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A review by sarahflorimonte
The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: 🔪Thriller
Recommend: ✅
“The Writing Retreat” is the very definition of a page-turner. From the very beginning there were so many minutes of mystery and I *had* to keep reading to figure out both what the hell happened in the past AND what was going on now.
Alex is a writer who is a slump when she wins a contest to go on writing retreat with three other women hosted by her favorite author, a mysterious older woman, Roza. She’s warned before by her friend that submitted her manuscript into the contest that one of the other attendees will be Wren, her ex bestie who she had a falling out with a year ago.
She when Alex, Wren and the other women arrive at the house, it is extremely secluded and cut off from society. Things quickly start veering into spooky and strange. Without veering into spoiler territory, all I can say is I kept thing of Rob Burgundy saying “The escalated quickly.”
The novel is dispersed in between our current action with passages of the novel Alex is writing. I have to admit I don’t always love these types of literary devices and I found it a bit off here as well. The action was SO GOOD in the house, I didn’t want to stray from it. But, I did lead to a great pay-off.
This is a debut novel by @juliabartz and I will 100% be anticipated her follow-up!
You’ll love this book if you love:
✅Isolated Settings
✅Books about Books
✅Twisty Thrillers
Genre: 🔪Thriller
Recommend: ✅
“The Writing Retreat” is the very definition of a page-turner. From the very beginning there were so many minutes of mystery and I *had* to keep reading to figure out both what the hell happened in the past AND what was going on now.
Alex is a writer who is a slump when she wins a contest to go on writing retreat with three other women hosted by her favorite author, a mysterious older woman, Roza. She’s warned before by her friend that submitted her manuscript into the contest that one of the other attendees will be Wren, her ex bestie who she had a falling out with a year ago.
She when Alex, Wren and the other women arrive at the house, it is extremely secluded and cut off from society. Things quickly start veering into spooky and strange. Without veering into spoiler territory, all I can say is I kept thing of Rob Burgundy saying “The escalated quickly.”
The novel is dispersed in between our current action with passages of the novel Alex is writing. I have to admit I don’t always love these types of literary devices and I found it a bit off here as well. The action was SO GOOD in the house, I didn’t want to stray from it. But, I did lead to a great pay-off.
This is a debut novel by @juliabartz and I will 100% be anticipated her follow-up!
You’ll love this book if you love:
✅Isolated Settings
✅Books about Books
✅Twisty Thrillers