The Writing Retreat was such a letdown and it made me really sad. The book felt like it should have had another edit, but ultimately the prose itself was clunky. The characters are supposed to be grown women but all think and talk like they’re insecure teenagers. I liked that the book explored abusive dynamics between women, I just wish that theme wasn’t muddled by the other elements that didn’t work well.

One element that did not land in any way was the political message, which was shoved in so badly that it ruined the book for me and I’m not even conservative. Alex was an absolutely unbearable person to be inside the head of. Her thoughts read like a shallow HR diversity seminar at work. She brought up issues like race and sexual orientation constantly, but never actually explored them in any depth, so it all just felt performative and inorganic.

Ultimately this book felt like a decent thriller stitched together with an obnoxious Twitter thread and a poorly-written erotica. The premise is so cool and so interesting but it was not executed well in my opinion. 

Add this to the list of “books that did not live up to the Booktube hype.”