Sophie's Reviews > The Writing Retreat

The Writing Retreat

Pick this up if you like:
💕 Books about books and authors
💕 Books about the writing process
💕 Dark academia setting
💕 If you liked The Plot by
💕 If you liked The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by
Simon Winchester


The Writing Retreat is a suave book with an interesting premise. The story follows Alex, a young woman who has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author, as she attends an exclusive writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. However, things quickly take a turn for the worse when the other attendees reveal that they must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the retreat and the author of the best one will receive a lucrative publishing deal. When one of the writers suddenly goes missing during a snowstorm, Alex begins to suspect that something sinister is happening at the retreat and begins to fear for her safety.

Get ready for some serious chills and thrills with The Writing Retreat -a story about books, authors, and more set in an eerie dark academia setting!

Ultimately, it’s a book about books and authors, about the writing process, and about dark academia settings. It is also a brilliantly written and imaginatively dark psychological thriller that is socially educated with political and feminist tones. The pacing of the book is strange, as it starts out so strong, but then seems to lose its way a bit in the second half. Regardless, the writing is lush and the world building is remarkable. There are some truly fiendishly clever ideas at play in this book, and the imagination on display is truly impressive. The ending is satisfying, if a bit enigmatic, and I was strangely transported by the doors that feature in the story.

At times, this book was frustrating to read. Alex makes so many dumb decisions and is constantly whining about everything. I was so frustrated with her throughout the entire book. In fact, none of the characters were likeable. And again, the author tried to insert a lot of social commentary in this novel which I'm not entirely sure was pulled off well.

Overall, The Writing Retret is an excellent book that fans of books and authors, of the writing process, and of dark academia settings will adore.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for a gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.