Jennifer Moffett

"Those Who Prey" follows Emily, a lonely college student who is slowly and deliberately drawn into a religious cult called The Kingdom. At first, the bible club and its members seem welcoming and friendly, but that is just a ruse and things deteriorate quickly for Emily who finds herself trapped.

I found this a very interesting read as it gave a haunting insight into how cults prey on the vulnerable and how hard it is to leave once someone has been drawn in. However, it was not an entertaining read. Emily was extremely gullible and I wanted to shake some sense into her on more than one occasion, and the book's climax was jumbled and confusing. Despite the intriguing start, by the second half the story was disengaging and I was happy to read the end.… (meer)

A VERY slow-burn of a cult YA quasi-thriller that has a strong beginning but kind of loses itself from after the first third. I found the narrative on manipulation and hiding ill-intent behind a religious mask to be the most well done parts of this book; seeing Emily fall victim to the Kingdom was creepy to say the least. Other than that, I think the chill factor is pretty lacking. There are a lot of religious rants, deception, some double-crossing, but nothing that ever shocked me. Many people are comparing this to "Sadie" by Courtney Summers, but I'm gonna disagree and say this is more like "With Malice" by Eileen Cook with teeny little hints of the Amanda Knox case sprinkled in à la cult. The pretty prose doesn't make up for the dragging narrative, so all in all this was a bit lackluster for me.… (meer)