4.25 stars -thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy!

After reading - and loving - Julia Bartz's first novel 'The Writing Retreat' this was highly anticipated for me! While I didn't love this one as much as TWR, I still really enjoyed it and was hooked, especially by the isolated retreat center setting. With a lot of congestion in the thriller genre right now, I appreciate Bartz's ability to give us something different in her novels, with lots of surprises about what's coming next and an ability to avoid common tropes and themes.

I can't wait to hopefully pick up another Bartz thriller in the future!

I really enjoyed the author's previous novel, The Writing Retreat, so I was excited to begin this one. The book started out strong and was easy to get into but unfortunately, I felt like it became a bit overcomplicated and hard to follow. I did finish it but it took some work.

This was so meh. I was medium on the writing retreat, and this teaches me, that unfortunately Julia bartz is not for me.

What a WILD RIDE. I was hooked from the beginning and read this in 2 days. Bartz's second novel was as crazy as the first, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for an arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Session was one of my most anticipated books of 2025 because I really enjoyed the author's debut novel, The Writing Retreat.

This book follows Thea, a social worker, who is met with a bit of a mystery when a silent patient is admitted to the public hospital where she works. It turns out that the Jane Doe is actually a child star that Thea was obsessed with growing up, who also strongly resembles her physically and they share a birthday. This leads her to follow the star to a remote retreat after a series of perceived clues are left behind by who we now know is Catherine.

I found the first half of this book to be very intriguing. Bartz clearly has a lot of knowledge around mental health and the system, which does shine through in her writing, but got to be a little tedious and convenient later on when Thea became a walking DSM-5. Even though she was able to correctly identify all the tactics Moon and Sol, the retreat gurus, were using to control the group, Thea insisted on staying because of her parasocial relationship with Catherine, who she is trying to rescue.

Thea as a main character was very frustrating to follow, so I found it difficult to root for her, but I'm sure that was done intentionally. A lot of the elements that I liked were similar to The Writing Retreat, but I found this book really dragged at parts and was a bit repetitive. I would still recommend this book, but check the content warnings, as it does touch on some heavy topics.

Thank you to Atria Books & NetGalley for this digital ARC - it was so fun to read! What originally drew me into this novel was the fact that the protagonist is a therapist/mental health counselor like me! It was dark, moody, suspensful, but rather heavy - lots of trigger warnings here. What starts out as a interesting mystery ends up gearing more towards the implausible - some of the plot twists you really have to buy into as the reader. Overall it was good, not great. If you like weird thrillers, this is right up your alley.

I was so excited when I saw that Julia Bartz’s newest book was on Netgalley, I jumped to request it!

I went into this one expecting all the mysterious and creepy vibes I got from The Writing Retreat. I fear I set my expectations too high 😅

Though the story and characters were well thought out, I just didn’t find myself loving this one. It definitely is unique and very complicated- I just wish it had more of a spooky element!

Thank you for the ARC copy.

I have read this author before and liked her. This book had a lot going on. Some of the storyline I liked. But other parts felt forced or over the top. Some of the themes were darker than I would have liked. Overall I did not love this book. Similar to White lotus but too much happening.

TW: Sexual assault, grooming (by a religious figure), religious abuse, cults, alcohol abuse, bullying

This book started out so interesting - you have a woman, Thea, who's a therapist at an in-patient psychiatric unit. A patient shows up in a catatonic state. Thea recognizes this woman as Catherine, a child actress who Thea was obsessed with. Catherine starts to regain lucidity and Thea starts to think that Catherine is trying to tell her something and that they're somehow connected.

Catherine leaves the psychiatric unit and Thea missed saying goodbye (since she was hung over). Thea finds a note about a podcast and ...... goes from New York to New Mexico since she thinks Catherine wants her to. Like you do.

That ties into my first issue with this book. Thea is not mentally in a good place. Another reviewer put that if we found out that Thea was a patient, vs a therapist, it would make total sense with her behaviors. I know that just because someone's a mental health professional doesn't mean they have everything together, but Thea was a complete mess. We find out that it's partially due to sexual trauma from her youth. She was groomed by her religious leader and then her first sexual experience was icky with her bully (it wasn't rape). Understandably, those have messed her up. She's tried to work on them with a therapist in the past but after that therapist moved away, she sort of gave up.

Thea goes to a "it's not a cult" cult in New Mexico for a weekend workshop on addressing their issues with personal relationships since she thinks that's where Catherine wants her to be. The workshop is led by Sol and Moon, the charismatic "it's just people living together and helping each other, not a cult" cult leaders. It turns out this is closer to a sex and love workshop weekend.

At this point, the book was dragging for me. I was trying to keep an open and interested mind (and Thea could use more therapy so I kept hoping that maybe this would actually help her (while recognizing that it's not that type of happy book)).

Then past lives come up, since Sol and Moon are saying that everything they're carrying is due to past life decision and trauma. And how the people at the "everyone must think the same as Moon but it's not a cult" cult travel together in their past lives.

The book got so weird and not in a good way. Each new element that got added had me rolling my eyes. I know that having the cult element in there automatically increases the weirdness but it was too much for me. I had to continually suspect my disbelief and it was too much. The final outcomes didn't tie everything together for me. I enjoyed her first book, but was not a fan of this one.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this advance review copy.

And I thought The Clinic was banagrambonkers.

This books surpasses that, is like a telenovela mixed with Many Lives Many Masters. All this in a weekend? I still don't have any idea what really happened, what was real, what was a hallucination, group think. Anyway, I finished it and if I ever reread I'm doing it in a yurt with some shrooms.

Btw if the author breaks out the genres, Id still read it. Speculative fiction or straight sci fi bc the writing was compelling.

2.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Julia Bartz and Atria books for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

The writing retreat was my first five star read of 2024, but unfortunately this one wasn’t quite the same vibes for me. I did enjoy the twists and the characters, but I did find I was a bit bored until 30-35% through the novel. The twists and especially that ending was stellar, but just more difficult to get into.

3⭐️

When Thea meets the catatonic woman who arrives at the psych ward where Thea works, she's immediately curious about the woman. After the woman comes to and leaves the ward, Thea follows her to a retreat in New Mexico to learn more about her. The retreat is ran by a charismatic could for people with romantic and sexual issues. As the retreat goes on, Thea starts to wonder if they were the reason the woman's mind broke.

I was really excited about this because it had two things I usually love in thrillers: a psych ward and an escape from a cult. But after a while I think this asked for me to suspend my belief too much for me to keep my interest. I mean, I'm pretty sure following your patient after their discharge is a HIPAA violation? If not that, it's definitely not ethical. The pacing was also kind of odd; the first half went pretty quick but once they arrived at the retreat the pacing was all over the place.

I did really like the way this addressed things like religious trauma and self discovery. And even though it absolutely infuriated me, I did enjoy watching Thea have absolutely no survival skills. The number of times she was caught off guard when the cult acted like, you know, a cult? It was wild that she was so unprepared for anything that happened.

Thanks Netgalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for providing this ARC to me!

For the first half of the book I was fully invested and it was such a wild ride! As the book progressed it seem to get a little ridiculous, but I pushed on. I feel like the pacing of the 2nd half of the book was a little off to me and that's where the problem was, overall it was still a decent interesting book

I started out speed reading through this, loving every second. And then, it kind of went off the rails. I love a good surprise but, this almost went too deep into the weird brainwash experiences. I think if it didn’t all link to Stargirl, it might not have seemed so forced.

I really loved The Writing Retreat but, unfortunately this one wasn’t my favorite.

I enjoyed about the first 40% of this book. It was enough to keep me reading to want to know more about what was happening and what had happened to our main characters, Thea & Catherine.

I felt like this book had promise but then veered off the rails. It just wasn’t my “cup of tea” so to speak.

I don’t want to give any spoilers. I’ll say that I felt like the blurb on the book was not what I was reading.

Thank you for the ARC. I had to push myself a few times to finish the book. I thought I would love it. It lost me with the strange connection between Thea and Catherine. Just didn't really make sense to me. The cult was interesting but just was ok.

The first few pages hinted at a wild ride and this book didn't disappoint. However, it turned out to be a ride that wished I had not gotten on. Thea, a social worker, instantly pulled me in with secrets in her past. When a patient came into the hospital where she worked, refusing or unable to talk, but looking familiar to Thea, I was invested to solve this mystery. When the patient disappeared, I desperately wanted answers and for her to be found. The characters were developed well, there was enough intrigue to keep you wanting to know and locked into finding answers. Why did Thea recognize her? Where did she go? How are they connected? Who are all these mysterious characters that aren't who they say they are? But then, for me, the ride derailed. Thrown into a storyline of past lives, orgies, and scenarios too wild to relate with. I just wanted for the ride to be over. That said, the story and characters are well written and interesting enough to keep you peeking through your fingertips.

The Last Session by Julia Bratz is a beautifully crafted and emotionally resonant novel that captures the complexity of human relationships and the power of healing. The story revolves around a pivotal final therapy session, where the characters confront their deepest fears, unresolved conflicts, and hidden truths. Bratz’s writing is sharp yet compassionate, drawing readers into the raw emotional landscape of her characters' lives.

What stands out is Bratz's ability to create multidimensional characters who feel authentic and relatable. The dialogue is natural and poignant, and the themes of self-discovery, vulnerability, and the challenges of change are handled with grace and depth. The book manages to balance moments of introspection with those of tender connection, making it both thought-provoking and heartwarming.

The Last Session is an insightful exploration of the human experience, offering both catharsis and hope. It’s a must-read for anyone who enjoys novels that delve into the intricacies of personal growth and emotional resilience.

Never at any point did I have an idea what was coming next and honestly, that made this book amazing. Books can get stuck in repetitive themes and tropes, but this story was 100 percent batshit crazy and 100 percent fresh. I had so much fun reading this story and escaping into Theas personal hell.

this one was a bit like some other thriller authors for me, they are entertaining enough and the twist is either fun or gives me a good chuckle in a “gotcha” moment but theres just something missing. with this one i couldnt quite really pinpoint what that something is, maybe its an over all believability of whats occurring?

it was hard to take seriously at some points but overall i did enjoy my time reading it and i look forward to picking up something else by julia in the future!