I'm not a new mother (or an old one, I have zero children) and I have never given a single shit about sororities, but Olivie Blake's story of two women's desperate hunger for something more than what they have drew me in completely. Nina is clawing her way toward success through The House, the campus's most exclusive sorority, knowing that as a woman she has to play a rigged game and believing this sisterhood might be her only way to win. Meanwhile, Sloane is drowning in new motherhood and academic mediocrity until she becomes the sorority's faculty liaison and begins obsessing over these perfect, successful women. As both women get drawn deeper into The House's rituals and traditions, Nina discovers that the sorority's legendary success comes with some very specific requirements, while Sloane starts digging into what makes these women so impossibly perfect and realizes the price of perfection might be more than she has an appetite for, that perhaps she's bitten off more than she can chew (and what exactly is she chewing anyway?). Blake's writing can be frustratingly dense and overwrought - all meandering sentences and self-indulgent details that make you work for every paragraph - but when it clicks, it's genuinely impressive, and it starts clicking more often the deeper you get into the story. What really makes this book work are the relationships - Sloane meeting Alex and settling into their friendship, Nina navigating her developing bonds with her "sisters" as well as her frequent chats with her actual sister. Blake captures these moments in ways that make all the verbosity worth it. And I loved how she digs into these bigger philosophical questions about how much darkness you can handle before it breaks you, about the cost of really seeing what's wrong with the world. Maybe it's heavy-handed, sure, but she nails these moments where her characters are grappling with impossible choices and the weight of too much knowledge. But then the ending completely lost me - it happens so quickly and confusingly that I couldn't even figure out what was supposed to have happened, let alone why, and after all that careful character building, it felt like Blake just threw her hands up and decided to wrap things up as abruptly as possible. To sum up, I liked this book--loved it even!--until I hated it.

“Beauty comes from within—not from the soul, but from something far more depraved.”

This is the second book I’ve read by Olivie Blake this year, and I have to say I’m impressed by how completely different it feels from Gifted & Talented. It doesn’t read like more of the same—but where Gifted & Talented was a 5-star knockout for me, Girl Dinner fell a little short.

There’s plenty I admired. Blake infuses her cultural criticism with an acerbic wit that I love, and she challenges the tired, misogynistic stereotypes of sorority girls as anti-intellectual. Instead, this is a story about the nature of female power, self-worth, and the way feminism has a tendency to cannibalize itself.

The novel’s sharpest moments skewer everything from trad-wife “femininity” (complete with a Nara Smith-esque ballerina farm alum) to the desperate need to prove one’s value—whether to men, to peers, or to oneself.

But the execution often felt too slow and too on-the-nose. I was never in a sorority, so reading this was like living out a parallel experience I occasionally wished I’d had—yet it also felt familiar. Like academia itself, the book is less about parties and binge drinking than about insular, self-obsessed over-philosophizing.

In the end, it’s clever, biting, and full of ideas—but not quite the immersive or compelling read I was hoping for.

thank you to TOR and netgalley for this digital arc

i don’t have much experience with horror but i ATE this up!!! im just a girl but i will not be participating in girl dinner lmao. i wasn’t quite sure reading the first half, things hadn’t start to click for me nor were the two perspectives intertwining. the pacing was a little off but once i got to the second half of the book everything started to come together and i was hooked.

i’m not one to fully grasp all the themes let alone express it into words. but i do understand and appreciate the real world messages that were inserted within.

i appreciated that even though this book is considered horror it wasn’t gory, i was a little hesitant on that front. the ending was insane and i immediately was like okay we need a second book. i need to know what happened and if the actions that were taken had any consequence. please olivie if you’re reading this girl. give us a second book!!

*thank you to Tor and Netgalley for the digital arc of this novel*

wow! this novel was a ride to say the least!! unfortunately, it took me a minute to realize this was in fact satire about educated, pro dominantly white women in sororities, once that clicked, i thought it did a really good job or nailing that. i really liked the commentary on todays world and the influence certain people can have on mass audiences and of course, what people are willing to do for power, amongst other things.

i do have to agree with other peoples reviews that this book didn’t really have me “hooked, can’t put it down” till about 50-60% of the book but it was still very good and strong writing throughout.

i think we need either more separate narratives so the moment that sloane and nina’s stories intertwine, it’s more impactful or more sprinklings of it, though i liked finding out max and nina’s prof were the same person!

overall, i really enjoyed the endings and audibly gasped when i realized what had happened, rip jas, but highly recommend for other people that love weird lit fic, cannibalism, and sapphics!

this was completely captivating and I was unable to look away. It was also so comprehendible, which sometimes her books require a lot more thinking but this communicated so many important and interesting thoughts and in a completely digestible *wink wink* way. The end had me like whaaaa in the most perfect thriller way, and the whole thing felt straight out of scream queens. The ways it talked about motherhood and the impossibilities of being a woman honestly made me justify the actions of the characters. Everyone felt so real and tangible. I highly recommend.

I understand that I might not be the audience for this book. I thought it had so much potential and definitely had the color cover appeal but as I got deeper into the story and found out that it was cannibalism, I was super grossed out. These women are both shown as level headed women but just trapped in place by societal standards and this twist was just not it. I didn’t realize girl dinner was literally dinner that was a girl.

I like her stream of consciousness writing. I needed this book to be way more over the top. Nothing really happened? Satirical cannibalist sorority needs to be as absurd as it sounds.

As I will be publishing my full review with The Game of Nerds, which I will be linking once it's up on the site, this is only a portion of my review.

At its essence, Girl Dinner is about women taking back power. There isn’t a single way for women to do this, as we’ve seen with Nina and Sloane, but throughout the course of the story, they are both able to find ways to find power within being a woman. Sometimes it isn’t enough to be a Good Woman. Sometimes, you have to take.

“‘I wanted to be beautiful,’ Nina croaked, unable to stop herself, the truth wrenching out of her like an uncontrollable sick. ‘No, I wanted to be untouchable. I wanted to be hot. I wanted to be smart. I wanted to be tough.’ Now the truth was a marching rhythm, a slapping pulse. ‘I wanted to count for more, I wanted to be unbreakable, and I just wanted more--’

‘Power.’”

And isn’t that just, so… relatable?

But even Sloane, who has conquered college, pursued a career, found a ‘feminist’ man to support her until “death do us part,” and given birth to a beautiful baby girl, who has fulfilled the role of woman, wife, and now mother, is still left with the sensation of needing more. Not to be hotter or smarter or tougher (though who doesn’t think those things when life just doesn’t seem to be going your way?), but to just be better. To be perfect. To be a Good Woman. A Good Mother.

It just doesn’t seem to end, no matter how old you are or how much you’ve accomplished. The world just seems to be against women, no matter how hard they try.

So why not fight back?

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for a copy of an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Girl Dinner comes out on October 21st, 2025.

I absolutely loved this book, which I didn't think I would - I was the tiniest bit put off by the cannibalism that I read about in early reviews, if I'm being honest. But this is so much more than a cannibal novel, this is a treatise on what it means to be a woman, period. This is the most feminist novel I've read in ages, and if people pick it up for the people-eating, I'm glad, because it will give them so much more to think about than the hook. In the author's note, she talks about how it is a novel and how she's not an expert and she makes recommendations for books that are intentionally about feminism, etc, but can you write a book that centers women and female power without it being about feminism? I think not. This book was a slam dunk and the ending was an "oof" I didn't see coming. Killer. Read this book. I'm going to be foisting it on everyone for the rest of the year.

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for the ARC!

Girl Dinner is satirical, unhinged women’s fiction. We follow two women in this book: Sloane and Nina. Even as someone without a child to care for, I can imagine reading about Sloane (mom of an 18 month old) must have been cathartic as many of her struggles seemed to come from a place of harsh reality and honesty. Nina, on the other hand, is a college girl trying to find her place and she believes she’s found it in The House.
I picked this book up at just the right time since #rushtok is in full swing at the moment.

The sorority element was fun and interesting, the themes were dark, and the book had both humor and horror elements. The messages aren’t the least bit subtle, which I could see bothering some people. I, however, really enjoyed this reading experience.

also just to note: nothing is too detailed or gross for anyone worried about that.

What does it take to be a good woman? Is it attainable? Should we even want it to be? Girl Dinner follows a college sorority and a professor who is also a new mother. It almost reads as an unhinged journal entry. At times, there’s paragraphs that seem like rambling, which seems very intentional and works in the books favor. Girl Dinner has so many moments that make you want to put it down and just start SCREAMING!! Out of rage or irony and maybe a healthy mix of both. What would you be willing to do to be prettier, cook better, be a better mom in a world that will always assume you aren’t doing enough? Once you get to the last act, it feels like you have to unclench your teeth just as you got to a good bite. It feels like this book may have benefited from just a few more chapters, but what is there is thought provoking and dismally funny. I deeply encourage every reader to read the author’s note as well.

This one started off slowly for me. Sloane is a new mother settling back into her job in academia. Nina is a sophomore pledging for a sorority, the House. It starts to get more interesting as Sloane becomes their faculty advisor and we learn about the secret of the House, which to me was more interesting than the lead up.

Review to come but also … what on earth

OK, I'm back and ready to review. I think.

4.5 stars, rounded down because it just wasn't enough for a 5 for me.

Firstly, thank you to Tor and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I can't tell if I am or am not the target audience for this book, but once it going going, I was absolutely sucked in. Our two main characters are a sophomore rushing The House, the most prestigious and mystical sorority on the university's campus, and a new mum returning to work, trailing after her husband to his new fancy job while she's allotted a place as an adjunct professor. Their stories intertwine when Sloane (new mum) becomes the academic advisor to Nina's (sophomore) sorority.

The thing that brought the rating on this one down for me is that, for the first half of the book, wherever we were going, we were going SO SLOWLY. Sloane's inner monologue is so gratingly repetitive that I honestly nearly DNFed this one. Maybe it's because I'm not a mother, and have no interest in becoming one, but she passed over merely being unrelatable to me (which is fine, I don't have to relate to a character to enjoy or follow their story) to being a character that made me roll my eyes every time a chapter came up in her POV.

That being said, once the book got to about 50%, I was IN. I've been slumping hard this year, and I read the second half of this book in a single sitting. The mixture of the contemporary literature with the unnerving horror was a perfect blend, and I'll be recommending this to everyone.

Satire women’s fiction in the best way. Weird, beautiful, fun. Could’ve been a tiny bit shorter but other than that perfect to me.

How far would you go to be the perfect woman?

Girl Dinner follows two women, Sloane and Nina.
Sloane is an academic heading back to work after taking time off to care for her 18 month old daughter.
Nina is a sophomore trying to get into a sorority.
They meet when Sloane is recruited by a new, charismatic friend Alex, to be the academic advisor to a sorority affectionatly called "The House."

I went into this thinking it would be a horror, but it is my first satire women's fiction.
The pacing was slow, but I couldn't put it down. This was a smart book. I highlighted so so so much!

I felt for Sloane & her mom feelings/worries. Sloane's addiction to hate watch an influencer who seems to have everything together.
My heart went out to Nina wanting to be included.

I do wish there was more on the sorority & their ceremonies. But let me tell you - that ending gripped my heart!

5/5. 10/10. This book was AMAZING! It was lighthearted and funny and then dark and thought provoking. It inspired my female rage while taking me on an exhilarating ride. I loved all the characters - I really felt like I got into their heads and understood their motivations. When I finished this book I sat and stared at a wall for 30 minutes and just let myself sit in amazement and terror for the beauty of this book. Loved every second of it

Thank you NetGalley for the advance reader copy.

This is the third Olivie Blake book I've tried, and the only one I've actually finished. I'm not sure what it is, but I don't think her writing is for me. I love this premise and how femininity can be a bloodbath, but I've read several other books that deal with similar concepts that I preferred to Girl Dinner.

Thank you Tor and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I am a fan of Blake, but this one fell a bit flat for me. Writers are supposed to express and explain things through writing, not handhold and shove it in your face. It almost feels like an insult to the reader, that we are not intelligent enough to understand and pick up what she’s putting between the lines. SHOW US, do not tell us.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

You tell me that Olivie Blake wrote a new book and I’m immediately *cough cough* sick and need the day off haha (just kidding not kidding though). I love everything that Olivie writes and this one was so different and so good. I’d compare this to college rush meets the series yellowjackets. I thought that this was the perfect pace, the characters were like able and unlikable evenly and that the story line kept you intrigued all the way to the very end. I loved that cannibalism with the horror elements mixed with the trad-wife aspect and the obviously unhinged moments OF COURSE. I would like to be able to read this again for the first time.

𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: Fast Pace, Dark, Cannibalism, Trad Wife Vibe, Horror, Womanhood, College Rush Meets Yellowjackets

Large thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well as Tor Publishing Group | Tor Books

Look, when I said “yes, please, NetGalley, send me the book about the cannibal sorority,” I was obviously expecting it to be deeply unhinged and probably hilarious.

I was NOT expecting it to be this smart and thoughtful and wildly tuned in to so many niche aspects of pop culture.