Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz Published by Atria Books on February 21, 2023
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 321
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn’t dampen her excitement.
But when the attendees arrive, Roza drops a bombshell—they must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal. Determined to win this seemingly impossible contest, Alex buckles down and tries to ignore the strange happenings at the estate, including Roza’s erratic behavior, Wren’s cruel mind games, and the alleged haunting of the mansion itself. But when one of the writers vanishes during a snowstorm, Alex realizes that something very sinister is afoot. With the clock running out, she’s desperate to discover the truth and save herself.
The Writing Retreat has gotten a lot of advance buzz in my circles so I was thrilled to get to read it. It’s about an invitation only retreat for a month long writing session at a famous author’s home. Our main point of view, Alex, has been suffering writer’s block since the fight with her best friend of many years, Wren. They both want to be authors and work at other jobs, who also love Roza, the famous author. The retreat is supposed to be for female writers in their twenties and they are both 30.
When a mutual writing friend, connects them with Roza’s agent, they both end up being invited at the last minute. Alex is nervous for many reasons. She’s worried about seeing Wren, her writer’s block and yet delighted to see and know Roza more. I won’t spoil the story, but I got feelings that were a cross between Mean Girls and Lord of the Flies, with a shadow of And Then There Were None. The situation and the writing demands and the personalities were all intense.
The retreat started out exciting and a bit competitive, with the women getting to know each other and working on interesting stories. There were excerpts of Alex’s story which related to an old tale around the previous owner’s of Roza’s home. I have to say I skimmed the snippets as I found them kind of boring. The actual events though were a bit terrifying and devolved into survival mode.
I enjoyed reading and it reminds me of a personality test which has everyone with modes for regular circumstances and under stress. The four modes were Controlling / Taking, Supporting /Giving, Adapting/Dealing and Conserving / Holding. For example, someone might ordinarily be Controlling / Taking but under stress they become Adapting / Dealing. Anyway, it was fascinating to see the women shift to different styles with their stress levels, and also become focused on what truly mattered rather than petty squabbles.
The things the women learn about each other and their situation are shocking. What twists! I found the conclusion to be a little sad but satisfying.
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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I can’t wait to get to this and am happy you enjoyed it, Anne💜
Thanks Jonetta. It’s an adrenaline rush at times.
Excellent review, Anne. I don’t think I’ll get to this until next month, but I can’t wait!
Thank you Tammy. I’ll look forward to your thoughts.
This sounds intriguing.
It’s different and a little creepy, until it is dark.
I am excited to give this one a read! Though I’ll probably skim over the story snippets, too. ;D
I enjoyed the book. Those snippets were just snippets and we weren’t going to get the actual book so… I didn’t see the point.
I have a copy I bought through Book of the Month and I’m on hold for the audio version. It does sound good, but I hate sad endings. Hope it’s not too sad. Wonderful review, Anne!
I think you’ll like ti Rachel. It’s sad not devastating. Part of the sad is why do people have to act mean and treat others that way.
I’m hoping to read this one soon. It does sound good.
It was enjoyable but twisty, creepy and a little sad.
I’m intrigued by the personalities and how they change under stress. Excellent review, Anne.
Thanks Wendy. Those personalities were from business testing from a 3 day workshop I got to attend. They really had a whole bunch of tests and it was fascinating. The story here reminded me of the personality changes under stress because oh boy there was stress.
I love the premise of this one and it does sound interesting. It’s always curious to see how people behave under stress.
It was quite the ordeal from start to finish. There was pressure to compete and later to survive. Plenty of twists too.
Interesting thriller always excites me to read more. It also guides us to perform well in stress situations.
It was twisty and intense.
This sounds interesting and I love remote settings like this.
It’s a doozy. I hope you enjoy it too.
Sorry the ending was a bit sad, but I’m glad it was good
Sometimes I am just like why do people have to be that way? But when you read in some genres you have to expect some sad. I mean I read a lot of police procedurals that investigate homicides and so somebody has died. Something about this just struck me as particularly sad.
Sounds intense. Glad you liked it.
That’s a good impression. It was intense.
As an aspiring writer, this one definitely intrigues me with just the name and the idea. I don’t read this type of story very often, but it sounds like it might be one I should give a try. Great review!
Thanks Lisa. It borders on horror but I enjoyed the mystery of it.