The Santorini Writing Retreat by Eva Glyn is the story of three women, Jessica Rose, the best selling author who runs the writing retreat, Zina, who has returned with her husband to assist her mother in running the farm and starting a new business venture, the third woman is Karmela, who wants to write her book amd make her mother proud.
The three women become friends and because of the friendship they are able to open up to each other and reconcile events in the past and reclaim their futures.
A story of friendship, love, honesty and resilience set in a Greek island.
Highly recommended.

A lovely escape to Santorini with a great cast of characters and a wonderful setting. Highly recommended.

The Santorini Reading Retreat is a beautifully book set in Santorini which sounds a fabulous place to be .The descriptions made me feel that I was t there .This is a story of friendships ,relationships and courage .Zina has set up a new retreat at her Family farm. Jessica Rose is a best selling Author and is running her first writing retreat but she carries a guilty secret. Over the course of the four week long retreat she forms a firm friendship with Zina and Karmela .This is a charming story of life changes .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

Late spring is usually when I’m on a blog tour featuring books set in Greece—Corfu, Crete, and Santorini, just to name a few. I’m a bit obsessed with traveling to Patmos, but it’s a fascinating (and quite expensive) place, so for now, it remains a dream
The Santorini Writing Retreat is the kind of book that makes you desperately wish you could teleport there immediately. The setting is stunning: the author brings this wonderful island to life so vividly that you can practically feel the sun on your skin and hear the waves against the cliffs.
The characters feel real, flawed yet entirely likable. You’ll root for them, laugh with them, and maybe even steal some of their writing wisdom.
It’s a delightful mix of escapism and inspiration, reminding you that sometimes, a change in scenery (even if only through a book) is exactly what’s needed.
Whether you’re a writer or just a dreamer, this one’s worth a read. Now, where’s my plane ticket to Santorini?

This would not be a book I would choose browsing the shelves of a bookshop. However, I am glad I received an ARC as it is totally different to what I had expected. A very well written and enjoyable book.

The Santorini Writing Retreat by Eva Glyn is a contemporary travel, women’s fiction with a slice of romance thrown in about three women.

Set on a Greek Island Santorini where Zina, who has had to leave her high powered job because of family issues decides to set up a small hotel that can be used for retreats.

During the first retreat run by the best selling writerJessica Rose who is hiding a secret that could destroy her career.

One of the guests is Karmela who just wants to write a book and make her mum proud.

While The Santorini Writing Retreat can be read as a stand alone, Karmela was a major character in The Dubrovnik Book Club, although you will know more details of her past life rather than just the basics.

While the novel was concentrating on the three main characters in the novel which was how the novel is marketed the two main male characters while important to the story it did feel like there was more to their story but it was edited out.

Take Karmela’s love interest, Ian, a former RAF Pilot, who served in operations over Croatia, for the UN, in the 90’s , which becomes a bone of contention later in the novel.


However it did seem contrived in the way it was written, but I can see there being part of the novel where Ian has more of a back story, this belief is further enhanced with him having a dog.

Without this dog Ian would mainly be alone throughout the novel particularly apart from Zina’s husband these were the only male characters throughout the book. Apart from those who were just in the story to move the plot along.

Not that The Santorini Writing Retreat is a bad novel in fact it was a thoroughly enjoyable read; it just felt that after reading the book that this is a follow up to where the male characters felt an integral part of the story.

These two while integral to the story, it would have worked just as well if they even had less depth than Eva Glyn gave them making them similar to Zina’s former love interest.
,
Having said the the growth of the 3 female main characters in the novel was enough to keep the story engaging from beginning to the end as they each came together to deal with their issues.

The Santorini Writing Retreat is a heartwarming and immersive story where we are swept away to the Greek island of Santorini, both in terms of the landscape and the food. At the center of the novel are three women, each with her own story:
*Zina, who has given up her life in Athens for the sake of her husbands mental health and has started the Retreat House
*Jessica Rose (real name Jo), best selling author who is the tutor for the Writing Retreat. But she has her own secrets, and
*Karmela, college professor who was gifted the retreat from her mother and wants to write her story.

Over the course of the month-long retreat, the women form deep bonds, offering one another unexpected strength, encouragement, and understanding. Though the narrative weaves through three distinct storylines, the heart of the novel lies in its exploration of friendship, family, secrets, and the power of supporting each other.

Was a sweet story, worth the read.

I was drawn in by the setting, but it was the characters and writing that kept me enthralled! I could feel their emotions as I was reading and became fully vested in their journey and outcomes. You’ll want to share this one with your girlfriends!

Don’t think for one minute that Glyn will present you with a bookish book and forget to tantalize you with Greek food!

Eva Glyn swept me away to Santorini, introduced me to three women, Professor Karmela Simic, bestselling author Jessica Rose and the owner of The Retreat House, Zina Sideris, and highlighted the power of courage. Each of these three women is at a crossroads in their life and their time on Santorini ignites the courage to shape their future.

Glyn continues to spotlight traditional life in her settings and brings to light some of the colourful people and difficult journeys that we may overlook when being charmed by the location.

I liked that Karmela from The Dubrovnik Book Club showed up in this book so that I could see her progress.

I was gifted this copy by Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

The Santorini Writing Retreat is an evocative, heartwarming novel that whisks readers away to the stunning Greek island of Santorini.

Eva Glyn’s vivid descriptions of the scenery and food make it easy to imagine being there, even if you're actually reading under grey skies in County Durham.

The setting is immersive and beautifully drawn, adding richness to a story built around connection, creativity and healing.

The novel follows three women from different walks of life: Jessica, a bestselling author burdened by a hidden secret; Zina, returning home to rebuild her life; and Karmela, an aspiring writer with a quiet determination to honour her late mother.

Though strangers at first, the women gradually form deep and authentic friendships, brought together by their shared experiences at the writing retreat.

Told from three perspectives, each character feels fully formed and relatable. Their emotional journeys are compelling and grounded in reality, exploring the power of writing to process life’s challenges.

The friendships that develop are the highlight of the book—genuine, supportive and moving.

This is more than just a story set in a picturesque location.

It’s a heartfelt look at the stories we tell ourselves and others, and how sharing them can be a path to healing. Uplifting and reflective, The Santorini Writing Retreat is a perfect read for those who love character-driven fiction with warmth, depth and a strong sense of place.

I really enjoyed this story! It takes place at a writing retreat in Santorini and is told from the perspective of 3 women. Jessica Rose is a bestselling author, arriving in Santorini to conduct a retreat with a group of 5 writers on how to write a book. Zina is a successful media relations expert who has returned to her home on Santorini with her husband to help her mother and the family farm after her father's passing. She decided to create a haven for creative retreats, the first being a writing weekend. Karmela, a professor and a refugee from Sarajevo, whom we first met in the Dubrovnik Book Club, and who lives in Zagreb and wants to write a book.

I really enjoyed the story and the friendship between the three women. Jessica is carrying a secret that's weighing heavily on her mind and forcing her to stay with an abusive husband. I loved all 3 of the women. It was especially enjoyable to see the continuation of Karmela's story from The Dubrovnik Book Club and witness her newfound confidence. Of course, I also loved the setting of Santorini, which I've visited before. I thought the author did a wonderful job of drawing us into the beauty of Santorini. Hopefully, we'll be able to see the characters continue in other stories.

Thanks to @netgalley, @rachelsrandomresources, @harpercollins-onemorechapter and the author for this arc.

"And above all, don't forget there needs to be a terrible secret at the heart of the story."

Successful author Jessica Rose has been hired to run a writing retreat on the gorgeous Greek island of Santorini. Jessica's book Only. Ever. You. was a runaway hit, even being made into a film. At the retreat Jessica, whose real name is Jo, is expected to share her writing wisdom to a group of eager wannabe authors. But Jo has a terrible secret at the heart of her story, and she doesn't know how to fix it for herself, let alone guide others! What she does know is that the retreat should provide her with some time away from her controlling and most likely unfaithful husband Rees.

One of those students is Karmela. She is a professor who escaped from Sarajevo as a refugee as a child. Over the years she has closed herself off from being close to people for years. After spending some time in Dubrovnik last year doing research, this year she is at the retreat, determined to write the book of her heart, not only for herself but also to prove to her distant mother that she can. Other guests include Sophie and Diana, two friends who want to write a romance together, Ellen and Susan and Iain with his retired greyhound dog Sybil.

For the owner of The Retreat House, Zina, the success of the retreat is crucial. She and her husband, Lambros, have returned to Santorini from Athens where she worked in marketing. They live on the family farm with her widowed mother. Lambros is happy working the farm which includes growing pistachios and raising troublesome goats with all the manual labour that farming requires but the couple get little privacy. This is such a change for Zina that there are times where she struggles with what her life has become. There are times that her own traits, like being very competitive, don't help matters.

Gradually Jo, Zina and Karmela become closer and soon each of their secrets and desires are being revealed, and they are able to help each other. As well as being a book about the strength of female friendship, even new ones, it is also about mothers and daughters, and about the bravery it takes to take charge of your own life.

One of the strengths of this book is the location. From the descriptions of Santorini to the food, Eva Glyn brings the island and culture to life! I would love to take a dip in the sea about now but it's a bit cold here in wintery Melbourne! Thanks goodness we can travel to other places, like Santorini, through the pages of books.

Oh, and as for the books that are mentioned in the story Only. Ever. You. sounds fabulous and I would love to read the book that Karmela is writing which is historical fiction set in Croatia. If only they were real books!

Eva Glyn has been on my reading radar for a little while. I own her last book, The Dubrovnik Book Club, but I still haven't read it. After reading this book, I am definitely going to have to fix that oversight, especially seeing as I want to see where Karmela's story started.

How does a trip to Santorini sound to you?

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted by The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews and the Bookish Books Reading Challenge hosted at Bloggin' Bout Books. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy.

Don't forget to enter the international giveaway below.
Rating 4/5

The Santorini Writing Retreat took me on an immersive trip to a beautiful location with the vivid descriptions of the setting and the food being enjoyed by the characters. I've never visited Santorini before, but having seen pictures I had a vague idea of what it looks like and Eva Glyn's fabulously descriptive writing helped to complete the image in my minds eye and I could almost picture myself there, whilst in reality I was reading in rainy Cornwall!

As well as the gorgeous setting I also adored the strong theme of friendship throughout the story; the group start off as complete strangers but were able to build some genuine friendships despite, or maybe because of, the hurdles that they face. The story is told through three different points of view with each of the three women dealing with some difficult and very different issues. Despite the fact that they come from different countries and backgrounds they form an incredible bond which was so enjoyable to read about and for me was my favourite element.

I became incredibly invested in each of the characters as they are so well written; they're complicated, flawed, and just so very human that it was easy to become immersed in their lives and want them to have the best possible outcome. None of them expected to share so much of themselves while on the writing retreat, but by opening up to each other and sharing their innermost thoughts and feelings their problems become easier to deal with, with the help of each other.

This was my first Eva Glyn book and it certainly won't be my last, I'm especially interested in reading The Dubrovnik book club as one of the characters from this book was previously featured. All in all this was a beautiful story about female friendships and belonging.

I love anything around writing and reading within novels and I loved the sound of this new book by Eva Glyn.

Set in Santorini, Zina has set up a new retreat at her family farm, where she and her husband have relocated from Athens to support her mother. Jessica Rose is a bestselling author and she's running the first writing retreat. Karmela is one of the attendees and she rounds out the three main female characters - each with a secret and a struggle that they must deal with over the course of the next month.

It's a beautiful setting and well-drawn by the author but the characters seemed a bit one-dimensional to me alas. With three different stories to follow, it felt a bit scattered and none of the stories felt fleshed out enough. I found the resolutions very quick too and perhaps had there been only one or two stories to follow, I could have connected more with the characters.

This was a quick read - good for the beach or pool!

Thank you to One More Chapter and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of book in exchange for an honest review.

The title and cover had me wanting to read this book. I have been to Santorini several times and am hoping to go again in July.
I started this book and thought one of the characters was very familiar, and then I realized I had read this author's previous book, The Dubrovnik book club, just after I had visited Dubrovnik.
This book is an ode to friendships and how the support of friends can help you solve your problems.
Zina comes back to Santorini after her father dies, to support her mother and also to help her husband leave an unhappy life in Athens.
He thrives while taking over the family farm. Zina decides to make a Retreat of the building her father had built for rentals. She thinks that by having a competition with her husband, it will make it fun.
She invites a famous writer, Jessica Rose, to be a mentor to the 5 people who come to the Retreat.
Jessica has a huge secret that is destroying her life and a very controlling husband who has taken away all her confidence.
Then we have Karmela, who is coming from Croatia to get help finishing her historical novel. She is the character from the previous book who was researching women from the history of Dubrovnik. She meets Ian on the ferry and is pleasantly surprised that he and his dog are also coming to the Retreat. He also has a secret. There are several other characters, some with ulterior motives.
The effect the characters have on each other makes for a very moving story, plus it is Santorini!
Mother daughter relationships also play an important role. I hope we see some of these characters in the next book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the EARC. This is my honest opinion. I found the book quite moving and became very invested in the outcomes of the characters.

Picture this: a sun-drenched Greek island, just you and your notebook, ready for a fresh start. That’s The Santorini Writing Retreat—with a funny, heartfelt twist.

The novel brings together three women at very different crossroads in their lives: Jessica Rose, a bestselling author carrying a heavy secret that’s drained her creative well; Zina, a determined entrepreneur returning to her home island to build something new from scratch; and Karmela, an aspiring writer seeking to make her mother proud. A writing retreat on the beautiful island of Santorini, with its stunning sea and whitewashed buildings, is where they first meet and begin their journey of self-discovery.

Jessica’s reluctance as retreat leader makes her vulnerable and her story captivating. The sharp contrast between her public achievements and her private struggles with self-doubt and a hidden secret highlights how easily people can mask their pain. Zina’s story shows what it’s really like to go home and reinvent yourself, while Karmela’s quiet strength is a nice change of pace. The women are portrayed with great empathy, and their development feels genuine and earned.

Reading it, I felt a strong connection to the three women, particularly their use of writing to work through life’s challenges. Similar to Jessica, I’ve had dry spells where my creativity was blocked by unresolved issues. Like Karmela, I’m driven to create something worthwhile, not just for me but for the people who’ve helped me. The retreat’s blend of solitude and community helped me remember the importance of taking breaks to reconnect with myself. This story prompted me to consider the untold stories I’ve been afraid to share, and why those might be the most important ones to tell.

It’s not only the gorgeous Greek scenery (the food descriptions alone are amazing!) that makes this book special; it’s also its honest look at the art of storytelling. As these women write, they face their hidden truths, showing us that the greatest stories are often the ones we’re scared to share. That tagline, “Secrets make the best stories,” isn’t just catchy; it’s the whole point of the book. It’s a heartwarming story that tackles real life, and it might even make you want to write your own!

Leaving their stressful jobs in Athens behind, Zina and husband Lambros have returned to her family’s farm in rural Santorini after her father’s death – he has begun to revitalise the land, tending the goats and hoping for a pistachio crop to turn their fortunes around, while she’s put her energy into converting the neglected holiday apartments into a boutique retreat. They might appear to be living the dream, but their marriage is suffering – they don’t spend enough time together, and living in close proximity with her grieving mother brings its own stress and strain. But all the renovations, with their luxurious touches, are now complete – and it’s time for Zina to host her first retreat, hoping for happier times ahead.

The retreat is to be led by Jessica Rose, the author of a bestselling novel – she’s glad of the opportunity to escape her toxic marriage for a while, but worries about her inability to write another book, a number of secrets she’s kept deeply hidden, the likely impact if they were to be revealed, and her sketchy credentials to be taking the lead. The group assembles – all with their own reasons for being there – and includes Karmela, the professor we previously met through the book club in Dubrovnik, hoping to finally leave her difficult past behind and produce a historical novel that will make her mother proud of her.

This was a particularly emotional read, perfectly paced and quite beautifully written, the different relationships especially well drawn – the friendships between the three very real women at the book’s heart slowly blossom and become increasingly supportive, they share their personal stories and open up about the challenges in their lives, face up to their mistakes and the possibilities of starting afresh, and find strength and inspiration in each other. There are plenty of surprises along the way, moments of joy and more than a touch of heartache, difficult decisions to be made, times when everything might fall apart – and I felt totally invested throughout in their stories and the possibility of happiness in their futures.

There’s an exceptional sense of place throughout – plenty of opportunities to see the beauty of the volcanic island visited by tourists in their droves, drawn in the most vivid and well-researched detail, but also to witness the real hardship of attempting to eke a living from the sun-baked and barren land. Everything combined to make this a book I really loved – the lives of its characters a pleasure to feel part of as I was completely drawn into their stories, the uplifting ending everything I could have asked for. Very much recommended.

I loved the cover of this E-Book, it looked like a perfect place to write a novel.

Jo was asked to run a writing retreat to help 5 people fine tune their writing style. Jo is looking forward to travelling to Santorini and having a month away from her controlling husband and pressure to complete a new novel.

Jo has a secret and feels a failure as a writer.

Zina Siders and her husband run the retreat property on Santorini and live with Zina’s mother who is grieving for her husband who died a year earlier. Zina is also grieving for a job she loved in marketing and media in Athens. Zina’s husband has mental health issues but is learning to be a farmer and struggles to keep his goats under control.

This was about writing, secrets, grief and families. I loved the way the different participants in the writing retreat helped each other and Zina and her mother with their grief. Lots of twists as each person’s back stories were revealed. Some humorous moments when the goats cause havoc.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher One More Chapter a Division of HarperCollins Publishers for a chance to review this E-Book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I'm reviewing this via NetGalley, as part of a tour with Rachel's Random Resources.

I was interested in this book, as I remembered reading a previous book by this author, The Dubrovnik Book Club, which I really liked. I'm pleased to say that I enjoyed this one as well.

The three main characters were Jo, Zina and Karmela. I found that as I was reading, I connected with all of them in some way, and I felt as though they all had their own story to share with the reader. It seemed they all had a reason for coming to the retreat, and it wasn't just about writing, but about figuring something out.

I enjoyed following the characters to see how they connected and bonded with each other, and I liked the atmosphere too. This book allowed me to escape to sunny Santorini without leaving my living room. If you're looking for a book that will whisk you away, give this a try.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel's Random Resources, and to the author and publisher, for the opportunity to read and review this.

Thank you for allowing me to review this latest book by Eva Glynn. I had enjoyed her previous books and had high expectations for this book. It didn't disappoint at any level. The setting in Santorini is so well described, that I feel I must visit. The characters are well written, beginning as strangers they gel together harmoniously at the retreat. Each individual as their differences, with different reasons for joining the retreat. An easy read, but one that made me reflect upon how experiences of life are viewed my everyone.
A recommended read.