Julia Bartz is making a niche for herself of writing psychosexual thrillers with unhinged main female characters and sapphic undertones, and I am here for it! Bartz's background as a psychologist showed out in full force, with much explanation of technical terms and ethics in psychotherapy. What sets this apart from her previous book, The Writing Retreat, is the more pronounced transformation and catharsis our main character Thea experiences after the ordeal, which elevates the story from being just a "I survived a dangerous situation" to "this made me confront my toxic traits, unresolved trauma, and whole personality".

I dock a star because around the 60% mark, the main character does something so incredibly illogical and against her usual behavior. I don't like when authors dumb down their character in order to move the plot along ie. "let me walk down a dark alley even though there's a killer on the loose" type shit. However, the ending saved it.

In the authors note, she said she wanted to highlight white supremacy in cults but like...where? If there was, it was super subtle (unless she showed it by only having two POCs in the book?? As in cults rarely recruit POCs - not a fact, just speculating on Bartz's intentions). If anything, this was a critique on organized religion and the bystander effect when it comes to abuse of power, especially when committed by religious leaders.

i thought it was entertaining enough, i do enjoy a cult story. however, it was a little boring at times and all the past lives stuff got a bit convoluted. i did like that the author discussed the cultural appropriation that is present within the “spiritual” community and the psychology of cults.

Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC of The last session by Julia Bartz! This was a super dark & twisty read. It was pretty out there at times, but definitely held my attention until the end.

3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This will be released on April 1st ☀️

#netgalley #arc #thelastsession #thewritingretreat #juliabartz

Thank you to the author, publishers, and NetGalley, for allowing me to read an advanced copy of The Last Session.

Social worker Thea finds herself investigating a strange (and dangerous?) wellness center after the disappearance of one of her patients. Soon, she doesn’t know who to trust, how to leave, and what her own connection to the mysterious center might be.

This is a solid mystery with an interesting setting and intriguing characters. I read it quickly and really enjoyed the atmospheric vibe. What I didn’t love was the unexpected supernatural element- it’s never fully explored, so the reader can choose what to believe to some extent, but I found it hard to ignore. Other readers may really love this, it just wasn’t for me.

Overall, this is a good read for anyone who loves a tense and creepy thriller with elements of the supernatural and some sexual undertones.

I love Julia bartz writing! I found that the first part of the book was super engaging and I was really intrigued and then during part 3 I found the book took a change in direction that I didn’t really enjoy. Overall I am still excited to have had the opportunity to read this book and really look forward to reading more books in the future by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC!

I will always love a mystery/thriller involving cults. I don't know why, it just never gets old for me. At the same time, I feel like I've read so many mystery/thrillers that I saw pretty much every twist and turn this one took before it happened. I felt like the first half of this book was foreshadowing a major twist at the end that would be totally unexpected, but it just never happened. Instead, the ending was fairly predictable. The pacing was good and I flew through the last 40% in a day so it was definitely a strong thriller.

The main character was fairly well written, although I feel like I've met this archetype of female protagonist in almost every mystery/thriller. I think the characters that really made this story memorable were the "antagonists", in this case the charismatic and mysterious couple who own the remote retreat that turns out to be a lot more sinister than just a granola bar yoga getaway in the desert. Another thing I enjoyed was the insights into psychology/therapy theories, which I thought were interesting to read about.

Overall an enjoyable page-turner with a decent ending, but not entirely unique in the realm of mystery/thrillers. A good read to get out of a reading slump!

I LOVED The Writing Retreat, so I wanted to love this one so badly, but it just didn’t quite hit. When I think about it, the things I LOVED about the Writing Retreat just weren’t plot points in this book: the toxic female friendships and the authors/books about books element. This still has the same off-the-rails quality as The Writing Retreat, but I just didn’t care for the characters or the premise. The main character, despite being a therapist, just felt so dull and not self-aware that it got irritating. Julia Bartz has an author’s note saying she is a therapist, so she has way more credibility than I do in this area, so perhaps this is possible, but the character just felt too unrealistic to me that even though I knew it would go off the rails, it was too much for me, and it dragged.

Some “If you liked” style comparisons: Either of the Twin Flames documentaries that came out last year.

Warning: ALL sorts of content warnings on this one. Look them up if you’re a reader who needs them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC.

2.5 ⭐️ I did not read The Writing Retreat, so I can’t compare it to that. But I was underwhelmed by this book. The first half was good, while the second half just slowly went downhill. It was disjointed and disappointing. I usually love books where the main character is a therapist. I finished the book to see if things came together in the end, but truthfully I could’ve stopped half way through and been happy.

I loved Julia Bartz's debut, The Writing Retreat, so I was confident I would enjoy The Last Session. I almost want to say I love this one even more. But I think it's more like I love them both the same amount for different reasons.

Thea is a social worker who focuses on helping people in a psychiatric unit. She gives them prompts to draw things then they discuss what they drew and why. A new patient is brought in that is catatonic and Thea is sure she recognizes her. Once the patient is able to speak she claims to not remember anything that led to her being there. Then she's suddenly taken out of the place before Thea can figure anything out.

She realizes where she knows the woman from and Thea is convinced she needs to help her. Her investigating leads her to a remote place in New Mexico. She pretends to be there for the retreat this couple hosts. They use very unorthodox methods to help people with their romantic issues. They claim you'll find true love after being there.

Just like with The Writing Retreat, I was taken to some wild unexpected places and I loved every bit of it! All I can say is keep an open mind and enjoy the ride. I love how Julia Bartz covers important topics in such wild but fun to read ways while still taking those topics seriously.

Thank you Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Despite losing interest about halfway through this one I hung on until the end. It started off strong. I was intrigued by the mystery of Catherine’s sudden appearance and disappearance and her ties to Thea. My curiosity even grew because cults fascinate me. However, as the story unfolded, it became more and more strange, and difficult to follow.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books who provided me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

I was a fan of The Writting Retreat last year but I am a little less found of The Last Session. It reminds me a little bit of The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides but in a culty settings. I just found that it was a lot of different plot lines crammed inside the book and I would have prefer that we focus on less avenue.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was really looking forward to reading this, and I was very into the beginning of this novel. The plot was intriguing, and the writing quickly pulled me in, but we just as quickly drove straight into weird as heck territory. I'm really sorry to say that I'm not sure how I made it through this book as it took me forever to read, and I didn't find myself wanting to pick it up, but I was hoping it would come back together. I have discovered that I am very much not into the cult trope, but if you're a fan, you might find this interesting.

The Last Session, described as a locked room thriller, follows FMC Thea, a social worker living in New York who is reeling from a recent breakup. When a patient with a connection to a traumatic part of her past arrives at the treatment center where she works, Thea is strangely excited. But when she departs as quickly as she came leaving behind a secret message Thea’s fears she is in trouble. Feeling a strange connection to Catherine, she infiltrates a cult like treatment center to try to find her.

I felt that the idea for this book was so unique and I was really excited to read it. I enjoy thrillers with mental health as a theme so that drew me in as well. The second half of the book was incredibly suspenseful and the whole thing left you wondering, “what the hell will happen next?” So I enjoyed the unpredictable nature of it.

Unfortunately I think this book was plagued by a cast of mostly unlikable characters including, for me, the FMC. Her poor decision making eventually reaching the level of far-fetched adding to the outlandish feel of the story. I don’t mind having to suspend my belief some for the sake of the story, but this one was a bit too much.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Julia Bartz, and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the chance to read this ARC copy!

This was my first novel by Julia Bartz and I didn't know what to expect. The premise sounded strong, and I enjoyed the first part of the book. I typically like thrillers and mysteries but this one was wild. At the end of the day, this one just wasn't for me. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I had such high expectations for this book, mainly because I loved the other one written by the same author, The Writing Retreat. And even though they had the same vibe, the many twists in this one just confused me instead of enhancing the story. The whole thing seemed like some kinda of scary fever dream and then the ending was a bit anticlimactic.

The Last Session is another twisty locked room thriller from Julia Bartz, author of The Writer's Retreat.

Thea is a social worker battling her own inner demons when a familiar looking woman suffering a psychotic break shows up at her treatment centre. The identity of this strange woman has mysterious connections to Thea's past sending them both on a visionary experience in the desert of New Mexico at a new age healing facility. The owners of this controversial facility use unconventional and illegal therapies to summon Thea's long buried traumas which connect her to the strange woman and the other guests partaking in the therapy. With dreams, rituals, and sacrifices intermingling with Thea's long buried secrets, she will find herself delving into the depths of her own psyche where the shocking truth of it all will be revealed.

The Last Session has all of the elements that I loved about The Writing Retreat, but in much larger doses. The mega twists and turns, the creepy locations, a bit of the supernatural, and the intricate plot. I also thought the author included more supernatural and unpredictable elements which I thought was slightly lacking in her first book. The story was complex and the imagery served as powerful metaphors for the human mind/psyche which heightened the unnerving atmosphere and untrustworthy characters. The overall concept was highly original, I have never read a story quite like it before. The descriptions created a visceral feeling and the heavy topics added to the suppressive quality in the story. The trigger warning included at the beginning of the book was necessary as some difficult topics are explored in the story which was brave on the author's part. The cultish healing practices and new age topics such as karma were all woven into an imaginative story that explored mental health in a way I have not read before. Thea was a fascinating main character with her inner struggles and traumatic past, humanizing her experience in a respectful and discerning way.

The story was incredibly suspenseful, an intense page turner that had a dark dazey vibe to it.

Seductive and suspenseful, The Last Session is one you don't want to miss.

3.5

Julia Bartz definitely writes compelling novels. Bartz did a ton of research for this book, and it really shows. I think why this was a like and not a love for me is that I just could not wrap my head around the cult’s ideologies (especially in regard to the main point, which I won’t mention as it could be a possible spoiler). Maybe this just means I won’t easily get lured into a cult because I will have difficulties comprehending their ideologies lol.


Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my review copy.

Rating: 😐/2
Review: I had to stop after about 60% in. This book is dark and gritty and I can’t stand any of the characters. The pacing is off too - it starts off strong and quick but part 2 moves so slow and gets so out there I just couldn’t go on. DARK. Cult. Has some Nine Perfect Strangers vibes.
Format: 👩🏻‍💻
Source: #netgalley

The Last Session by Julia Bartz was a book I had high hopes for. I really enjoyed Bartz' previous novel, The Writing Retreat, mostly for its madcap drama and insane plot twists. When I came to this book, I was expecting something similar, but right off the bat, I found myself a little confused by where we were and what I was expected to understand.

This book feels messier than The Writing Retreat, lost in its own convoluted dramas and plot twists. I was less excited to pick this one back up– unlike The Writing Retreat, where I finished it in one sitting. I was not as drawn to the characters or the world, and felt I didn't really understand any of the characters.

Beyond this, as someone who has experienced significant religious trauma in her lifetime, I felt often that the trauma of the main character was presented in a repetitive, melodramatic light. I would've enjoyed her exploration of guilty feelings and how her sexual abuse at the hands of two men altered how she experienced her life and sexuality more if it had felt genuine or nuanced in any way. In every scene it was presented, it was almost presented for the cheap melodrama of the moment, of the main character going "Here's why I'm so weird sexually now." I also don't know how I feel about those scenes being presented almost as sex scenes that are arousing and stimulating, though I recognize that is part of the intent. It was hard to differentiate between the character's opinions and the author's– the intention was not clear, and I think when you tackle a topic like this, you have to present things with nuance, while this kind of felt like every scene was a knock over the head that was telling me more than it was showing.

I do think Julia Bartz is a talented writer, and I will pick up her next one, but I don't feel this one was for me.

If you love a good, locked room thriller, this book will be right up your alley. It brings in multiple themes of cults, mental health care, childhood trauma and much more. There is a ton of twists and turns which I really enjoyed. the only downfall is there were times some things were just too farfetched to be believed. Even with those, I still really enjoyed this book and would recommend to my friends who enjoy a good thriller. Thanks NetGalley for allowing me to read early in exchange for my honest review.