This is a very heavy memoir. It was shocking and heartbreaking and fully focused on Joy’s time in the cult. (Don’t be expecting OTH tell all)

Dinner for Vampires by Bethany Joy Lenz
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
320 pages
Releasing October 22, 2024

Bethany Joy Lenz writes of her experience of being in a cult during her young adulthood & how a simple bible study turned into a life altering experience.

I am a HUGE One Tree Hill fan & so of course I had to read @msbethanyjoylenz memoir on her experiences of being in a cult, even while she was performing on One Tree Hill. This book was moving, left me in just complete shock hearing how manipulating and cruel this group was to her & how they took advantage of her fame and wealth, especially in her later years of filming OTH. It saddens me to know this happened. She brings light and awareness to her situation in a beautiful. A lovely memoir!

Read if you like:
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#dinnerforvampires #bethanyjoylenz #onetreehill #netgalley #memoir

I had been looking forward to this book since Bethany Joy Lenz talked a bit about her experiences on the Drama Queens podcast.

Her writing was easy to read and engaging. She also did a nice job organizing the events so you can see how she was drawn into the group and why she stayed for so long. It did feel like things were sometimes glossed over/kept surface level, and I wished she had gone more into depth.

While her time on One Tree Hill is covered, it is not the focus of the book, and it is fitting as I think it wouldn't have fit well with the rest of the narrative. Also, so much of that is covered on the podcast.

Dinner for Vampires, a metaphor for author Bethany Joy Lenz's time in the alleged religious cult, tells the actress' personal tale of navigating the group while balancing her years on the beloved series One Tree Hill. As the author's note mentions, Lenz drew from her comprehensive journals from 1999-2015, as well as interviews with other former members. All names and specific details (aside from OTH cast members) had been altered. Lenz tells her story through very compelling language, starting at the very beginning of her childhood to how she met this so-called religious organization. As established, she was already a member when she booked the role of Haley James Scott on OTH. As a reader, I found this memoir to be super compelling and I was very compelled to keep reading. Dinner for Vampires reads quite quickly and was a compelling and chilling first-person account of Lenz's life in this alleged cult and what made her finally get the courage to walk away. It couldn't have been easy to relive such trauma for a memoir, yet Lenz handled the subject matter honestly in a way that was also well-written.

Just like most people on their 20s, my favorite tv show growing up and still to this day is One Tree Hill. I have always been a fan of Bethany but didn’t know anything more than what she shows us from her social media. So I was super excited to read her memoir to see how she got her start and what she went through in life. Now it’s no surprise that you have to put in a lot of work to make it in the entertainment industry but seeing how much Bethany had to do at such a young age is mind boggling. I imagine myself doing that at her age and don’t think I could’ve done it. She deserves all the success she has because she has been putting in the work from a very young age. Now all of my OTH friends just know that this is not heavily talked about in the book. She goes much deeper into how she was stuck in this cult and how she came out of it.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!!

Wow!! What an interesting and heartbreaking book!! Great insight into both the tv world along with being an influencer. This was so well written!

Incredibly interesting insight into both the TV world and the innermost workings and influences of a religion based cult. Lenz went into her own conflicting feelings, regrettable moments, and crooked dynamics, and it was definitely an interesting read. I do wish it was more well written, it felt quite simple at times, and didn’t have much grounding factor, leaving it to feel a little shallow in tone.

I was a big One Tree Hill fan so I jumped at the chance to review an early copy of Bethany Joy Lenz's memoir. I never remember hearing even a whisper of her involvement in a cult back when the show was premiering. It just goes to show that no matter how much someone's life is displayed in public...you never really know what's going on behind the scenes.

Lenz thoughtfully and respectfully shared her story. She took into account the other individuals whose lives might be affected by her words and tried to keep their identities private. In a world where people love name dropping to garner more attention, I think this says a lot about Lenz as an author and human.

In her formative years as a young actress, away from home for the first time, Lenz sought out community through a Bible study. She was able to connect and form relationships with like-minded Christians. That is until a new member joined the group. "Les" slowly and methodically assumed leadership while gaining control of his "family" through the guise of accountability, encouragement and mentorship.

From an outside perspective, you can immediately feel every ounce of manipulation this man employed to make his "family" rely on him for spiritual and life guidance. You can also see how someone in a vulnerable position might not see the gaslighting and isolation until they're too deeply invested.

Lenz became so thoroughly tied to this "family" that it affected her marriage, career and financial decisions. It was incredibly sad and infuriating to see the opportunities Lenz let pass her by because of the amount of control Les had over her life. I was also sad to see how this element of Lenz's life affected her relationships (or lack thereof) with her OTH cast members.

This was a compelling read. Highly recommend for those fascinated by cults or just enjoy a well-written memoir. It's definitely heavy on Biblical truths (or the misuse and abuse of the Bible).

If you're an OTH fan, this book will make you love Dan Scott aka Paul Johansson.
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Spoiler-ish Alert:

Lenz does "escape" the cult life with her faith still intact! I thought Lenz did an amazing job of showing the goodness of God even in a situation where a so-called Christian leader abused his power in the most un-Christlike ways. I wish the book had gone a bit deeper into Lenz's recovery and current life but perhaps that's a story for a different time.

An honest and raw account of Bethany’s journey as she shares with us her life while under the influence of a small cult. The beginning is slow as the author lays out the details and sets the stage for her biography. It begins to speed up and get more interesting when her acting career begins to excel and she meets two brothers that have an organized bible study group. Then enters Les, the ultimate cult leader. He manipulates this small bible study group and slowly takes control from the brothers. There is no question Les is a sales and conman all in the name of God. That being said it amazes me that educated, intelligent people can turn over every aspect of their lives and let someone control them to this level. Bethany even went ahead and married his son when every part of her being was telling her not to. Handing over complete control of her finances and having almost nothing to do with her “bio-family”, allowing the leaders to make life changing decisions regarding her successful blossoming career.

I have never heard of or seen One Tree Hill, so I am unfamiliar with Bethany as an actress. I am however fascinated by people who are this vulnerable to the point they would willingly allow others to prey on and control them. I’m happy the birth of her daughter finally gave her some vision and strength to do the right thing and get away from these pariahs that stole ten years of her life not to mention her $2M. Her parents must have been sick with worry. How do you get your family members back when they are consenting adults and no longer trust or listen to you following so much brainwashing and manipulation?

I am a believer and follower of Jesus Christ as our father and savior but this is an entirely different level.

Definitely an educational read. I’m thankful the author decided to share her story. Hopefully it will help someone else in the exact same situation. It’s horrific to think how much of this goes on in the world.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Simon and Schuster and the author for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was surprised by how much I liked Dinner for Vampires. I've only seen a handful of One Tree Hill episodes and I knew next to nothing about cults before reading this book. But wow, Bethany Joy Lenz's story was fascinating. I can really see how smart, kind, thoughtful people end up in cults. I have so much empathy for her and applaud her bravery in sharing her story. Dinner for Vampires was well-written, pacey and hard to put down.

Also, I'm easily disturbed and while this book certainly covered dark subjects like abuse, I was able to read it without feeling triggered.

I definitely recommend it if you're a One Tree Hill fan, are interested in cults or just like celebrity memoirs.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I am blown away with how well this book is written. It was so interesting and heartbreaking to read. I was a huge fan of One Tree Hill and was excited to read this book by Ms.Lenz. I have a whole new outlook on her life during the time she was in the show. Definitely pick this one up!

As a huge One Tree Hill Fan, when the publisher reached out to offer this Advanced Reader Copy I felt like it was my birthday and I was given the best gift ever. I am currently always with a book or knitting needles in my hand, and while knitting my forever ongoing projects I love to rewatch series, and I am currently in a rewatch of One Tree Hill.
I was pregnant with children during the show so I wasn’t spending time on message boards back then to know about Joy’s past, so it came as such a shock when I read the title…. A CULT. Nooo way not my Hailey. But as I dove into this book and doing my rewatch you can see the pain in Joys acting that made her so loved. I devoured this book and while I felt she was so eloquent with her words, I also felt she was trying to soften the blow of how hard her situation was or how awful she felt about putting herself in it.
This book is perfect for fans of OTH or just people who feel they get taken advantage of by others. Joy wrote an amazing book and she be honored of what she’s overcome in her life and how she’s handled her grief.

I really enjoyed this memoir by Bethany Joy Lenz. While we would all like to believe we wouldn't fall into a cult, I think Lenz showed us how that it's true. It was really heartbreaking to read her story, and I never would have guessed what she was going through while filming OTH. I'm glad she and her daughter were able to safely remove themselves from the cult.

I used to watch One Tree Hill all the time and even lived close to Wilmington, North Carolina for many years. I had no idea what Bethany was caught up in and reading about how she got there was also interesting. This was a quick read, and I enjoyed seeing all the insight she had about cults and how easy they can be to get caught up in without even realizing it happening. Her story is very captivating, and it also makes me want to go back and watch One Tree Hill all over again. I have so much more respect for her and her career after reading this memoir. Thanks, NetGalley for the ARC.

I remember Bethany Joy Lenz, not from One Tree Hill (which I didn't watch), but from Guiding Light, and yes, I'm 100% dating myself! I love reading and reviewing memoirs anyway, so when I saw this one, especially when it mentioned cults (another dark obsession of mine), I couldn't wait to read it. Wow, am I glad I did. Reading about how Bethany Joy was drawn in little by little by a religious leader who took advantage of her desire to be closer to God was very enlightening. When you hear about people who fall under the spell of these types of leaders, who give up everything for them and what they're selling, including their relationships with friends and family, it's hard not to wonder how anybody could be that gullible, but this book explained how it happens so slowly that you can't see from inside the bubble they build up around you what is really happening. Your family and friend's truths don't match up with your truths at the time, and when you go to your "leader", for want of a better word, for help, they jump at the chance to force even more distance between you and everyone around you. I was totally taken in by Bethany Joy's story and began to understand how she was taken in, how she lost her independence, but more importantly, how she got out, and the price she paid when she did. By the time I got to the end of the book, I had developed mad respect for Bethany Joy, and I admired her strength in taking back control of her life the most of all.

I loved this book so much, and highly recommend it to my readers.

5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, and Bethany Joy Lenz for the opportunity to read and review this fascinating book.

ARC REVIEW

Dinner for Vampires
By Bethany Joy Lenz

Publishing date: 10/22/2024

I don't rate memoirs, but I really liked this one! It gets my stamp of approval 💯 (but netgalley requires a star rating so 5 it is)

I wasn't a One Tree Hill fan, but I do love reading about cults and member experiences. I'm also a HUGE hallmark movie lover. This memoir is Bethany Joy Lenz sharing her story and cult experience with the world.

I had no idea she was in this situation. Luckily, the group she was a member of wasn't as EXTREME as others I've read about, but it doesn't make her experience any less traumatic. She was not only robbed of money(LOTS), but precious moments and years she will never get back.

I loved the book, but not what she went through. Memoirs can be hit or miss for me. But this was a big hit. I loved learning about Bethany's acting experiences, as well as her involvement in the cult. It kept my interest, and I read the bulk of the book in a couple days.

I definitely recommend this one when it is released next month. Great memoir!

As always, thank you to the publisher @simonandschuster as well as @netgalley
For the early read opportunity. Also, thank you to @msbethanyjoylenz for sharing your story-very brave!

I didn't watch OTH when it was originally one, but I have watched and rewatched several times since it first came out; so, when I heard this book was coming out...I knew I wanted to read it. And, plot twist dear reader, this was way more cult than it was OTH - and I loved it! I think Bethany Joy shows such a compelling story about how and why people get sucked into cults, and why they stay.

I definitely did enjoy the peeks into her career (both OTH and beyond) - I especially liked her insight into how the OTH costars saw her, her involvement, and, ultimately, her relationship with them after the fact. However, I really LOVED that this was not a drama-filled, celebrity memoir, but was truly about her own experiences, reflections, and struggles.

I learned so much - both about how cults work - but about how easy it is to lose control of your own life, without even realizing it.

If you like reading about cults, you'll like it. If you like reading celebrity memoirs, you'll like it.

As a fan of both One Tree Hill and memoirs, I’ve been excited about this one for a long time. This wasn’t exactly what I expected, but I did end up really appreciating Joy’s voice and how she was able to shed light on how even smart, talented people can end up in a cult. This story was entertaining and endearing and although this wasn’t really about Joy’s time on One Tree Hill, I loved that some of her costars played an integral part in her finding her way out. Overall, I enjoyed this one.

I respect those who are able share their personal journeys with the world. The vulnerability that it takes to share your experiences is not an easy thing.

Readers expecting a deep dive into Joy’s experiences on "One Tree Hill" might find themselves a bit let down. While the book does touch upon her time on the show, its primary focus is on Joy's harrowing experience with a cult and her subsequent escape. The narrative reveals a distressing and, at times, chilling account of how she was drawn into and manipulated by the cult leader, Les, who exploited her vulnerability and also taught others how to do the same. The way the cult distorted Joy’s perception of herself, what a marriage should be and those around her is both troubling and tragic. Yet, her bravery in breaking free and ensuring her daughter would not be subjected to that environment is truly admirable.

I sincerely hope this isn’t the final word from Joy in the realm of writing, as she clearly possesses a remarkable talent. Her story is engaging and compelling from start to finish! Thank you to Net Galley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

This was a lot.
Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.