The Last Session - Julia Bartz
Pub Date - 4/1/2025
Rating - 2/5
Summary - Thea, a social worker, is treating a woman who is in the middle of a psychotic break. She realizes after spending time with her that this woman looks familiar, but she can't figure out where she knows her from. As soon as Thea figures it out, her patient left, leaving Thea concerned about her safety. Thea doesn't feel right about her patient's departure, so she does some research and tracks her down to a retreat advertised to help her find a partner. Once Thea gets there, she not only finds her patient, but also taps into her past.

Thoughts - Thank you to Netgalley and Atria for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. I really enjoyed this author's last book The Writing Retreat so I requested this blindy without looking at the summary. The book had a very strong start and I couldn't put it down. As soon as Thea got to the retreat, things started getting strange, and then straight up went off the rails. I struggled to finish it and was not a fan of the book at all. Maybe more for someone who is fan of cults? It wasn't for me. I would not recommend if you're looking for a locked in thriller like advertised.

This thriller is packed with trauma, and suspense.

The plot was gripping and compelling, characters well developed, and mainly following Thea, a social worker working in a psychiatric ward.

The pace was really great and kept me invested and entertained.

This atmospheric mystery thriller will keep you on edge, trying to guess what’s going on.

I really recommend.

Thank you so much Atria Books, Julia Bartz and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book had all the elements of what could have been a 5 star but ultimately fell flat at times. It would start to pick up but then lose traction.

We have our MFC Thea, who is a social worker for a psychiatric unit. One day, a catatonic patient is brought in. Thea swears she recognizes her. Eventually, the patient starts talking but has no recollection of the events that brought her in. One day, the patient is just gone. It really bothers Thea, and she can't stop thinking about her. It's then she realizes where she knows her from. She knows she needs to help her patient, so she starts digging, which leads her to a retreat in New Mexico. This retreat utilizes some unconventional treatment methods. As Thea starts to come closer to finding her patient, she learns some things about herself in the process.

This book was suspenseful and intriguing but just couldn't keep up the pace. It was just okay for me.

A big thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for the arc in exchange for my honest review

Social worker, Thea begins working with a patient in the pyschiatric ward who appears silent and lost within herself. A feeling of deja vu washes over Thea, this woman is a connection somehow. When she wakes from her stupor and leaves, Thea will track her down across the country to New Mexico. Upon arrival, Thea is inducted into a cult like following focused on relationship healing. The situation grows dire as Thea wrestles for answers. What transpires will cost at least one person their life.

This is Julia Bartz sophomore novel. She writes intriguing characters who have dark pasts. That being said, this one got a little weird for my taste. I would say borderline paranormal/afterlife vibes within the plot. Enter with caution, very dark subject matter is explored. Thank you Netgalley and Atria for the advanced copy.

Wow ! This one is a hard one to review. This book is a wild, thrilling, addictive ride. It kept me hooked the entire book. Anything involving cults always sparks my interest. It was a really original story. Some parts of the book, however felt a little over the top dramatic and certain parts could get confusing like the dreams. The ending was so suspenseful and I had to stay up late reading it but then the ending was a little too abrupt for my tastes personally. I do recommend giving it a try if you like something that will hook you in and lots of twists and turns.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

“This is a womb.”
Here are reasons to read the Thriller book:

Social Worker - Thea is a social worker at a hospital for mental issues
Actress - when an actress named Catherine from her favorite childhood movie is admitted and not exactly coherent.
Connection - She doesn’t remember who she is or what happened, but Thea cannot help but feel connected to her, especially because of how similar they look
Retreat - When Catherine seems to be kidnapped, Thea follows her to a relational retreat that seems to be very questionable

So even just typing out this premise, it sounds strange right? I really enjoyed this author’s last book The Writer’s Retreat and expected a similar vibe. And while I could not put this book down because I had no idea what was happening, the ending really went off the rails. I think if you are a fan of books that are a little weird and a little surreal, this book might be for you

I was a fan of Bartz's last book The Writing Retreat. It was zany, wild, and a little fantastical. This book is similarly zany and fantastical, but, unfortunately, it lacked the quick pace and fun of The Writing Retreat.

While working at a psych ward, our main character Thea comes across a patient who she realizes is an actress from a film she watched as a child. When the patient disappears, Thea becomes obsessed with finding her, which leads her to a wellness retreat.

It's a bit of The Silent Patient mixed with Nine Perfect Strangers and Yellowjackets Season 2. It had an interesting start but I found myself less and less interested as the book progressed. When we finally did get to some more zany moments it was too late.

I would recommend this to readers who are fans of the wellness retreat / cult-ish leader trope. I'm personally a bit burnt out by it as I've seen and read so many things similar to this in the past few years. If you enjoyed the wilder aspects of her last book, though, you may enjoy parts of this one.

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

This went in a slightly different direction than I thought it would. I was on board with the initial concept and loved how obsessed our main character was with getting to the bottom of the mystery. I loved the elements of the possible cult with ties to a child actress and the setting was very immersive and interesting. However, I think the story took a bit of a fantastical turn that was never quite resolved, and there were a few elements with the romantic/sexual entanglements that didn't propel the story forward. Overall, a very interesting and entertaining read.

This book started off strong for me, but when Thea headed to the retreat, it just went off the rails. I had a hard time finishing it. The orgy was completely unnecessary and was such a bad character move for someone that was trying to save another person and escape.

Ok first of all, this book was epic. I loved The Writing Retreat by this author so I was SUPER excited when I found out she was coming out with another book. This one felt like it was a completely different vibe but I still enjoyed it so much.

The pacing was interesting because there were parts that were slower and then it would pick up for a bit, then go back to being slower. I found that really worked with the overall plot of this one and I felt like I was in the story with our main character.

I LOVE culty thrillers so this one DEFINITELY delivered! It was weird and out there but so bingeable and just such a fascinating read. Highly recommend!!

Thank you Atria Books for my copy of this!

Even as a social worker who's dedicated her life to helping others, 33 year-old Thea is feeling more disconnected from herself than ever. Reeling from the abrupt end of a relationship that happened after she finally opened up for the first time, she's keeping her head down and focused on her patients. When Catherine, a catatonic patient whom Thea swear she recognizes from a famous film, arrives on the psychiatric unit, more painful scars from Thea's past are ripped open that lead her far beyond the comforts of her job.

"The Last Session" follows Thea beyond the psychiatric unit where she works and into the New Mexican desert to "The Center," where enigmatic couple Sol and moon host a monthly intimacy retreat that boasts rekindled romances and all-but-guarantees soulmate discoveries. Thea isn't there for intimacy, however, she's there following a mysterious breadcrumb trail left by Catherine when she suddenly vanished from the psychiatric unit.

And at The Center, Thea finds far more than she's bargained for.

Compared to "The Writing Retreat," Julia Bartz' latest unfortunately pales far in comparison. It has a strong, gripping start (especially for someone in the mental health field) that quickly dissipates into a messy-in-more-ways-than-one wellness retreat plot that felt very been there, done that. Overall, the story fell apart about halfway through for me and lacked the propulsive qualities of Bartz' first novel. If you're going to read one of hers, start there!

I was a fan of Julia Bartz's previous novel, The Writing Retreat, and was delighted to receive an advanced copy of her follow-up novel, The Last Session. Like with The Writing Retreat, The Last Session is a psychological thriller and mystery, this time with a bit of action and cultiness thrown into the mix. Would absolutely recommend to thriller and mystery readers. Five stars!!!

I think this book had all the elements that could have added up to a really good thriller, but it just quite missed the mark.

I was excited to get this approved arc—I recognized the author from her debut The Writing Retreat, which had good commercial success (I got about 10% through it and then DNFed). The blurb also reminded me of The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides which I really enjoyed.

The Last Session follows Thea, a social worker in a New York psychiatric ward (The author herself is a practicing therapist). When a catatonic patient (who not only looks exactly like Thea but shocker! also shares her exact birthday and double shocker! is also the child actress Thea was obsessed with growing up) arrives at the unit and then abruptly disappears, Thea tracks her down to a remote compound in New Mexico. Cult shenanigans ensue.

The atmosphere and surreal film connections held my attention enough to keep reading—I did love that the whole cult centered around this weird ass movie, it was giving Scientology—but the ending reveal felt lackluster and clumsy. I did appreciate how dreamlike the story felt, though.

If anything, this book makes me curious enough to go back and try to finish the Writing Retreat, which it seems like people enjoyed a lot more than this one based on the reviews so far.

Thanks to Atria Books, Julia Bartz and Netgalley for this advanced copy.

I was really looking forward to this book as I loved Julia Bartz's first novel, The Writing Retreat. I also love any psychological thrillers involving cults, retreats gone wrong, and locked-room type of vibes. I'm open to the idea of reincarnation, so when it was first hinted at in the book I was very intrigued. The premise and beginning of the story pulled me in and I really wanted to like it.

Unfortunately, it was a bit too bizarre for me. The Writing Retreat had some bizarre elements, but it made sense in the story and the characters made it believable. In The Last Session, however, the characters seemed "out of character" reacting to the events unfolding. The main character, Thea, who is a therapist, does very un-therapist-y things and makes dumb choices for someone undercover (like hearing a noise in a room, going in to investigate, and calling out the name of the missing person she's secretly looking for). The retreat sessions weren't believable either as people divulge their deepest insecurities within 5 minutes of the session and immediately feel comfortable participating in the role-plays. It's explained away as reincarnation but it didn't line up with my understanding of reincarnation, so again, was not believable enough for me.

But the main reason the book wasn't for me was because of all the triggers. I appreciated the content warnings at the beginning and maybe should have realized my own triggers would be activated too.

Overall, not the book for me, but I'm still glad I got a chance to check it out. I did enjoy the writing style and the setting/location.

Thank you to Atria Books and Julia Bartz for this ARC.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. It captured me from the start but then it started to feel too “out there” and unlikely that it took away from the original enjoyment. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book!

The Last Session by Julia Bartz releasing April 1st 🌵🏜️

Julia Bartz once again blew me away with her second novel that takes us on an adventure about trauma, healing and definitely a large web of secrets. The cult like atmosphere definitely made this a thrilling ride for me. The storyline is a little out there and at times disbelief but honestly, I was invested and engaged throughout.

Yikes. I had some doubts about picking this one up after not really caring for the Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz. Should have stuck with my instincts.

It made no sense at all. Not sure why it is classified as a lock-room thriller either. It was beyond predictable and I was never surprised or shocked by anything. It was SO over the top and you really have to suspend your beliefs. Nonsensical and boring.

Thea is a social worker at a psychiatric hospital. A catatonic woman shows up one day and she looks really familiar. They she is gone. Can Thea figure out where she knows her from? Will she get hurt in the process? This was a fun one, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This novel was dark and moody, a closed-door mystery similar to the author’s debut. Instead of a writer, our lead is a therapist who journeys to a remote “retreat” (read: cult) community to attempt to rescue a client she feels an otherworldly connection with. This novel is as much a culty murder mystery as it is about Thea coming to grips with her own dark history. A really thrilling, engaging read.

Julia Bartz is making a niche for herself of writing psychosexual thrillers with unhinged main female characters and sapphic undertones, and I am here for it! Bartz's background as a psychologist showed out in full force, with much explanation of technical terms and ethics in psychotherapy. What sets this apart from her previous book, The Writing Retreat, is the more pronounced transformation and catharsis our main character Thea experiences after the ordeal, which elevates the story from being just a "I survived a dangerous situation" to "this made me confront my toxic traits, unresolved trauma, and whole personality".

I dock a star because around the 60% mark, the main character does something so incredibly illogical and against her usual behavior. I don't like when authors dumb down their character in order to move the plot along ie. "let me walk down a dark alley even though there's a killer on the loose" type shit. However, the ending saved it.

In the authors note, she said she wanted to highlight white supremacy in cults but like...where? If there was, it was super subtle (unless she showed it by only having two POCs in the book?? As in cults rarely recruit POCs - not a fact, just speculating on Bartz's intentions). If anything, this was a critique on organized religion and the bystander effect when it comes to abuse of power, especially when committed by religious leaders.