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bootsmom3's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Blood, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual content, Torture, Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Antisemitism and Racism
Minor: Vomit, Excrement, Genocide, and Death of parent
taraaleitz's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I’m kind of “eh” about this book, but there were parts of it that were intriguing. This is Bartz first book, and for a first book it’s decent. There were a couple of plot twists that were unexpected and the storyline is interesting, I just don’t love the majority of the details that make up the book. But again, there were parts that were intriguing so I kept reading.
This was also the first book that I’ve read that’s labeled as “horror” and maybe that put me off too.
Labeling this less than a 3 because the other books I read that I rated as 3’s just feel a little bit above this for my personal reading preferences. I also feel like it missed the mark for me a bit.
This was also the first book that I’ve read that’s labeled as “horror” and maybe that put me off too.
Labeling this less than a 3 because the other books I read that I rated as 3’s just feel a little bit above this for my personal reading preferences. I also feel like it missed the mark for me a bit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Confinement, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Bullying, Drug use, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Vomit
novi's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
This reminds me of Rachel Hawkins' The Villa, but with much darker twist and longer (but effective) portion of darkness. The latter half of this book also reminds me of a popular gothic vampire book, but The Writing Retreat did it better (despite having longer portion of it, again) because I care more about the characters and the relationships between them here.
I finished this book in 2 sittings and that's rare lol. The beginning felt just like other books about aspiring writers' life in new york, but the next part I couldn't put this book down.
I was mad and frustrated several times reading this, just like this book wanted me to. There are a lot of "woke" discussion here that felt natural (except the she/her part, idk). I actually predicted the main idea of the ending but the way it played out was beyond my imagination. Like this would be a horror film.
My most favorite part of this book was the relationships between the characters. I think it's done really well with all the complexities of it. My least favorite part was some of the sex parts. I'm not a prude butthe placing of our main protagonist's sex actions just felt so bizarre and selfish to me although i think it's intentional. When Poppy tried to show something important to the mc and then she randomly having sex right then and there like I was so maddddd lol also i think what Wren did to Alex in the past could count as rape, but it was never discussed to that far of territory in this book. . There are some excerpts of a book here and I was surprisingly not bothered by it at all (usually I don't like a book within a book).
I finished this book in 2 sittings and that's rare lol. The beginning felt just like other books about aspiring writers' life in new york, but the next part I couldn't put this book down.
I was mad and frustrated several times reading this, just like this book wanted me to. There are a lot of "woke" discussion here that felt natural (except the she/her part, idk). I actually predicted the main idea of the ending but the way it played out was beyond my imagination. Like this would be a horror film.
My most favorite part of this book was the relationships between the characters. I think it's done really well with all the complexities of it. My least favorite part was some of the sex parts. I'm not a prude but
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Rape, Blood, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Gun violence and Vomit
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was one of those books that I just couldn’t put down. I finished it in 2 days, and I was reading every spare moment I had because I needed to know what happened next.
The Writing Retreat is a unique story about toxic friendships, sapphic relationships, and imbalances of power. There’s a strong gothic dread that underpins the whole book, leading to a tense, atmospheric setting that has you guessing what’s real and what’s not.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys:
- horror/horror elements in their thrillers
- snowy, locked room reads
- psychological explorations of self and our connections with others
Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada, Atria Books and Netgalley for this gifted physical copy & ARC of this one—I loved it!
The Writing Retreat is a unique story about toxic friendships, sapphic relationships, and imbalances of power. There’s a strong gothic dread that underpins the whole book, leading to a tense, atmospheric setting that has you guessing what’s real and what’s not.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys:
- horror/horror elements in their thrillers
- snowy, locked room reads
- psychological explorations of self and our connections with others
Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada, Atria Books and Netgalley for this gifted physical copy & ARC of this one—I loved it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship
displacedcactus's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
A slightly trashy sapphic thriller, but the characters were well-developed enough to ground the over-the-top story. Pretty well-paced. You just have to suspend your disbelief that an author who came from poverty and only published 4-5 books over 40 years would somehow be incredibly famous and fabulously wealthy.
I only read maybe 1-2 thrillers a year, and this one kept me guessing. The fact that it's set in an isolated manor house, with a dark past, in February, gives it a definite Gothic feeling, so I was always wondering if there might be a supernatural or at least occult/cultish thing going on, or if it would prove to just be good ol' fashioned human depravity. You'll have to read to find out!
I only read maybe 1-2 thrillers a year, and this one kept me guessing. The fact that it's set in an isolated manor house, with a dark past, in February, gives it a definite Gothic feeling, so I was always wondering if there might be a supernatural or at least occult/cultish thing going on, or if it would prove to just be good ol' fashioned human depravity. You'll have to read to find out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Gun violence, Cursing, and Violence
Minor: Vomit and Homophobia
readingwithcoffee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
The book is incredibly superficial and predictable with a central argument that’s pretty ludicrous towards the end it has An argument that authors only have one great work in them that’s just complete nonsense for actual well read authors to entertain given how many others such as James baldwin, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Isabela Allende and more have written so many great books. This and how it doesn’t actually challenge the idea that great art comes from tragedy and instead seems to agree with it is silly. The cast is diverse ethnic wise with a Jewish protagonist, British, Russian and Hungarian characters and entirely female cast except for very minor male characters but the Russian and southern woman are complete stereotypes. And as another reviews noted the only queer women comfortable with their sexuality are murderous psychopath that are obsessive that feels like a bad stereotype alongside the indecisive and anxious bi-curious rivals that are uncomfortable with their sexuality there entire book despite wrestling with that also being a clear theme
The main protagonist despite being thirty has a maturity of teenage girl and never seems to take almost maiming even if accidentally another author so she can’t write seriously but we’re expected to treat being ghosted by a friend as remotely a similar grievance especially as she imagines the woman as horrible friend any way but feels entitled to the woman never ending the friendship on terms different from the protagonist. It’s incredibly immature that we’re expected to both sides. Also the only black woman is constantly stereotyped and feels like she’s there to be the clan and collected characters and constantly associated with Africa, and slavery from lion necklace to someone who’s family is from Senegal saying her family came over the trans Atlantic slave trade when that’s African Americans. I genuinely think the majority of her on screen dialogue had the book discussing her in association with Africa or slavery more then anything else or having her awkwardly accuse the other white women reducing her to angry black woman that instead of critiquing racism in white liberal spaces felt the non black author feeling incredibly self conscious about her own black character and almost entirely white cast.
Also I’ve enjoyed books within books before but while the one here is related to the events in the book it reads like bad historical fiction.
The main protagonist despite being thirty has a maturity of teenage girl and never seems to take almost maiming even if accidentally another author so she can’t write seriously but we’re expected to treat being ghosted by a friend as remotely a similar grievance especially as she imagines the woman as horrible friend any way but feels entitled to the woman never ending the friendship on terms different from the protagonist. It’s incredibly immature that we’re expected to both sides. Also the only black woman is constantly stereotyped and feels like she’s there to be the clan and collected characters and constantly associated with Africa, and slavery from lion necklace to someone who’s family is from Senegal saying her family came over the trans Atlantic slave trade when that’s African Americans. I genuinely think the majority of her on screen dialogue had the book discussing her in association with Africa or slavery more then anything else or having her awkwardly accuse the other white women reducing her to angry black woman that instead of critiquing racism in white liberal spaces felt the non black author feeling incredibly self conscious about her own black character and almost entirely white cast.
Also I’ve enjoyed books within books before but while the one here is related to the events in the book it reads like bad historical fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Misogyny, Blood, Vomit, Racism, Genocide, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Death, Cursing, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Drug use, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Addiction, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Child death, and Child abuse
sophmcgraw's review
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Kidnapping, Drug use, Torture, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Minor: Suicide, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Terminal illness
caitgiam's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Blood and Physical abuse
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, and Vomit
lottiebrooks's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, and Vomit
clevelandbookgirl's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Gaslighting, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Excrement, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Vomit, Racism, and Confinement