I'm sorry (and I truly feel bad saying this) but this book was TERRIBLE. Meandering, chaotic, messy, and wholly ridiculous.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Note: Trigger warning this book deals with sexual manipulation and abuse. It includes graphic sex scenes.

"The Last Session" by Julia Bartz is a takes readers on a journey through the dark recesses of the human mind. Bartz, known for her ability to craft intense and suspenseful narratives, delivers a novel that is deeply unsettling.

The story follows Thea, a social worker who encounters a catatonic woman at a psychiatric unit. Thea is convinced she recognizes the patient from her past, and as the woman regains consciousness, she reveals a connection to a traumatic event in Thea's life.

Determined to uncover the truth, Thea follows a trail of clues that leads her to a wellness center in New Mexico.

Bartz skillfully builds tension throughout the story, creating a sense of claustrophobia and unease that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The wellness center, with its charismatic couple and controversial retreats, becomes a labyrinth of secrets and hidden agendas. Thea's infiltration into this mysterious world is fraught with danger, as she is forced to participate in increasingly intimate and unsettling sexual exercises.

The protagonist, Thea, is a compelling character whose personal struggles and determination drive the narrative forward. Bartz delves into her psyche, exploring her vulnerabilities and strengths, making her a relatable and sympathetic figure. The supporting cast is equally well-developed, each adding depth and complexity to the story.

Bartz's writing is sharp and evocative, with a keen eye for detail that brings the setting and characters to life. The dialogue is natural and realistic, enhancing the authenticity of the interactions. The pacing is expertly handled, with moments of high tension balanced by quieter, introspective passages that allow for character development and reflection.

The themes of trauma, redemption, and the search for truth are explored with nuance and insight. Bartz challenges readers to consider the impact of past experiences on present actions and the lengths one will go to uncover the truth. This thematic depth adds an intellectual layer to the thrilling plot, making for a thought provoking read.

Traditional Format (digital). Release date April 1, 2025

In this mystery/thriller, an unknown catatonic woman shows up at a psychiatric facility and Thea (the social worker at the unit) identifies her from her past. The mystery woman comes out of her mental state and is picked up by her parents but leaves behind a message for the social worker. Thea is determined to re-find the woman from her clues and ends up a weekend monthly retreat at a remote location in New Mexico. Of course this is no ordinary retreat but a cult and the story just gets weirder and weirder as it goes on.....

What I liked:
- The theme of cult/religion/past trauma was interesting to me. I have read a few fictional books with cult elements and this one was decent theme wise
- I liked the setting (desert of New Mexico and a complex with underground caves). The cult castle (aka compound) where the bulk of the story was the perfect for the novel and added to the plot

What could be better:
- There are points in this book that are just plain weird and out of place with the plot leaving the reader wondering "WTF was that" (now, I do actually enjoy this type writing however it was a little over the top in this book)
- Pacing of the book was all over the place for me: draggy at some points and too fast at others and the book for me seemed to go on forever and felt like I had been reading it for a long time. At 368 pages or so, maybe with 50 pages less it would help with the pacing.
- Some parts of the plot were left hanging a little for me (with respect to the relation of the two main characters). I feel like it could have been tied up a little better.

I don't mind books with elements of strangeness/weirdness but this one left me struggling with how I was going to review it because it was just uncomfortable and bizarre at some points. I feel like people are going to either love this one it or hate it. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy themes of religion/cult/sexuality and don't mind usual and out of place weirdness.

Since I didn't love this book, nor hate it I am going to put it right in the middle at a 3/5.

Thank you to Aria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books and Net Galley for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

I wouldn’t have read this novel if I hadn’t read and loved Bartz’s “The Writing Retreat,” but I am so glad I gave this book a chance. It’s a complex novel, dealing with trauma and New Age groups, not necessarily being aetheistic about any of these things, but not necessarily committing to them either. The protagonist’s background in therapeutic education provides an interesting framework for experiencing a cult initiation, as she can find a scientific explanation. But does she believe the scientific explanation? Does she believe the cult? Can the reader trust her to be honest with us when she’s often dishonest with others and clearly isn’t honest with herself?

I would recommend this novel to former (or current) Christopher Pike fans, those who love documentaries about cults, and those who are sort of superstitious but can’t fully commit.

When social worker, Thea, meets Catherine in her ward of an inpatient treatment facility she is struck by how much they have in common. But before they can delve further into those connections, Catherine disappears, leaving an ominous note behind.

Thea feels compelled to follow her and try to help her, but the unexpected twists just keep coming once Thea arrives at the Center for Relational Healing, a remote center in the middle of the southwestern desert. What began as a clinician pursuing her lost patient slowly turned into Thea taking a soul-searching journey of her own.

In a classic ‘locked room’ thriller, The Last Session had me on the edge of my seat and heart racing with vibes reminiscent of Riley Sager’s Lock Every Door. There were some elements that I didn’t resonate with given their implausible nature and the feeling of disconnected bits of information near the conclusion, but I still found myself eager to find out what happened to Thea and Catherine!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for sharing an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I love Julia Bartz and was so excited to read her latest, The Last Session! Cults, past lives, psycho babble, oh my! What’s not to love? Rich, broken, flawed characters and a hot, desolate backdrop drive this twisty thriller. My one critique, (spoiler alert!) the past lives dream towards the end. It worked within the story, but kind of gave me whiplash! All in all, a great read and another great inner from Julia Bartz!

This book is weird. I’ve read other books by Julia Bartz so I know that she can come up with an original premise. This I’d definitely not a story I’ve read before. I liked that cult storyline, but some stuff was so hard to suspend my disbelief. The main character is hard to root for because she’s supposed to be this strong self aware therapist, but she makes such dumb decisions and recognized that what was going on was absurd but just went along with it anyway? Some of the cult beliefs were hard to follow and I was left wondering what the motivation was behind it all besides money. Read this if you want a really weird cult thriller, but otherwise skip it. (3/5)

**This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**

While this was a fascinating premise, the execution of this story was a bit lacking. It felt like it dragged on a lot and went in a lot of circles. It did have some interesting plot twists and kept me engaged, however the ending fell flat for me after all the character had been through.

The Last Session is a novel about Thea, a young social worker employed at an inpatient mental health facility that becomes captured by a particular patient, and subsequently follows clues to find her at a holistic retreat center in the desert. Throughout her time at the retreat center, she works with a friendly-yet-suspicious guest to help uncover the truth about the center and its leaders.

This novel was highly interesting and well-paced. The shorter chapters made for easy reading and kept the suspense going without giving away the twist early on. I found the characters to be interesting, well developed, and the plot to be unique and engaging. Thea is written as a realistic character, inherently flawed and well-meaning. I appreciated that any speech or thought related to her job as a social worker were accurate and facts-based as I often find that books written from the perspective of a mental health worker miss the mark and lean into tik tok / pop-psychology concepts.

The plot was borderline unbelievable, but to me that adds to the intrigue as the story develops. It is realistic enough that it could happen, which adds to the thriller suspense. Overall this was an enjoyable read and I would definitely recommend it to others.

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

Thank you Net Galley for this early read! I was really excited about this book as I love any thriller with a mental health or psych component. This book follows main character Thea, who has in interesting patient at the psychiatric hospital where she works. This book was full of twists and turns. I can say I did not expect the past lives and cult tie ins!

All in all, without revealing spoilers, I give this 3 stars. I enjoyed this book and was motivated to finish it. However, it wasn't quite what I thought it would be. Nonetheless, I still recommend!

I received the ARC for this book, but the review is my own opinion. I liked Julia Bartz as an author before this but was worried when I saw the premise felt similar to her previous book (no shade I loved it). Not the case, completely different story. Really exciting thriller without being creepy or uncomfortable. I recommend if you want something you know you’ll finish and enjoy classic thrillers.

Holy. Smokes. I still think about Julia Bartz's debut THE WRITING RETREAT so I was thrilled to see she has a new one coming out. THE LAST SESSION was incredible and has cemented Bartz as a must-read author for me. If you liked her first novel, you'll love this one. She dives deeper into crazy plotting, bonkers characters, and truly shocking twists.

I don't even know where to begin trying to explain this story. It's about reincarnation, mental health, celebrities, cults and wellness, the horrors of Christianity and religion. It's surprising and uncomfortable and FUN and weird! Bartz clearly has no qualms about not holding back and this journey from a psychiatric hospital in NYC to a wellness center in a remote part of New Mexico is wild. I truly had no idea what was going to happen from one moment to the next. Sure there are some plot holes (pun intended for those who have read!) but I was also genuinely scared at some points (which is super hard for a book to do) and I was yelping and clapping my hands at other points. Just read it when it comes out, you won't be disappointed!

The settings in this story are well-developed and help move the story forward. Some characters seem to be less well-developed, which could be because of the controlling nature of others in the story. The plot was a little out there, and there are some disturbing scenes that revolve around sex.

What I liked:
Julia Bartz's writing style is compelling. The main character, Thea, is likable and sympathetic. The beginning of the book, focusing on her struggles as a social worker and in her personal life, pulled me in and kept me interested.
What I disliked:
Thea's repeated plunging into dangerous situations becomes unbelievable. She meets a patient who went through a traumatic event as part of a "wellness center" and when the patient disappears, Thea immediately follows her, even though it's clear that the wellness center is a cult. Once Thea arrives (pretending that she is there for a weekend retreat but really searching for the missing patient), it becomes clear that some sketchy things are going on, but she either ignores or doesn't see the danger. Many aspects of the book are over-the top-and unbelievable, and the ending feels rushed.
Overall:
I was never bored by this book, and I read it quickly because it was exciting and compelling. However, Thea's recklessness, bordering on stupidity, along with some over-the-top aspects of the cult, made it less enjoyable.

The book will be published on April 1. Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

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*ARC review* My prediction was right…this book went a little haywire beyond just being a thriller. It follows Thea, a social worker in NY who’s oddly obsessed with a movie & lead actress from her childhood. She’s experienced her own trauma so when her idol is in trouble, she goes beyond professional ethics and tries to “help”. Throw in some delulu/new age concepts like past-lives & collective consciousness (to the EXTREME) and it makes for a pretty wild ride.

I have so many thoughts and feelings after finishing The Last Session, especially since I really enjoyed the Writing Retreat earlier this year. I really loved the first half of this book. I was instantly intrigued by Thea and her work as therapist as well as her inexplicable connection with the newest patient, Catherine O'Brien. I felt like the plot had real potential to go somewhere unique, with the lush setting of the New Mexican retreat and the dessert atmosphere, but that whole aspect of the story seemed to fall flat. I also really liked the idea that Bartz would dive into the holistic nature of childhood trauma and who it shapes the people we become in our adult lives as well as the romantic partners we seek. However, that plot thread became tangled in "cultish" vibes and the whole story seemed to spiral 0ut of control. I may have gotten whiplash from going back and forth on who was a trustworthy and reliable character. Overall, the second half of the book took a very bizarre and overly sexualized turn, but for some readers, this kind of read may be exactly what they're looking for a book about cultish behaviors and strong group beliefs.

Thea is an art therapist living in New York with her roommate after a disappointing breakup. When a new patient, Catherine, comes into her facility, the staff is instantly commenting how similar Thea and Catherine look. For some reason, Thea finds herself drawn to Catherine and her recovery, only to discover she a famous actress who starred in her favorite childhood movie. After Catherine mysteriously is discharged by people to be her parents, Thea follows her across the country to New Mexico where she becomes entangled in a healing retreat in the middle of the desert. Under the tutelage of leaders Sol and Moon, Thea is thrown in a weekend of "sessions" that reveal the darkest secrets and intentions of everyone around her, including Catherine and Thea herself.

After reading and loving the authors debut novel, The Writing Retreat, I was really looking forward to her second novel.

I really liked the beginning of the story and the writing quickly pulled me in. I also really liked the fact that the main character was a therapist like I am. I also loved the cult aspect of the story.

However I did find a few issues with the book.
I don't mind an over the top/suspend your beliefs type of story but there were so many of these situations in this one that it became a bit much. I also felt as if there was too much of a focus on the Stargirl film (a movie that the main character was obsessed with as a teen).

Even though I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did The Writing Retreat, I still liked this one and would recommend it to thriller readers. I will also look forward to reading whatever Julia Bartz writes in the future.

Really good book, but strange! Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review!!

My goodness, what a whirlwind. First of all, I could not put this down because it was so crazy. If you’re not able to suspend disbelief for entertainment, stop right here because you won’t want to get on this ride.

Thea is a social worker and gets assigned to a mute and very traumatized woman who, weirdly, looks a lot like her. She also looks very familiar to Thea, and she quickly figures out the woman is an actress from her favorite childhood movie who hasn’t been seen in years. Thea goes out that night and drinks so much that she sleeps through her alarm, and she arrives late to work to find out the woman has left with a couple posing as her parents. Thea feels a connection to this woman and believes that she’s left Thea a message to track her down and rescue her, so Thea books a very expensive retreat to a New Mexico wellness center that, once she gets there, turns out to be some kind of weird sex cult. Even as she is doing all these questionable things, Thea recognizes how unethical and ludicrous her actions are, but lucky for us, she perseveres and we get to come along on this entertaining adventure.

There is A LOT going on here. Thea herself is processing some childhood trauma around her self esteem and sexual experiences, dealing with how those things are showing up in her present romantic experiences, and having all these bizarre dreams. She knows this place is a cult, but she also kind of lets herself get sucked in. Indeed, there is even a surprise orgy, because remember, this is a weird sex cult.

Was this thrilling? It sure was. I also kept talking to Thea and pointing out all the obvious red flags that she seemed to be ignoring (because how could she not notice them). I was frustrated that she made the decisions she made, but I also desperately needed to know what happened next. The ending was wild, but the plot got resolved so I'm okay with that. This fictional story exists for our entertainment, so you can either insist that all your fiction be plausible and free of plot holes and skip this one, or devour all its inexplicable and baffling parts like I did.

On a more serious note, the book is also exploring some real-life issues around abuse in spiritual communities. Having experienced something like this myself with a yoga teacher who way overstepped her qualifications, I can see how it’s possible to be deceived by someone who claims to have your best interest in mind. If nothing else, I hope this book helps some people realize how dangerous that is and how useful real therapy, with a qualified professional, can be.

It’s the last day of 2024 but this book ended the year strong for me! The Last Sanctuary is a tense thriller that kept me interested all the way through. There are some sensitive themes so be sure to check the trigger warnings. I think the less said about the plot the better, I had no idea where this was going to end up when I started reading. I didn’t think the ending quite lived up to the rest of the book but I still definitely would recommend this!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this eARC!