This was an interesting read. I liked most of it but some of the past life stuff got a little too woo woo and strange for my personal taste. The ending was a little bit of a bummer but it did feel like a good way / place for the story to end. Definitely interested to see what direction this author goes next!

This was a WILD ride. I'm not always the biggest cult enthusiast, but these people are completely nutty and I was captivated. I think if I enjoyed reading about cults then it would be a 5 star read, I just cannot take these people seriously and would have fled much sooner. Though, I think the author did a fantastic job setting up the scene and depicting the emotions that I could absolutely feel why each person got swept away. Something about the writing plus the audiobook did make it a powerful immersive experience. I also enjoyed watching the MC who is a total skeptic also start to be swayed. I do think the end was a bit too cat and mouse for me (and in a slightly repetitive way). But overall totally wild and enjoyable.

The Last Session is a cult-y novel and while the premise was good and intriguing, the execution fell flat. I was all in at first when the FMC Thea tries to help a battered woman. But when the woman disappears, Thea is convinced there's more to her story so she follows her to a ranch in Arizona. That's where the book goes off the rails...orgies, caves, reincarnation and then a movie? Where did this go wrong?

I am speechless. I have no clue how I felt about this book other than I didn’t like it. I didn’t believe anything or liked it. I loved the authors other book but this one was not my favorite. I’m surprised that this book wasn’t chosen for Reece Witherspoon’s Book Club but it was unbelievable and outrageous.

The Last Session by Julia Bartz features dedicated social worker Thea. One day, a catatonic patient is committed to the institute and the similarity of her appearance to Thea is noticed. Thea starts to make progress with this woman, only to have her abruptly leave the institute—with some perhaps sketchy individuals. Thea hasn’t been able to forget the patient and her…obsession…for figuring out what happened takes her to a retreat in New Mexico—complete with its own secrets. The more she uncovers, the more Thea realizes her own past may have a tie to her patient and the goings on at this retreat.

This was one unhinged book! It includes mystery, horror, the paranormal, cults, stalkers (kind of), and so much more. I never knew where this story might be heading, which kept my interest the whole time. Overall, I didn't care for the actual storyline very much and found the ending to be mediocre, but the writing was strong. Given that I enjoyed The Writing Retreat, I will certainly read more from Julia Bartz..

Mysterious catatonic woman? ✅
Strange connection between the main character & mystery woman? ✅
Wellness retreat that might be a cult? ✅

The Last Session has a new vibe for Bartz compared to debut The Writing Retreat and I’m totally here for it! I loved how dark and strange this book got. With a massive nod to cults that have fascinated the world, this book somehow manages to both make readers suspend their belief and yet feel very realistic at times.

I think there’s a bit of a disjointed feel between the beginning of the story where readers are getting to know Thea compared to the bulk to the story surrounding the events of New Mexico. I chalked this up to Bartz wanting the reader to bond with Thea early on and give context to why she would suddenly go to an isolated retreat in New Mexico she knew nothing about days prior.

What really sealed my enjoyment of this novel was the way Bartz explored personal trauma and the decisions that it can lead to in our lives, which in this case manifests in being lured in to join a cult-like group. Not only do readers get to experience this through our main character, Thea, but Bartz wisely chooses to explore how other members ended up in the desert of New Mexico.

Bartz is 100% an auto-buy author for me and I look forward to what she’ll dream up for readers next!

The description of The Last Session had me intrigued. A therapist's search for answers leads her to a controversial retreat. As I love any book involving cults, I thought it would be a great read. Unfortunately this book let me down in execution. I found the book difficult to engage with and was happy when it was finally over.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really loved Julia Bartz’s debut novel, so I was really excited to get my hands on an early copy of this. However, this did not
live up to it. In The Last Session, a therapist, Thea, attends a hippie-vibes cult wellness retreat ran by two folks going by Moon and Sol (Spanish for Sun) after caring for a mysterious actress at her day job. I just felt the cult wasn’t very compelling to me as the reader, it was just…odd, to the point I assumed some of the followers were simply paid actors. The ending and climax of the story are the best and most interesting points during this novel, I was just hoping for more overall.

2.5 stars

⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thea is a bit aimless in her life. She doesn't have a love interest (and she feels like she should) when it feels like all her friends (and even her roommate) are pairing off and getting serious. Thea's job is unfulfilling - she's a social worker on a psychiatric ward and the patients are defiant and ignore her half the time. She's a bit aimless and adrift.

Until a strange girl comes into the ward. She was found roaming, catatonic, injured and unwell. But Thea can't shake the feeling - she knows this girl. And it isn't just because she looks uncannily like her - she's seen her somewhere.

Thea's unhealthy attachment to this patient leads the story to odd, dark places. I wish the story had jumped a bit quicker into the heart of it. The group art therapy was a distraction and the author provided a name for every employee and person that came into a book's frame - like they were important and we'd need to know them later. But after Part 2, we didn't need to know a single one of them. I spent too long trying to figure out who was important and who not that I never got full pulled into the story. It was too long of Catherine going back and forth - no you, wait stay - that it also bogged the story down a bit and felt repetitive.

An interesting story about hive mind, manipulative leaders and fear.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I really like the first book by Ms Bartz but this one just didn't meet the same level.

I had a heard time following the ridiculous decisions that the author had Thea making. A patient appears at the psychiatric hospital that she is a therapist at, who is catatonic. She quickly realizes this is a star from a movie she was obsessed with when she was 13. Now this was a movie that sounds like it would have been a PG17 movie but she and her friend sneak in and watch it numerous times.

Thea's childhood isn't great and she really seems to over-relate to the character in this movie. In adulthood, she sees that they really look a lot alike and she once again gets totally obsessed with her (Catherine). She makes some really unrealistic decisions and signs up for a retreat (cult), spending money she definitely doesn't have to waste in order to follow where she thinks her obsession might be.

I just couldn't get attached to any of the characters as I thought they made unrealistic, crazy, decisions.

4.5 stars rounded up

I was hoping for a bonkers thriller with cult vibes and boy did this deliver! Julia Bartz writes some truly unhinged twists and this book kept me glued to the page. The Last Session follows a therapist with a traumatic past who becomes obsessed with protecting a celebrity with amnesia who ends up in her psych ward and then disappears. She eventually ends up infiltrating a culty wellness retreat in New Mexico as she tries to uncover what is going on with the patient, while also confronting her own past. There is danger, catharsis, and sex to be had along the way. Is it a healthy way of dealing with some of the trauma? Probably not. Are some of the twists really bizarre? Definitely. But I was along for the ride. I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Content warnings include grooming of a minor, misuse of power, religious abuse, drugging, sexual abuse/assault, violence

This was an enjoyable fun read. It was interesting and suspenseful with several twists and a shocking finale. I did not enjoy this quite as much as The Writing Retreat (really loved that one), but this was still an engrossing mystery and I recommend it,

I don’t really know what to write about this book….it had so much potential, but was all over the place and so unbelievable. Unfortunately, this is how I felt about her debut novel as well 😔

I don’t want to yuck anybody’s yum, so if you loved this book, I’m genuinely happy for you. I just don’t share that sentiment.

👍🏼: therapy rep, mental health rep, discussions about agency and boundaries, thought-provoking and eerie

👎🏼: pacing was off, VERY slow and repetitive then wrapped up very quickly, requires a complete suspension of belief for some parts, does feed into stigmatizations at some points, some parts that left me feeling icky

(Please note there are several TWs, so look into them or feel free to DM me to learn more if needed)

Thank you Atria and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars
Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC 🤍

Initially I was super intrigued by the premise. As I started reading it I was beginning to wonder if I would really like it or. The intro was a bit odd; I don’t really think we needed Thea’s background like we got. Some of it made sense as ways to connect her with Catherine and the movie Star Girl, but her history with Adam and Pastor John didn’t feel necessary.

Thea was not the sharpest tool in the shed. Completely unprofessional following made up leads to hope to find a patient that was there for a few days and making other stupid decisions in the process.

The cult portion was kind of boring in the beginning and going through everyone’s “sessions” kind of dragged, but as it progressed more it did get better. However random ORGY?!?!

Anyway, overall I did really like the book and I would recommend it

4.75/5 ⭐️s rounded up to 5!
“The Last Session” by Julia Bartz was one great read! I went into this book with no expectations and I’m still in awe of what I just read. Personally, I felt like it was a slow start so it took me a couple chapters to really get into it once it picked up I was enthralled. This book was so good, that I would have dreams about it trying to figure it out. This book was almost 5 stars for me but what really held me back was the main character/protagonist. I did not like her but even with me not liking her I could not wait to finish the book because it was just that good. I cannot emphasize how much this book had me thinking. If I could offer one book to a movie adaption it would be this one!!

Bartz does a really good job of blending solid and legit therapeutic practices and contrasting them with “spiritual” healing. There is a lot of contrast in the novel that I really enjoyed. However, it was hard not to cringe when reading about some of the ethical concerns regarding the main character’s job in the beginning.

Based on some of the scenarios in this novel, I would rate it M for mature due some of the adult content which is prefaced in the beginning of the novel.

I cannot wait to read another novel by Bartz because she does a really great job of creating worlds within her books. Seriously, I cannot get this story out of my head!

Thank you to publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

After loving the Writing Retreat, I was so excited to get into this one! We start out following our main character who is an art therapist at a hospital, and makes a somewhat eerie connection with one of the patients. After the patient goes missing, our main character goes to extreme lengths to find her, specifically at this western-ish wellness retreat. Think yoga retreat with a bit of speculative going on. If you've seen the movie Opus wuth Ayo Edibiri, it gives those vibes completely!

I loved the vibes, however the last ~30% really lost me. It got a bit too over itself and I found the things that were happening to be too unrealistic to even read about. If you loved the Writing Retreat like I did, I would still recommend, but know that the story is more speculative and woo woo than the author's first novel.

hooked right from the beginning! The story line pulls you right in and keeps you in; up until probably 3/4 way through the plot started to get a little out there, but the author did an amazing job with this book!

Julia Bartz's THE WRITING RETREAT was one of my favorite thrillers of 2023. I have been long-awaiting her sophomore novel. I am so sad to say that it wasn't my favorite. I think part of my let down is due to my high expectations. Her first book being a 5-star read for me, I was expecting this one to do the same. I really liked how THE LAST SESSION started, but after about the 15% mark I started losing interest. I really wanted to love this one. Maybe I'll go back later and give it a try in a different format!

DNF'd at 10%. This is my bad for requesting a thriller when I have been personally over mystery/thrillers lately. I wanted to give it a chance, but the (I mean this lovingly) weird, dark, cult-y thrillers are not really my thing and I don't want to rate the book unfairly low because of that.