This book is an enthralling thriller that combines suspense with heartfelt moments. The plot takes a thrilling twist when a stranger arrives, promising answers to Lee's long-held questions. The tension between maintaining her safe, stable life and uncovering the truth about the commune adds an exciting layer to the story. The author keeps you on the edge of your seat, seamlessly blending nerve-rattling suspense with the emotional depth of a mother's love and paranoia. I loved how this book navigates themes of identity and family truths. The blend of mystery and personal growth makes for a compelling read that leaves you pondering long after the last page.

If you're looking for a thriller that will keep you guessing while tugging at your heartstrings, this one is the perfect choice.

I loved this book and think my older students will as well. A woman, a survivor of a cult, deal with new motherhood, with trust with abandonment, with the possibility of finding her missing mother and sister. It was instantly absorbable and kept me reading on and on. It deals with both the past and how it haunts us, defines us and the present. It also looks at class privilege and mental health and trivializing someone's truth. It has strong vivid characters and an ending that is satisfying. Loved it.

Wow!!! I was hooked from the beginning. I loved the alternating perspectives from past and present that kept me going. Despite Lee not being the most likeable character, it added to the intrigue. I'm fascinated by the cult mentality. Her past seriously impacted her mental health and this led to her to cling to her daughter in order to keep her safe. Throughout the novel, there was more than one mystery to solve and I wasn't expecting the turns that it took.

Thank you netgalley for the copy of this book.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7184240365

I devoured this book! The pacing was spot on, and I loved the richly drawn characters. The twist felt fresh and earned. I will be recommending this book to others who love thrillers, cults, and a past the refuses to stay buried. Bravo!

The Ascent by Allison Buccola is a haunting and gripping psychological thriller that lingers long after the final page.

At the heart of the novel is Lee, once known as Ophelia, the sole survivor of a cult where all members disappeared during the night including her beloved mother and sister leaving only Ophelia. Left behind at the age of twelve, Ophelia is taken in by her estranged aunt and uncle and two younger cousins. Lee endures years of scorn and taunts, a reminder that her past is something she must bury to survive.

Now an adult, Lee has changed her name, married, and has become a mother. Lee has not shared her story with her husband Theo and begins to panic when a chilling true crime podcast is aired with raising questions especially about her; “The Survivor”. Lee is asked repeatedly to tell her side of the story, but she will not and is relieved they do not use her name.

When a woman appears at her door claiming to be her sister, one Lee believed was lost with the cult, her carefully constructed world begins to fracture. This woman’s presence is unsettling, her answers elusive, and Lee’s relentless questioning drives a wedge between her and her husband, Theo.

As Lee’s obsession grows, Theo confronts her, accusing her of delusion and paranoia. The woman is declared a fraud, cast out by Theo, and Lee’s desperation to understand the truth becomes her undoing. In a cruel twist, Theo takes custody of their child, and Lee is institutionalized, labeled by those around her as unstable. I was frustrated with this part as I wished Lee had shared her story with her husband and her character seemed weak not demanding answers from her “sister”. Where were you? What happened? Why did you leave me behind? I wanted to learn more about the cult and their members. Why did her mother choose to follow them?

The Ascent is not just a thriller—it is a meditation on the scars of survival and the fine line between reality and memory. Do we ever just leave the past behind?

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Random House and Allison Buccola for an advanced copy of this to read.

I absolutely loved this one. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Lee Burton, the sole survivor of a mysterious commune disappearance outside Philadelphia, has spent years trying to leave her painful past behind. Now married with a young daughter, Lee’s life is unraveling as she struggles with overwhelming paranoia and a desperate need to protect her family. When a stranger arrives with answers about her past, Lee must confront the chilling truth behind the cult's disappearance and decide whether she can hold on to her fragile new life or face the terrifying revelations that threaten to shatter everything.

I really thought I knew which way the plot was going several times, only to be taken elsewhere. What a great, twisty ride this was. I think some people might be bothered by the slow-burn nature of the plot, which I would usually take issue with. But The Ascent had me glued to the pages. Highly recommended for those interested in cults or domestic mysteries/thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Easily one of the best books and most surprising books of the year.
I was expecting a story like “The Children of Red Peak” in the supernatural genre.
When the first twists hits I was shocked and had to walk away for a minute. I’m rarely ever surprised by a twist and especially not multiple times.
This was an absolute masterclass in storytelling.

This was my first novel by this author. What an engaging story! Grateful for the opportunity to read it.

At first glance, this book unfolds at a somewhat leisurely pace; however, it soon ensnares the reader's attention in a way that makes it nearly impossible to put down. It masterfully weaves together a rich tapestry of themes, including the enigmatic world of a cult, the complexities of mental health issues arising from trauma, intricate family dynamics, and an underlying suspense that compels you to turn the pages in anticipation of what lies ahead. By the time I reached the final chapters, I found myself deeply resonating with the central character, Ophelia, feeling as though I were inhabiting her very being as she grappled with her quest for sanity. The prose is exceptionally crafted, making this book a standout read that I highly recommend to anyone seeking a compelling narrative.

3.5⭐️

I think this book had a lot of potential but the execution needed some work. The majority of the book was incredibly slow and I think a lot of the word count could’ve been cut down and still maintained the character building the author was going for. It’s a slow-burn thriller, but it wasn’t particularly thrilling. The big reveal at the very end was disappointing, and I didn’t find the writing to be anything special. Overall, I think there are better books about cults out there.

Oh. My. Gosh.

This is so hard to write a review for because I had about 1,000 ways I thought this book was going before we got to the end. For some reason I went in thinking it was one thing, but by the end, it was another thing completely. I'm always fascinated by "cult" stories, and this one left me questioning my own reality. If you're looking for a thriller that completely flips everything you know upside down, this one is for you. I started reading it for a few days a chapter at a time, then once I hit a certain point, I literally stayed up until 4am. Read it, you're welcome!!!

Allison Buccola is back with another twisty thought-provoking thriller! I loved her debut Catch Her When She Falls and was happy to see she had a new book coming out. The Ascent is about a woman who is struggling after becoming a mother. Her situation is unique, she was part of a cult as a child. Everyone vanished and left her behind.

Lee has made a life for herself and put all the trauma behind her. Her husband knows nothing about her past. Then she had their daughter and worries about her safety and well-being all the time. She's barely keeping it together but trying her best.

A person claiming to be someone from her past shows up and gives Lee hope. Her husband is obviously skeptical but Lee has to believe them. She thinks now she'll get answers, find out where everyone went and where they are now. But things aren't that simple and only lead to more questions.

Eventually Lee has to figure out for sure who this person is and her life starts to unravel. The one thing she wants to avoid more than anything is to lose her daughter. But that's a very real possibility as her husband loses patience and she seems to be losing her tenuous grip on reality.

All of this made for a nail biting experience! Lee is unreliable but you just know her paranoia is justified. The plot unfolds perfectly with a twist you will not see coming. I was riveted and highly recommend The Ascent.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

Loved everything about this - the setting, the topics, how much this had me questioning my own understanding of what I'd already read. It started just a little bit slow but then really picked up!

This was quite a fascinating book that kept me guessing to the end. In the end it turned out to be more of a domestic thriller than a cult-mystery story, which may be disappointing to some readers. But I think it will be read widely and received well, and I'll be recommending it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read a digital ARC in advance of publication.

I loved this book so much I can't remember if I've already reviewed it, but there isn't enough praise for a book you read until the wee hours of the morning. This may be my new favorite genre...suspense, thriller, mystery, cults! We really care and feel for the main character who has lost her family as a child and now struggles to move ahead as an adult with her own new growing family. The writing is fast paced yet still has time to give a sense of place in their home and the neighborhood they live in. We will definitely be hand selling this at our store!

the ascent was such a wild ride. the premise immediately hooked me—a woman with a cult-survivor past trying to keep her life together as secrets start unraveling? yes, please. i loved the psychological tension and how the story balanced suspense with deeper themes of identity and motherhood. some parts felt a little slow, but the twists more than made up for it. overall, a solid, nerve-wracking thriller i’d totally recommend.

Gaslighting is no joke folks. This book really threw me for a loop. Cult behavior and psychology is so interesting to read about, and part of me really feels like Buccola did a really great job of immersing me into the mindset of this woman, Lee (short for Ophelia), and fleshing her out into a really really uninteresting unreliable narrator, who aside from her backstory would just be another woman.

We see Lee as a new mother who is going through some severe postpartum anxiety and depression, no family aside from her husband and mother in law, definitely no friends to speak of. All this context only to say that she has been hiding her past life as an abandoned black sheep… from everyone including her husband. Her trauma as a 12 year old where everyone packed up and left in the dead of night, leaving her young, confused and horribly, horrifically, alone.

This book started off really slow, but by the 25-30% marks you could really start to understand the story and the weight and implications behind every situation, and you start to doubt yourself too… “did this really happen? I know Ophelia is an unreliable narrator but this just doesn’t make sense”. The twists and turns that this book took didn’t have me prepared for any of it, partly why it was sooo easy to binge. I believe that while Lee definitely struggled with her mental health, but it ended up not being all the problems everyone chalked out to be.

I found the ending of this story to be satisfying, especially considering the trials and tribulations that Lee had gone through, it felt like I was watching a true crime doc and reached the final stretch where they go over “where they are today”. Do I have the answers to everything? …no. Does it really affect the outcome of the story? No, and I liked that this book recognizes that there are not always clearly defined answers to all of life’s questions, but the answers that we do have can still be just as gratifying.

4.5/5

This had a slow burn. I enjoy books about cults, so it was still thrilling enough that I enjoyed reading this book. Allison Buccola took a unique approach to creating Ophelia and the plot of this book, which is refreshing. The twist at the ending was good, but I felt disappointed about her family history because it was already something you figured out all along, and it left me with so many unanswered questions. Although if you read this, you won't be disappointed by the thrill factor engraved in this story. 
Thanks to the publisher, author, and Netgelly for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick and engaging read with a nice twist. Ii found it to able to maintain its status as an independent novel rather than falling too far into the conventional cult survivor trope.

ARC Review - From the beginning, this book sucked me right in. So much mystery about what happened to the 15 at Jacob’s Hill. It was hard to put this book down! I usually don’t like books that jump around in the timelines but this one was put together well. Each jump back revealed just enough. I liked how the author wrote the book, like how conversations were happening around Lee and at the same time her own inner thoughts swirling, paranoia and mania progressing. It was easy for me to imagine her. After learning about everything she went through I’m not surprised. The twist at the end I did not see that coming at all. 😮 I would definitely read another book by Allison Buccola.