4 stars

A twisty, thrilling, terrifying cult story that starts with a young woman found wandering the streets in NYC who is brought to a mental hospital as a Jane Doe. She is seen by a new therapist, Thea, who knows this woman from somewhere. When she realizes this is the star of her favorite movie from her adolescence, Thea is drawn to save Catherine and she travels all the way to a "relationship retreat" in New Mexico to do so.

This book is similar to pacing and structure to the author's debut novel, The Writing Retreat, which I really enjoyed. Things start out very relatable and just get crazier as the story progresses. You definitely need to suspend your disbelief by Parts 3 and 4, but if you can manage it, you're in for a ride.

I enjoyed the characters and the New Mexico setting. The author did a good job setting the scene and it definitely felt like we were in the Land of Enchantment. The cult aspects were well done as well, in my opinion. I liked that things started out innocently, with the podcast and therapy aspects of the group, really showing how average people just looking for self improvement could get caught up in a scary situation like a cult. The intenstity ramped up at a decent pace, although I will admit that this could have been shorter.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this thriller to anyone who read and enjoyed the author's last work, who enjoy a good cult thriller, and who are looking for a page turning good time.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a decent thriller but some of the things that happen were a little over the top. It was a good thriller but not as much of a hook as her first book.

Bartz is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and The Last Session is just another example of why. Her books are the perfect modern mystery and this one definitely fits the bill. I was a little lost when it came to the ending to be completely honest, but I appreciated the fact that the storyline wasn’t too predictable and came with an unexpected twist.

Julia…. Babe.
Okay. Whew. This book was so strong in the beginning and had SUCH A GOOD PREMISE. Somewhere along the way It lost some steam. Coming off of The Writing Retreat, I had extremely high hopes. I mostly enjoyed this, but I can’t fully recommend it to a wide audience.
As always, thank you for the opportunity to read this early.

The Last Session was a compelling book. I’ve always enjoyed stories that explore the dynamics of cults, and this one delivered. The premise was intriguing, though I occasionally found the reincarnation themes a bit tedious. The main character’s backstory was well-written—I often felt frustrated with her choices, but her history made them understandable. While the book did get a little wordy at times, I found it enjoyable overall!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I don’t really know what to say about this book. It was just WEIRD and wasn’t really my vibe. I love her last book, The Writing Retreat, so I was excited to read this thinking it would be more like a thriller vibe. This was more just trippy and cultish and strange.

I kept reading just because I wanted to see where it would end up and I found myself disappointed.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for this advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book started out strong for me. Social worker tries to save patient from a cult. The mystery and suspense was well built. The characters in the beginning and middle were engaging and dynamic. The plot twist in the middle really threw me as well.

The last 30% didn’t resonate as well with me. Themes fell flat, new things were introduced and not established. The reincarnation thing with Thea felt like it was thrown in. It felt rushed and disjointed.

Thank you NetGalley, Julia Bartz and Atria Books for the ARC!

Umm...what did I just read??

I was so excited to get my hands on this ARC after really enjoying the author's debut, The Writing Retreat. This starts off strong; I was intrigued in part one with the psychiatric hospital. Then we get to part two and things just went off the rails. Don't get me wrong, I love a remote-retreat-cult story but this just went over my head like a fever dream. Reincarnation, caves, deserts and a movie that connects them all...this was just BIZARRE AND CHAOTIC. I can see this as one of those mindf*ck series and it would make for some interesting conversation.

I enjoyed The Last Session somewhat but can’t say I would recommend it to just anyone. The cult aspect was not something I really liked.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read this book!

Unfortunately, I really didn’t enjoy the book. While the beginning did draw me in and I believed it could be an enjoyable mystery, it seemed to take a turn into something else. Something a bit bizarre and illogical for me.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity however.

I disliked her first book, The Writing Retreat but decided to give her another chance. Although a lot of the elements were similar, I enjoyed this one a bit more and maybe that is because I was expecting what I was reading..... The story was just as chaotic but I am always intrigued by cults. The main character was also not very likable, which makes the story a bit harder to want to finish but overall it was fine. better than the writing retreat but not sure if I will read any more by Julia Bartz...i might

This book was just all over the place. I wasn't a fan of the writing style from the first chapter. Maybe I am just tired of reading cult books. I don't know, it just got weird. 2.5 stars.

While I did enjoy the book, there were several times I questioned whether something like that would happen (speaking more about human behavior and work in the mental health field). As with all works of fiction, though, the rules of the real world bend to the story. And the story is a good one about the connection we feel with others, and the way the mind can break, and how one can become a member of a cult without realizing that is what is happening at the time. Cult mentality is depicted well from the standpoints of the leaders, followers and those outside the circle. For a while, there was a little too much woo-woo spirituality for me, but you probably have this as a base in all cults. All in all, the book was very interesting despite not being my usual cup of tea.

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books for this ARC for review. I really enjoyed Julia Bartz’s last book, the Writing Retreat, so when I saw the author had another thriller coming out I was excited to get the chance to read it. This is a solid thriller with some twists and turns and the story definitely went in a direction that I was not expecting which is good when you read as much as I do so it wasn’t your run of the mill scenario. Thea is a social worker and a catatonic woman is brought into the psychiatric facility where she works. Thea swears she knows her from somewhere and is determined to connect with her and find out who is she. As Thea figures out who she is, the patient is suddenly gone from the facility and Thea is dragged into a situation she may not be prepared for and is definitely not safe. This book kept my attention as I had to know where it was going.

Sadly I was not a fan of this book. I got bored halfway through and just didnt capture my attention as the last book by this author did. Hopefully others will enjoy it more then me.

2.5* Rounding Up

The Last Session follows Thea as she comes across a person that she swears she remembers from her past - but how? From there, you follow Thea on a wild ride through a retreat in New Mexico that turns out to be more than she anticipated.

After loving this author’s previous book, I couldn’t wait to dive into this one. The first half of the book had me in a chokehold, and I love the way Bartz isn’t afraid to get unhinged. I can honestly say I’ve never read anything like this before.

Unfortunately, the second half of the book kind of lost me. Things seemed a little too far fetched and pulled me out of the story. I also think this could have benefitted from being about 50 pages shorter.

I will read anything that Julia Bartz writes, and I am beyond thankful to her, the publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I wish I could say that I loved this but the truth is, I really struggled with this story. At times it's stilted, the storyline goes in every direction imaginable, and honestly felt chaotic. It truly was bizarre and not in a cool way were it helps the story but instead leaves you scratching your head wondering which crazy direction this is going to go next. With very little in character growth or likeability. Needless to say, this story just sadly wasn't for me.

This story had me hooked in the weirdest way possible! Any story that involves retreats, therapists, and a suspicious cult-like group- count. me. in! There were a few things that made me slightly cringe such as the film our main character, Thea, loved so much and mentioned one too many times to me, Thea becoming so obsessed with her patient that she would follow her to a retreat, the wacky beliefs that the retreat was based on, and an intimate scene that involved several of the retreats leaders and the main character. However, the writing was fast-paced and held me captive throughout the book. There were some plot twists that I did not see coming and made my jaw drop. The characters were so strange in the most interesting way. It was a wild ride that I'm glad I enjoyed from the comfort of my own bed and not one of the retreats!

I really struggled to get into this book. I was put off in the first few pages because if how it was written.

I really enjoyed the last book I read of Julia Bartz, but “The Last Session” kind of jumped the shark. There were so many situations that were utterly preposterous and the ending was extremely rushed. I will try her books again though.