The title and concept drew me in, but the characters drove me away. I was so excited to dive into this book, and at first, I was totally into the millennial angst and family drama. But then, every character chose to behave in the most enraging way possible every single time. Glinda and Troy are pretty much the only likeable characters, and while at first they seem endearingly flawed, it spirals into frustrating. I'm sure readers will find them relatable, however; so if the title and premise intrigue you, definitely give it a shot!

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was listed as a comedy and anything to do with cults is an automatic yes from me. But this book was a no. Its not funny, the characters (especially the main) are bland to the point of annoying and the story as a whole was just plain meh.

An absolute oddball of a book, in a most delightful way. Packed full of interesting (if not always likeable) characters, believable conflict, and an honest exploration of the ways that unresolved grief and trauma can have significant reverberations throughout a person's life. I found main character Glinda deeply frustrating, but in a way that was extremely relatable, and by the end I was rooting for her to pull her head out of her ass and find some happiness (and go to therapy).

It's Not a Cult is somehow lighthearted and funny, with laugh-out-loud moments, amidst the rather bleak subject matter. Glinda and Dorothy's mom has joined a cult and it's up to these twins to save her. Add in some fiery 'will they, won't they' romance lines and a younger sister who is over it all, and you have a hilarious romp to quickly save mom against drug use and spiritual warfare. This book was great, I highly recommend it!

Glinda’s life isn't exactly what she’d always dreamed. She dropped out of her PhD program and she works as a wench in a dunking booth at a Renaissance fair. Her twin sister, once her closest friend, won’t speak to her, and her younger sister is an intolerable brat. Her only sort-of friend is a co-worker who has a crush on her, much to her discomfort. And the icing on the cake – her mom is in a cult, and she’s about to marry the cult’s leader and turn the family home over to become his commune. Glinda is the only one who sees how dangerous Father Arlon is – and due to her past mistakes, no one believes her or is willing to help.

Glinda is a complicated character. She’s frequently unlikeable. She’s standoffish, does childish things, and constantly shoots herself in the foot. But a lot of her behavior is rooted in trauma and grief, and that makes her understandable and more sympathetic, even when it’s hard to like the things she is doing. And you still want to root for her, partly because you want her to be redeemed, and partly because she’s the only one who sees the danger they are in.

The book is funny at some times, heartbreaking or harrowing at others. The pacing is a little uneven, but the story still kept my attention the whole way through. Overall it’s an entertaining read.

Representation: POC character(?), mental illness representation

TW: sexual assault, cultic abuse, drug addiction

I was so excited about this book! Unfortunately it is a very slow start until around 60-70% through. Then it got good and I was able to enjoy it until the end. There were emotional parts, funny parts, a little tension. The main character is not super like-able, but she does learn and grow throughout the story.

Okay but this book had me from the title. Cults are a hot topic in publishing these days but doing it well is another story. Lauren Danhof has done such a wonderful job creating a layered narrative that takes you from highs to lows!

I loved Bunny so the comp was a tall order for me but I think Danhof has kept up with the weirdness and storytelling that Mona Awad is known for which is not an easy feat. I felt like at times I could relate to this character and the situations she got herself into!!!!

Definitely a fast page turner and recommend for all looking for their after Bunny fix!

Wow, is all I have to say!
This book wastes no time in throwing you into the pure chaos of the character's mind. I found it a bit jarring for the first few pages, but by the time Glinda had stolen the cheap sunglasses and was peeling out of the gas station, I was laughing so hard and could picture the character so clearly. This is something that I loved about this book. Glenda's struggle to be a functioning adult was palpable throughout the book and oh so relatable. I quickly felt invested in her and so as the drama unfolded I was all in, and what a ride it was.
My only regret was that a lot of the resolution was explained to Glinda as she herself didn't witness it all and thus us as the readers didn't get the satisfaction of experiencing the fall of the villain in real time. It would have been so gratifying after all of that build up. However, I also recognize that he was not the main focus of the story. It was my take away that the true story arc was the focus on the family that had been through a trauma that broke them apart and their struggles to find their way back together. Telling this story through the experience of a family member being inducted into a cult was very unique and I loved every second of it.
I also found myself invested in the side characters and their story arcs. A lot of depth and relatability was fit into a relatively short timeline of story.
The story telling flowed beautifully, the book is incredibly bingeable and the the drama was delicious!
I would absolutely recommend to family and friends.

It’s Not a Cult by Lauren Danhof could be set in any town in Texas that has its own Renaissance Fair as well as a local cult. Glinda Glass, a recent graduate school dropout, has moved in with her mother and younger sister, West. Her twin sister, Dorothy, has not spoken to her in quite some time. So now she works as a wench at the Renaissance Fair dunk tank. In her spare time, Glinda is trying to get her mom away from the cult.

Her mom keeps saying, “It’s not a cult.” It is definitely a cult with a greedy, sleazy false prophet. The leader reminds me of one of my family members. We don’t talk much because I’m afraid he’s going to sell me a seat on the mothership in exchange for my soul and/or financial information.


Instead of leaving the Starlight Pioneer Society, Mrs. Glass has agreed to marry the leader, Arlon Blight. Glinda is desperate to find a way to break the spell that Arlon has cast over her mom. She is hoping that she and Dorothy can reconcile and then save their mother.

However, nothing goes according to plan when the Starlight Pioneers literally move into the Glass household. Arlon is a wretched human being but he seems to be winning the war for Mrs. Glass’s soul.

Glinda is the underdog who needs to get her life together. She has so many talents but lacks confidence. West is an interesting character. She reminds me of a slightly nicer version of Wednesday Addams. West is a survivor and isn’t going to let the cult take over her life without a fight.


Glinda gets her friend,Troy, to drive to Dorothy’s house which is several hours away. West really isn’t supposed to be going. However, she hides in the car because she doesn’t want to miss anything or to be stuck with the cult members living at the Glass home.

Will they save their mother from the cult? Will Dorothy and Glinda ever have a relationship again? How will Glinda gain the confidence to be a lady instead of a dunk tank wench? To find the answers, please read It’s Not a Cult.

If you are fascinated by cults but don’t want to join one, then you will enjoy It’s Not a Cult. If your cult has banned books on cults, then it is time to get out of there so you can assert your independence. Then you can get your own library card and check out all of the banned books.

I received this ebook from NetGalley. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own. Obviously.

Perhaps it really wasn't "my" kinda book, but it was still enjoyable! I read it in half a day and it was just okay in my opinion! It had some funny dry-humor bits -- but it was a bit too "family trauma/homelife" for me but it was VERY relatable since my own mother is very gullible to pyramid schemes like It Works! and Mary Kay and those are pretty much just like cults so I definitely thought of my mother while reading this! (2.8/5 stars) (⭐️⭐️.8 / ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

This book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, however it wasn’t horrible. I will say having a main character so annoyingly messed up both added to my enjoyment but also my dislike for this book.

Absolutely brilliant, loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.

Is it possible to hate a character so much and still root for them?

Glinda Rainbow Glass brings drama with her wherever she goes. I am no psychiatrist, but she seems like she is suffering from some narcissistic personality disorder and trust issues. Her unhinged behavior extends to her family as her mother becomes embroiled in a cult. As Glinda tries to save her mother from losing herself, Glinda unravels a host of other trauma and wounds that have divided the family. The book soon becomes about saving their mother from Arlon's influence and saving what is left of their family.

Although Glinda is one of the last people on earth I would like to hang out with, Lauren Danhof makes her an antihero worth cheering for. For all her faults, Glinda wants what is best for her family and grows through her mistakes. Glinda is a BELIEVABLE character and is the exact opposite of who you think should save the day. Ultimately, that is what really clinches this book and I can only compliment Lauren Danhof for making me fall in love with her unlovable hero. Well played...

I really enjoyed reading 'It's Not a Cult' , it somehow manages to tackle serious subjects like mental health, substance abuse and grief with a dark humour that really captivates. Glinda while sometimes frustrating is a great character who despite her best efforts often manages to make any situation so much worse. I found the mystery at the heart of her mothers relationship with strange Arlon really interesting, it managed to shock me quite often, it was a real page turner and surprisingly emotional at times.

While reading this I was annoyed with the main character Glinda the entire way through. I think for me personally, if the character was just a little more likeable I would have enjoyed this book better. However, I do understand why she is the way she is. Otherwise, I enjoyed the plot and there were some pretty funny parts throughout.

A story of sisterhood and forgiving yourself and others. Danhof writes with a wry sense of humor and weaves a story of cults and bigfoot and RennFests that still feels rooted in emotional truth. I enjoyed this one!

… but it definitely is.

It’s not a cult follows Glinda. Glinda is in a slump. She’s dropped out of school, her job is almost over, her twin sister won’t talk to her, and she lives with her mom - who is a member of the Starlight Pioneer Society, aka the cult. Glinda wants to save her mom but knows she needs he whole family to believe her, though there are many reasons why they shouldn’t!

I give this one a 3/5. I really was into the beginning and was for Glinda and routing for her to save her mother! If you like the Netflix show, the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, I think you lad enjoy this one! Pub day for this boom is August 22nd, 2023!

Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomca / @penguinrandomhouse for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I am starting this one out with the cover, of course I love it. That's what attracted me to this book and made me want to request it. Did I read the description? Nope. The category was General Fiction/Humor & Satire on the site where we request these ARCs. Though there was humor that is not at all how I'd classify this book. I would call it maybe General Fiction but more Domestic Suspense to me at least.

Ok, we're going to go off the rails and not talk about what we should be talking about here! Do you ever read a book and not really have a good picture for the setting until the author mentions that one thing and bam! You're there? Well, for me that was the phrase "Wet N Wild in Arlington". First off that took me out of the story for a minute because of a few reasons: 1) I read a lot of books, several of these are set in Texas, the vast majority are not set in DFW. 2) Wet N Wild has not been called that in many, many years so I then put the author around my age, because I feel like it's my generation that still it calls it Wet N Wild. 3) Then I took the ren faire and put that as a fictionalized version of Scarborough Faire, of which I have known many a folk that have worked there, since I lived in that area a few different times. So now I'm picturing the area around the Ren faire and where this whole story is taking place. Also, love supporting local authors!

Back to the story at hand! This is another domestic suspense type book with lots of varying family dynamics. This family is broken, clearly in a lot of pain, and everyone dealt with the pain separately and in varying ways. We see the events unfold through the eyes of Glinda. One of the older daughters and twin sister of Dorothy. We see everything as it is now and in flash backs. Glinda and Dorothy are 32 I believe, but Glinda still acts as if she's in her early 20s. Mostly I think from her inability to cope and savior complex. West is the youngest sister at 17 who is trying to figure out life with all the chaos of her family.

The downfall of the Glass family is the death of the father, he seems to have been the glue or the heart of the family. From his death the family shatters and we have all the super crazy events of this story. Glinda is funny, very sarcastic and snippy. She, like her sisters, is smart and capable but lost. She doesn't seem to be able to exist as just herself, she is the sister of Dorothy and West and daughter of Judy. Throughout this book she is learning to cope with her past trauma, multitude of mistakes, and to love who she is. I feel like that is the biggest theme.

How does Glinda deal with this? Not very well and it all revolves around a cult that has over taken her mom and threatening their lives and existence. I'm going to say there was a scene where my anxiety was triggered so badly that I had to walk away from the story for several days. The scene where Glinda visits Arlon's cult trailer and he confronts her and she discovers the vitamin supplements. I've had my own trauma, nothing to do with cults, but for some reason that whole manipulation and gaslighting just triggered my anxiety. This has never happened to me before, and I've read some pretty intense books in the past. So it is no secret that Arlon is a bad guy, the extent of his horrid ways just gets worse and worse the more we get to know him. The worst part is that because of all the terrible mistakes Glinda has made in the past, and her sparkling personality, she has pushed everyone away. Her sisters, friends, everyone.

I am surprised this book is a debut, it just explores so many family topics and themes, it has the right amount of humor and suspense. It is very well thought out and put together. The author did a fantastic job conveying the emotion of not only the MC, but those surrounding her as well. I went from not really liking Glinda to rooting for her a long the way.

I have actually talked about this book a lot to people around me, just because I can't stop thinking about the whole story, and the smaller details really stand out as well. This book is definitely worth a read if you enjoy a domestic suspense/coming of age/some what funny/any thing that can go wrong will go wrong, type story.

Bunny is weird and surreal and edgy and perfect – for the right reader.
This is also pretty darn close to perfect. It’s also funny, quirky, and sometimes heartbreaking. I loved Glinda and her entire damaged family. I adored Troy and his cousin. And I wanted to punch Arlon in his smug cult leader face.
The situations that Glinda gets herself in are definitely amusing and sometimes horrifying, but everything that happens cements that she’s a good person who just messes up sometimes – kind of like us all.
The cult seems a little silly at first, but as you learn more about it you realize that people like this definitely exist.
This was a fast and extremely entertaining read and I would happily read more and more!

An intriguing book with a well developed protagonist. Book deals with guilt and grief in a mature manner which does make the book seems very heavy (and which is exactly what I needed!).