I do not typically read any non-fiction books because I get bored easily, and I couldn’t put this down. The author shares her life story in a beautiful way- it’s easy to see how she was manipulated and groomed into a cult, how she battled religious beliefs and every day life, and how painful it was to realize what was happening to her. The book ends as positively as it can with where the author and her family are now in real life. This memoir was beautifully written, and I can’t recommend it enough.

Wow! I was a fan of One Tree Hill in college so this was a fascinating read for me. Lenz weaves a very interesting and believable tale about her experience in the cult which makes it seem relatable and helps the reader understand how easy it would be to fall into. I had no idea any of this was a part of her life story.

Growing up as a teen in the early 2000s everyone including myself was watching One Tree Hill. I can still recall the memories of my friends and I three, four, five way calling each other for the season premiers and finales. Heck I remember clear as day my best friend and I literally screaming so loud when Haley and Nathan’s car went into the water. The screaming scared my parents because they thought one of us was dying or something ha-ha. Point is this show was a staple in my young adolescent mind but what I didn’t realize until now ,in my 30s, is the hell that one of my favorite characters went through. I have no doubt in my mind the raw emotion BJL must’ve had to write this down while also at the end finding it healing. To think someone loved you so completely only to realize that it was so much darker. Dinner with Vampires kept me enthralled, emotional but also relieved for BJL. I hope pop culture fans and folks who may have been religiously abused find themselves gravitating to this book and gives it a chance. Happy reading!!

Whether you’re a OTH fan or not, Bethany Joy Lenz pours herself into this book to tell her personal account of being in a cult. Raw, dark, vulnerable, with sprinkles of comedy and light, this memoir gives a firsthand look at how anyone can be pulled into a cult and not know it until you’re out. An easy, insightful read with glimpses into Hollywood and religion, the reader will feel like they’re reading Lenz’s personal journal.

Dinner for Vampires is confessional and scandalous (in a good way.) Lenz is not the most adept of writers for a longer-form piece, but she does give the people what they want: an inside look in her mind. It's an easy read and a page-turner, for exactly those reasons. She does give you a sense of her yearning and what she's searching for, it's also heartbreaking to read about how they preyed on her and her best friends. I think it's a quick and easy read, interesting enough, but I wish she had spent more time on how she actually got out, instead of (as others say) just magically disappearing. That being said, it was a nice read. Perfectly fine.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC

Woah i used to love oth so of cpurse i was going to read this but i was nit expecting this content it was so do good

I ATE THIS UP!! This was one of the best memoirs I read this year. Bethany’s story was truly so eye opening and I was soooooo into her whole story!

I loved this book. I’m a big one tree hill fan so I always love finding out what went on behind the scenes

As a HUGE fan of One Tree Hill AND a big fan of cults, I was ecstatic to see this pop up. Bethany's story is compelling and beautiful. The flawless way in which she shares her heart and journey with her readers. This is one of the best memoirs I've read in a long time.

This book is a perfect representation of how easy it can be to get sucked into a cult. I kept waiting for the big bombshell or the defining moment, but it was truly just a series of small choices that led the author into a terrible situation. While I never watched OTH and didn't know this actress, I still felt like I could relate to her story and enjoyed her raw telling of her experiences.

I typically love celebrity memoirs, and any book about cults or religion, but this one didn't capture me. I just wasn't connected in the beginning chapters. Could've been reworked to have an earlier inciting incident.

As a One Tree Hill fan who also loves a good cult story, this book seemed right up my alley. While some of the writing was better than expected, pieces of it fell flat for me. Being raised in Southern Baptist culture, there were so many things that felt so familiar about Joy's cult experience and how easily she fell into things. I applaud her openness in this book, but in general felt like it as an average memoir!

Like many others, I wanted to read Dinner With Vampires because I was a huge One Tree Hill fan back in the day. Add in a weirdo Christian cult story though? You have fully hooked me & and found a perfect cross-section of my interests. My one piece of advice here - don’t go into this book expecting heavy OTH behind the scenes scoop. Nor should you expect something as shocking as NXIVM or anything like that. That’s not what this is. This memoir is very much Bethany sharing her story of how easy it can be to be duped by people you care about when convinced into having blind faith in them. I mostly enjoyed this read for what it was, however I have to admit that the ending tripped me up a bit. This might be a highly personal sticking point, but as someone who believes most organized religion is a cult, I think it’s worth knowing going in that Bethany is still very much a Christian, there’s still a bit of preachy language here and not quite as much of an examination of how this type of manipulation happens at a larger scale as I would’ve wanted.

This book surprised me! I watched one tree hill some time ago and never saw this coming. Bethany’s writing is better than I anticipated and her story will stay with me for some time. She is strong

Loved this book! As a fan of One Tree Hill and someone with a special interest in cults, I ate this right up. Bethany really laid it all out and I applaud her for being brave enough to tell her story in such a public way. She was able to add humor to her story that was really refreshing too.

Open, honest, and beautifully written. I felt in Joy’s writing how easily it was to be persuaded in her situation and the isolation she felt. I appreciated that she gave details on her time at one tree hill but that’s not all this book was about it. It was so much more,

LOVE LOVE LOVED!

As someone who is NOT a diehard One Tree Hill fan (I've only ever seen a couple of episodes but knew who Bethany was from it), this book was SO good and not just for her fans. This is for anyone who is interested in seeing how someone can live through being in a religious cult (and how easily you can get roped into one) and make it out alive on the other side.

I highly HIGHLY recommend listening to the audiobook version of this, which is read by Bethany herself. It was great to hear her words through her own voice, and I found myself wanting to sit and listen to it for long stretches at a time.

Very well written, and I truly hope for nothing but good things for Bethany Joy Lenz in the future, because she sacrificed SO MANY opportunities by being in a cult. PICK THIS ONE UP!

I would prefer to not give a star rating since it’s a memoir and non fiction. But I’ll give my opinion. I thought it was an interesting read to hear about her story and all the things she has gone through. For some reason I expected there to be more and didn’t get that. But overall I’m happy I read it.

This is not at all the kind of book I normally read but I’m glad it did. Bethany Joy Lenz recounting her journey into and out of a cult was well-written and fascinating. It is heartbreaking reading about all the pain and hurt she endured and but the book gives an enlightening and frightening look into how intelligent and faith-filled people can be beaten down and groomed into believing horrific lies. The story is redemptive and powerfully shows God’s sovereign, loving, faithfulness.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read for my honest review.

"Dinner for Vampires" by Bethany Joy Lenz was one my most anticipated reads this year. I didn't watch One Tree Hill religiously but was still a fan and was intrigued to Lenz's story.

I did find this book to have a bit of slow start and put it down at about 45%. My thoughts are completely personal as I have seen many people love and rave about "Dinner for Vampires."

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for my digital arc in exchange for my review.