I enjoyed this book, it was very fast paced and there were lots of really clever lines. The setting worked really well for me, and I felt very much like I'd been transported to New York. The characters were mainly very unlikeable but that worked fine in the context of the plot. The plot was quirky and unexpected in a good way.

This book muses both on the horrors of modern dating (mostly heteronormativity) and how far capitalism can weasel its way into our dating lives. The first half features a confused woman who keeps running into her ex-boyfriends and reflecting on her past relationships. The second half of the book has the main character slowly being drawn in, and learning about the reason for her recent unusual ex-encounters. Trying to figure out the cult’s organization and reasoning kept me engaged more than the reflections on the main character’s exes. Her awareness of how cult-y it was (while the organization denied it) gave it a realistic and often comedic touch. I am not a straight 30-something city gal struggling with the ennui of life, and because of that I felt acutely that I was not the target audience for this book. If you align with a couple of the main character’s identities, I can see this being a relatable and captivating read.

Possibly the best cover I’ve seen in years! The book held up to it, I think. It was original and funny. Sort of a twist on the usual rom-com. I did find that the side characters weren’t quite as fleshed out as the main. A little strange in a book about how social interactions can change your life. All in all it was fun and interesting.

Wildly original premise with a narrator whose voice is at once acerbic, vulnerable, self-aware and indecisive. In the hands of a lesser writer this book could have gone off the rails but Crosley sticks the landing.

Just full disclosure I stopped reading this around the 30 percent mark.

Sloan Crosby is a writer I’ve followed for years, I love her wit and especially her short stories.

I just could not get into this. I think maybe I’m just not the right audience? It just feels like this has been done before.

Thank you to NetGalley and MCD for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of Cult Classic!
***
I think this book is going to work for a lot of people, but it didn’t work for me.

To start with the positive, I was really attracted to the gorgeous cover, and the premise. I see the word “cult” and I’m like, okay better check this out! The setup is also intriguing: a recently engaged woman has to contend with her “ghosts of relationships past” - i.e. bumping into her many ex-boyfriends - in the same few blocks Chinatown NYC. And who’s pulling the strings? A culty meditation/‘wellness’ group that uses Goop language. Sounds 100% up my alley.

However, that’s where my enjoyment ended. I did not jive with the writing style. I’ve seen others say that this author’s writing is an acquired taste, so your mileage may vary. My biggest issue was the current of mean-spiritedness that seemed to be infused into the pages of the story. The main character is not a happy or kind person, and that’s fine, but her inner monologue of critique and passive aggressive avoidance made it difficult for me to get into the story. I don’t think picking apart how people have aged poorly, or describing the ways in which a model is vapid and obsessed with social media are moving a story forward in a helpful way. Takes on social media as hollow and soulless are pretty stale at this point.

I don’t personally resonate with the main character’s cynical view on relationships, but I think this will be a very personal thing when reading. I think fans of Sally Rooney and other books in the sad girl lit fic genre of messy and sometimes toxic relationships (they definitely have a place!! No hate!) might enjoy this a lot.

For fans of TV shows Love Life and Russian Doll, and the sad girl lit fic genre, I think this may prove a hit. I’m looking forward to seeing how it’s received by the general public!

Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley follows recently engaged Lola who must contend not only with the viability of her current relationship but the fact that both her best friend and her former boss, a magazine editor turned mystical guru, might have an unhealthy investment in the outcome. Memories of the past swirl and converge in ways both comic and eerie, as Lola is forced to decide if she will surrender herself to the conspiring of one very contemporary cult.

This book will definitely be added in the category of one of the strangest books I've ever read. That being said I really enjoyed the story and it's wacky premise. I really enjoyed the main character's snappy dialogue and philosophical tirades. I read this in one sitting because I was dying to know what the hell was happening and how it was going to end. This book definitely makes me want to go back and read Crosley's backlist book and I will be heavily anticipating her next release. I would recommend this book for fans of Sally Rooney.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think the biggest thing with this book is that I wanted to like it more than I did. Cult Classic is a tale about understanding what a person wants, especially when it comes to love, and our understanding of what love and relationships actually mean. Lola is a complicated character that I don't believe a person is necessarily supposed to love, but merely relate to with how she handles situations, and the way in which she views her own monogamy tendencies.

Perhaps the biggest plus for this book is the writing. Sloane Crosley is a god when it comes to dialogue and description, and despite the fact that I didn't actually like any of the characters that she created, I did enjoy reading their conversations. There's something so flowing about every word spoken back and forth to each other.

The plot itself is interesting, though I'm not sure I'm entirely sold on any of it. Some of the explanations felt a little too watered down, or perhaps watered up. Either way, Cult Classic should never be ignored when it comes to writing, I'm just not sure I liked the characters enough to tell people that they should be reading this book.

This was such a quirky, thoughtful little book—and I absolutely loved every part of it. As a reader, I'm not generally much of a note-taker, but I found myself highlighting multiple lines that either felt profound or like they were born from my very own brain. This book definitely didn't go in the direction I thought it would, but it didn't disappoint!

Loved the premise of this and I think it delivered. Sloane Crosley is incredibly funny and I loved the narrator’s voice.

a super interesting premise that loses its thread about halfway through
the dialogue in this is absolutely jam-packed in terms of pacing - reminded me of a gilmore girls episode
it's pretty smart and the whole exes thing was really interesting but later it sort of lost its steam
the plot twist was fine ig but i didn't feel enough emotional connection to the characters to care
but crosley is obviously gifted and i'd love to read her other works

I got an advance copy of this book from #netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sloane Crosley’s writing style is, well, a LOT. It’s very chewy, or crunchy, or something, like a big bag of Combos you eat during a long road trip and eventually your jaw starts to feel dislocated but you can’t help yourself from continuing. Many of the jokes require a “Wait, WHAT?” reread; it occasionally seems a bit too aware of its quirkiness.

But Sloane Crosley is a TREASURE. I’m so glad a writer exists whose work has such density and depth while also being a hilarious romp. It’s not just because there are lines like, “For all our surface similarities, there was a whole layer of one-eyed sea creatures on Clive’s ocean floor.” It’s also because she uses this wackiness to explore emotional territory you wouldn’t be able to get at if you avoided the wackiness.

The main character, Lola, is trying to decide if she really wants to marry her fiancé. She starts running into her exes wherever she goes, and soon finds out this isn’t a coincidence, there’s something much more sinister at play. In the process, she takes you through a riveting journey into ideas about what it means to love someone and what relationship the past ought to have with the present. All against a charming, atmospheric NYC backdrop that sent me down a Google Maps rabbit hole of defunct synagogues on the Lower East Side/Chinatown and what exactly are the borders of Chinatown anyway? “Cult Classic” reminds me of “The Good Place” and also of Woody Allen (without the problematic and cringey parts). Books about romance, with female protagonists, should be like this one more often.

this was hard to get through. i'm a fan of plot-driven books so that was the first thing that didn't click for me. i was also confused and felt the story and writing didn't flow well. the writing itself was amazing i just felt a disconnect as wasn't able to fully enjoy it.

4.5
I really loved this book. The sudden nods to so much of modern pop culture had be marveling over every page turned, the language was beautiful, and I was gripped from the very beginning.

This felt like the perfect cultural cross-over between the pressures of romantic performance and detached spirituality of the digital age. If you are looking for something that will give you both the uneasiness and pleasure of being a voyeur, this is the book for you. I highly recommend it!

*SPOILER AHEAD*





Even though I kept expecting the big violent ending Lola and Max’s story I was very pleasantly surprised the writer chose another route.

This is a book I will highly recommend to my network and probably will be featured in my 2022 top five!

Cult Classic by Sloan Crosley is definitely one of a kind novel. This story is equal parts quirky romance, and satire of the increasingly digital world we live in, and pokes fun at our desire to obtain information from social media. The cult storyline will draw readers in, and keep them guessing at what’s really going on, until the end. Readers looking for something unique, fresh, and non-formulaic will appreciate this novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

DNF’d at 16% — the pacing felt off to me. The writing was really neat, but I just couldn’t connect with it despite the fascinating concept and couldn’t feel the satisfaction I wanted to out of diving in. Like I said. the writing was divine, I just couldn’t effectively engage with it.

I absolutely loved Sloane Crosley’s 3 essay collections, she’s great. If you’re not familiar, this is her second foray into fiction. I went into this knowing only that narrator Lola is a late-30s woman who somehow keeps bumping into her exes, night after night, sending her back into her past to consider how these relationships shaped her and how she now feels about them in hindsight. What an interesting premise, I thought!

I was not expecting the technical explanation behind this and had been hoping for something more mystical. But instead here’s where the “cult” aspect comes into play, which does pose some interesting questions about how much we can really control and whether it’s ethical to try to confront the past in this way, and is course correction even possible?

Sloane Crosley’s biting wit, shape humor, and laser focused language is in full effect here, so while the plot let me down at times I still enjoyed the writing quite a bit.

“Romance may be the worlds oldest cult” - so true, right?

Really loved the idea behind the book and I love Crosley's sly humor throughout. I enjoyed the book like I do all of her books. Is this review long enough yet

I would give this book a 3.5 stars. There were some unexpected plots twists that kept me reading, but I was confused by how Clive managed to get all of Lola’s ex-boyfriends to congregate around her. I was also confused by the wider applications this could have. Also, I was hoping to learn more about Lola’s past relationships than I did, and see them affect her more in the present. Aside from the brief kiss she shared with Pierre at the end, I didn’t feel like Lola was ever at risk of cheating on her fiancée. I was surprised by how upset Max was at the end, and how he suspected her of having slept with an ex. However, I did enjoy the humor in this book. Overall, I thought the writing was great.

A truly bizarre and entertaining tale of cults, friendship, and the ghosts of past relationships. I have been a fan of Sloane Crosley's work since her essay collection I Was Told There Would Be Cake, and this novel has the same cutting wit and humor. Lola steps out of a restaurant in New York's Chinatown to get a pack of cigarettes. (She doesn't *really* smoke, of course.) She immediately runs into an ex-boyfriend. Then another. Then another. Is this just a coincidence, or are there more nefarious forces at work?

I don't want to say too much more about the story, because the discovery is part of the fun. But this is an inventive tale, and I look forward to seeing what Crosley comes up with next.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.