"The girls are all so nice here," Wesleyan University students write in their letters home to their families. And it's certainly true for some of the girls, who do form lifelong friendships and look out for each other. But it's certainly not the case for the novel's narrator Ambrosia "Amb" Wellington, whose desperation to escape her small town roots leads her to team up with Sloane "Sully" Sullivan, a cruel girl who plays with her classmates' desires and weak points for her own amusement.

Their friendship's schemes come to a head when Amb has a meet-cute with Kevin, the long-time boyfriend of Amb's too-nice, too-trusting roommate Flora. Amb decides she and Kevin are better suited for each other, and Sully helps her plan how to win him for herself. Later in the novel, Amb reflects,

 Because it was never just about the boy. It was about the girl standing in the way of the boy. Maybe it had been about her the entire time. [66%]

Indeed, Amb's fighting for Kevin has less to do with her actual attraction for the boy than with her desire to tear Flora down for being too perfect. The scheme goes horribly, tragically wrong. Fast forward to Amb and Sully's ten-year college reunion, and an invitation to the reunion comes with the mysterious card in the mail that says "You need to come. We need to talk about what we did that night." The novel is told in alternating chapters, from Amb's time in college and her time at the ten-year reunion with her husband Adrian, both storylines coming to a head with a reckoning for what Amb and Sully did all those years before.

The Girls Are All So Nice Here is dark, and not in a gleeful, Gone Girl kind of way, where the horrible heroine is so charismatic that you can't help but be drawn into her orbit. Rather, the novel just feels bleak, Amb's downward spiral in college, from spite to cruelty to whatever lies beyond that, is hard to stomach. Her friendship with Sully is just plain toxic, and even though we're in Amb's head for pretty much the entire novel, it's hard to truly feel sympathy for her. 


That being said, it's hard to wish for her to be punished either. The author sows just enough doubt throughout the novel that we don't actually find out what happened until later in the book, and even then, it's tough to know just how complicit Amb actually is in what happened. Her present-day struggles with her husband Adrian straddles an equally delicate line where she's so miserable in her life that it's hard to hate her, but Adrian's also so nice and she's treating him so shoddily that it's hard to sympathize with her either. 

I read the book pretty quickly. It's a taut, exciting page turner, and the mysteries, with all the twists, turns, and revelations, kept me hooked from beginning to end. Flynn is a good writer, and there's no doubt she crafted a really good thriller.

But the book is bleak. We do get a big reveal at the end, and a kind of justice, but by that point, all the major players are just so toxic and consumed by hatred that it's hard to cheer them on, or feel any sort of release. 

Amb's roommate Flora is depicted as a too-sweet, too-nice person who wholeheartedly trusts people and considers Amb her best friend, despite all the crap Amb says and does behind her back. In a way, she is the nicest of the girls, and there are parts where the book seems to show us that Amb is wrong in her assessment of Flora. Despite her niceness, Flora is a regular girl, not some perfect paragon, and her kindness means something important to their other classmates. It's what many of the other characters seem to believe, and certainly what I want to hold on to. 

But ultimately, and to me, sadly, the book seems to embrace Amb and Sully's more cynical outlook of the world. "She'll have me to help her grow the armor she'll need," a character thinks about a baby girl at one point in the novel. "I'll make damn sure she wears it." It's a heart-breaking sentiment to have to think about a three-month-old child, but that's the point the book seems to hammer into us throughout, and the thought it leaves behind when we turn the final page. 

It's a good book. Just: take some time to care for yourself after reading it.

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Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for an egalley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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This review will go live on my blog on Mon, March 22, at 8 am ET.

I would give this a 3.5/5 but going to round down to a 3/5. I did become more invested after about 50% of the book but I felt that I really wanted more from the ending and the characters.

This started as a slow burn psychological thriller but eventually sped up until it went a bit too fast. The narrative is by the FMC, Amb, and it alternates between the past, during her freshmen year when the “event” occurred and the present, at the 10 year reunion. Initially we are just hinted that something horrible happened that she was involved in until the event is eventually revealed just over 50% into the book. Once the event is revealed you become a bit more interested in what is happening and the book does speed up. Different points of views and facts are revealed, questioned asked and it all leads to the finale. The finale, which, unfortunately, was pretty predictable and anticlimactic.

However, from 50%-95% the book really captured your attention. I found that as the climax was occurring I was looking to see if the book really only had a few more pages left. I think I was just looking for more elaboration or a bit more explanation for everything. Especially with the past/original event, I would have loved a flash back scene or something to see what actually occurred that night. Or even a different point of view of that night. I feel like it was very superficial and we never really did get that satisfaction of knowing what happened, or even the real motivation.

I think this is a great read-on-vacation type book: easy to read, don’t need to think or focus too much on what is happening and can just enjoy it for what it is.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book to review. This review is my own opinion.

Why do I keep reading books about mean girls? Why is reliving my own trauma so fascinating to me? Yet here I am, on the edge of my seat unraveling the mystery of these mean girls ahead of their college reunion. Trying to figure out what they did. Or who they did it to.

Ambrosia is not a nice girl. And her commentary is biting. But in that fascinating I-can't-look-away kind of way. You know things aren't going to end up well for her, or anyone really, but you can't help but keep reading, feeding into it. Her relationship with Sully was exhilarating and dangerous. Again, you know it's not going to end well but you can't help but hang on their every word and action.

As far as the suspenseful mystery goes, I thought that was one of the weaker parts. On paper it's twisty, but it wasn't that much of a shocker and the big reveal felt a little like a cliché villain twisting his mustache as he watched his whole plan unfold. I did like the very end, though, and where everyone ended up. That felt very satisfying.

Also - we need more college-based books. The college years here are flashbacks, so it's kind of straddling that line, but I love it and it fills an empty space on my shelf.

When I started reading, I thought this as going to be another we were bad in College, at our 10 year reunion, we all talked it out-everything's fine now. Boy was I wrong!!! I lost sleep reading this book. Nothing is like you expect-in a great way. This is a straight forward look at how some things people do can cause irreparable damage to others. At this 10-year reunion some former students find out the hard way that Karma is a bitch. I would highly recommend this story. warning some triggers. I received this book for free and I am voluntarily leaving my review.

Where to start? I just finished this book, and to be honest, my head is still spinning a bit from this one.

First, let’s talk about the plot. This book follows the story of a group of college freshmen, (or is it “freshwomen”?) as the main protagonists we meet are female. These girls, young women more appropriately, are a mixed bag of nice and nasty, largely skewed to the latter. Competitiveness, jealousy and spitefulness abound, and the plot descends into truly ugly levels of venom, as the campus queens party, connive, bully and plot against each other mercilessly throughout their first year of college.

In a neat literary device, the author has the chapters alternate the story’s timeline between “then” and “now” . In this way, we also meet the pack ten years later, preparing to return to campus for a reunion that we learn threatens to expose a crime/mystery that has haunted the protagonists from their early campus days and will slowly be revealed to us, with plenty of twists and turns along the way.

Next, the characters. Yuck. I can’t say I’ve ever met a colder or more unappealing bunch of women than this book depicts. Like the “mean girls” we all knew in high school, but on steroids. The few and far-between nice girls, on the other hand, I found to be pretty insipid, so it was hard to feel much affinity with anyone in this book.

Overall, I end up settling on a three star rating.

On the plus side, the author is very talented, and the tension/plot ebbs and more ebbs (very little except ebbs here) made it difficult to put this one down. But on the other hand, I was not entirely happy with the ending, (it felt contrived to me), and I found the overall reading experience mired in these people just so darn unpleasant.

A bunch of really great turns of phrasing are also worth calling out:

🖋 “I wanted to pick off her niceness like a scab, certain there was something bloody underneath it.”

🖋 “There was a danger in being too soft in a world tat required a protective coating.”

🖋 “The real power didn’t come from being wanted. It came from not wanting anything back.”

🖋 “Nothing solidifies a group like casting someone out and having a common enemy.”

🖋 “I fought to make myself look flawless. She fought to get people to see under the flawless veneer.”

A big thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, Simon and Schuster Canada, and the author, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, for an advance review copy of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

Take The Secret History, add a sprinkle of Mean Girls and a scoop of Heathers and you have the dark and delightful The Girls Are All So Nice Here.

Amb and Sully were ‘best friends’ as freshman in college. They haven’t spoken in years, but approaching their 10 year reunion, they both receive a ominous note that reads “We need to talk about what we did that night.” Told in alternating timelines between freshman year and the reunion, we learn just how mean these girls were and what really happened that night in question. They may think they’ve escaped their past, but someone’s discovered their secrets and it out for revenge.

I absolutely loved this book. I love a well- crafted dark character you love to hate and Flynn delivers. The dialogue is punchy, the characters captivating and the plot quick and full of surprises. And the ending !! Keeping it spoiler free, let’s just say it was the perfect ending and one I did not see coming.

I highly recommend adding this one to your #tbr!

Thank you to @simonschusterca and @netgalley for the gifted ecopy.

** note this book tackles heavy content and I encourage readers to check out trigger warnings in advance **

“Sully was there for my worst moments, but the worst moments only existed because of her.”

I have been looking for a good psychological thriller to sink my teeth into lately and it looks like I found the perfect fit for my reading life right now.

A campus thriller featuring the ultimate mean girls vs. good girls theme, Ambrosia is at her 10 year College reunion during which she and her old sidekick, Sully, try to figure out who has sent them some eerie notes about an event that occurred 14 years ago.

Through well developed characters and dialogue, the author reminds the reader that the words you say can be as harmful as the actions you take. The alternating time lines notched up the tension to the point where I didn’t want to put this book down.

Suspenseful and exhilarating, The Girls are All So Nice Here dives deep into toxic relationships, campus life and the insecurities of women.

Thank you to @netgalley and @simonschusterca for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Girls Are All So Nice Here publishes March 9, 2021.

3.5/5 stars

The Girls Are All So Nice Here is a psychological thriller.

The book alternates chapters between Then and Now. The narrator is Ambrosia/Amb (1st person POV).

The past chapters take place Ambrosia's first year of college. And the now chapters are the present where Ambrosia has been invited to her 10 year college reunion.

I don't love the back and forth between the past and the present. I understand why the author chose to write the book this way. But it's just not my preference.

In the past we see Ambrosia and her college roommate Flora. And we see a bunch of drama that occurred between them, Flora's boyfriend Kevin, and another girl in their dorm Sully.

This book was a quick easy read. And there were some surprising developments. But overall I was hoping that there would be more shocking reveals.

While reading the book I was definitely curious to see how things would end. The end was decent. But the most intriguing part for me was the epilogue. That was definitely my favorite part of the book.

Overall, this was an enjoyable thriller. But I think that it would be amazing for anyone who doesn't see any of the reveals coming.

I was so excited to read this one! I loved the premise and the boarding school aspect. Unfortunately this one didn’t work for me. I hated the writing style and found everhthing so frustrating. A DNF for me.

The Girls Are All So Nice Here is Flynn’s first foray into adult fiction from YA. If you’re a fan of 90s thrillers then I think you are going to dig this one. It has a Wild Things meets I Know What You Did Last Summer vibe. I couldn’t help imagining Neve Campbell and Jennifer Love Hewitt as the leads while I read.

The novel follows Ambrosia aka Amb in two timelines, “Then” and “Now.” In “Now,” she’s married in her early 30s living in Manhattan. She receives an invitation to her 10 year college reunion along with a threatening handwritten note a la “I know what you did.” We follow her during the lead up to the reunion and over the course of the 3 day reunion weekend. The “Then” section covers the first three months of Amb’s freshman year at college, her relationship with her new manic and dangerous BFF, Sully, their collective downward spiral and the crime they are accused of committing.

The overall story is very derivative of many other books and films so if you enjoy these types of titles you will love this one. What’s really different about this novel is that it explores toxic femininity. This isn’t just petty mean girl stuff, this book showcases truly manipulative and destructive behavior. I think these characters are really going to polarize readers. I like a grimey girl character BUT I need to understand her intentions. I wished Flynn had given more backstory to Sully (why is she so nuts!) and provided more narrative around how Amb went from a typical co-ed to a sex-obessed narcisst. I just found the transition from “good” to “bad” a bit bumpy.

In this dual timeline, we meet Ambrosia Wellington (Amb) and Sloane Sullivan (Sully). They are the darker version of Mean Girls at college. They use people for their own pleasure and enjoyment, without any guilt. We flip between then and now, when they both have gone their own ways but receive a note with their 10-year reunion invitation "We need to talk about what we did that night." They both head to the reunion, not knowing what to expect, hoping that the secrets from the past stay buried. But when the games you play become matters of life and death, it isn't so easy....

Wow! I loved this book and couldn't put it down. It is so dark and twisted, I hated Amb, but could still relate to her in some ways, in the need to belong, especially in your teenage years. Her and Sully treated people like crap but somehow were the "cool" ones. It shows the pressures that women face in our male-dominated society and the pressures women face to fit in. Some people obviously take it all too far. I enjoyed their college timeline better because that's where everything happens, and we follow them in the present day, trying to figure out who knows about what happened that night...

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys thrillers. This is Flynn's debut and she is Canadian.

CW: pretty much all of them, I don't want to spoil the plot but just know that there is a lot of heavy and dark subject matter

4.5/5 rounded up to 5.

Thank you to SImon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for the eGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Girls Are All So Nice Here effectively alternates between present and past. The writing is descriptive and captivating. It turns out that the girls at Wesleyan really aren’t very nice at all. Maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise; human nature is human nature. What is horrifying, however, is just how not nice some girls are.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this ARC.

A fast paced story about a two mean girls who take things too far. Told from the one of the mean girls perspective,  the reader learns that some people really never change. 
If you enjoy toxic friendship psychological thrillers you'll enjoy this book. It just didn't do it for me. I prefer being able to find some redeeming qualities in the characters but these girls are just awful people.
Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for this ARC.

The Girls Are All So Nice Here is a juicy, yet oh so twisted read that focuses mainly on destructive friendships and the age old tale of “keep your friends close and enemies closer”. This novel had syrupy writing that just flowed easily. Somehow Flynn created and described characters that were just so bad, that I couldn’t stop reading (no matter how horrified I was). At times I felt a nod to the teenage dramas that are a guilty pleasure of so many- a sprinkle of Gossip Girl, and the twists a la Pretty Little Liars- albeit more toxic and unfortunately realistic at times.

Please note, this novel contains subject matter that could be quite triggering and disturbing to readers. If you do not enjoy books that focus on the brutal extremes of female bullying (and sensitive subjects usually related), this is not the book for you.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada and Laurie Elizabeth Flynn for the chance to read this ARC, I was very excited to receive this novel!

3.5/5

I read this book in one day. Couldn’t put it down!

The Girls Are All So Nice Here by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn is a mystery thriller with two timelines. One takes place during the 10th anniversary reunion of a group of college students, when they return to campus and are faced with the consequences of their actions from freshman year. The second timeline flashes back to freshman year.

Events kick off at the start of the novel when the main character, who has no intention of attending the reunion, receives a message: “We need to talk about what we did that night.” Needless to say, she goes and things unfold from there.

The mystery has lots of twists and turns and reveals itself at a very compelling pace. Did I mention I read this in one day? It’s a fast read, which is a good sign for a thriller. The alternating timeline allows the author to end the chapters on cliffhangers that propel you forward into the story. I really liked that. (Doesn’t everyone?)

Even more, however, I really loved the way Flynn captured the relationships between the female characters. She really understands the complexities and contradictions of female friendship. While the characters weren’t terribly likeable or trustworthy, I definitely understood their behaviour. The events of the book were a little far-fetched, but the characters were so well-drawn that I was completely on board.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for providing this advance reader copy. I highly recommend it.

Flynn is an author from London, Ontario. She has written three teen novels under the name L. E. Flynn, but this is her first adult novel. This psychological thriller is set in the USA. We meet Ambrosia, who is married to Adrian. She has been invited to her 10-year college reunion and although very reluctant to go, she and Adrian do end up there. The story alternates between the reunion and Ambrosia's first year at the college. There, under the influence of her friend Sully, she did things she is now very ashamed about and she has kept all this from Adrian. Notes and emails keep arriving during the reunion and it is clear someone wants revenge for things that happened back then. The story is ultimately about mean girls who manipulate others to get what they want and eventually go too far. This is a great recommendation for fans of the genre as long as they are okay with unlikable characters.

This book was HIGH on my TBR list for the month of March, The writing, the storyline, the characters, all of this was so beautifully tied together. Amb and Sully were relatable characters for many I am sure. As a Mom of a teen daughter this book tied together the words I share so often with her , be KIND, choose kindness and choose your words carefully, once you have said them, they have powerful consequences,

This book was fast paced and I was able to read in 48 hours , could have been faster if only I didn't have other responsibilities. I was sad when the book ended.

This book was absoutely 5 STARS! I loved this story SO much!

“Together we ruled. Our realm unfurled, grassy campus and its tangle of parties. We marked the territory as our own, matchstick legs capped in sharp heels striking the ground, mouths witchy with lipstick and upturned with laughter. There were boys whose names I forgot, boys I might have passed by and not known were ever inside me. When I did pick a king, the crown was too heavy for his head.

Flynn’s adult fiction debut, “The Girls Are All So Nice Here” alternates between narrator Ambrosia “Amb” Wellington’s chaotic freshman year at Wesleyan College and the present, where she is invited to the Class of 2007’s ten-year reunion. Amb reluctantly attends the reunion with her husband, terrified about the events and secrets of her first year surfacing as she walks right back into the past and, once again, into the orbit of her former best friend.

This is a novel about toxic female friendships and how a smart, easily bored, manipulative young woman, like Sloane “Sully” Sullivan, has a magnetic pull, playing vicious emotional mind games and bending insecure, vulnerable characters to her will. Amb yearns for the freedom of spirit Sully seems to possess, and Sully’s demands upon her friend are incredible as their connection spirals out of control.

Here are entitled college students who will stop at nothing to get what they want, even if it involves causing damage to anyone caught up in their maelstrom. They are heedless of the consequences of their actions; there were consequences during the year at college and there will be consequences at the reunion. Ten years is a long time to wait, when you’re planning the perfect revenge.

“The Girls Are All So Nice Here” is dark and deftly plotted. Flynn’s imagery is sharp and vivid and her portrayal of the codependent friendship between Amb and Sullly gives the novel its fraught and mysterious centre. “The Girls Are All So Nice Here” is an intense study of a very female torture.

A huge thank you to @NetGalley and @simonschusterca for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! The chapters were so short and it was an amazing time shifting perspective. I would recommend it to any of my friends who love thrillers.

I could not put this one down! This is a dual-timeline book that focuses on the story of Ambrosia, whose ten-year college reunion is coming up, and it's the last place she wants to return. Ambrosia's college years were one of self discovery, trying to fit in and doing everything you shouldn't and dealing with the consequences. The current time line focuses on the reunion itself and how she's dealing with the fall out. Her husband is in the dark and there are many characters in play. I was a little disappointed with the ending but the toxic friendships and manipulation was well written. Loved it.