The Writing Retreat

✮✮✮

Mar 15

The Writing Retreat - Julia Bartz

my review : ✮✮✮

I found the premise of this book so exciting. Roza Vallo, a highly esteemed & reclusive writer, invites 5 female writers to her secluded estate in upstate New York for a writing retreat in the month of February. Given her famed writing career, getting into this writing retreat is incredibly competitive, so when Alex finds out a spot has suddenly opened up, she gladly sacrifices everything to attend. Once this writing retreat kicks off, it’s clear Rosa’s methods are … unconventional. She tasks the women with writing an entire novel from scratch by the end of the month, with the best one winning a 7 figure publishing deal. But, the competition and impending deadline is not the only stressor on Alex’s shoulders; something is deeply wrong with Blackbrier Estate, and she worries if she doesn’t get to the bottom of it, she won’t make it out alive.   This is a paranoid, atmospheric, closed-door thriller.   I found the beginning of the book totally gripping and everything you want in a thriller. The wheels kind of came off for me in the end, but l did find myself on the edge of my seat until the very end.  We were forced to read experts from the novel Alex was writing, which I didn’t care about at all. The only book I’ve ever seen do the whole excerpts-in-the-middle-of-the-story thing well is Funny You Should Ask.   If you are going to read this, I have two tips… 1. Read it this month! The book is set in February, and getting to enjoy this during a snowstorm added an extra layer of suspense for me. 2. I would avoid the synopsis on Goodreads because I think it’s a spoiler! I liked going into it blind.   Best paired with a glass of full-bodied cab!.