I'm gonna preface this by saying I loved Julia's last book. The writing Retreat was bizarre but in such a good way. Because I enjoyed it so much, I was so excited to receive the ARC for this one.

This one had so much promise but it was such a letdown for me. This was one of the strangest, most confusing books I've ever read. I thought in the beginning that it was headed in one direction, but then whiplash set in because it quickly went into a whole different realm of weird. I don't even know how to properly rate this because I quite honestly, have no idea what i read. There was paranormal (?) aspects of it that had me completely in left field.

Altogether i LOVE Julia but this one was not for me. I will look for her next one though.

After reading her previous book, I jumped on this one so fast! The dark storyline was consistent with her previous book, but that is where the similarities end. The first quarter of the book was great, I enjoyed the lead-up to the retreat complete with mysterious characters and shocking plot twists, but once we got about halfway through, my interest was sadly gone. Some of the plot seemed far fetched along with a strong emphasis on sexual scenes and overly spiritualized scene. It just wasn't for me.

I will definitely give this author another chance as her first book was one of my favorites.

thank you NetGalley for this arc, all opinions are my own.

I do believe my library will purchase a copy of this simply because Bartz's debut was so popular (which is also why I requested a copy), but unfortunately I did not vibe with this at all. Disappointing.

So disappointing. For some reason, the author starts books out great, and then goes left so fast. She did the same thing with The Writing Retreat. I enjoyed that in the beginning, but the end...lordy! So unbelievable and just plain silly. Well, we get the same thing in The Last Session. I was initialy intrigued, but as soon as the MFC quits her job and goes to search for this missing patient I put the book down. NOBODY would do that. I think that I'm done picking up Julia Bartz. Maybe she needs some time to find her groove.

thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advance readers copy in exchange for my honest review. These thougbts are my own.

I loved the beginning. The middle made me tune out. The end went off the rails. I'll sum it up this way: what the heck did I just read?!! This book was a ride that's for sure.

Thea is a social worker at a hospital in New York when her favorite childhood actress shows up one day. Catherine has no memories of how she got there and soon mysteriously disappears again. Thea traces her to a spiritual retreat in New Mexico, and decides to go and make sure she is ok. She stumbles upon a cult (essentially) that believes in past lives. As she tries to get Catherine to leave, she finds out that she has been chosen to be part of it.

This one had peaks and valleys. It was a little slow to start, picked up once Thea gets to New Mexico, and then went back down. I was intrigued enough to want to finish it, but I felt like it could have had better ending. There were also some disappointing character 'twists' that seemed like they should have been huge shockers but I was just like oh well that's lame. At some point, another person revealed to be part of the cult isn't a twist.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for the ARC.

So this book...it started out so strongly for me! I loved the suspense and the idea of cults and whatnot, but it was honestly difficult to continue to read due to plot holes, the sense of logic and reality really slipping away from the story that was tough to follow, and I honestly just didn't enjoy reading a majority of the characters. It just felt like this story had no redemptive quality once it got to a certain point. Which is really unfortunate, because I LOVED Julia Bartz's first novel! It was so well done!

Anyway, I rated this 3 stars because when it was good, it was very good. But I just kept wanting to read something else, sadly.

I enjoyed 'The Last Session' by Julia Bartz very much. I knew what to expect from a Bartz novel after reading her debut 'The Writing Retreat,' for which I was significantly less prepared, but found myself thinking about long after finishing the story.

'The Last Session' is very much in the same vein, if anything, a little tamer than Bartz's debut. I thought the mental health setting and underlying assumptions added depth to the story (and at least a therapist in a book acknowledged they broke HIPAA, even if they still did break HIPAA...) I would expect nothing less from an author who is also a Clinical Social Worker.

Thank you to Julia Bartz and Atria Books for the ARC of 'The Last Session' in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Session by Julia Bartz
Rating: 2.5 stars (rounded up to 3)

The Last Session follows Thea, a social worker who recognizes a catatonic patient from her own traumatic past. When the woman suddenly disappears, Thea’s search takes her to a remote wellness retreat in the New Mexico desert. There, she’s drawn into a web of unsettling therapy, hidden agendas, and increasingly surreal revelations.

I went in blind, knowing only that this was a thriller—and at first, I was hooked. But what started as a psychological mystery quickly shifted into a cult thriller, then veered into deep sci-fi territory with heavy religious trauma layered in. Inspired by a 90s movie? I’m still not sure. The result was chaotic and confusing, and by the end, I felt more exhausted than satisfied.

I really wanted to love this, and the premise had so much promise. But ultimately, it unraveled into something that didn’t quite hold together.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a strange, wild ride that had some bizarre twists and turns. I'm still not sure how I felt about it.

I had a little bit of a tough time with this story.

Thea works in a psychiatric unit when an actress she loved as a child is admitted. When the actress disappears with people claiming to be her parents, Thea looks for clues and goes after her in a cult in the desert. The rest of the story is Thea's experience at this retreat with the cult, uncovering what's going on.

My problem was that from the very beginning, I couldn't grasp why Thea felt she needed to leave her job and go save this woman she met in passing. It just didn't entirely make sense.

The book moved pretty slowly, and the end got a little crazy with hallucinations and made it hard to follow how it ended.

Overall, it just wasn't really for me.

This book was so unhinged and so much fun! Certainly not the most realistic book and also makes you so frustrated at the decisions of the main character, but definitely had a blast reading this and couldn’t put it down! I’ve really enjoyed both of Julia Bartz’ books so I can’t wait for the next one! :)

After enjoying The Writing Retreat by this author I was very intrigued to try their next work, but honestly this one fell a bit…flat? This is quite a slow book with a lot of set up before we get to the retreat, which I was still interested in. As the book progressed however I found myself caring less and less about the characters themselves and my brain was stuck on the fact that characters were making illogical choices. Given the cult-like vibe the retreat immediately gives off, I could understand some of the motivations and actions individuals displayed but expected more criticism and questioning from the main character Thea.

Overall this felt like a cool premise that spun wildly out of control before ending where I expected it to. Still interested in trying future books from this author.

This was weird and wild as hell, and I loved my time with it. After loving the wild ride that was The Writing Retreat by this author, I had a feeling I was in for a weird ride with this one and I was so right. If you enjoy thrillers with unreliable narrators, a creepy cult, and the questioning of reincarnation - definitely give this a read. Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for my early copy!

Thanks to NetGalley & Atria Books for the chance to read this book.

This was a great fast paced read, Very weird at times but I like Cult books so I stuck with it, There is a lot going on in this book so make sure to pay close attention to characters and detail. Was good kept me entertained but at times ran on a little long with repeated details. Def good writing though.

Well… that was a *ride.* I had no idea where this book was going, and honestly, I’m still not sure how I feel about where it ended up.

The Last Session follows a social worker who attends a relationship retreat, not for self improvement, but to dig into the past of a former patient and a celebrity figure who has gone missing. What unfolds is a slow burn descent into a cult with delusions, shared psychotic disorder, and some seriously intense themes.

Julia Bartz doesn’t shy away from dark, complex topics, so if you go into this one, make sure your expectations are set accordingly. While the premise was intriguing, the pacing dragged at times, and I found myself more confused than captivated. If you love cult heavy psychological stories with an unpredictable edge, this might work for you. 2.5⭐️

What a WILD and fast ride! Thoroughly enjoyed!

Thea is a social worker and one day a blast from her past comes in as a patient. Confused and bewildered she wonders what is going on. The patient comes out of her catatonic state only to give Thea puzzle pieces as answers. And then she’s checked out of the center by people that are supposedly her parents. But they aren’t. So Thea follows her to a remote “therapeutic” place in New Mexico and that’s where things go bonkers! Her life becomes threatened along with her past life…

This story was SO good. It kept me turning the pages and thinking. It was the perfect psychological thriller mixed with past life regressions and it turned out to be a wild ride. Highly recommend! 4️⃣⭐️❗️

This one left me utterly confused. I thoroughly enjoyed Bartz’s last book, The Writing Retreat, but this one was just….weird.

I enjoyed the first half of the book much more than the second half. The main character, Thea, is a social worker, and when she had a new patient who looks oddly similar to herself, things suddenly take a turn.

This one will definitely mess with your brain, I know my mind was spinning for awhile after finishing this one, but not in a good way. It is super dark, so be aware of that.

While this wasn’t my favorite book, I have seen many positive reviews of this one, so if the summary interests you, obv give it a try!

I went into THE LAST SESSION by Julia Bartz with high expectations after really enjoying The Writing Retreat (which was unhinged in the most entertaining way). Unfortunately, The Last Session didn’t quite deliver. It starts off super strong with culty vibes and reincarnation intrigue but the more it tried to juggle, the less invested I became.

There were just too many ideas competing and the pacing dragged toward the end. What really did me in was the repetition which really dulled the tension and left me feeling restless as we reached the finale. I usually love an unhinged, over-the-top storyline but this one just didn't stick for me. Overall, this had a solid premise with a great hook, but it lost its footing towards the end. Bummed I didn’t love it more.

Rating 2.5 stars (rounded up to 3)

Amazing thriller, this was very good and gave me the vibes of Ward D.

An amazing thriller to recommend for 2025.