Until this book I honestly never watched one tree hill so decided to watch while reading and it is amazing how she describes in the book that even tho she went through all of that she was still able to separate acting life with real life. The things that happened to her the way she got taken advantage of is a shame but all in all I believe it was a great book I'm not really into memoirs but I enjoyed this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this advance reader copy, in exchange for an honest review. Dinner for Vampires is Bethany Joy Lenz’s memoir that covers her upbringing, her career, and most prominently her life in an abusive cult. Like many others, I usually do not like to rate memoirs, for the simple fact that it doesn’t feel fair to “rate” other people’s life experiences. However, this book was SO well written and was just an absolutely fantastic book. I don’t remember the last time I found a memoir, let alone a celebrity memoir, so compelling and page turning but, this one knocked it out of the park.

Lenz’s writing was high quality and the structure of this book was very well done, which contributed to making this book so propulsive. Lenz clearly described her experiences and viscerally put the reader in her shoes, making you feel her sadness, helplessness, and frustration throughout the book. I could not put this book down because I was rooting for Joy to make her way out of this abusive situation and I had to know that she made it.

As a survivor of abuse, Lenz also handles these topics very respectfully and displays a clear empathy for others that were also in her situation at the time, even when their actions may not naturally lend itself to that. Lenz’s strength as a person, as a mother, as a survivor, and now as a writer shine bright through this book and while she continues to heal, you can feel her optimism and fortitude through it all. This will be an important book for readers and I am so glad for the opportunity to read and review it now.

I would definitely recommend this book to others, with a caveat that readers should be prepared for triggers abound in this book. However, this was a very well written memoir and I look forward to seeing what others think!

I knew about One Tree Hill since it came out and was excited to read the memoir by Bethany Joy Lenz. I appreciated getting to read about this and that Bethany Joy Lenz shared their story with the reader. It was engaging and well written. I thought the overall feel worked with the story being told and glad it showed the dangers and manipulation of cults.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Intriguing and eye opening. Definitely worth the read.

As a general rule I don’t rate memoirs. I get the ick thinking about assigning a rating to someone’s life. What I can say about Dinner for Vampires is that it was so well-written. The narrative structure was engaging and compelling. I felt so many emotions while reading: anger, frustration, sadness, and understanding.

This was such a captivating story. This is definitely more for readers who cherish a good memoir, more so than One Tree Hill fans. This memoir is about Joy’s tumultuous time in a cult, and while One Tree Hill and its cast are mentioned throughout, this is not the focus. If you’re a fan of both though, like me, you’ll love it regardless.

I could not put this down and found myself fully immersed in Joy's story. At first, I was struggling with how predominant a role religion played, being nonreligious myself. But by part 2 I was absolutely captivated. Joy's voice comes through so well, I felt like I was listening to her rather than reading.

"Dinner for Vampires" is a well-written and compelling memoir by actress Bethany Joy Lenz, famous for her role in “One Tree Hill.” Before beginning her book, I don’t believe I’d ever seen or heard of her or the television series, despite their apparent popularity. I requested “Dinner for Vampires” from NetGalley and Simon and Schuster because I was intrigued by the title and the promotional material. My thanks to them, and to Ms. Lenz, for providing me with a complimentary ARC. This review consists wholly of my independent opinion.

This is the story of a very young, but strong and independent actress who navigates the rocks and shoals of the New York and LA acting worlds to slowly but surely build a career for herself. No mean feat, the process takes its toll, causing her great loneliness. But she has her Christian faith and eventually finds fellowship in a bible study group. Under the guidance of a so-called pastor named Les, that group morphs into a “church covenant” named the Big House Family that establishes a compound in Idaho. Simultaneously, Ms. Lenz is cast in “One Tree Hill” and begins earning a very good living, which is when pastor Les and his son QB get to work: convincing her to marry QB, making career, financial, and personal decisions for her, and eventually taking over her life and robbing her blind.

This is a story about manipulation, about how the concept of God—and what God wants—can be used to convince a person to do what they otherwise would not have done. It is also a story of misogyny, of how the concept of God—and what God wants—can be used to subjugate, mistreat, and demean women. And it’s a story of finding the strength to escape and rebuild. It’s a tale that likely, in places, will make many readers’ blood boil. While I can’t say I liked the meat of it—i.e., what happened to Ms. Lenz--I can say I admired and respected the telling of it.

This is different than most memoirs I have read in the past. While difficult at time to read, and even heartbreaking, it was truly intrigued by reading. To shows most of us don't know what going on in other people's life's. 4 stars.

This was an interesting memoir about an actress that surprisingly, I had never heard of before. I've never watched One Tree Hill, but I still enjoyed this story about Bethany Joy who found herself in a cult. I felt for her and her biological family, as she pushed everyone away while in the cult. While her story was interesting, I found some parts were a little slow. Overall though, a solid memoir about what happens when you're in a cult.

After being a One Tree Hill fan I was really anticipating this memoir! The writing did a great job of conveying just how quickly these steps of being further indoctrinated into a group can occur. As well as EXACTLY the type of people that make it such a seamless process. I felt so emotionally connected to Bethany Joy Lenz as she explained the emotions tied to such an experience. Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this memoir early.
As a huge One Tree Hill fan, it was a given that this would be at the top of my “book hopefuls” list and boy did it deliver. Joy’s writing makes the reader engaged and not want to put the book down. This story is powerful and not only about a woman being manipulated to stay in a cult, but a story about a strong woman that never stops having faith even after trials and tribulations endured for years. I feel like this was written for her to take back her power that they held for so long and rid any negative connotation that comes with someone falling into a cult and even surviving it. It ended as a true testament of there being a light at the end of the tunnel. I was so happy to read that Paul Johansson was a good support system for her because he’s my favorite tv show “villain” though I’d debate for hours he was misunderstood. Ha! Whether you’re a One Tree Hill fan or completely blind to who Bethany Joy Lenz is, you should give this book a go.

This story page turner griped at every word being a fan of one tree hill and the author I couldn’t get enough , what a shocking truth I had no clue into the life behind the scene of one of my fave tv stars. WOW

I went into this book having never watched One Tree Hill. But I love a good memoir so I jumped in. This book was a hard read as Joy because entrapped in a spiritually abusive group. It kept me hooked and I finished it in 48 hours.

I have never watched One Tree Hill but I like cult memiors so decided to try this one and I'm so glad I did. This was an emotional roller coaster of a story with a hopeful ending.

Thank you Bethany Joy Lenz ( @msbethanyjoylenz ), Simon & Schuster ( @simonandschuster ), and NetGalley ( @netgalley ) for allowing me to read Dinner for Vampires - Life on Cult TV Show (While also in an Actual Cult!) early (publishes October 22, 2024).

Fan of One Tree Hill? ✔️ Intrigued by cults? ✔️ A book combining the two? ✔️✔️

In this memoir from Bethany Joy Lenz, she chronicles her years in an unnamed cult. This group of people manipulated and stole millions of dollars from her—all while she was on a hit tv show.

I don’t think Lenz wants the readers to feel sorry for her, but I have so many feelings for her—anger, sadness, uplifted, and happy. It sounds like she was let down by so many people on her life or pushed away those that might have been willing to help. Fortunately it seems that she has come out the other side, not unharmed, but stronger.

#DinnerforVampires #NetGalley #BethanyJoyLenz #SimonandSchuster

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A memoir that includes celebrities and a cult? Even without any vampires involved—don’t get your hopes up from the title, like I did—I was invested in this book before I started reading.

As far as 2000’s star memoirs go, this one is probably closer to Britney’s recent book than Jessica Simpson’s (which consistently tops this genre’s ranks ever since I first read it). It’s an interesting look at someone trying to balance career aspirations while also being slowly indoctrinated into a religious cult. Bethany Joy Lenz’s (of One Tree Hill fame) writing had many moments of vulnerability, and I appreciated those times in which she reflected on how the difficult experiences she went through led her to her marriage, and eventually her daughter. There were also times when I wish she had delved a bit deeper into some of her memories; similarly to Britney’s, it felt like more of a book overviewing of her life than a literary memoir. I noticed a heavy emphasis on the religious values that played into Lenz’s early connection with the cult, though occasionally it felt like this overshadowed the events that were being narrated.

That being said—I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to write about such personal moments in your life, and I always have that in mind when reading (and rating) memoirs. While this probably won’t be a book I return to in the future, I’d recommend it to other readers who enjoy this particular niche of celebrity writing.

Thanks to @simonandschuster for providing me with this ARC in exchanged for an unbiased review. And keep an eye out for “Dinner with Vampires” when it releases next month on October 22nd!

Dinner For Vampires
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I want to say that any negative talk about religion is based off of what I read in this book & the toxic cults that pretend to be religious. I’m not bashing religious people or anything like that!
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First and foremost I was (still am) a OTH fan, I grew up watching it and still do rewatches! I saw little snip bits of BJL being in a cult and when I saw this arc I knew I wanted to read this one! To be clear, this isn’t a tribute to OTH, we get some behind the scenes stuff, little nuggets that I ate up, but we’re focusing on her life outside of that even though she shares how her experience with this cult fully affected her career. I enjoyed the pace of the book, it read like fiction (I read 60% of it in my first sitting lol) I so appreciate her coming out & sharing her story, I’m a firm believer in finding peace & healing when we share traumatic experiences (when we’re ready of course). This book is filled with manipulation, isolation, targeting, controlling behavior, as the reader you can see it all snowballing and you have your “turn around, what are you doing!!” moments, but it was also powerful to see her come through the other side, the strength it took to admit that something was finally wrong and to get yourself and daughter out, it was so interesting to read it all unfold. So yeah, the book is filled with a lot of ugly, but I also laughed, I loved reading about the joy she found in music, I loved hearing about her friendships with certain cast members (don’t want to spoil it, but one was surprising lol). I devoured this book to say the least! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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We also live somewhat close to Wilmington (3 hours) and I’m always trying to convince my husband to go on a OTH tour lol maybe for my birthday this year! Thank you @simonandschuster @msbethanyjoylenz and @netgalley for this e-arc. Dinner For Vampires comes out October 22!

Wow, I haven't expected this book to be so intense and heartbreaking. As a longtime fan of One Tree Hill, I had no idea that behind the scenes of her acting success, she was living a secret double life in a cult. Her story moved me in ways I didn’t expect—it made me feel everything from disbelief to anger to empathy.

What really struck me was how slowly and subtly Lenz was drawn into The Big House Family cult. She starts by sharing how, as an only child longing for connection, she found solace in what seemed like a supportive Bible study group. I could feel how much she craved that sense of belonging, and it was heartbreaking to read about how this "family" eventually manipulated and controlled her. From minders on the One Tree Hill set to losing millions of dollars to the cult leaders, the way they took over her life was disturbing yet fascinating.

Lenz’s honesty about her experience is raw and powerful. She really lets you into her headspace, explaining how easy it was to fall under their influence, which made me reflect on how vulnerable any of us can be to manipulation. But as much as I loved her deep dive into that world, I wanted more about her journey out. It felt like the story of her escape from the cult wasn’t as detailed or nuanced as I’d hoped—there must have been more to the internal struggle that led to her finally breaking free.

Still, this book is an incredible read! Lenz has a real gift for storytelling and I sincerely hope this is just the first of many books from her. I’m so glad she shared her story, and I think it’s not only a must-read for One Tree Hill fans but for anyone curious about how cults operate and how someone can find the strength to rebuild their life after such intense trauma.

This book was so good! I was surprised, because a lot of actors/actresses think they can write but can't. This was such an in-depth look at Joy's religious/spiritual turmoil, her actual life and marriage, and a bit of her life on One Tree Hill. It was so good, and I'm glad she was able to get out. 4 stars!

I've never seen One Tree Hill, but I have a deep interest in cults. Luckily, this memoir focuses heavily on the cult piece. I currently live in Idaho, and a lot of what I read about the use of religion as a motive was not that shocking - I have noticed religion as a common justification and tactic since the day I moved here. Not to say everyone who is religious is immediately a cult member, but the way religion is talked about here is so vastly different from where and how I grew up. This made it easier to picture some of the scenarios Lenz was in, as I have had interactions with people who take on religion as their entire identity and extend that onto others. It's shocking to read about a public figure joining, participating in, and eventually leaving a cult, all while rising in fame and progressing her career. The amount of money she lost was shocking to me, and I flew through this book with my jaw on the floor. This was a very eye-opening read about how even 'less culty' cults, are still abusive.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC.