19-year-old Lo wants to be a journalist and tell stories, but more than that, she wants to tell one specific story. After an accident killed their parents, Lo's sister Bea joined the Unity Project, a group Lo knows to be a cult. If only she could get inside to find Bea and get her out of the Project. When she gets the opportunity to do a profile on the group's leader, Lev Warren, she discovers that the group is both more dangerous and more enticing than she ever imagined. What really happened to Bea, and what will happen to Lo?

The cult premise here feels very timely and ripped from the headlines given the recent Nxium lawsuits and the continued press attention to Scientology. I also liked that Lo's sister motivated her and that the reader got both of their perspectives throughout the novel. Ultimately, I was a bit disappointed because the author tried to do so many things: discuss religion/God/prophets, create an ongoing mystery, cover Lo and Bea's relationship, have Lo write an expose, etc. I felt that the narrative got weighed down trying to hit all of these points, losing some of the thriller/suspense that was mentioned in the blurb, and I would have appreciated a more focused narrative.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've never read any of Courtney Summers previous novels before, but I think she's an excellent writer. She writes beautiful imagery, and there's a lot emotional resonance as well. With that being said, I still could only give "The Project" a so-so rating. I think the first half and the last 10% were the strongest parts of the novel. The middle dragged, and then dragged some more. There were a few times I didn't think I was going to finish it, but I'm glad I pushed through. I didn't like that Bea's chapters were written in 3rd person narrative. It was very distracting and came off melodramatic. I thought Lo's chapters were the heart and soul of this story because we get to her perspective/inner struggle.

I think I have a love/hate for stories surrounding cults. They always sound intriguing to me, but unfortunately they never pay off. Maybe because it's hard to feel sympathy or remorse for people who join a cult. I don't mean to sound harsh, but it just goes to show you how easy it is to brainwash and gaslight people in this day and age. Cult leaders prey on the vulnerable and gullible. My main problem however was the predictable plot. I pretty much had the whole plot/twist figured around the 60% mark. Lo was the highlight of the novel for me, she was a very interesting and complicated character. Her backstory was heartbreaking. And holy hell, would you look at that cover! It's the most exquisite artwork I've ever seen. Just saying.

Thank you, Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC.

Release date: February 2, 2021

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of THE PROJECT by Courtney Summers in exchange for my honest review.***

4 STARS

Lo, desperate to find her older sister Bea, investigates a cult called The Unity Project led by an enigmatic man named Lev.

Orphaned at thirteen and abandoned by Bea to a cult, Lo doesn’t realize Lev manipulated her recovery from a coma to convince Bea to join the cult. I had a lot of empathy for Lo, detached from almost everyone yet with a keen sense of empathy and wanting to do the right thing.

Courtney Summers elevates the quality of her writing and word-building in every book, THE PROJECT no exception. Some of her sentences are so beautifully crafted I wanted to read them twice to savor their beauty.

The jumping of timelines from Lo’s first person point of view in the present and Bea’s third person in the past leading up to her tenure in THE PROJECT at times confused me, which could have very well been formatting in the ARC that will flow better in the finished version so that didn’t affect my rating. What prevented a full five stars was I didn’t feel much emotion from the book. I don’t need happy endings or conclusions tied in a bow, but I really want to feel strong emotions at some point during the book, particularly the end and despite enjoying it very much, it left me flat.

Courtney Summers delivers another brave, unflinching book in THE PROJECT.

I've loved Courtney Summers other books, so I was so excited to get to read The Project. It actually look me a bit to get into it, I think because there were so many storylines at the beginning, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. The Project follows sisters Bea and Lo, who suffered tragedy at a young age when their parents were killed in a car accident. Lo was also injured in this car accident, and Bea utilized the power of a cult called The Unity Project to save her. The book follows the story of the sisters later on, dealing with the different roles the cult has on their lives. It's a twisty, psychological book that will have you questioning the ethics and morals of the characters. I highly recommend getting your hands on it! You won't regret it.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review will be posted on my Bookstagram page, website (alilbitbookish.com), Twitter and Facebook group .

I am still spinning over what I just read. I was first introduced to Summers with “Sadie” which is by far one of the best books I have ever read. Needless to say, I was excited at the opportunity to read her newest book. Summers has a way of writing mysterious thrillers that leave the reader hanging on every word. And I did exactly that as I moved through this book.
Bea didn’t want a sibling. She knew there would be nothing good to come of having another kid in the house. She had seen it in the households of her friends. Their baby wasn’t even here yet and her parents already seemed more occupied with it than with her. But when her baby sister, Lo, shows up earlier than anticipated, she cries at the sight of her sister’s fragile little body. Her mother explains how the relationship between her and her sister will be different than any other. It is a place that only the two of them will share, a place made of secrets and languages that only they will know. A sister is a promise. A promise Bea plans to never break.
Years later, tragedy strikes and once again Bea is looking at her sister's fragile little body. She finds her way to the chapel to pray for her sister’s survival. A sister is a promise. As she prays HE walks into the chapel. She doesn’t know him, but HE is there to help her, to perform a miracle for her. His benevolence is breathtaking. She feels small in his presence. After Lo recovers, Bea feels she owes him. She’s drawn to him, and decides to join The Unity Project and leave Lo behind.
Some people consider the Unity Project to be a cult. However, there is no evidence to prove that they have ever caused harm to someone or took part in any illegal activity. But Lo is asking questions. She needs to see Bea. She needs to know why she hasn’t seen her for six years. Why did she leave when she needed her? As Lo begins to uncover more about the Unity Project, she is left in shock. But will her information make a difference? Will she even have the opportunity to share it with the world?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved the cover from the moment I saw it. But after I read the story, the cover took on an all new meaning. I’ve often wondered why someone would join a cult. But as the story highlights, and the cover represents, the answer to why can be illusive. It’s found in the examination of individual choices, but has roots in mind control as well. This story drives the reader to examine whether individuals falling into a cult are simply misguided people suffering the consequences of their own decisions, or if they are indeed victims of an often misunderstood crime. I would recommend this title for a New Adult collection.

I stayed up until 2am to finish THE PROJECT last night, and I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve been sleeping on Courtney Summers. Psychological thrillers aren’t usually my cup of tea, but I’ve heard so much about how everyone was wrecked by SADIE, and when I learned this books was about cults—which I have a morbid fascination with—I knew this was gonna have to be my first CS book.

Reader, it did not disappoint. It’s been a while since I read something this… audacious. THE PROJECT is raw, it’s real, and it’s unafraid. The result is a story that cuts you open, slowly drags your trust out into the open, and then lays your feelings bare. Courtney Summers pulls no—zero (0)—punches. She deeply understands the darkness in the world, and how easily evil slips into the skin of good intentions. Like the main character Lo, I knew going into THE PROJECT this was a book about cults and I should be wary. Just like Lo, that knowledge didn’t make a lick of difference in the end. I'll be talking and thinking about this book for a long time.

Another great thriller! My students loved Sadie, and I think they will really enjoy this one as well.

First I should say that I LOVE Courtney Summers and was really looking forward to this book. However I felt like it didn't live up to the hype. The concept of the cult that was developed throughout the story got very heavy at times. I got lost in the technical aspect of God that was portrayed and I felt like that detracted from the story. Overall there was a good twist that I didn't see coming which was fun. I did think the sister relationship that was developed - specifically the one sister chasing the other sister - had been done in her previous novel, Sadie. I also thought the ending was missing something. It seemed very disjointed and choppy and I wanted more action in real time instead of a recapped ending. As an educator I do not think this novel would be appropriate to use in class or even to recommend to my students. There were multiple accounts of sexual activity mixed with this concept of religion/cult that I think is too mature for my students.

I’ve really enjoyed every Courtney Summers book I’ve read so far, and THE PROJECT was no different. Summers’s direct writing style is compelling and gritty, which lends itself to the atmospheric setting.

From the moment I began Lo Denham’s story, I could feel the way it would end. Much like my other favorite Summers book SADIE, it was never the ending that drove me to read. I was locked in to Lo’s journey from page one, flying through pages as I felt Lo’s compulsion to find her sister, Bea, who had joined The Unity Project. As Lo is drawn to Lev, The Unity Project’s founder, during her search, we uncover more about Bea’s story and what pulled her into the orbit of The Unity Project in alternating perspectives.

This book is one to start when you have an empty Saturday. I guarantee that once you start, you won’t be able to stop.

This book is well written and has good character development I just couldn’t personally get into the story and found it a little bit of a struggle to keep reading. In the end it does wrap up everything and answers the questions you have, just left a little lacking for me personally. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Holy boats, my heart has been led on a tumultuous ride! Summers went and shattered it again. This is one of my favorite of her works— sharp prose bites into the big, wild bonds of sisters. It broke my everything and I loved it!

The Project is a brilliant novel. The writing is beautiful and flows so wonderfully that you keep reading even through the topic is not an easy one. The center of the story isn't a cult, but the relationship between sisters. Bea and Lo's relationship - the bond of sister is the true center of the novel and that's what make it work so well in my opinion.

That being said, the way that Courtney Summers presents the cult is brilliant and you can see how things got to the point they are at in the story. Summers lets you slowly experience how the cult operates and the more you see, the more the unease and dread grows.

The last part of the book was so action-packed and I flew through it. This novel is going to stay with me for a long time.

(More than 3 stars but just not a 4 stars for me!)
I read "Sadie" two years ago, and really liked it. I was looking forward to another novel by [author: Courtney Summers].
I was fortunate to be granted an ARC of this novel in August but since the publishing date isn’t until February I put on the back burner. However, I didn’t want to put off reading it any longer.

Gloria-Lo and Beatrice Bea Denham were orphaned when their parents die in a car accident.
Lo was 13-years old at the time and was in the accident she was and is still traumatized by it 6 years later. She was sent to live with their great aunt Patty, who died a few years later.
Bea was 18 and joins the group in which Lev is the leader and who is credited with saving Lo’s life,
However, communication between the sisters has stopped.
Story is told in two time period by both girls

Lo is now a journalist. One afternoon while Lo is waiting for her train at a train station, she experiences a suicide. Before the boy jumps in front of the train he calls her name and recites a bible verse. She finds out that he is the son of friend of her boss; he claims that the “The Unit Project” is responsible for his death as he was brainwashed This is enough for Lo to set out to find her sister and investigate the cult, a story she started in her mind some time ago.

There are parts of this story that seem like just another cult story ~ no surprises.
Wait a minute! this is a Courtney Summers story. Yep there is a twist at the end that had me ‘waiting for’ but did not figure out.

Want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for professional review purposes only. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for February 2, 2021

Thank you to NetGally & the publisher for the eARC copy of this novel. As someone who has always been fascinated by religious cults, The Project was a masterfully insightful narrative that reveals how two estranged sisters were indoctrinated by the same vengeful & abusive cult leader.

Bea & Lo's parents died in a car accident that Lo barely survives, which leads to Bea joining the Unity Project & abandoning her sister. Years ago, a man walks into the magazine office where Lo works & says the Unity Project killed his son. Lo attempts to begin an investigative article that she hopes will allow her to have access to Bea & help her understand why the Unity Project became more important than the bond of sisterhood. As Lo investigates the cult & its leader, her feelings about surviving the accident that killed her parents & her bitterness toward being abandoned my her sister, create a perfect storm leaving her to wonder if the Unity Project may be the home she has been looking for all along.

Courtney Summers wove a suspenseful, heartbreaking narrative with characters that are deeply relatable & a cult leader who walks such a fine line between charismatic & pitiful that this reader certainly felt drawn in by him a few times. An intense wild ride that will have readers examining their own stance on cult indoctrination!

That’s was not at all what I was expecting. There were so many twist and took me a second to get into it but I read the book in like 3-4 hours. I just had to see what happened next. Since the books does revolve around cults it does paint a really clear picture of how someone could get sucked into a cult. I was very pleasantly surprised by this book and may look into more of the authors books going forward.

Courtney Summers books are never about easy topics or digestible truths. She often forced us to look at the darker sides of humanity but to still be able to find hope there. The Project is no different as Lo and her sister Bea both find themselves at different times questioning their faith in God, humanity and the leader of The Unity Project Lev. This book is an intense look at regions cults and how and why people get drawn into them. We all think we would never let it happen to us, but this makes it clear that there are pieces of all of us in these characters and this is how men like Lev find their prey. An uncomfortable excellent read!

In The Project, Courtney Summers takes the reader along with someone who is slowly drawn in to a cult- the skepticism, the denial, and eventually seeing the dynamic leader, and eventually the acceptance and entrance into the cult until it is too late to get out. As a fan of anything Courtney, this book definitely did not disappoint. The characters presented are relatable and yet with the mystery, the dynamic to stay seated until every last word is written is just as real as being in the book itself. Not only is this a book of warning, but a book about family, determination, and integrity.

This was a perfectly fine thriller, but I must admit that I was a bit disappointed because I LOVED her previous title SADIE so much and this one just didn't draw me in in the same way.

I absolutely love stories about sisters, so I knew I had to pick this book up the minute I read the premise of it. Courtney Summers is the queen of characterization and atmosphere. I jumped into this book without knowing much more than: cult and sisters and was immediately sucked into the stories and into Lo's and Bea's lives.

Courtney Summers has done a fantastic job at writing a cult thriller. You don't fully know that it's a thriller until 50% in, and you watch as someone falls into a cult mentality. It's something often talked about, but even people who say that it could never be them can fall susceptible as well. The book really shows the predatory nature of these kinds of cults and how it can make you feel loved and supported. By the time you finally realize you're in a cult, it's too late. They have everything you could want.

Summers includes the aftermath of this kind of situation at the very end, which I always wonder about with thrillers. What happens to these people and their trauma? What happens with the children involved? The ending of this book was satisfying. It was upsetting and raw, but satisfying. I had been trying to get my hands on this book for quite some time, and I'm really grateful that I was approved for it!

Full review 1/25/2021