Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - The Writing Retreat

Like an LGBT+ Get Out with only women in it.

I enjoyed this book a lot, but personally don’t care for any element of a ghost within a story unless it’s fully debunked.

I think this is an incredible debut novel, and it’s clear the author used her experience as a therapist to create well-rounded characters.

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kelleywithanextrae's review

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

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trippalli's review

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Most demented mentorship. A fast compelling read, despite being predictable an exciting death and disturbingdisturbing story.. Reflective on topics like inspiration, friendship, live and passion, ruthlessness, competitiveness, mentoring and inspiration.

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lovelymisanthrope's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

I originally heard about this because it is the Literally Dead Book Club pick for April.
“The Writing Retreat” follows a young woman named Alex. Alex is struggling in her personal and professional life. She is an aspiring author, but she has not been able to find the right idea to write about. All of her struggles are compounded by her recent falling out with her longtime best friend, Wren. Things seem to finally be looking up for Alex, when she is invited to attend an exclusive writing retreat at the mysterious home of best selling author Roza. Alex and a handful of other talented young women come together at Roza’s estate for a month-long writing retreat. Unfortunately, this amazing opportunity might be too good to be true when other members of the retreat begin to vanish, and there seems to be something far more sinister at play.
I was initially really excited to pick up this book, because I love to read stories about authors, who are struggling with their craft. Alex‘s character is so relatable. She is a struggling 30 something who is just trying to find her place in the world. She has a fire within her and she wants to write a story because she loves to read the inspiring works of others , but she cannot seem to stoke the fire high enough to be able to come up with her own idea. I really enjoyed seeing her character struggle with her relationship with Wren. After college it is really difficult to maintain friendships for various reasons. Alex‘s story with Wren really highlights how some people are your friend for certain chapters in your life, and that is okay.
Unfortunately, this book fell kind of short for me. It ultimately did not keep my interest, and I had to force myself to finish the story. The ultimate mystery behind what is happening during this writing retreat started out interesting, but it quickly transpired into a plot line that I felt was absolutely ridiculous. By the end of the story, I felt like it was all so unbelievable that I was disconnected entirely. I also ended up not liking any of the characters by the end, which makes it difficult for me to be invested in their stories.
This book was not for me, but I will still keep Julia Bartz on my radar and try a different book in the future.

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vilandra's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed reading this. It could have been 5 stars with a little editing. The characters aren’t really likable, but this is more about the story so it actually matters less than it normally would. The author’s virtue signaling really draws the reader out of the story at times though. If you’re going to have characters give their pronouns, just have them give their pronouns. Don’t shoehorn in a lecture to the reader about why it’s needed. That’s not normalizing it. Some of the comments that were clearly in there with the intent to say, “Look how progressive I am!” didn’t even make sense. Also, parts were more vulgar than they needed to be. This isn’t (as far as I can tell) a romance novel. The graphic sex comes off as the author trying to be edgy rather than serving the story. Having said that, I do think it’s worth reading and the annoying bits can be overlooked for the overall story. But it would have been nicer if I didn’t need to overlook them and could have stayed immersed in the story. I would absolutely read another book by this author and recognize that she might have been pressured to add in some if the disjointed stuff by her editor.

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karamelka_kar19's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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savvyrosereads's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

3.5

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Alex is struggling in her personal and professional life when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to attend an exclusive writing retreat hosted by her favorite author...but the invitation may not be all that it seems.

This book has an exceptional premise, and the vibes (winter locked room thriller with an And Then There Were None type plot) were outstanding. I’ve heard so many good things and went into this read extremely excited—especially because it was a BOTM pick and I usually have great luck with their choices.

Unfortunately, this one ultimately fell a *little* flat for me. It wasn’t bad (as evidenced by my 3.5 stars) but I found the plot a bit too unbelievable, and felt like the ending was very out-of-character/didn’t fit with the rest of the story. I also wanted more of a twist or reveal—everything seemed pretty predictable the whole way through.

All of that said, I do want to emphasize that I’ve seen some amazing reviews of this one and you might like it a lot more than I did! And, the writing is generally good and engaging—I’ll definitely still be giving this author a future try for whatever she writes next.

Recommended if you like: locked door mysteries; women’s wrongs; books about books

CW: Kidnapping/confinement; blood/death/violence; toxic friendship/emotional abuse/gaslighting; sexual encounters involving questionable consent

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Thanks to Atria Books for the free advance copy of this book.

- THE WRITING RETREAT is one of the most unhinged books I've ever read, and I was completely along for the ride.
- I don't want to give away too much, but if you love a thriller where both you and the main character can't decide who's in on it, what's real, and how it's going to end, this is your book.

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