Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

18 reviews

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

tabookish's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Drug use, Murder, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Death, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny, Vomit, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, and Excrement

lauren_shilling's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

I enjoyed this book a lot! I wasn't sure if I was going to like it because the reviews are very mixed, and I definitely see why some people really do not like it, but I personally had so much fun with it! This story focuses on toxic female friendships and also has LGBTQ+ themes that I enjoyed. It really delves into how women, and queer women in particular, have the capability to be dark, vengeful, and also strong. The first half is really good at creating tension and the atmosphere is incredible, and I think a lot of people will enjoy that part. The second part might lose people, because it does get a little crazy and wild, but it worked for me. My ability to suspend disbelief in order to enjoy something is very strong, and my limits are definitely looser than some people's (not saying it's a bad thing to not have loose limits, it's all about preferences. Mine just happen to be very loose). The characters weren't lovable, but they weren't necessarily unlovable either. The main character is a great example of this, because she's not necessarily a likable protagonist, but she is one that you will definitely root for. The same goes for one of the other characters, Wren. She's a terrible person, but by the end, I absolutely wanted to see her survive and go on with her life. I love reading about characters like that. It's so much fun to root for a character, even if you don't entirely like them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, Toxic friendship, Death, Gun violence, Confinement, and Drug use

Moderate: Blood and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Racism, and Fire/Fire injury

vj_thompson's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Very interesting book. I preferred the story within the story. Would recommend the audiobook. The narrator truly embodied the characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Death, Blood, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Murder, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Bullying, Gaslighting, Grief, Cursing, Vomit, and Violence

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Racism, Antisemitism, Excrement, and Child abuse

amris's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Stalking, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Bullying, Excrement, Sexual content, Drug use, Gore, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Suicide, Genocide, Body horror, Cannibalism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Terminal illness, Vomit, and War

laurafrances's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, Biphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Confinement, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Body horror, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

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!

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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

hellokatya's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.0

i had really high hopes for this but the majority of the book just left me thinking…. why? 
the ending was a good wrap up, got everything it needed in, and left open for a sequel - would i read it? potentially - but it wasn’t good enough to justify reading. 
i would only recommend this book if you’re interested in a quick binge read - hardly at that. 
was not impressed but the author definitely knew how to leave a good cliffhanger and make you want to keep on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Child death

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

kelleywithanextrae's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping

kleinekita's review

mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Murder, Toxic relationship, Blood, Sexual content, and Drug use

Moderate: Homophobia and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, and Vomit