I enjoy things about cults (enjoy maybe not the right word but still) but I don't really like books about families. So I was torn. Overall it was fine but I think the family stuff outweighed the cult stuff.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

really enjoyed this book and the journey of the main character and all that they went through. It kept me on my toes and what would happen in the story.

The Ascent by Allison Buccola is a thoughtful, slow-burn thriller that rewards patience with depth. Centered on a woman who survived a childhood cult only to have her past resurface when someone claiming to be her sister shows up, it’s less about cheap thrills and more about unraveling layered mysteries and buried trauma. Perfect for readers who like their suspense with substance—and don’t mind lingering in the shadows before the big reveals.

Fifteen members of a cult completely disappear one day and are never seen again. Lee, only a child at the time, was left behind for unknown reasons. The Ascent examines the aftermath of Lee's experience of being abandoned and how it shapes her own motherhood. This was a slower burn, but Allison Buccola's writing style is so addictive that I couldn't stop reading. I loved that The Ascent was less about the actual cult and its leader and more about the followers in the cult. The characters were so complex and I found myself relating to Lee as a mother and questioning whether or not I would make similar decisions. Buccola really knows how to create tension! The feeling of foreboding was so strong and the reveals and twists were shocking.

The Ascent was a wild ride. Also recommend the audio. It was an interesting story and kept me guessing about possible twists.

This book is a masterclass in how to end a thriller! An absolutely gripping read from beginning to end that’ll have you second guessing everyone and everything. With a jaw-dropping twist ending that will tug at your heartstrings and sit in your memory for weeks after. Buccola has cemented herself as an auto-buy author for me after this one.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. 5 glowing stars! SO gripping and suspenseful, I could not put it down - highly recommend!

Two decades ago, the mysterious Jacob Hill cult and their leader Christopher disappeared without a trace, leaving behind all of their belongings… and a single member – a 12-year-old girl found wandering in the woods looking for her family. Ophelia (known as Lee) is now an adult, married to a wonderful husband (who does not know about her past) with a 7-month-old daughter Lucy, whom she feels incredibly protective of because of her own dark childhood. Lee does not remember much of what happened or why her cult family chose to leave her behind. When a stranger shows up on her doorstep claiming to hold answers to the dark mysteries of her past, she must decide who to trust and how much to risk. The book alternates between flashbacks of childhood and present day, exploring themes of family, marriage, motherhood, identity, brainwashing, and childhood trauma, to slowly unfold the mystery of what happened.

I LOVE stories about cults and communes, I find them fascinating, so this read was right up my alley. It felt so realistic, almost like I was reading nonfiction of an actual cult and the true story of its lone survivor. This book is an intense fast-paced psychological thriller, attempting to solve mysteries of the past and mysteries of the present simultaneously. I was absolutely hooked from the very beginning and flew through this one just so I could find out what was actually happening. Lee is a relatable character, but also an unreliable narrator. This leaves you rooting for her to find answers but also leaves you continuously wondering if she is being completely honest about how much she actually remembers. There were so many insane twists and the story just kept getting crazier. The twist at the end is absolutely jaw-dropping and the outcome is perfectly poetic in my opinion. I truly could not recommend this book more highly and I will definitely be seeking out other works from this author in the future! Thank you to NetGalley, Allison Buccola, and Random House Publishing Group for the gifted ARC. This is a voluntary and honest review.

*Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

I freaking love a cult book. But it took me awhile to really get into the story. I don't know if it was because of the slow burn gaslighty elements or just because I was more interested in the cult story than the modern storyline. But past 80%, I was in it to win it and there were some twists that I truly didn't see coming. The ending though?? WTF!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC of The Ascent by Alison Buccola. This one was a ride! It pulls you in with an eerie kind of tension that slowly builds until you’re questioning everything and everyone. I wasn’t sure where things were heading, and that unpredictability really worked for me. It had a layered, almost haunting vibe that kept me flipping pages, and I love when a story can keep me in that kind of suspenseful headspace. Definitely glad I was able to get my hands on this one!

A great thriller that kept me guessing! There were quite a few times that I gasped out loud at a turn in the story! I’m a sucker for a well done cult thriller and this was exactly that.

The Ascent by Allison Buccola is about new mother Lee, who is struggling to adapt to motherhood. Unbeknownst to her husband, she grew up in a cult and when she was 12 years old, everyone disappeared except for her, including her mother and young sister. This has haunted her her whole life and now there’ is a documentary out about the disappearance. Her husband is a public defender and is pushing her to get back to work at her old job, make more friends, and basically become the person she was before she had their daughter. Lee does not trust anyone to take care of their daughter Lucy, even her husband. One day, someone shows up out of the blue that may know what happened to Lee’s family and the rest of the cult members.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I like the way that the chapters alternated between present day and 20 years prior when Lee was 12 years old leading up to when the cult disappeared and after. I especially identified with her feelings of not trusting anyone to take care of your new baby. I felt the same way when I had my son and I struggled with postpartum and giving up some control of childcare. The way the story wove in the popularity of true crime documentaries was also a nice touch. I definitely recommend reading this book. It is not what I would call fast paced, but it moves pretty quickly. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher of this book for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed quite a bit about this book. The mystery behind the disappearance of the cult, the drama of her sister returning, and the twist at the end. This book keeps you on your toes from start to finish!

4.5 rounded up

I am always one to enjoy a good thriller, though generally I would not name it as a favorite genre. I typically listen to a thriller on audiobook while I am multitasking, hearing the story in the background to keep from scaring myself too badly. But, recently this dynamic has changed and I am on a nice little thriller journey, thanks to a recent read that I can’t stop thinking about.

The Ascent by Allison Buccola is a slow-burn novel with a creative narrative that flips from the backstory of childhood to present-day adulthood. Main character Lee Burton grew up as a member of a doomsday prep cult but has worked hard to put the pain and mysteries surrounding her childhood well in her rear-view mirror. Now that she has a family of her own, what should she do when a person from her past shows up: seek answers or raise an alarm?

In my opinion, the story was so rich, well-researched, nuanced, and very thorough. We spend much of this novel not knowing whether our narrator is reliable, but this unsteady ground only added to the tension for me. I felt for Lee but also wasn’t sure where the story would lead us and that made for an utterly absorbing reading experience.

In broad strokes (no spoilers!),I found the ending to be unexpected and satisfying. Typically, I see twists coming and when I don’t it feels like the author has come out of left field to construct a convoluted scenario that leaves one baffled. In contrast, The Ascent’s wrap-up was clear, concise, and plausible (in the literary sense). A true delight to read!

This novel gives the reader quite a bit of supplemental information to bolster the story. I found that information to act as world-builder, and gobbled up the entirety of this novel as I learned about Lee’s previous and current lives. I do think, though, that there is an element of personal preference here and that potentially an argument may be made that the book is a bit over long, for those that want less frills and more to the point. It is up to us to know what kind of reader we are.

I am so pleased to be able to thank Allison Buccola and The Ascent for my loving-a-great-thriller-novel renaissance, perfectly timed for spooky season! Take it from this reliable narrator, thriller fans - go get yourself a copy!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I don't typically read thrillers, but this one was a treat. Well-written, with a plot that is gripping and really did have me guessing. There were several times I needed to read just one more chapter because I needed to see what happened next. This one would be easy to consume in a weekend.

This story is told asynchronously, with a timeline in the past when Ophelia was a child and a present day timeline. I thought this worked well, as this story is really dealing with two mysteries that begin to intersect in interesting ways. The descriptions of media, of judgment, and of mental illness/unreliable witnesses were fascinating and definitely kept the tension.

Would recommend for people interested in mysteries, thrillers, cults, two timelines. Would be interested in reading more from the author too!

Absolutely amazing book that deals with serious topics about who to trust and how our own hope can blur our perceptions. It also touches upon how difficult it is for individuals with different upbringings to fit in with others.

Thank you NetGalley and Allison Buccola for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love a story with an unreliable narrator, and I didn’t trust Lee for one moment of this book. I loved how it unfolded through flashbacks and present time. I really appreciated how the story was formatted, focusing on the trauma and the life that follows a survivor after an experience like that, rather than taking place during. I think it added a lot more depth and suspense and mystery. It was a little slow in the beginning but once the pace picked up I couldn’t put it down. This book thoroughly entertained me and left me adding Buccola’s other book to my TBR.

Another solid read about cults and religious zealots!
The book switches back and forth from present day to twenty years in the past. Twenty years ago, 12 year old Ophelia was left alone. All the others members of the cult simply disappeared. Or did they?
Present day Ophelia has a baby and a husband. One day a woman shows up at her door claiming to be a former member of the cult.
Lots of tension and tense moments in this one, although most were pretty predictable. I was definitely invested from the get go and wanted the answers to what happened to those who disappeared!

I couldn't put this down. I love a good cult book, and the events that unfolded, and the pace in which they unfolded is a masterclass in captivating writing. I was hooked from the first page until the end. The big reveal? WOW.

Very decent mystery/thriller. Writing flowed well and made for an easy read. Ending was satisfying and not a let down.