The Santorini Writing Retreat by Eva Glyn is a contemporary fiction novel that transports you to The Retreat House in Santorini. Jo is a famous author who had a widely successful novel but lately lacks the creative spark for her next novel. She has a secret that is consuming her everyday life. She is moderating the writing retreat for five people who have signed up for a month of creative writing. Karmela is a professor who wants to write a historical novel set in medieval Dubrovnik. She was a refuge from Sarajevo during the Balkan War. Fans of The Dubrovnik Book Club will recognize her and appreciate receiving more of her story. Zina manages The Retreat House which she created after the death of her father. She and her husband moved to the farm to live with her grieving mother. Their marriage is being challenged with all of the changes. The women become friends over the course of a month and learn how valuable a friend can be when you are going through challenging times.

I recommend this novel for contemporary fiction and romance readers. It’s a great summer book, I was imagining reading it from a comfy chair at The Retreat House with a warm breeze and cheese with a glass of wine at my side. The novel speaks to the value of creating new friendships, being honest with yourself, and taking a chance for love.

Thank you Harper Collin’s UK, One More Chapter and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

A wonderful story of finding healing through friendship and belonging, this book celebrates characters finding the courage to live honestly and in a way that’s true to their personal values.
I loved this book from the first chapter, with its intriguing question about just what secret novelist Jo aka Jessica Rose is so keen to hide. As the story continued, the main characters were beautifully drawn with their individual foibles and strengths. It was lovely to meet Karmela from The Dubrovnik Book Club again, but this book works perfectly as a standalone.
For a while I wasn’t sure I liked Zina, but in the end I enjoyed her emotional journey as much as the resolution of the other characters’ problems.
Ultimately this was an uplifting and immensely satisfying story, with the setting on Santorini adding richness to the narrative. I enjoyed the details of island life and foods, and found myself dreaming of being able to spend a whole month on a retreat.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. Once again Eva Glyn has crafted a story I won’t hesitate to recommend to everyone.

Jessica goes to Santorini to run a writing retreat, hiding the secret behind her best selling book. A tale of friendship and honesty , Perfect summer reading.

I absolutely loved this book and it is my new favourite by Eva Glyn whose books I have enjoyed before. It really felt as if I was part of the writing retreat myself with its wealth of characters with challenges and interesting back stories.

You quickly become involved with the dynamics of Karmela, her mother and Iain, Zina, Lambros and her mother, Jo with her secrets and the other participants on the retreat who all have their own resons for being there. I was keen to read the book having encountered character Karmela in The Dubrovnik Book Club by the same author.

Lots of words of wisdom for everyone in the pages of this book too which have been noted for use at a future date. Thoroughly recommend this title.

Zina has returned to her family home in Santorini and set up a retreat space for writers, artists and yoga. Despite her misgivings about leaving her career behind in Athens, she has to make it work as her livelihood and her marriage are riding on it. Jo is the first author to hold a writing retreat and very nervous about inspiring others when her creativity has left her. She is also hiding a huge secret which will threaten everything if it comes out.

Fabulous! A fantastic story and great characters - it was particularly lovely to hear about Karmela again (from the Dubrovnik Book Club novel but you don't need to have read that book to enjoy this one) and to see how the friendship between the women grew over the course of the writing retreat. The lovely setting of Santorini was so evocative - makes you want to pack your bag and go visit! Very highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

The Santorini Writing Retreat by Eva Glyn

The Santorini Writing Retreat is a fast read. What one might call a “beach read.” It is light, even as it touches on the serious areas of spousal emotional abuse, war, and PTSD. Most of all, it is about relationships and building friendships.

The character development of the main players, Jo, Zini, and Karmela, is well done. Although one might get frustrated with each one as they grow, become wiser and stronger, and learn to have their difficult conversations, we applaud each at the end of the story.

There are minor characters at the retreat that we don’t ever get to know very well. The few times they were mentioned or came into the plot I was a bit lost…not having a clear picture of who was who….Ellen, Diana, Susan, and Sophie.

The description of the Greek island, its geological landscape, the nearby archeological ruins, the little towns, and Greek food sets the scene for the reader. We can feel the heat, appreciate the rugged surroundings, and get a taste of the farm culture with the pistachio harvest, grapes, and the mischievous goat herd.

If you like stories about relationships, you will love this book.

An enjoyable read with various very different characters. I didn’t like some of the characters but enjoyed meeting others. Set on the Greek island of Santorini I was expecting a bit more around the islands. It was a nice easy read but I didn’t enjoy this book as much as previous books set in Croatia by Eva.
Thanks to Eva and her publishers and NetGalley.

Strangers, with different backstories, attend a writing retreat in Santorini and learn about life, resilience and friendship. Told in an easy-to-read style, the book evokes the geography and culture of its Greek island setting.
This is an ideal follow-up to The Dubrovnik Book Club as one of the leading characters, Karmela, features in both novels. However, it also works as a standalone.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.
Upon publication, I will post my review on my blog, Amazon and on GoodReads.

An enjoyable read with various very different characters. I was intrigued by Jo and her demons and was interested to see where that story was leading. I didn’t take to Zina and found her rather childish. Set on the Greek island of Santorini I felt it could have been anywhere and didn’t really get a taste of Greece. Although a nice easy read I didn’t enjoy this book as much as previous books set in Croatia by this author which have more depth.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for this ARC

Another wonderful book from Eva Glyn! This story is mainly set in beautiful Santorini, Greece where a group of strangers meets for a writing retreat with a world famous author. The retreat owner, Zina, lives in the home near the retreat with her husband, Lambros, and widowed mother, Panora. Zina and her husband left the hustle and bustle of Athens to return to her home on the island so that her husband could care for the farm and she could be there for her mother. They came up with the idea of using Zina's marketing skills to turn the vacation rentals her father and mother ran into a retreat destination and this writing retreat is the first to be held. The world famous author is Jessica Rose who wrote bestselling book and movie "Only. Ever. You." She's a shy woman much put upon by her controlling husband and she worries that she won't be able to connect with those in attendance. She needn't be concerned because the eclectic group of would-be authors warms to her right away ... well nearly all of them. There's strong, determined, and decisive Karmela who was in a previous book by Glyn, "The Dubrovnik Book Club", the kind and encouraging Diana, Iaian, the funny and supportive former British Air Force pilot, rather standoffish Sophie, Susan who came to write a family history while searching the area for family members she had never known after her family moved to the US, and Susan's friend, Ellen, who is an artist who came along to work on her art. Jessica is very worried that the secrets she guards so closely, including her real name, will come out during the retreat but she soon finds that being away from her husband and being around these wonderful people makes her willing to let down her guard. This story is about building friendships, finding the strength to be your true self, the importance of love, and also about finding your story and not only telling it, but also living it. This is another one of those books where you come to know and care about the characters so much that you really don't want to finish reading the story. I drew it out as long as I could just to stay in Santorini with this wonderful group of people.

This is an enjoyable read set on the Greek island of Santorini. A writers conference includes interesting characters that form connections between strangers. I liked the cultural elements as well as a few Greek words thrown in context.

Loved my virtual visit to Greece and finding out more about one of the main characters from Eva’s last book.

Great characters, thought provoking storylines, beautiful location and delicious sounding food - an excellent summer holiday read for 2025.

A group of writers and their tutor meet on Santorini. Each of them have problems to solve, in their personal lives as well as their literary aspirations. Flirtations and friendships form between the guests as they get to know each other. There’s plagiarism, low self-esteem, marriage problems, guilty secrets and domestic abuse as well as the need to hone their writing skills. Even Jo, the leader of the writing group and Zina, who owns the Retreat House where the writers stay, have their troubles. Santorini is beautifully described and sounds a lovely place to visit.

The Santorini Writing retreat is the most wonderful novel. Eva Glyn is known for her unfaltering ability to fully immerse the reader in a setting and I was thoroughly ensconced in Santorini, with its sounds, smells and beautiful views weaved through every scene. As ever, Eva Glyn writes with a warmth and a sensitivity towards her characters, all of whom are fully-formed with strengths and flaws and baggage.
This particular novel dwells largely on three women and the way they grow together over the course of a month. There is the feisty Zina who is running her first ever retreat from her mother’s farm where she has relocated to help support not just her mum but her husband, Lambros, who is in need of a break from the fast pace of the city and happily loses himself in the harvests and country life. There is Jo, who is the best-selling author leading the retreat and who has had a past that is threatening to spill her secrets and upend her life. Finally there is Karmela - featured in Eva Glyn’s previous novel, The Dubrovnik Book club - who is having to face her biggest fears so she can ultimately open herself up a little to a life of possibilities. There are also a cast of supporting characters, all of whom enrich the novel, and the characters lives, immensely.
Eva Glyn deals with some hefty topics in this novel but does so in such an insightful way and with such poignancy that is impossible not be uplifted and heartened as you read, willing the characters on and breathing a deeply satisfied sigh as all the knots detangle and the novel comes to its conclusion. Thoughtful, poignant and insightful fiction at its absolute best.

Just a fun enchanting read. I enjoyed both the characters and the setting. It went by so fast. I just can’t wait to read more from this author as soon as possible.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable novel, and the setting itself felt like its own character! Beautifully written, beautifully described, and I really enjoyed seeing each of the characters growth throughout the story.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher, for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a book for lovers of the Greek Islands. Santorini is the setting for this month long writers retreat; ideal with its peaceful setting away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist attractions. Eva has produced some very different characters, each with their own demons. Karmela was the most inspirational, and then there was Jo and Zina also facing life challenges. It’s an enjoyable lighthearted read, but delving beneath the surface you may find a bit more about your own self. Ideal summer reading.

My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins One More Chapter for this ARC

Oh how I would love to be one of the three women in this book.

It was a joy to read and I adored the setting of Santorini.

The friendships they forged and the people they encountered made this a marvellous read. I was whisked away and found myself absorbed and I loved how they eventually found themselves and were better for it

What a fantastic story of three women ‘finding themselves’ within a writing retreat in Santorini in Greece. A month to soak up the sun and atmosphere whilst getting to know one another. A brilliant book to escape into.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

The Santorini Writing Retreat is the story of three women. They are all at a point in their lives where they are embracing change, or at least trying to.

Jo has published a book under the name Jessica Rose. It was a huge success and she is now mentoring a writing retreat in Santorini. But she carries a devastating secret that could blow her life apart and the lives of a number of others including her own mother.

Zina has returned to Santorini leaving behind a thriving career in Athens, because her husband needed to get away from the pressure of living and working in the city. Zina has created a wonderful retreat, but living with her recently widowed mother and giving up everything she loved is taking its toll.

And Karmela? Well she was my favourite character in The Dubrovnik Book Club, so I was delighted to discover she was one of the main characters in The Santorini Writing Retreat. See what I wrote in my review:

“Karmela is a refugee, whose father escaped with his family from Sarajevo during the war in the 1990s, while others stayed to fight, and she still feels guilty. I loved Karmela – I think I would go so far as saying she is my favourite character (apart from Mis the cat of course).”

No Mis here, but we do have a greyhound called Sybil, and lots of goats.

Karmela’s fear of rejection has always stood in the way of her forming a meaningful relationship, but is she now ready for love?

This was such a lovely book, perfect as a holiday read, but it does cover some serious subjects, and is at times very emotional. I still love Karmela, and Jo of course – Zina could be very annoying. There are lots of other beautifully written characters like Zina’s husband Lambros, the other members of the writing group, and of course Iain.

Many thanks to the author and to NetGalley for a review copy.