I loved Heather's book and getting a change to connect with her after reading was an amazing experience. I cannot wait for what she puts out next!

I love the real housewives franchise and Heather from RHOSLC….I was expecting more from this book. I was a little bored and wanted more honesty and fun stories. Thanks NetGalley for this ARC. I will always read a reality star memoir!

As a big fan of celebrity memoirs I was excited to read this book. I found the topic interesting, and for me the best parts were those dealing with the behind the scenes looks into mormonism. I also found the creation of the television series interesting as well. I think that those unfamiliar with the program, the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, would still be interested in the background scenes about mormonism, but otherwise might be a little lost. If you like the show and Gay herself I think you will find this an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Gallery Books for an ARC of this book.

I didn't know who Heather Gay was when I requested this book, but I am really interested in the Mormon religion.
This was a really fascinating read for me. Heather goes through a lot of the rituals and such of the Mormon church and explains them to us in detail. I didn't care much about the housewives' part of it, having never watched an episode in my life, but it was interesting enough for me to keep reading.

If you are interested in the Mormon church or in The Real Housewives, you should check out this book.

I thought this book was going to be as dramatic and entertaining as the housewives. Heather didn't really share anything that we didn't know from the show.

I find Heather Gay to be one of the best reality TV personalities ever. This memoir is worth it for hardcore SLC fans and folks who are interested in learning more about Mormonism. There were some illogical leaps in timeline, cliche and repetitive references, and a lot of hard-to-relate to complaints, specifically when one of her biggest complaints about her marriage is having to fly Southwest. I believe Heather to be an important feminist voice and someone who suffered a great deal from the patriarchal norms of an oppressive religion - but I don't think this memoir did her story justice.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion! I have to admit that I requested this ARC because I'm a Housewives fan, but I also wanted to read about Heather's experiences with Mormonism. I appreciate her willingness to share her truth, but I think that this book is premature. While sharing details about the LDS church was interesting, her perspective on her relationship with religion was shallow. I also think that I would have connected more with this memoir if I was listening to an audiobook.

Overall, I definitely see how some people were able to enjoy this memoir. I appreciate the opportunity to read this ARC, even though this book wasn't my cup of tea.

This was a great read, very engrossing. I was intrigued because of the Mormon angle but I was glad to get to read Heather's story. So good.

Like a lot of other Housewives of Salt Lake City fans, I really related to the brash new star, Heather Gay. She tries to be there for her friends (doesn't always do it in the right way), she's always wanting the tea, and seems down to have a great time. While what we see may not actually be her authentic self, it sure seems like it is and it's something that normal viewers can relate to. Her book is the same way. We get to see Heather's life growing up in the Mormon church (or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) and how she struggled between wanting to be a good Christian but also having real human urges and feelings.

Three and a half stars
This book came out February 7, 2023
ARC kindly provided by Gallery Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Short version: if you're a fan, you'll read this no matter what. I recommend you listen to the audiobook instead.

Long version: Unfocused. I liked when she was reckoning with her Mormonism, but it veered off into vanity at times. Yes, I know I'm talking about a book by a Real Housewife, but she had an opportunity here! And the tangents weren't really explored either; felt glossed over. I expected the book to be conversational in tone, but it's too informal (as in: "hello, fellow kids!" territory).

Similar experiences had this book tugging at my heart strings. Gay's story of her exit from her beloved church was touching and heartbreaking. Lots of insider tea on the Mormon church and some of the norms therein.

Shook down NetGalley for an ARC (ty!) when I thought I'd find out something about Heather's black eye but alas ...

*I also wrote this about two weeks ago so apologies for the already-dated references.*

Like another reviewer said, this book will not tell you anything about black eyes, Heather’s or otherwise. Unless … she was making a very subtle connection at the top of Chapter 2 when she wrote: “My parents described me as a deep thinker and a deep sleeper … haunting the house with my occasional sleepwalking.” After which she goes on to tell an absolute fever dream of a tale about her childhood robot pinchers cutting but not cutting a hole in the curtain and I was so utterly confused by it that I couldn’t stop thinking about it for the rest of the book.

Here's the thing … These housewives and other reality TV stars books are never that good, but I was excited to read this one … even before I thought I’d get some black eye intel out of it. I was obviously already familiar with Heather Gay, a cast member on the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. She was an early fan favorite on the show, and I really enjoyed when the show would focus on her Mormon backstory. From those segments, I thought this book would be much, much better. Reading this gives you the feeling of being on a tour through someone’s life but never stopping to explore any moment too closely.

I think my opinion can be distilled down to this fact: for Heather, it’s too early to write a memoir. She tiptoes through this thing. For instance, she’s expressed, and it’s been shown on RHOSLC, that she currently has a turbulent relationship with most of her family due to her divorce, stepping away from the Mormon church, etc. Which makes it almost jarring, then, when she’s absolutely gushing over them in the present tense for a good portion of the book. Same with the way she describes each housewife – she eulogizes them effusively as they come up in the story, not a negative judgement given, which would be nice if it wasn’t so phoney.

There’s also just some stuff that someone should have advised her to remove – namely, the section about Heather tagging along to a dinner party that Jen held for her employees at Tao in New York City. and 1OAK in New York City. She really recalls the details of their private shopping suite at Gucci on Fifth Avenue and the after-dinner party at 1 OAK, where Jen had reserved the owners’ table. Heather writes, “Jen’s employees were funny and dynamic and deeply appreciative of her generosity.” I’m sure.

In terms of the actual writing, it’s not great. There is such an overuse of this stylized voice that seems to represent Heather’s reactions to her own commentary, or something. It gets annoying very quickly. A lot in general is very repetitive. Mandarin Orange Sunday was referred to at least five times.

Also, some of the timeline doesn’t add up. Like how did we see Whitney and Justin getting married in the very first episode when they were already married when Heather met Whitney because she was the one who recommended Whitney for the show?

As a Real Housewives fanatic, I was extremely excited to read “Bad Mormon” by Heather Gay! I love the Real Housewives series however, I’ve never read any of their books.

I throughly enjoyed “Bad Mormon” and reading about Heather’s life. I’m very thankful that the book centered around her life growing up in the Mormon church and her early adulthood rather than her time as a “Real Housewife.” She shares a lot about about the Mormon church and how she struggled with her place in the community. I truly appreciate her honestly and would highly recommend her book.

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for my digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

Is it a good read? Yes! Does it truly delve deeply into any topic that truly matters? Not really. If you are a fan of RHWSLC then this read is for sure worth it. Of all the “memoirs” of the Bravo-lebrity, this one is for sure one of the best…I just wish it had gone more into her Mormon marriage and her experiences leaving and healing from leaving.

I'm a huge Real Housewives fan and I love the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. I will say, I do wish we had more RH content in the book, but I understand that this is her memoir and her being on the show is just a tiny chapter of her life. I'm just a sucker for Housewives gossip and I laughed while she talked about her cast members.

I enjoyed reading about her childhood and her relationship with the church. It was interesting to see how she just trusted the church even when she felt things were off. She talks about her mission and the first time she went through the temple (and, wow, I could relate to so much during this part). It was sad to read about her marriage falling apart and how she wanted to keep so many things hidden until she freed herself from it all by getting on the show.

Overall, this is a good read if you're a fan of the show!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

This book was so challenging for me to get through. The writing and telling of her story was unbearable at points. There is no co-author or ghost writer mentioned but I have to believe she had one. Whoever it was did not do her story justice. I have loved Heather Gay on Housewives, along with so many others! I love how she talks and how honest and real she is on the show. None of that came through in this book.

She does have such an interesting story and I really enjoyed learning more about Mormonism. I was really surprised how her divorce and leaving the church happened so soon before she started on the TV show.

While I have been known to devour any and all reality show memoirs, this is one I would say friends could skip.

I am still so appreciative for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the book thanks to NetGalley!

I was so full of hope for this book. I thought it would give me more insight to the Mormon culture. it really didn’t. i felt there were a lot of references to things I didn’t know. while i was a fan of Heather on the show, this book had me rethinking that.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest opinion.

Meh. Interesting content, but needs some editing. Lots of mixed metaphors and TONS of pop culture references, which normally I love but for some reason seemed a little heavy-handed in this one. Heather is clearly thirsty (which is fine, she’s a housewife, they’re all thirsty), and this book didn’t make me a fan of her. I hope she is in therapy.

Great story of Heather’s life. Easy to read, kept my interest. Wish there were more details about certain happenings. Would recommend this book. I received a free copy from Netgalley for my honest review.

Bad Mormon is a memoir from Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Heather Gay. The book is rather enlightening giving background stories from Heather diving deeper into her experience as a Mormon and why she chose to leave the religion. She is raw and honest as she goes into what went wrong in her marriage and how she got where she is today. Fans of Heather and the RHOSLC will be thrilled to get their hands on Bad Mormon. Highly recommended!