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Dreamland
She wanted fame. But she found secrets and a passion that could kill.
As summer heat lingers in Los Angeles, girls are found murdered, the winds are blowing a strange energy into the city and wildfire warnings are everywhere. Yet Anya Morris has other things on her mind. A TV pilot should have been her big Hollywood break. But she lost out and now she’s willing to risk it all.
Enter William de Witt, an aging movie star who offers an unusual opportunity. His son Jude’s rare heath condition forces him to live as a recluse - and in exchange for spending time with him, William will grant her access to Hollywood’s most powerful circles. Wealth, influence and access are all on offer within the de Witt family mansion. However, behind the gilded veneer lie decades of bloodstained secrets. As her duties draw her deeper into their world, she wonders if the villa is cursed or if Jude himself is touched by the occult? Yet there’s a dark magnetism to him that Anya can’t resist, despite all the warning signs. As the city’s body count continues to rise, something has to give. There’s smoke in the air, but who will strike that final, fatal match?
Praise for Olivie Blake
‘Addictively entertaining, this is Blake at the height of her abilities’ – Ava Reid, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of Lady Macbeth
‘Utterly brilliant’ – Chloe Gong, New York Times bestselling author of Immortal Longings
‘A timely tale of greed, ambition and rivalry . . . terrific’ – M. L. Rio, bestselling author of If We Were Villains
Olivie Blake's The Atlas Six was a No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 28 Feb 2022.
Gifted & Talented was a No. 1 Sunday Times Bestseller w/c 14 April 2025.
As summer heat lingers in Los Angeles, girls are found murdered, the winds are blowing a strange energy into the city and wildfire warnings are everywhere. Yet Anya Morris has other things on her mind. A TV pilot should have been her big Hollywood break. But she lost out and now she’s willing to risk it all.
Enter William de Witt, an aging movie star who offers an unusual opportunity. His son Jude’s rare heath condition forces him to live as a recluse - and in exchange for spending time with him, William will grant her access to Hollywood’s most powerful circles. Wealth, influence and access are all on offer within the de Witt family mansion. However, behind the gilded veneer lie decades of bloodstained secrets. As her duties draw her deeper into their world, she wonders if the villa is cursed or if Jude himself is touched by the occult? Yet there’s a dark magnetism to him that Anya can’t resist, despite all the warning signs. As the city’s body count continues to rise, something has to give. There’s smoke in the air, but who will strike that final, fatal match?
Praise for Olivie Blake
‘Addictively entertaining, this is Blake at the height of her abilities’ – Ava Reid, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of Lady Macbeth
‘Utterly brilliant’ – Chloe Gong, New York Times bestselling author of Immortal Longings
‘A timely tale of greed, ambition and rivalry . . . terrific’ – M. L. Rio, bestselling author of If We Were Villains
Olivie Blake's The Atlas Six was a No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 28 Feb 2022.
Gifted & Talented was a No. 1 Sunday Times Bestseller w/c 14 April 2025.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 11, 2026
About the author
Olivie Blake
44 books17.9k followersOlivie Blake is the pseudonym of Alexene Farol Follmuth, a lover and writer of stories, many of which involve the fantastic, the paranormal, or the supernatural, but not always. More often, her works revolve around what it means to be human (or not), and the endlessly interesting complexities of life and love.
Olivie has penned several indie SFF projects, including the webtoon Clara and the Devil with illustrator Little Chmura and the viral Atlas series. As Follmuth, her young adult rom-com My Mechanical Romance releases May 2022.
Olivie lives in Los Angeles with her husband and new baby, where she is generally tolerated by her rescue pit bull.
Olivie has penned several indie SFF projects, including the webtoon Clara and the Devil with illustrator Little Chmura and the viral Atlas series. As Follmuth, her young adult rom-com My Mechanical Romance releases May 2022.
Olivie lives in Los Angeles with her husband and new baby, where she is generally tolerated by her rescue pit bull.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 819 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3 ⭐️
Gothic-horror novel about family secrets, unsolved murders, and ill-fated summer love.
Dreamland read like a fever dream! And everyone in it needs therapy, jail, or a mixture of both.
Amidst a mysterious serial killer on the loose, who mutilates young women and stages their bloodless bodies in macabre poses, the FMC, Anya, is hired to work inside the home of a VERY famous Hollywood family. But of course, not everything is as it seems. And the adult son of the family that she's been hired to look after…isn't exactly normal. Imagine getting run over by a bus and surviving levels of abnormality.
About Jude (the aforementioned adult son): he's a captive inside of his own mega-mansion with a demon inside his head. A demon with extreme bloodlust who regularly puts his host through immense harm.
As a character, Jude made for a compelling traumatized figure with monsters all around him. But as a love interest? There wasn't a hint of appeal in this character. He had matted hair, described as dirty. No social skills or friends to speak of. Did not have body autonomy…etc.
The romance was the weakest and most nonsensical part of the whole story. Anya described Jude as whiny, annoying, and profoundly unsexy one moment. And then randomly a switch was flipped with lines such as "I could fix him. I could make him domestic, docile, demure, hardly demonic at all," which came out of nowhere and made little sense—especially not with the ambitious, morally gray, and desperate-to-succeed-in-Hollywood way Anya was written.
Was I confused while reading? Yes.
Did everyone's actions make sense or feel reasonable? Absolutely not.
Did I enjoy this fever dream of a book? Hesitant, yes. Olivie Blake's strong prose, the ongoing mystery of demons and cultist rituals, and the question, 'Why doesn't Anya run as far away as possible from this insane household?! ' Did keep me coming back. However, the story felt disjointed. You'll get from A to Z, but it won't all make sense.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC! All opinions are my own.🖤
Gothic-horror novel about family secrets, unsolved murders, and ill-fated summer love.
Dreamland read like a fever dream! And everyone in it needs therapy, jail, or a mixture of both.
Amidst a mysterious serial killer on the loose, who mutilates young women and stages their bloodless bodies in macabre poses, the FMC, Anya, is hired to work inside the home of a VERY famous Hollywood family. But of course, not everything is as it seems. And the adult son of the family that she's been hired to look after…isn't exactly normal. Imagine getting run over by a bus and surviving levels of abnormality.
About Jude (the aforementioned adult son): he's a captive inside of his own mega-mansion with a demon inside his head. A demon with extreme bloodlust who regularly puts his host through immense harm.
As a character, Jude made for a compelling traumatized figure with monsters all around him. But as a love interest? There wasn't a hint of appeal in this character. He had matted hair, described as dirty. No social skills or friends to speak of. Did not have body autonomy…etc.
The romance was the weakest and most nonsensical part of the whole story. Anya described Jude as whiny, annoying, and profoundly unsexy one moment. And then randomly a switch was flipped with lines such as "I could fix him. I could make him domestic, docile, demure, hardly demonic at all," which came out of nowhere and made little sense—especially not with the ambitious, morally gray, and desperate-to-succeed-in-Hollywood way Anya was written.
Was I confused while reading? Yes.
Did everyone's actions make sense or feel reasonable? Absolutely not.
Did I enjoy this fever dream of a book? Hesitant, yes. Olivie Blake's strong prose, the ongoing mystery of demons and cultist rituals, and the question, 'Why doesn't Anya run as far away as possible from this insane household?! ' Did keep me coming back. However, the story felt disjointed. You'll get from A to Z, but it won't all make sense.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC! All opinions are my own.🖤
November 5, 2025
For me, Olivie Blake books hit, or they dont. This, unfortunately, didn't. It's way overwritten. This is for someone who isn't me.
December 4, 2025
breathed a sigh of relief that it's finally over. this book is so painfully uninspired, it actually sucked to read for a good majority. i feel like i know what she's trying to accomplish here, what threads the author is trying to pull, what narrative she's trying to create. it just falls apart so abysmally. there's at least three different paths this book veers off into that lead to nowhere.. which is like, okay maybe it was supposed to play a background role, but the constant empty tangents...all for a plot that's simultaneously predictable but also very?? messy??...and kinda awful, if i am being honest. the writing feels very overwritten too, or maybe it's just that this book doesn't call to be written in the way that it. is. written. there's no drive to the story, the misconstrued and hastily reconstructed narrative doesn't hold any weight to it, and i did not care about the romance. at all. it felt like a chore to read and was too par the course (derogatory) while also coming out of nowhere. i just felt exhausted reading this novel. anyway i mean, sure, what the hell. it's definitely a book. a very bland and ultimately pointless book, at that.
thank you to tor for the advance copy. (if you think this review is confusing, just wait until you read the book.)
thank you to tor for the advance copy. (if you think this review is confusing, just wait until you read the book.)
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I’m still not sure what I just read.
I often say I would read Olivie Blake’s shopping list. This wasn’t that, but it did feel like a messy fever dream in a stylistically gripping way.
The author’s note said Olivie’s agent requested a rom-com about doo-flying and this is somehow what she got. That made me laugh.
A summer of murders. An aspiring young actress with a complicated relationship with her Filipino mother.
An opportunity to get into the industry when she’s asked to babysit the adult son of a Hollywood star who she saw get killed by a bus and then get up and run away the previous night.
This is most similar to Girl Dinner. It is hyper critical and satirical. A commentary on the film industry and privileged prestige.
The main character, Anya, is problematic and messy. She is willing to do anything to get IN. Derogate herself, endanger herself, punish herself. It is hard to follow someone with barely a moral compass and a self-interested attitude that is fuelled by ambition.
We could create our realities ourselves; we spun them into being with thoughts and words and deeds, and once they became part of the fabric of our collective truth, she couldn’t rip out the stitching.
Anya wrestles with her heritage. Should she be proud or ashamed? She doesn’t feel entirely Filipino or white as she passes as white and feels alienated by both.
She code-switches effortlessly. This was one of the reasons I never felt truly connected: who is Anya except someone able to change personalities like a jacket?
I wouldn’t call this is a romance. It’s dark and twisted and weird.
Maybe if I knew why he did what he did, I could fix him. I could make him domestic, docile, demure, hardly demonic at all.
The writing was stream-of-consciousness. Expect tangents galore and lots of circling back. It worked for my neurodivergent brain, but I can see people bouncing off it.
To add an even more meta element, Blake breaks the medium with scripts that blur the line of fiction and reality.
You’ll always get something unique with Olivie Blake and I love that she keeps me on my toes and eager for more.
Arc gifted by Tor.
Bookstagram
Tiktok
I often say I would read Olivie Blake’s shopping list. This wasn’t that, but it did feel like a messy fever dream in a stylistically gripping way.
The author’s note said Olivie’s agent requested a rom-com about doo-flying and this is somehow what she got. That made me laugh.
A summer of murders. An aspiring young actress with a complicated relationship with her Filipino mother.
An opportunity to get into the industry when she’s asked to babysit the adult son of a Hollywood star who she saw get killed by a bus and then get up and run away the previous night.
This is most similar to Girl Dinner. It is hyper critical and satirical. A commentary on the film industry and privileged prestige.
The main character, Anya, is problematic and messy. She is willing to do anything to get IN. Derogate herself, endanger herself, punish herself. It is hard to follow someone with barely a moral compass and a self-interested attitude that is fuelled by ambition.
We could create our realities ourselves; we spun them into being with thoughts and words and deeds, and once they became part of the fabric of our collective truth, she couldn’t rip out the stitching.
Anya wrestles with her heritage. Should she be proud or ashamed? She doesn’t feel entirely Filipino or white as she passes as white and feels alienated by both.
She code-switches effortlessly. This was one of the reasons I never felt truly connected: who is Anya except someone able to change personalities like a jacket?
I wouldn’t call this is a romance. It’s dark and twisted and weird.
Maybe if I knew why he did what he did, I could fix him. I could make him domestic, docile, demure, hardly demonic at all.
The writing was stream-of-consciousness. Expect tangents galore and lots of circling back. It worked for my neurodivergent brain, but I can see people bouncing off it.
To add an even more meta element, Blake breaks the medium with scripts that blur the line of fiction and reality.
You’ll always get something unique with Olivie Blake and I love that she keeps me on my toes and eager for more.
Arc gifted by Tor.
Bookstagram
Tiktok
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
4.5 stars rounded up.
Gritty, macabre, and atmospheric. Olivie’s writing immediately gripped me and transported me to a Hollywood summer, where a serial killer runs rampant and fame is dangerously within reach.
There is so much I like about this book - the way it explores ambition, family, legacy, power, and the dangerous paths people will take in pursuit of them. My favorite aspect of this book is the way it depicts the concepts of fate and inevitability and how they are intrinsically tied to our individuality. Our main character was always going to make the choices she did and follow this path that so many others, the reader included, would never take. Maybe you judge her for it, and that’s okay, but what Olivie conveys so poignantly is that there was never any alternative. Her desires and dreams are fully baked into her being. They dictate every choice she makes and she couldn’t have veered off this path if she tried. She would have to be a completely different person to make a single choice differently. I absolutely loved this perspective and Olivie’s delivery.
This is the kind of book that authentically and unapologetically stands true to itself and tells the story it wants to tell. It makes a lot of creative choices that may not land for many readers. For the right reader, like myself, the end result is a spectacular read that will stick with me for some time.
Thank you Tor and Macmillan audio for the ARC and ALC. I finished my read and immediately listened to the audio afterward. Both were great!
Gritty, macabre, and atmospheric. Olivie’s writing immediately gripped me and transported me to a Hollywood summer, where a serial killer runs rampant and fame is dangerously within reach.
There is so much I like about this book - the way it explores ambition, family, legacy, power, and the dangerous paths people will take in pursuit of them. My favorite aspect of this book is the way it depicts the concepts of fate and inevitability and how they are intrinsically tied to our individuality. Our main character was always going to make the choices she did and follow this path that so many others, the reader included, would never take. Maybe you judge her for it, and that’s okay, but what Olivie conveys so poignantly is that there was never any alternative. Her desires and dreams are fully baked into her being. They dictate every choice she makes and she couldn’t have veered off this path if she tried. She would have to be a completely different person to make a single choice differently. I absolutely loved this perspective and Olivie’s delivery.
This is the kind of book that authentically and unapologetically stands true to itself and tells the story it wants to tell. It makes a lot of creative choices that may not land for many readers. For the right reader, like myself, the end result is a spectacular read that will stick with me for some time.
Thank you Tor and Macmillan audio for the ARC and ALC. I finished my read and immediately listened to the audio afterward. Both were great!
August 20, 2026
What an utterly weird (complimentary) mind f- of a book.
Absolute must on audio.
Unlikeable characters (again, complimentary) that you can't help but want to here more from.
I was confused for most of the book (again, complimentary) and it the need to know what was going on propelled me forward!
I throughly enjoyed this book but I don't think it'll be a hit for everyone. Its weird and pretty much all the characters are terrible - but it was my cup of tea.
Audio Narration: 5/5
Narrators: Too many to list
Narration Style: Mixed. Parts were dual, parts were full cast in duet style.
Thoughts: WOWWWWWWW. Talk about a PRODUCTION. Seriously this is a must via audio. a million stars!
5⭐️| IG | TikTok |
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.
Absolute must on audio.
Unlikeable characters (again, complimentary) that you can't help but want to here more from.
I was confused for most of the book (again, complimentary) and it the need to know what was going on propelled me forward!
I throughly enjoyed this book but I don't think it'll be a hit for everyone. Its weird and pretty much all the characters are terrible - but it was my cup of tea.
Audio Narration: 5/5
Narrators: Too many to list
Narration Style: Mixed. Parts were dual, parts were full cast in duet style.
Thoughts: WOWWWWWWW. Talk about a PRODUCTION. Seriously this is a must via audio. a million stars!
5⭐️| IG | TikTok |
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.
August 11, 2026
Slow-burn horror meets Hollywood glam in a novel about power, seduction, and what people will do to succeed. Dreamland follows a white-passing Filipino girl who wants to be an actress. She takes a job as a caretaker for the son of a powerful director in Hollywood, offered promises of opportunities to come. Except that the son is a grown man with something strange about him, the vibes in the family are weird, and girls keep dying in gruesome ways. This book experiments with narration styles in interesting ways and layers of darkness are uncovered as the story winds its way to a conclusion. The audio narration is excellent and different narrators effectively deliver the right vibes for different parts of the story. I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
August 19, 2026
I'm not really sure what I just read, but it did feel like a fever dream. It's dark and twisted, grotesque and weird, and I enjoyed every second.
The atmosphere, the characters, the story, but especially the writing and structure 👏👏👏 This is why I love Olivie Blake's books.
The atmosphere, the characters, the story, but especially the writing and structure 👏👏👏 This is why I love Olivie Blake's books.
Did Not Finish
August 10, 2026DNF at 20 pages because this is way too structureless
**thank you to Tor for the ARC copy**
**thank you to Tor for the ARC copy**
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
’Love may be cruel, but it is always fair and righteous, or it must be. Because if it isn't, then how certainly we are damned’
After loving Blake’s last horror Girl Dinner, so much so that I even wrote a essay on it for my publishing degree, I was incredibly excited to pick up Dreamland - particularly as it promised themes of possession within a Hollywood-landscape. The story follows Anya, a young Filipina-American actress who takes a job caring for Jude, the son of one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, William de Witt. What she initially believes will be an easy way into the world of the rich and famous, takes a very dark turn when she realises that Jude may have a monster inside him.
Unfortunately, Dreamland was nowhere near as brilliant as I hoped it would be.
With a concept perfect for me, I was utterly disappointed to find that this book falls into the ever present category in modern horror of ‘style over substance’. Girl Dinner suffered a little from this too, but while that could be forgiven due to the story’s tones of insanity and cult-indoctrination, Dreamland’s cannot. Anya spoke like a completely normal 22-year-old woman for the first 25% of this story, only to suddenly switch and begin philosophising the moment she stepped into the de Witt house, sounding more and more like a caricature in an Agatha Christie novel than a regular person in the year 2026. You could say that this was due to the ‘ambience’ of the house and its occupants, but she actually had very little interactions with those on the more sociopathic end of the character-spectrum, other than during the final climax, and the house itself was just a normal house, albeit the home of some very disturbed people. The shoe-horned in use of purple prose and unnecessary prevalence of long-winded tangents, really took me out of the reading experience. Just because the book is marketed as ‘gothic’ (although there was next to nothing gothic about it, in reality) it does not mean that the writing style HAS to be confusing and elaborate. Gothic ≠ pretentious, and I’m not sure where authors continually get this idea from.
Character-wise, this story was a very mixed bag. I really enjoyed Anya and the way in which she moved through the acting world with so many different masks to suit so many different situations. I thought the conversation on her position within Hollywood was interesting - especially her thinking that she was weaponising her sexuality, whilst all the time ignoring her own mistreatment. She was not a perfect protagonist, making some ridiculously stupid decisions, but for the most part I was rooting for her success. The same cannot be said for Jude, the poor ‘possessed’ man she was ‘caring’ for. Jude was, to put it simply, bland to the point of bordering on insufferable. He was whiny, arrogant, devoid of any personality other than ‘woe is me’, and so uninteresting as a love interest that I was avidly rooting for his chapters to end. Their romance was completely pointless and unrealistic, and they had little chemistry with one another. In an alternate, better, reality, Jude had been a child that Anya was tasked with caring for, and the entire thing would’ve been more engaging and without the boring romance. Alas, we appear to be in the worse reality.
The plot was overall, quite poorly done. I found the pacing to be good, but I was so frustrated by the writing style and ‘connection’ between the two main characters that I had little room left to care about the villains or their motivations. In fact, when the villain DID give his epic, long monologue explaining his evil master plan, I was so confused by the prose that I still, a day later, do not understand who or what the aim of anyone was. It made what should’ve been a climactic ending fall incredibly flat. Oh, and cherry on top of the cake? This horror book wasn’t even remotely scary.
Overall, Dreamland gets 2.5/5 stars rounded up to 3/5 stars for Netgalley and Waterstones.
thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review! <3
After loving Blake’s last horror Girl Dinner, so much so that I even wrote a essay on it for my publishing degree, I was incredibly excited to pick up Dreamland - particularly as it promised themes of possession within a Hollywood-landscape. The story follows Anya, a young Filipina-American actress who takes a job caring for Jude, the son of one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, William de Witt. What she initially believes will be an easy way into the world of the rich and famous, takes a very dark turn when she realises that Jude may have a monster inside him.
Unfortunately, Dreamland was nowhere near as brilliant as I hoped it would be.
With a concept perfect for me, I was utterly disappointed to find that this book falls into the ever present category in modern horror of ‘style over substance’. Girl Dinner suffered a little from this too, but while that could be forgiven due to the story’s tones of insanity and cult-indoctrination, Dreamland’s cannot. Anya spoke like a completely normal 22-year-old woman for the first 25% of this story, only to suddenly switch and begin philosophising the moment she stepped into the de Witt house, sounding more and more like a caricature in an Agatha Christie novel than a regular person in the year 2026. You could say that this was due to the ‘ambience’ of the house and its occupants, but she actually had very little interactions with those on the more sociopathic end of the character-spectrum, other than during the final climax, and the house itself was just a normal house, albeit the home of some very disturbed people. The shoe-horned in use of purple prose and unnecessary prevalence of long-winded tangents, really took me out of the reading experience. Just because the book is marketed as ‘gothic’ (although there was next to nothing gothic about it, in reality) it does not mean that the writing style HAS to be confusing and elaborate. Gothic ≠ pretentious, and I’m not sure where authors continually get this idea from.
Character-wise, this story was a very mixed bag. I really enjoyed Anya and the way in which she moved through the acting world with so many different masks to suit so many different situations. I thought the conversation on her position within Hollywood was interesting - especially her thinking that she was weaponising her sexuality, whilst all the time ignoring her own mistreatment. She was not a perfect protagonist, making some ridiculously stupid decisions, but for the most part I was rooting for her success. The same cannot be said for Jude, the poor ‘possessed’ man she was ‘caring’ for. Jude was, to put it simply, bland to the point of bordering on insufferable. He was whiny, arrogant, devoid of any personality other than ‘woe is me’, and so uninteresting as a love interest that I was avidly rooting for his chapters to end. Their romance was completely pointless and unrealistic, and they had little chemistry with one another. In an alternate, better, reality, Jude had been a child that Anya was tasked with caring for, and the entire thing would’ve been more engaging and without the boring romance. Alas, we appear to be in the worse reality.
The plot was overall, quite poorly done. I found the pacing to be good, but I was so frustrated by the writing style and ‘connection’ between the two main characters that I had little room left to care about the villains or their motivations. In fact, when the villain DID give his epic, long monologue explaining his evil master plan, I was so confused by the prose that I still, a day later, do not understand who or what the aim of anyone was. It made what should’ve been a climactic ending fall incredibly flat. Oh, and cherry on top of the cake? This horror book wasn’t even remotely scary.
Overall, Dreamland gets 2.5/5 stars rounded up to 3/5 stars for Netgalley and Waterstones.
thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review! <3
Did Not Finish
October 7, 2026was hoping for the angst of Girl Dinner but I am just confused and I don't understand what the purpose is here. DNF at 46%. The only reason I made it this far was because the audiobook is SO well done with an eerie multicast narration.
Audiobook gifted by Macmillan Audio
Audiobook gifted by Macmillan Audio
August 13, 2026
4.5 RTC I have read three Olivie Blake books and I have loved every single one. She’s absolutely an acquired taste but I am fully obsessed. This is, in my opinion, a perfect example of a modern Gothic novel.
September 12, 2026
This monster could love, and he fucked me accordingly.
Truly reading banger after banger this month! I went into this blind and also as my first olivie Blake novel— 10/10 no notes. This one is truly for the alt-girls who love their Hollywood noir cults, the ones who will always choose the villain, and who will eat up speculative fiction in the form of romantic thrillers.
Dreamland follows Anya, a white-passing Filipina woman, whose ambition to become a Hollywood actress has her falling in with the elite Hollywood De Witt family. They hire her to keep Julian De Witt safe. But things are not as they seem and the plot quickly unravels as the occult creeps in. Anya toes the line of reckless danger while Julian hedges toward insanity.
While the paranormal grabbed me fairly quickly from the start it was the quick-witted dynamic between the gothic heroine (or self proclaimed anti-hero) and the demon that kept me reading. Anya and Julian held a natural chemistry between one another which had me rooting for them while also wondering if, or how, both of them would be forced to answer the consequences of their actions by the end of the book.
Perfect for fans of: stolen by Lucy Christopher and Obsession (the movie)
Favorite scene: Anya’s reaction in the tomb
Truly reading banger after banger this month! I went into this blind and also as my first olivie Blake novel— 10/10 no notes. This one is truly for the alt-girls who love their Hollywood noir cults, the ones who will always choose the villain, and who will eat up speculative fiction in the form of romantic thrillers.
Dreamland follows Anya, a white-passing Filipina woman, whose ambition to become a Hollywood actress has her falling in with the elite Hollywood De Witt family. They hire her to keep Julian De Witt safe. But things are not as they seem and the plot quickly unravels as the occult creeps in. Anya toes the line of reckless danger while Julian hedges toward insanity.
While the paranormal grabbed me fairly quickly from the start it was the quick-witted dynamic between the gothic heroine (or self proclaimed anti-hero) and the demon that kept me reading. Anya and Julian held a natural chemistry between one another which had me rooting for them while also wondering if, or how, both of them would be forced to answer the consequences of their actions by the end of the book.
Perfect for fans of: stolen by Lucy Christopher and Obsession (the movie)
Favorite scene: Anya’s reaction in the tomb
May 31, 2026
So Olivie Blake! So odd, but so intriguing! This was a good book, but this would be an even greater movie! If you know you know
September 9, 2026
3/5⭐️ wait so did she like the son, the father, or the demon? all?
October 18, 2026
4 stars. Wonderfully disorienting in its narrative and compelling in its study of its main character, Dreamland is a fever dream of a book that appealed to me very specifically.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
7/14/26: This review (and many others) plus essays and booklists are now available on my blog!
In the dry, oppressive heat of the summer in LA girls are showing up dead, arranged into macabre displays that horrify and fascinate the public. However, Anya Morris–an aspiring actress made claustrophobic by her circumstances–is not focused on dead girls. Running on cunning and ambition, Anya receives a mysterious but promising opportunity to work for one of the industries most influential families. Beneath the veneer of Hollywood glamor though all is not well with the de Witt family, particularly their troubled son they keep hidden away whom Anya is tasked with watching over.
I'd like to start off with a quote from the acknowledgements because I think it's kind of iconic: "This book put me through a meat grinder; at this point, whether it’s any good is frankly none of my business."
Whether or not you like this book is heavily reliant on whether you like Olivie Blake's style, particularly her more experimental stuff like Alone With You in the Ether. For me, she is one of the only authors writing experimental stuff that actually works for me, and Dreamland was no different. I don't agree that this book is overwritten, in fact other than the beginning and some of Jude's segments I think it's pretty minimalist. There's an element of stream-of-consciousness to Blake's writing style, and I'm not usually a big fan of that but as I think I mentioned in my review for her book Gifted and Talented Blake's version of stream-of-consciousness is a lot closer to how my brain works than most other versions, which is probably not true for everyone.
Plot wise, this book is weird as hell. Maybe a little fever dream-y, but not in a way that takes away from the stakes which is a big pet peeve of mine. Jude's segments aren't my favorite part of the book, but they still have real stakes and tension because it's unclear how much of the events of Jude's dreams are reflected in the actions his body is taking in reality. When Jude hurts someone in a dream, there are still stakes for the reader because he might actually also be hurting someone outside of the dream, so there's a real sense of consequences and the events of the dream aren't just being used for drama or shock value (The God of Endings similarly does this well). Also, I like the weird messed-up little romance! I don't care that it's weird and angsty and melodramatic, because it's fun and you can understand that for Anya it functions both as a relationship with more depth than she can achieve with anyone else since all of their cards are on the table and as a form of self-destruction because the constant game she has to play to get ahead has really dissolved her sense of self. It's not a murder mystery (thank god), it's a dramatic gothic thriller that isn't going to pander to the reader and make it easy for them. Regardless of whether I understood everything, I was engaged the whole time.
That being said, there were definitely things that went over my head. Or should I say...Ova my head...haha.....Point being that I still don't know who Ova is. I don't know if she's real or if she's a demon or a ghost or if she's just another character referred to by multiple names. I don't know if I'm supposed to know who she is, but I don't. I also think having two characters who are mother and daughter both be named Emmanuelle when we're already dealing with kind of a weird family tree with three generations was unnecessarily confusing, though maybe intentionally. I'm not mad about it, but it was distracting because I was sitting there like "Is there some incest going on here or am I just confused?" By all means, let me know if you have concrete answers.
Dreamland is a challenging book, but it's also propulsive, unique, weird, and in my opinion worth doing the work for if you're up to it! I always look forward to seeing what Olivie Blake comes up with, because somehow I know whatever he next book is I'll never see it coming.
Thank you to Olivie Blake and Tor Books (my beloved) for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!
Happy reading!
In the dry, oppressive heat of the summer in LA girls are showing up dead, arranged into macabre displays that horrify and fascinate the public. However, Anya Morris–an aspiring actress made claustrophobic by her circumstances–is not focused on dead girls. Running on cunning and ambition, Anya receives a mysterious but promising opportunity to work for one of the industries most influential families. Beneath the veneer of Hollywood glamor though all is not well with the de Witt family, particularly their troubled son they keep hidden away whom Anya is tasked with watching over.
I'd like to start off with a quote from the acknowledgements because I think it's kind of iconic: "This book put me through a meat grinder; at this point, whether it’s any good is frankly none of my business."
Whether or not you like this book is heavily reliant on whether you like Olivie Blake's style, particularly her more experimental stuff like Alone With You in the Ether. For me, she is one of the only authors writing experimental stuff that actually works for me, and Dreamland was no different. I don't agree that this book is overwritten, in fact other than the beginning and some of Jude's segments I think it's pretty minimalist. There's an element of stream-of-consciousness to Blake's writing style, and I'm not usually a big fan of that but as I think I mentioned in my review for her book Gifted and Talented Blake's version of stream-of-consciousness is a lot closer to how my brain works than most other versions, which is probably not true for everyone.
Plot wise, this book is weird as hell. Maybe a little fever dream-y, but not in a way that takes away from the stakes which is a big pet peeve of mine. Jude's segments aren't my favorite part of the book, but they still have real stakes and tension because it's unclear how much of the events of Jude's dreams are reflected in the actions his body is taking in reality. When Jude hurts someone in a dream, there are still stakes for the reader because he might actually also be hurting someone outside of the dream, so there's a real sense of consequences and the events of the dream aren't just being used for drama or shock value (The God of Endings similarly does this well). Also, I like the weird messed-up little romance! I don't care that it's weird and angsty and melodramatic, because it's fun and you can understand that for Anya it functions both as a relationship with more depth than she can achieve with anyone else since all of their cards are on the table and as a form of self-destruction because the constant game she has to play to get ahead has really dissolved her sense of self. It's not a murder mystery (thank god), it's a dramatic gothic thriller that isn't going to pander to the reader and make it easy for them. Regardless of whether I understood everything, I was engaged the whole time.
That being said, there were definitely things that went over my head. Or should I say...Ova my head...haha.....Point being that I still don't know who Ova is. I don't know if she's real or if she's a demon or a ghost or if she's just another character referred to by multiple names. I don't know if I'm supposed to know who she is, but I don't. I also think having two characters who are mother and daughter both be named Emmanuelle when we're already dealing with kind of a weird family tree with three generations was unnecessarily confusing, though maybe intentionally. I'm not mad about it, but it was distracting because I was sitting there like "Is there some incest going on here or am I just confused?" By all means, let me know if you have concrete answers.
Dreamland is a challenging book, but it's also propulsive, unique, weird, and in my opinion worth doing the work for if you're up to it! I always look forward to seeing what Olivie Blake comes up with, because somehow I know whatever he next book is I'll never see it coming.
Thank you to Olivie Blake and Tor Books (my beloved) for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!
Happy reading!
August 31, 2026
4.25 stars // perfect for fans of the tale of the last flower bride and the vegetarian. audiobook is a must. a book only Olivie Blake could’ve pulled off tbh
April 9, 2026
Absolutely not. I really think this is the last shot i’m giving Olivie Blake because this was really not good.
I think if you are incredibly intellectual like I know and can tell Blake is, then you might enjoy this. But, for the average reader who doesn’t want to analyze themes, this is a huge pass.
I’m actually so disappointed too because I thought, that if any Blake book was going to be 5 stars, it was going to be this one. I adore Hollywood centered stories and starlet and fame drama. Add a little bit of thriller on top and murders and this was a PERFECT recipe for me. And she had me in the first half she really did. But then it just got….weird….and confusing and Blake does the thing she usually does where she turns something simple and good into something incredibly convoluted and bad.
I was really liking the characters at first too, but those were ruined as well with choices and with the way the plot played out.
This was incredibly disappointing and I think I’ve read one to may bad Blake books. I’m done.
A generous 2/5.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I think if you are incredibly intellectual like I know and can tell Blake is, then you might enjoy this. But, for the average reader who doesn’t want to analyze themes, this is a huge pass.
I’m actually so disappointed too because I thought, that if any Blake book was going to be 5 stars, it was going to be this one. I adore Hollywood centered stories and starlet and fame drama. Add a little bit of thriller on top and murders and this was a PERFECT recipe for me. And she had me in the first half she really did. But then it just got….weird….and confusing and Blake does the thing she usually does where she turns something simple and good into something incredibly convoluted and bad.
I was really liking the characters at first too, but those were ruined as well with choices and with the way the plot played out.
This was incredibly disappointing and I think I’ve read one to may bad Blake books. I’m done.
A generous 2/5.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 21, 2026
Thanks to Netgalley and Tor for the pre-release copy of Olivie Blake's Dreamland. Below is my honest review.
This is a hard one to review because it was VERY convoluted at the beginning, which made it hard for me to get into. But I pushed through, and I'm glad I did. Turns out, it was weird and confusing with unlikeable characters, but also compelling to watch things fall apart.
I'm not really sure how to explain my feelings, because I was drawn to the circling of the drain that Anya seemed unable to shake - she was drawn to the chaos like a moth to a flame, and I was drawn to watching her sink further and further like the call of the void.
But again, no one was really likeable in this one. No one made me root for them, not even the tortured Julian, even though he was probably the one I rooted for the most, as much as I could, I guess.
What a weird, confusing, but even still, entertaining book. 3.5 stars rounded up.
This is a hard one to review because it was VERY convoluted at the beginning, which made it hard for me to get into. But I pushed through, and I'm glad I did. Turns out, it was weird and confusing with unlikeable characters, but also compelling to watch things fall apart.
I'm not really sure how to explain my feelings, because I was drawn to the circling of the drain that Anya seemed unable to shake - she was drawn to the chaos like a moth to a flame, and I was drawn to watching her sink further and further like the call of the void.
But again, no one was really likeable in this one. No one made me root for them, not even the tortured Julian, even though he was probably the one I rooted for the most, as much as I could, I guess.
What a weird, confusing, but even still, entertaining book. 3.5 stars rounded up.
June 30, 2026
(ARC) 4.75⭐️ I’ve found the next book that’s going to be VERY divisive. I already know people are either going to love it or absolutely hate it. I just happen to be firmly on the side of I LOVED THIS.
That said… I reallllllllly enjoy books that are disorienting and confusing as hell. This book is weird and so different, which just happens to work for me.
I also read her graphic novel right before this one & I think that helped put me on the same wavelength as the author. So my only suggestion would be to read her GN first…not because it’s necessary, but because I think it enhanced the experience for me.
This whole book felt like a bizarre fever dream, and the audiobook was FANTASTIC. I absolutely ate it up. Next.
That said… I reallllllllly enjoy books that are disorienting and confusing as hell. This book is weird and so different, which just happens to work for me.
I also read her graphic novel right before this one & I think that helped put me on the same wavelength as the author. So my only suggestion would be to read her GN first…not because it’s necessary, but because I think it enhanced the experience for me.
This whole book felt like a bizarre fever dream, and the audiobook was FANTASTIC. I absolutely ate it up. Next.
November 10, 2025
i usually love olivie but this book was a mess, i wish i knew what was going on for the most part!! there were some good moments of writing, but overall it was way too confusing, and i didn’t really care about the characters either
May 17, 2026
I'm always going to be interested in picking up a book by Olivie Blake because I find the way her brain works in the realms of storytelling, in terms of writing style and actual plots so very fascinating. There's just something about the way she writes in particular that tickles a part of my brain in just the right way to get me hooked, turning the pages to discover what'll happen next (despite Dreamland, for instance, not being my particular vibe in terms of genre) and determined to see things through to the very end. Dreamland might not have personally ended up being my cup of tea overall, but I can't deny that there's just something about an Olivie Blake work that will always lure me in as if it were a siren's call.
One of the things I've always appreciated whenever I dive into a new Olivie Blake is that her stories never feel the same in terms of theme, genre or style - and that makes it a riveting experience to tag along for. DREAMLAND certainly leans into horror and Hollywood; into mystery, murder and magic; into sequences that feel like very vivid, quite macabre hallucinations; into contemplations of what one is willing to do to gain power, to gain prestige, and to maintain those things. Did I have an idea of where things were headed the entire time? Yes. Did I still want to experience the heady, visceral prose as the story unfolded despite not necessarily loving what was happening on page? Also, yes. Did the book leave me feeling unsettled and uncomfortable? Definitely yes. Despite not quite enjoying this particular story Blake has written into existence, I simply could not tear myself away from the page (or in this case, my device) because I was simply curious as to what would happen next.
If you're into how Blake writes her tales, and you're open to any genre she chooses to explore, you'll have to add DREAMLAND to your reading list. There are still hallmarks of Blake's style - including the construction of her characters and plots and the exploration of specific themes - that will appeal to you as a reader, whether or not the actual novel ends up being your cup of tea in the end.
One of the things I've always appreciated whenever I dive into a new Olivie Blake is that her stories never feel the same in terms of theme, genre or style - and that makes it a riveting experience to tag along for. DREAMLAND certainly leans into horror and Hollywood; into mystery, murder and magic; into sequences that feel like very vivid, quite macabre hallucinations; into contemplations of what one is willing to do to gain power, to gain prestige, and to maintain those things. Did I have an idea of where things were headed the entire time? Yes. Did I still want to experience the heady, visceral prose as the story unfolded despite not necessarily loving what was happening on page? Also, yes. Did the book leave me feeling unsettled and uncomfortable? Definitely yes. Despite not quite enjoying this particular story Blake has written into existence, I simply could not tear myself away from the page (or in this case, my device) because I was simply curious as to what would happen next.
If you're into how Blake writes her tales, and you're open to any genre she chooses to explore, you'll have to add DREAMLAND to your reading list. There are still hallmarks of Blake's style - including the construction of her characters and plots and the exploration of specific themes - that will appeal to you as a reader, whether or not the actual novel ends up being your cup of tea in the end.
August 8, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25 | 4.25 stars rounded down
This grisly, gothic, fever dream of a book will almost certainly be incredibly polarizing, but I couldn’t get enough.
Dreamland follows Anya, a 20-something-year-old actress in LA, as she considers which line she'll cross to achieve her dreams - while reckoning with her idenitity as a white-passing mixed race woman in Hollywood.
This story leans into the question: "What if every single character is the most irredeeemable version of themselves?" Olivie Blake is so brilliant at writing charcters that are profoundly unlikable but impossible to look away from, and that is really epitomized in this book. I especially enjoyed how very compelling character studies are juxtaposed with poignant themes of the immigrant experience in America, racial identity, and the fetishization of East Asian women.
I loved how the structure of the book itself mimicked the raw footage of a film, with choppy, nightmarish, and confusing scenes routinely being interspersed with more coherent ones - only adding to the cinematic feel. Like all Blake books, the prose is beautiful and immersive.
Thank you so much to Tor for the advance copy!
This grisly, gothic, fever dream of a book will almost certainly be incredibly polarizing, but I couldn’t get enough.
Dreamland follows Anya, a 20-something-year-old actress in LA, as she considers which line she'll cross to achieve her dreams - while reckoning with her idenitity as a white-passing mixed race woman in Hollywood.
This story leans into the question: "What if every single character is the most irredeeemable version of themselves?" Olivie Blake is so brilliant at writing charcters that are profoundly unlikable but impossible to look away from, and that is really epitomized in this book. I especially enjoyed how very compelling character studies are juxtaposed with poignant themes of the immigrant experience in America, racial identity, and the fetishization of East Asian women.
I loved how the structure of the book itself mimicked the raw footage of a film, with choppy, nightmarish, and confusing scenes routinely being interspersed with more coherent ones - only adding to the cinematic feel. Like all Blake books, the prose is beautiful and immersive.
Thank you so much to Tor for the advance copy!
August 23, 2026
3.5/5 stars
this book honestly felt like a bit of a fever dream but in a good way! olivie blake and i have a bit of a rocky relationship when it comes to her books but i genuinely found this one incredibly bingeable and engaging
Olivie Blake did an amazing job of setting the scenes of this book, we got the unsettling vibes from start to end and i honestly ate it up. this book was so incredibly bingeable - i read it in 2 or 3 sittings! to make it better, it;s not a book that takes too long to get settled into - this author made the setup of our plot and setting super fluid while also not taking too long to do so.
admittedly, i did guess the plot twists pretty early on so it did take away a bit of the suspense - even so i still found it fun! it was just a different experience than the one that people who dont guess the twist will have
the narrators for this audiobook both did an incredible job voicing this book - there was also a lot going on in terms of characters, emotions and expected intonation and i genuinely found that they all delivered their parts perfectly. i would love to check out more of their works in the future :)
thank you to netgalley and macmillan audio for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in return for an honest and voluntary review!
this book honestly felt like a bit of a fever dream but in a good way! olivie blake and i have a bit of a rocky relationship when it comes to her books but i genuinely found this one incredibly bingeable and engaging
Olivie Blake did an amazing job of setting the scenes of this book, we got the unsettling vibes from start to end and i honestly ate it up. this book was so incredibly bingeable - i read it in 2 or 3 sittings! to make it better, it;s not a book that takes too long to get settled into - this author made the setup of our plot and setting super fluid while also not taking too long to do so.
admittedly, i did guess the plot twists pretty early on so it did take away a bit of the suspense - even so i still found it fun! it was just a different experience than the one that people who dont guess the twist will have
the narrators for this audiobook both did an incredible job voicing this book - there was also a lot going on in terms of characters, emotions and expected intonation and i genuinely found that they all delivered their parts perfectly. i would love to check out more of their works in the future :)
thank you to netgalley and macmillan audio for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in return for an honest and voluntary review!
December 31, 2025
Olivie Blake continuously impresses me with her ability to write uniquely themed and well executed stories. Dreamland is haunting, thrilling, and intoxicatingly grotesque. I couldn’t put it down. If you’re a fan of her books like I am, this one does NOT disappoint.
There’s this underlying question poised– can you survive the cost of your wildest dream? I could see this movie play out in my head which is exactly how she has it written to be (you’ll get it once you read it).
It’s a bit ambiguous at times but I think the ending perfectly encapsulated the frustration of not knowing all the details to every gothic story told and why we can’t know. I can’t wait to have the physical copy sit on my shelf!
There’s this underlying question poised– can you survive the cost of your wildest dream? I could see this movie play out in my head which is exactly how she has it written to be (you’ll get it once you read it).
It’s a bit ambiguous at times but I think the ending perfectly encapsulated the frustration of not knowing all the details to every gothic story told and why we can’t know. I can’t wait to have the physical copy sit on my shelf!
July 6, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5
Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC of Dreamland by Olivie Blake in exchange for an honest review.
Dreamland follows Anya, an aspiring actress chasing her Hollywood dreams. When she’s pulled into the orbit of the wealthy and mysterious de Witt family, she quickly realizes that beneath all the glamour lies something much darker. As strange events and brutal murders begin to unravel around her, Anya is forced to confront the unsettling truth behind the life she’s always wanted.
This book was…weird. 😅 In the best and worst ways. It felt like a fever dream from beginning to end, and there were definitely moments where I had no idea what was going on. The writing is pretty good and atmospheric, but the unconventional storytelling made it hard for me to stay fully connected at times.
I definitely had moments where I was asking myself, What is happening right now? but I never felt like giving up on it. I wanted answers, and the mystery kept me listening. The ending was wild and messy, but it matched the rest of the book. I didn’t really connect with the characters, though I think that was kind of the point
The audiobook narrators did a great job bringing the eerie, dreamlike atmosphere to life and made the experience more immersive.
Overall, this wasn’t a favorite for me, but I can definitely appreciate how unique and ambitious it was.
Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC of Dreamland by Olivie Blake in exchange for an honest review.
Dreamland follows Anya, an aspiring actress chasing her Hollywood dreams. When she’s pulled into the orbit of the wealthy and mysterious de Witt family, she quickly realizes that beneath all the glamour lies something much darker. As strange events and brutal murders begin to unravel around her, Anya is forced to confront the unsettling truth behind the life she’s always wanted.
This book was…weird. 😅 In the best and worst ways. It felt like a fever dream from beginning to end, and there were definitely moments where I had no idea what was going on. The writing is pretty good and atmospheric, but the unconventional storytelling made it hard for me to stay fully connected at times.
I definitely had moments where I was asking myself, What is happening right now? but I never felt like giving up on it. I wanted answers, and the mystery kept me listening. The ending was wild and messy, but it matched the rest of the book. I didn’t really connect with the characters, though I think that was kind of the point
The audiobook narrators did a great job bringing the eerie, dreamlike atmosphere to life and made the experience more immersive.
Overall, this wasn’t a favorite for me, but I can definitely appreciate how unique and ambitious it was.
August 28, 2026
4.5 ⭐️
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