Those Who Prey by Jennifer Moffett: Book Tour & Giveaway

Title: Those Who Prey
Author: Jennifer Moffett
Publisher: Atheneum, Simon & Schuster
Pub Date: 11/10/2020
Genre: YA Psychological Thriller
Edition: ARC (Advanced Reader’s Copy)
Rating:

Summary

Sadie meets The Girls in this riveting debut psychological thriller about a lonely college freshman seduced into joining a cult—and her desperate attempt to escape before it’s too late.

College life isn’t what Emily expected.

She expected to spend freshman year strolling through the ivy-covered campus with new friends, finally feeling like she belonged. Instead, she walks the campus alone, still not having found her place or her people so far away from home.

But then the Kingdom finds her.

The Kingdom, an exclusive on-campus group, offers everything Emily expected of college and more: acceptance, friends, a potential boyfriend, and a chance to spend the summer in Italy on a mission trip. But the trip is not what she thought it would be. Emily and the others are stripped of their passports and money. They’re cut off from their families back home. The Kingdom’s practices become increasingly manipulative and dangerous.

And someone ends up dead.

At times unsettling and always riveting, Those Who Prey looks at the allure of cult life, while questioning just how far we’re willing to go to find where we belong.

Review

Those who Prey was an alluring psychological thriller. I enjoyed getting to see the entire cult process from being recruited to the after-effects it leaves on members and former members. I also thought Moffett did a great job at showing how easy it can be to fall into a cult’s traps. With the way that Emily was recruited, I could imagine myself falling for the same things, especially my first year on campus 13 hours away from home. It really made it easy to empathize with Emily and her desire for connections with other people.

By the end of chapter 1, I knew this story was going to be good. Between Julia’s article, the initial meeting between Josh and Emily, and the description of Emily’s loneliness that made me feel as if I already understood her character, I couldn’t wait to keep reading. And Moffett continued to up the stakes in each part of the book leaving you ready to find out what happens in the next part. Things really dialed up to 10 as you continued to read, and there were a lot of hardcore, intense scenes that showed how harmful the cult was the longer you were in it.

I really liked the formatting of the book also. The article tidbits gave you insight into the plot and built up anticipation. And the chapter names and terms at the beginning of the chapters really set the story. The characters were one of the best parts, and I enjoyed reading about Emily, Andrew, Josh, and Kara.

Overall, Those who Prey really held my attention and gave me the satisfying ending I needed. Although cults are a popular topic, this book really felt like a fresh take on the subject. I would definitely recommend it if you want to read more about the intersection between cults and young people. And I think the author’s note really tied the whole book together with her personal history on the subject and what she wanted readers to get from the book.

Dream Cast

I love making these, so I hope y’all enjoy my choices. * I don’t own the right to any of these images*

Author

JENNIFER MOFFETT grew up in Arkansas, where she spent her childhood playing in creeks and climbing trees while dreaming up stories about faraway places. A college study abroad program sparked her lifelong passion for travel. After working in children’s television in New York City, she received an MA in Creative Writing and wrote book reviews for regional publications. Her short stories and poems have appeared in various literary journals, including New Orleans Review and descant. She teaches creative writing on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where she enjoys kayaking, gardening, reading outdoors, and planning trips to new places (preferably with great local yarn shops and bookstores). Find her at JBMoffett.com or @jbmoffett.

Where to Buy

Bookshop | IndieBound | B&N | Book Depository | Amazon

Giveaway

Up for grabs, we have ONE digital copy (via NetGalley) and ONE physical copy of Those Who Prey by Jennifer Moffett. This giveaway will run from November 3rd to November 12th at 11:59 PM CST. Physical copy is only available to win by a US resident. Digital Copy will be available only to INTL. Enter via the rafflecopter link below!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1e4a114d11/

Thank you for reading my tour post for Those Who Prey. Check out Turn the Pages Tours to see the other great tour posts.
*Thank you to the publisher and Turn the Pages Tours for the free copy of the book. All opinions are my own*