, Roza Vallo. As the young writers get to know each other and past relationships impeed progress for some, what becomes expected of them spirals out of control. The premise is unique and starts out with a bizarre hostess, her eerie, secluded estate home, and five young, impressionable women writers who are all there for a reason. As the writing game' and competition moves forward, it loses its place in reality and spirals downhill. Thanks to the publisher, author and NetGalley for the advanced copy

I'm not sure what I was expecting with this one. I thought it would be more like the book The Guest List and more straightforward than it was. It started out strong but soon turned weird and not the weird I enjoy. I definitely think this book has a reader but I don't think I'm that reader.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one! Loved the plot and the twists. Kept me guessing the whole time. I also had a hard time putting it down. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. Will definitely be recommending!

A writing retreat where five women are selected and whoever writes the best novel in a month wins a lucrative publishing deal. Oh and the house is completely isolated with no wifi. The original owners also died under mysterious circumstances. The ending wasn't very believable but I enjoyed the strange and unusual ride. The short chapters and writing style made reading a breeze. I look forward to more books by Julia Bartz!

I love horror and I love books about books so this was right up my alley. I could have done less with the personal conflicts in the beginning of the book but otherwise it was a great read!

I loved this book! When I tell you that I couldn't put it down, I mean it-- I read it while walking around town and running on treadmills. Julia Bartz has a catchy way of writing that pulled me in from the first page. I recommended it to everyone. Such a good thriller!

Five women are selected for a month-long writing retreat at the remote estate of Roza Vallo, the controversial high priestess of feminist horror. Alex, a struggling writer, is thrilled. While there, they must complete an entire novel from scratch, and the best one will get published. Alex’s dream now seems within reach. But then the women begin to die.

I love books within, such as Home Before Dark, and this book delivered with that. I liked the dynamic between the characters and the twists and turns that came with the story. Some of them I could have guessed at, and others came from nowhere! It was hard to put down once I started, and I had it done in 2 days! I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to see what else this author will write.

I rate this 4🌟!

I'd like to say a huge thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this locked door thriller debut from @juliabartz !! I thought this was such an interesting concept, so I knew I had to pick this one up & I'm so glad I did!

I found that I didn’t know who I could or couldn’t trust throughout the book & it gave me that perfect guessing game up until the end! I’m a huge scaredy cat, so I could only read this one during the day😂If I was put in this situation, I don’t think I would’ve survived…so many twists and turns I didn’t see coming🫣

I still can’t believe this was a debut! Amazing writing style, that vividly painted the setting. I was able to perfectly picture each character & the house where they were staying.

I had to give this book a second try because the first time I wasn’t in the mood. I had better luck round two!
This book really gripped me and I was intrigued by the uniqueness of it. I liked the isolation element, overall it kept me on my toes.
It was a solid thriller but not my favorite. I gave it 3.5 stars.

The Writing Retreat is a campy, spooky, and mostly enjoyable romp. Although the dialogue feels rather cardboard and immature for a group of young women who are supposed to be promising writers, the plot twists are fun and the concept is intriguing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance reader's copy of this book.

I'm not exactly the right audience for thrillers, but occasionally I like to give them a try because when they're done well they can be fun. This was not fun. This was incredibly silly, and it just got progressively silly as the pages turned. I would love to have back the time that I spent reading this, and I can't believe I actually read the whole thing.

Alex has always wanted to become a writer. When her author idol, Roza, hosts a retreat for a small group of women, she's thrilled to be chosen to attend, though she'll have to deal with a former lover also being in attendance.
From the beginning, the ladies learn there will be rigid expectations, and they'll be finishing a novel in their month at the retreat. The author of the best book will have her book published and will win big money. What they don't learn until a bit later is that Roza will begin to 'enhance' their experiences and pit them against each other in ways far beyond being the better writer.
The characters were a bit flat for most of the first half. It wasn't until some action went down that we could see them as more than just women sitting at laptops. The "action" and the twists were actually fine with me, though very over the top, it was just that there wasn't much tension or suspense, and it was hard to care what happened to any of them.
Thank you to Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of The Writing Retreat in exchange for an honest review. This one kept me on my toes. I enjoyed the plot and I appreciated the character development of our narrator. I enjoyed Bartz’s writing style and I look forward to reading her work in the future. Worth a read!

Alex is an aspiring writer. And she, along with 4 other aspiring writers, are given the chance of a lifetime! They are going to spend all of February with their favorite author! She is going to mentor them and help them to become published! Everything seems too good to be true…that’s because it is. Rosa, the mentor, gives out very strict guidelines that they must meet or they are forced to leave. Then she berates them in order to draw out their best on the page. And everything makes a turn for the worst when one of them goes missing. What is really going on??

I thought this book had an interesting premise and I had high hopes for it. Rosa’s character was a disappointment and I definitely didn’t like Alex’s friend Wren! There were lesbian sexual experiences that bordered on assault/rape that were very uncomfortable. And Rosa drugs the group without their consent! I think without these 2 things, the book would have been better. I did enjoy the view of what it is like to be a writer. The process that goes into writing a book for some people. I’m on the fence on if I will read more from this author in the future…

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.

This popular book had a lot of the pieces I love in a good mystery. Locked room, isolated setting in a blizzard. It had a very Nine Perfect Strangers feel to it, with the character of Roza reminding me of Masha. The characters are arrogant, wannabe writers, brought to a remote location for a "writer's retreat." This is a contest to see who can write the best horror novel and then win money and a publishing contract. The famous author, Roza Vallo, is hosting the contest in her creepy, haunted home called Blackbriar Estate.
It's quite a wild ride and I had read some reviews before going in, so I suspended my belief already expecting some unusual twists.

Alex, our protagonist, gets a last-minute ticket into the highly publicized retreat of her hero, Roza Vallo. Alex is pretty low on herself and has been struggling with writer's block for a year, ever since the implosion of her friendship with Wren, her ex- bestie. She meets the other contestants, and the retreat begins with our odd ball, feminist horror writer, Roza, making strange choices and talking to the girls with a cutting tongue.
The retreat turns out to be its own horror story as the girls begin to die. Alex must figure out who is behind it all and how can they escape Blackbriar Estate in the middle of a huge blizzard. It was a strange and unusual ride with a satisfying ending. 3 stars.

Received as a free ebook ARC from NetGalley.

I loved this book! I couldn't put it down. It was fast placed, thrilling, and suspenseful. I was pleasant;y surprised by the twists and turns and couldn't wait to see what happened next. The setting of the book is the remote estate of Roza Vallo, a horror novel writer. Alex, a struggling writer, and 4 other female writers have been invited to a month long retreat. What starts as a wonderful, happy, thrilling opportunity to write a novel turns into something else as people are murdered. It explores female relationships, the history of a horror writer, the house, the supernatural,, and it is real life or not. I loved the characters and the author drew you in to each character to find what they;re all about. I also liked the cover. The florescent green writing in the foreground with the black and white forest and retreat in then background which comprise a book with a sneak peek if the writing. It was very creative and unique.

This was such a fun mystery/thriller! Loved the uncertainty of the entire book from start to finish! The characters were super intriguing !