I don’t really know what to say about this book. It was just WEIRD and wasn’t really my vibe. I love her last book, The Writing Retreat, so I was excited to read this thinking it would be more like a thriller vibe. This was more just trippy and cultish and strange.

I kept reading just because I wanted to see where it would end up and I found myself disappointed.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for this advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book started out strong for me. Social worker tries to save patient from a cult. The mystery and suspense was well built. The characters in the beginning and middle were engaging and dynamic. The plot twist in the middle really threw me as well.

The last 30% didn’t resonate as well with me. Themes fell flat, new things were introduced and not established. The reincarnation thing with Thea felt like it was thrown in. It felt rushed and disjointed.

Thank you NetGalley, Julia Bartz and Atria Books for the ARC!

Umm...what did I just read??

I was so excited to get my hands on this ARC after really enjoying the author's debut, The Writing Retreat. This starts off strong; I was intrigued in part one with the psychiatric hospital. Then we get to part two and things just went off the rails. Don't get me wrong, I love a remote-retreat-cult story but this just went over my head like a fever dream. Reincarnation, caves, deserts and a movie that connects them all...this was just BIZARRE AND CHAOTIC. I can see this as one of those mindf*ck series and it would make for some interesting conversation.

I enjoyed The Last Session somewhat but can’t say I would recommend it to just anyone. The cult aspect was not something I really liked.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read this book!

Unfortunately, I really didn’t enjoy the book. While the beginning did draw me in and I believed it could be an enjoyable mystery, it seemed to take a turn into something else. Something a bit bizarre and illogical for me.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity however.

I disliked her first book, The Writing Retreat but decided to give her another chance. Although a lot of the elements were similar, I enjoyed this one a bit more and maybe that is because I was expecting what I was reading..... The story was just as chaotic but I am always intrigued by cults. The main character was also not very likable, which makes the story a bit harder to want to finish but overall it was fine. better than the writing retreat but not sure if I will read any more by Julia Bartz...i might

This book was just all over the place. I wasn't a fan of the writing style from the first chapter. Maybe I am just tired of reading cult books. I don't know, it just got weird. 2.5 stars.

While I did enjoy the book, there were several times I questioned whether something like that would happen (speaking more about human behavior and work in the mental health field). As with all works of fiction, though, the rules of the real world bend to the story. And the story is a good one about the connection we feel with others, and the way the mind can break, and how one can become a member of a cult without realizing that is what is happening at the time. Cult mentality is depicted well from the standpoints of the leaders, followers and those outside the circle. For a while, there was a little too much woo-woo spirituality for me, but you probably have this as a base in all cults. All in all, the book was very interesting despite not being my usual cup of tea.

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books for this ARC for review. I really enjoyed Julia Bartz’s last book, the Writing Retreat, so when I saw the author had another thriller coming out I was excited to get the chance to read it. This is a solid thriller with some twists and turns and the story definitely went in a direction that I was not expecting which is good when you read as much as I do so it wasn’t your run of the mill scenario. Thea is a social worker and a catatonic woman is brought into the psychiatric facility where she works. Thea swears she knows her from somewhere and is determined to connect with her and find out who is she. As Thea figures out who she is, the patient is suddenly gone from the facility and Thea is dragged into a situation she may not be prepared for and is definitely not safe. This book kept my attention as I had to know where it was going.

Sadly I was not a fan of this book. I got bored halfway through and just didnt capture my attention as the last book by this author did. Hopefully others will enjoy it more then me.

2.5* Rounding Up

The Last Session follows Thea as she comes across a person that she swears she remembers from her past - but how? From there, you follow Thea on a wild ride through a retreat in New Mexico that turns out to be more than she anticipated.

After loving this author’s previous book, I couldn’t wait to dive into this one. The first half of the book had me in a chokehold, and I love the way Bartz isn’t afraid to get unhinged. I can honestly say I’ve never read anything like this before.

Unfortunately, the second half of the book kind of lost me. Things seemed a little too far fetched and pulled me out of the story. I also think this could have benefitted from being about 50 pages shorter.

I will read anything that Julia Bartz writes, and I am beyond thankful to her, the publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I wish I could say that I loved this but the truth is, I really struggled with this story. At times it's stilted, the storyline goes in every direction imaginable, and honestly felt chaotic. It truly was bizarre and not in a cool way were it helps the story but instead leaves you scratching your head wondering which crazy direction this is going to go next. With very little in character growth or likeability. Needless to say, this story just sadly wasn't for me.

This story had me hooked in the weirdest way possible! Any story that involves retreats, therapists, and a suspicious cult-like group- count. me. in! There were a few things that made me slightly cringe such as the film our main character, Thea, loved so much and mentioned one too many times to me, Thea becoming so obsessed with her patient that she would follow her to a retreat, the wacky beliefs that the retreat was based on, and an intimate scene that involved several of the retreats leaders and the main character. However, the writing was fast-paced and held me captive throughout the book. There were some plot twists that I did not see coming and made my jaw drop. The characters were so strange in the most interesting way. It was a wild ride that I'm glad I enjoyed from the comfort of my own bed and not one of the retreats!

I really struggled to get into this book. I was put off in the first few pages because if how it was written.

I really enjoyed the last book I read of Julia Bartz, but “The Last Session” kind of jumped the shark. There were so many situations that were utterly preposterous and the ending was extremely rushed. I will try her books again though.

4.25 stars -thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy!

After reading - and loving - Julia Bartz's first novel 'The Writing Retreat' this was highly anticipated for me! While I didn't love this one as much as TWR, I still really enjoyed it and was hooked, especially by the isolated retreat center setting. With a lot of congestion in the thriller genre right now, I appreciate Bartz's ability to give us something different in her novels, with lots of surprises about what's coming next and an ability to avoid common tropes and themes.

I can't wait to hopefully pick up another Bartz thriller in the future!

I really enjoyed the author's previous novel, The Writing Retreat, so I was excited to begin this one. The book started out strong and was easy to get into but unfortunately, I felt like it became a bit overcomplicated and hard to follow. I did finish it but it took some work.

This was so meh. I was medium on the writing retreat, and this teaches me, that unfortunately Julia bartz is not for me.

What a WILD RIDE. I was hooked from the beginning and read this in 2 days. Bartz's second novel was as crazy as the first, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for an arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Session was one of my most anticipated books of 2025 because I really enjoyed the author's debut novel, The Writing Retreat.

This book follows Thea, a social worker, who is met with a bit of a mystery when a silent patient is admitted to the public hospital where she works. It turns out that the Jane Doe is actually a child star that Thea was obsessed with growing up, who also strongly resembles her physically and they share a birthday. This leads her to follow the star to a remote retreat after a series of perceived clues are left behind by who we now know is Catherine.

I found the first half of this book to be very intriguing. Bartz clearly has a lot of knowledge around mental health and the system, which does shine through in her writing, but got to be a little tedious and convenient later on when Thea became a walking DSM-5. Even though she was able to correctly identify all the tactics Moon and Sol, the retreat gurus, were using to control the group, Thea insisted on staying because of her parasocial relationship with Catherine, who she is trying to rescue.

Thea as a main character was very frustrating to follow, so I found it difficult to root for her, but I'm sure that was done intentionally. A lot of the elements that I liked were similar to The Writing Retreat, but I found this book really dragged at parts and was a bit repetitive. I would still recommend this book, but check the content warnings, as it does touch on some heavy topics.