Meh. And I love the genre of ‘traumatized woman becomes a therapist, is a self-destructive hot mess, makes a bunch of dumb/unethical decisions, and investigates shit that is none of her damn business.’

A social worker at a psychiatric hospital gets a nonresponsive Jane Doe patient and hilarity ensues. Hilarity involving wellness retreats that might be cults, and working through traumas.

About halfway through, it felt like 2 different books… and none of them ended up being all that interesting. The cult stuff was just a letdown and pretty dull. Cults should be more exciting, OK?

I hadn’t read this author’s first book, but since I got this ARC on NetGalley I figured I’d start with this one. And now at least I know there’s no reason to read the first one. Not if it’s as meh as this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: You know, I don't even know what to say. I tried. I did. This had everything I would typically enjoy in a thriller especially the wellness gone bad aspect. However, this seals the deal, this author is not for me. I just cannot find the tropes and topics used in this to be appealing or interesting. There are too many twists and turns that don't need to be there. It's far too dramatic and that's saying something for a popcorn thriller. I really hoped this would deliver given what it's supposed to be about but I honestly could not. I won't try again because I don't think it's fair to review a book by an author that doesn't work for me year after year. The only reason I tried this one is because I really loved the synopsis. I am very disappointed.

I am still not sure how I really felt about this book.
The first 25% I was hooked.
The last 75% I was completely confused.
I still don't know half the answers to the questions I have.
I don't even know how to write a review on this one because I am still shaking my head in disbelief at what I just read.

This was just not the book for me. As a social worker, I can’t accept the behaviors of this social worker, and I don’t love a book about cults. It’s just a no from me.

Cult Vibes, Questionable Ethics, and a Sci-Fi Movie? What is "The Last Session"

I was beyond excited to receive an ARC of The Last Session. (Many thanks to Atria Books for an electronic ARC in exchange for my authentic review). Julia Bartz’s debut, The Writing Retreat, was a favorite of mine—dark, suspenseful, and just the right amount of unsettling. So, I went into this one with high expectations. Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me. This was weird, but not the good kind of weird. More like what did I just read? weird. 2 stars.

A Social Worker with No Boundaries

Our protagonist, Thea, is a social worker. In theory, this should make her a thoughtful, professional, and ethical character. In practice, she has zero boundaries and seems to have skipped the day in training where they covered HIPAA. She crosses so many professional lines that it’s hard to root for her, and that’s before the story really starts unraveling. For someone trained to help others process trauma, Thea has done shockingly little self-reflection on her own past, making her a deeply frustrating protagonist. Her inability to separate her personal struggles from her work leads to boundary violations so blatant that it's a wonder she hasn't been stripped of her license.

The Center for Relational Healing

The book takes place at an isolated retreat, a setup I normally love. There’s a group dynamic at play, tension simmering just under the surface, and the kind of social experiment atmosphere that promises psychological horror. And this was one place that I truly think The Last Session shines. The weird mosaic art piece/wellness center (aptly titled The Center for Relational Healing) in the New Mexico desert creates an eerie, otherworldly backdrop that feels both mystical and oppressive. The isolation, the strange therapeutic exercises, and the unsettling cult-like undertones all work together to build a sense of creeping dread, making the environment one of the strongest elements of the book."

Cult Vibes, Orgies, and a Bizarre Sci-Fi Movie

While the premise and setting had so much potential, the story takes some deeply bizarre turns. Without spoiling too much (but also, check out spoiler tags if you’re considering reading this one), we get:

A completely unexpected and strangely written group sex scene that comes out of nowhere.

Profound sexual trauma that is introduced but not handled with much depth or care.

A strange connection to a fictional sci-fi movie, which felt like it belonged in a different book entirely.

The combination of these elements made for a reading experience that was more frustrating than thrilling. The horror elements were present, but they didn’t build up effectively, and the character decisions often felt forced or implausible.

Final Thoughts on "The Last Session"

I wanted to love this. I should have loved this, given how much I enjoy books that lean into psychological horror, cults, and eerie group dynamics. But The Last Session never came together for me. Instead of feeling deeply unsettled in the best way, I was mostly confused and occasionally uncomfortable. However, despite all its flaws, The Last Session was the kind of trainwreck I couldn’t look away from—fast, compulsively readable, and so completely unhinged that I kept turning pages just to see what absurd twist would come next. And honestly? I kind of enjoyed the chaos.

The Last Session will be published on April 1, 2025. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one—especially if you think I missed something! But for me, this was a disappointing follow-up to The Writing Retreat.

Especially after reading Julia Bartz’s debut novel, The Writing Retreat, I was so excited to get into this! Unfortunately, this book fell pretty flat for me and was definitely underwhelming. The beginning was compelling and the end was wild, but the middle chunk is what lost me.

Mostly, I really could not get behind any of the wacky ideas Thea had. I’m all for suspending belief, but a social worker trying to infiltrate a cult to find her missing patient? Lmao no. A good chunk of this book was just Thea going through the motions of this cult and borderline getting sucked in. Once she got to the “retreat”, it took so long for there to be much talk about or real efforts to find Catherine.

And Thea was just so immediately trusting?? Like skeptical still, but she just kind of went along with everything and was way too chill. And then she would be shocked when things suddenly got worse, or something sketchy happened. Like yeah girl, you have no idea what you’re doing and you’re just winging this whole thing!? I’m sorry, Thea was actually pretty dumb lol. But I guess that’s what being in/around a cult does to you? So this book did end up being more of an exploration of the psychology of cults, less thriller.

I honestly did have to force myself to finish this…the 3 star rating is pretty generous. I really did like the concept of a social worker infiltrating a cult and helping a missing person, but this was just bizarre and not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced digital copy to read and review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria for the pre-release copy of The Last Session. Below is my honest review.

This one was a wild ride! After The Writing Retreat, I had high expectations of Julia Bartz's second novel, and she delivered.

It did everything well - world building? Check. Really deep and developed characters? Check. Top notch plot twists? Check. Awesome locale? Check. Perfect build of foreboding atmosphere? Check.

Highly recommend this one to fans of culty stuff, mysteries, and working through personal traumas through the written word.

The writing itself is good and engaging and I always enjoy this author's voice. However, the storyline didn't work for me. It was a little too outlandish and I've read a lot of cult/retreat types of books and this one just didn't quite hit the mark for me as far as where it went and I wasn't a fan of any of the characters.

I overall enjoyed The Writing Retreat, but this one was not for me. As a social worker myself, I didn’t love some of the language that was being used about the mental health population.

This book started off interesting and then ended up going into a completely opposite direction than I thought it would. To be honest, I really thought some of the plot was really unrealistic (and maybe because I’ve been an RN for 16 years?) Overall, the plot and characters were just a little flat for me and I found myself questioning a lot of the character’s actions.

I've never read this author before, but the book blurb seemed really interesting, especially the cult aspect of it. I thought the beginning of the book was slow going, but when the main character got to the center, I started getting into the story. However, that didn't last long. The story started getting weirder and weirder, and not always in a good way. There were many instances where I considered not finishing the book, but I decided to keep going. There were just too many unbelievable things and some things were unnecessary to the plot.

Thea works as a social worker at a psychiatric unit. When a catatonic woman shows up at the unit, Thea learns that the patient is related to a traumatic time in her past. When the patient regains her lucidity, she has no recollection of what happened right before she entered the catatonic state. The patient disappears quickly, and Thea is left with more questions than answers. Thea follows the patient to a remote center in Southwestern New Mexico, where a charming couple holds a monthly retreat, promising to uncover attendees’ romantic and sexual issues. While being pushed to participate in intimate exercises, Thea finds herself closer to finding answers about her missing patient and her own past.

After really enjoying The Writing Retreat, I couldn’t wait to read this newest book by Julia Bartz. I really enjoyed the intro to the story, the writing quickly pulled me into the book. I also enjoyed the cult aspect of the story. While I enjoyed the characters, the plot just got a little too out there for me. You really have to suspend your beliefs for this one. If you like books where you have to suspend your beliefs and enjoy really bizarre plotlines, then this one is for you. I give it 3/5 stars.

Set against the stark, isolating backdrop of a New Mexico desert wellness center, The Last Session promises a tense, twisty dive into trauma, obsession, and the murky line between healing and harm. This book builds on Bartz’s knack for atmospheric suspense and if you have enjoyed her previous books, you will really enjoy the Last Session.

Do not start reading this book if you have someone where to go or something to do because this book will keep you flipping pages until the satisfying conclusion. I loved this one and I think you will too! Go get it when it releases in April!

There's weird books, and there are WEIRD books. And this is a WEIRD book. I know cult books are firmly in the weird category but this was a bit outlandish. I rated it 2.5 out of 5 stars, rounded up to 3, mainly because I like the author's writing style and the story was really engaging. I literally could not put this down. But I had so many issues with this book. From the deconstruction of faith to the blurring of professional boundaries as a social worker to the heavy drinking to the bad romance choices, the main character, Thea, is a trainwreck. I don't necessarily mind reading about trainwrecks (sometimes they're quite engaging, let's be real)... but here, it was almost painful at times. And I had a hard time finding any character I really liked or could root for. All that, coupled with the fact that the (disturbing) movie plotline that connected to real life and the fantasies of the cult leaders was a bit confusing and required a ton of suspended disbelief, just made some of this book a complete miss for me. I also didn't like the ending, so there's that.

It wasn't all bad though. The psychological suspense was interesting, as was the setting... it was hard to know who to trust and what to enjoy (or what to fear). I also appreciated how there were some trigger warnings at the beginning of the book. So thoughtful since traumatic content was such a large part of the story.

In the end, I decided to be generous with my rating. I think this book will appeal to some for sure, and I was interested in it... but some of the details were a little outlandish and not my cup of tea. I'm still glad I gave it a chance. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I decided to try The Last Session after reading The Writing Retreat and not really liking it. I don't think Julia Bartz's writing is for me. The fictionalized cult pulled from real life examples like Twin Flames, which was interesting.

After not loving the author’s previous book, I was hoping this one would change my mind—but unfortunately, it didn’t. The premise had potential, but the pacing felt sluggish, and the characters never fully came to life for me. At this point, I think this author’s style just isn’t for me.

Thank you to Julia Bartz, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, and NetGalley for this ARC of The Last Session. I was so excited to read this after reading Bartz’s debut novel, The Writing Retreat. While the reviews I found were hit or miss for the debut, I absolutely loved it. It was atmospheric and gripping. This novel was a little meh for me. I love a good cult story but this book just didn’t wow me? It felt really heavy (and not in an amazing, can’t stop thinking about it, way) and it seems like the author wants you to just totally suspend belief and I’m not one that can do that Willy-nilly. 3 out of 5 stars.

That first chapter gave me nightmares!

When social worker, Thea, is assigned a new catatonic patient at the psychiatric hospital, she is surprised to discover that this woman looks like her and gives her an overwhelming sense of deja vu. Who is this woman and how is she linked to Thea’s past? The answers will take her to a remote part of the New Mexico desert and her investigation could end up costing her everything.

This story was a wild ride and much of it felt really trippy and chaotic. There were twists and turns I could not predict. If you’re looking for a thriller that does NOT follow the rules then add this one to your TBR.

Thank you Netgalley, Atria Books, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on April 1, 2025

Thank you Netgalley for my advance copy. I really loved The Writing Retreat so I was super curious about this one, especially since it had “cult-y” vibes.
The beginning half of the book drew me in right away. I was so curious and plowed ahead. At the half way mark though….it got..weird. I don’t mind suspending belief in stories, after all, I read for escape. This was just over the damn top. The whole reasoning behind the cult was bizarre and the tie in with the whole “movie obsession” was just odd. I dunno. I was disappointed and cannot believe I finished it. I will say that Bartz has a wonderful talent for writing and I will still read her next.

I ended up choosing not to finish reading this book. I got to a part in the beginning which alluded to sexual trauma and "trauma induced kink", the mention of potential abuse by a religious person and I made the decision that this is a book not for me. Best of luck to Julia Bartz, though. I do think she is an up and coming psychological thriller writer, and I look forward to reading what she writes next. Thank for for the opportunity to read this one, I do appreciate it.