Very quirky read with splashes of humor here and there that make it a read sure to capture audiences. The cover definitely drew me in as well as the synopsis. Some may find this disturbing for sure, but I do think it is a read worth giving a try. I quite enjoyed it.

I was intrigued by this book and it was a really interesting storyline.
I liked that there was some humor through the book because the storyline was so strong it definitely needed the balance.
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I found the main character of this book to be unnecessarily screaming the whole time. It put me off for sure. I do not think that the satire here is done well. My opinions are my own. Thank you for the ARC

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Glinda, graduate school drop out now working as a Renaissance wench has to watch her mother get pulled under the spell of a real life cult, meander through a tumultous relationship with her younger sister, and a nonexistent realtionship with her twin. Throw in nice guy coworker, Troy, for good measure.

I loved and rooted for Glinda. Definitely had some visceral reactions to her character being misunderstood time and time again, but loved seeing her continuously fight to save the ones that mean the most to her.

A delightful, dark, funny story about family, love and overcoming grief of all kinds.

I stumbled across this book when I was searching on here, and the title caught my eye. I love watching TV shows about cults and stuff - morbid curiosity! - but I've never read a book about them.

And after finishing this book ... I can confidently say, reading about cults is not at all the same as watching documentaries on them (for me anyway!) And even though it's fiction - it just CREEPED ME OUT!

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I didn't like ANY of the characters. Apart from maybe West, who I can forgive, as I was also a grouchy teenager once.

The love interest ending up giving me the ick, and by the end I was just reading it hoping they'd all get wiped out somehow 🙈

Now, I do not think this is a bad book by any means, it just did not work for ME. So... If you like unlikable characters, and stories about cults - this may well be the perfect book for you!

I am not going to lie, I was so happy when I received a review copy of this book – which I had requested solely based on the blurb. And what a ride of a read! I really really enjoyed it. I have many thoughts, so this review is going to be on the long side, but the short version of it is: if you are a Murderino or if you think your life is a mess, go ahead and pick this one up.

I mean…The blurb was “Bunny meets Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”. Sign. Me. Up. And let me tell you, this was definitely not as wears as Bunny (though equally ominous in some parts), but lough-out-loud funny as Kimmy for sure. I read most of it on a plane and snorted so loudly at a certain point that the guy sitting next to me turned and stared for a solid 5 minutes!

The story follows Glinda, an almost 30 years old woman (like me! Yay!) whose life is a mess. No judgement, but as the story opens she is working at a Renaissance fair, hardly finding any better job with an almost (!) major in English literature, estranged from her twin sister, with serious trust issues. Oh, and her mother is elbow-deep in a cult. And she is (or at least believes herself to be) the only one who can fix the situation. A mess, I told you.
And I really enjoyed seeing the mess unravel. Now, to be perfectly honest, I did have some trouble getting into the story, and I ended up enjoying the second half of the book way more than the first. I think it is because Glinda to me was not a very likeable character. Normally, this would not be a problem, but apparently I read this in a phase of my life when I needed the LAUGH, but not to dislike the main character. She really really grew on me, though, and by the time I was halfway through the book I really loved her.

I would totally recommend this book to anyone who needs a good laugh. And of course to anyone who likes True Crime, especially to all the Murderinos out there. At times it really felt like I was not reading fiction, but listening to Karen telling me the story of a new cult she just discovered. It was so realistic it was low key scary.

Very entertaining! The author balances humor and drama really well. I was very invested in this story and the characters, even though Glinda is definitely not someone I would be friends with 😜

Glinda is a graduate school dropout who has returned to her childhood home to live with her mom and sister. After her father's passing, the Starlight Pioneer Society has literally made its way into her life and home as her mother becomes enraptured with its leader, Arlon.

As Glinda tries to infiltrate and destroy the cult to free her mother from Arlon’s grip, she must confront her own traumas to repair the failed relationships in her life that could prove resourceful in her quest.

There was so much going on in this novel, yet I felt it had a cohesive flow that Danhoff executed perfectly. With each character came a separate set of problems, which made the story that much more believable and the buildup that much more intriguing. Even though I could have done without some of the romantic scenes, it did set the relationship and the feelings of angst up between Glinda and Troy. The tension was definitely palpable, yet it made me wonder, was their story necessary?

Overall, an enjoyable read!

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have a very strange fascination with cults of all kinds, so any book, fiction or non, that is centered around a cult is a must read for me. This one, however, did not quite thrill me the way I had hoped it would.

It is obviously a parody/highly elevated version of a cult, and while that may be entertaining to many other readers, it's just not my cup of tea. Everything was a little TOO on the nose, or a comment on the cliches of a cult. So it did lead to some fun and funny circumstances, but it also drove me slightly insane at the same time. It just didn't seem to have anything reality based about it.

I wanted to like this so much but I just couldn't keep going anymore. I DNF'd at ~50%. I just found the main character Glinda very annoying. I could not get past what she did to her sister Dorothy. The way she behaves is very immature and I could not read her saying "I'll take care of it" one more time. She's very rude and makes very poor decisions and is then shocked no one supports her. Even her family doesn't seem to like her, like at all. I do not care to find out how the story ended and it was a struggle to get myself to pick this back up. I'm giving it a two because I'm sure others would enjoy this, it is just not for me.

I love the cover of this book! Glinda is messy but in a fairly relatable way and it was fun to navigate life with her even if it was about some stressful topics. It was a little darker than expected but tonally it was pretty consistent. I hate when there is a huge contrast between the lighter and darker bits but this handled it really well.

I really enjoyed this book! Glenda Glass' mom is in a cult and Glenda is trying to save her. Glenda makes many miss steps along the way. She has to try and mend those relationships so they will help her!


Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Glenda Glass dropped out of graduate school and moved home after the death of her father. She finds herself working at a Renaissance fair in the "dunk-a-wench" booth. The nicest part about her job is Troy, her co-worker and only friend. She is currently facing several problems: 1) her mother is involved in a cult, which she insists is not a cult, 2) she may have permanently ruined her relationship with her twin sister, and 3)it's possible that both of these problems are actually Glenda's fault. When the cult leader, Arlon, decides to marry Glenda's mother and turn their home into a commune, Glenda realizes that she must figure out a way to help. The problem is she isn't entirely sure that anyone in her family trusts her anymore. Can she figure out a way to earn back the trust of her sisters and learn how to trust herself again? The book started off rather slowly, but the last third was enjoyable.

I went into this book expecting it to be a littler dark than it turned out to be, it read a lot like a YA book which is not what I had expected. It was a fun light take on cults and event though the majority of the side characters were unlikeable, I felt like that fit into the story still. Glinda was extremely endearing and I felt myself cheering for her the whole way through, yes she is a mess but she is a relatable mess that makes you kind of shake your head and laugh with her. Her intentions were often mis-read and taken the wrong way event though she always has her family's best interest in mind. I kept waiting for the tone of the book to feel more sad or darker but it kept a fairly humorous feeling throughout the book. This was a super interesting and unique book and I will def read more by this author in the future!

I don't know if I would classify this in the same lane as Bunny, but it was definitely kind of quirky. I would say this is a lot more lighthearted (if a book about a cult can be described as such) and fast-paced, with a bit of a parodistic feeling. I might be alone here, too, but I also thought this was a bit younger. A book about a graduate school student trying to save her mother was something I expected to feel more adult and, it might be the sort of satirical feeling I got from the book, but it just read really young. This, overall, wasn't terrible--it was a silly, easy sort of read but not one that I found particularly engaging or interesting. I wasn't a huge fan of the characters and that, coupled with the writing, left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. I can definitely see where people are going to love this, but this one just wasn't for me!

An interesting story full of twists, turns, fun characters and overall a book I would consider reading time and time again.

While I read through this pretty quickly and enjoyed it, there may be people for whom this story could be
disturbing, Actual cults are nothing about which to joke, but as fiction this story has everything a reader wants - a bit of suspense, a bit of love and a lot of family drama. No spoilers here, just read the book! Perfect for a vacation book, a couple of hours on a plane or a rainy afternoon!
I received this download from the Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is nothing like the book Bunny. This book is more lighthearted and is a fairly easy read. I would personally classify this as YA.

"It's Not a Cult" is a twisty, quick trip down the rabbit hole of craziness, and I LOVED it! Lauren Danhof's debut novel is one you will not want to miss. This is a story about a mom who has come love a man that heads up a "not" cult at the dismay of her daughters (all named by Wizard of Oz characters, how fun!) Glinda Rainbow Glass is the main character, and the multiple story lines all lead deeper and deeper into chaos. A thriller, a mystery, a coming of age, and a modern tale of people with selfish motives and how they manipulate the world around them.

I will read more by this author as I enjoyed the quick pace and cross between laughter and real sadness at the situation as it unfolded.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lauren Danhof, and Alcove Press for an early reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

It's Not a Cult was an interesting book. I stayed up until 1am reading it one night, and promptly finished it the next morning. It starts kind of quirky and light, but goes a few dark places.

I wish some of the other characters had been fleshed out a bit more, but it definitely held my attention. If you don't get too frustrated with a main character who knows bad things are happening/have happened, and no one believes her, this book will be right up your alley.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!