Literally Dead Book Club discussion
This topic is about
The Writing Retreat
The Writing Retreat
>
The Writing Retreat | part 2
date
newest »
newest »
So who thinks Roza burned down Chitra's cafe so she'd come and work for her?
Yep, that was my immediate hunch.
I'm pretty good with the pacing, but I'm annoyed with the boring sexual interludes. (I'm old. I'm demi. I have zero interest in the sex lives of other people, especially when they're young enough to be my children.)At this point, there are still a lot of different directions things can go without any good evidence pointing at any particular one(s). Maybe Alex is seriously delusional about Wren and this is either some over-the-top intervention, or her over-the-top hallucinations of a normal intervention. Maybe this is a scheme for a washed-up Anne Rice wannabe to steal a hot manuscript (or 5) from fresh talent. Maybe Alex and/or her mother killed her father and that's why they lived on the run after he "disappeared," and this is all a psychotic break. Maybe Alex is actually channeling Daphne and/or Lamia and will wreak some sort of vengeance on ... somebody? Or finish that Commission? Maybe Joe, Ian, and Ursula are trying to start their own cult. Maybe Yana is the actual writer and Roza's job is to be mysterious and weird in order to drive sales. Maybe this is all just Pete's fantasy. Maybe Roza is Fae and has cast a glamour on her crumbling estate and has enchanted the necklaces to control the victims of her nefarious plot to ... um ... take over the nunnery? I could keep this up all night. I should probably just read the damn book instead.
Funny that many of us think alike. I also thought Roza had the Cafe burned.
Rosalind wrote: "So who thinks Roza burned down Chitra's cafe so she'd come and work for her?"That was my immediate thought as well.
wren and roza are making my eyes twitch 🤬 such annoying characters
Rosalind wrote: "So who thinks Roza burned down Chitra's cafe so she'd come and work for her?"That's what I thougt...
I'm really liking the pace so far, I like the interludes where we get to read some of The Great Commission. At this point, I'm hoping whether or not the mansion is haunted never gets confirmed. I'm hoping it gets left up in the air. I think because Alex is becoming so intertwined with Daphne that to have it be disproved would cheapen it all, but to have it all confirmed as 100% real would be a little hokey.
As for the other characters, I think Roza definitely has an ulterior motive in all this. I'm also highly suspicious of both Poppy and Yana. Wren is rage-inducing, and I'm actually liking Taylor and Keira more as time goes on. Embarrassingly, I hadn't really considered the fire at Chitra's bakery but now that y'all have said that I'd be shocked if Roza didn't burn it down lol.
As for theories going forward, I think the LSD drugging definitely happened so Roza could do something nefarious while the others were out of it. I'm not totally sure what her plans are or how she expects them to work but there's obviously something fishy going on. Plus, I think we all know the ramifications of not reading the NDA (dumb af) are going to get worse and worse.
The book is absolutely fascinating, but unfortunately I can't continue due to the horror elements. I'm sensitive and have already lost a night's sleep over the rotten corpse scene, and now there are ghost stories, so sadly this is a DNF for me. I wish the author would've written the book as a pure thriller without all the horror scenes. Kinda bummed because I was enjoying all other aspects of the story, but for my sanity, I have to stop here. I'll follow the discussion along though as I'm curious as to how it ends. DNF 37%
The pacing has been okay for me so far. I felt like the beginning was a bit slow. I’m hoping the rate of horror/thriller events continue to increase throughout the book. I agree with others about Roza burning down Chitra’s cafe. Roza is turning out to be a villain. What was truly in that NDA that they signed? 🧐
I think Roza is going to do something more malicious and/or there are other motives behind her hosting this retreat. Could she be able to take credit for one of the books the authors write? Maybe that was in the NDA that they didn’t read.
I definitely think there will be a significant plot twist coming.
Did anyone else find the LSD trip absurd? I thought the whole intimate experience with Lamia to be strange. Although, maybe it was all in Alex’s head…
Definitely Roza burned down Chitra's cafe. I find this part a little bit slow but I hope more things will happen at the second half of the book.
Can we acknowledge the actual WTF that was the last chapter of this section lol????
So Roza definitely burned down the resturant. I’m not sure what I read in the last chapter. Also Roza just drugging everyone to help writing? No thanks. 😂 I still don’t like the characters very much. Poppy and Taylor are the most strange. I do like breaking this book up into chunks as it makes it seem like I’m reading it faster haha.
I can't shake the feeling that there is some kind of elaborate setup, like someone is "in on it" but I'm not sure what that would be or how it would work.The way it's going right now, if it's actually paranormal, I think Roza has writer's block and made a deal with Lamia, she has to sacrifice a bunch of tasty young writers and harvest their creativity. Something like that.
I'm not loving it so far (the sex, meh) but I'm curious and it's also really readable, I'm in a bit of a reading slump right now but I made it to 50% in like two sittings.
Rosalind wrote: "So who thinks Roza burned down Chitra's cafe so she'd come and work for her?"100%
I like the pacing and horror elements. I hope the horror increases. Titra (spelling?) the chef, has known Roza for twenty years. She definitely knows some secrets. I like that Alex is starting to gain confidence, shifting away from the victim mentality. Is something possessing her?
What abuse happened in Wren's childhood?
Why the hell did Taylor bring Wolfsbane?
Poppy is definitely a liar...I think maybe she's some kind of reporter or journalist.
I don't like the storyline of women being played against women. I'd like to see them working together and not talking about each other behind their backs.
Why was Roza wearing the same clothes? Is anyone else getting House of Hunger vibes?
Parlour games scene was fun. Love a good ghost story. Can't believe Wren stole Alex's story! What or who blew out the last candle?
Can't believe Roza drugged them! Reminded me of that show with Nicole Kidman where the people were on the retreat and she drugged them. Nine Perfect Strangers.
I'm pretty sure Roza intends to take the best story as her own and publish it as her own work. The drugging, ghost stories, etc...are all ways to put them all on edge so they write from a place of authentic fear.
I'm loving this book so far and am very intrigued to see where this ends up.
What did I get myself into with this book? In an insanely good way.I am such a horror girlie that I am loving all the horror inserted into this thriller. It’s been so fun.
Roza definitely burned Chitra’s cafe down. Agreed.
I don’t trust anyone in this. Especially Alex. We are getting this all from her point of view so every single person is incredibly skewed.
Who is lying and who is telling the truth? Will we find out? Especially with Wren and Alex. Now that the scene with Wren saying she almost got a restraining order against her adds even more complexity to it.
I’ll agree the weird sexual fantasies are not needed and almost take away from the story.
I have no theories in this one, I’m just along for the ride. It feels like the whole thing is a long fever dream.
The pacing is good. I’m finding it hard to put down. I’m going to predict I’m giving this a 4-5 star. We’ll see if that stays with the second half.
It is not the mystery thriller I thought it would be. I’m wondering if we will get clear answers about the demon by the end of the book. Either it’s the drugs, Alex’s is going crazy, the demon is real, or any combination therein. For sure there will be a death or two by the end. Is Alex completing the demon’s final quest or is Rosa?
I'm getting Bunny vibes and I love it. The more I read and the more I hate Roza but I can't help but feel that she is not entirety behind everything that's happening.
Haven't been hooked in by a book like this in a while - having a lot of fun!This is *definitely* not the thriller I expected it to be but honestly enjoying the supernatural bent and had to stop reading last night because I knew if I read any later I would get scared and have trouble sleeping, LOL. Learning that over-the-top thrillers are definitely my vibe and even if this gets completely stupid in the second half I will probably be fine with that.
100% not sure what to think of ANYBODY.
I am really getting into it. I like the character dynamics at this point and I appreciate that the author didn't just focus on Alex and Wren since that kind of drama just isn't my style at all. I am so curious about Poppy, she is definitely lying about stuff. Not sure if it is malicious or if she just wants to pretend to be more interesting though.I suspect Roza isn't actually a great writer and has been using others to come up with stories since Devil's Tongue. So these girls are definitely not in good hands.
I’m still really enjoying the book and the pacing. I love books that have to do with books so I’m really enjoying the inserts from The Great Commission The last chapter has me so baffled. Mostly if Poppy was actually in the basement with Alex during all of that.. um, no.
I do agree that there’s a large potential Roza wants to steal there work. I think it’s why so diving into all uncomfortable topics in there one and ones and I think it’s probably likely that the author who initially dropped out actually read the entirety of the NDA agreement and was like “uh uh, no thanks.”
I still trust no one. I haven’t trusted Poppy since they were on the train, but Alex is also such an unreliable narrator. I think it’s likely neither her or Wren are telling the truth about what happened with them.
Also, Roza totally burned the cafe.
I’m still listening and reading along and I think a narrator depicting sex scenes is something I don’t need to experience again.
i feel kinda paranoid about any nice interaction between the characters, cause what if it is a setup? maybe some people are in league with each other? some of them are incredibly chill with being drugged... i do agree Roza burbed down the cafe, she seems extremely determined to get her way. i am wobdering if there are actually spirits involved or just drugs and psychological games...
ok, the last little bit took a turn: I'm not a fan of all the use of sex, tbh.also, although I love a good paranormal time, I actually kinda want this book to be a straight thriller, no paranormal things... so I hope this is all related to the trip.
SPEAKING OF: WTH with the lacing their drinks. RAGE.
Also also and and, I find the fact that they're all struggling to sleep interesting.
ANNNNDD furthermore, I really think Roza is using them in the sense that she is orchestrating all this to turn elements of it into a story- I don't think she's stealing their stories, BUT I think she's stealing who they are in a sense, turning their lives into a "fiction" situation. I think. Maybe. Who knows? lol
I’m not quite done with part 2, but this book is simultaneously very interesting and intensely annoying. The characters are all the worst. Their reactions are not relatable or realistic. The preachy moments in part one felt forced and interruptive. And yet, I want to know what’s going to happen, so I’m moving through it very quickly. I can’t tell if I’m having fun with how ridiculous it is or not. 🤦🏻♀️🤣
Part 2 begins on page 92 and ends on page 160
Halfway through the book now, how are you finding the pace?
What theories do you have for what is to come?