This felt like it had all the hallmarks of a great book, but it missed the mark for me. Looking at other reviews it might be just a personal taste as it has some really strong 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the copy to review.

It wasn’t long before this book pulled me in, in the way I always love a good mystery for. Cults, mean girls, mysterious camp vibes — you get it all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC copy.

This is a fast paced easy thriller that is a little predictable but written well enough to hold your interest. The characters completely lack depth but if you're bored and need a fast read, here you go.

The Writers' Retreat had it's dark and twisty moments but overall, wasn't a huge hit for me. The pacing was a bit off. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and I honestly didn't really find any of them likeable. The story itself had some high moments and there were some twists that I didn't see coming. But there were also some parts that I though were unnecessary and could have been cut out to help with the pacing issue mentioned above. While this one may not be my favorite, I can see how it would appeal to some!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Writers’ Retreat by Samantha Verant is set to release July 22, 2025!!! Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC. This book had me hooked right away and was full of surprises. The story follows Liv Montgomery, an aspiring thriller writer, who lands a spot at an exclusive retreat for writers looking to publish their work. Once at the retreat, Liv is surprised to find several people from her past are attending, and things quickly spiral out of control. This is this first book I have read by Samantha Verant and I cannot wait to read her other work!

Thank you NetGalley for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book drew me in from the start and I flew through this book. It was such a quick paced and easy read! I loved the dynamic between Kat and Liv and although I guessed the twist pretty early on, I was still very impressed by how the book played out. The ending set it up for a possible sequel and fingers crossed that it happens.

This was a good read! I enjoyed the pacing and the characters! I think it was twisty and I liked the past and present POVs. The author did a great job however I was expecting a big ending and it ended pretty quietly.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Girl drama, cults, secrets, and love affairs that’s just the tip of the iceberg with The Writer’s Retreat. Kat and Liv have an extremely toxic friendship that chokes out everyone around them. As it all unravels you’re thrown for a loop trying to figure out which one will wind up on top.

The story had a grip on me. I could not figure out which one of the girls was guilty. All the lies had my head spinning. Some parts of the story showed so much depth and then others parts (specifically mark and siennas story) seemed very surface level and unfinished or rushed. I had a hard time connecting the cult to who Kat was in present time. Overall, I finished the book quickly and the ending was a surprise!

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC.

The Writers' Retreat had a great premise. Liv, an aspiring writer, attends a secluded retreat only to be confronted by people from her past. However, the execution fell flat. The writing relied too much on dialogue and lacked depth, leaving the characters and their relationships feeling shallow. The pacing was uneven, with sections dragging and others speeding by too quickly, making the story feel disjointed. The twists were melodramatic, and I never truly felt invested in the outcome.

If you're a fan of Jeneva Rose's thrillers, this may appeal to you, but for me, it didn’t deliver the suspense or depth I was hoping for.

Liv gets invited to a writers retreat where her past catches up to her. Like.. her whole past. From a disbanded cult, to college, and now adult life - the characters in this book are all self serving and willing to do anything to get what they want - even murder. I’m not sure what the motive for most of the murders are - the storyline just kind of takes off sprinting in the second half as twist after twist and devious plans come to light. I feel like there are many loose ends.

The novel, The Writers’ Retreat centers on Liv Montgomery, an aspiring author invited to a writing retreat in the Catskills. Liv’s journey at the retreat occurs against a backdrop of deception and ambition, as she (and the others) aspire to secure a publishing deal. There are many aspects of this novel that are representative of a good psychological thriller namely the following: a backdrop of deception and ambition, suspense and intrigue within the storyline, and twists and turns with unexpected revelations. While I enjoyed the story, at times, I found the pace to be slow. I did enjoy the use of flashbacks and dual timelines- and found that they intensified the story and the tension within. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy in exchange for my review.

This is the first book that I have read by this author but it certainly will not be my last! A thriller that is completely unforgettable with twist and turns that you will not see coming. The perfect beach read for thriller lovers!

be careful what you wish for as a writer. you might think you could just use with getting away from it all. how about a writers retreat? perfect right? especially an exclusive one? hmmmm...
well this is how we meet this thriller. and it does its job with keeping us within its twists, gripped to whats going to come next and where this story will go. whats the real story here?
well, Samantha Verant doesn't need any help from a retreat thats for sure as this book is brill.
but our character Liv is desperate to get published. so when she receives an invite to a writers retreat in the mountains she cant believe her luck.
but all is not what it seems and neither was the intention of the invite.
the pacing of this book was spot on. you get to be right in the moment, feeling tense, feeling the unease of whats occurring. but also giving you enough base to each character and how we come to be here. half the time you dont know whats true, are the character playing mind games? are they trying to play mind games with us? you are constantly involved in this story and you just want to keep reading and turning pages so you can soak up all the fun of it.
a brilliant read. when a thriller becomes exciting you know its a gooden. and this excited me all the way through.

Fast paced thriller, but felt too similar to several other books I’ve read lately. Characters felt flat and I guessed the ending pretty early on.

A story with a lot of twists and plots, and I absolutely enjoyed it! From the epilogue until the end, the book had al my attention. Couldn't lay it down.
How the writer is combining the story of the girls and their history with the story of the girls now and murders that take place, os so well-written. This story keeps you on a manhunt for the murderer, but who is it? Or are there multiple killers? Who can you trust? Your mind is going all the ways, until you discover the truth at the end.

3.5 stars for this one, rounded down. I try my best to not think about what the plot twist is going to be in thrillers because I like the surprise, but unfortunately I still saw this one coming, so there wasn’t really a shock factor for me. This book seemed a little dramatic to me and could’ve done with less theatrics, but overall I thought it was good! The writing style kept me intrigued the whole time.

What I thought from the blurb would be a gripping read, sadly wasn't. Liv Montgomery unexpectedly secures a place to a Writers' Retreat in the Catskill Mountains. There, she expects to be mentored and have her manuscript assessed. The book is a loosely veiled account of her life and people who have had influence over her. But if she thought joining the Retreat would be a positive experience, she’s going to be disappointed.
This is definitely one of the few books in my experience of reading and reviewing that I did not enjoy. The structure works well, told from Liv’s perspective, but with input from her friend Kat. As the story progresses, we are made aware some of the characters who turn up at the writing retreat, are involved in Liv’s past. And unbeknown to her, the past is the reason she is here.
Sadly, I did not particularly like any of the characters. They all had their own agendas and the core friends of Liv’s were a wealthy and entitled lot. The plot moved from present to past and back again, as we picked up on back stories. The tale boomeranged back and forth between the main characters, turning them from good guys into bad guys and back again, which on occasions left me confused.
The sign of a good read for me is the need to be invested in characters and what happens to them, but in this case, I didn’t feel that way. It’s clear Samantha Verant is an established author with many other books to her credit, and a reader following. Unfortunately, The Writers’ Retreat was not for me.
I would like to thank Storm, the author and Netgalley for an ARC of The Writers’ Retreat in exchange for an honest review.

Maybe it's because I'm British, but a tale of two time periods with main characters rich, spoilt American girls and on/off boyfriends at College and then on a writer's retreat some years later didn't fulfil my expectations. They were unpleasant characters to start with and more than unpleasant as they grew up. Liv had aspirations to become a best selling author, she was the odd one out being of a poorer family and, at the start, was somewhat of a sympathetic character. She was gullible apparently at the start too. Several of the girls got involved with a cult, money bailed them out. Their boyfriends moved around them at will. They all came together at the writers' retreat and little seemed to have changed. Revenge is the word of the book. Chapters were labelled 'now' and 'then' with the character narrating so that was clear. Setting the scene with the characters took until almost 60% through the book by which time I was very nearly giving up. However, free reading in exchange for a review means that a book has to be really bad before I do give up. This one actually jumped up a step from 60% by trying to pull together the various viewpoints, although never that well for me. I was relieved to finish it if I'm honest especially as the latter bit was ridiculous. Not for me I'm afraid although I am sure that it will appeal to others.

Liv is an aspiring author living in New York, who gets invited to a Writers’ Retreat by an agent who might be interested in representing her. As she is leaving for the retreat, she finds out that her ex-fiancé, who cheated on her with her best friend, Kat, is dead and he has left everything to her in the will. The retreat is also being held at a property which was previously used as the home of a cult, a cult that Kat was a member of.

After reading this, warning bells already started going off in my head regarding the retreat. Was this set up by her best friend, who we are led to believe is not the nicest person? The retreat seems almost too good to be true, so what is the real reason for Liv being invited?

The story jumps between multiple timelines, Liv’s stay at the retreat as well as enquires surrounding the murder; Kat’s time as a teenager joining and being a part of the cult; the beginning of the friendship between Kat and Liv leading up to the betrayal.

This was easy to read and had me hooked from the beginning. I enjoyed the multiple timelines and found that it did help with understanding the behavior's of each of the characters.

I had two theories as to who was behind the murder, as well as all of the other craziness in the novel. Neither of these were right and I was honestly blown away by the twist.

Another thing that I did really enjoy about this story is that the plot twist came in at about 70% of the book, and did not feel rushed, as is often the case with books in this genre. This was a true highlight of the book and I felt really made the ending a standout one, although it was one rollercoaster of a ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for allowing me to read this arc!

This is my first read from Samantha and I absolutely loved it! A fast-paced thriller with twists I never saw coming! This thriller was definitely unique and nothing like I’ve read before

The story follows Liv an aspiring new author who is looking to publish her new book. Liv signs up for a writers retreat in hopes it will help her to kickstart her career but the retreat is not as it seems and some familiar faces from her past are also on the retreat. Then the story takes a murderous turn.