The Gilmore Guide to Books

Connecting Books and Readers One Review at a Time

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Reviews
    • Reviews by Author
    • Reviews by Title
    • Reviews by Genre
  • Podcast
  • Policies
    • Review Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Policy

The Writing Retreat

February 16, 2023

writing

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz
Published by Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Publication date: February 21, 2023
Genres: Debut, Fiction, Suspense
three-half-stars
Bookshop

I’m a pushover for fiction about writers writing so The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz had the basic ingredients to draw me in. Alex has dreamed of being an author, but has had writer’s block since the unfortunate and very public shattering of her relationship with her best friend. Now, both have been invited to a prestigious retreat held by renowned feminist horror author, Roza Vallo. For one month they’ll be ensconced upstate at her beautifully renovated, but supposedly haunted 19th century mansion. Three other women will be joining them. Of course, there’s no internet or cell service, and by the end of the second week there is a massive winter storm that cuts them off completely. Let the fun begin.

The fun being that the retreat is not learning experience; it’s a competition. The women have one month to complete a novel, a mind-boggling task, but with an extraordinary payoff—a million-dollar publishing contract for whoever wins. As decided by Roza. From this point forward, the mysteries and plot twists arrive helter-skelter.

If it’s possible to be repelled and seduced by a book at the same time, then The Writing Retreat succeeds. What repelled me is a narrator who, from the first page, is so insecure and neurotic that she’s certain teenagers are talking about her on the subway. Alex is in her 30s, so this level of neuroticism elicits annoyance rather than sympathy. It also puts me on edge when an author pushes too hard in framing a protagonist as a fragile and therefore unreliable narrator.

This combination would normally be enough to put me off a novel, but Bartz’s writing is seductive in a way that makes the initially irritating narrator and over-the-top antics in The Writing Retreat work. I may have rolled my eyes a few times, but I could not put the book down.As long as you don’t take this too seriously it’s scary, fast reading.

 

This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on a link and make a purchase of any kind, I get a small commission (at no cost to you).

three-half-stars

Related Posts

  • Related Posts
  • Same Genre
  • 3.5 Star Books
sacrifice
The Sacrifice
into the water
Into the Water: A Novel
van apfel
The Van Apfel Girls are Gone
future
The Future by Naomi Alderman
march reading
March Reading Recap
secrets
The Secrets Between Us
life
When Life Gives You Lululemons
better sister
The Better Sister by Alafair Burke
gods
gods with a little g
esme
The Magnificent Esme Wells
english
The English Wife by Lauren Willig
search of the perfect loaf
In Search of the Perfect Loaf
sugar
Sugar Run by Mesha Maren
News of the World
accelerated
Accelerated

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: mystery, suspense, vacation reading

Comments

  1. Laila says

    February 16, 2023 at 12:20 pm

    Sometimes a very plotty book hits the spot (despite some eye-rolls!)

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      February 20, 2023 at 2:35 pm

      Right?! It’s only when something’s being presented as something more literary and it’s not that I get bugged. That and bad writing!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Goodreads
  • Instagram

Save time and subscribe via email

No time to keep checking for new reviews? Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. No spam!

Bookshop

Currently Reading

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
by Emily Nagoski
The Dutch House
The Dutch House
by Ann Patchett
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
by Adrienne Brodeur

goodreads.com

Affiliate Disclosure

I’m an affiliate for Bookshop. If you click on a link that takes you to their site and make a purchase I’ll earn a small fee, which goes towards the costs of maintaining this site. Your support is appreciated. Thank you!

Archives

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2025

Copyright © 2025 · Beyond Madison Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in