As a HUGE fan of One Tree Hill and Bethany Joy, I was so excited to get a copy of this!! Bethany’s transparency in her writing was perfect and I enjoyed being able to read her story and learn more about her! Thanks for the arc!!

I am a die hard OTH fan, like it’s my favorite show of all time and I rewatch it pretty much yearly for comfort. That being said, I had no idea what was going on behind the scenes in Joy’s life the entire time…

Bethany Joy Lenz tells her story beautifully through this memoir and audio, I loved hearing about her time in Wilmington, her admiration for her costars and her love for the show. As the title explains though, this book is more about her time in a religious cult - which was FASCINATING.

You hear cult, you think Manson, Branch Davidians, Heaven’s Gate etc. This cult that Joy was in however started innocently enough as a bible study. There were no initiations, no violence, no guns, no fear. It was based on manipulations and control. Manipulation that went so far as to having Joy marry the leaders son and give them all access to her bank accounts…

Joy tells this story so well with heart and humor. Reading this made me understand her and her pain so much better than I imagined. THIS is how you write a memoir.

I grew up watching One Tree Hill and loved the show. I related to Haley in so many ways and loved the songs she sang on the show. This book was truly an eye-opening experience. I never knew she was battling so much and my heart breaks for her in so many ways. It was so hard reading about all of the opportunities over the years that she lost because of the cult and toxic relationships. I am so proud of the healing she has experienced and hope that the future is so bright for her. She has SO much talent and I hope that others reading this book she her as an empowered force and are proud of her for how much she overcame. It is so sad that there are people out there who prey on the vulnerable, and unfortunate that she happened to be the victim. But, I am so happy she was able to free herself from this cult.

Dinner For Vampires is the story of actress, Bethany Joy Lenz. Best known for her tenure on One Tree Hill, in this memoir, Lenz cleverly outlines what it was like to be on a cult tv show while simultaneously belonging to an actual cult.

In order to understand how this came to happen, Lenz explains her upbringing. The only child of divorced parents, she caught the acting bug early and decided to dive in head first. But leaving a tumultuous home life for the uncertainty that Hollywood brings found Lenz looking for her place in both her personal and professional life. This is how she falls into a religious group of people who welcome her with open arms. It’s no coincidence this comes at a time where a struggling actress was subjected to rejection after rejection.

By the time Lenz secures her role on One Tree Hill, her role in the “family” is already deeply rooted in lies and deception. Although the classic signs are there- isolation, intimidation, and even monetary coercion- the actress details how easy it is to turn a blind eye when such manipulation comes from those you trust the most. It’s only after things come to a head that Lenz was able to see her situation from the outside looking in, allowing her to reflect and forgive herself in order to move on.

Dinner For Vampires reads as a cautionary tale that debunks the idea that someone must be weak or stupid to get themselves into such situations. What it isn’t, however, is much of a chronicle of the actress’s time on the cult classic, One Tree Hill. Arguably the reason most people would be interested in her story to begin with, fans should know on set tales are sparse. Rather the focus is on the immersion and rebirth of a woman- one that will rope readers in with her addictive take on cultism culture.

What a great memoir - full of the worst kind of bed time stories. It was really eye opening, the stories of manipulation and abuse. But also awe-inspiring how Joy was able to get out. It was an easy quick read that kept me captivated. I didn’t want to put it down.
Wish there was more OTH behind the scenes… but I still loved the book.

Thank you Net Galley for this e arc.
Dinner for Vampires follows Bethany Joy Lenz as she finds her footing as an actress as well as a cult. Lenz captures the reader in with her style of storytelling to the point it feels like its two girl friends gossiping about there week instead of a famous CW actress being abused by a "Christian" cult. If you were ever curious what goes on in the mind of someone in a cult I definitely suggest Dinner for Vampires.

I love Bethany Joy Lenz as an artist and actress. This was a really interesting memoir! She is a great storyteller. It’s fascinating to hear her story.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience of reading this book. The first 3/4 started to drag and then it wrapped up suuuuper fast. Maybe there was a happy medium we could've found somewhere in there?

I received the e-ARC from Netgalley but I bought the audio because I had a hard time with reading it. I guess because it was a memoir, it was hard to follow. The audiobook however, was phenomenal, Bethany Joy Lenz' story is truly one of a kind. It was fascinating! Listening to it was decadent. Like watching a film that I am not supposed to see yet I had a front row seat with unobstructed view. It boils my blood to hear that religion and belief in God were used to weaponized against this kind of maltreatment and so blatant and brazen for the perpetuators to just get away with it!
On the other hand, I felt like as readers, we really do not have the right to rate people's memoirs or to simply give their experiences stars. I appreciate them for sharing and for being so vulnerable to put their experiences out in the open. This was a fast read or a listen and it was truly interesting!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC. I have been the biggest One Tree Hill fan since I was a teenager! I was so excited to read this memoir! Bethany Joy Lenz’s life was so much more interesting than I thought! I couldn’t believe how far deep of a cult she was in while filming OTH. Highly recommend to anyone who is a OTH fan or a fan of reading anything about cults.

The glimpse into Joy’s harrowing experience was quite enlightening. There’s so much to unpack about it. Her experience is a cautionary tale that extends much further than our traditional view of cults and is quite relevant today.

One of the best memoirs I have ever read! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

I know that I am a HUGE fan of @msbethanyjoylenz and One Tree Hill, but what I think is so great about this book is that you may not know who she is or what show she was on and you would still absolutely be in awe of her, this story, and this book.

The vulnerability, approachability, the care. ALL OF IT. Everything that you can see went into writing this book, was done so incredibly well.

I did this on audio because Joy narrates and it was literal music to my ears! Between her narration, the bits of singing (her voice!!!), and the cameos of past OTH actors popping in made it the best experience.

Whether you’ve watched every season of One Tree Hill 782 times (me 🙋🏻‍♀️) or you can’t tell the difference between Haley James Scott and Nanny Carrie - there is something for you. I think this is one of the things that contributes to making this book so good, is how far reaching I can see it going.

Cannot recommend it enough!!! Go buy it now (plus the cover is STUNNING!)

There were parts of this book that I liked but overall I felt it was lacking. It wasn’t what I was expecting and that may have been because I hyped it up.

You don't have to be familiar with <i>One Tree Hill</i> or this actress to read this book. I'm hesitant to say "enjoy" this book, because the themes are darker and heartbreaking in a completely different way than what you'd expect from a Hollywood memoir. Even though it can be hard to read, the author had a clear, engaging voice and it never felt preachy. It's incredible what she's gone through to get herself out of an unimaginable situation and I commend her for sharing her story.

As a fan of <i>One Tree Hill</i> when it was airing on TV, I thought this memoir would be focused on her time on the show, but it was more about her personal life outside of the show. It doesn't give you much behind-the-scenes OTH info, but it did answer my questions about why her career wasn't bigger than it was. I absolutely loved Haley and Nathan's relationship in the show and I always thought she was one of the strongest talents on the show. It's sad to think she was unsure of herself for so long and that she didn't feel like she belonged. I'm glad she seems to be in a better place now.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Dinner for Vampires explains Bethany Joy Lenz's experience being in a religious cult. I wasn't what I'd call a One Tree Hill fan, but I watched a good number of episodes - this book is compelling even without being a huge fan of OTH or Joy.

I really enjoyed this book! Joy outlines her early life, her early time in New York and LA, and her entry into a religious cult that started as a bible study church group.

I think this book did a great job showing how people enter into cults - it started slowly, next Joy was financing a cult compound and restaurant.

A few times reading this book I felt like was watching a scary movie where the main character follows the scary noise to the basement rather than running, however, I think that because of her slow integration into the cult, she didn't see how things had slowly gotten out of control and she had lost autonomy on her life.

My heart broke for Joy at times, but I am happy she has her life back. I hope Joy makes at least 2 million dollars from this book. I wish she hadn't changed the names of the other people in the book - their deplorable behavior deserves to be public. I also wish that she would have spent more time talking about life post cult. Overall, a great read!

While most of us know her as the formidable Haley James Scott from One Tree Hill, Bethany Joy Lenz is an accomplished actress and singer. She is also a former cult member. Seeking a loving family environment she could call home, she fell in with a Bible study group in the Pacific Northwest. That group manipulated and abused her across a decade, including the time she was on everyone’s favorite teen drama. This harrowing memoir explores her time in the cult, and it chronicles how her daughter inspired her to break free of that oppressive situation.

I am the first to acknowledge that I’m a OTH fangirl, so I jumped at the chance to learn more about Joy’s story. I went in knowing that she had been involved in a cult, and that it would likely handle some heavy topics. I was still unprepared for just how heartbroken I would be for her after reading this. She beautifully and painstakingly details what led her there and the thought processes she was conditioned to have that kept her there for so long. Many people think that it would never happen to them, that they’re too smart to fall for something so crazy. She did such an amazing job of really putting the reader in her shoes and allowing them to understand just how easy it can be to fall into a trap like she did. While it was at times hard to read such heavy topics, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I sincerely hope Joy and her daughter have found freedom and light in the days since, and I commend her for sharing her story so vulnerably.

Thank you to Bethany Joy Lenz, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

I read this on audio even though I got an ARC, because I believe celebrity memoirs and meant to be read on audio like one giant podcast. I have really mixed feelings on this one, and while I enjoyed it while I was listening to it I left feeling really disappointed… or like this was missing something.

If you are a fan of OTH, do not pick this up, in the sense that it has NOTHING to do with OTH which is what surprised me most. I think this book has a little case of being poorly advertised because this was less of a memoir and more of a tell all regarding her time in a cult. Which, don’t get me wrong was beyond entertaining. BUT as someone who doesn’t really care that much about cult culture lol, this wasn’t the behind the scenes OTH memoir I was hoping to have. BUT for my friends that love cult culture I think your sleeping on a MAJOR contender of a book for best cult tell all ever.

I think what made me the most sad about this book was how little she seemed to care about OTH. It was such a background to her life and her as a person, but I know how pivotal it was to US so it was weird to see someone who could have gone without this opportunity and been fine.

Overall, this is a must read for all of my cult girlies out there!

Massive thanks to the publisher/author and NetGalley for an advanced copy. Below are my honest thoughts.

In short: 10/10. No notes.

I devoured this book in 24 hours. That has not happened in such a long time, but I was captivated about everything this book had to offer. Bethany is an amazing storyteller and though she suffered from such deep-rooted trauma, she spoke eloquently about everyone involved, including those that caused her harm. "Cult" is a term that is so easily thrown around, but it exactly describes the "family" she was part of. And I am so proud of her for knowing when to walk away, for the safety of her daughter and for herself.

From childhood, to the beginning of her career, to One Tree Hill, to marriage and then motherhood, Bethany guides a reader through her life experiences and emotionally describes her mind and heart behind each decision. My heart hurt for her when she had to give up career opportunities, in order to appease the cult. And I greatly empathized the feeling of wanting to be loved and needed. I felt her anger and sadness and confusion. By the end of my book, I just wanted to give her a massive hug - but then realized she probably isn't a fan of hugs, anymore.

This is one of 2024's best memoirs of the year. Even if you don't know who Bethany is (I didn't), everyone can gain something from reading this. Highly, highly recommend.

This book was so much! Learning all about what she went through and how despite everything, they were able to keep her under their thumb. The mental torture that that man was able to do to so many others, in so many places.
If you struggle with tramua, go into this book with the ability to do self care.

Wow! I’d never watched OTH before reading this, but had to start upon finishing this book. It truly made me wonder how many small cults are alive and thriving in 2024. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for sending me this ARC.