The Dinner Party will have you wanting to keep reading with this fast paced thriller! I was originally hooked by the cover, but once I started reading the story, I needed to know what happened next. There was a huge mystery aspect and how all the characters are somehow intertwined.

Lily wanted to surprise her husband, Stig, for the perfect anniversary dinner. Little did they know, the restaurant they picked would stir the pot. 😉 This story will take you through many twists and turns that you didn’t see coming, ultimately leading to an ending you wouldn’t expect (at least I didn’t).

3.25⭐️
I have mixed feelings about this book in which I don’t know what genre it actually falls into. Never have a read a “thriller” where the part that makes it a thriller comes in the last 15% of the book.

I really liked the plot concept of the book and it ended up being a page turner in the last 40% but the execution was wonky. Had the same energy been throughout this would have been fabulous.

Lastly, and I’m going to try to say this without spoilers, is the connections between characters was really apparent very early on so that contributes to it dragging through the first half of the book.


I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary eARC from Boldwood Books through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

I want to start this review by saying thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of "The Dinner Party" by Nina Manning.

Truthfully, I picked this book because the cover reminded me of "The Menu", one of my favorite most recent horror movies. I mean, what's more terrifying than a mega chef like Gordon Ramsay?

It's clear that Nina Manning has a knowledge of the food industry, and that's a perk. But otherwise, the book is really only a thriller for the last 10% of the book--and the rest of it is a family drama. None of the characters are likable or redeemable, in particular, the main protagonist is...well, she's kind of awful. She's always nagging on her husband for being secretive, but she's even worse.

The book is set to release on in March of 2025. Personally, I would skip this one-- but you can be the judge of that!

This novel frustrated me! It had some good elements and some great writing, but other parts were off and didn’t flow at all. I found myself skipping pages because of it.

This one unfortunately fell flat for me. I didn't like any of the characters and there were a lot of grammatical errors which were mild annoyances. There were also a few inconcsistencies and lines that made no sense.

I think,as I have ready quite a few thrillers recently, I did nitpick quite a bit, but overall I think the plotline has promise and will be enjoyed by many people.

I chose to DNF the book. I picked it up because it reminded me of a movie I watched (The Menu), but the writing style didn’t entirely grab me as quickly as I would have liked.

From its first few chapters, The Dinner Party lays the foundation of tension in the marriage of Stig and Lily that keeps you wanting to know what will become of them. As the distrust and suspicion grow, you get a look into the enigma that is Stig, which only causes more questions to arise. As more secrets of the past are revealed, the sense of foreboding ramps up and poor decisions start to catch up with Lily fast.

While there are times you can’t exactly root for our heroine you can empathize with her. The way she felt welcomed and supported by Hector and his grandeur is easily something anyone could fall into. However, she willingly remained ignorant when the red flags started to pop up, and it’s only when she really starts to accept reality that you feel for her, and only wish she had seen the truth sooner.

As the plot reaches its height, questions are finally answered and the one thing you don’t expect is Lily’s ultimate saving grace.

The Dinner Party is a book that keeps you reading, chapters at the perfect length for you to say, “just one more” and while its conclusion isn’t exactly what I hoped for, it did offer a bit of satisfaction, and the journey was good enough to make up for it.

Enjoyed this!!! Thought it didn’t drag which was nice, some good twists and turns and overall a pleasant ride.

Don’t really have much more then this really, nothing bad and nothing amazing!

The Dinner Party is the latest psychological thriller by author Nina Manning. A story of secrets, temptation and full of suspense.

Lily Leonard wants to rekindle her struggling marriage to husband Stig so decides to arrange an anniversary dinner at an exclusive restaurant run by renowned celebrity chef Hector Bolson-Woods. Unfortunately the evening did not appear to be as special as it should have been. The couple were surprised while enjoying an exquisite meal Hector makes an unexpected appearance and invites them for a private dinner. Lily is naturally impressed but Stig does not appear to be so excited and the evening only deepens the tension between them. Stig appears to be determined not to spend any time with Hector which Lily feeling confused and suspicious. Another invitation arrives and is very difficult to refuse, Lily is being pulled into a tangle of deception and obsession.

The characters are well developed and the plot is intriguing making this a fascinating read. A plot that twists and turns and full of suspense.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Boldwood Books for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc. I love the premise of the book, something different, but I kept waiting for something big to happen and it didn't. Not sure if I liked the ending.

I was underwhelmed overall by this story. I was intrigued in the beginning to see where this would go but the main characters husband was very annoying and I didn’t care for him too much. I didn’t care for the main character either. There were a few twists but didn’t stand out too much. Overall this was a quick and easy read.

This was a quick and easy read. I feel like the ending was rushed although overall it was a decent book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I finished this book very quickly, as it was an easy and gripping read. I'd recommend the book for Freida McFadden fans.

The story starts off with a couple Lily and Stig who are going through a seemingly rocky patch in their relationship, so Lily books them a table at a prestigious restaurant with a famous chef. Little do they know, this will start a series of unfortunate events.

The first half of the book is predominantly focussed on Lily's POV, and the storyline between her and Stig. About half way through, you start to get different perspectives and aspects of a previous timeline.
Although it was an enjoyable quick read overall, I knocked off one star because the twist was predictable and I also felt like the ending was abrupt and rushed.

This book was highly addictive- I read it in two sittings! Full of twists and turns; not quite a psychological thriller, but definitely full of suspense; a sense of unsettle throughout the book where the reader is just waiting for pins to drop. Both Lily and Stig are quite unlikeable characters, but you can't help but root for them to be better or further understand how they came to be. This book does what it sets out to do- pull the reader in until the very end. Thank you to #NetGalley and #BoldwoodBooks for the ARC!

I was very excited to read this book and Nina Manning did not disappoint! The story deals with extreme manipulation and the cost of keeping secrets. An emotional read (I cried at the end). There are themes of assault and self harm. Overall a good read.

The characters were well developed and I found myself staying up way past my bedtime to finish it. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this incredible book! I will definitely be sharing it with all of my fellow book lovers!

This book was interesting and I thought the premise was very unique. I liked that this book was fast paced and was a quick read. This is my first book from this author and I’d be interested in reading more from her.

Lily and Stig have an average marriage. Recent troubles develop as they begin to try for a baby and it doesn’t automatically happen. Which one would assume it won’t, while you’re still taking your birth control. Lily is just unsure if she’s ready.

For their anniversary, Lily books an exclusive restaurant that’s almost impossible to get a reservation at. The chef, Hector Bolson-Woods is known around the world for his cooking. But upon her surprise, he invites her and her husband to the back to enjoy a private meal in his quarters. Her husband Stig seems tense the entire time and she is unsure why this would be unsettling to him.

Hector continues to follow Lily and inviting her to follow up functions until Stig puts his foot down, but why? What is this mystery?


Great book. Slow in the beginning, but really picked up momentum towards the middle and finished strong.

This was was my very first ARC… and my initial opinion of this book:

1. The cover is very intriguing and the main reason why I requested to read.

2. The writing was poor in some areas. Some missing spellings, some double words.

3. I think that the book was drawn out in some areas, and in some areas not given enough information.

4. And the ending fell extremely flat for me, I expected more.

5. I don’t believe that this would be a book I would recommend….

The Dinner Party is a domestic thriller that will have you turning the pages to find answers. Lily surprises husband Stig with an anniversary dinner at Sapphire a restaurant run by Masterchef alumni Hector Bolson- Woods. She is swept up in the glamour and surprised by how much attention they receive from the chef himself.
They then continue to receive more invitations from Hector which Lily enjoys and Stig becomes increasingly more uncomfortable with.

It was fun to see the glamour and glitz of celebrity chef worlds. I enjoyed the way Nina set things up, placing little clues along the way and a building up a feeling of unease which made you question what was happening in front of you. I had a few theories as to what may have happened in the past and different connections between character but was taken by surprise a few times when the secrets came out. My only complaint was that it seemed to finish rather suddenly, there were a few parts of the story that it would have been nice to have played out a little more. Overall a solid thriller.