With a main character that's wonderfully complex- making questionable decisions while still fighting tooth and nail for her family- this culty story is entertaining and interesting in its consideration of the vulnerability and complexity of grief.

Glinda is not in the best situation at the moment, having dropped out of her graduate program and returned home to a job she views as undesirable, all while trying to talk her mom out of joining a cult and marrying its leader, Arlon. Her mom is enamored with Arlon and refuses to listen to Glinda and her sister West's concern over marrying him and signing over their family home to become the cult's commune. Glinda must reunite with her estranged twin sister and make amends with her family if she hopes to save her mom. Overall, a quirky story that at times veers into the unbelievable. Glinda's actions are almost always misinterpreted and she often goes about things the worst way possible. In the second half of the book, more of Glinda's past is revealed which helps the reader understand some of her actions, even if she still isn't particularly relatable. Readers who like unreliable narrators will like this one.

The main storyline in this book is three daughters trying to save their mother from a cult. While I think Danhof does a great job with the idea, the execution could have been better. There was so much happening and the family held so much disbelief towards Glinda that it felt unbelievable at times. I really started to fall in love with the characters throughout the last half of the story, and Danhof really seemed to pick up the pace and voice of the story. I think it was a fantastic first novel and I will definitely be keeping my eye on this author in the future.

Lauren Danhof’s “It’s Not a Cult” takes readers on a quirky, sometimes humorous, and often poignant journey into the tumultuous life of Glinda Glass. After dropping out of graduate school and returning home, Glinda finds herself in a complex web of family issues, cults, and personal struggles. The story revolves around the dysfunctional Glass family, with Glinda at the center of it all. Her mother has joined a cult called the Starlight Pioneer Society, led by the charismatic yet menacing Arlon. As Glinda grapples with her own issues and the recent return of her twin sister, Dorothy, the cult’s influence on her family escalates. Glinda decides to take matters into her own hands, infiltrating the cult to rescue her mother.

One of the strengths of the novel is its portrayal of realistic, flawed characters. Glinda’s struggles and her often clumsy attempts to mend relationships resonate with readers who have experienced family dysfunction. Her grief, addiction recovery, and the strains on her family relationships are explored with depth and authenticity. Despite the story’s dark undertones, the narrative maintains a humorous and lighthearted tone. While the Glass family’s communication issues and misunderstandings may be frustrating at times, they contribute to the book’s comedic elements. Glinda’s friend Troy, a lovable character, adds charm and humor to the story. The novel deftly addresses themes of trauma, forgiveness, and the complexities of family dynamics. Readers will find moments of hope and redemption as the characters navigate their shared history of pain.

While the story excels in portraying the flawed yet relatable characters and their emotional journey, some readers may find Glinda’s character development uneven. Her redemption arc could have been more pronounced to create a more satisfying character transformation. Lauren Danhof’s “It’s Not a Cult” is an engaging and quirky exploration of a dysfunctional family’s struggle to confront their past, rescue their mother from the clutches of a cult, and repair their relationships. The blend of humor and heartfelt moments makes this novel an enjoyable and relatable read for those who have experienced family drama or are interested in stories of redemption and forgiveness.

Interesting premise but the execution was not what I wanted. Glinda was so unlikeable and didn’t seem to be learning from her mistakes. I made it about halfway through and couldn’t do it anymore. There were some funny lines, mostly from Troy, but not enough to keep me reading. There seems to be a trend with books recently where you’re supposed to be able to forgive the extremely selfish and obnoxious main characters but I can’t get through the book to their eventual change (if there is one). This one just wasn’t for me.

Such a great read! The main character's voice was so strong and the humour and kookiness really speaks through. I love a cult book, so I was excited to dive in but all of the other threads to the narrative were a welcome and happy surprise. I really recommend it!

I like the concept of this one, but it wasn't for me. I thought it was a really interesting view of the family and the different personalities within it, as well as new friendships (and awful cult leaders). There was some great humor throughout as well.
I just didn't vibe with Glinda. I really couldn't get on board with how she dealt with and reacted to things--particularly in the beginning.

Cults are such an interesting phenomenon to me, if I'm being completely honest. The title of this book was honestly the main/sole draw as to why I requested it off NG. That said, while not my favorite read of the year, I definitely did not find it to be terrible either. I enjoyed the dark humor aspects woven in (especially because some heavy topics like grief, drug abuse, complex family dynamics, and more are discussed), but found Glinda's personality to be grating and insufferable at times. Genuinely I felt like she was The Worst™ so many times! And while the family drama/trauma and overall quirkiness of the book was intriguing enough for me to continue, it all somehow still managed to feel a bit forced, bloated, and a tad rushed (toward the end) to me. But again, I digress— while this book wasn't necessarily for me, I'm sure others will have a rollicking good time with it because the characters are truly larger than life and the story itself is honestly very compelling.

Brilliant, satire and gripping. It was very well written, and hard to believe it's the authors first novel! Stunning!

I am a sucker for a cult book. Well, I am a sucker for cult anything. I was super jazzed when I got approved for this book from netgalley. The only downside to this book was how big of a B**** the main character was. I couldn't STAND her. the book itself was great, but oh my god the insufferability of Glinda.. Nothing justifies treating people like garbage lady! but oh my god that cult leader guy was on a tirade, and for as big of an idiot as he is, he still got his nonsense accomplished.

Sadly I decided not to finish this one. I think it may have been categorized in the wrong genre as I don't think this fits into comedy. Additionally, the main character is absolutely insufferable and I'm guessing that was intentional but it's painful to read.

I have a mild obsession with cults. Not where I want to go join one or start one but I want to know WHY people start them, WHY people join them. So as soon as I saw this title I knew it would be something that I would definitely pick up on a shelf anywhere I saw it.

The character was definitely entertaining through most of this book. Was it the best thing I ever read? No BUT it was an easy read, that kept my interest the whole time and I would definitely tell people to try it out.

I was really excited to start this but I did fall a bit short for me.
I really struggled with the characters, the main character Glinda was very unlikeable and really immature at times but she was also treated so badly by her family, yet I just could not relate to her.
What I did like was the mixture between funny lighthearted moments to the darker more serious ones intertwined with the quirky very unique characters and their family drama.

None of the characters were likable. They all annoyed me quite a bit. The story overall was ok but it felt a bit long. I liked the idea of a daughter saving a mom from a cult and I loved the Wizard of Oz references to the names. But so much of it was dull. I wanted to like this one but i just didn't.

Glinda Glass dropped out of grad school and is on the struggle bus of life and on the outs with her twin sister Dorothy and younger sister West (yes, they are named on Wizard of Oz characters). You would think life couldn't be worse, but mommy dearest has been roped into a cult by a con artist taking control of her finances and robbing the sisters of their late father's legacy. This book has a lot going for it... quirky characters, corny puns, sarcastic banter, and an imperfect heroine trying to redeem herself. The story though did drive me nuts and make me so darned mad at times. The way Glinda's family treated her was just awful, and the amount of gaslighting just made me sick. I would have peaced out on my family within the first chapter. Good riddance, join your cult, go live off the grid searching for Bigfoot, whatevs... I'd be so done and gone. But that would have made for a very short story, lol.

3.5 stars rounded up for the full spectrum of feels this book generated.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Alcove Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I just finished It’s not a cult by Lauren Danhof and here are my thoughts!

Glinda Glass makes a mess of her life no matter what she does. After the death of her father things got worse. Her twin sister leaves her and is refusing to speak to her, she dropped out of school and now her mother is part of a cult…. The leader, Arlon, has his fingers so deep in her mother that they are now getting married.

She can’t even find solace at work…. She is the wench who gets dunked into a tank… The only saving grace is Troy, her partner at the tank. Soon she learns her mother is allowing all of the followers to move into their home and her mother is acting weirder and weirder by the day. Soon a man comes to the house and dies under suspicious circumstances and the only person who may be able to do anything about it, is her estranged sister who doesn’t believe a word she says. As Glinda faces her demons and races to save her mother she learns she has to trust someone but will that someone be lying to her as well?

I wasn’t sure about this book when I first started reading. Glinda kinda set my teeth on edge and I am not a fan of unreliable narrators on the whole but I soon warmed up to her. The more I learned, the more I understood why she is the way she is. Grief does weird things to a person and Glinda didn’t have it easy. I can see why her sister left her too. She definitely has issues.

The cult is insane!!! I couldn’t believe the stuff that dude was getting up to. He wasn’t even a very clever cult leader but I had to admit, he didn’t need to be. He was getting it done.

Loved the characters' names and why they were named from the wizard of oz… too epic. I have to say I love the cult trope and this one wasn’t just general fiction, it was funny as well. I loved that! Really made for an entertaining read. The whole book was told from Glinda’s POV and I really enjoyed getting to know her. I also kinda loved her job. Working at a renaissance faire… How cool is that! She got to yell insults at people too. The author of this book rocked my entire world with this book. I can’t praise it enough.

5 stars. Thank you @netgalley and @alcovepress for my gifted copy

This was a decent read but I think the title works against it. It’s a little off for the actual book itself. Some of the characters were depressingly dumb and lacked common sense despite being written as “bright”. The plot was pretty awkward and the family dynamics were painful at best.

This was funny and entertaining. I loved Glinda's sarcasm and the nerdiness, but she's definitely a piece of work. There's lots of angst and past trauma and impulsive, dumb decisions. Nevertheless I was hooked and finished the book in 2 sittings.
The writing style is fluent and the pacing was great.

I can recommend this one to anyone who likes a light cult-thriller.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was in love with the first chapter, and so excited because THIS book was going to get me out of my reading slump. Nothing went right from that point on.

No one in Glinda's family knows how to talk to each other or communicate. Texts are not returned or not believed or not even sent. Any statement, no matter how innocuous, is met with distrust. Most important things are just not communicated at all. Glinda, our main character, is a college-educated 25 year old who behaves like she's 16. She has done some atrocious things to her family and when dealing with other people returns every thank you with a snarl, every kindness with venom. It is explained that Glinda has gone through some things, but guess what, a lot of women have gone through those things and we didn't turn into monsters against every single person in our lives.

But Glinda and her family are the ones we're supposed to root for, because there is also a villain. I guess the only way to differentiate him from the completely problematic family of Glinda's is to make him a horrific comic book level caricature of a villain. He's only missing a mustache to twirl.

Could Glinda not have had one element of goodness that we could root for? I was continuously horrified every time she opened her mouth. I'm not even mad at the author, I'm more frustrated that no one around her in the process pointed out that a reader needs something to hold on to, to hope for. This was just doom and gloom and hopelessness until the last chapter when everything is wrapped up in a tidy bow and a magic wand was waved over everyone to make them nice and good and happy people. The end.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately I never would have finished this one if not for NetGalley.

It's Not A Cult (awesome title, promising premise!) follows Glinda Glass, a woman trying her best to save her mother from the clutches of a dangerous cult, the Starlight Pioneer Society. As Glinda navigates her own personal struggles and dysfunctional family dynamics, she decides to take matters into her own hands by infiltrating the cult. What she uncovers is far more sinister than she could have imagined, forcing her to confront her own past trauma and repair her fractured relationships.

Now, let's talk about Glinda, our main character. I have to be honest, she wasn't the most likable protagonist. Her emotionally clumsy attempts to fix things often ended in disaster, and at times, I found myself frustrated with her decision-making. While flawed characters can be compelling, Glinda's actions frequently derailed the plot and made it difficult for me to fully engage with the story.

Despite this setback, I have to commend Danhof for crafting a genuinely intriguing premise. The concept of a cult and the desperate race to save a loved one had me hooked from the start. The moments of tension and suspense were well-executed, keeping me on edge and eager to unravel the mysteries surrounding the cult's leader, Arlon.

Additionally, the author's writing style had a personable quality that made it easy to immerse myself in Glinda's world. The book had its humorous moments, reminiscent of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," which added a much-needed touch of levity amidst the dark subject matter.

However, the plot suffered from pacing issues. The focus on Glinda's personal struggles often overshadowed the larger narrative, detracting from the urgency of the cult storyline. I found myself wanting more depth and exploration of the cult itself and its inner workings.

In the end, "It's Not a Cult" had its strengths and weaknesses. While the execution didn't quite live up to the initial promise, the premise was intriguing, and the writing had its moments of charm. If you enjoy character-driven stories with a dash of dark humor, this book might still be worth a read.

Thanks so much to Alcove Press for the opportunity to read an eArc of this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest thoughts!