Thank you for an advance copy of this book by an author I have enjoyed in the past. This tells the story of a social worker who is works in a psychiactric mental facility and meets a catatonic woman who she swears she knows from her past. This sets Thea off on a journey to discover the girls past and how she fits into it, if she does. The story moves slower than I would have liked and I wouldn't say it had great twists, but it was a well written, held my interest thriller. 3.5 stars.

The Last Session started out strong, dragged in the middle, and became preposterous in the end.

Thea is social worker in the psychiatric unit in New York. A catatonic woman is brought in and once she is able to converse, she can't give any indication of who she is or what happened. Thea feels drawn to her (they look alike) and that she knows her and surprisingly she is right--this is Catherine, the star of her favorite childhood movie. Before she can capitalize on this chance meeting, Catherine is gone after being picked up by her "parents".

When Thea figures out that Catherine has left under suspicious circumstances she follows some very small breadcrumbs and comes the conclusion that she is at a Wellness Retreat in remote New Mexico that is possibly a cult. So of course, Thea manages to go to this retreat to see if she can find Catherine and bring her "home". The problem is, she doesn't even know her and doesn't really have any idea what is going on. Once she arrives at the retreat, her and a small group of people tackle wellness but she is keeping an eye out for Catherine. It is a weekend retreat and what should be exciting is actually boring and then we start to delve into some religious/psychological trauma and some woo and the book just turns ridiculous.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thea is a therapist/social worker in a psychiatric center in NYC when a woman in a catatonic state is admitted, who Thea thinks she recognizes. Days later, when the patient flees the center but leaves Thea a cryptic note as to her whereabouts, Following the clues, Thea arrives at a wellness retreat in New Mexico, where she discovers the retreat may not be what it seems. The Last Session is an ambitious undertaking that tackles several emotionally charged topics, including sex, cults, and reincarnation, all woven together in an intricate plot that goes in an unexpected direction. While the story stretches credulity a bit, and you’ll have to overlook some plot holes, the writing is topnotch as the author guides you through the maze. The ending felt rushed after a large buildup, but overall this was an entertaining read. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Julia Bartz delivers another heart-pounding masterpiece with The Last Session! This thriller pulls you in with its unsettling premise and keeps you hooked with layer upon layer of suspense. Thea’s journey to unravel the mysteries of her patient and her own traumatic past is both riveting and chilling.

The remote desert setting and the eerie wellness retreat create an atmospheric backdrop that intensifies the tension. Bartz expertly weaves psychological depth with relentless twists, leaving you questioning everyone and everything.

A must-read for fans of locked-room mysteries and psychological thrillers. You won’t want to put this one down! 🏜️🖤✨

I loved “The Last Session”, it was harrowing and kept me from getting ample sleep because I couldn’t put it down. My heart is with Thea, Julia Bart’z writes another great book!

Thea, a social worker with a traumatic past, gets involved in quite the journey once a catatonic patient shows up unexpectedly at her hospital that she feels an immediate connection to.

I'm giving this 2.5 stars (rounded up to 3) because it was a fast read that I had trouble putting down. I do love stories about cults! That being said, some of the twists and turns almost felt incomplete and left me more confused than how I started. My biggest qualm with this book is that so many parts felt unbelievable, which disconnected me from the story and the characters.

I liked how this book touched upon some serious topics - childhood trauma, mental health, SA, religion - which I found to be thought-provoking and important.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC!!

While this wasn’t my favorite read, I definitely appreciated the underlying themes of cults and unreliable narrator, since at times, it was hard to decipher what was real versus what was the main characters delusions. I am not a huge fan of the more fantasy side of things like reincarnation or past lives, but I think it was well done!

The last Session by Julia Bartz

As this is one author that I absolutely crave this book threw me, my feelings were mixed. Talk about an odd mix of whiplash, I wasn’t sure if I was watching a horror movie or a really hard to follow soap opera drama. As the initial mystery of this book was interesting and enthralling. I was shaking my head at the odd placement of situations like an orgy and an odd cult like atmosphere. It was interesting and held my attention but It was not a wow book for me. I will continue follow this author and read what she puts out. But holy crazy ideas. This book fits that category. Thank you NetGalley and Atria books

The book got me out of my reading slump. I couldn't put it down until I finished it!! Thea is a social worker whose interaction with a woman in the psych unit brings Thea back to her traumatic past. This book captivated me and scared me.. I will be recommending this to anyone and everyone!

3 stars
Publication date April 1, 2025

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for sending this eARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thea, a social worker, feels a connection to the new patient brought into the psyciatric unit where she works. The patient has no memory of how she got there or what happened to her before she arrived. Soon after, she is gone, leaving a possible clue for Thea as to where she has gone. Thea decides to follow the clue and ends up on the other side of the country, in a situation that leads to more mystery...and a fight for her life.

This is not necessarily my favorite type of book (wellness retreat/ self-help spa/possible cult), but it was well written and had plenty of twists and turns to keep you entertained.

This book has many pros and cons, including:

Pros
-A cult story is always entertaining
-I liked some of the characters
-I liked the transition from the mental hospital to the cult
-It was good that this book called attention to trauma sexuality


SPOILERS

Cons
-The story the cult believed in is so far out of left field that it became flat-out comical
-Why did the author shoehorn a return to religion at the end? After everything she’d gone through, why in the world would she have asked to go to church?
-Reincarnation just doesn’t do it for me

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Well this was a WILD RIDE. I’m pretty good at predicting the twists in thrillers and this one had me guessing all the way until the end.

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

Although this book will grab you at the beginning, it does slow way down at about the halfway point, and so many parts of it are too far-fetched for me. It is definitely an interesting plot that I would label as a dark thriller, and I’m sure there’s a huge audience for that, but I struggled a bit.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC.

I was super intrigued by the concept of this one. I love anything that feels culty, it’s very interesting to me!

This one was definitely unique, as it explored different themes of reincarnation and death. And the back story that is the motivation for the “bad guys” is super intriguing.

I thought it was pretty well-written and entertaining to read. I was definitely curious how the plot was going to play out. Although I did see the “twist” coming, I still appreciated the journey to get to the end and I was definitely rooting for the main character.

The only thing I will say is that the book did kind of drag at points, which did take me out of the story at times. I feel like less focus on the “sessions” they did would be beneficial to move the plot along.

Overall, it was a fun read and I found the entire concept super interesting.

Thank you NetGalley, for this uncorrected ebook ARC of 'The Last Session' by Julia Bartz, in exchange for an honest review - expected release date 04/01/2025

I can't believe I made it through this book. So many overly far-fetched, ridiculous things happened that it was hard to take it seriously. The main character, Thea, was SUCH a mess and, I'm sorry, but between some of her outrageous actions and multiple odd obsessions/compulsions, it was really hard to relate to her character. I appreciate that the author brought light to some deep topics (cults, SA, childhood trauma and more) but it seemed that they were all overdone, way too over the top and exaggerated.

While it quite as strong as the Writing Retreat, this was still a wild ride! Julia Bartz has landed on my radar and I’ll read every one of her books!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy of this ARC. I wanted to like this one, but I ultimately DNF. The writing, while strong and descriptive, fell flat with the storyline. It felt predictable and I found myself struggling to stay engaged.

Hmm.. not really my vibe like I’d thought it’d be. Book focuses on mental health and cults, so if that is your jam then you would really like it. I did enjoy the author’s writing style and would read from her again.

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.

The Last Session by Julia Bartz will be available on April 1. Many thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the gifted copy!

I LOVED this book. I was already a fan of Julia Bartz from "Writing Retreat" so I was very excited to dive into this book.

It kept me enthralled! I was sucked in from the first page, and did not stop reading until the end. Unputdownable.

The twists and turns were not predictable, but felt completely supported by the text.
Characters felt full and developed.

Definitely pick this up if you're a fan of psychological thrillers, I do not think you'll be disappointed!