Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC digital copy. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.

Being a librarian, it is no surprise that I enjoy reading books about books. Unfortunately, I just could not get into The Writing Retreat. I attempted several times but was unable to connect with the story.

3.5 stars out of respect for the author and the fact that The Writing Retreat is likely is just not the right book for me at this time. I will keep in on my "to be read" list and will update this review in the event that my opinion changes.

LOVED IT! OMG. Such a fun, feminist, queer, gothic mystery. Our main character has been suffering from writers block for a year- but when she gets the opportunity to go on a months long writing retreat for the chance at a major monetary prize, she jumps at the chance. Nevermind her former best friend and now enemy will also be there- she's going to do whatever she needs to to get her writing mojo back. This is one of the better thrillers I've read in awhile- can't wait for more from the author!

Alex is stuck in a dead-end job at a publishing company with a nightmare boss and is estranged from her long time best friend, Wren. Both are budding authors and they previously bonded over their love for renowned author Roza Vallo. Unexpectedly, they both find themselves with the unbelievable opportunity to spend a month at an exclusive writing retreat on Roza's estate. Along with the other attendees, all female, they are tasked with writing a new novel from scratch. and the winner will get a million dollar publishing deal. Sounds great--writing all day in a large mansion with an in house cook and luxury accommodations. Alex is determined to ignore Wren, buckle down, and win. But all that changes when there is a major snowstorm, one of the writers goes missing, and Roza's response is not what is expected.

This story is fast paced and readable. The characters are well drawn out, and you can get a feel for the tension between Alex and Wren and their need to impress Roza. The other attendees initially run together but then become integral parts of the story. There is a book within a book (the story that Alex is writing) that ties in to the lore of the mansion where they are staying that I don't think was necessary as I didn't really like to storyline and don' think it added anything to the plot. The climax where we figure out what is going on, who the villain is, and why is original but the ending was farfetched. All in all a good read that I would recommend. This is the author's first book and I will read her future books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. 3.5 stars

I could not even BEGIN to put this one down.

What genre would I put this in? I’m thinking psycho-sexual feminist thriller with a pinch of my-sister-Andrea-Bartz-is-also-a-writer-but-watch-my-debut-hit-it-out-of-the-park. 👏🏼

Alex has hit the jackpot. After suffering from writers block for the past year, she’s been invited to an all-female writers retreat hosted by her most favorite author, Roza Vallo. Even her former best friend who’s now her nemesis will be there, but she’s not letting that get her down much. However, when they all get there, Vallo announces that they’ll all be competing for a $1 million publishing deal and things start to get SINISTER after that to say the least.

Just when I thought I knew where this novel was going it would give a haaard zag to the left. It was just pure entertainment and I loved it.

The writing element was super fun too. And by fun, I mean 💀terrifying.💀 Like, hi come to this mega exclusive retreat and write some. JK, write a whole novel right now OR ELSE. 😬

If you love twists and plots that snowball to hell, this book is for you.

This one is a hard one for me to kind of make sense of my thoughts. I think my biggest problem is that it just wasn't really what I thought it would be. I was expecting an Agatha Christie type whodunnit but ended up getting a weird slightly paranormal weirdly steamy thriller. I feel like I can break this book down into three distinct parts with how I felt about them- I was instantly hooked by the beginning and was excited to see where it went. Then, towards the 40-50% mark it took a weird turn that didn't really feel necessary, especially for where the story ended up in the end. Then the last third of it was a lot closer to what I was hoping for the book, and I ultimately ended up enjoying the way it all wrapped up.

What I Enjoyed

The Premise. A haunted mansion in wintery upstate New York, a group of women trying to write the best feminist horror/gothic novel, and an enigmatic host with a dark side? Count me all in. Alex’s writer’s block and her desperation at writing the Next Big Thing is very relatable to someone who has spent years writing then discarding one novel after another (oh look, it’s me). This premise was hook, line, and sinker for aspiring writers, especially women who feel like it is impossible sometimes to “make it.”

The Atmosphere. Bartz did a great job of making you feel the isolation and creeping horror of the haunted mansion, the race against the clock that Alex and the other contestants feel over time, and the comradery pushing and pulling with the competition element. Roza’s home is the perfect place to write a horror novel, and the perfect place to die for one. Publish or perish should be the tagline here. The girls, increasingly paranoid (or are they?), Roza increasingly erratic, and all of the ancillary characters with ulterior motives. The closed door setting is all the better backdropped as the novel begins in Alex’s New York City world.

What Didn’t Work For Me:

The Pace. The Writing Retreat starts slow and stays slow for a very long time, to the point where I wanted to DNF. Alex’s life in the city, subsequent trip to the mansion, and introduction to the other competitors comprised of more than half the book, and the thriller elements did not start until after this sequence of events. Once Roza starts acting more erratic and Alex begins to suspect something is not right, the book begins to fly. While the increased pace helped to create an air of horror , it took away from the eerie atmosphere that permeated the first half of the book. I am happy I stuck it out past the first half of the book, but felt like the build up to the thrilling part of Retreat could have created better tension.

The Characters. I am all for unlikable characters. The world is full of unlikable people, so why should books be any different? A nuanced flawed character can add flavor to a story. However when there is not a single likeable character (barring the fierce Keira, who presents a different set of problems), it is hard to root for anyone to survive. Alex, Lark, Roza, and Taylor were all, to say the least, awful. Either caricatures of their original environment, childish, stilted and unbelievable dialogue, petty, and confused. Having a large cast of unlikable people is great when everyone is a potential murderer (looking at you Agatha Christie), but not so good when readers are supposed to want people to survive. By the end of Retreat, I still did not care about the survivors.

If you’re looking for a book that includes:

~A secluded mansion
~Eccentric characters
~A locked door mystery
~Blood

Then this one is for you!

The Writing Retreat was a wild ride. I thought I knew what was coming but I absolutely did not! The turn that this book takes caught me completely off guard and is very different than any thrillers I’ve read recently. At first I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it, but now that we’re a few days out from when I finished the book and it’s still been on my mind regularly, I’d say Julia Bartz did a great job with the twists on this one.

One thing I really loved about this book was the setting. The majority of the book takes place at a secluded mansion in upstate New York decades ago, a murder took place. And when I say secluded, I mean SECLUDED. As in, if a large storm comes, you are cut off from the outside world until it has stopped and there is time to clear the road. And guess what happens during the writing retreat…. Needless to say, the atmosphere of this book was perfect. Add in the suggestion of paranormal activity throughout the book and it’s just *chef’s kiss*. It was creepy, it was chilling, and it made me want to keep reading. I truly wish that I was able to binge read this during an actual snowstorm because it would have really enhanced the whole reading experience.

If you haven’t picked your February BOTM yet, I highly recommend picking The Writing Retreat. I was so excited when I saw that it was a February pick! The cover is stunning and the BOTM edition would be a great addition to your shelves.

Thank you so much to Atria Books and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After a falling out with her closest friend, Alex has stopped writing and essentially given up on her lifelong goal of becoming a published author. Then, she learns that she has won a spot at a very exclusive writing retreat that is being hosted by one of her favorite authors, Roza Vallo, at her estate in upstate New York. Her excitement is only slightly dimmed when she learns that her former best friend, Wren, also secured a spot at the retreat. When Alex and the other participants arrive at the remote estate, it soon becomes clear that the retreat is unlike most others -- each participant is required to produce a whole new book and the best one will be awarded a publishing contract. Adding to the unusual nature of the retreat, Roza has nontraditional methods for supporting and encouraging the writers she is mentoring. When one of the participants goes missing during a snowstorm, Alex begins to realize that what she thought was only unusual may in fact be dangerous -- and that uncovering the truth may put her, and the rest of the writers, at grave risk.

This is an exciting thriller, full of suspense, mystery, and strongly crafted characters that kept me fully invested in the story. I'm looking forward to what comes next from this debut author.

Highly recommended!

This is a really hard book to review, for some reason. It's wild and unhinged, sometimes laughably so, but if you relinquish your need for realism, it's a very fun ride. Would I say I loved it? No, not really. And admittedly, it's likely not a story that will stick with me long-term. In many places it's cliche and even a bit silly, but part of me feels like that's purposefully done on Bartz's part. It's a very stylized book, in many ways, calling on common tropes and ideas about writers, women, etc. However, it manages to keep the pace up so that you never settle too long and start to question what you're reading. That in and of itself is a gift.

3.5 stars rounded up, a really quick (when you're not super busy with work, that is), light read with plenty of drama, grit, and sex (which isn't really sexy or even off-putting, it's just sorta *there*). When you're looking for something less challenging/more entertaining, The Writing Retreat is a great choice.

Thanks to NetGalley, as per, for the ARC.

What a ride! I loved Alex’s character development and arc, and was pleasantly surprised how this book turned out. All the twists and turns - and violence, holy moly!

Wow. I don’t even know where to begin with this book. What a WILD ride. This book honestly hooked me from the very first page. Every chapter left me on a cliffhanger and I couldn’t wait to keep reading. This book had thrill, mystery, locked door, whodunnit, horror, haunted mansion. You name it, it had it and I LOVED it. The ending felt a tad rushed and chaotic but overall I really enjoyed this read!

I needed a good, easy to get lost in thriller for a long plane ride and The Writing Retreat fit the bill perfectly! I lovvvve dark academia and reading about Roza’s gothic estate was just absolutely perfect. This book kept me intrigued and guessing whodunnit it till the very end! I highly recommend this novel!

“The Writing Retreat” by Julia Bartz follows Alex as she joins a writing retreat hosted by her all time favorite author- the only downside? Her ex-best friend is invited, too. As all the women attempt to finish a completely new work, it becomes clear that something sinister is going on, this retreat isn’t quite what it seems. With one writer missing, will any of them make it out alive?

This book had a really interesting plot, so I was excited to check it out. Alex is a writer who has almost given up, but then for seemingly no reason she gets a break and is included for a retreat she’s too old for held by her all-time favorite author. The retreat theme mixed with the plot was giving “And Then There Were None,” but that kind of faded quickly.

I think I had really high expectations for this book, so then when it drifted into more of a graphic horror kind of genre I was thrown. Nothing really sucked me in and that made it difficult to stay engaged. The plot was definitely there, but I think for me the story fell flat.

In the end, this one only got two stars from me. I wanted to love it more than I did, but I couldn’t shake my expectations from just reading the synopsis. Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on February 21st!

I can't believe that this is a debut novel! The Writing Retreat had so many twists and turns that I couldn't stop turning the pages. Amazing Debut from Julia Bartz! Will be recommending this!

I’m not typically drawn to thrillers, but I can’t resist a story about writers. The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz has a great premise. A group of authors gathers at an isolated location where one writer mysteriously vanishes during a snowstorm. Sounds like a fun locked-room mystery, but this is a psychological thriller that quickly goes off the rails.

I must admit that the book was a page-turner. It held my interest and my focus at a time when I had little concentration available for anything else. But it veered too close to a horror story for my tastes.

What bothered me most was the author’s depiction of her lesbian and bi-sexual characters. There are multiple erotic scenes that read like old pulp fiction paperbacks. Imagine something like “My Demon Lesbian Lover.” Their sexuality was primarily used for cheap titillation. It did not feel like respectful representation.

This book, while entertaining at times, was not for me.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

ARC REVIEW: THE WRITING RETREAT (out February 21, 2023)
⭐⭐⭐✨ (3.75)

Writers, grudges, and an isolated mansion? l I clicked the request button on this ARC so fast.

Alex scores a once-in-a-lifetime chance to attend a women’s writing retreat hosted by feminist horror writer, the mysterious Roza Vallo. Alex’s first hiccup: she’s paralyzed by a severe case of writer’s block. Her second hiccup: her ex-friend Wren - with whom there is capital-T Tension - will also be there. What they and the other attendees don’t know until they arrive at Roza’s reportedly haunted mansion is that the event is not the idyllic, restorative retreat they were promised. Instead, it’s a high-stakes competition to churn out a completed novel, at the end of which Roza chooses who will win a million-dollar book deal. As the race to craft the winning story begins - a race fueled by manipulation and deception from the jump - one of the women disappears during a snowstorm, setting off a chain of horrific events.

What I loved: This was a dizzyingly fun, fast-paced read, with some hard lefts that took me by surprise. The tension in the story was nicely crafted - between Alex and Wren, the unsettling nature of the house, the mythos around Roza Vallo, and the rest of the chaotic plot. Towards the end, everything went off the rails - but in a campily fun, can’t-stop-watching way.

What I didn’t connect with: I had to look up the opposite of Chekhov’s Gun (“MacGuffin”) because there were a few things introduced throughout the story that I wish were explored more. The story-within-a-story concept fell a little flat for me, as did the ghost story. Some of the character motivations baffled me - without getting too spoilery, I was a little bewildered by some of the ending.

Overall, while there were some opportunities for a stronger finish or more exploration, The Writing Retreat was a page-turning treat from start to finish, and a fun breath of fresh air in the thriller genre.

Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for an advanced reader copy! I know this is a Book of the Month pick for many, so PLEASE DM me with spoilery-thoughts as you read!

This book was a twisty, turny thrill. I loved the unreliable narrator and not exactly knowing what was true and what wasn't.. There is a lot of drama in this book and an extremely speedy read!

The Writing Retreat is an imaginative dark story of the pressures of writing a best-seller, what some writers will do to obtain that achievement, and how others through no fault of their own have writer’s block for one reason or another.

Alex has always wanted to be a writer. For a while, she could crank out short stories overnight. But for the past year she has worked at a job she hates and has not been able to write a word. It seems when she and her best friend Wren ended their relationship, something Alex still does not understand, she lost her mojo. Alex in desperation tried to make amends with Wren, but unfortunately made everything worse.

So, when a friend has a book party for her first book, Alex goes, sees Wren there and flees. Her friend who feels terrible for her decides to submit an old short story she wrote a while back to a writing retreat being given by a prestigious, acclaimed horror writer named Roza Vallo, whom Alex has admired since she was just a child. She feels this could perhaps jump start her creativity and decides to attend the month-long retreat.

Unfortunately, when she arrives, to her surprise, she sees her ex-best friend among the other attendees. Well, this will surely add to her writer’s block! But being able to be in this beautiful old mansion with Roza Vallo seems to put her anxiety at bay. For now.

But as the women begin their writing journey, not everything feels right. Roza’s expectations are ridiculously high, her daily word counts enormous. They are required to write a full novel in this short time. The prize though, too good to pass up. A publishing deal.

Things begin to go downhill very quickly. Wren seems to be badmouthing Alex every chance she gets; Alex can’t seem to write because she can’t stop thinking about Wren and Roza for the most part is not very encouraging.

When she finally decides on a storyline, Roza becomes interested. Unfortunately, she also seems a bit unhinged. Then, one of the writer’s disappears during a blizzard and cannot be found. There is no phone service, and they are unable to call the police. Strange occurrences begin to happen and everything and everyone seems out of control.

The women are now faced with their own real life horror story, with all of them being terrorized with no reasoning as to why. Is this part of the writing experience? Or could there be something more sinister going on??

The Writing Retreat plot is dripping with anxiety, fear, a race to the finish and quite the page turner with a terrific explosive ending you don’t want to miss!

Thank you #NetGalley #Atria/EmilyBestlerBooks #JuliaBartz #TheWritingRetreat for the advanced copy.

Alex is thrilled when she is invited to an exclusive writer’s retreat, despite her writer’s block. Even the fact that her rival, and ex-best friend, Wren, is a guest won’t damper her excitement. When the retreat turns into a contest, odd happenings occur.

This was a good, suspenseful read with a decent backstory that I found interesting. The writing aspect was fun, but I wasn’t into to the story within the story. They were very small portions of the book, so I still enjoyed it overall. I found the plot a little far fetched but it was still very entertaining!

“… after two weeks of being each other’s nemeses, we were now a team, following clues like the Hardy Boys. I never could’ve imagined it. Not in a million years.

The Writing Retreat comes out 2/21.

I was really looking forward to this read but sadly I didn't like it. All of the characters were unlikable and it made for a tough read.
Honestly the plot was so intriguing, a horror author invited 5 aspiring authors to a writing retreat in her secluded mansion? Yes please, but it took forever for the plot to get moving. The last 20% gave me whiplash because it threw so much at you. Honestly, a let down for me.