Wow! What a surprise, I loved this so much. I stayed up last night till 3 am reading this. I love books that follow authors and writers,

The Writing Retreat is run by a famous mysterious horror author who selects a handful of young writers to stay a month in her manor in Upstate NY. The less you know the better but this was a rollercoaster! Once it got going it was hard to put this down.

I will be looking out for more Julia Bartz in the future.

#TheWritingRetreat #NetGalley
Awesome book.
Five attendees are selected for a month-long writing retreat at the remote estate of Roza Vallo, the controversial high priestess of feminist horror. Alex, a struggling writer, is thrilled. Upon arrival, they discover they must complete an entire novel from scratch, and the best one will receive a seven-figure publishing deal. Alex’s long-extinguished dream now seems within reach. But then the women begin to die. Trapped, terrified yet still desperately writing, it is clear there is more than a publishing deal at stake at Blackbriar Estate. Alex must confront her own demons – and finish her novel – to save herself..
I loved it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Oneworld Publishers for giving me an advance copy.

Superb! A very engrossing page turner. The plot is genuinely novel and unfolds beautifully with many twists and turns. This combined with the unreliable narrations leaves the reader with a sense of forboding and confusion. The characters are well-developed throughout the novel and show real depth. Loved it.

A fresh take on the traditional locked-room mystery, this thriller pits five ambitious would-be writers against each other in the remote retreat of a horror writer who is hosting a writing retreat. Main character Alex is one of these five women who are competing for a major publishing deal. But as harmless fiction writing and shallow camaraderie turns menacing and one by one the women start to die, is the publishing deal really what Alex wants? And how will she be able to extricate herself from increasingly threatening circumstances before it is her turn to die?

The strength of the writing shows that the author is no stranger to fiction, promoting fiction or indeed analysing human behaviour and motivations, making this a highly readable novel debut. Thank you to the publishers and to NetGalley for the free ARC that allowed me to read this new release and to produce this honest, unbiased book review.

The book of a my dreams! A twisty plot, a creepy house, a plot focused on the creation of art... I loved the tinges of horror and I honestly did not see the twists coming. A brilliant read!