Publication Date: Out Today!!!
Formats: Hardback & Ebook
Price: Hb £16.99/ Ebook £6.99
Publisher: Magpie
I would like to say a huge thank you to Random Things Tours (Anne Cater) for organising this thrilling and gripping book’s tour. I would also like to say thank you to Point Blank Crime (Magpie) for allowing me to read a digital copy of this intriguing book. I would also like to say a huge thank you to the creative talent, Julia Bartz for creating such a tense and twisted plot, you were never quite sure who to trust or believe. Intrigued? Let’s head over to the blurb and find out a bit more.
A book deal to die for.
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.
As soon as I picked this book (ok kindle) up I was hooked from the first page, it grips you and compelled you to read on. I found myself unsure at first whether I liked the main character or not and when we are first introduced to each of the women or contestants (if you’d rather) I wasn’t sure whether I particularly liked any of them. But as the story progressed and you get yourself immersed with each character and see their strengths and foibles you find yourself gradually wanting them to come out of this alive or at least in one piece.
I have never been to a retreat and honestly after reading this am not sure whether I would (joke am sure these author retreats are fine and no one has done it to quite these lengths…. Hopefully, joke) . But that aside I found myself captivated and at once freaked out by this isolated and out of the way place that is at first look very nice and normal looking until the fun (hell) begins and the retreat starts to feel a bit like the shining hotel but on a bad day and with a caretaker who’s more like the lady in Misery(yes I am comparing this to Stephen King and to me the creepy factor is definitely giving off his vibe).
I enjoyed this book, but I wasn’t able to sympathise with many of the characters I found most of them a bit selfish and a bit too sharp and hard for my liking but that’s just my personal opinion and the book is executed to perfection and that ending wow… I was completely surprised by it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a bit of creepiness and thrilling chills to their murder retreat novels.
Ratings: 4 🌟s with a large ☕️ and a large 🍰
Author’s Blurb:
Julia Bartz is a Brooklyn-based writer and practicing therapist. She is the author of the popular Psychology Today blog ‘My Pleasure: The New Science of Sex, Dating, and Self-Care’ and previously ran the Brooklyn literary blog ‘BookStalker’. Her fiction has been published in the South Dakota Review, FictionDaily and InDigest Magazine and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. The Writing Retreat is her first novel.
I hope you have enjoyed this suspenseful, disturbing, gripping and thrilling novel about what seems to good to be true might just be a bit more than you bargained for. If you are wanting a copy you can find this in Waterstones, any independent store and of course on Amazon. I will leave you now to say Happy Reading and see you soon!!!
Zoe's Book Nook 
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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