I don't know what I was expecting, but it was not this book. It was dark, and imperfect as all stories are, but I was sucked in and could not put it down. The end seemed rushed.

Multiple trigger warnings.

Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I also won my first ever Goodreads contest and got an advanced paperback copy of this book.

This book was a wild ride. The moral of the story here is: when you're a freshman in college and come across a girl who is an enthralling, devil-may-care, party-fueled mystery, don't try to get in her orbit. Don't do whatever it takes to capture her attention and get her approval. The consequences may be bad.

Sloane "Sully" Sullivan is exactly that girl - a sultry, mysterious party girl who our protagonist, Ambrosia "Amb" Wellington would do anything to impress. Amb is a directionless girl from the suburbs of New Jersey who desperately wants to shed her boring, vanilla roots and be a certified cool girl. The only way she sees to do that is by being Sully's partner in crime, somewhat literally. Caught in the crosshairs of Amb and Sully's toxic relationship is Flora Banning, Amb's sweet, wholesome roommate with a loving long-distance boyfriend, who leaves encouraging Post-Its all around their hall and hosts movie nights for the other girls in their dorm.

The book takes place in two rotating periods of time, one during Sully and Amb's freshman year at Wesleyan, and one at their ten year college reunion. By that time, Amb is living in New York with her husband Adrian, attempting to put everything about Wesleyan behind her. Adrian knows nothing about Amb's college years, but when they return to campus for the reunion, Amb ushered on by threatening notes, he's about to find out much more than he bargained for.

Amb is a wholly unlikeable main character. Although I somewhat sympathize with her desire to be liked and cool - who doesn't feel that way sometimes? - she had no sense of boundaries or sense of self. Her actions caused awful outcomes, and then she just went on living her life with no repercussions. In some ways, the ending is super satisfying - the people who deserve their comeuppance definitely get it. It's hard to describe this book without giving too much away, so I'll just say that this is a very twisty page turner about toxic female friendships in college, and the very real damage they can do.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley!

*Thank you to NetGalley, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn and Simon & Schuster for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Previously reviewed at https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/the-girls-are-all-so-nice-here/

We’ve all heard the saying “Girls can be so mean,” but The Girls Are All So Nice Here takes “mean” to a new level.

Ambrosia “Amb” Wellington realizes from her first day at Wesleyan that her New Jersey accent and flashy clothing don’t fit in with the other girls. Her roommate, Flora, a blonde from Connecticut, is the very definition of a privileged student, the product of country clubs and private schools. What annoys Amb more is Flora’s positive attitude and her ability to make friends so easily, while Amb struggles to find girls to talk to. The only person interested in being her friend is Sloane “Sully” Sullivan, an outcast who plays people like a banjo in a scary movie.

Fast forward ten years and Amb Wellington has received an invitation to her tenth college reunion at Wesleyan. There is no question she will not attend. She has sworn to herself she will never go back. Now married to handsome Adrian, she lives a quiet life. The reader can sense she is disappointed in her marriage, but unwilling to do anything about it. When she receives the second invitation with an anonymous note attached; “We need to talk about what we did that night.” Amb’s life starts to unravel.

The Girls Are All So Nice Here weaves in and out through flashbacks of Amb’s freshman year at college and her ten-year reunion. Through an interesting cast of characters, we learn what a young college student will do to fit in. In Amb’s own twisty memory, we follow her cold calculating actions against Flora, manipulated by Sully’s promises and lies. Both Amb and Sully are hard to like. Even ten years later, there is no empathy for what their deceitful actions have caused. No remorse, only a willingness to not get caught. As the reader, you can’t help but feel you are watching a train wreck in slow motion.

The author is succinct in not letting readers get attached to any character. They are all mean in some way, ranging from snob to sociopath. She has taken every girls’ fears at going to college to a whole new level. I look forward to more from this Author.

Ambrosia has worked hard to veer away from her past at college....and for good reason. She struggled with wanting to fit in, which aligned her as a mean girl. This quick thriller bounced back and forth between present day, college reunion and some savage college flashbacks. Ambrosia receives a note saying: ‘we need to talk about what we did that night’ and from then on she’s left not knowing who to trust or what to do.

Heavy mean girl themes, toxic relationships, bullying, substance abuse and self harm. That being said I enjoyed the book and twists, the writing flowed nicely and the ending worked well for me though wasn’t necessarily surprising. I think I felt some of the present day characters to be a bit flat and wanted to know more about them.

PSA: Be kind.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley, for this digital ARC!

3.5/5

The Girls Are All So Nice Here by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn was definitely a twisty one that kept me guessing until the end. The mean girl in this one was the narrator of the story and it was a nice change to see things from her point of view, though not always comfortable. There was a lot of build up and the ending definitely was a surprise! The book was a little slow for me and on the darker side but I’m sure many will really like.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my review.

The trope of toxic girl friendships is one I generally enjoy. So the description of The Girls Are All So Nice Here hooked me in. Amb and Sully were best friends their freshman year of college until something terrible happened. Ambrosia Wellington wants to ignore the invitation to her ten year college reunion, but the threatening notes she receives make her go back to campus.

The mystery in this book was easy for me to solve, but the writing style kept me reading even though I was bored with the girls. The characters in this story all felt flat to me. I did not feel I really knew them or why they acted the way they did. Girls can be mean just to be mean, but not at the evil level Amb and Sully operate at. It also felt unbelievable that they had not matured past those behaviors fourteen years later. The story alternates between their freshman year of college and their ten year reunion. A lot of growth happens in those years. I just could not buy that in their thirties all these women still behaved as their eighteen year old selves. Character growth would have made this a more interesting read.

Overall this was a quick read. It is good for readers who enjoy stories that take place on college campuses, involve mean girls, and don't mind graphic descriptions of promiscuity. I understand from the publishers note in the ARC that this is a two book deal. I will be interested to read where the women go in the future.

This book grabbed me from the begining! Two college friends meet at a class reunion and the mystery of what happened to one of their roommates unravels. I suggest this book for anyone that enjoys thrillers.

Psychological thrillers are my favorite types of books, and The Girls are All So Nice Here didn't disappoint! You will cringe at some of the mean girl tactics described in the book, but clearly that is part of what the mystery of this story centers on based off the title. How far will the characters go to get revenge?
The tale is told alternating between now & ten years ago. And, as the story progresses, you begin to make connections between characters and events and things start to click a bit more & more. This book has plenty of twists to appeal to suspense lovers out there like me, if you can get past some unlikable characters.

With “The Girls Are All So Nice Here”, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn captures the anxieties and insecurities of young women and turns them into a deadly Hitchcockian thriller. It’s moody, twisty, and complex, and I loved it!

A college reunion brings two former best friends together and they quickly find that someone has revenge planned as the main event. “We need to talk about what we did that night.” Who could know what they did ten years before? And what are their plans for revenge?

This shocking psychological thriller about aspiration, lustful desire, complex characters, and very toxic female friendships. “The Girls Are All So Nice Here” is a masterful tale of longing, deception, and envy with deadly results. Flynn has created unlikable and flawed characters and I could not get enough!

Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and Laurie Elizabeth Flynn for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. ❤️️

The story was interesting enough but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I might have if I were younger... college-aged, or in the decade following. While the sex-filled days and nights of college life might interest some, for me, it was too much and took away from the story. The “mean girl” and diabolical attitudes of a couple of the characters, however, made the story worthwhile and I was interested in finding out how it ended. The final twist was not a surprise but it was also not a disappointment.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

College is such a crazy time for girls. You have newfound freedom, you want to fit in so badly, and you want to find the perfect guy. What lengths will some girls go to in order to secure these things? This is a fun read that takes you back to your youth while making you thankful you weren’t a mean girl - or hated by the mean girls!

I'm sure this book will have wide appeal for those in the younger set. It didn't take too many chapters for me to decide that it was not written with senior-aged readers in mind. Consequently, I did not finish it.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The writing itself with keep you pent up and turning pages. It does fit the bill of psychological thriller, but not one that you'll be happy about by the ending. Shall we say twisted? The story and characters are unlikeable, screwed up and you hope you've never met any of these people. Again this is a compliment to the author that I found it all so distasteful as am I sure that's the point. The writing is exceptional at a 5, but content and ending is deplorable at a 2. Not my cup of tea at all. If you can handle thrillers that leave you disturbed about the characters, then this book it definitely one you won't want to miss.
I was provided an advanced reader copy of this book and was under no obligation to provide a review. The opinions expressed are my own. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

Wow, what a great book! It’s like the movie Jawbreaker turned Dark Academia. It’s totally bananas in the best way, like Verity is bananas, with mean girls added for some spice.

Our MC Amb is invited to her 10 year college reunion. Let’s just say that her college memories weren’t all that cherished. She wouldn’t even go except for the notes that tell her that “they need to talk about what they did”. And so the ominous journey to her reunion begins. There’s a feeling of Amb being in tight control of the narrative at first, and then the control unravels slowly until at the end things just fly apart in a chaotic explosion.

I had no idea how this was going to end, I really was just as surprised as Amb when it all resolved and that’s my favorite kind of thriller ending.

If you like morally gray characters, unreliable narrators, dual timelines and a clever mystery that involves “did she or didn’t she?” Then you will love The Girls are All so Nice Here.

Thank you to @netgalley and @simonandschuster for a review copy. I am giving this review of my own accord.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat and left me with a pit in my stomach. I was hoping that Amb could find some sort of redemption, and I hate that Flora's rapist didn't face any consequences, but at the very least, this left me wondering who the culprit was until the end.

So I'm giving 3 stars because this novel was well-written and fast-paced and I HAD to know what happened to the pages just kept on turning. However, the protagonist, Ambrosia Wellington, isn't likable in the least. Not back in college at Wesleyan and not in the present as a PR person. I liked how the book switched back and forth between past and present in order to more fully formulate the story; I just couldn't get behind Amb. And no spoilers, but it doesn't hurt just to state that this girl was so wrapped up in her own insecurities and petty high school b.s. that she ended up befriending the meanest mean girl ever. And it's not like she didn't have friends before she met Sully. She just HAD to be a sheep and follow this sleezy, awful character down the worst road possible.

*Special thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.*

THE GIRLS ARE ALL SO NICE HERE
BY LAURIE ELIZABETH FLYNN

What a huge mistake I made by requesting this most dark and disturbing novel. I am a huge fan of Simon & Schusters novels that they publish but this one was not anything appealing to me. The publicist has high praise for this novel in the beginning of this novel about the worst side of humanity. I don't understand all of the hype about deeply disturbed character's and such a depressing narrative created by this author who the publicist praises and seems excited that this terrible and twisted story is so wonderful. I don't usually see a publicist praise a novel in the beginning and seem so excited that this author is optioned for a two book deal. Two author's that I like Samantha Downing and Megan Miranda advertise how great this book is by endorsing it's summary and giving it high praise. I totally disagree with them and I found this book to be so not inspirational or redeeming at all. This just wasn't for me and I realize that I am in the minority here but I am not going to lie and praise a novel that is totally sadistic even though it is highly endorsed and promoted to be a great book.

I am probably going to be blacklisted by Simon & Schuster for giving such a negative review. I have to be honest when I read a novel and it is a complete downer. I have not come across such content published by them before with such depraved character's. The book is all about revenge as its main theme. Maybe it is just me so by all means read this if you like dark and cruel characterization throughout the entire novel. I am not saying that flawed and unlikable character's determine a novel's appeal. I have loved many psychological thrillers with unlikable character's but in my opinion the novel must contain some character's that I admire to offset the bad ones. I did not enjoy this and it left me feeling like it lowered my mood.

It is about two main character's Ambrosia and Sully who purposely torture a nice and trusting fellow character on purpose. It takes place at Wesleyan which is a great college and respected institution. It alternates between the past in 2007 where two mean and twisted girl's purposely drive a decent and giving roommate named Flora to such despair that the mystery is whether she takes her own life or Sully murders her. This takes place in the alternate past chapter's while they are freshmen at Wesleyan in 2007. In the present it mostly takes place ten years later at a College reunion where Ambrosia is getting cryptic emails and notes from an unknown character who is pursuing Ambrosia to basically seek revenge on the role she played in destroying Flora. Ambrosia and Sully and Flora's boyfriend are attending the ten year reunion. They are being stalked about the roles that they played that resulted in Ambrosia's roommate's death. The premise didn't hint at it being so completely relentless in exploring jealousy, entitlement and twisted and cruel behavior perpetrated on such a kind and trusting character. Ambrosia and Sully have nothing redeeming about their character traits. They purposely torture Flora who has no idea that she is driven to the brink of such cruelty by these vicious and duplicitous main character's whose motives and actions are psychopathic as they don't have a conscious. Just because Flora is kind Amb and Sully display the worst examples of humanity that I have ever read about. I can't relate to such premeditated cruelty in the entire plot. There is not an ounce of remorse from the main character's and I do not find anything redeeming about the themes in this entire novel.

Publication Date: March 9, 2021

Thank you to Net Galley, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, and Simon & Schuster for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheGirlsAreAllSoNiceHere #LaurieElizabethFlynn #Simon&Schuster #NetGalley

“There would be an investigation, and it would open up a question nobody had thought they would ever have to answer: can you kill a girl without actually killing her?”

“The Girls Are All So Nice Here” was one that I just couldn’t put down. It draws you in from the first few pages, and it makes you need to know what actually happened and how it happened. I’m sure everyone has heard “kids can be mean” many times throughout their lives, and I’m sure many have said it themselves as they became adults. Girls especially can be very vindictive, and this novel shows just how bad it can get.

It had been said in the book as well, “words can kill”, and those words have never rang so true as it did in this.
Everything that you say can, and more than likely will, effect someone else more than you might think or realize. “The Girls Are All So Nice Here” will stick with me for a while, I’m sure. I enjoyed the story, and it kept me at the edge of my seat throughout. I do feel like the ending felt a little rushed, but it didn’t leave any loose-ends which I greatly appreciate. I would love to see more of Poppy and how things continued after.

Four stars from me! I can’t wait to see what else Laurie Elizabeth Flynn comes out with!

I finished January out with an easy FIVE STAR read! ‘The Girls Are All So Nice Here’ by @laurieelizabethflynn is an addictive, intense and CRAZY mean girls thriller. And these girls are MEAN- almost evil, girls you want to protect your own girls from.

Each chapter flip flops between past and present and this keeps you so hooked. Every chapter ends making you want more and I literally read this book in a matter of two days. The book is told through Ambrosia Wellingtons POV. I found this interesting because most books that involve a bully- the narration comes from the victim.

Ten years after college, Ambrosia believes her ugly past is behind her and she’s comfortable in her life. Unfortunately the past is not finished for her victims and their families. Ambrosia is invited to her college reunion and her husband encourages her to attend. Ambrosia expects the past to be brought up but she has no idea about the craziness that is going to occur all because of her past actions!

Two thoughts that kept going through my head while reading... 1.) When my daughter attends college I will be moving into the dorms with her (pretending I want to renew my education🤣). 2.) Every time I wear a choker and red lipstick💄I’m going to think of Ambrosia and Sully.

Five screaming stars for this beauty of a book. Huge thank you to @netgalley @simonandschuster @laurieelizabethflynn for the gifted copy. This beauty is released on March 9th!

This book did not grab my attention fast enough and I found myself having to force reading it. I didn’t connect with the characters and found a lot of the story to be redundant. I can’t put my finger on why this book was a dud for me, but it just was. 🤷‍♀️