Welcome to Litsy!

This was a whole ride. I loved the opening, an isolated retreat with a famous, reclusive author and a group of insecure, competitive writers. The pettiness, jealousy, and fragile egos...it's catnip for me. But things ultimately go completely off the rails. Still, it was a fun, fast read. Just know going in that it will get ridiculous and your capacity for camp will dictate your level of enjoyment.

An easy to read, quick thriller! Was a BIT far fetched and the end dragged on a tad, but overall, I liked it! (29)
⭐️: 4/5

Discovered on my #audiowalk 🥾

The premise was so promising. And it was definitely entertaining. But it just got more and more bonkers and went off the rails altogether. So weird.

Just finished this thriller/horror about five women who go on a writing retreat to a famous author‘s mansion deeply secluded in the woods. Let‘s just say her techniques to get her students to write are less than orthodox. 5/5 stars!

#AboutABook #DebutAuthor

This one was a bit crazy and all over the place, but I enjoyed it.

I quite enjoyed this entertaining thriller and am glad I read it after the review by @Reggie - very fun! My only complaint is that the audio narration was…not great. The right amount of crazy and unpredictable enough most of the way through to keep me listening.

My February #bookspin #doublespin is complete. Better late than never! Really enjoyed this fast paced, twisty thriller. @TheAromaofBooks

I was curious after @Reggie ‘s review…
Whoa! This was one crazy, chaotic story. The pacing was fast, lots of twists, and I felt things could go in so many directions,.. kept me turning the pages. Some parts a bit unrealistic, so if you‘re willing to suspend disbelief, need a quick popcorn thriller, just dive in for the wild, fun ride. 😆

Well…that was…
a thing.
Finished it at lunch today.
I‘m not really sure what I think of this overall, but it was unhinged enough that I‘m saying a pick.

This got a lot of mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed it. I flew through and never felt like I didn‘t want to finish it. There was a lot of suspense and some good twists. I felt like the ending was a little flat and I expected a bit more from it, but overall I really enjoyed this one. I loved the book within a book and the retreat storyline. It reminded me of Nine Perfect Strangers, but more sinister.

An unhinged Thriller I enjoyed immensely. (And it‘s rare for me to like a Thriller.) A rich & famous writer holds a Willy Wonka-esque writing retreat at her secluded mountain mansion. They get snowed in. Murder, mayhem, & malicious plots ensue. Honorable mention for my Top Ten Reads of 2023!

@vivastory thanks for putting this in my radar. This was fun. 5 women invited are invited to a writer‘s retreat. It is run by a female author who is huge yet has this aura of mystery to her. It‘s being hosted at an estate in the middle of nowhere. There is story upon story upon story in here and I couldn‘t stop chuckling at the inventiveness of the author and the audacity of a character in here. This could also be a queer novel. It‘s a pick!

This was one of the last BoTm selections before I cancelled & I was caught off guard by how much I enjoyed this one. The narrator, Alex, along with a group of aspiring writers, are selected for a month long writer's retreat at the mansion of dark fiction writer Roza Vallo (I kept picturing a very goth Otessa Moshfegh for some reason). Instead of working on their current manuscripts they are told they have to start fresh. NaNoWriMo from hell.

I was on the fence as to whether I thought this a slow pick or a hot mess and I‘m leaning toward the latter. The steamy thoughts and scenes didn‘t work for me here esp when followed shortly after by graphic description of bodily smells including urine and excrement. When the story did unfold, it kept unfolding beyond where i maintained interest. Still though, this author has potential for future good yarns.

Alex and her best friend, both writers, had a huge falling out a year ago. Since then, Alex hasn't been able to write. Now, they are both at an elite but remote writing retreat hosted by their favorite author. It starts out in an unorthodoxed, strange manner and descends into utter chaos and terror. Loved the character development.

3.5⭐️/5⭐️

I picked this for my wierd book choice for #booked2023 after reading @5feet.of.fury describe it as “unhinged” in her review. And boy was she right! Absolutely bonkers twists, a deeply psychological undertone, feminist and queer feminist exploration, locked house mystery not at all like Agatha Christie and a hint of the occult. And do you know I really enjoyed it!! Double dipping for #pantone2023 with the Uk cover

Soft pick.
There are things about this that make 3000% no sense. Major things that are just highly improbable. Basically the whole premise. The characters start to evolve & devolve Willy Nilly.

The atmosphere & the creep level was good. Alex‘s inspiration was fun & dramatic & beautiful. I‘m assuming this is some allegory for the grueling creative process & publishing world.

Holy moly was it unhinged.

Book 141🎧 4⭐️

Ooooo! Spicy and mysterious!!🔥

Enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. Although I still feel like I don‘t quite understand Wren, I wanted more background on her icy-ness.

#StoryGraph: fiction lgbtqia+ mystery thriller dark mysterious tense
320 pages • first pub 2023 • 3 Stars

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.

Reviews are all over the place but I‘m going in!

This was crazy! Five women win spots at an exclusive month-long writing retreat by their favorite author. They arrive at the author‘s isolated mansion, nervous and excited. Two weeks in, one of the women goes missing, and the other four start to question the author‘s motives for the retreat. And that‘s where the story gets over the top!

#bookspinbingo
#20in4

For me, this was definitely a pan because of the sort of supernatural demon element - I‘d have enjoyed this a lot more without it. But I also found the writing inconsistent. Sometimes it was short & choppy, sometimes it was more meandering and that just made it hard for me to really stay in the groove of the story.

Roll 18 for #Roll100

The premise was alluring, and the plot really pulled it all together. Not only was it suspenseful, but the thriller of it all kept going beyond what you thought was the worst. I do wonder if those who like to write will enjoy this more than those who don't, which may explain the various ratings. I have to report that I couldn't read most of this book in bed, in the dark. 😉

I‘ve read several reviews of this incandescent debut comparing it The Plot, The Secret History, and other novels. But I am here to tell you that this is like nothing you‘ve ever read before.

This is psychological mayhem at its very best.

All I‘m going to say is READ THIS!

Read in May-this was okay. Alex has the opportunity to participate in a writing retreat with Roza Vallo, a well recognized writer who she admired since early in her life. But her best ex friend also will attend this retreat in this remote area. Something happened between them that she doesn‘t want to see her. During the retreat things will happen even a murder but why? In a writing retreat? What is the motive? That was for me the weakest part⬇️

Five women are picked to go to a famous author's estate in the middle of nowhere for a month long writing retreat, and one goes missing. The women start getting suspicious of their hostess' true intentions.

I found it pretty fast-paced. It took me one day to read it. The main characters' development was good. She starts off a hot mess and slowly becomes more confident throughout the story.

#mystery #treesonthecover

This book tries to do too many things. I liked the set up, meeting the 5 women at the retreat, & seeing them relate to each other & Roza.The interpersonal relationships had a lot of promise, I wish the story had leaned more heavily on those but it gets very OTT & unravels in the last 3rd.It gives major Nine Perfect Stranger vibes w its unhinged mentor/ guru & it kept me reading to see what would happen but I wish I'd read something else instead.

Morning tea and a shiny new book on the back porch 🤩 I love weekends.

Almost a pan. I think I must be getting less tolerant as I get older. The premise is great, the setting promising, but I wish a better writer had written this story. The characters were immature, and the storyline too over-the-top and felt amateur. Pictured: The Write Inn, where I stayed during my own writing retreat hosted by author Elizabeth Berg. It was *quite* the different experience than was had by these characters 😆😆

Didn‘t like anything about this book, horrible immature characters, boring plot and the narrator really grated on me. A hard pass

This was a fantastic thriller. Alex gets an invitation to an exclusive writing retreat with her favorite author. Unfortunately, for her, her ex-best friend has also been invited, and her favorite author is nuts 💚
#NoShameReadathon2023 #lockedroommystery @Nessavamusic #ReadySetRead #bookrelated @Clwojick #BOTM

This plot was too over-the-top. The author couldn't quite make it work. The characters were emotionally immature and annoying, and I did not like that I did not like them. There were snippets that I enjoyed that had literary potential, but they didn't transition smoothly. I liked the idea, I thought it would be fun, but I kind of wish I'd skipped this one.

4th book read for #MagnificentMay
@Andrew65

Next row in my #readinglogsnake is The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz. The story had an interesting premise - mysterious author invites 5 young inspiring authors to her haunted mansion for a writing retreat, but all is not what it seems. This had a lot of plot twists (many seemed a bit outlandish to me imo). I was entertained by the story and wanted of the mansion's backstory rather than the actual ending. 3/3⭐️ #ARRCReads #BooksAndCrafts

#15 of 2023! #BOTM February ‘23.
Started: 5/7/23
Finished: 5/11/23
5 Days

I am conflicted. I didn't hate it, but I thought it could be wrapped up a bit tighter. It just kept going and going with unnecessary plot lines/points and I felt no connection to any of the characters. 5 young women writers get invited to an eclectic authors estate for a writing retreat. It all starts to go downhill in bizarre ways pretty much on day 1. I will round up to 3 stars.

At one exclusive writers‘ retreat, it‘s publish and perish...

I‘ve seen mixed reviews for this one. I liked it. I found it entertaining.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Up next is In A Dark, Dark Wood.
#ThingsInCommon
Both feature some type of retreat. Main characters that are writers. Trees on the cover.

I read the first 3 chapters on my kindle, then I decided to listen to the audiobook instead, as I wasn‘t getting on reading it digitally. I didn‘t love this book, it was ok, but kind of boring.

Read for reading challenges.

3.5/5

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I‘ve seen others say this has elements of “The Villa” and “Nine Perfect Strangers”, which I can see. It was a relatively entertaining and atmospheric popcorn thriller, but I felt less invested as the book went on and fell a bit off the rails. I do think there was some interesting commentary on writing life and the publishing industry, but I didn‘t care enough about the characters for this to make a lasting impression.🎧

Crazy plot and compulsive writing.. I was in for the ride until the 60% mark where it all got wacky! If you just ignore the craziness, this can be a light read with good pace! Not sure if this is for me..

If you‘re looking for a well-paced, page-turning mystery/thriller with twists you don‘t see coming, then read the JT Ellison I recently reviewed. But if you want pure candy entertainment that is wildly implausible and devolves into campy horror, give this one a spin. Kinda dreadful, but I had a good time!

The Writing Retreat is to actual writers‘ retreats as Grey‘s Anatomy is to doctoring. If you really need something to read on holidays, you could pick worse from the Little Free Library, but don‘t expect too much. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-writing-retreat-julia-bartz/

This was an absolutely bonkers mystery thriller about a famous author who hosts a writing retreat with a big reward - the winner gets their story published. I had to suspend my disbelief to truly enjoy this, which I did. If you don‘t like when things get really weird and implausible in your thrillers, I would not recommend. However, if you don‘t mind a bonkers unique story, I would recommend! 3.5⭐️
#bookspinbingo 2 bingos!

Oh my! 😱 Well, that's definitely a good way to start the book and grab your reader's attention! 😂

The negative reviews had me anticipating a bananapants book. Like a less literary, locked room Bunny crossed with the wackiness of Behind Her Eyes. Sadly, while I did find this entertaining & I kept turning the pages saying, "She did WHAT now", I wish the author had taken it a notch higher & gone wild. I got a kick out of the skewering of the publishing industry & writerly egos though. Silly yet entertaining. Leave your little grey cells behind ?

YES!!! Look what hold came in for me today! 🎉🎉🎉