I don't typically like to rate an autobiography, because then I feel like I'm rating someone's life, but this was an e-ARC. However, this is a fantastic book! It is so well written, it flows nicely with a very clean timeline. Some memoirs are just small stories at all different times and it can be hard to follow, but this is not one of those.

Bethany Joy Lenz was on a well known TV show, One Tree Hill, and while it was a good show, I wouldn't have said I knew much about the actors or actresses on it. While filming the show, and trying to "make it" in the entertainment industry, she was also trying to find her way in life, find God, love, and a family. She found all that through a group she calls The Family. The Family's "leader" was quick to isolate the members and control them in small ways, ways that would be huge and horribly manipulative. The book is her story in finding this group and then finding her freedom from it. I spent most of the book being so angry with how these people were treating their "chosen" family. It takes a lot for someone to see things need to change and find a way to make that happen, and thankfully Lenz did. She came out stronger and able to tell her story.

If you're looking for some dirt from an old TV show, this isn't that. This is a story about how a woman got herself out of a cult and survived. There's a lot of religious stuff, even after the cult, and I normally don't like that kind of thing. It was never over powering though, it's what she believes and she doesn't need you to believe it too and that's respectful.

I absolutely adored Bethany Joy Lenz in One Tree Hill and I was so excited to be granted the opportunity to read Dinner For Vampires. This was something I never knew about before and I was shocked at what Joy endured and amazed at her strength to get out. It’s been a long time since reading a nonfiction book and I was not disappointed. Her writing felt like I was reading an email from a friend and I had to force myself to put the book down a few times. Such an interesting story and I’m so glad that Joy shared it with the world!

Dinner For Vampires comes out on 10/22!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster and Bethany Joy Lenz for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars round up!
wow wow wow. I've watched a little bit of one tree hill and other things Bethany Joy Lenz has been in but the cult aspect of her book was really what intrigued me most and mannnnnnnn did she deliver!
What starts out as something wholesome and innocent quickly morphed into something else entirely. I highly recommend this book!! A warning if you are sensitive/ triggered by religion, this book goes into heavy detail about Christianity which at some points were tough for me to read.
I feel like she summed everything up so well and even with the ending and having closure I still want to know so much more!
Thank you to NetGalley, Bethany Joy Lenz, and Simon & Schuster for an advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest opinion

I’ve always heard small snippets of Joy’s time in a cult so I was excited to learn more about her personal history while breaking into the Hollywood scene. It was nice to get the full spectrum of events that happened to her and see how it shaped the woman the came out the other end of it all. My only real negative critique is that there was a lot of unnecessary filler information thrown in at times when it didn’t need to be. Almost like the scene was being painted a little too clearly. It got to be a bit wordy and distracted from the overall takeaway a bit.

I devoured this book in 1 day! It is such a vulnerable, honest look at BJL's experience with a cult that did not look like a cult. I would have liked to read more about her life and faith journey since leaving but it was a very insightful, heartbreaking yet hopeful read that resonated with me in many respects.
Thanks so much to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the chance to read it in exchange for my thoughts.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Bethany Joy Lenz for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I haven’t seen much of One Tree Hill, but I was still really excited to pick this one up because I love memoirs and her life seems very interesting. I ended up really enjoying it!

This book follows Bethany’s time in a cult - and the title is perfect. It’s a fast-paced book and I read it quickly because I was really interesting to see what happened with the cult and how she escaped from it. Throughout, I felt a range of emotions, and was shocked, upset, and heart-broken for Bethany. I’m glad that she was able to escape and is now telling others about her story.

This book does include a little about OTH and her life as an actress, which was also fascinating to learn about. I recommend this book for everyone, even if you don’t know much about Bethany Joy Lenz. Be sure to pick it up when it comes out!

I loved One Tree Hill and I loved Nayley so much! I haven't been following their podcast but I knew I had to pick this one up. I think the only thing that could make this better was when the audiobook comes out.. I am really hoping she narrates it herself!!!

The tv show One Tree Hill is one of my all time favorite shows, and the character Haley James Scott, played by Bethany Joy Lenz, is one of my favorite from the show. So when I saw that she had written a memoir about her life during that time I knew that I had to read it. My heart hurts for Bethany Joy Lenz, and all that she had to endure, but I’m so thankful that she got herself out. It took so much courage and strength for her to put all of this out there, for all the world to see, but she did and the world is better for it. I hope that someone reads this book and it helps them to either leave a similar situation, or spot a situation starting and stop it from starting. I enjoyed learning about all of Bethany Joy Lenz’s other passions as well. It’s amazing to learn how she kept up with her passions even after all that she went through. This book was well written and contained a lot of details. I definitely recommend this book to everyone.

I devoured this book. I am a One Tree Hill fan, having grown up and still have a house in Wilmington, NC. I had no clue Bethany Joy Lenz was in a cult. I have read many cult books. You name the cult and I've read/researched about it. This book was written in chronological order and very easy to follow. Such a fast read. If you are wanting behind the scenes of OTH this is not the book for you. This book is solely her cult experience.

The title of the book is perfect. The cult completely sucked her dry. I won't give any spoilers, but I was shocked with what she went through, all while filming a cult tv show.

The fact that she was in this cult, she ended up coming out of it with a strong relationship with God is amazing. "While most people tend to wonder why God would allow so many bad things to happen, I wondered why God allowed so many good things to happen to me while I was involved in something so damaging."

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC.

I could not put this book down. I have always been fascinated by cults and this took a deep dive into the small intricacies that will lure you in and keep you there. A deeply personal and brave memoir that kept me on my toes, the way the cult lured her in were in many how she got lured back out.

I always feel weird rating reviews. But, since I have to leave some sort of review on NetGalley I am giving this five stars.

One Tree Hill was monumental in my college experience and was always on in the background in my dorm rooms as we were doing homework. So, I was excited to see that Bethany was coming out with a book and equally shocked to see the subtitle mention that she was in a cult. First of all, I commend Bethany for sharing her story and putting it out into the world. Although (and she mentions this in the book) she was not involved in a "popular" cult, it was still a cult that damaged her life and manipulated her. So, I think her experience will open eyes for some people who may even be in a cult and not know it.

The writing was so good and I flew through the book (in less than 24 hours). I was so impressed with the records she kept over the years of full conversations and what happened to her. I wish she spoke more to her relationships with the OTH cast and that experience, but that could be a whole different book I'm sure.

All in all I really enjoyed it!

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

As someone who grew up with One Tree Hill as well as a very specific flavor of 2000s evangelism (I cackled at the Psalty reference), I found Dinner for Vampires fascinating. Joy balances sharing aching vulnerability alongside her witty personality, resulting in a memoir that is at times hard to read but also hard to put down.

As a fan of “One Tree Hill”, my favorite character was always Haley James Scott played by the author, Bethany Joy Lenz. I love celebrity biographies and I was particularly interested in this one because I realize that there are so many cults out there masquerading as “Christian” when they are truly exactly the opposite of that. As a follower of Christ myself, I found it really interesting to see how Joy got pulled into this cult. I do feel compelled to mention as I start this review that if you are looking to read about some behind the scenes stories about One Tree Hill or the cast, you aren’t going to find that with this book. I personally thought that Joy wrote enough of One Tree Hill information that stayed relevant to the story but didn’t veer off on that too much which I actually felt may have distracted from the overall message. As much as some OTH behind the scenes would have been interesting, that’s what the Drama Queens podcast is for. Also, because Joy made it clear in this book that her sole focus and group was the cult and its members, she chose to keep her costars at a distance so that’s another reason I believe there weren’t stories about One Tree Hill in this book. Despite that, I was totally hooked. One thing I remained unsure of was if the two men who started the Bible study group that Joy joined at the beginning of the book had been cult leaders. It didn’t seem like they were as I understood by the end of the book. Les definitely was when he took over. Joy did a terrific job of showing how easily she got into this trap of a cult and how slowly over time, things just got progressively worse. I really commend her so much and have a lot of respect for her to remain a Christian after all that stuff happened to her because that would not be easy to do. Also, I have so much respect for her for getting her daughter out of that place. Truly, the most satisfying part of the book was where she recognized that she was in a cult. The part about the baseball game was so disturbing and the truth about Kurt was not surprising. She had good instincts about him from the beginning, especially r when she realized something was amiss with the cough medicine. Parts of it are hard to read because as a reader, it is clear that these people are walking red flags but you cannot fault Joy for not seeing it because living it is a whole lot different than reading her hindsight on it. Thank goodness for Joy’s dad for all his research. I’m glad Joy and Rosie seem to be in a better place now and I think this book can really teach you, as she says toward the end, cults can be well disguised and easy to fall into. This is different than any celebrity biography I’ve ever read (and I sure did read a lot of them) but it is an interesting read and I would highly recommend. It flows really nicely.

Thank you to Netgalley, Simon Books and most of all, Bethany Joy Lenz, for letting me receive a copy of this book early in exchange for a review.

I devoured this book in less than 48 hours. It was my most anticipated read of the year… probably for the past year after Joy first mentioned her involvement in a cult on the Drama Queens podcast. She's said several times that she has been somewhat insecure about telling her story, as the cult she left wasn't as "viral" as others. But this story will draw you in immediately and keep surprising you at every turn, taking you on a rollercoaster of emotions including but not limited to disbelief, anger, and heartbreak.

It was a perfect storm: childhood wounds, feeling isolated away from home, and a seemingly like-minded community welcoming her with open arms. What started as an innocuous, casual bible study group soon spiraled into something much more menacing, leading to emotional, psychological and financial abuse..

In this memoir, Joy recounts her start in show business as a child, experiencing her parent's divorce, getting her big break on One Tree Hill, and stumbling into a cult that would change the trajectory of her life and career. You see the slow burn of red flags, with just enough positivity peppered in to keep someone feeling comfortable, and the grooming happening in real time to make sure a victim will always doubt their own inner voice.

As a life-long fan of One Tree Hill (currently rewatching for the millionth time) it's truly jarring to read about Joy's home life in contrast with her character's. It's like she was playing two roles at the same time, without much agency over either (maybe more agency as Haley?!). The memoir almost reads like fiction-- thanks in part to Joy's engaging storytelling but also the drama within the story itself. There were parts as I was reading where my hand literally flew to my mouth in shock.

It's a quick read, and I was appreciative that it was written chronologically and easy to follow. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but each plays a pretty significant role in the story arc.

If you're not a fan (or only a casual fan) of One Tree Hill, I think this memoir will still be interesting to read from the cult aspect, as it really paints a complete picture from start to finish of being targeted, groomed, and then finally the wake up call to leave. If you're a die-hard OTH fan like I am, you'll love the recognizable players mentioned (Hilarie, Sophia, Daphne, Paul, James...) but just to manage expectations: this isn't a One Tree Hill tell-all. You get glimpses of her time behind the scenes, but mostly as it relates to her being socially isolated by the cult, and then rebuilding relationships afterward.

One thing I do wish she talked about more though was her relationship with Haley's storyline in terms of getting married and pregnant in high school. Knowing that she had so many people in her ear about her career choices from the religious perspective, I'm curious if this influenced Haley's trajectory as a character.

Overall, I felt it was paced well. It's not very long and I never really felt it lagging, though I do feel that the ending was a little more rushed than the first two parts. It just seemed like we got a lot more of her inner thoughts during the grooming process versus the leaving process. Additionally, I think hearing more about recovery from this experience would have added a lot of value as Joy has mentioned on some talk shows that the aftermath was harder than her time in the cult.

I would have also liked to read more about how she co-parents with her ex-husband. She mentioned visitation rights in the beginning of their separation, but I imagine a lot was left out for the protection of her daughter. It would be interesting to hear how she navigates letting her have a relationship with someone who caused her so much pain.

I am so glad that she decided to share her story. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC-- I was literally jumping up and down when I was given the opportunity to read it ahead of release.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I loved One Tree Hill and was so excited when I got a copy of this. I screamed. This story is mind-blowing and I loved every minute of it.

I've been looking forward to this for a long time. I'm an avid listener of the Drama Queen podcast, as I watched the show when I was in my 20s, and I'm the same age at the Queens. It's been super interesting listening to them reflect on the show every week. I have to be honest, Joy is my least favorite Queen, but I've been super curious about her story, as she's been teasing it for a long time.

This book is super dishy and compelling. As a formerly religious person, and someone who is deeply obsessed with cults, I was all in on the religious cult aspect. The whole thing is real gross and concerning, and of course in retrospect it's obvious what was happening. I'm sad she wasted all that time, but glad she made it out the other end.

A note on the writing, and this was probably because this was an ARC, but there were multiple instances where entire paragraphs repeated themselves. Just needs a little editing.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book*

Oof. Somehow, someway, Bethany Joy Lenz's debut memoir was one of the easiest books I've ever read and one of the hardest.

You (and I) know her as Haley James Scott from One Tree Hill, where she played Lucas's best friend, Nathan's wife, a musician, teacher, mom, and bestie. I've watched OTH many times. I'm rewatching it now with my husband. Haley was always my favorite character, the one I related to the most. To know what was going on behind the scenes of this cult TV show in her personal life is so...sad.

I often wondered while listening to the Drama Queens podcast and seeing social media posts made by on-screen besties Hilarie and Sophia why their relationship with Joy seemed so strained and distant. Like there were gaps and years missing. I now know why. Joy was in a cult for 10 years, isolated from her real family, old friends, and co-stars.

If cult culture interests you, pick up this book. The things that this man (who would, spoiler alert, become her FATHER-IN-LAW) did are abhorrent. The abuse she suffered was severe. And the thing is, a quick Google search will show that he still practices what he preaches and has multiple business ventures. Cancel this man!

My only wish with this book is that it were longer. Obviously, that would be ridiculous as it was already pretty lengthy and covering a lot of time, but sometimes I felt like things were rushed and I wasn't getting the full picture. Don't get me wrong, this was a cult. These people were crazy and manipulative and thieves. But the timelines sometimes were jarring to me (For example, we spend a LOT of time in 2005...so much so that I felt like a few of the months happened multiple times) and once she got married, we skipped three whole years! I feel like while what she was trying to say it was three years of more of the same, I wanted more. I wanted to know what was happening.

I also needed more of what lead to her breaking away. It felt like she went from fully trusting and believing in the cult to almost being so exhausted by it that she just...didn't anymore. In reality, I feel like it may have been a bit more complicated and nuanced, but for the sake of being concise, we arrived at the end quicker than we should have.

All in all, excellent book. I would've read more. I'm so sad for Joy, but happy that she found peace for herself and her daughter.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of one of my most anticipated books of the year! I had absolutely no idea about the trauma Lenz experienced during her time on one of my favorite shows, One Tree Hill. Hearing her tell her story is so brave but god, so many times I wanted to shake that past Bethany and tell her to get out!! The only thing holding me back from a full 5 star review is the excessive religion talk. I know the entire point is her time in a religious cult but there are many times she waxes poetic about her faith in a way that I could not relate to as someone who isn't religious at all. Those moments became a slog to read through, but overall a fantastic memoir!

I have always been a fan of One Tree Hill when it was on air, and even more so when I lived in Wilmington, NC and was able to visit the filming locations. Bethany Joy Lenz has always been a favorite of mine on the show and in other projects she has been a part of. I was shocked to learn that she was once part of a cult, which she talks about in her book. The book was incredibly moving, causing me to feel a mix of emotions from disbelief to empathy as she detailed her experiences. It made me angry that she could be manipulated in such a way, but she does a great job of explaining her journey. In the end, I felt deep sadness for what she went through, but I also felt happy that she overcame it and still has such a positive outlook on life.

Wow. I was (am) a huge One Tree Hill fan, and I never knew throughout watching the show what Bethany Joy Lenz was experiencing behind the scenes.

As Joy mentions in the book, she worried once she finally came out with her story that her "cult" wasn't salacious or "culty" enough for people to be interested. However, this story gripped me from the get-go. Growing up in church and understanding the culture that comes along with American Christianity, it is really easier than you'd think to be able to imagine how Joy got so interlaced with The Big House Family. There is a lot of commitment to surrendering and submissiveness that can easily become the conduits for bad people who want to manipulate others and demand power. It is really fascinating, albeit beyond disturbing, to see the slow progression of how people in these high demand groups break you down over time until you are questioning your own thoughts and instincts.

I do feel like when Joy got into the portion of the story about her marriage, a lot of the detail and her internal processing of those years was skipped over. However, I can appreciate that that is likely for the sake of her daughter. In terms of the flow of the story, through, it felt like there was so much detail of the early years of the "family" and then the later years when she started to question things, those parts were rushed through.

That being said, I still loved this book and flew through it. I am really happy that she told this story and I think that fans of One Tree Hill, as well as anyone who is fascinated by cults in general, will find this story very compelling and interesting.


Thank you to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster and Bethany Joy Lenz for the opportunity to read this book and share my honest review.