The Writing Retreat

by Julia Bartz

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I DIDN'T FINISH!

Summary

A young author is invited to an exclusive writer’s retreat that soon descends into a pulse-pounding nightmare.

Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn’t dampen her excitement.

But when the attendees arrive, Roza drops a bombshell—they must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal. Determined to win this seemingly impossible contest, Alex buckles down and tries to ignore the strange happenings at the estate, including Roza’s erratic behavior, Wren’s cruel mind games, and the alleged haunting of the mansion itself. But when one of the writers vanishes during a snowstorm, Alex realizes that something very sinister is afoot. With the clock running out, she must discover the truth—or suffer the same fate.

[summary provided by GoodReads]
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GoodReads:3.41
My Score:DNF
Spice:N/A

My Review

Stopped the audiobook around the 15% mark.
1-star based on the portion I read.

This book ended up being a huge miss for me. The heavy use of vulgar language and explicit, raunchy content was not something I enjoyed, and it ultimately pulled me out of the story. The tone and subject matter simply were not aligned with my personal reading preferences.

I later learned that the story includes several explicit sexual scenes (many with lesbians), including moments that felt uncomfortable and questionable in terms of consent. That was a hard line for me, and it made the reading experience unpleasant rather than engaging.

On top of that, I did not connect with any of the characters. None of them felt particularly likable or compelling enough for me to want to continue following their journeys. After coming across some spoilers about where the story goes later on, I realized the plot takes a direction that becomes increasingly strange and chaotic in a way that did not appeal to me.

Because of all of this, I chose to stop reading. This book may work for readers who enjoy darker, more explicit, and boundary-pushing stories with gay characters, but it was not for me.