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.

I received this book from NetGalley as an ARC. It’s not my usual genre, but I still enjoyed it. It’s definitely more of a thriller than horror.

A woman who recently had a baby is experiencing post partum depression and anxiety. As a child, she was left behind when the cult she was raised in disappeared overnight. There was always suspicion that she had something to do with the disappearances, but she insists she woke up and everyone was gone.

She meets a woman while out and about with her daughter, who claims to be her long lost sister. As the sister becomes more and more enmeshed in her life, she begins to wonder if this woman is actually her sister or a grifter.

I enjoyed this book. While it’s not something I’d normally pick up, it was interesting, unique and kept me on the edge of my seat. While the story was thrilling enough without the addition of the cult’s mysterious disappearance, it aided in making the main character a robust person. I find cults and the people who join them fascinating.

The Ascent will be released May 20, 2025. I recommend you pick it up.

Buccola’s sophomore novel knocks it out of the park. It deftly explores the challenges of motherhood, complex trauma, abandonment, trust, and what it means to be family.

It also begs the question: what happens when true crime entertainment reopens wounds for victims?

The characters are complex and every single one feels untrustworthy which left me with a feeling of unease throughout.

I loved everything about this book: from the cover to the twists and reveals. I devoured it one sitting, completely hypnotized. This will be one of my favorites of the year.

This was interesting and easy to binge. The twists were very unexpected and kept me hooked. I felt like Lee and Theo didn’t have the best relationship and it made me wonder how well they really knew each other, which took me out of some of the story, but I still really liked it. Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars, so I’ll round up.

It was a very promisng book, but the more you read, the more unanswered questions there were. The logic behind the disapperance and then reapperance of certain people just didnt answer the bigger question of what happened.

I have an obsession when it comes to reading about cults and who doesn’t love true crime so this book spot both spots for me!
Reading about Ophelia and how she was just a broken girl and taken advantage of, left me emotional the whole book. It’s disgusting how some people will treat others or break them down in general.
However, the twist at the end of this book, left me wanting it to not be true. I felt she deserved her happy ever after and much more.
But thank you NetGalley for the ARC, I highly recommend this book!

I think that so many of us have such a fascination with cults, so there is always going to be room for another book about a cult. In this case we have a cult survivor trying to live her life after the trauma of losing the cult. The relationship she has with her husband and mother-in-law felt a little awkward as did the appearance of her sister. It begs the reader to believe things that seem preposterous. I wondered how one earth Buccola was going to wrap it up, but that might be the best part of the book. A very satisfying ending. I'd read another book by this author, so that says something right there.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. It certainly held my attention until the end. 3.5 stars really....

This novel was described as an “irresistible” and “nerve-rattling thriller.” While the premise of being raised and then abandoned by a cult was intriguing, I did not find the writing style lived up to the hype. I did feel the twist at the end was unexpected and partially redeemed the storyline’s slow pacing, uninspired characters, and abrupt ending, which left several unanswered questions. Would I recommend the book? Doubtful. It was dark and not very entertaining..

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

The Ascent by Allison Buccola

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 20 years ago. Ophelia is a 12 year old girl living in a secluded community. A group that is led by a radial man. Provide for themselves, limited outside help. Until one morning, when Ophelia wakes and everyone has vanished, except for her. The vanishing have left Lee (Ophelia), the extended family of the members of the commune, the police and the world wondering what happened.

20 years later, Ophelia is a struggling mother doubting her parenting, terrified something will happen to her baby if out of her sight for too long or in the care of anyone else including her husband and mother in law. Until one day, a stranger connects with Lee and her daughter and Lee’s troubled past comes rushing back to her. Who can she believe?

This was an emotional roller coaster of a book! If you are a mother, you can probably relate to Lee questioning her own parenting skills. I had a lot of sympathy for Lee until, well, I’ll get to that.

This story broadly shows what living in a reclusive commune could be like. It was a different point of view than almost any other story I have read and appreciated the author’s description of the commune, the people, the leader, the location and the laws.

The only thing I did not understand was why Lee is so worried about something happening to her baby that no-one else can care for the baby including her husband. But, after meeting this stranger, knowing said stranger for 1/2 a day, Lee allows the stranger to watch the baby for hours at a time? I feel this should have been thought more thoroughly. Someone who is that petrified would not ever let a stranger take care of the baby.

Other that that, this was a great read. I highly recommend!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House for an advanced digital copy for my honest review.

I did not connect with this story and did not like the style of writing. This book just wasn’t for me . Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review book

Wow, wow, wow! I could not put this one down. If Alex Michaelides’ ‘The Silent Patient’ and Lisa Jewell’s ‘None of this is True’ had a love child, this book would be it.

I was immediately enthralled in Ophelia’s backstory as a former member of a self-sustainable group, or as most would call it, a cult. After changing her name to protect her identity as the sole survivor of the farm where she grew up, Lee finds herself facing her past in a new and terrifying light, baby and husband in tow.

When shocking information from a documentary is discovered, Ophelia must choose between covering up her past trauma, or facing it head on to find peace. As people dig deeper into the secrets kept by the former members and family of the cult and media attention surfaces, it gets increasingly difficult to tell friend from foe when unexpected guests show up at Ophelia and Theo’s home.

Believe me when I tell you that you will not be able to put this book down. It is so gripping and thrilling and keeps you guessing up until the last page. 5/5 for Allison Buccola and her second novel, I can’t wait to see more from her.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me access to this ARC.

While I had a bit of struggle getting into the book, I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked this book. I was drawn to the book because of the topic of a cult and someone being a survivor.
Once I got to part two, I feel like the story got really good. I really liked Lee. She was for sure such an interesting person, and the way the author portrays her mental health is so real. Lee's mental health journey, because man is it a journey, feels like your there with her, experiencing it.
The twist with Theo..I was gobsmacked. I thought he would be having an affair, just from how his own wife describes his self confidence..but the twist and ending...Bravo!

This was an ARC from Netgalley. #theascent #netgalley

Love a novel with a twist! This one has it all .. a cult, all is not what it seems for Lee, her husband and their 8 month old baby. Someone from Lee’s past life as a cult member comes back, but is all as it is presented? Written in the past and present, the reader learns about Lee and her life thus far. Wonderful twist at the end I did not see coming.

3.5 stars. I really wanted this to be more about the mystery of the cult that the main character grew up in, but it turned out to be more of a domestic thriller with an odd twist at the ending. I did not see the ending coming, but not really in a "good surprise" way.

A cultish thriller with twists and turns !

Lee (Ophielia) is the only survivor of a mysterious cult that disappeared more than 20 years ago. Lee was found and raised by her aunt, living a moderately normal life. Her trauma, however, has been reignited by having a child with her husband. Her fears are unlocked and she sees danger everywhere. When her long lost sister comes into her life, she is cautiously relieved.

But is Mona back in her life for the right reasons? What happened to the rest of the family she was born into? Buccola keeps the plot moving with twist and turns that will entertain any thriller lover #allisonbuccola #theascent #randomhouse