I didn't even finish it. I got a quarter of the way through, and then decided to skim the rest. I'm glad I didn't bother reading it, based on what I saw. I was disappointed too because I had heard such great things about the author. I do still plan on reading Sadie. But this one was just not for me. I just couldn't get into the book, and I had no desire to pick it up and read it. All I wanted to know was what happened to Bea, and I guessed right.

Oh. Wow.

This is my third Courtney Summers book and I'm every bit as blown away as I was when I first read Sadie. Seriously - WHAT A RIDE.

I absolutely devoured this book, sped through it in a day because I just HAD TO KNOW what happens. The writing was so compelling and captivating and the characters so real and full of life that I felt part of the story. I've never really read much about cults and their members, so every plot twist had me gripped and I just couldn't stop reading.

Also can we just stop for one second to appreciate that gorgeous cover!

Lo can't believe it when the young man at the train station recognizes her, just before jumping in front of a train to his death. She's equally surprised when she finds out the man was associated with the Unity Project, the charity/outreach group to which she lost her sister many years ago. Lo's determination to get to the bottom of what is going on in the Unity Project is renewed, while also trying to reunite with her sister. Lo is shocked when Lev Warren, head of the Unity Project, grants her unlimited access to write a magazine piece about the group. This could be the break that she's been waiting for to jumpstart her career...

Will Lo find her sister? Will she expose the Unity Project for the cult that she believes it to be? Or has she been wrong about them the entire time?

I enjoyed Courtney Summers' Sadie, but was left feeling unsatisfied by the ending. Not so with The Project. While I initially had some difficulty connecting with Lo as a character, I soon felt for her - frustrated in her job, feeling lost and alone, and missing her sister. Summers' ability to show the inner workings of a cult, including how they seek out and groom their members is artful. I didn't want to put the book down as I became more engrossed in the story and invested in Lo and her search for the truth, her search for Bea. This story is hard to read at times, but compelling at the same time. One of the best books I've read this year.

This book is the latest thriller that will have you staying up all night!

The Project is told from the perspective of two sisters, Bea and Lo. A tragic accident claims the lives of both of their parents and leaves Lo in critical condition. Bea is devastated and turns for guidance and help with a cult leader Lev. Will their sisterly bond be enough to break Bea's fixation on Lev?

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves thrillers and cult books.

4.5 stars

I've started biting my nails again and it's all Courtney Summers's fault!

I loved Sadie, and this was a big anticipated read for me, so I was so excited to see it was available on NetGalley. And I was NOT disappointed. Especially because, as someone who's been very into cults lately (@ The Vow what's up!!), I think Summers pulled off something really cool: she made a cult story surprising. Because look—when we consume any kind of cult media, we have a basic sense of where it's going (spoiler: disaster). But even though I predicted some of the bigger plot reveals pretty quickly, the writing is so good that I was DEVOURING these pages. There were moments where I was almost convinced that the terrible things I knew were coming wouldn't actually happen. But of course they did. Because Courtney Summers is a breaker of hearts and a shatterer of dreams. (In the best way.)

The main reason The Project is just shy of 5 stars for me was the ending: I just felt a little like something was missing. I love an ambiguous ending, and that last line gave me chills, but I don't know—I think I craved more of a resolution for what went down in the climax, or at least more time to settle into it.

Overall, The Project was a dark, powerful, and enthralling read, and it's cemented Courtney Summers as one of my favorite authors. If you're looking for a cult story with beautiful writing, achingly real characters, and a MUCH more compelling charismatic leader than Keith Raniere, look no further.

I could not get into this book, unfortunately. The premise seemed a bit all over the place for me. Did not finish.

This book was so much fun to read. Courtney Summer’s really delves into the psychology of cults and what it means to be loved and belong. Started off a little slow in the beginning, but quickened it’s pace halfway through.

I thought the plot was a little hard to follow. It was depressing and a little disjointed which made it difficult to relate to the characters.

2,5 ⭐️

You'll be wondering, if you don't like YA (I guess I'm more adult than young now) and cult stories, why would you pick this book? Duh, by its cover! I totally judged it by its cover. That and the fact I enjoyed "Sadie" a lot a couple of years ago made me decide to give this one a chance, but sadly it wasn't for me. Serves me right for not trusting my instincts and being dazzled by a creepy cover.

This is the story of Lo, a young girl trying to expose an alleged cult called "The Unity Project", of which her sister Bea is part of. Project leader, Lev, proclaims their motives are just charitable but Lo suspects different after witnessing a traumatic incident.

And that's it. Halfway through I wondered where the story was headed seeing nothing much had happened till then, but it's really not going anywhere till the last 15%. There was too much talk and not enough action. And the talk there was managed to make me so angry. All that conversations about religion, faith and so on... It was so clear to me that Lev was just a charlatan full of BS, preying on vulnerable people and taking advantage of their weaknesses that I could not understand how everyone fell for his cheap wordiness. And that's why I don't like cult stories!

I guess I was suppose to feel sympathy for Lo and empathize with her and her situation, but I did not connect with her at all. She came as so entitled, specially in her job. You don't want others to treat you a certain way because of your past...unless that certain way works towards your interests. Very mature! Her sudden change of heart made her even more unrelatable, going from black to white in an eye blink, no greys at all.

I called part of the ending at the halfway point, so no surprise at all. There were certain aspects of the ending that needed more of an explanation, because divine intervention in not an acceptable one for me!

The writing was pretty good, I'll concede that, but I found the plot execution a bit lacking. Sorry to be such a Debbie Downer with my review, but I'm sure this book will appeal to lots of readers. Sadly, not me.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

5/5⭐️Mmmmmmmm burned my way through this novel in less than a day only to have my brain melted to a soupy slush. Much like with #addielarue , The Project will sit with me for quite some time.
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My honest review of The Project boils down to a few highlights (can’t spoil it just yet, gentlefriends):
-whatever you think you know about cults or faith or god or what man says about god...try again.
-whatever notions or opinions you had about cult leaders and their “obvious” depravity…chuck that out the window.
-whatever judgement you cast on the followers for being blind sheep at best and willing villains at worst...check yourself.
-humble yourself before the master of recalibrating my brain, Courtney Summers.
-I knew I would like, love even, this novel because it’s Summers’s.
-I didn’t anticipate the carnage and at times almost unbearable brutality of this narrative.
-put it this way, I never fancied myself a person to sympathize with wrongdoers, disbelieve victims, or question my own moral fortitude (can I ever trust my mind again?!) but all that and more was traversed and revisited as I pummeled through.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Project was so freaking wild. So much happens throughout it and every twist and turn just made my head spin round and round. I honestly didn't know what I was going to get when I reached the ending of this wonderful book but I did know one thing. Lev was beyond creepy.

Also Bea and Lo were dealt with some pretty shitty hands when they were little. Especially Lo. She is 19 years old and has lost basically everyone she loved. It doesn't help that her and Bea lost their parents at a young age but Lo ends up losing Bea as well. She didn't die or anything but she ended up abandoning Lo at some point.

Then there's the small fact that they are basically in a cult. Again, this book was WILD. Each part just brought me so much information that I had no idea what was going to happen next. I had some theories and opinions of what was going to happen but nope - the only thing I got correct was freaking Lev.

Definitely devoured this book and I can't wait to dive into the next book by Courtney!

I found this to be very compelling and a little disturbing, since you know...cults are kinda scary! I haven’t read anything else by Courtney Summers but I plan to after reading The Project!

I loved this book. The alternating POVs of the two sisters combined with the shifts between past and present really give the book a rich, complex texture that enhances the story. I love that neither sister is perfect or above reproach, but they both love each other in flawed and difficult ways. I was especially impressed by the way The Unity Project is presented within the real-world context of the Trump administration and that it presents a view of Christianity that goes against the grain of right-wing evangelicalism, preaching against hate and doing good works for the poor and outcast. As a left-leaning person, that created an interesting interplay between my own values and confirmation bias as the reader and the inevitability of The Project and Lev's dark reality. It's always refreshing when a book refuses the straight or easy paths, and this book does that beautifully. Highly recommend!

I cannot recommend this book. If you already believe cult leaders to be awful, manipulative people, then what's the point? I slogged my way through the story knowing how it might end. That's not to say Courtney Summers isn't a good writer. I enjoyed Sadie and hoped to like this one. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

This was a fun quick read, but had some drawbacks. The Project is a book about a young girl who has faced challenges in her life. After losing her parents, Lo's sister gets drawn into the world of "The Unity Project". The Project claims to save people and do good work in the community, but some call it a cult. It was a page-turner that I couldn't put down. The drawbacks for me were twofold: I felt like the evolution of the Lo character was abrupt and unbelievable. And, I was looking forward to the climax, so I could see how the book could end. But it happened too quickly and without much detail. While that may have been the point, it left me disappointed.

I just reviewed The Project by Courtney Summers. #TheProject #NetGalley

4.3/5 stars.

The Project was a beautiful and tragic novel, exactly what I had hoped for from Courtney Summers. I went in with high expectations after having adored her previous novel 'Sadie' and, while this book was vastly different in tone and story to her previous novel, The Project was still a riveting read.

The book starts off somewhat slow, letting the details seep in bit by bit. We are introduced to Bea and Lo, or protagonists who are sisters but rarely interact in this novel. Told in dual points of views, jumping from the beginning when the domino pieces fall leading to Bea joining 'The Unity Project', to Lo's point of view as she starts to delve further into unravelling the Project and finding out why she hasn't seen her sister in years. Despite the novel not explicitly stating whose POV you are reading, only giving the year, it's easy to tell whose voice you're hearing since the sisters' are so different but so similar in many ways too. Bea is sweet and loyal and somewhat naive, while Lo is brash and ambitious and a little prideful. I loved them both, and reading about their love for each other broke my heart in the best way.

While the plot's main focus is unravelling the unity project and Lev, the enigma of a man who runs it, so much of it is also about what drives people to join in the first place. Bea and Lo are both lonely individuals, feeling so far from each other and desperate for belonging, and the unity project offers just that. It's horrifying yet intriguing about how it draws them in, about all the good things Lev postulates to his people that made even myself wonder, for a moment, if maybe we've had it all wrong and there's nothing sordid about it. After reading the midway point, it all starts to fall into place, and I couldn't put it down as I was desperate to find out how it ended.

The ending left me feeling so emotional. Courtney Summers knows how to end a book (take 'Sadie' as another example) that gives you closure but still has you reeling. With a story as fascinating as this, it's hard to not want for more, and I'm sure to be thinking about this book for weeks to come.

Another thrilling, dramatic, and sad contemporary YA thriller from Courtney Summers. Recommended for readers of her last book.

The Project by Courtney Summers. Unfortunately, I couldn't connect with either Bea or Lo so I lost interest in the story and it was difficult to continue reading. Most assuredly, fans of Ms. Summers' works will enjoy the book.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Having read SADIE, I came into this book with high expectations, and boy howdy were then met and then some! If you're looking for a dark, gripping story don't pass this up! I don't want to get into spoilers, but the language is compelling and haunting, and the whole thing is a wild ride you won't be able to put down! Lately it's taken me ages to read books, but I flew through this one!

Wow, what a ride! I love the way the author plays with your belief just as it does with both Bea and Lo. You go through the questioning of whether Lev is legit or not. I also appreciate the way the author skillfully wove together both sisters' points of view until they came together near the end. Finally, on one hand I wanted more at the end, but on the other hand, it ended perfectly where it should. Overall, I enjoyed the look inside this type of religious group and how someone like Lev could be engaging enough to attract people gain their strict devotion.