The Writing Retreat: A Novel
In this instant New York Times bestselling and “utterly addictive thriller” (Ana Reyes, New York Times bestselling author), a young author is invited to an exclusive writer’s retreat that soon descends into a pulse-pounding nightmare.
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 must discover the truth—or suffer the same fate.
A claustrophobic and “audacious psychological thriller debut” (Publishers Weekly), The Writing Retreat expertly explores the dark side of female relationships, fame, and the desire to have our stories told.
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 must discover the truth—or suffer the same fate.
A claustrophobic and “audacious psychological thriller debut” (Publishers Weekly), The Writing Retreat expertly explores the dark side of female relationships, fame, and the desire to have our stories told.
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Community Reviews
“Where did one’s power lie in a world that stripped it from you, over and over again? How could we reclaim it when the dominant forces dangled it above our heads, shouting: Only the strong survive?”
Phew - this book! From the first page, it gripped me and I teetered between wanting to devour it in one sitting and slowly savoring it by pacing it out. Ultimately, I decided on the later and each time I picked it up it felt like a dark and delicious treat.
This debut novel by Julia Bartz follows our protagonist, Alex, on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Caught in a dead-end job she hates and recovering from a brutal breakup with her best friend, Wren, Alex is selected as one of five women to attend a writing retreat at the estate of famed feminist horror author, Rosa Vallo. Quickly, Alex learns that one of the other women selected for the retreat is no other than her former best friend. The women are tasked with completing a completely new novel within a month, the best one of the bunch, being selected for a seven figure publishing deal. But quickly, it becomes clear that something sinister is afoot as elements of the horror books Rosa has become famous for creep into the competition.
This book is unapologetically dark and twisted, while teetering on a line between horror and thriller and is a musts read for anyone wanting a book to get their heart rate up.
This debut novel by Julia Bartz follows our protagonist, Alex, on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Caught in a dead-end job she hates and recovering from a brutal breakup with her best friend, Wren, Alex is selected as one of five women to attend a writing retreat at the estate of famed feminist horror author, Rosa Vallo. Quickly, Alex learns that one of the other women selected for the retreat is no other than her former best friend. The women are tasked with completing a completely new novel within a month, the best one of the bunch, being selected for a seven figure publishing deal. But quickly, it becomes clear that something sinister is afoot as elements of the horror books Rosa has become famous for creep into the competition.
This book is unapologetically dark and twisted, while teetering on a line between horror and thriller and is a musts read for anyone wanting a book to get their heart rate up.
WOW. Cannonballed this in less than 24 hours. Just what I needed to get me out of my reading slump. If you love stories about writers and thrillers with a “final girl” type of twist on it…this is the book for you.
Two things I loved: 1- The antagonist’s obsessive desperation over the broken friendship really spoke to me. We’ve all been a bit unhinged after friend breakup.
2 - The story’s villain was fabulous - glamorous, unhinged and horrifying!!!
I would love to see this book in film-form. It was just so visual!
Two things I loved: 1- The antagonist’s obsessive desperation over the broken friendship really spoke to me. We’ve all been a bit unhinged after friend breakup.
2 - The story’s villain was fabulous - glamorous, unhinged and horrifying!!!
I would love to see this book in film-form. It was just so visual!
Alex is a struggling writer. Ever since the fall out with her best friend, Wren, she hasn't been able to write a thing. But an author friend recommends Alex for a chance to experience a writing retreat with Roza Vallo, the author that she has idolized since she twelve. The individual who writes the best book during the retreat gets a book deal. When Alex finds out she's been accepted her life changes.
The retreat is in an isolated location with no cell service or wifi. Oh, and Wren will be there too. Things start out well until girls start going missing... Alex must literally write to save her life.
This book was wonderfully creepy, and I'd honestly like to read the book that Alex was working on in this novel as well as Roza's books. I felt like certain parts within the plot were predictable, but I was on the edge of my seat for most of this book.
Seriously impressed that this is a debut novel. I highly recommend this book if you like psychological thrillers. Especially if you like titles that keep you guessing until the end.
Thank you to NetGalley, Julia Bartz and Atria for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The retreat is in an isolated location with no cell service or wifi. Oh, and Wren will be there too. Things start out well until girls start going missing... Alex must literally write to save her life.
This book was wonderfully creepy, and I'd honestly like to read the book that Alex was working on in this novel as well as Roza's books. I felt like certain parts within the plot were predictable, but I was on the edge of my seat for most of this book.
Seriously impressed that this is a debut novel. I highly recommend this book if you like psychological thrillers. Especially if you like titles that keep you guessing until the end.
Thank you to NetGalley, Julia Bartz and Atria for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I started this and stayed up until 2am reading it, then finished it the next morning. I was certainly gripped and the suspense sucked me in, but that doesn't necessarily mean the plotting and characters were great. I can't read too many books with this type of dark content, but I would say if you like thrillers this is effective enough. Check the content warnings and other reviews.
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