Kiara's Reviews > The Writing Retreat

If you were a writer and your favorite author announced that they were hosting a month-long retreat at their house for unpublished writers, would you apply? I'm a writer, and before reading The Writing Retreat, my answer would have been yes. Now, I'm not so sure...

Our narrator in The Writing Retreat, Alex, is languishing--at her job, in her dating life, in her friendships, and in her writing. The previous year she had a falling out with her best friend, Wren, and things have been miserable ever since. Then, through a series of events she would've never expected, she is accepted into a small group of writers who've been selected to attend a retreat hosted by the reclusive and famous feminist horror writer, Roza Vallo. The retreat will take place in February at her isolated 19th century mansion in upstate New York. But there are some rules: each writer has to start and complete a completely new manuscript, and they have to write 3,000 words a day, no exceptions. But what starts as a fast-paced but rewarding retreat devolves into a cutthroat and haunting exploration of ambition, envy, inspiration, female friendships, morality, and competition between peers. You will not believe where this book ends up!

I would recommend this book to readers of Who Is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews, The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz, and A Novel Obsession by Caitlin Barasch. It's a breakneck thriller set in the cutthroat world of writing and publishing, and I can't wait to see what Julia Bartz writes next!

**eARC provided by the publisher, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**