Review of the Writing Retreat

Getting picked by a noted horror writer to attend an exclusive retreat seems like such an honor, right? Maybe not! Check out my Review of The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz.

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz: Overview

• To be published on February 21, 2023 by Atria Books.
• Thanks to the publisher for giving me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
• What Else Has Julia Bartz Written? This is her first published novel. And she’s the sister of Andrea Bartz, author of We Were Never Here. Check out our really fun spoiler discussion of We Were Never Here.

Jen Ryland Reviews The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

Is it that I read too many books, or is it that the types of books that are getting published often have really similar tropes and themes?

The Writing Retreat was a little bit The Villa, with (kinda) feminist themes and a pair of female friends/frenemies who are aspiring writers. It was a little bit “writers are crazy,” as we’ve seen in The Plot and Dream Girl. And it was a little bit of a locked room/house party mystery, which I’ve seen as a big trend over the last couple of years.

In theme and premise, I also thought The Writing Retreat had a bit in common with Run Time and Night Film by Marisha Pessl. It was a “meta” Suspense Story About Writers!

I think the very strongest part of The Writers Retreat was the very fraught friendship between main character Alex and her friend Wren.

Alex is an underpaid, under appreciated worker in publishing, while Wren has found more success in her writing. Most women will immediately understand and recognize this kind of female friendship: close but a little too competitive, and prone to implode completely.

The interplay between these two as this writer’s retreat turns into something a lot less idyllic than promised was definitely the highlight of the book for me.

The rest of the book was a bit less successful for me.

I thought the other characters weren’t nearly as well-developed. And the plot was, as I’m saying about a LOT of plots recently (like The Villa, The House in the Pines, The House Across the Lake) ends up somewhere pretty wacky. I feel like in the pandemic, all of us had to deal with our fears and anxieties at once, and we collectively lost our minds a little.

Will this one be for you? It’s not super-scary but definitely gory. The plot is pretty out-there. But if you liked at least some of the books reference above, I’d give it a try. It’s a Book of the Month Pick for February.