I did not know that I needed this book as much as I did. Summer impresses me with her ability to make a YA so meaningful, intense, and mature. She definitely writes on the line of YA and NA.

A very fascinating book that definitely plays with your idea of what constitutes a cult. I always appreciate it when an author can show how these organizations draw people in, and the emotional impact on families. Summers' writing is like an emotional gut punch.

Truly another incredible novel by Courtney Summers. If you haven't picked up any of her works yet, this one will have you hooked and want to binge all the others.

I don't know what it was about this book, but I just couldn't get into it. Which is a shame because most people loved this book. I made it about 30% in but still felt no connection to the characters or story so I did not finish this book.

This was a bit of a let down for me.

I was super excited to pick up a new book by Courtney Summers after how I much I loved Sadie. And while I did love the writing of this book thats about all I liked. Majority of this book left me extremely bored and desperately waiting for something to happen to then get reeled back in by a small revelation only to get bored all over again. I really would have loved some more depth as to the workings of Unity and it's members but I feel like we rarely saw any of that. I also really didn't care for any of the characters and wasn't a fan of how quickly Lo became one of Lev's groupies after spending so long vowing to expose him. I hoped that by sticking it out the ending would hit home and really pack a punch to make it all worth it but that also just ended up falling super flat for me as well.

I love Courtney Summers, all her books are so compelling. The Project is dark and twisty, and the story is so good that I could not stop reading it! I’ve always been a little intrigued by Cults and how they can get everyone to follow so blindly, so this book was right up my alley. Not even sure how Summers made me feel sympathetic toward a cult, but she is magical! Can’t wait for the next from Courtney!

Note: I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love that this book kept me guessing. Maybe the Unity Project is actually a force for good in the world; look at all they are doing. And yet, with each sinister reveal, I was at the edge of my seat to learn the truth.

My book club loved all the other books by Courtney Summers. When we heard the premise of the Project, we couldn’t wait to get our hands on it.

We were so intrigued by the cover and let me tell you that the words within did not disappoint.
The characters were unmatched to anything she’s ever written. They stood out and definitely captured the storyline well. Not only that but the plot of the story was driven and well executed that the reader was never without a doubt.

Highly recommend this one to any other Summers fans. You don’t want to miss this.

Thank you for my early copy for an honest review, but this is one I could not get into. I thought I was going to enjoy this one because I enjoyed Sadie.

The Project is a story about strength, love and overcoming grief. It is also about a cult, and the kind of dangerous charisma that terrifies me. And thanks to Courtney Summers, that terror won't be going away any time soon!

Lo Denham is an aspiring journalist intent on proving herself to her boss. Years earlier, her sister Bea joined a secretive cult called The Unity Project after their parents' car crash deaths. Despite Bea's apparent desire to have nothing to do with Lo, she's desperate to reconnect with her big sister. But as Lo digs deeper into the Unity Project and its charismatic leader, for the dual purpose of reconnecting with Bea and getting the story of the decade for her boss, Lo begins to realize there might be something darker going on.

Told from two points of view in two converging timelines, The Project is an incredibly clever book. Courtney Summers manages to write in such a way that her characters are saying or thinking one thing, while her elegant foreshadowing manages to tell a completely different story. This is a story that absolutely keeps you guessing, even as it fills in all the answers you thought you needed to know, there is always another reveal to be had.—in fact, I absolutely devoured the last 25% in one sitting, desperate to know the truth behind the Unity Project and what would happen to Lo and Bea.

Though this book was a masterclass of unreliable narration, its best moments were the moments of heart between the mystery. I enjoyed this book and will definitely pick up Courtney Summers' next one.

I listened to the audiobook Sadie by Courtney Summers and LOVED it! The podcast add ins were awesome. The plot for this novel is similar in that two sisters share an unbreakable bond and will go through hell and back to save each other. The suspense in this one is intense. I had trouble putting it down towards the end.
Gloria (Lo) was in a tragic accident at a young age that leaves her scarred and the end result of a "miracle". Her guilt-riddled sister (Bea) will do just about anything to save her, but has problems coping with the grief, near loss and miraculous recovery. Both are drawn to the Unity Project for different reasons. Bea was hero worshipping the Project's (cough cough cult) leader and looking for comfort. Lo was looking for her sister.
What I loved: the pacing. It picks up and slows down in all the right places. The characters: you never know who is fully vested into the Project and who is faking it and the twists.... LOVE it. The ending: poetic. I also can't help but love the spooky, classic horror cover for the novel.

Was this on par with some of Summer's other novels? Probably not. But did I find it still be a compelling read? I did. Mostly because, although the pacing felt off at times, there was still something about the evolution of the story that I found intriguing as well as the whole concept of cults.. I think that's an important topic for teens to understand and to discuss in order to recognize how organizations like the Unity Project can seem like such a positive force or even slightly mundane in its practice, and the leaders can be overwhelmingly charismatic, but how ultimately these groups can be dangerous and damaging, especially for those who are vulnerable. I think this book has a lot to unpack about grief, family, trust, and so much more making it a compelling and worthwhile read as well.

I've read many of Summers' novels at this point, Sadie being my favorite, but this one might be my least favorite. The plot was intriguing and Summers' writing style was captivating, but the ending fell a bit flat for me. I don't think it was told as spectacularly as it could have been.

This is my first Courtney Summer book and I honestly had high expectations. The story was extremely long, very slow and nothing really blew me out. The premise of a religious cult seemed extremely interesting and enigmatic to me and I thought that a lot of things would happen that would leave me speechless, but that was not the case.
The book has different timelines, one very close to the other. 2012, 2016 I think and 2018, it was very confusing to read that type of format and remember what the hell was happening there and who was narrating that part of the story.
2 stars for me
thank you so much for Wednesday books for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good cult book. It is definitely a trope that will make me want to read a book right away. As far as cult books go, this was a good one. Courtney Summers writes in a way that created a fantastically creepy atmosphere and I found her characters quite interesting. It is lyrical and packed with tidbits of history and emotion, focusing well on the strength of the sisterly bond.

The dual timeline is well crafted and creates a lot of twists and turns that amp up the pressure and make the book incredibly tense in some parts. It gave a more well-rounded approach to the story. Seeing pieces of the story from Bea's point of view was often a punch to the gut, but really added a lot of depth and emotional grip to the story.

Lo was an okay protagonist. For the most part I enjoyed her character and thought she was well done. However, there were moments where she seemed either excessively naive or housed in the "convenient" zone. Some things that happened to her were a bit of a stretch and some of her reactions didn't really make sense for me. Her emotional connection to her sister was well-crafted though, and I was able to connect with her in some ways.

Lev is a particularly crafty character. He is well-built as a cult leader and his tendency toward a dual personality makes him the perfect villain. He is sneaky and slowly manipulative, able to overwhelm the senses of fear and confuse those around him until he coerces them toward his ways. He is vile and yet at the same time totally intriguing.

As touched on earlier, there was some "convenience" in the plot that made things a bit less believable and occasionally there were chunks of the story that were told rather than being shown. This unfortunately included the ending, so I was left a bit disappointed. I needed to have a bit more depth and there were some important questions that were left unanswered. The Project wasn't a perfect read, but it was a fun ride with excellent writing, so I will be picking up more Courtney Summers in the future.


* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

I really loved the premise of this book, but it felt slow and lost my interest. I found Lo to be a dynamic character who was sometimes hard to root for, and felt that the ending was a little anticlimactic (in line with other reviews). I wish there was more action rather than backstory and suspense-building, but I gave it four stars because it was well written and thought out. I haven't read a true suspense/ psychological thriller in a while so maybe I'm out of touch with how much of a slowburn it could be.

I had really high hopes for this book. While I really enjoyed it, it left me hoping for a little more. A little more thriller/horror and a little less exposition. I did really enjoy the idea of two sisters. One caught up in a cult and one trying to save her and gets caught up in the fray. I loved the sister relationship, but wish we'd gotten a little more of that. Overall, what I liked I loved, but there just needed to be a little more of the good stuff.

A few years ago I read Sadie by Courtney Summers and absolutely loved it (sidenote: if you haven’t yet, listen to it as an audiobook, it’s awesome). Naturally, I was super excited to read her latest book, The Project. Unfortunately, this book really fell short for me. I found the plot to be a slog (I kept waiting for the cult to get more exciting but it just never really happened). The ending was also an issue for me - it just fell flat and felt very anticlimactic. Lo was easy to root for - though sometimes she made frustratingly poor decisions. Overall, The Project didn’t live up to my expectations that Sadie set and I really couldn’t get into it the way I expected to. 2/5

Lo Denham's parents died in a car accident, leaving her alone. Her sister Bea joined The Unity Project, a strange community that seemed to completely pull Bea in. Lo has spent the last six years trying to get back in touch with Bea, but apparently once you join The Unity Project, it becomes your whole life. When Lo is given an opportunity that she thinks will reunite her with Bea, she jumps at it. But she soon realizes Bea has no desire to be found. And the more she digs into The Unity Project--and its leader--the more she recognizes how dangerous it is.

"Having a sister is a promise no one but the two of you can make--and no one but the two of you can break."

I read this spellbinding book in one day. It's completely addictive as it delves into the bond of sisterhood. I was fascinated by Bea and Lo's story and absolutely had to know what happened to Bea. Summers does an excellent job at weaving a story about cult and religion and the power they wield. THE PROJECT sucks you in, and it's beyond fascinating, filled with unexpected twists and turns.

At its core, this is a story of family and sisters, and while it's a dark story, it's also touching too. Summers writes so well and so deftly, with her characters springing to life before your eyes. Highly recommend.

I’ve always found cults interesting so this was a very intriguing story. The suspense of Lo’s and Bea’s journey with the Unity Project was riveting but the dual perspectives and timelines got confusing at times.