In The Last Session, author Julia Bartz crafts a psychological thriller that delves into the complexities of trauma, memory, and self-discovery. The narrative centers on Thea, a dedicated social worker whose encounter with a mysterious, catatonic patient propels her into a journey confronting her own troubled past. This patient, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Thea's younger self, becomes the catalyst for a series of events that blur the lines between reality and delusion.

Bartz's portrayal of Thea is both nuanced and compelling, presenting a protagonist grappling with unresolved childhood traumas while striving to maintain her professional composure. Thea's internal struggles are depicted with authenticity, offering readers a profound exploration of how past experiences can shape one's present identity.

The setting—a secluded wellness center in the deserts of New Mexico—serves as a character in its own right, its isolation and enigmatic atmosphere amplifying the novel's tension. As Thea delves deeper into the center's enigmatic practices, she uncovers unsettling truths that challenge her perceptions and force her to question the very fabric of her reality.

Bartz's background as a practicing therapist is evident in her insightful exploration of psychological themes, particularly the impact of religious abuse, sexual harassment, and bullying on personal development and sexuality. The narrative weaves these themes seamlessly into the plot, offering a thought-provoking commentary on the long-lasting effects of such experiences.

While the novel's pacing is deliberate, building a slow-burning sense of dread, some readers may find certain plot developments predictable. However, the strength of Bartz's character development and the atmospheric setting compensate for these moments, resulting in a story that is both engaging and unsettling.

The Last Session is a testament to Julia Bartz's ability to intertwine psychological depth with elements of suspense and mysticism. It challenges readers to confront the shadows of the past and consider how they inform the present. Fans of introspective thrillers that probe the human psyche will find this novel a compelling addition to their reading list.

I enjoyed the first part of this story... Thea is a social worker at a psychiatric hospital. She has unhealed trauma herself, so when a catatonic woman shows up who reminds her of her past, old issues start to surface through her dreams. Then the woman disappears. Thea follows the clues left behind to follow the woman to a New Mexico retreat. Things start to become clear to Thea, and the retreat is not what it appears.

I felt like the middle of the book dragged on and slowed down the pacing of the story for me. I could easily see where it was headed, so I wasn't surprised by the ending. It definitely veered into implausible territory, and you have to suspend reality to enjoy it. I enjoyed Julia Bartz's first book The Writing Retreat better, but I'm still excited to see what she writes next.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded interesting to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

I really enjoyed the start of this book. It pulled me in, it was suspenseful, and it kept me wanting to read. toward the middle and end it took me a lot to keep going. The story got strange, and I really lost interest. Although the book wasn't my cup of tea, i thought it was good, and I would recommend it to others.

60/100 or 3.0 stars

I enjoyed The Writing Retreat by Bartz, so I was excited to check this one out. Ultimately, it relied on too many conveniences and dumb characters to get to where the plot was going, and I don't like it when authors do that. The first third or so was engaging and did get my interest, but as the story went on, my hopes for the book being solid overall dwindled. I would try another book by Bartz again, as I did like their debut novel and their writing style, but I was disappointed by this one.

🔒 T R A P P E D T U E S D A Y review 🔒 featuring “The Last Session” by Julia Bartz!

MY RATING: 🖤🖤🖤/5

Thea is a social worker who works within a psychiatric care unit. A nameless catatonic woman is brought into the hospital and for some reason Thea feels drawn to this patient. She looks very familiar, but can’t place her right away.

Later they identify the woman as a famous actress named Catherine who actually holds a link to the trauma of Thea’s past. Suddenly the patient gets taken away from the hospital and Thea is certain that Catherine left her clues as a plea for help! Thea follows the clues to a remote “wellness retreat” in New Mexico that focuses on sexual and romantic issues. While searching for Catherine she must first face all her demons and doesn’t fully understand what her presence means within the community there. Will Thea find Catherine or has she put herself in more danger than she could ever imagine??

🤯 WOW, this book is DARK, haunting, traumatizing and twisted! The locked door wellness retreat setting was claustrophobic and foreboding and gave me creepy voyeur vibes! Although I did not enjoy this as much as Julia’s previous novel The Writing Retreat, I still recommend this to thriller fans that enjoy a dark cult read!

Thank you kindly to @juliabartz @atriabooks @simonschusterca @netgalley for my #gifted digital advanced copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on April 1, 2025!

This book has such a great concept. Who doesn’t love a psych ward to a cult setting??? But, the book took a weird turn at the end with the cult. It was a bit too much and made things confusing!

Interesting and engaging, I enjoyed the twists and character development. The plot was interesting, and somewhat original, though followed a lot of the basic premises - I liked it!

I really did want to love this more than I did.
The concept as a whole sounded so good, but I felt the storyline jumped around too much and had some plot points that just did not make any sense to this story. A fun read, but not the best thriller I have ever read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

I could not put this book down! I have never read a book by Julia Bartz, but I was seriously engrossed in this book. I couldn't wait to get to the ending to figure out what the resolution was. I was glad for the trigger warnings, as some of the content of the book is pretty dark, but I think it was done in such a way that it wasn't overly descriptive or uncomfortable.
My only gripe was that I kept mixing up two of the characters - Moon and Sol. I had to keep a sticky note of which one was the male and which one was the female. But that definitely might've been just a 'me' problem. Overall though, I'd recommend this to my audience and have already told some friends about it!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinions.

Unfortunately, i think I'm learning that Julia Bartz is not the author for me. It's always just straight goofy.

I really didn't enjoy this one. I was excited after The Writing Retreat but I didn't connect with the characters on this one and I didn't enjoy the plot line.

Thea was at work when Catherine was brought into the mental health facility, only she didn't know it was Catherine at the time. This woman was catatonic upon arrival and was unable to give anyone her name. Thea recognized her as the actress in a film she had been obsessed with as a teenager. Once Catherine leaves the facility, Thea feels connected to her in a way she can't explain. She decides to follow her to a retreat across the country. Something feels off about this retreat, Thea is worried that something will happen to her if she stays for the last sessions, but she can't leave without the answers she's looking for.

Great story concept, but it was just a jumble of plot points running into each other trying to do too much. I really liked Bartz's previous book, but this went off the rails almost completely for me.

I wanted to love this way more than I did. The storyline sounded SO good but it kinda fell apart in the execution. It was a bit all over the place IMHO. I always love a cult story though!

This was an all over the place book with some crazy plot points that didn’t make sense at times. I’m not really a fan of a “cult” storyline so perhaps this is just not a book for me.

Thea is a hospital social worker. When a patient is admitted in a catatonic state, somehow she thinks that she is familiar. She soon realizes that her teenage idol, the actress Catherine O’Brien is the patient. She develops a slight rapport with Catherine before she is suddenly whisked away (and Thea follows her).
This grabbed my attention in the beginning , before totally losing me.I could not figure out what was actually going on and wound up putting this book aside, then rereading it again. I think I better understood the plot after my second read, but I’m honestly not 100% sure that I did.
The plot to me, definitely went to some strange places. What kept me trying to figure this fever dream out, was Thea. I just clicked with her in the beginning and wanted to understand what was happening. To me, most of the story was Cray Cray but after really focusing on what was going on, I did wind up enjoying the ride. 3.5 stars.

The story concept was great, but I didn’t get sucked in the way I thought I would. Wasn’t an overly huge fan of the characters. The story pacing was a bit slow for me. Overall, good book that I’d recommend to thriller fans.

I read The Writing Retreat, so I was excited to check out Bartz’s new novel. I did finish the book, but it wasn’t while sitting on the edge of my seat, fully engrossed. It was with curiosity wondering how the author was going to write her way out of this one. The plot really jumped the shark at a certain point. It was still a fun read, but I would recommend getting it from the library, not buying a copy. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

I love a book with cult-ish vibes. It's basically an automatic read for me. The Last Session had all the potential to be a super good book. However, I think that it went 1-2 too many things. We had cult vibes, supernatural things, mental health issues... It just felt like a lot. Still a good book, but there was too much going on.

I feel like this was a fever dream and I left a little bit confused but also like “wow that was an interesting story”. I think people that like reading about cults will find this story very interesting.

I think we all know people who would be very susceptible to the characters we meet in this book and it reminds us that cults aren’t always these large Jonestown size followings,sometimes it’s a small group of people, cut off from society in the desert, with a charismatic charming leader waiting to tell you what you want to hear…

Thanks to NetGalley & Atria Books for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!