Friendship. Cults. Revenge.

This book was quick to get through and fast paced throughout! There was not really a moment when I was reading where I went, “get on with it already”. Our ex-bestie Kat gave strong Emily from A Simple Favor vibes—cool, rich, and possessive. And Olivia? She’s got a goal, maybe two, that she’s determined to meet.

The setting is super cool, the Nyx resort is beautiful and isolated which helps to create tension.

My major beef is that I didn’t feel extremely satisfied with the ending. Buuut it does set things up for a stellar sequel . If one is coming, then it’s brilliant!

A fast paced read this book kept my attention the entire time. Sadly I didn’t resonate or enjoy the twists. There were some events in the book that also didn’t feel like they added to the storyline and yet were referred to frequently. I do think I would enjoy this authors other books, the writing is great and I was engaged and wanting to know more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! All opinions are completely my own

Thank you NetGalley and Storm publishing for providing me with this eARC. All opinions are my own.

This book had the perfect atmosphere for the whodunnit, the writers retreat premise where our main character who is an author goes to a writers retreat and the she comes across a mystery that she needs to solve. It was the perfect t weekend read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

I am looking forward to reading more from this author as I know there is potential. However this book was simultaneously too much and not enough. There were too many characters but not enough explanation on their relationships. I really wanted to like this more than I did.

The Writers’ Retreat is the story of Olivia 'Liv' Montgomery who is an aspiring writer, and works at a book shop, is invited to a writers' retreat in the Catskills. She makes the decision to go but is confronted by her past which does not make her happy. When it is her turn to brainstorm, she is confronted with the fact someone else has a contract for the same story. As she fights to prove the other one is a fake and not written by her, the bodies begin to fall.

This was meant to be a fast-paced thriller full of suspense and clever twists. However, I did not find it suspenseful. The pace was frenetic and disjointed as it was in two different time frames, the past and the present.

This one did not measure up to the description.

this was soooooo good!!!! i finished this book in a single day because i seriously could not put it down!!! highly recommend!!

This was my first book by Samantha Verant, but it definitely won’t be my last. The Writers’ Retreat was full of twist and turns I never saw coming. I enjoyed reading the different points of view between Kat and Liv and I really liked the glimpses into Kat’s past. I would definitely recommend this book.

Absolutely remarkable story. In this story, a mad person meets another mad person and another. They form a team but they are not completely aware of each other's insanity. Loved the complexity and twist in the story.

The story is about an aspiring thriller author Liz Montgomery who’s invited to a luxury retreat in the Catskills. The story follows her through the retreat and also has flashbacks to the past.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I found this to be a quick and easy thriller. The beginning was a bit slow paced for me, but by the last third, I was tapping away at my kindle pages to see what happens next.

The story had a lot of potential, but honestly it kept jumping around and leaving holes in the plot that left me confused. Several times I had to go back to see if I missed a detail, but I hadn't - it just hadn't come up yet. I didn't like the writing style. I did however like the story, the characters, and the twists.

The writers retreat

3.7/5 ⭐️
While this did take me a few days to finally get fully into, it was worth it.
A sinister story told at an immaculate pace.
This book was full of twists and turns that I never saw coming. The setting was ghostly and eerie. Definitely a good one! Felt like it needed a little more depth, but the setting was perfectly described.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this book in exchange of my honest review. Looking forward to reading other books by Samantha Verant

This was a DNF for me, at least for now. I’m struggling to connect with and like the characters and to comprehend certain aspects of the main character herself. She’s not terribly likeable and her motivations seem so backwards and don’t always make a ton of sense. I didn’t understand her constant paranoia and inability to trust anyone, she seemed suspicious of every single person and really had no reason for it and it just took me out of the story constantly. I was very intrigued by the idea of a cult but up to 45% at least it just seemed like a bunch of mean girls and I couldn’t get invested in it.

The Writer’s Retreat drops Liv Montgomery into a supposed literary getaway that quickly turns sinister. The luxury setting hides secrets—and so does everyone there. When a storm rolls in and bodies start dropping, it’s clear this is no peaceful retreat.

Told from multiple viewpoints, the story layers past and present in a way that keeps you guessing. No one here is particularly likable, but watching their schemes unravel is half the fun. Twisty, dark, and full of surprises right up to the final page.

Big thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy!

3 stars.
My initial complaint was how quickly Liv jumps on the chance to go on this writer's retreat- it just felt so rushed at the start, and i didn't have time to really get to know her character or background. The "secluded" setting felt very forced, and although I did like the idea of a writer's retreat, it just feels a bit overdone.
The writing was good, as was the pacing of the mystery.

Tremendous… fast-paced, intriguing, and wholly entertaining, this novel features characters that leap off the page, all while a narrative laced with caustic wit unfolds. As a reader, I relished every single page and found it to be a true one-sit read.

Dark, Twisty, and Totally Addictive!

This is hands down my favourite Samantha Verant thriller so far. From the very first chapter, I was completely pulled in — the pacing is fast, the twists are smart, and the tension just builds. I loved the layers of psychological drama, the unsettling cult elements, and the intense mean-girl dynamic that gave the story such a sharp, unpredictable edge.

The setting is stunning and eerie in equal measure — remote and atmospheric, with every detail pulling you deeper into the story’s grip. It created this constant sense of unease that made the suspense even more powerful.

I flew through the pages, and when I had to put it down, I couldn’t stop thinking about what might happen next. It’s creepy, clever, and incredibly well crafted. If you love thrillers that mess with your head in the best way, this is the one to pick up. Highly recommend!

This was a quick read for me that overall didn't really pull me in. It wasn't overly "thrilling" and the characters lacked...something. The storyline is good, but definitely could have evolved into a more captivating story. There were several plotlines that just didn't seem to connect. Many times, I caught myself going back in a chapter because I didn't realize that the character had switched from the prior chapter and things weren't making sense.

I did finish the book and I would possibly give this author another chance in the future.
Received this as an ARC from Storm Publishing via Netgalley.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the chance to read this story. I had a hard time getting through this. I felt like it was hard to keep track of the characters, and also the different time lines. Overall, this was just okay for me.

The Writers’ Retreat is a fast-paced thriller that blends creative ambition with murder in the Catskills. I received a copy from Storm Publishing via Netgalley. It came out on 22 July.

Liv Montgomery thinks she’s in luck as she lands a spot at an exclusive writing retreat, but things quickly unravel as secrets surface and fellow writers reveal darker intentions.

Samantha Vérant keeps the tension high with a breathtaking setting and plenty of twists, of which some are predictable, but others genuinely surprising. The characters aren’t always fully developed, and the dialogue can feel a bit thin, but the story luckily moves quickly enough. It's not flawless, but it's a fun read.

3,75/5 ⭐️

An easy and quick read. This was okay for a mystery/thriller. The story is very surface; not much depth or meaning or even thinking on the reader's part. So, if that's what you're looking for this is great.