3.5 rounded up!

"Are you the savior? Or will you save her?"

Julia Bartz's sophomore novel THE LAST SESSION follows social worker Thea in a psychiatric unit in New York. One day, a woman shows up in their unit, catatonic, and she looks awfully familiar to Thea. By the time she realizes how she knows her, she's been taken away, leaving behind clues for Thea that leads her into the depths of the desert and into the hands of a podcasting couple determined to solve her barriers to romance and intimacy.

This book grabbed me in from page one (but loosened its grip a bit in the final quarter 😬).

This story is propulsive, intoxicating, and culty, which felt extremely fitting for this day and age. The "romance retreat" reminded me a lot of Twin Flames Universe and the lengths people with desperation are willing to go to for healing.

Like I mentioned earlier, the last quarter really took a turn and not in a way that I enjoyed, though I can see some readers really getting a kick out of it!

Overall, I didn't love this one as much as THE WRITING RETREAT, but I can't deny that Julia knows how to write in a way that will hook you in!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: April 1

Holy crap! This book was intense! A slower build at the beginning but it really got going pretty quick and didn’t stop! It was SO GOOD. I don’t want to say too much since there’s quite a mystery around it and throughout! But it was super good and I really enjoyed it and the growth of the main character! I also really really enjoyed her grip on reality through this crazy ass story!!!! Awesome book!!!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC.

So, so much went on in this book. It was a wild ride. I enjoyed most of the plot, but other times felt it to be farfetched or hard to follow. Not the best thriller I've read to date, but also not the worst.

This was my second Julia Bartz novel and I enjoyed it. Some of the concepts were a bit far fetched for me but I did like the writing style. Lots of characters that seemed to transcend time and lifetimes. This was a crazy wild ride.
Thank you NetGalley, Julia Bartz and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was certainly.....unique....


To be honest, I'm having a hard time reviewing it. It had all the things...a psych ward, a cult, a movie star. But it also felt like I needed to take a bunch of hallucinogens to understand what the hell was happening at times.

2.75 stars, rounded up to 3

I was a big fan of Julia Bartz's The Writing Retreat so I was thrilled when I heard about her upcoming novel centered around a psychiatric patient with ties to a cult in New Mexico. The first part of the book was so well done and had me completely hooked. I flew through the first 40% on a road trip.

But then things took a turn. Everything just went weird. And not in the typical "interesting cult" weird way, either. The story felt like it turned in circles and wasn't really sure where it wanted to go. The main character, Thea, and most of the supporting characters were just downright annoying and made awful choices that had me rolling my eyes. I really struggled to get through this one. It never crossed my mind to DNF it - more that it was just hard for me to read more than a handful of pages at a time.

Unfortunately, this one was not for me. I strongly disliked the final scenes at the cult's house. And don't even get me started on the final chapter. This just didn't live up to the expectations I had, but I am looking forward to more of Bartz's works.

Thank you to Atria, Julia Bartz and Netgalley for my DRC in exchange for my honest review!

Ok. Well.... this was not great.

It has all the makings of an interesting thriller - a psych ward, cult, and past lives. Unfortunately the story slowly ambled on and took way too long to get to any interesting parts. Only problem though was that when it got weird, it got WEIRD. Like,<spoiler>I had to literally put the book down when she described a foursome as an "undulating sea creature"</spoiler>. Not to mention there's just way too much focus on the sexualization of young women, but it's done in a way that feels like it's just there for shock value? Idk I just feel icky now.

3.5 / 5 stars

Social worker Thea thinks she’s hallucinating when a catatonic patient shows up in her psych ward — because the woman is Catherine O'Brien, a former teen star from Thea’s favorite cult-classic movie. Stranger still, they share a birthday and an eerily similar face. When Catherine vanishes under mysterious circumstances, Thea’s search leads her to the Center for Relational Healing, a dubious New Mexico retreat promising deep personal breakthroughs (think Twin Flames Universe vibes). Determined to find Catherine, Thea signs up for a weekend of “transformational” exercises — but as reality blurs and the retreat’s methods turn invasive, Thea starts to suspect she was lured here for a reason.

The desert retreat setting was a draw for me. There's something so creepy about remote locations, and while crumbling manors and isolated islands are the usual locales for these types of thrillers, the sunbaked, barren New Mexico backdrop was an interesting change. Thea’s journey — both physical and emotional — was compelling, as she reckons with her long-buried trauma while attempting to help Catherine. I liked the psychological manipulation at play, with Thea slowly realizing just how much she’s being lured into the cult-like beliefs of the Center’s leaders, Moon and Sol. These charismatic, manipulative figures read Thea’s weaknesses perfectly, and their unorthodox techniques (including a literal sexual foursome) keep the reader on edge and intrigued.

The psychological tension was strong, but where this book faltered for me was in its final act. The escalating bizarre elements — especially surrounding past-life regression and Thea’s increasingly surreal encounters — pushed the plot into a more absurd territory that felt just a little too out there for my taste. By the time we hit the climax, things had gotten very cuckoo banana pants, and while I was still invested in the story, I found myself rolling my eyes at a few too many twists.

Another issue was that while the book touches on psychological concepts like erotic transference and constellation therapy, I wish it had gone a little deeper into explaining why certain things — like Thea’s uncanny encounters with doppelgangers — were happening. It left me a bit unsatisfied, especially given Bartz's willingness to explain some occurrences and not others.

That said, The Last Session definitely has its merits. Fans of psychological thrillers and cult stories (think The Clinic by Cate Quinn or We Are Watching by Alison Gaylin) will likely enjoy the slow-burn tension, the isolation, and the creeping feeling of something being very wrong. The pacing could have been tighter, and the final act may be a bit too much for some readers, but if you're into dark, mind-bending thrillers with a dash of the surreal, this book might be worth the ride.

The Last Session by Julia Bartz opens with a Jane Doe found wandering in New York and taken to a psychiatric hospital. The social worker there makes a connection with the woman who seems extremely familiar to her. When the woman leaves unexpectedly, the social worker, Thea, fears for the woman's safety and well being and ends up on a hunt for her that ends up at a wellness retreat in the middle of the desert. As Thea comes to realize, things are not as they seem.

While I loved Julia Bartz's first book The Writing Retreat, this one didn't quite hit the same way for me. People who enjoy explorations into cult society, however, will most definitely find this a good read. I will definitely continue to read any of Julia Bartz's upcoming releases even though this one wasn't a favorite.

I finished this book late last night and that is something I WOULD not recommended… it had my mind reeling for hours afterward and not in a good way.

To sum up how I feel about this book in one word would be easy, uncomfortable.

Although the plot was definitely propulsive I found that the author maybe took this one a tad far… as the pieces of this culty group and their ultimate mission started to come together they became increasingly outrageous and it felt like things were just spiraling out of control.

I find the perspectives of this author to be very unique and intriguing. Her commentary on human nature and our inner psyche is definitely strong and something that kept me hanging on until the end. On the flip side, the style of writing didn’t always feel like it matched up well with this rather fast paced plot, too many details and long descriptions that had me skimming and looking for the dialogue points to keep things clear and not bogged down.

I thought this had a lot of potential- social worker with issues, former movie star with issues, a cult-but it turned sideways into a confusing, uncomfortable, and unlikely story. Thea, the narrator, abused as a teen, has struggled as an adult (and has a kink from trauma she keeps talking about) but finds a sort of purpose when Catherine, who she strongly resembles is brought into the psychiatric ER, catatonic. Catherine starred in a movie with which Thea was obsessed (and entirely too much time is spent on this movie) and Thea sees it as a link between them. So when Catherine disappears, Thea follows her to New Mexico, to a wellness/relationship center that's really a cult. And this is where things went off the rails for me as it swirled into chaos. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. This was a miss for me but I'm sure others will enjoy it.

This is my second book by this author and this had a similar feel to The Writing Retreat. It’s a bit weird, trippy and at times is a bit unbelievable. I enjoyed the first couple parts of the story, but Part 3 came along and the book got a bit unhinged.

We have Sol and Moon who run this wellness retreat, aka cult leaders. At first I didn’t mind the retreat, I thought the sessions were interesting, but then the book just takes a turn and gets a little weird. There's some reincarnation, a mysterious cave and maybe some supernatural elements? I don't know, things got wild. My favorite character was Catherine and I was rooting for her throughout the book.

Overall, not quite the book for me, but might be for someone who is interested in a trippy cult book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC of The Last Session in exchange for my honest review.

I'm going to keep this on the short side because this book was so not for me.

I read Bartz' debut novel, The Writing Retreat. While unhinged and a bit cringy, it was entertaining enough for me to want to see what she could do with a second novel. It started out strong...a mysterious and catatonic woman shows up on our MC's psych floor. Awesome. Love it. From there, the rest of the plot just went into a confusing and muddled mess of a cult with character backstories that didn't make sense, a BIZARRE movie tie-in, and characters that have zero sense of survival skills.

Thrillers tend to have you suspend a bit of reality, but this book defied common sense to the point of silliness.

Bottom line: This was a miss for me.

A cultish locked room type thriller that was a pleasant surprise. Julia is a master of thriller and this no different.

Synopsis: A social worker travels to a remote wellness retreat in New Mexico to search for a psychiatric patient who may be in trouble.

Thoughts: Well, this is a super trippy book. I definitely did not guess where this one was going in its exploration of mental health and cults, but it is shockingly twisty. I don’t particularly like the main character or her decisions as a healthcare provider, but that’s probably a me problem. I don’t honestly know how to talk about this book without spoilers 😂 so I’ll just leave you with - if you want an escapist thriller with a suspension of reality and some crazy twists, go pick this one up next week!

Read this if you like:
🌵 psychological thrillers
🌵 cults
🌵 the desert
🌵 paranormal elements

Hmm... this one kind of missed the mark for me. After reading The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz, I expected another thriller like that - a genuine thriller, reasonable actions/risks/consequences, etc. The problem with this one is that the ending seemed a bit *too* wild/unbelievable for me and didn't really make sense with the rest of the book's plot/vibes. Overall, the FMC's actions during the entire book were also a little unreasonable too. I'm not discouraged from reading any other books Julia Bartz publishes, but this one just didn't work for me. Thank you, NetGalley!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC of The Last Session in exchange for my honest review.

Oof...where do I even begin?

The Last Session tells the story of social worker, Thea, who finds herself following a patient to a wellness retreat in the New Mexico desert. But what should be a relaxing oasis quickly turns into a nefarious nightmare with life or death consequences.

This one should have been right up my alley. Some things I loved:
- Mysterious catatonic character in a psychiatric ward
- Celebrity/movie element
- A CULT FOR GODSAKE
- Part 1

Things I didn't much care for:
- The rest of the book. 🥴

I absolutely loved The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz, and was hoping for something just as thrilling. Alas, this was not it. The plot was too outlandish and the characters entirely too irritating with no reasonable end in sight. I kept hoping that the story would improve with some grand twist that made everything more bearable but it just never happened. Overall, I think this one had an interesting premise, but the execution just wasn't there. (I'm not throwing in the towel on Bartz yet, though! I'll definitely check out her next novel and hope this one was just a fluke.)

2 1/2 ⭐️

Publication Date: April 1, 2025

I received an advance copy of this book for review. I’m drawn to psychological thrillers and this one didn’t disappoint. There were definitely some shocking twists and turns along the way, and it kept me guessing far longer than many authors have managed. I also appreciated the wrap up the author gave us and enjoyed this one.

This book was really different than what I normally read. Saying that, I loved the culty storyline. It kept me guessing on what was happening and who was safe.

Some of the story was a little out there and I tried to get on board but I could never really figure out what was going on there.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC for my honest review.

#NetGalley #TheLastSession #JuliaBartz

Oof this is hard to rate. There are some things that I liked and some things that I REALLY didn't. 
*
What I liked: The cult vibe, and the really quick pace at the end. That was exciting, and I mostly enjoyed it when things started going off the rails in the last quarter or so. 
*
What I didn't like... I felt like I read 3 different books. I get that the first two parts were necessary to get to the third, but it took soooo long to feel invested. I also feel like it took a few tropes I usually like (unreliable narrator, ambiguous ending) and took them just way too far. 
*
Would I recommend? Ehhhh I think no, unless you love reading about cults so much that you can overlook everything else