“The witty, improbably propulsive rom-com you didn't know you were waiting for - and just the sparkling, slightly sinister love letter to New York City that New York City deserves. An effervescent delight.”

― Elif Batuman, author of The Idiot

“Did the comic romantic thriller exist before Sloane Crosley, or has she invented it? Either way, Cult Classic is a classic. Funny, suspenseful, unputdownable, here is one of America's wittiest writers at her best. A pleasure on every page.”

― Andrew Sean Greer, author of Less

“Cult Classic is aimed with deadly accuracy at those unfortunate enough to have dated only during the twenty-first century. It’s witty―of course, because Sloane Crosley wrote it―and razor sharp, and very clever, ditto, but it’s more romantic and redemptive than one had any right to expect. It also contains one-liners destined to appear on T-shirts and coffee mugs. It’s so good. I couldn’t stop reading it.”

― Nick Hornby, author of High Fidelity

"Cult Classic makes an uproarious time of romantic carnage. Crosley captures the brutal mirror of past love, the slow creep of ambivalence into dread, and the sense that a detour can easily become a life."

―Raven Leilani, author of Luster

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, the BBC, Esquire, The Times of London, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle.

A June 2022 IndieNext Pick
An Amazon Best Book of 2022

“A witty and fantastical story of dating and experimental psychology in New York City…thoroughly hilarious [and] sharply perceptive…Crosley has found the perfect fictional subject for her gimlet eye.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Crosley has created the ideal protagonist/narrator for navigating this low-key–SF but very real world…The story is plenty engaging, but it’s Crosley’s analytical acumen and gift for the striking metaphor that really gives the book life. Thoughtfully and humanely acerbic.”  —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“…the addictive result is like your favorite rom-com meets Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, with a light soupçon of Ghostbusters…Novelist and essayist Crosley casts a spell with lightning wit, devilish dialogue, and walloping truths about how little reason there is to anything resembling love.
—Booklist (starred review)

"Delicious...Crosley's prose crackles....Reading Cult Classic is reminiscent of watching "Russian Doll." It's a discomfiting experience that you can't stop engaging in...if you've had the recent displeasure of dating in New York, or dating in general, or if your past keeps coming back to haunt you, the book may give you déjà vu...So funny." —The New York Times Book Review 

"Lola's wit and savvy make her a genial narrator, but it's her emotional honesty that makes her a strong one. Crosley's writing is as funny as ever, with a great line or clever observation on nearly every page . . . Her fascinating conceits—entertaining and compelling in their own right—are the engines of the narrative, but her insights into contemporary life are the fuel."   —The Los Angeles Times

"At once acerbic and poignant, Cult Classic's tour through heartbreaks past yields bittersweet truths about finding love by swipe. It's as fine a treatise on modern romance as they come." —Esquire

"Crosley skillfully crafts these stories so each relationship feels full and unique, as if each could have made a book of its own. And yet Cult Classic moves swiftly, cutting quick . . . It seems a betrayal of the sassiness of this book to mention that Lola is learning lessons along the way . . . A spirited, sometimes delightfully mean-spirited, occasionally weird trip through urban life and love in the 21st century." —The Boston Globe
 
"One of the funniest writers in the business... the pleasure is as much in Crosley's sharp, chatty style as it is in the narrative arc." —Bloomberg

"While Cult Classic is a meditation on love, albeit one that is filtered through fantasy and satire, it offers a refreshingly realistic, non precious attitude toward modern romance...The novel is far less concerned with Lola's happy ending than it is with her coming to terms with her hang-ups about love, commitment, and vulnerability." —TIME
 
"Anyone who's been captivated by Sloane Crosley's essays will recognize a similar puckish sense of humor undergirding this novel, a Cultish-meets-Christmas Carol-like exploration of what it's like to confront your past (that is, if Ebenezer Scrooge were a Gen X woman with a colorful roster of exes.)" —Elle

"In Crosley's sharp and funny prose we get real insight into love and relationships, turning the who's-behind-it suspense into a meditation on what it means to be in love and hope for happy endings. It's also a great New York City novel." —LitHub

"Crosley wields language like a rapier, slicing off layers of self-delusion and self-doubt to find even more layers underneath." —BookPage

"I was hooked from the first chapter. Cult Classic is easily the funniest fiction I've read this year. Crosley brings the same offbeat humor she utilized to acclaim in her nonfiction to this novel that defies easy categorization. Riotously funny, suspenseful, weird, and insightful, it's a unicorn of a book that's a perfect summer read if you're looking for something that'll make you laugh while keeping you on your toes." —Buzzfeed