2.5 stars, so 3. I lowered rating half a star as I was writing review.

Thea is a young social worker at a psychiatric hospital who comes across a patient she feels an odd connection with… and the woman that resembles her. The woman is mute and majorly traumatized upon entering the hospital, then claims she doesn’t remember anything that led her there. Then the woman disappears.

In a move I don’t understand at all, except to assume Thea wasn’t really a social worker at the hospital but instead a patient? Maybe everyone in this book is a patient? Maybe all this is taking place in a snow globe? I don’t know, but anyway, Thea decides that she must find the missing patient, and, you know, just peaces out on her job and her life in order to do so. As you would.

In searching for the patient Thea comes across a couple holding monthly retreats to help people with romantic and sexual issues. So, NATURALLY, Thea, thinking the woman might be found at the retreat just goes ahead and signs herself up…for something she believes might have driven the woman she is seeking into a mute trauma response. Again, as you would do.

In a surprise to exactly no one but Thea the Incredulous the retreat turns out to be….oh, I don’t know, a bit icky. Is the woman there? What is going on?

Oh, there’s also some stuff about Thea’s childhood and some movie she was obsessed with as a kid. This is all important.

So, other than having to suspend a fair amount of disbelief when wondering how Thea makes it through the day without getting hit by a bus, and whether the girl has one ounce of survival instinct (spoiler alert: she does not), the tone of this book felt….heavy to me. It took me awhile to get through it. Maybe that just means Bartz does atmosphere well. I think I’m likely to be an outlier in not loving it, and there were parts of it I liked fine, hence the three stars versus two. I fear I’m not explaining this well….did a book ever just give you a feeling you didn’t like? This was that, for me. 2.5 stars, really rounded to three.

Social worker Thea conducts art therapy sessions in a psychiatric ward. She recognizes a despondent new patient, a Jane Doe found wandering an expressway. When she leaves the unit under suspicious circumstances, Thea follows clues to an Arizona desert retreat hoping to find the woman and return her to her family. The charismatic retreat leaders zero in on Thea’s emotional scars, and soon she suspects their community is actually a cult.

As a big fan of THE WRITING RETREAT, I was excited to dig into THE LAST SESSION. Thea’s disturbing backstory was slowly revealed along with her connection to the mysterious psychiatric patient. My favorite things about the book were Thea’s struggle with romantic relationships, her reliance on alcohol, and the colorful supporting cast including her art therapy patients, her roommate, coworkers, boss, and the other retreat attendees. Bartz does a good job planting clues and red herrings, and developing each character.

Since first scene didn’t make sense to me until later in the book, I don’t feel that it was an effective hook. Toward the end of the book, the perspective changed from Thea’s to another character. The effect was jarring, and the scenes in their perspective were superfluous in that the information they provide was again conveyed later. In retrospect, it makes sense why Bartz made the stylistic choice, but it felt clunky and manipulative to me. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed Thea’s character arc and the resolution. I can’t wait to read Bartz’s next thriller.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to First Emily Bestler Books/Atria Books, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC, for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Bartz' sophomore novel packs a punch. I'll admit, when we got past our opening scenes and stage setting and got into the meat, my attention waned a bit. I've seen enough docudramas about new age cults to read the writing on the wall but was still ready for the ride. I'm so glad I stayed for the duration. I burned through the last 40% of this so quickly and each time an end was tied up. Loved the blend of supernatural (or was it really?) into this read.

The Writing Retreat was one of my five star reads. I was so excited to get The Last Session as an ARC due to this. Julia Bartz is an automatic read author for me.

I found The Last Session to be a wild ride. The book had me hooked almost instantly. I will say parts require a total suspension of disbelief which is not easy for some readers to achieve. I myself struggled to really let go and just go where I was taken. I enjoyed how original and intriguing this novel was. I also commend the author for never being boring.

Thank you to Atria books, Julia Bartz, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

I have loved Julia Bartz's work before, and been so totally okay with the craziness because the journey is so fun. This one was somewhat less believable but still a fun journey, with a main character who I could totally buy into. Fun, not perfect, is my review.

This book was just not good. Seemed like the author came up with a bunch of random ideas and lazily strung them together

Fairly predictable but an enjoyable read.. Well written, great characters and well told. hanks for the opportunity to read this and much luck on publication.

Have been a fan for a while. I liked this a lot and felt like it fell in nicely with other writings by this author. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC. I would recommend if you’ve liked the previous writings and plot structure of her works.

Thea, a social worker with unresolved past traumas, comes across a catatonic patient who looks way too much like her. When she is finally lucid, before Thea can figure out what happened to the patient, she is gone. Now Thea has to follow the breadcrumbs that lead her to a culty sexual relationship healing retreat and face her own demons along the way.

I was super excited for this book - I actually did squeal when I saw the approval for the ARC! Writing Retreat was one of my favourite reads last year so I had very high hopes going into this book.

I really enjoyed the writing style; the short chapters made the story flow, there were unexpected twists at almost every turn and I'm a sucker for cults and their weird shit. I was very into the book and didn't want to put it down! And many problematic themes were intertwined so well!

However, I would have loved to have some sort of explanation for some things that happened to the FMC - maybe there was and I missed that. I might be needing more hand holding 😅

All in all, this was a really good experience and I would recommend it!

Thank you very much to Atria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books and Net Galley for the ARC.

Loved Julia’s sophomore novel - stayed up late to figure out how it ends! I loved the cult aspect of the novel and thought that it was a solid follow up to the writing retreat. I’ll be recommending!

I enjoyed this book. It was very suspenseful and was interesting throughout the entire novel. I enjoyed this authors other books, so I was glad to get this one as well.

I really enjoyed the sense of unease and the atmosphere created in this book! I was creeped out the entire time and was almost looking over my shoulder while reading it. I loved the uncertainty and the unreliable characters. I really haven’t read anything like this and think the cult played out to be really unique.

This was a real ride, and I had to do SO much suspending disbelief but… I had fun! Definitely a quick read that will keep you hooked as you try to figure out what’s going to happen next, but again, you gotta really let go and let God plot/logic wise. If you liked The Writing Retreat you’ll like this, but if you didn’t this one may not click for you. For me, it was enough fun that I’ll probably continue to keep an eye on what Bartz does next.

Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley!

Julia Bartz's "The Last Session" is a gripping and unsettling thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. The novel follows Thea, a social worker who becomes entangled in the mysterious disappearance of a patient connected to a controversial wellness retreat in the New Mexico desert.

This story gives into the darkest secrets too many people hold inside from their pasts. It explores how those traumas shape who we are and see the world.

The mystery was riveting and so thrilling. Is there some crazy secret beneath this "coincidental" meeting or does it all stem from a much darker place ...?

Wow. Thank you to the author and publisher for this ARC. I was so excited to read Julia’s next book since I enjoyed The Writing Retreat so much. I was not disappointed! This book had an awesome cult vibe to it which is hard to find in a good thriller. The characters are strong and well developed throughout the book. This was a great thriller with a touch of fantasy as well. Highly recommended! Can’t wait for the next book!

3/5. Pretty ambivalent on this one - a lot of standard tropes mixed together that makes for an entertaining albeit not particularly novel read.

Such an amazing read!

I will post my full review closer to the publication date.

Thank you Atria Books, NetGalley, and Julia Bartz for an ARC of this book!

My two main takeaways: Thea should not be a social worker and cults are sketchy.

The basic premise is that Thea is a therapist at an inpatient unit and an intriguing patient (Catherine) shows up. Thea heavily relates to Catherine because of her childhood, and becomes very invested in Catherine when she disappears. Thea follows her to a "retreat" (cult) to try to figure out what is going on with Catherine.

I requested this book because I was very interested in the therapist/social worker/inpatient unit aspect of it, and unfortunately that part disappeared quickly. The main chunk of this book takes place at the retreat and focuses on the strange activities of the owners/residents of the center.

Honestly, I enjoyed the cult aspect of the book and thought it was well done. The cult leaders did a great job drawing Thea into their *activities* and the writing really captured the creepy aspects. I wasn't a huge fan of the (mild spoiler) reincarnation aspect though, that part was quite confusing and leaned a little too far into otherworldly/paranormal for my taste.

The pacing of the book was fine--it was a bit slow at the start but the Retreat portion propelled the story forward until the very chaotic conclusion of the novel. Overall a fun culty thriller that I'm sure many readers of the genre would enjoy. I will definitely pick up Bartz' first book The Writing Retreat when I'm looking for a quick and thrilling read.

Thank you to NetGalley + Atria Books for this ARC

This book was ok but ended up taking unexpected twists and turns. It centers on Thea, who is a therapist struggling with trauma from her childhood. When she sees a new patient named Catherine with a tie to her past, she puts everything on the line to follow her to a retreat in New Mexico, where she encounters a cult like sect of oddballs.

Firstly I had to suspend my disbelief a bit that Thea would even figure out the clues to go to New Mexico and then rush her license and her limited financial means to do so. While it’s interesting to see the effect effects of what a believable leader could convince people to do, there were no likable characters in the book and it took some twists that I struggled to determine were real or dreams. When I thought the book was coming to a close, it just kept going and became more and more confusing. I felt like the ending did tie some things together but it was a lot to get to that point.

Overall, don’t really think this one was for me but interesting concept overall. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.