Thanks to #NetGalley and #AtriaBooks for the book #TheLastSession by #JuliaBartz. This book is crazy good involving relationships, therapy and a lot of secrets. Thea is a social worker who recognizes a patient but not sure from where. When the patient disappears, Thea goes looking for her at a secluded retreat for romantic and sexual individuals. What she finds will blow you away.

This story had a layer of suspense that continued to build throughout with many twists and turns along the way. I liked spending the majority of the story in the perspective of social worker, Thea. She has trauma in her own past that comes to the surface when she heads to a retreat in the middle of nowhere, intending to rescue her patient Catherine who surfaced in a catatonic state and then disappeared again when a couple, pretending to be her parents, checked her out of the psychiatric hospital where Thea works. The secondary cast is somewhat suspicious with certain behaviors setting off red flags for Thea and the reader, and I liked not knowing who among them I could trust. Fans of psychological suspense/thrillers will enjoy this book.

Thea works as a social worker in a New York City psychiatric ward. The newest patient admitted to her ward is a catatonic female named Jane Doe. Thea tries her best to communicate to the new patient to no avail, however, she finds Jane to be somewhat familiar. After racking her brain, she thinks Jane may be the actress in her favorite movie, Stargirl. Armed with this information, Thea goes into work the following day to discover Catherine(Jane Doe) has left. Thea makes it her mission to track down Catherine, which leads her to a retreat in New Mexico.
The idea behind this was there. Thea was in a cult like community growing up and has been traumatized as a result. Fast forward to her investigation, as an adult, she finds herself in a similar situation at the New Mexico retreat. For the first 50% I wanted to know how it all tied together and it seems to be moving at a pace that was enjoyable. Then it just completely went off the rails. I don’t even know how to explain how far off the track it went. It went from somewhat realistic to completely non-realistic in the blink of an eye. I was willing to overlook the unprofessionalism of Thea as she didn’t quite resonate as a social worker. But once I realized where the author was going with this, it was the least of my issues. Reincarnation, past trauma,/sexual abuse, past-life regression and bullying are some of the topics touched on in this novel.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this digital e-arc.*

ughhh, you guys! I wanted to like this one so badly because her other books were amazing! But there ain't no way this book was only 240 pages because it felt like it was way longer with how painfully slow it was. There was ALOT going on, and all over the place.

It has a really great storyline and promise at the beginning with the psychiatric hosptial and cult vibes, going in the direction of a possible unreliable narrator, reminding me of Shutter Island. But then it took a weird turn, and I almost DNF it and wish I would've now.

3.75/5, rounded up

Thank you Atria Books for the advanced reading copy!

I love Julia Bartz's writing so much. This book, like her last, was so salacious, gritty and dark, I couldn't put it down! There's a definite creep factor to this book from the start, though I had noooo idea where this was going. This entire book was "what the f did I just read????" but in the best way. Our main character, Thea, could be annoying at times, and I do think the middle of this book dragged a bit. The formatting was helpful, breaking the book down into four distinguishable "parts" that kept things moving. The past-lives aspect was super intriguing and made for a really twisty and unique plot. I was entertained and hooked from the very beginning until the chaotic end. Would read anything this woman writes!!!

this book was so weird. it was also kind of hard to follow at times with the strange narrative changes. i’m not even sure I correctly understood what was going on. can’t say that i’ll be recommending this one

Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this as much as I was hoping. I found some pasta deeply unsettling and disturbing.

Bartz’ second book is definitely as bonkers as her first, THE WRITING RETREAT. This story is told in three parts - each so different it almost felt like individual stories. The characters were a bit frustrating, putting themselves in dangerous situations with no way out. The ending is fast paced and provides a good thrill. While this one won’t be everyone's cup of tea, it was unique provided for a good escape.

After an encounter with a mysterious patient, Thea heads to a retreat in New Mexico to get answers.

There is something about this book that reminds me of Christopher Pike--I think it's the mundane beginning that leads into a wild, mystical story. It's a unique story, but an average read.

I was intrigued at the beginning of this book. The Last Session starts with a group of four patients in a psychiatric hospital participating in art therapy, led by one of our main female characters, Thea, who is a social worker. While working, a woman who is very familiar to Thea, is brought into their facility in a catatonic state. It doesn't take long for Thea to work out why this woman is so familiar to her and how she is linked to her traumatic teenage years. The link leads Thea on a journey to a wellness retreat in New Mexico where she is going to find answers about the woman (Catherine) but ends up learning truths and processing her own past. I enjoyed the suspense up until this portion of the book. Once Thea arrives at the wellness Center, the plot became a little too farfetched for me. The writing was still very good, it just wasn't quite the story I was expecting.

I didn't love the cult aspect of the story or the way that it was tied in with mental illness. There were such serious topics being discussed (sexual abuse, drug abuse), that talk of portals, reincarnation and obsession with a past popular movie, just didn't fit in well for me. I would have liked a more realistic storyline and concrete resolution.

This one didn't quite hit the spot for me, but it was still a fine read and there are many readers who will truly enjoy this. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I love the concept of this book, and I absolutely adored The Writing Retreat, Julia Bartz's debut novel. When I got the ARC for this one I was so excited. To me the story just felt like too much. It was over the top and I just couldn't get into the story.

I will still continue to read her novels because The Writing Retreat was fantastic!

Thank you for this opportunity!

As other reviewers have indicated, my hopes were high for "The Last Session" but this did not live up to them. I was expecting a psychological thriller and this was more of a creepy, mystery filled with explicit sexual content that I don't believe added anything to the story...at. all. The beginning 25% started out interesting with good character development but it went downhill after that. Unfortunately, this just wasn't for me. I will still look forward to giving another Julia Bartz novel a chance. *I received a complimentary ARC from the author/publishing company via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

The Last Session by Julia Bartz is a psychological thriller that took me on a wild ride, and I couldn't put down! As my first experience with Julia Bartz's writing, I was thoroughly impressed and can't wait to explore her other works, including "The Writing Retreat."

The premise is absolutely captivating—two women who share striking similarities, from their appearance to their birthdays and childhood experiences. The story follows Thea, a somewhat adrift social worker at a psychiatric ward whose life is completely upended when a catatonic celebrity patient arrives with mysterious connections to Thea's past.

What begins as a workplace mystery soon transforms into a desert adventure as Thea becomes an amateur detective, infiltrating what might be a cult disguised as a wellness retreat in the New Mexico desert. The search for answers about both the missing patient and Thea's own unusual connection to her kept me completely engrossed. The pacing is excellent, maintaining tension and engagement from beginning to end. While the plot gets increasingly complex and sometimes ventures into wild territory with its many twists and components, that's exactly what made it so fun!

Thea is such a compelling protagonist—flawed, a bit messy, with plenty of unresolved issues, but impossible not to root for. Outside of Thea, you'll encounter characters that you'll love, others you'll despise, and some who might completely surprise you. If you enjoy thrillers that keep you guessing, especially those with locked-room elements and atmospheric natural settings, you'll have a blast with this desert expedition into psychological suspense.

Thank you to Julia Bartz, Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this thrilling read!

This was definitely an interesting book. I enjoyed the premise and the twists kept me guessing, but ultimately it was a little much for me.

This book is a mystery/psychological thriller about a social worker named Thea who encounters a patient that is in a catatonic state. Thea becomes intrigued with this patient and she believes there is something familiar about her but can't figure it out. The patient has no recollection of what caused her to be in this state so Thea tries to work with her to figure it out.

One morning the patient is no longer at the facility and Thea feels conflicted thinking that she could have done more to help. She eventually uncovers clues that help her locate a possible place where the patient may be and she ends up in a retreat in New Mexico. This is where she begins to unravel the truth behind the mystery patient.

This book has a lot of heavy topics as Thea recalls her past trauma that comes to the surface during the sessions at the retreat. She not only battles her own past from which she hasn't fully healed but she has to try to help the patient that she was looking for.

Overall the story kept me wanting to read more to find out the truth. There were some parts that made me feel annoyed with Thea because of the choices she made.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thea is a therapist who works in a psychiatric facility, and is shocked to recognize a "Jane Doe" patient as an actress she admired in her youth. When the actress, Catherine, is taken from the facility, Thea follows clues to find her and ends up in the desert in New Mexico at a retreat, but nothing is as straightforward as promised.

This book is a fun glance at cults and what they can look like/evolve into but it's honestly so wild that I was starting to roll my eyes. I enjoyed it for the most part! But eventually it started to feel like I had to suspend too much belief, even for a work of fiction.

CW: gaslighting, cults, sexual content, confinement, violence, murder, mental illness

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I just could not get into the story. I didn’t care for the characters, the cultish plot, and the constant references to the Stargirl movie. I tried to keep going but I just couldn’t do it.

I wasn’t a fan of Julia Bartz first book The Writing Retreat but I wanted to give it another try with The Last Session. I really shouldn’t have. The first part of the book is good, then it all falls apart. It just kept getting weirder as it went on.
I won’t be reading anything else by this author.

Julia Bartz's debut THE WRITING RETREAT was such a great suspenseful, atmospheric story. When I saw that Bartz's second novel THE LAST SESSION was available, I knew I had to read it. Unfortunately, this novel doesn't hold up like the author's first one. Something about the main character Thea's fixation on a movie and movie star she obsessed over when she was thirteen years old made this feel immature. As initial information unfolds for Thea and the mysterious new patient in the psychiatric unit, it seems like a thirteen-year-old's dream coming true. That's not so bad but the issue is that Thea comes across as thirteen. From there, many (if not most) of Thea's actions seemed like those of a teenager. How does Thea go from needing to find a new apartment and not having money to blowing all of her money chasing after the "mysterious new patient"? The story never came together the way it needed to so that it was compelling enough to move from a psychiatric ward to a cult in the desert.

Thea, a new social worker, is given a patient that has an eerie resemblance to her and is soon draw into a wellness cult in the desert. I was hoping for a quick fun beach read, unfortunately this one just kind went in a direction that didn’t quite work me. Others may enjoy one this but it just wasn’t for me. Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book.