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.

This was an incredible memoir. I would have loved Bethany’s story even if I wasn’t a One Tree Hill fan. She survived A LOT of religious trauma - people could learn so much through her story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the gifted copy!

Definitely one of the better celebrity memoirs I’ve read. It gets deeper than I expected emotionally, and she’s really good at looking back at red flags in a nuanced way. There’s not a lot of One Tree Hill if that’s what you want.

As a fan of both One Tree Hill and the Drama Queens podcast I was intrigued to learn more about Bethany Joy Lenz's story of being part of a cult. This memoir is well-written, engaging, and an overall excellent celebrity memoir. It's easy to understand how she got sucked into the cult in her early 20s. That age is a vulnerable time for everyone and she had the perfect combination of qualities to make her the "perfect target" - devout, talented, and lonely. There were many points in which my heart broke for her - especially learning that she sacrificed her dream of Broadway TWICE.

This may not be the most wild cult story but it's probably one more people, particularly anyone with any sort of connection to American Christianity (especially nondenominational Evangelical Christianity) can understand. Not all Christian churches/bible study groups are cults but this book depicts how easily faith can be used and twisted by narcissistic, power hungry people into something that manipulates and harms others. As Bethany Joy Lenz shows in this book, a lot of the reason why she didn't question things in the beginning was because a lot of it wasn't any different than things she was taught in church growing up - covenants, complementary gender roles, making sacrifices to prove one's faith, talk about "The Enemy", etc. This manipulation of faith is insidious and unfortunately more common in American Christian Culture than I think people realize (with varying degrees of severity). As with any cult, it's hard for people to question - especially because there are a lot of sects that will tell people who question things that they're being manipulated by The Enemy and will lose their salvation because of it. It always saddens me to see Christianity being used as a weapon in this way and I hope her story will help save a lot of people from spiritual abuse.

I respect Bethany Joy Lenz a lot for not losing her faith completely through all of this as it would be very easy to do. There's a beautiful scene in one of the last few chapters of her pleading with God and then subsequently feeling His presence which was particularly moving. My own Christian faith and hers don't quite align (my own views contrast quite a bit with the Reformed Christianity of Tim Keller who she mentions in this book many times) but I always enjoy reading about people's individual faith journeys.

First off, thank you Simon & Schuster, Bethany Joy Lenz, and NetGalley for the amazing ARC read!

Dinner For Vampires was incredible. Bethany Joy Lenz' untold story of being in a religious cult while on OTH hooked me immediately. I'm a huge fan of OTH and have (inconsistently) listened to Drama Queens over the years, so I knew I wanted to read this book as soon as I could. Lenz' story made me feel so empathetic towards the poor young girl who was manipulated into an evil cult that disguised itself in the name of religion. It also made my blood boil that these people stole a decade of her life and millions of dollars away from her. It shows how brave Lenz is in sharing the vulnerable story.

Everyone should read this book. It reads like a fiction book because the storytelling is so incredible, but it makes it even easier to devour knowing that it's a true story and trying to imagine yourself in Lenz' position.

It’s hard to rate memoirs. I had to read this as an avid OTH fan, especially having read both of Hilarie Burton Morgan’s memoirs. The religious cult aspect was difficult to read through, but that’s not Joy’s fault at all. It also helped to know some of the background on the stuff going on with the OTH creators, etc.

Try listening on audio: CMM & James Lafferty read their own parts and it definitely adds to the experience.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I don't typically go for a memoir but I love anything that has to do with cults so of course I had to give this a try. I really enjoyed getting inside her head to understand how an adult finds themselves in a cult and why they don't just leave. It was also really frustrating hearing what she went through, because I wanted to reach through the book and tell young Bethany that she was being taken advantage of.

I liked this better than I thought!

Links to come!

brb gonna go rewatch one tree hill and listen to her podcast

Three things I LOVE 1) a celebrity memoir 2) the behind the scenes of a TV show I have watched/loved 3) a cult story and this book had all three!!!!

Honestly this may have been one of my favorite books I've read this year. Bethany Joy writes from such a vulnerable place (and doesn't talk about OTH until the second half of the book). This book walks through her upbringing within her biological christian family. Her parents divorce when she is 16 and she moves to New York to purse acting after high school. She begins to pursue the Lord on her own by visiting different churches and meeting other believing actors. When she moves to LA to continue to pursue acting a friend invites her to a bible study for fellow actors. What started out as a normal gathering all changed when Les and his family showed up and joined their study. Through many years of her being convinced that this "spiritual family" loved her and was everything she needed and nothing else she felt so lonely being single that she decides to marry the Les' son. After years and years of conflict, abuse, and her mental health declining- through the bravery of other members questioning and leaving "the family" Bethany Joy is awaken to what is actaully going on around her and that she is indeed a part of a cult (despite those closest to her outside of the cult questioning this family all along." Because she journaled so much during those 10+ years of her life she is able to recount stories/memories with such clarity and detail.

Bethany Joy- thank you for sharing your story. May others be encouraged and brave enough to come forward and do the same.

Thank you to the author and publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Book was released 10/22/24 so grab a copy now!

Fascinating. I knew who Bethany Joy Lenz was because of One Tree Hill but I never knew she was in a cult until I started listening to their podcast and reading her story and how she got indoctrinated into a cult without her knowledge is mind blowing

Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for allowing me to have an eARC of Dinner for Vampire by Bethany Joy Lenz in exchange for an honest opinion.

I have loved Joy since I first started One Tree Hill. She has been someone I have consistently admired and finding out that she was writing a memoir was so exciting for me as an avid OTH fan. It's been my comfort show for so so long. Dinner for Vampires was so heartbreaking hearing about all of the things she had experienced and seeing that a lot of it happened in the time of her filming One Tree Hill. Hearing about her experiences and how they completely shaped her life was so sad because it felt like a lot of what ifs. It made me so angry for her knowing that she was so manipulated by people who she thought cared for her. Thank you Joy for sharing your story with us.

Thank you Simon and Schuster for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.


I went back and forth with the audio and ebook version. I highly recommend on audio. There were some special guest voices in the audio that was cool to see! It’s crazy to this was all happening to Joy throughout her entire run with OTH. I’m glad she has opened up about her story and glad she is healing with her daughter. There was some OTH scoop sprinkled on throughout!

If you loved One Tree Hill television show as much as I did, then you will enjoy this book. It will captivate you. The memoir, Dinner For Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show by Bethany Joy Lenz, tells an inspiring story. It describes how a woman broke away from a cult in her personal life.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Bethany played Haley James Scott on the show. She was an only child. She had to take care of herself growing up. Looking for familial love and someone to guide her, she joined a Bible study group. She didn’t foresee that this group would turn into a sinister cult that changed her life.

WHAT I LIKED:
This is a well-written memoir. It was like reading a fictional story, and it wasn’t dry like some memoirs. I enjoyed reading the behind-the-scenes with the actors on the show. Sometimes we forget that they are just actors leading their own lives. Even though Bethany’s friends were skeptical of her “Bible family” back home, they did what they could to support her.

I felt for Bethany as I was reading her story. People were using her and her stardom for their own financial gain. I cheered her on as she struggled to escape the cult and give her daughter a normal life. I never could understand how people are swept up by cults, but after reading her story, I now understand how easily it could happen. I’m glad she decided to share her story with her readers.

I would definitely recommend this memoir.

If you would like to read more of my book reviews, you can find them at: https://judiholst.com/book-reviews/

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Bethany Joy Lenz for my free copy. This is my honest review.

A really interesting story that highlights that you never really know what anyone else is going through and also that cults can be anywhere not just what we think of from movies. Great read. Engagingly told. Awesome on audio!