The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

 Well, this one was certainly interesting!

Talk about a psychological thriller, but way too much going on here!

So, let's attempt to break it down.

• We have a famous female author that hosts a writer's retreat for females - nothing bizarre here.
• The retreat takes place at her secluded mansion in the middle of nowhere, where there is no internet - ok a little risqué, but they're there to enjoy their time writing, right? Plus, it's just a bunch of women.
• A high demanding word/page count with extreme consequences - or is it?
• Then we have the story of the ghost of the previous owner? - I mean is this actually needed
• Followed by lesbian love dreams - I can't even tell what the author is doing anymore.
• But in order to make this an actual thriller, people die - of course, why not?

So, in my opinion, this book is way off the mark for me.  Go ahead, disagree with me in the comments.  I love a good love story, but this one was just plain lust, and not even in a sensational way.  I was pretty much disgusted by every love scene in this book. No I'm not a homo-phobe.  I just didn't like the way it was presented, nor the characters involved in each of the scenes.

What I feel this book could have done without was the ghost story.  The story was evolving charmingly without the interjected ghost story.  The author did try to tie the stories together towards the end, but I believe she was unsuccessful.  Additionally, I don't think she developed a crucial point from the beginning of the story.  I mean what was with the slut shaming sex scene with the male character in the beginning.  Nothing in the rest of the book explained this shameful and embarrassing scene.  

Well, bottom line - I won't read again.

What do you think?

Join us next time for:  The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

All the Dangerous Things by Stacey Willingham

 Book Club Rating:  4 out of 5

Another one from Stacey Willingham.  The Club enjoyed The Flicker in the Dark, but did her latest live up to the same hype?  We believe so.  This psychological thriller has us guessing what happened during several timelines and story plots!

1. What happened to Isabel's sister?  Did Isabel kill her?  Did she sleep kill her?  Is that even a thing?
2. What happened to Ben's first wife?  Did she actually commit suicide, or did Ben do it?  Were Ben and her actually having problems, or did he want everyone to think they were?  
3. Who took Mason?  Was it Isabel?  Was it Ben?  Was it some stranger?  Where is he?

All of these are answered in due time, but not without some strategic twists and turns.  Once again Willingham is able to have us guessing with every chapter.  

Join us next month for The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall

 Brief Summary

A young girl is stabbed in the woods while her friends witness the event.  A serial killer is convicted of the crime and later dies in prison.  The girls reunite after his death to discuss their secrets.  The body count rises as the story uncovers that this serial killer was not to blame for the original attack, but you would never guess who was.

The Goddess Game

Much of this book revolves around a make-believe child's game invented by one of the little girls.  The Thrill Seekers were unable to grasp the concept of this game and thought it was useless.  However, it was very much important to the plot.

Relationships

It's all about the relationships forged in the book.  This leads to identity crises, jealousy, and terrible mistakes (or were they?).  One thing we all agreed on, though - Cassidy was crazy.

3 out of 5 rating (from 3 Thrill Seekers)

Join us next month as we read:

All the Dangerous Things by Stacey Willingham