Thank you to Simon and Schuster for the ARC of this book. I was a huge fan of One Tree Hill back in the day and had no idea that Bethany Joy Lenz was in a cult during the filming. I felt like the book was very well written and laid out her life and experiences in the cult in an easy to digest and interesting way. I truly felt like I was getting to know her and understand her on a deeper level. As a Christian myself, I found it very interesting to see how my religion could get so twisted and turn into what she experienced. I think she was looking for belonging in general, and when she felt like she had found that space of belonging she had trouble letting it go even though there were numerous red flags. Praying she feels that sense of belonging now. It was beautifully written and I'm just wishing her all the best now. She is a strong woman to break both her and her daughter free from that situation.

Wow! I had no idea what all Joy had gone through while on One Tree Hill, and the time leading up to it.
Part I of the book was hard to get into, it felt wordy and filled with a lot of stuff. Parts II and III were the most interesting, by far! In all fairness, once I read those I could understand Part I better.
I'm glad Joy was able to get out of the cult and free herself and her daughter.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I came a little late to enjoying and loving One Tree Hill, and the subsequent rewatch podcast Drama Queens-featuring Bethany Joy Lenz, Sophia Bush, and Hilarie Burton Morgan. I have grown to love the show, the podcast and the three strong and incredible women so much. I remember the moment Joy casually mentioned on the podcast that she was a former cult member-so when I heard about her memoir, I was intrigued!

Memoirs are always so impactful to me-it is hard to rate and review them because it is someone else’s life experience and inner thoughts, hopes, demons, and mistakes all written out for consumption. Joy has created a witty and enlightening view of her journey into a cult while being a successful actor. If you are a One Tree Hill fan, and looking for a behind the scenes from the mind of Haley James Scott, this is not the book for you. Her time on OTH is briefly touched upon, but mostly those nine years are referred to in passing.

I will say that the contents of her memoir have lit up triggers for me revolving around Christians and cult-like behaviors of Christian’s. The scheming and manipulation in the name of God is forever haunting me. While a lot of that gives me, as the youths say, ‘the ick’ to read her Christian propaganda…erm…testimony…. I appreciate her human experience (even if I am quintessentially what would be defined as ‘the Jezebel spirit’). To watch Joy being picked apart and whittled down, swindled out of millions of dollars and her autonomy is heartbreaking and enraging-I will also say that is another potential trigger for some people. Listening to the perspective of a strong, brave, intelligent woman who was groomed and manipulated into a cult is powerful. People are always under the assumption that cults could or would never entice or entrap them, but I have to say that stories like this really point out that everyone has pressure points and weaknesses that the right (or, you know…wrong) people can and will exploit.

Overall, I wholeheartedly recommend reading Dinner for Vampires. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Simon & Schuster for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Bethany Joy Lenz for telling her story! I was actually completely unaware of her personal life outside of One Tree Hill. I had no idea she was part of a religious cult. Cults really fascinate me on how they can ensnare people, especially those in the acting industry. A must read.

If you’re going into this book hoping for all the One Tree Hill behind the scenes gossip and fun stories, this isn’t that book. Instead, what you’ll find is a story of a young girl trying to find her way and herself. Oh, also she’s pretty sure she’s in a religious cult too. I very much enjoyed this book. I loved the look at how sneaky, manipulative and clever cults can be at isolating their members and making them believe what they’re being told, however out of the box it is. I also really related to Joy feeling like she didn’t belong anywhere and craving that sense of family, wherever she could get it. The little stories we get of her time on OTH were very interesting, especially her audition process and how her on screen relationship with James made me feel less lonely during her marriage to a very volatile and controlling man (and family). It was certainly hard to see her broken down, especially as a new mom, but seeing her rise up and fight back not just for her daughter, but for herself was so inspiring. If you’re interested in religious cults and of course, if you’re a One Tree Hill fan, definitely give this a read!
CW: emotional abuse, violence, religious trauma, sexual harassment

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 rounded up. I was excited to read this having worked on one tree hill in the mid 2000's. I had met Joy and always thought her very standoffish and nothing like the rest of the cast. Her story just proves what a good actor she was on screen. Her bright cheerful Haley couldn't be farther from what she was experiencing. Reading the details of her life behind the screen was eye opening. There were a lot of red flags in her story, and I'm glad she finally got out. This had a lot of good information on cults and their use of religious guilt to control and gain power. If you're a fan of one tree hill or have any experience with cults this is a very interesting read.

Thank you Simon and Schuster. This was a groundbreaking, informative and revealing look into religion and trust. I felt for Joy and all she went through. There are so many others out there without resources and strength who can’t get out. The courage she shows is an inspiration. I hope others draw strength from it or someone will reach out to someone in need and help them.

Engaging from the first page! I wasn’t sure how much of the book would be personal life vs. life on One Tree Hill. Nonfiction is always iffy for me. I was pleasantly surprised. Bethany does a great job telling her story and putting just the right amount of relevant information from her OTH days, so that it doesn’t overshadow her private experiences.

You never know what someone is going through and this book explores just that. So many emotions were felt while reading what Bethany went through. I really hope she writes more because she really has a gift for it. Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Holy WOW … I have loved Bethany Joy Lenz since day 1 of One Tree Hill. Haley James was who I rooted for but who knew that this was going on during that time??? Definitely not me but I couldn’t put this book down. To see what happened to this amazing woman and to see where she is now is a blessing from someone and I just hope she can feel the love and hope that readers will send to her after they finish reading this. I know that I send her all that and so much more.

Until this book I honestly never watched one tree hill so decided to watch while reading and it is amazing how she describes in the book that even tho she went through all of that she was still able to separate acting life with real life. The things that happened to her the way she got taken advantage of is a shame but all in all I believe it was a great book I'm not really into memoirs but I enjoyed this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this advance reader copy, in exchange for an honest review. Dinner for Vampires is Bethany Joy Lenz’s memoir that covers her upbringing, her career, and most prominently her life in an abusive cult. Like many others, I usually do not like to rate memoirs, for the simple fact that it doesn’t feel fair to “rate” other people’s life experiences. However, this book was SO well written and was just an absolutely fantastic book. I don’t remember the last time I found a memoir, let alone a celebrity memoir, so compelling and page turning but, this one knocked it out of the park.

Lenz’s writing was high quality and the structure of this book was very well done, which contributed to making this book so propulsive. Lenz clearly described her experiences and viscerally put the reader in her shoes, making you feel her sadness, helplessness, and frustration throughout the book. I could not put this book down because I was rooting for Joy to make her way out of this abusive situation and I had to know that she made it.

As a survivor of abuse, Lenz also handles these topics very respectfully and displays a clear empathy for others that were also in her situation at the time, even when their actions may not naturally lend itself to that. Lenz’s strength as a person, as a mother, as a survivor, and now as a writer shine bright through this book and while she continues to heal, you can feel her optimism and fortitude through it all. This will be an important book for readers and I am so glad for the opportunity to read and review it now.

I would definitely recommend this book to others, with a caveat that readers should be prepared for triggers abound in this book. However, this was a very well written memoir and I look forward to seeing what others think!

I knew about One Tree Hill since it came out and was excited to read the memoir by Bethany Joy Lenz. I appreciated getting to read about this and that Bethany Joy Lenz shared their story with the reader. It was engaging and well written. I thought the overall feel worked with the story being told and glad it showed the dangers and manipulation of cults.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Intriguing and eye opening. Definitely worth the read.

As a general rule I don’t rate memoirs. I get the ick thinking about assigning a rating to someone’s life. What I can say about Dinner for Vampires is that it was so well-written. The narrative structure was engaging and compelling. I felt so many emotions while reading: anger, frustration, sadness, and understanding.

This was such a captivating story. This is definitely more for readers who cherish a good memoir, more so than One Tree Hill fans. This memoir is about Joy’s tumultuous time in a cult, and while One Tree Hill and its cast are mentioned throughout, this is not the focus. If you’re a fan of both though, like me, you’ll love it regardless.

I could not put this down and found myself fully immersed in Joy's story. At first, I was struggling with how predominant a role religion played, being nonreligious myself. But by part 2 I was absolutely captivated. Joy's voice comes through so well, I felt like I was listening to her rather than reading.

"Dinner for Vampires" is a well-written and compelling memoir by actress Bethany Joy Lenz, famous for her role in “One Tree Hill.” Before beginning her book, I don’t believe I’d ever seen or heard of her or the television series, despite their apparent popularity. I requested “Dinner for Vampires” from NetGalley and Simon and Schuster because I was intrigued by the title and the promotional material. My thanks to them, and to Ms. Lenz, for providing me with a complimentary ARC. This review consists wholly of my independent opinion.

This is the story of a very young, but strong and independent actress who navigates the rocks and shoals of the New York and LA acting worlds to slowly but surely build a career for herself. No mean feat, the process takes its toll, causing her great loneliness. But she has her Christian faith and eventually finds fellowship in a bible study group. Under the guidance of a so-called pastor named Les, that group morphs into a “church covenant” named the Big House Family that establishes a compound in Idaho. Simultaneously, Ms. Lenz is cast in “One Tree Hill” and begins earning a very good living, which is when pastor Les and his son QB get to work: convincing her to marry QB, making career, financial, and personal decisions for her, and eventually taking over her life and robbing her blind.

This is a story about manipulation, about how the concept of God—and what God wants—can be used to convince a person to do what they otherwise would not have done. It is also a story of misogyny, of how the concept of God—and what God wants—can be used to subjugate, mistreat, and demean women. And it’s a story of finding the strength to escape and rebuild. It’s a tale that likely, in places, will make many readers’ blood boil. While I can’t say I liked the meat of it—i.e., what happened to Ms. Lenz--I can say I admired and respected the telling of it.

This is different than most memoirs I have read in the past. While difficult at time to read, and even heartbreaking, it was truly intrigued by reading. To shows most of us don't know what going on in other people's life's. 4 stars.

This was an interesting memoir about an actress that surprisingly, I had never heard of before. I've never watched One Tree Hill, but I still enjoyed this story about Bethany Joy who found herself in a cult. I felt for her and her biological family, as she pushed everyone away while in the cult. While her story was interesting, I found some parts were a little slow. Overall though, a solid memoir about what happens when you're in a cult.

After being a One Tree Hill fan I was really anticipating this memoir! The writing did a great job of conveying just how quickly these steps of being further indoctrinated into a group can occur. As well as EXACTLY the type of people that make it such a seamless process. I felt so emotionally connected to Bethany Joy Lenz as she explained the emotions tied to such an experience. Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this memoir early.
As a huge One Tree Hill fan, it was a given that this would be at the top of my “book hopefuls” list and boy did it deliver. Joy’s writing makes the reader engaged and not want to put the book down. This story is powerful and not only about a woman being manipulated to stay in a cult, but a story about a strong woman that never stops having faith even after trials and tribulations endured for years. I feel like this was written for her to take back her power that they held for so long and rid any negative connotation that comes with someone falling into a cult and even surviving it. It ended as a true testament of there being a light at the end of the tunnel. I was so happy to read that Paul Johansson was a good support system for her because he’s my favorite tv show “villain” though I’d debate for hours he was misunderstood. Ha! Whether you’re a One Tree Hill fan or completely blind to who Bethany Joy Lenz is, you should give this book a go.