Girl Dinner blends dark academia with biting social commentary, offering a sharp look at ambition, identity, and the costs of belonging. Olivie Blake crafts a moody, immersive world where power is seductive and dangerous. Through the dual perspectives of an ambitious student and a struggling academic, the novel explores the price of perfection and the allure of exclusive spaces. A provocative, eerie read for fans of secret societies and feminist horror.

Overall and interesting perspective and story that I enjoyed right up until the end. The overall pacing of the book felt drawn out and then rushed but the plot itself was entertaining. After only reading fantasy from Blake, this weird hungry girl fiction was a nice switch that I would love to read more of.

Girl Dinner is a dark, hypnotic read that blends cult-like sisterhood, academic satire, and psychological suspense in a way only Olivie Blake can. Nina and Sloane are complex, compelling leads whose hunger—for power, control, belonging—makes the story both haunting and addictive. Some moments were more vibe than clarity, but I was hooked from start to finish.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy!

This was a riveting, thought-provoking examination of girlhood and female power. I really enjoyed the dual perspectives and was stunned when they intersected in a way I did not see coming. Sloane and Nina were two very different narrators and I enjoyed seeing their perspectives. The House was so fascinating and I was eager to learn all of its secrets. The supporting cast was also great, particularly the alumnae and I loved how supportive they were in their own way. The end left me breathless and surprised but so satisfied in a twisted way. Such a great book!

I really enjoyed this book! Olivie Blake makes readers grapple with issues of femininity, agency, power, while also providing humor and wit to balance out the heaviness of the novel. The character of Sloane grapples with motherhood and marriage, trying to be the best wife and mother while also trying to retain her personhood. Nina yearns to join a sorority, hoping for acceptance from her peers, while also struggling with the idea of perfectionism and being the “model minority”. This book will leave you thinking long after you finish reading the last page.

An intriguing deep dive into feminism and what it means to be A Woman, all wrapped around a simply entertaining story that will have you unable to put the book down and then unable to stop thinking about it for days after the final page.

Olivie Blake is such an interesting writer and I never know what I am going to get when I pick up one of her books. I think this will probably be my second favorite of hers (behind Januaries) because this was exactly what I wanted and expected from this title.

Darkly feminist and introspective horror is what I would call this. There is also a huge emphasis on being a mother and what that entails. I think honestly, and I'm not into horror, but I think my main criticism is that this could have leaned even further into it. I wanted even more cultish vibes from the sorority and more dark secrets to uncover. I think the way the two narratives wove together was interesting and I enjoyed the two main characters a lot but it felt like it could have taken it one step further. Same goes for the relationships, I feel like we were just scratching the surface and if we dove deeper into it we could have had even more darkly unsettling feelings.

That being said the writing was still fantastic, no shocker there, and there were so many different beautifully written sentences and moments that I had to stop and reread and take it in.

The message is clear here and I think Olivie accomplished what she set out to do with this. I think this is her pocket and where she excels the most.

I loved this one in the same way that I loved Alone with You in the Ether, not The Atlas Six. Less Romance, Add Horror (cannibalism). Similar levels of pretentiousness amongst the characters. I'm not sure the satire will be for everyone, but I ate it up!

I went into this novel blind, knowing nothing except the title, and boy was that the way to go for me! I was intrigued from the very beginning, and once we got the horror elements of the story I was hooked. It was a bit of a slow start, but enough to keep you reading.

I love me an unhinged woman!

This wasn’t really IT for me.
It was my first Olivie book, and while I see what she was trying to do, it just didn’t really work for me personally.
I did think it was engaging, except the second half kind of fell off a little more than the first half. It just wasn’t my cup of tea.

This was a fun one! I thought that the first 50% or so was super engaging and I was really drawn into the story. Olivie Blake is a great writing and this book definitely makes me want to read more of her books. The plot of this is crazy and I see what she was trying to do. For me, I feel like it didn’t quite work and that the book was trying to do too many things at once. I also was a bit disconnected for the second half of the book when really things should have been picking up? That being said, this one was crazy and I could not put it down because I wanted to know how it would end. Even the end was a bit underwhelming for me, I don’t know. Glad I read it and thank you for the ARC!

This didn’t really do it for me. I see why other people would enjoy it but I didn’t really connect with it

Obviously, we all know how much I love Olivie Blake. SO MUCH SO...... that I would even read Horror for her haha (; Which is, without a doubt, what GIRL DINNER is— a dark academia horror-thriller filled with Blake's signature flare and charming, propelling prose. GIRL DINNER is equal parts terrifying as it is satirical and painfully relevant, with its core theme of what it's like being a woman in today's society captured through and with the help of unhinged/unreliable narrators & shenanigans, the powerful force that is both female rage and our lust for power...... ah yes, and of course— some [casual?] cannibalism! 😆 While this book and type of satire specifically may not be for everyone, I do still think it's a very strong & promising first foray into the genre for Blake; the plot kept me engaged, the characters (while unlikable times) were all a hoot in their own ways, and truly just— there were a lot of moments in GIRL DINNER - whether it be through Nina, Sloane, or any of the other myriad of supporting characters - that made me reflect on my own experiences when I was still a 20-something Promising Young Woman™ (lol) and was honestly very relatable and grounded in that regard. 13/10 as always, would highly recommend!

Told in alternating chapters, this satire of female ambition, friendship, and power takes a look at the sacrifices women make (mostly in vain) to get along in the world. Sloane is a sociology professor who gave up a promising career at a small college to allow her husband, also a professor, to advance in his career at a larger university. She also has a baby that drains all of her mental and physical energy, while her husband obliviously sails through life. Nina is a sophomore at the university who is desperate to join The House, the most prestigious sorority on campus. As Nina gets more involved in the rituals and secrets of The House, Sloane is tapped to be the sorority's academic advisor. Sloane soon begins to formulate a plan to write a book, vaguely at first based on female friendships and how these relationships help women to advance, but as she learns more about why the women of The House are so successful, her focus changes.

I enjoyed the story and the very real fears and frustrations that both Sloane and Nina face, while the male characters in the story (although there weren't many of them) get a pass on the most egregious behavior. It was very repetitious about Sloane's "mother guilt" and the plight of women in general, so the story moved along quite slowly. I was impatient to find out who would be at the final "girl dinner" and how everything would play out with Sloane's marriage.

*3.5*

“because a girl could still starve and nobody would care, but a woman had to eat”

two main characters in very different life stages both have to unpack what it is to be a woman and the impossible standards placed on our shoulders. do we ever truly grow out of the need for approval? do we ever stop comparing ourselves to others? will we ever be able to look at ourselves / our lives and be content with where we are?

you’ve got a college sorority initiating young women using cannibalistic cult methodology to fight against the patriarchal politics that hold us back, a wife and mother unhappy with her “mediocre” existence and the need to be more than just somebodies wife whilst also loving the label of motherhood. their stories become more intertwined as you read and dive deeper into the toxic culture of sisterhood.

This is my first Olivie Blake book I’ve ever read and her writing style is so interesting!! I really like the commentary on the dynamics between men and women and how women “should” and “should not” be. I was very interested in reading a book that involved cannibalism, and this one did not disappoint! I also found the “take” on motherhood through this book super interesting and found that the characters were super realistic and had lots of depth to them. Really loved this one, it makes you think!

An incredibly thoughtful examination of what women will do for power and what kinds of power we’re allowed to have. The unsolvable curse of womanhood indeed. I really enjoyed how this book felt like a really long philosophical debate and the acknowledgment of there is no winning, no matter what you do. There were several scenes that forced me to re examine every scene that had come before in a satisfying way, specifically scenes surrounding Fawn. I love Nina’s bone-deep yearning to belong with the other girls and Sloane’s desire to just be a Good Mother (a theme I found even more fascinating because of its ties to capitalism). The downside to the constant questioning and philosophical angles meant I felt less attached to the characters themselves. I also wasn’t entirely sold on the ending.

Girl Dinner is an interesting, reflective look at what it means to be a woman and the pressure to be "good" in all the right ways. Olivie Blake explores the quiet routines and roles women take on, and there are definitely moments that feel relatable and powerful.

That said, it started to drag for me. The characters spent a lot of time talking about how hard it is to be a woman, which is valid, but it got repetitive. I found myself zoning out, wishing the story would move along or show something new.

Overall, it had smart things to say, but it just didn’t keep me fully engaged.

Lovely writer as per usual with Olivie Blake, definitely an interesting read that kept me guessing up until the last page [and god, that ending??] needless to say, I definitely recommend this book, I only wish it was a bit longer and the pacing was a bit faster!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This was one juicy read! For a sorority that everyone wants to get into, the real question is - is it worth it? The women in this book were very well developed at characters and would be relatable for most of us in some way or another, especially those that understand the exhaustion of new motherhood and how getting some time for yourself always sounds like a special treat. However things aren’t what they seem with this sisterhood and there are plenty of stunning twists in this book. I read this in a single day because I wanted to see what happened next.

In Girl Dinner, Olivie Blake serves up a twisted, razor-sharp take on femininity, power, and the myth of having it all, blending campus gothic with biting social commentary and just the right amount of blood.

The story unfolds through dual perspectives: Nina Kaur, an ambitious sophomore desperate for a fresh start and a shot at influence via the elite sorority known only as The House; and Dr. Sloane Hartley, a struggling academic and new mother who finds herself both repelled and drawn to the cult of womanhood the sorority seems to perfect. Their trajectories mirror each other in fascinating ways, both women clinging to the promise of community and validation, even as the rituals surrounding The House grow more sinister by the day.

Blake’s writing is, as always, rich with existential undercurrents and laced with her signature dry wit. She captures the hollow rituals of upward mobility and womanhood in an age of Instagram perfection with eerie precision. The novel excels in tone,part satire, part horror, part elegy for all the selves women are asked to become and destroy in the name of success.

That said, the book occasionally stumbles under the weight of its own ambition. Some of the symbolism feels a little on-the-nose, and readers looking for straightforward horror or plot-driven thrills might find the pacing slow in places. But for those who love Blake’s brand of philosophical dread and disillusionment, Girl Dinner is a banquet.

Ultimately, this is a novel about hunger—social, physical, emotional and what it means to feed yourself in a world that’s always asking for a bite. Drenched in style and quietly brutal, Girl Dinner is for readers who prefer their feminism feral and their satire served raw.