When I started the book, I did not like it. I thought that it seemed to be addressed to a young audience. I have broadened my opinion since. It IS addressed to first-year college students, but also to anyone who has been in a position of power or the opposite, in a position of being bullied. Both attributes are widespread in schools: elementary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions. The consequences, in many of these cases, end up similarly: permanently scared people, the victims, the bystanders, and the bullies. I think this kind of book should be even more prevalent. The bullies SHOULD always get their just rewards. We need to shout from the rooftops that bullying and an abuse of power will just not be tolerated by our society, then, now, and in the future. I do hope that others read this book and inform their friends. After all, how hard is it to be nice to someone?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.
So many people were mean in this book, I wasn't sure who were actually good. Everyone knows just how cruel and bitchy girls/women can be, but this story takes that to a whole new level! We also know what boys/men can be like. Thinking with their anatomy and not with their heads or heart. I promise you will want to know what happens to all of these people in this book. And all it takes to figure everything out, is a Ten Year Reunion. Enjoy! 3.75 out of 5.

This was definitely one of those guilty pleasure reads. A lot of characters you really just didn’t like but could relate to on some level. A very small level.

This book is about mean girls. That is about it. The main character goes to her 10 year reunion and someone wants revenge for what happened in the past.

This book really shows how insecurities can translate into something else, something mean and hateful. It was hard to read at some points because you really hated how awful these girls were.

All in all it was a quick, guilty pleasure read and I would recommend it.

Thanks Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC. All opinions in this review are my own

I received an Arc of "The Girls Are All So Nice Here" from NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada and I absolutely loved this book. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down. It's a gripping thriller that left me feeling satisfied with a book hangover. It has been a while since I read a thriller that really capitvated my attention in this way.

Ambrosia Wellington (Amb) and Sloane Sullivan (Sully) become best friends in college but their friendship is not the typical relationship. Sully is dangerous, manipulative, toxic, and care-free. Amb is willing to do whatever it takes to keep their friendship alive and thriving, even if it means playing deadly mind games with other college girls.

Skip ahead ten years and Amb thinks her college days are behind her. She is happily married with all of her secrets hidden deep, and Sully's friendship ended long ago after one terrifying college incident. Amb has completely moved on with her life but when her ten year reunion comes around her past decisions are here for retribution. Somebody knows Amb and Sully's secrets and its time for them to pay. A letter stating "We need to talk about what we did that night" is going to haunt them until they return to the college where everything went wrong.

The college reunion will put Amb and Sully at the forefront where all of their secrets will be exposed and nothing will ever be the same for them. They were "mean girls" victimizing those around them and now they are the victims and they must try to figure out who is persuing them.

"The Girls Are All So Nice Here" was a clever, intoxicating, revenge story that holds nothing back. It's a mesmerizing psychological thriller with an unexpected twist at the end. It's a must read for those who love the thriller genre and perfect for book clubs. I am definitely planning on reading other books from the author Laurie Elizabeth Flynn. I loved this book and I can't wait to see what other psychological stories she has to offer. I love a mind bending plot and "The Girls Are All So Nice Here" was undoubtedly the perfect book.

Great storyline but very rambling. Engrossed myself in the story but soon found myself guessing the storyline and looking for the end. A great beach read to pass the time but less fulfilling than i had hoped.

The Girls Are All So Nice Here - Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
3.5/5

Thank you Simon & Schuster, Netgallery and the author for this ARC. This book will be published March 9, 2021.

Brief Synopsis:
Ambrosia Wellington just wants to fit in when she goes to college, so when she meets larger-than-life Sloane (aka Sully), she does everything to get her attention, even if it means hurting others. 10 years later, Ambrosia receives an invitation to their 10 year reunion with a note that says 'We need to talk about what we did that night'. When threats and notes keep popping up at the reunion, it becomes clear that someone wants revenge for what happened that night in first semester.

My Thoughts/Opinions:
Whoa...what a wild ride that was! The book alternates between the reunion and then Ambrosia's freshman year, which I really love in thrillers as it hooks me in right away trying to figure out how everything will piece together. The book dives in to female relationships and some of the emotional abuse and consequences that can occur when competition over popularity is involved. It was horrifying.
I found I was hooked in the beginning but then the book started to lose me a bit near the middle and end. Things were happening too quickly and I felt I wanted more background/development from the characters.

I'm giving it a rating of 3.5 stars. Was it worth a read? Yes, I think so if you want a shocking, psychological thriller. Will it be one of my top books of 2021? Unfortunately, I don't think so. BUT apparently it's been optioned for TV, which I think it could make one heck of a show!

This review will be on my instagram (@brindlebooklover) closer to the publication date.

Uh, wow!

I mean holy crap was this twisted. So very dark and twisted and in a completely good way because it kept me flipping the pages. Seriously, I finished the book in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down. It really is a much darker and twisted version of mean girls, which I equally hate and love.

Thank you so much to the publisher for the arc! also an author interview is going up on my blog soon💙✨

this book is beyond crazy, I loved reading how the plot unfolded and following the main character's journey. I'm typically not one to love books that have frequent flashbacks, and although I'll admit it was a little confusing at first, the book settled into a nice rhythm towards the middle.

I think the ending could have been a little more developed, in terms of the ending and tying up loose ends.


Overall, a really well-written book and thriller would recommend to those who enjoy books set in the college atmosphere and environment and that deal with cliques and "mean girls".

On Wednesday’s, we Review Pink!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley for this ARC!

This was a phenomenal, chilling and addictive debut by Canadian author, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn!

It had a dark and disturbing Mean Girls vibe to it and ended up being everything I didn’t know I ever wanted and needed in a book! This type of genre is easily my new kryptonite!

I really enjoyed how the story was told by weaving between the current day reunion and the past of Amb’s freshman year. I also appreciate a good love to hate protagonist. I was fully immersed in Amb’s story and the journey felt so realistic.

This book takes a dark dive into the complexities of relationships, deep insecurities and toxic friendships. It poetically explored just how far some people are willing to go for approval, and ultimately, how far, is too far?

It was scandalous, unsettling, and twisted, which kept me hooked until the very end. While I’m left still questioning how I feel about the ending, it was shocking nonetheless!

If you enjoyed Pretty Little Liars or I Know What You Did Last Summer, then this book is for you!

“For every girl who got what she wanted at a cost she couldn’t afford”

4 amazing stars to the girls that are actually not so nice.

Think Mean Girls, but 50 times darker and twistier.

Ambrosia Wellington gets an invite to her college reunion but she doesn't want to go. But when she receives a note that's more menacing and personal, she knows she has to because Ambrosia wasn't a nice girl in college. She has secrets of her own that she hasn't told anyone, not even her husband. So when she wounds up going to her college reunion, secrets slowly unravel and Amb is taken back to the night that changed her life. But the girls are so nice here, aren't they? Someone is after Amb, sending her more notes, but who? What do they want? Told with alternating timelines, Amb takes us through a journey of her freshman year and her college reunion, making us feel like students ourselves who went to school with her.

This book deals with some heavy content matter so beware before reading. Flynn crafts an explosive psychological thriller that dives into the depths of female friendships, what they think they are owed and how far they will go to get what they want. Mean girls being mean, and nice girls trying to fit in. This book has it all.

I was immediately hooked from the very first page and I knew from the beginning that I would fall in love with this book, and it's really hard not to. Our narrator Ambrosia, well let's just say she's a very complicated person. She's one of those narrators that you love at first, then you hate her, then you love her again. It's an ongoing cycle. You sympathize with her, but then you wanna give her a good wack. Questionable choices, questionable friendships.

It's not that we don't know that something happened, we do, but we don't know what. And as we follow along with Amb, we slowly begin to see the manipulation and mind games that lie at the core of this novel. We see the power that young girls hold once they realize that it's in their grasp. But even after we find out what happened, it's what's after it that's shocking. The amazing thing about this novel is that we think we know what the narrator gives us, but we really really don't. We don't know the full story until the very last thrilling page.

This sounds like your usual mean girls story, but it's not. It's very different for reasons you have to find out for yourself. Flynn captures the essence of mean girls and toxic friendships in such a dark and wonderful way, it's hard to tear yourself away from the story. The twists are plenty, the pacing is perfect and the story never gets boring. You can't help but find yourself flipping past the pages till the very last one. This is a psychological thriller with shocking revelations that you won't want to miss. A spectacular job by Flynn and I cannot wait to watch this show and see what she comes up with next.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me with an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Did I love Laurie Elizabeth Flynn The Girls Are All So Nice Here, no. Was I able to put it no. Did this Psychological thriller have me guessing what these mean girls did, yup! So, mission accomplished Flynn. She wrote a riveting novel of about bullies and being bullied. That story of about trying to fit in then re-inventing yourself when one leaves high school and begins the college journey.
The hard part for me was that there were no real likable characters, who do you root for? If this was a movie it would have had a much better ending, it fell flat for me. The book did not live up to its title.

Thank you #netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a page turner of a book. I could not put it down. All of the characters had some redeeming qualities and some awful actions that defined them for years to come. I am still not sure about the ending but WOW.

Wow that was one crazy read and I loved it .

Ambrosia reluctantly accepts an invitation to her 10 year college reunion.

She should have known better as 10 years ago she was not the nicest person and her cohort Sully was no better.

Together they were bad news and their relationship was toxic and destructive.

How could anyone trust them, they were only out for themselves .

Now at the reunion they both are receiving threatening notes that are looking for revenge.

I don't want to say more, I would hate to give anything away but I will say I did not see that ending coming at all.

A jaw dropping ending that will leave you speechless .

It would make a great book club book and movie.

Put this book to the top of your TBR pile, you won't regret it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada, Simon and Schuster for a book I wont forget anytime soon.

Synopsis: Amb and Sully were pretty wild when they were in university and played games where one girl paid the ultimate price. Amb is now living a quiet life with her husband in their cramped apartment in NYC when she gets an email from her old university about a 10 year reunion along with an anonymous letter that says “we need to talk about what we did that night.” The secrets of Amb’s past aren’t as buried as she’d like them to be. Amb can’t stop fixating on what she did with her former best friend, who could make anyone do anything. At the reunion, Amb and Sully receive increasing menacing messages and it’s becoming clear that they’re being targeted by someone who wants more than just the truth about what happened that night. This person wants revenge and they will stop at nothing to get it.

My review: This book was absolutely incredible! I love how the book alternated between the past and present and how there were twists everywhere! The girls were all so beautifully crafted and seemed so real! I literally couldn’t put put this book down. You get so trapped inside the games that Amb and Sully played and need to know how it is going to end. The ending of this book completely shocked me and I did not see it coming, if you want a book that you can’t put down, this is the book for you. Life - death - secrets - justice - this book has it all. Now tell me, are you a good girl?

I love a good villain, and this book gave me several.
The characters are what really drove this story for me.
It's highly addictive getting sucked into their fuckery.
Thanks goes to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for my DRC.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and to #NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book to read it in exchange for an honest review.

The girls here are all so nice…..or ARE they??

This was a dark, edge-of-your-seat read with many twists and turns that made it hard to put it down.
A true representation of past actions affecting the outcome of one’s future.
My hat goes off to the author for creating such interesting and yet loathsome characters.

I look forward to reading more of what Laurie Elizabeth Flynn has to offer.

O.M.G. That is all I can say about this book.

We start off meeting Ambrosia Wellington who has been invited to her college reunion along with her husband Adrian and doesn't want to go. Normally, it's because you don't speak to anyone from school because you've grown apart. Ambrosia, however, did something sinister her first year of college that has haunted her since. Her, along with her ex friend Sully keep receiving these cryptic messages about what really happened that faithful night and this basically forces her to explore what went on back then and how someone knows what she did.


This book gave me so many creepy vibes and really made me not want to put this book down! It was so thrilling that I NEEDED to know what had happened and that climax did not disappoint. Having gone to university and lived that life, some of the themes found in this book were kind of traumatic for me as I had heard of stories of this and having known people that this had happened to. There are some dark themes throughout this book, but it made me feel bad for the characters and gave me a new found respect for one character in particular: Flora, Ambrosia's roommate.

All in all, this is one of those books that I will be recommending to all of my family and friends who love a good thriller and love to read a book in one sitting, because thats what this book entails. I could not put it down and those are the best kind of books!

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada and NetGallery for this ARC in exchange for a honest review.

College is supposed to be the time of your life. For making lifelong friends and memories, for getting an education in and out of the classroom. For Amb, it was all that, and more. But she left it behind once she finished school. She got a job, got married, and didn't want to go to the reunion.
She couldn't stay away. Pulled back to see Sully, and to try and figure out what was happening with those notes that kept arriving, both girls have to confront their past. A past Amb has hidden from her husband.

Flashing between Now and Then, we stay with Amb as she arrives at college and takes on the biggest acting gig of her life - fitting in with a new crowd. Sully is there to pull her into her orbit, and the two of them take on the school in a wild binge of parties, drugs, and boys. "They're bad. We're worse"
Now, Amb wants nothing to do with this. She doesn't want her husband to know her past because she's not even certain of it all herself, and what she does know, she can't admit to.

A twisted read that took me a few chapters to get into, but once I was, couldn't put it down.

Ambrosia gets pulled back into her university days as she reluctantly attends a reunion. She wants secrets to stay hidden, and as the plot unfolds, she realizes exactly how much she should have stayed away
Great read! As the plot develops, the reader is left with more and more questions than answers. I absolutely loved the ending! Highly recommended!

* I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada in exchange for my honest review

Ever wonder how the Mean girls operate? Ever wonder what the Other woman is really thinking? Laurie Elizabeth Flynn boldly pursues the unpopular perspective of an anti-protagonist in The Girls are Just So Nice Here. As may be the case with any antisocial character, college freshman Ambrosia Wellington has had her share of youthful disappointments. Her boyfriends leave or cheat, her friends are insincere, and she sees herself as mediocre. It’s not what happens to us but what we choose to do about it that defines us. And in Amb’s case, she uses all her past experiences as the worst excuses to perpetrate hateful, cruel and destructive behaviour. In an ongoing effort to impress the dorm’s most flamboyant and unscrupulous co-Ed, Ambrosia turns on her chronically good-natured roommate, with devastating consequences. I couldn’t look away from this train wreck. I found myself unable to detach from the unfolding disaster, like a loose piece of shrapnel caught under the wreckage. There is an undeniable forward momentum but it’s not so much propulsive as it is repulsive.

It’s stomach churning to watch the women cannibalizing others with their jealousy, lies, and manipulation. The author deserves credit for bravely placing this ugly, and unfortunately real, side of human nature on display for us to acknowledge and dissect. Told in dual timeframe, flashing back and forth between that freshman year and the group’s ten year reunion, Ambrosia’s impending comeuppance kept me engaged as an otherwise reluctant witness to her unforgivable performance.

(I am grateful for the opportunity to review this NetGalley ARC.)