THE WRITING RETREAT BY JULIA BARTZ

This book was kind of a mess. It wasn't bad per se but the author wrote it in such a way that it felt like two different books written by two different people. Had she stuck to one direction it would have been a better read for me. 

Rating: ★★★
​Release Date: February 21, 2023
Genre: Thriller
Series: None. 
Pages: 319 pages
Format: Hardcover Source: ​Book of the Month box

The Plot meets Please Join Us in this psychological suspense debut about a young author at an exclusive writer’s retreat that descends into a 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 propulsive thriller exploring the dark side of female relationships and fame, The Writing Retreat is the unputdownable debut novel from a compelling new talent.

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The Writing Retreat is an original suspense novel, but I have to admit I wasn’t expecting the extreme turn that it took. I went into it believing it would be another murder mystery like many of the popular books on the market now. However, it went from being an eerie and gothic suspense to a full blown, action paged thrill ride. Sounds good when you think about it, but it was so much different from how the book started. It was almost like the author forgot what she was going for when she was writing the story. When I got to the end I felt like I had whiplash!

After sitting on my review and overall feelings towards the book for a few days I am still not sure whether I liked the book or not. So, I’m going to give it a solid 3 stars because its clever but a little bizarre for my taste. Had the book been action packed from the start I think I would have liked it better.

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐