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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
5 dark and heartwrenching stars!
The Project was incredible, I can't describe how much this book made me feel!
I listened to the audiobook of this novel and I would 100% recommend it, the narration was excellent.
Thought provoking and emotive, it kept me on the edge. The last 20% was just a rollercoaster of emotions.
I loved Sadie, but The Project was better. If you like dark and gripping stories, this is one for you. Courtney Summers is a master storyteller and I can't wait to read more of her work.
The Project was incredible, I can't describe how much this book made me feel!
I listened to the audiobook of this novel and I would 100% recommend it, the narration was excellent.
Thought provoking and emotive, it kept me on the edge. The last 20% was just a rollercoaster of emotions.
I loved Sadie, but The Project was better. If you like dark and gripping stories, this is one for you. Courtney Summers is a master storyteller and I can't wait to read more of her work.
i was super into this book when i thought it would be a cool revenge escape story and they burned the cult to the ground afterwards but — surprise, it isn’t
the main character starts off as super motivated and badass to prove that her sister is being forced to stay in this cult and has to save her and reunite her family and then she dissolves into this wounded rabbit character who needs to be “redeemed” by this man she’s hated for years.
yes i know cult leaders are manipulative and masters of getting their own way but it was written in such an obscenely predictable way that i found myself constantly rolling my eyes throughout the book
the main character starts off as super motivated and badass to prove that her sister is being forced to stay in this cult and has to save her and reunite her family and then she dissolves into this wounded rabbit character who needs to be “redeemed” by this man she’s hated for years.
yes i know cult leaders are manipulative and masters of getting their own way but it was written in such an obscenely predictable way that i found myself constantly rolling my eyes throughout the book
The concept of this book was amazing, and the first half of the book I was so intrigued. But the last half of the book just completely went off the rails, and by the end I have no idea what was going on.
The Project is terrifying. It’s so easy to fall in line with our main character’s thoughts and feelings, so easy to get swept away. Caught up in despair and suspicion, then an almost painful hope. Scary on a conceptual level, and stunning on the line level.
I’m not usually one for cult stories, but I *am always* one for Courtney Summers, and I have no regrets. Anyone with an interest in cults (but who perhaps wants a little distance from actual real cults) should read this book.
I received a digital advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I’m not usually one for cult stories, but I *am always* one for Courtney Summers, and I have no regrets. Anyone with an interest in cults (but who perhaps wants a little distance from actual real cults) should read this book.
I received a digital advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I ended up settling for a 4, though it's a high 4. Main reasons for that will be below the spoiler tag. Summers' writing captivates me, and I thought the overall flow of the novel was easy - it sucked me in, especially towards the second half. I find cults in general fascinating and the surge in cult novels? Good stuff. Her characters are always compelling and it's worth the journey.
Spoiler
Now here's some spoilers - I understand that the point of a cult is that it preys on the vulnerable, but I still didn't buy Lo's transformation THAT quickly. Maybe I missed something, but it didn't feel like a gradual fall - which I would have believed - but a quick snap, and she was all in?? IDK I just... didn't buy it. And then I felt like we just completely threw the Jeremy plotline out the window. Still, I loved the turns it took and would recommend it.
My first thought upon finishing this book was a softly exhaled curse. After Sadie and Cracked Up To Be, I knew that Courtney Summers has a particular skill with peeling up sections of your skin and burrowing deep inside (if it sounds unsettling and vaguely uncomfortable, it is) - with characters who love fiercely and hurt deeply and rage infinitely. But more than anything, they need. They reach out of the page with claws extended.
There are a handful of lines that feel like the chiming of a bell in the back of your brain. Like everything must stop until the cold, echoing vibration peters out. One line in particular (though this may not be final) was something to the effect of "I feel like a lie my sister told" and amidst the maelstrom of this fraught relationship between Lo and Bea, that line alone stopped me cold. And the book is riddled with them.
At various points in the book, you will want to grab both Bea and Lo and shake them, call them stupid, tell them "noooo" super dramatically. As they both circle around tragedy and circumstance and cliché (responding appropriately to the cliché-ness, to the point where you have to nod and go "yep, that really is the only response"). And throughout it all... You don't know what to believe. You genuinely don't know. "Cult vibes" isn't enough when the doors are wide open.
I told myself after reading Sadie that I needed to look back and fill in Summers' backlist. Again, I make that claim because these books can wreck you.
{Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review; all thoughts are my own}
There are a handful of lines that feel like the chiming of a bell in the back of your brain. Like everything must stop until the cold, echoing vibration peters out. One line in particular (though this may not be final) was something to the effect of "I feel like a lie my sister told" and amidst the maelstrom of this fraught relationship between Lo and Bea, that line alone stopped me cold. And the book is riddled with them.
At various points in the book, you will want to grab both Bea and Lo and shake them, call them stupid, tell them "noooo" super dramatically. As they both circle around tragedy and circumstance and cliché (responding appropriately to the cliché-ness, to the point where you have to nod and go "yep, that really is the only response"). And throughout it all... You don't know what to believe. You genuinely don't know. "Cult vibes" isn't enough when the doors are wide open.
I told myself after reading Sadie that I needed to look back and fill in Summers' backlist. Again, I make that claim because these books can wreck you.
{Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review; all thoughts are my own}
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes