Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

60 reviews

wganas4's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Racism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Murder, and Blood

christajls's review

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gun violence, and Confinement

bookishbabe93's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I read a majority of this book during an ice storm. As the wind howled, upended trees, downed power lines and sent my world into a chilly darkness this book kept me warm. It isn’t perfect a diamond in the rough and its story is one that’s not entirely original it’s been perfected over hundreds of novels.

A secluded beautiful home, a storm, a mystery, and the tantalizing struggle to survive.

Yet it felt new to me… felt fresh and ripe and brimming with sweet acidic prose. Like a dark poisonous flower. At its heart this book was an homage to writers so I am well aware that won’t translate to every reader…but it translated to me. This book speaks to me fluently. With its complicated relationships and nuanced female characters… it speaks and speaks and speaks.

I finished this book cocooned in the bubbles of a soothing hot bath a month after the ice melted and the lights turned on again. I spent the final hours deeply engaged as the novel hit its crescendo and entered the final few chapters. The once steamy water had grown tepid the bubbles faded… I didn’t care. I had to finish it…I had to know the end of Alex’s story.

That’s what this book was, a story about stories. A love letter to characters and the manic process of creation…of writing worlds and people and plots. Not only did this book cure my reading slump brought on from an overly prosed 700 page fantasy it also stoked the spark of my muse…coaxing her back to life and igniting that desire once more to write.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Drug use, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Violence

nerdglasses08's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Blood, Death, Drug use, Cursing, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Confinement

brianna_moye's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Sexual content

Moderate: Drug abuse

Minor: Sexual violence

_charliesbooks_'s review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

As a huge fantasy and litfic reader this book was very out of my remit. And yet I couldn't put it down. It was weird and wonderful and I did not expect a SINGLE plot twist that happened. I loved the discussions on race and sexuality and I ADORED the book about books vibe. I'd definitely read this author again

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Drug use, Blood, Addiction, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Classism, Child abuse, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

jessie_eidson's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Antisemitism, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Gun violence

Minor: Vomit, Excrement, Addiction, Alcohol, Abandonment, Genocide, and Panic attacks/disorders

ravenpuff's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Confinement, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Torture

essentialnpc's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Murder, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Excrement, Vomit, Torture, Violence, and Gun violence

bookishmillennial's review

challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial 

This was a wild ride, but ultimately it made me laugh and I had a good time with these shamelessly messy, unhinged, overly competitive, toxic women 😂 

This felt to me like if June and Athena from Yellowface went to a writing retreat before they both published novels. The angst, jealousy, and obsession with success and notoriety in the publishing industry was so entertaining, and I enjoyed the (extremely toxic but) sapphic denial between Wren and Alex, former friends who are now writing rivals. 

Roza, the successful horror novelist that hosts this writing retreat, was every bit conniving, pretentious, and mischievous that you would imagine a renowned literary genius would be. She ate up the groveling of the five women who aspired to achieve even an ounce of the success she found, and she knew what she was doing in every single moment. The way that she revealed it would be a competition among the five attendees had me howling; I was like THIS IS ABOUT TO BE MAYHEM 🫣 

I thought this was a fun novel because it provided a sinister but goofy enough commentary on the life of a writer, and how far someone would go to ensure a global bestseller! It brings you into the darkest, greediest, most menacing thoughts of someone who eats, lives, and breathes writing and wants so desperately to be recognized for their work. This book made me happy to be a reader and not a writer 😂

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Murder, Homophobia, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Violence, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship