This is probably one of the weirdest and most f-ed up book I have ever read. It was just ridiculous. I am giving it two stars ONLY because I slogged to the finish hoping for some kind of redeeming wow moment that never came.

The premise started out OK with this mysterious comatose woman showing up at a psych hospital and the young social worker who pieces together who she really is. Then this person decides to track down this same patient after she leaves, believing she has been kidnapped. She winds up spending an absurd amount of money to go to some weirdo retreat, that of course turns out to be a cult, to try and save this person. That alone made me want to throw the book across the room.

However, I hung in there only to find out the story got weirder and weirder. And once again this book suffers from being too long. The plot went from being off putting to just downright bizarre. I felt nothing for any of the characters, including the protagonist, who I thought could use a stint in a psych ward herself for getting sucked into this whole thing.

I am in no way belittling those who need mental help but this book almost makes a mockery of that. I am truly angry I wasted my time on this rubbish. I wouldn't line my birdcage with it.

Thank you to Atria and Netgalley for this ARC so I didn't waste my money on this book.

The synopsis of this one sounded SO intriguing, and I knew everyone loved her debut novel, so I was super excited to get to read this one. However, it fell a little flat for me. The beginning was super interesting, as the psychiatry aspect of any book I always find intriguing. But as the story moves on, it unfortunately goes a little downhill for me. It was slightly weird, and sometimes I found myself slightly confused. It wasn't a bad read as the concept was definitely interesting, just the story as a whole wasn't it for me personally and that's okay. I'd still recommend giving it a try because you might love it, while I found it to be an okay read!

(TW: abuse, sexual harassment/assault, violence, cults, psychosis, suicide attempt)

This book had an interesting concept, but it was delivered in an incoherent and underwhelming way. When it came to the psychological side, too many characters were unreliable from mental illness/addiction or deceit, causing the story to be too difficult to follow and the investigation to be too overshadowed by trauma. As for the thriller side, the locked room element wasn't evenly present throughout the story. It was briefly introduced in the prologue and then didn't return until the final stretch, leaving the atmosphere mostly dulled to a general sense of isolation. Overall, I appreciated the author incorporating their therapist background with the topics and dynamics explored. However, the pacing and characters unfortunately made everything confusing, tedious, and frustrating to read.

Thank you Netgalley & Atria / Emily Bestler Books for an eARC❤️❤️❤️❤️

The story's about social worker, Thea, who's got a super dark past. And then, out of nowhere, a patient shows up who's connected to all that trauma.
I won't lie, I was hooked from the start. Thea's a complex character, and her story's full of twists and turns that kept me guessing. Plus, the setting - this wellness center in New Mexico - is just super creepy 🫣
But here's the thing: as soon as I realized the wellness center had a cult-like vibe, I was ALL IN. I mean, I'm fascinated by cults - the psychology, the dynamics, all of it. And this book definitely delivers.🤩
What really stood out to me, though, was how the author explored trauma and identity. It's clear Julia Bartz is a talented writer who's not afraid to tackle tough subjects.
So, if you're in the mood for a thought-provoking thriller, I'd def recommend checking this out. And if you're like me and have a weird fascination with cults... well, you'll probably devour this book in one sitting.

this one was wild & very off the wall, which normally I appreciate the creativity, but this just didn’t make any sense half the time 🫠

one of my pet peeves in mystery books is when the author tries to force connections that don’t make sense 🥴 and boy was the main character reaching… from purposefully stalking a patient on a wild goose chase, to putting herself in harms way just to figure out what the cult is, and of course, figuring that everyone is there to help her instead of you know unaliving her 🤡

while I appreciate how fast paced this story was, the underlying spiritual story was… a bit much for me. I love a good cult plot line, but this went a bit further and tried to tie reincarnation into it all. and while it sounds like a promising premise, it relied on the reader suspending disbelief and making connections to the characters that weren’t really there…

and can we talk about how despite all odds (and science), these idiotic characters were able to survive? even when they should have died in a literal collapsed cave with no food or safe water?

thank you to netgalley and atria for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 2 stars
wine pairing: white burgundy blend

"The Last Session" is a novel that is as intriguing as it is confusing. With a convoluted mythology, this novel can feel like to chore to get through, specifically in the last third of the story. But, it's a very interesting read, one that I think people are going to gravitate towards, since the subject itself is very interesting.

Thank you to Atria books and Julia Bartz for the opportunity to read The Last Session, which was one of my most anticipated releases of 2025. Unfortunately, it was a pretty big letdown, and I chose to not finish it at the 70% mark.

I had very high hopes for Bartz’s sophomore psychological thriller since her debut, The Writing Retreat, was a total sleeper hit for me. Based on sheer “what the fuck”-ery parallels between the two books, I was expecting to be in for a similarly well-crafted wild ride that built to a crescendo.

Unfortunately, The Last Session is more of an initially captivating Part One that systemically loses itself in a death march out into the desert as it goes on.

It’s way too fixated on its own underdeveloped lore, hyperfocusing on a fictional movie called Stargirl. This is the childhood favorite movie of our 33 year old FMC, and there’s way more to the story than this factoid. However, this fictional movie unfortunately shares a title with a wholly unrelated YA book by Jerry Spinelli that was extremely popular when I was a kid (I’m 32), and I regrettably kept finding that really distracting while reading, especially because the fictional movie title made zero sense in context of the movie plot.

There are some initially compelling themes like mental health and institutionalization, memory loss and trauma, religious and sexual abuse, and establishment of a cult in the desert. However, most of those interesting subplots get wrapped up by the halfway mark, only for the book to go all in on the cult angle.

By that point, the characters felt flat, no one’s motivation felt clear, and I just couldn’t get past how one-dimensional of a read this had become.

I really appreciate the opportunity to read this and would still consider reading other thrillers of Bartz’s in the future, but this wasn’t a fit for me.

I really enjoyed how this book started out and the premise was very intriguing. Catherine showing up at Thea’s job and the mystery aspect there, I really enjoyed. Once the story turned halfway through to the center, it started to lose me. A lot of Thea‘s actions didn’t really make sense to me, and seemed a bit far-fetched. A majority of the plot relies on the Stargirl movie aspect, which again I enjoyed originally but not enough to constitute the entire book being about.

My main issue was that some plot points used I felt like I could not get behind. I don’t wanna go into spoilers, but specifically Thea’s sexual fantasy and one scene with some of the characters at the retreat. In my personal opinion, i did not enjoy those aspects and felt it was weird to include them because it wasn’t really essential to the story or a different concept could’ve been used.

In the ending of this book, I didn’t really feel satisfied with how everything resolved. And just in general, the ending was very weird to read, which wasn’t really my vibe

The Last Session by Julia Bartz is a gripping psychological thriller with a fascinating cult-like setting. The story follows Thea, a social worker, who becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth about a mysterious patient from her past. Her search leads her to a remote wellness retreat where the tension slowly builds, keeping you hooked.

I loved the eerie atmosphere and the immersive writing. The cult dynamics were intriguing, and the suspense kept me turning the pages. However, the story did drag in the middle, and some elements felt over-the-top. The frequent mentions of Stargirl also felt unnecessary.

While it wasn’t as strong as The Writing Retreat, it was still a compelling read with plenty of psychological twists. If you enjoy slow-burn thrillers with a dark, unsettling vibe, this one is worth checking out!

After reading Julia Bartz debut novel, The Writing Retreat, I was really looking forward to her second novel.

The beginning of the story was engaging, and the writing was immersive. The cult aspect of the story was also well-received. However, there were some issues with the book. While over-the-top or suspend-your-belief elements can be acceptable, there were many instances in this story that might be considered excessive. Additionally, there was a significant focus on the Stargirl film, which is a movie the main character was obsessed with as a teen. For me about half way through, the story began to become a slow burn.

Although it may not have been as enjoyable as The Writing Retreat, it is still a recommended read for fans of thrillers.

Fallin' down a rabbit hole and then down Earth's laundry chute into oblivion......

I'm not sure that this is the same author of The Writing Retreat (2022) that I enjoyed and gave 4 Stars. Julia Bartz, where art thou?

The Last Session swirls around our main character, Thea, who is a social worker in a mental health facility in New Mexico. Right off the bat, we're getting vibes that Thea is a bit of a lackluster employee. She oversleeps and imbibes a bit too much. Thea is not a young thang......she's thirty-three years old.

When a catatonic woman is brought into the facility, Thea feels that she knows her somehow. Jane Doe turns out to be Catherine who was a teenage star back when. (And we get pages and pages of Thea's heartthrob teenage years) Then Catherine is discharged and picked up by her so-called parents who aren't really her parents.

Thea picks up a clue and follows it by checking herself into a cult in New Mexico in order to find the missing Catherine. Shucks! Wouldn't we all now? The Last Session becomes the last straw. So far-fetched and unbelievable including the ending. I'm being generous with 3 Stars. It's my hope that Julia Bartz will redeem herself in the next one.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Atria Books and to Julia Bartz for the opportunity.

This book started off so strong, I loved the idea of Thea working in the psychiatric unit and working with her patients, learning their stories etc. However, at 10% the book got SO weird and I had no idea what I was reading. It felt like the author was doing too much. It felt like she was trying to do what Mona Awad does… but it didn’t work for me. It was cringey and I felt like I had to keep suspending my disbelief in every chapter. It seems like a departure from her first book and I’m confused as to why?

Sometimes, a book just isn’t for you, and that’s exactly what happened here. I went into this one with high hopes, expecting to love it, but as I kept reading, I realized it just wasn’t my kind of story. There’s nothing wrong with the writing or the story (actually was pretty good); it just didn’t click with me. Maybe it was the pacing, the characters, or just the overall vibe—whatever it was, I found myself struggling to stay interested. Instead of forcing my way through, I decided to DNF and move on to something I’d actually enjoy. If this sounds like your kind of book, definitely give it a shot! It just wasn’t the right fit for me.

But I would recommend it still, maybe what doesn’t work for me can work out for you 😊

3.5 rounded up!

"Are you the savior? Or will you save her?"

Julia Bartz's sophomore novel THE LAST SESSION follows social worker Thea in a psychiatric unit in New York. One day, a woman shows up in their unit, catatonic, and she looks awfully familiar to Thea. By the time she realizes how she knows her, she's been taken away, leaving behind clues for Thea that leads her into the depths of the desert and into the hands of a podcasting couple determined to solve her barriers to romance and intimacy.

This book grabbed me in from page one (but loosened its grip a bit in the final quarter 😬).

This story is propulsive, intoxicating, and culty, which felt extremely fitting for this day and age. The "romance retreat" reminded me a lot of Twin Flames Universe and the lengths people with desperation are willing to go to for healing.

Like I mentioned earlier, the last quarter really took a turn and not in a way that I enjoyed, though I can see some readers really getting a kick out of it!

Overall, I didn't love this one as much as THE WRITING RETREAT, but I can't deny that Julia knows how to write in a way that will hook you in!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: April 1

Holy crap! This book was intense! A slower build at the beginning but it really got going pretty quick and didn’t stop! It was SO GOOD. I don’t want to say too much since there’s quite a mystery around it and throughout! But it was super good and I really enjoyed it and the growth of the main character! I also really really enjoyed her grip on reality through this crazy ass story!!!! Awesome book!!!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC.

So, so much went on in this book. It was a wild ride. I enjoyed most of the plot, but other times felt it to be farfetched or hard to follow. Not the best thriller I've read to date, but also not the worst.

This was my second Julia Bartz novel and I enjoyed it. Some of the concepts were a bit far fetched for me but I did like the writing style. Lots of characters that seemed to transcend time and lifetimes. This was a crazy wild ride.
Thank you NetGalley, Julia Bartz and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was certainly.....unique....


To be honest, I'm having a hard time reviewing it. It had all the things...a psych ward, a cult, a movie star. But it also felt like I needed to take a bunch of hallucinogens to understand what the hell was happening at times.

2.75 stars, rounded up to 3

I was a big fan of Julia Bartz's The Writing Retreat so I was thrilled when I heard about her upcoming novel centered around a psychiatric patient with ties to a cult in New Mexico. The first part of the book was so well done and had me completely hooked. I flew through the first 40% on a road trip.

But then things took a turn. Everything just went weird. And not in the typical "interesting cult" weird way, either. The story felt like it turned in circles and wasn't really sure where it wanted to go. The main character, Thea, and most of the supporting characters were just downright annoying and made awful choices that had me rolling my eyes. I really struggled to get through this one. It never crossed my mind to DNF it - more that it was just hard for me to read more than a handful of pages at a time.

Unfortunately, this one was not for me. I strongly disliked the final scenes at the cult's house. And don't even get me started on the final chapter. This just didn't live up to the expectations I had, but I am looking forward to more of Bartz's works.

Thank you to Atria, Julia Bartz and Netgalley for my DRC in exchange for my honest review!

Ok. Well.... this was not great.

It has all the makings of an interesting thriller - a psych ward, cult, and past lives. Unfortunately the story slowly ambled on and took way too long to get to any interesting parts. Only problem though was that when it got weird, it got WEIRD. Like,<spoiler>I had to literally put the book down when she described a foursome as an "undulating sea creature"</spoiler>. Not to mention there's just way too much focus on the sexualization of young women, but it's done in a way that feels like it's just there for shock value? Idk I just feel icky now.