the beginning of this book pulled me in, and i wanted to know more about thea and catherine. everything went downhill in mexico, though. i enjoy a book with some good twists, but “the last session” was too chaotic. there was a lot that did not add up even when i tried to make sense of it. however, thank you to netgalley/the author for this ARC!

This book was good but not as good as the writing retreat, which had me on the edge of my chair. The main character is a therapist who is trying to help a catatonic patient. When the woman wakes up, the therapist believes she is the star of her favorite movie when she was a teenager. The beginning of this novel was good, but then the author starts dipping into cultish territory, and unbelievable events. Some of it seems too fantastic to be believable. I was a little bit disappointed after reading the writing retreat, but it was still an OK read. Thank you, NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

Talk about a rollercoaster—this had me on edge from start to finish, and I loved every second of it. The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife, and just when I thought I had things figured out, it threw me for another loop. I usually pride myself on spotting twists early, but this one kept me guessing the entire time. Once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down—seriously, clear your schedule. If you’re looking for a thriller that messes with your head in the best way possible, this is it.

This was a suspenseful thriller. I didn’t fly through the pages like I normally do with a thriller but it was mostly because the suspense got scary in places and I had to put it down. I loved the almost supernatural elements that crept in.

Social worker Thea is shocked to find a catatonic Jane Doe show up at her psychiatric unit that happens to look very much like herself. When she finds out that she is her favorite teen star, she would do anything to make her better. Upon her release, Thea's concern for her grows and she follows her trail to a wellness retreat in New Mexico. As Thea gets closer to finding her patient, she also learns strange things about her own traumatic past through the intense, unethical exercises she has to do. Will she be able to survive the last session?

I loved this story. The wellness center was very mysterious and creepy. I enjoyed learning the history and connections between everyone that was at the center. There were a few sexual encounters that may be uncomfortable for some readers. There is also some religious trauma as well.

While I liked the direction this book took, I wish that there the ending was made more black and white.

Thanks to Netgalley & Atria Books for the E-ARC! Really enjoyed! Very fast-paced & very interesting setting. Had me keep turning the page. Will definitely read more from this author.

The introduction to this story is so intense and gripping but it unfortunately fell flat for me in the end. When the talk of cults was introduced it seemed interesting at first but I quickly got bored and confused. This was a tough one for me to get through but I did appreciate the short chapters.

This took me a while to get into because it started a bit slow for me. Some of the topics that were explored throughout the book were a bit much and I wasn’t expecting it at all. Maybe I missed the trigger warnings. But once it picked up I was about to enjoy it. I wanted more from the ending as well.

Julia Bartz writes another page-turning thriller with The Last Session, about what happens when healing is left in the wrong hands. Five glorious stars for this thriller which I absolutely inhaled! Recommend for fans of Julia Bartz' first thriller—The Writing Retreat—or fans of fast-paced, action-packed psychological thrillers like Ruth Ware or Alice Feeney. Can't wait to read whatever she writes next!

I loved The Writing Retreat. So, I jumped at the chance to read The Last Session. I did like this book, but I didn't love it. I can't quite put a finger on why. The writing is solid. It just felt like something wasn't fully formed here, to me, at least.

Cults happen. People join them. I find real life and fictional cults interesting, but I think this one needed a little more grounding. A lot of what happened was never fully flushed out or explained. So, this requires a ton of belief suspension.

Still, I think thriller readers will enjoy the book and I will read whatever Julia Bartz comes up with next.

The Last Session - A Thriller That Gets Under Your Skin

Julia Bartz's new thriller starts with a bang. A social worker named Thea spots a mysterious patient who seems familiar. This leads her to a wellness center in New Mexico, where something's very wrong.

Bartz, a former therapist, knows her stuff. She writes about mental health and healing with the confidence of someone who's been there, but she never lets the details slow down the story. The book races forward, dropping clues like breadcrumbs, each one darker than the last.

The wellness center feels perfect for a thriller - all peaceful on the surface, but underneath? That's where the story gets interesting. Thea's a great main character, smart enough to spot trouble but damaged enough to walk right into it.

Sure, it takes a few chapters to get going, but once it does, you won't put it down. If you like thrillers that make you think while they keep you up at night, this one's for you.

4.5/5 stars

This book wasn't quite what I expected, and I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not. There were darker issues than I expected to find, and I think this could have benefited from some trigger warnings in the description. Sadly, the pace was also an issue. It dragged, Which made it hard for me to stay engaged or care about the outcome. Then there were some parts that just had me rolling my eyes. I'm okay with suspending disbelief, but it was a bit too much for this one. The ending was disappointing, as there were too many things left undone.

Possible Trigger Warnings: sexual assault, cults, religious abuse, bullying, and alcohol abuse

This one is so hard to review because I wanted to love it so much. I really love Julia Bartz writing. I was a huge fan of her previous book The Writing Retreat that’s why I was so excited for The Last Session. Unfortunately this one just didn’t work for me.

The book is split up into four parts and honestly so much of it felt so disconnected to me. I really enjoyed the second part but then we got into the third part and that’s where the book lost me completely. It felt so unbelievably it was hard to stay in the story. I understand this books deals with cults and I get what the author was trying to do it just didn’t work for me.

I did enjoy the main character Thea. I also really liked how well the author wrote the retreat and the atmosphere it was able to put off to the reader. I could feel the dryness of the desert when reading some of the descriptions. I really enjoyed that in a book.

Overall I feel a bit let down but maybe that’s just because of my own taste. I do feel like people who are obsessed with cult books would really enjoy this one. I would definitely still recommend it because I do really enjoy this authors writing. The Last Session just didn’t work for me.
2/5 Stars

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for my honest review.

This locked-room thriller by the bestselling author of The Writing Retreat is a taut and unrelenting psychological puzzle that will keep readers hooked from its eerie beginning to its jaw-dropping conclusion. Set against the haunting backdrop of a remote New Mexico desert, the novel deftly explores themes of trauma, trust, and the darker side of human connection.

The story follows Thea, a determined social worker who finds herself drawn into a sinister web after a catatonic patient with ties to her past vanishes. Thea’s journey to uncover the truth leads her to a mysterious wellness retreat, where the unconventional and increasingly disturbing exercises blur the line between healing and manipulation. As Thea navigates the retreat’s intimate and unsettling demands, the narrative becomes a compelling mix of psychological tension and suspenseful unraveling.

The author’s greatest strength lies in their ability to build atmosphere. The isolation of the desert and the oppressive, cult-like environment of the retreat mirror Thea’s internal struggle, heightening the suspense. The exercises she endures are unsettling yet fascinating, forcing both Thea and the reader to confront uncomfortable truths about vulnerability and power.

Thea is a compelling protagonist—flawed but fiercely determined. Her journey is as much about confronting her own traumatic past as it is about finding the missing patient. The secondary characters, particularly the enigmatic leaders of the retreat, are intriguingly layered, adding to the novel’s pervasive sense of unease.

While the twists are satisfying and the pacing relentless, a few plot threads feel underdeveloped, leaving questions lingering after the final page. However, the gripping narrative and the exploration of trauma and resilience more than make up for these minor shortcomings.

This novel is perfect for fans of psychological thrillers like Verity or The Last House on Needless Street. With its chilling setting, complex characters, and razor-sharp tension, it’s a dark and captivating read that will linger in your mind long after you’ve closed the book.

I really enjoyed this book. I was a big fan of the author's previous novel The Writing Retreat and was really looking forward to this one.

This is much different than her debut novel. In The Last Session, we explored cults and how some people are easily affected by them as well as Bartz's dive into the paranormal.

I enjoyed the twists and the unreliable characters. I liked how no one seems to be who they are. However, I knocked a star because the ending felt rushed, and the big plot point seemed a little too far-fetched.

I'm looking forward to this book being published.

I can't recommend this book enough! The Last Session by Julia Bartz is a great read that you're going to want to add to your TBR pile! I'll be looking for more of her books!

This book grabs you pretty instantly - we meet Thea, a worker at a psychiatric hospital, who encounters a catatonic patient she feels an inexplicable connection to. She blames herself -- or, at least, feels responsibility -- when the patient is impossibly "picked up by her parents" and discharged. Following a hunch that the patient is likely at a cult-like retreat, Thea decides to enroll for the retreat and go look for her.

There's a lot to like about this book. It's very tense; you're constantly wondering what exactly is going on here. It's a lot of fun, with the weird cult-isms. That being said, it's strangely paced (the ending feels rushed, while IMO it dwells too long on the plot of a fantasy movie that the patient acted in, and which is not my cup of tea at all). Still, it was a good, reliable thriller that I read quickly.

Thea is a therapist in a psychiatric unit, and one day, a famous actress, Catherine—whom Thea admired as a child—arrives in a catatonic state. Shortly after Catherine’s admission, she is taken from the unit by people claiming to be her parents. Determined to uncover the truth, Thea follows Catherine to a cult-like retreat in New Mexico, hoping to learn who took Catherine and why.

I’m honestly surprised I finished this book. The beginning was engaging, and I was eager to uncover the mystery behind Catherine’s sudden appearance and disappearance. When the story shifted to the retreat, my interest deepened as I find cults fascinating. However, as the narrative progressed, things became increasingly bizarre. The constant references to Stargirl, the movie Catherine starred in, felt excessive. Despite my growing disinterest, I kept reading in the hope that the ending would redeem the story, but unfortunately, it didn’t.

I’m also confused by the title of the book. Does it refer to Catherine’s last therapy session? Or is it about Thea’s?

2.5 stars

Thea is a social worker in New York City, working in a psychiatric facility. She is content to continue leading art therapy until a similar looking star lands herself at the same facility. Concerned, Thea makes it her business to make sure that Catherine is safe, even if it comes at the cost of Thea’s life.

I had so many odd problems with this novel. About 10% of the way through I found myself asking “where could we even go from here?”. I thought the pacing was weird so I thought the book was nearly over at different points. I don’t mind a thriller/mystery that keeps me guessing, but I feel like there should be some kind of inclination that the book will continue. At times I felt like the author couldn’t decide what genre she was in. Was it horror? Mystery? Thriller? Sci-Fi? Along with her seemingly flipping genres she couldn’t stick with her themes. There are overtones of religious trauma, bullying, sexual abuse, mental health, cults, etc and then we get this giant loop of other-worldliness from the alien/reincarnation angle. While I saw what the point was supposed to be I put this book down several times because I had to really push myself to stick with the author. I think so much of this could have been so good if the author wasn't trying to accomplish everything and the kitchen sink all in one go.

Once I sat down and really thought about the novel I realized I kind of enjoyed it, but while I was reading I kept huffing at the fact that I needed to finish it.

I LOVED Julia Bartz' The Writing Retreat, so I was predisposed to like The Last Session and I am pleased to report Bartz has done it again.

This book, plainly, slaps. Our main character, Thea, is a sexually repressed social worker who loves art therapy. We learn quickly that she was groomed by a pastor in her youth and that less than subtle relationship was sexually exploited by a boy her age who treated her horribly and now she has to think about that entire situation to climax. Rough!

Thea's newest patient is a mysterious Jane Doe who bears a striking resemblance to her striking resemblance - big doe eyes and fiery curls. It turns out this Jane Doe is the actress who starred in Thea's favorite preteen movie (I won't spoil it as it's described perfectly in the book, but it's nuts). They have the same birthday and their similarities don't stop there. Thea is connected to this patient - Catherine - and takes swift action when she's picked up from Thea's psych ward by people claiming to be her patients, only for her actual patients to show up mere hours later.

Thea's investigation - which is objectively insane - takes us to the New Mexico desert to the Center for Relational Healing (CRH), an absolute cult. The center is all about healing past relationship trauma which makes sense for Thea but has a darker underbelly. It's giving NXIVM meets the Landmark Forum and it has taken all of Catherine's child actor fortune.

Moon and Sol - the leaders of the CRH - are enigmatic, absurd people. Bartz has a particular knack for painting big personality characters who draw you in quick and dig their claws in deep and these two are no exception. They're whip smart and cut Thea off at the knees every chance they get - she's there for a reason and they're going to ensure their plans come to fruition.

The Last Session is bonkers from start to finish and I loved it so much I briefly considered going back to grad school to become a therapist and I can't recommend it enough. I am begging Julia Bartz to write her next novel as fast as she can.