The story is beautifully written. I just really love Courtney Summers writing style. Although I enjoyed my time with this book, I didn't love that the plot was just so slow. I would still recommend this book, and I can't wait to see what Courtney Summers writes next.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. It just didn't draw me in and I did not want to get bogged down trying to continue reading it.

At first this was a pretty standard cult story. It shifted very quickly, though, to the toxic nature of corporate America. Really, the focus of the plot is all over the place. It makes for fairly compelling reading, though it gets a bit tiresome as the plot wears on.

The Project is an intense, suspenseful story about Lo, who has suffered trauma after trauma, first in the horrible car accident that killed her parents and injured her severely, and then in the disappearance of her sister into the Unity Project community. When Bea joined the Unity Project, she left Lo behind with messages of staying in touch and remaining connected. But it's been ages since Lo heard from Bea, who won't respond or return her calls. Lo believes the Project to be a cult that has brainwashed her sister into disavowing her former life, and she intended to write a news article that will indict the Project and make Bea see the light. As Lo gets closer to the Unity Project, she learns more about the group and struggles to understand the choices of her sister and the impact of the Project.

Lo is a character to root for. Seeing her go through so much hardship and feel so passionately about bringing down The Project, puts you on her side immediately. Any story about so much trauma and about a suspected cult should be expected to be quite intense, and this story did not disappoint. It remained suspenseful and exciting throughout, but took several unexpected twists and turns. The path that Lo walks in order to find the truth is not the one that she suspects, but by the end of the book, both the reader and Lo understand the full scope of Bea's experiences with The Unity Project.

After reading Sadie I should have known this book would get me in the feels. Once you start talking cults I’m in but add in the emotional roller coaster and oof it’s a lot. I can’t wait to read more from Courtney Summers!

I am a huge fan of Courtney Summers. Her writing style paired with her amazing stories always get me good. Sadie and Cracked Up To Be were both sooo good so I knew I would love The Project.

Description
Lo and her sister Bea, haven’t spoken in years. After Bea left and joined The Unity Project Bea stopped talking to Lo, leaving Lo alone. This story has Lo and Bea as POVs. Lo’s is present time and Bea’s is in the past. Bea’s POV gives us insight into what it’s like being in the Unity Project and what has been going on the years she hasn’t talked to Lo. For those years lost Lo has been trying and failing to prove that everything is not what it seems at The Unity Project. She knows that her sister wouldn’t just stop talking to her and wants to know the truth about the place. When she talks to a man that says his son died because of The Unity Project, Lo wants to get to the bottom of it. She decides to try to interview Lev Warren, the founder, and messiah of The Unity Project, and find her sister. Slowly she realizes that all that she ever thought about her sister and The Unity Project might be wrong. She starts to not know what is real and what is a lie.

Thoughts
Courtney Summers is a genius when it comes to writing stories with unstable narrators. You have no idea who to trust because everyone seems untrustworthy. There were so many times throughout reading this book that I had to keep telling myself that The Unity Project was a cult and not to trust them. But towards the end that got really hard. You couldn’t help but like the people in the project and feel glad that they found Lev. I love that the book was written in alternating POVs and that Bae’s POV was in the past. It made for a story that I couldn’t put down. Summers knows how to write the best endings, period.

Character Love
Lo- I loved Lo. She was such an interesting character to see the world through her eyes. I enjoyed trying to figure out the truth about The Unity Project with her.

Lev- I didn’t like him. I tried, but I couldn’t.

Bae- I really felt for Bae. She just wanted to be loved and she loved her sister so much. She was a great contrast to Lo.

Conclusion
I love Summers! She is on my auto-read list. I recommend this book if you loved her other stories. I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of unstable narrators and has an interest in cults. You will not be disappointed.

I think my main problem with this book is that my expectations were a bit off. This book ended up lacking a lot of the intrigue that I want in my mystery/thrillers as well as plot twists and turns. It was fairly easy to guess how this was going to end. The narration style was also a bit weird for me personally, like I found it hard to connect with the characters/story bc of it. I've loved the other books that I've read by Summers, so I fully plan on reading her future titles, but this one just wasn't it for me.

This book was very good! It started off fast and ended fast but drug a little bit in the middle. I loved the concept of the cult and how the personality of the leader developed throughout the novel.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our library collection on preorder and will recommend it to students.

I read The Project pretty quickly, but the book stayed in my mind long after I finished it. Told in two POVs set a few years apart, The Project is about two sisters' relationship with a cult, and its charismatic leader.

After Lo and their parents get into a car accident, Bea prays to whoever may be listening - please save Lo, and she'll do whatever is needed from her. Her prayers are answered by Lev, the leader of religious group The Unity Project, who seemingly performs a miracle and rescues Lo from the brink of death. Incredibly grateful, Bea leaves the now healed Lo to recuperate alone, and joins Lev as a devoted follower. Years down the line, Lo is investigating Lev and the Project, and she stumbles upon a lead that may help her finally locate Bea.

Reading this book made me feel uncomfortably heady - you know that something terrible is going to happen, but you have no idea how and when, Though told in different POVs and during different times, what Bea and Lo go through are largely the same. They both succumb to Lev's charms - they believe in his words, his leadership, his ability, and they soon get romantically involved with him. As time goes by, however, the rose-colored glasses come off, and Bea and Lo learn who Lev really is, and what he's capable of.

I can't remember the last time I read a thriller that made me feel so much. This is my first Courtney Summers book, but it definitely won't be my last.

In The Project Lo Denham is involved in a car accident that killed her parents and leaves her near death. Her sister Bea prays for a miracle and when Lev Warren, the supposedly divine leader of a cult known as The Unity Project intervenes with a "healing," Lo survives. Bea, overwhelmingly grateful, joins the cult and disappears from Lo's life. While working for an investigative magazine, Lo witnesses the suicide of one of the cult's members. She begins investigating the cult, hoping to discredit it and reconnect with her sister. However, Lo, who is granted an exclusive interview with Lev Warren, finds her sister is no longer a member, and she is slowly lured into joining the cult herself. The story moves back and forth in time with Lo narrating the present and Bea flashbacks from her past. Suspense builds as subtle clues about what really happened are revealed, until the horrifying truth is unveiled. This gripping psychological thriller focuses on what happens when downtrodden and vulnerable people, who are searching for identity and belonging, are preyed upon by opportunistic groups offering healing and salvation.

“You wanted the truth. Or are you afraid of it now?”

The Project is a story about love and grief, about betrayal and sacrifice. It’s a story about a girl determined to save her sister at all costs.

Lo Denham is an aspiring journo. After her parent’s death in a tragic car accident, her sister Bea joins a secretive cult called The Unity Project, leaving Lo to fend for herself. Desperate not to lose the only family she has left, Lo has spent the last six years trying to reconnect with Bea, only to be met with radio silence. When Lo gets the perfect opportunity to gain access to Bea’s reclusive life, she thinks they’re finally going to be reunited. But as Lo delves deeper into The Project and its charismatic leader, she begins to realize that there’s more at risk than just her relationship with Bea.

The Project is told in alternating chapters from Lo and Bea's points of view. Lo's storyline takes place in the present while Bea's starts with Lo's accident and follows her life in The Project. Her investigation into The Project was interesting. The author did a great job of exploring different aspects of a cult and as well as the cult’s enigmatic leader Lev. This is a story about the bond between the two sisters and the book was able to bring out the emotional connection between the two sisters quite well.

The story is a slow burn. It starts off well by introducing Bea, Lo, and the Unity Project. With the story revolving around a cult, it sounded exciting, to begin with. . But the story was too so slow for a thriller. The writing was good that but I really struggled with pace. The perspective would often shift from Bea to Lo and back to Lo but I didn't find them particularly distinct. The back and forth between perspectives and changing timelines between the present and the past Bea when she was in the Unity Project, went on all at once. In all, the narration style was mentally exhausting for me.
Since this book was supposed to be a thriller, I had hoped for more suspense and more twists and turns. But up until the climax, nothing really exciting happens which was disappointing.

Overall, The Project did not live up to my expectations after a great start. However, the book has some nice emotional moments between Lo and Bea. Also, the cult portions were done well. If you are looking for a thriller with an emotional touch, you will enjoy this one.

Many thanks to the publishers St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

Courtney Summers brings readers into the world of The Unity Project and one woman's mission to find her sister:

Lo feels like she has been alone most of her life. After her parents died in a car accident, her sister Bea abandoned her to go be part of the Unity Project which Lo is 100% sure is a cult. Lo has spent those years after her sister disappeared trying to contact her, just even to talk, have some sense of family, but she has never heard from Bea. When a prospect presents itself for Lo to see the inner workings of the Unity Project Lo knows she cannot pass up this chance to reunite with her sister and finally have the family that she has dreamed of. However, it's hard to reunite with someone who does not want to be found and as Lo delves deeper into the Unity Project and gets to know the leader Les even more she has more and more questions, and she can only hope that one of the answers will lead her to Bea.

This is the second book that I have read by Summers and I enjoyed that this book is completely different from Sadie. I think that the cult idea/aspect that is not written about as much in modern fiction so I very much enjoyed that Summers was going for something that not a lot of people are reading about these days. However, I did find that the book was quite slow until the last 20% of the book where things really started to pick up. I also found a few events predictable and at times the time shift was confusing.

I would not put this in the horror genre as the book is being advertised as, I would say more of a psychological mystery not even a thriller as I never felt the chills or suspense that I expect from that genre. Really what you are reading towards in the book is the whether the Unity Project is good or not. I think that is where Summers excels in this book is having you question if the Unity Project is a cult but also whether they have done anything wrong or not. One thing you can be sure of is that The Unity project seem to be there when someone is in their moment of Need, very cultish I guess?

I really enjoyed the two POV within this book however, the time frame does jump around and it not linear in Bea's POV at all. There are year gaps sometimes that go back and fourth when it is her POV and this was confusing at times. Thankfully Lo's POV was pretty steady, I think if both jumped around like that, you would lose readers really quick. With the dual POV you do get to see how similar the sisters really are, even though they did not grow up together. What I find really interesting about Lo is even though she did not grow up within The Unity Project, how naive she is about simple things in the world, from her workplace to how a car works to even what a cult is at times. There were times when I really questioned Lo's thought process as it could not all be chalked up to age.

I think where Bea ends up is really predictable, I was able to see it coming after we learn about Bea from Lo's POV, even before people start telling her that Bea does not want anything to do with Lo. I will say I did not see that ending coming, but at the same time seemed like a bit of a cop-out. I mean what actually happened there?

This was a good read as I liked the cult aspect, it was well written and I really enjoyed how the story was told, but it wasn't quite what I thought it would be and lack the overall suspense I wanted from this book. I think that her novel Sadie was better and for me personally Sadie had me on the edge of my seat throughout, as we need to find out what happened to her. I look forward to seeing what Summers comes out with next. One thing is for sure, she has a great ability for storytelling and as far as I can tell is keeping it formula free.

Enjoy!!!!

Lev turns back to me, his eyes meeting mine. My chest tightens painfully because my head is full of my sister and what she might have seen and felt in a moment like this. God? Really? It was nothing I could accept at the time, but at least then it was abstracted by her grief and her sudden, desperate need for faith in the face of our loss. Now that the reality is in front of me, I accept it even less and hate her even more.

The Project is told from the perspectives of sisters Bea and Lo Dunham; Bea's following events in the past and Lo's addressing the present. After a car accident that left her parents dead and her sister changed, Bea meets the charismatic Lev Warren, founder of the Unity Project. Five years later, Lo seeks to reconnect with Bea, blaming The Project for her lack of communication. When she receives the opportunity to get closer to Lev and potentially expose The Project for what she perceives it to be, she doesn't hesitate to accept. All things are not as they seem, though, leaving Lo questioning everything that she once believed to be true.

Summers beautifully illustrated how those with mental health issues or have lost so much can be drawn in by magnetic people and ideals. It was easy to understand why Bea fell victim to Lev and The Unity Project, as he was excellent as presenting himself in a manner that aligned with what she she needed most. That being said, Lo’s age, naivety, and sense of entitlement is frustrating.

**Note, the full review with spoiler (hidden, of course) is on Goodreads.

Had I not received a copy via NetGalley, I would not have finished it. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the writing, and the ending was superb, but I wasn't engaged until the eleventh hour. Between the aforementioned ending and moments that made me cringe, I almost elevated The Project to three stars, but I simply couldn't get past the slow build. That being said, I can see how those intrigued by cults would find this book fascinating. Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Courtney Summers is able to write stories in such a uniquely gripping way.

The Project is filled with an unreliable cast of character's, a sometimes dull plot, and a minor mystery. But even when the book lacked excitement, I still couldn't put it down.

The story centers around an alleged cult and during the MC's investigation you will also begin questioning if they truly have ill-intent or not. This is ultimately a study of people with power and how they wield / maintain it.

Unfortunately, this book suffered from a painfully predictable plot and lackluster ending pushing my rating down to 3 stars.

I was really excited to read this book. I really wanted to love it. But I didn’t. I think I’m the wrong demographic for it. I’m not a huge fan of cult-ish books. It’s probably due to the fact that I lost my college roommate to a cult in the early 1980s. That doesn’t mean you won’t like it. It was incredibly suspenseful. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. The opinions are my own.

Found my first favorite book of 2021. This was utterly spellbinding, a riveting look at how easily a vulnerable person can be sucked into a cult. Lev Warren is an incredible villain. Lo Denham is a fantastic main character. Loved this!

I'm thinking more like 3.5 stars. I'm not gonna lie--this book stressed me out. I could not read it all in one sitting. I'd read about 20-30% at a time and then had to settle myself, read some fluffy romance.

It's watching really vulnerable people being taken advantage of. Summers really did her research on cults and knows her stuff--she has described her source materials in interviews--so the language Lev and the rest of the Unity cult uses walks the perfect knife's edge of perfectly pure intentions before descending into violence for those who stray. The fate of some characters is obvious, so the reveal doesn't quite have the impact it should. Also, a brief stint in the cult by Lo isn't quite believable.
But if you haven't followed any stories about how cults work (although the latest one in the media about the sex cult NXIVM was hard to miss), this is an interesting read.

This one didn’t do it for me and I truly wish that I liked it more. The author writes very well and I appreciate her style however the book itself just was not one I could connect with. I didn’t care for Lo as a character which made it harder to stay focused while reading this book. I also had a harder time keeping up with the present and past perspectives the author uses which for me also took away from the experience of reading this one.

Courtney Summers never disappoints me..ever!! The Project gave me everything I wanted from a thriller/mystery book. I'm a reader who never enjoys books like this but the added twist of being a cult book made it even more exciting. It deals with lots of grief and ways of overcoming it, betrayals