Alex is still recovering from the fallout with her best friend, Wren, from a year ago. Things are looking up when she is invited to an exclusive writing retreat hosted by her favorite author, Rosa Vallo, in her infamous mansion. The only problem is that she’s had writer’s block for a year, and Wren will be there too. When the retreat goes south, Alex and Wren have no choice but to work together to survive.

What a fantastic debut from Julia Bartz. The writing was fabulous and had me hooked from the very beginning. It reminded me a lot of Riley Sager, but with a feminist twist. I loved Alex’s character development and the inclusion of blurbs from her own novel as she wrote it. The last third of this book has so many so many twists and turns I couldn’t put it down.

The writing retreat is an interesting read and it is sort of hard to describe. A famous author holds a retreat at a secluded destination during a snow storm for aspiring writers. She places them in a competition to complete a full novel by the end of the retreat and whomever wins gets the novel published. The cast is made of young up and coming female writers, two of whom have a complicated past that they must content with when they face one another again. Tensions emerge as stories from the past surface and soon there is a body found. The novel dissolves from there as the survivors try to figure out what is going on and the plot certainly moves into an expected place.
While the book overall was well-written, original, and atmospheric-the plot did not work for me. There was too much going on at times and it felt like various genres were being jammed together (haunted houses, closed circle mystery, , feminist literature, the Hunger games, psychological thriller, etc). I do think this would have been more effective had the plot followed more with one genre with sprinkles of the additional genres the author was going for rather than trying to jam them together. The tone felt disjointed at times because of it. slightly disappointed, but I know many others may find this an enjoyable page turner!

Arc provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Writing Retreat follows Alex as she goes on a dream journey of attending a writing retreat at her favorite author Roza Vallo's mysterious and storied home. When all the guests, including Alex's former best friend Wren, arrive, an eye opening surprise is revealed: they will have to write an entire novel in their time at the retreat and one will win a publishing deal. Roza's weird behavior, the other writer's mental games, and a disappearance leads Alex fighting for the truth, and possibly her life.

This creepy, unsettling, locked door thriller/horror kept me interested from page one. The writing style, the book within the book plot, the absolute insanity that keeps piling up, all just culminated into such a fun and gripping ride. The description of the house was so well done, it really painted a picture of this spooky massive estate that kept you wondering what (or who) was hiding in each room and hallway. I would definitely read "Alex's" book, the excerpts of it were very interesting and kept me wanting more of that story, as well as our main character's. Add in a trapped in a snow storm scenario? I'm hooked. The twists and reveals kept me guessing and wondering what else could come next, but not in a way that felt too overdramatic.

Overall this is a really wild, chaotic thriller, with a good touch of paranormal and horror. In writing my review I noticed this is the author's debut novel, which really has me looking forward to what comes next from them!

Thank you to Atria Books, Julia Bartz, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for honest review.

I have to say this book just wasn’t for me. The main character wasn’t my favorite and it just didn’t keep my attention. Giving it three stars because the writing was well done and the overall story was good.

This 👏 fucking 👏 book 👏

☑️ Quirky unreliable characters
☑️ A spooky gothic estate
☑️ A book about writers writing, how meta

Legit had to stop reading many times throughout to audibly be like “WTF! Are you kidding me???”

I was hooked from the first page and was here for this emotional rollercoaster until the very end

This story will haunt my dreams forever tbh

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for an advance copy. I loved it so much I also snagged a hardcover from Book of the Month

Can’t wait to see what’s next from Julia Bartz!

I have been trying this book for months, and I’m finally throwing in the towel. My biggest peeve was the dialogue felt so awkward at times. Also don’t love a steamy thriller.

Strong first half, and believable characters and conflict. Then, the plot went completely off the rails and veered into really unrealistic, unsatisfying sapphic chaos.

I feel like there have been multiple books with writers as the main characters recently, but this one clearly took it to another very dark and twisted level! What price would you pay to be mentored by your favorite author? How far would you go to be the next big thing?

Although some parts, especially the sexual undertones, seemed a bit much and out of place, and I didn’t overly care for the characters, this was still definitely a very fast paced and highly entertaining read!

For anyone who enjoys suspenseful thrillers and is intrigued by the world of writers, grab this one when it releases February 21st!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Special thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for sharing an ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

This book took a while to pick up for me, I felt the first half was super slow and did not find much of the first half enticing at all. Once I hit halfway I felt like the book really picked up, I also wouldn’t label this as a thriller it’s more of a mystery / horror book. I give it three stars because I found a hard time connecting with the characters, most of the characters just seemed to exist with no back ground besides Roza and poppy-Zoe. I did find the excerpts from Alex’s writing not needed and the daphnes story kind of went away and came back at the end with no real need. The second half of the book really made up for the first half there was a lot going on so quickly, much more fast paced. I could see this as a short tv series, I got dark vibes from it and could see the setting vividly in my mind. The premise of this book is great and Captivated me I just wish the story line would have hooked me in the beginning and it did not. Thank you for giving me the arc of this novel and the opportunity to review.

This book was absolutely insane--but in a great way! 5 women get picked to join their favorite author at a month-long writing retreat. Who wouldn't be ecstatic about that? But nothing is as it seems, including the famous author herself. Stuck in a big, spooky house with four feet of snow outside, all hell breaks loose. This book was crazy, but so good! It kept me hooked from the beginning, and I kept questioning whether I knew what was going to happen next, but I was always wrong! It was twisty and turny and a really great read!

The Writing Retreat is a psychological thriller with elements of gothic horror. Alex, an aspiring writer, has not been able to write for over year after having a falling out with her former best friend, Wren. In a stroke of luck, she is picked to attend a month long writing retreat with four other female writers at the the old (and maybe haunted) estate of reclusive feminist horror author, Roza Vallo. Alex readily accepts, despite finding out that Wren will be attending as well.
I was pulled into this book on the first page. Early on, we are teased with the mystery of the friend breakup. Alex doesn’t tell us until later on, but we know it involves bloodshed and that she lost all of their mutual friends in the aftermath.
Once the retreat begins, strange happenings occur at the house. Wren is playing mind games and Roza makes increasing extreme requests from her writers. The writing here is intense, to say the least. Roza is a wildcard - at times supportive and at others demanding and cruel.
Bartz’s descriptions of the house are irresistible. I found myself imagining what it would be like to walk those massive halls and exploring the hidden rooms. The already claustrophobic setting is brought to new heights when a snowstorm begins, and Bartz doesn’t let up.
This book is also an intense study of female friendships, success, and competition. As women, we have to fight to be seen, and all too many women are comfortable pulling another down so that they can rise. It’s also a wonderful celebration of queerness and embracing identity.

This was a weird Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets a twisted Nine Perfect Strangers.

After the first half, I almost DNF’d. But I wanted to see if my predictions were right so I skim read the last half.

Yup, as I suspected zero surprises. I might be in the minority, but this just didn’t really work for me. I won’t be recommending this to anyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Could not put this one down! In her debut novel, Julia Bartz brings together so many twists and turns in this psychological thriller, from secret identities to the paranormal to a fight for survival. Wonderful novel and can’t wait to see what comes next from Bartz. Keep an eye out for this release this month on February 21st. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

Well, this was interesting. I am a huge fan of locked room mysteries. Probably my favorite sub genre. So I loved the setting and the whole idea, off the grid in a spooky old house on a writer’s retreat/competition with all sorts of people you barely know for a month? Sign me up. Though I did find myself bored at times, I think it worked overall and definitely look forward to the next book from Julia Bartz.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the advanced digital copy.

I really enjoyed the sexy slow burn that built into a big payoff by the end. This is a super fun thriller for fans of reality TV, authors, and thrilling deceit.

I'm so sad about this one. It really had so much potential but the similes during the sec scenes got me. 🤢

It took a 52% for the plot to finally develop. I'm all about a slow paced character driven book, but this wasn't character driven either. I don't know what it was other than a no.

The Writing Retreat is a psychological thriller about Alex, an author who takes on the unknown to follow her dreams of becoming a published author. Her ex best friend, Wren, along with other young authors, are chosen for what they believe to be the opportunity of a lifetime learning from famous writer Roza Vallo.
When one attendee disappears, the other authors begin to unravel something sinister about Roza and her retreat.

This was such an action-packed thriller. The storylines get wild and the plot gets completely unrealistic… but in a fun way.

Bartz’s writing style is so fun to follow. Alex’s narration was interesting, and the excerpts of Alex’s novel in between chapters provided an interesting guide for the story. Alex as a character was one of my favorite parts of the story. Seeing her grow and hearing her personal thoughts throughout the story gave me something to root for and relate to.

Although the storylines get slightly chaotic and over the top, it is a fun mystery to follow and it kept me interested the entire time.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting a dramatic thriller. It will not disappoint!

This one was highly anticipated for me and it was definitely a great read. It was propulsive, with an original setting. And who doesn't love a thriller set in a snowstorm? I enjoyed the elusive Roza, the cast of characters, and the twist was super fun.

For me, the beginning dragged but once we got to the actual retreat I was hooked! The twists honestly all took me by surprise and I was just along for the ride.

This definitely descends into chaos and gets pretty convoluted at the end, but the sharp writing makes it quick to flip the pages in times of suspense. I love a good “out there” thriller sometimes and this DEFINITELY is that!

We get a little of a book within a book, and these were some of my least favorite parts. I found myself wanting to skim these sections because they didn’t seem to have much bearing on the overall story.

A very impressive debut, and I’m excited to see what wacky story this author comes out with next!

Review added to goodreads. Gave 4.5 stars because it included everything I love (sapphic horror!) This was a great book and I’m excited to read more from this author!