Girls Dinner is not your typical horror novel, although, yes, this is about a cannibalistic sorority, it doesn’t use a lot of horror language and detail, and you don’t know about these elements at ALL until 60% of the way through. This is why I loved it so much, but my more hard-core horror fans may describe this as “slow”- I will say this is horror-lite for feminists and those interested in culture and sociology. It reads much more like a female centered book club type novel. I was fortunate enough to get an advanced copy before reading the blurb. Here I thought I was going to read about dark academia and maybe eating disorders and working mom guilt… then BAM. I was blown away. I wish all of you could have this experience.
We have multiple Points of view- Nina, a sophomore going through sorority recruitment, and Sloane Hartley. Sloane is a sociologist and professor, she is going back to work after having a baby girl. Her husband is more well respected and into his career as a professor, although Sloane is more talented than he is. He kind of sucks. Not a traditional villain, he just… sucks. You’ll see. She is invited to be the sorority’s academic liasion.
The character arc is phenomenal- Blake really spends time helping us understand who these characters are, their loyalties and motivations. The audiobook narrators are also great, engaging, and good performances.
Perhaps my favorite part were the parts of the texts that explore Sloane’s field of sociology, how late stage patriarchy affects millenials and Gen Z women, and how we connect and this relates to achievement. I would never pick up a sociology book- hell- I would never even read a sociology ARTICLE- but the author slyly inserted her best work into a horror-lite fiction novel and I am RIVETED.
I really loved this one- thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC. Book to be published October 21, 2026.
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