Cover Image: The Girls Are All So Nice Here

The Girls Are All So Nice Here

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Member Reviews

This is a dark read with some interesting and infuriating characters! Amb is desperate to fit in at her posh new college, and ends up being taken under the wing of bad girl Sully. Although we know things are not going to end well, this is a very readable book with several juicy twists. The end is perhaps a bit over the top, and I wasn't always completely convinced by the characters, but overall this is a very readable and enjoyable book.

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I chose to read and review a free eARC of The Girls Are All So Nice Here which has in no way influenced my review.

I wanted to read this book because I'm struggling a little with my reading mojo at the moment and I was looking for something different to my usual fayre (of police procedurals and blood soaked horror). I was keen to shake things up a little and oh boy, this book was a perfect pick! The Girls Are All So Nice Here is an intoxicating tale of obsession and manipulation which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Ambrosia 'Amb' Wellington is ready to do whatever it takes to fit in at college: the exclusive Wesleyan. Her dream is to become an actor so she knows how to change her personality to fit in. She's been doing it throughout her high school career so it's no big deal. When she meets Sloane 'Sully' Sullivan, Sully's charisma pulls Ambrosia into her web. Sully is different to everyone she knew back home and Amb can't get enough of her magnetism. Ambrosia is desperate to stay in Sully's orbit, she craves her approval, so transforms herself into Sully's mirror image. But Sully is a deeply troubled young woman whose constant manipulations push Ambrosia to the limit. Reunited for the 10 year reunion, will Sully's hold over Ambrosia still be as strong? And what exactly did happen that fateful night...?

Wow! Some of the characters in The Girls Are All So Nice Here are truly horrible people but I couldn't help but enjoy their darkness (just a little). The author has created some devastatingly cruel and vindictive characters and I lapped it up! I found Ambrosia to be a fascinating character who, despite not being solely responsible for her actions, seemed happy enough to accept her new life and just go along with everything Sully suggested. I still haven't worked out if she's just insanely needy or if she arrived at Wesleyan with a dark streak of her own.

The story is told in the past - leading up to the devastating event which changed the lives of those living in Butts C - and the present - as Ambrosia reluctantly prepares to attend the 10 year reunion with her husband. Amb believes she's not the same person she was in college, she doesn't want to return to Wesleyan (she certainly doesn't want her husband to discover her secret!) and refuses to even consider the reunion. Until an anonymous card arrives telling her she must attend as 'they' need to talk about what they did that night. I really enjoyed the flashbacks to 2007, and watching as Ambrosia's present-day, perfect life began to unravel as the truth of that fateful night started to take hold. I found everything about the book so intriguing and utterly compelling. I was desperate to find out what had happened to leave such a catastrophic mark on these young lives.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The Girls Are All So Nice Here is a well-written exploration of toxic, poisonous friendships and the lengths some people will go to to belong. The control Sully has over Ambrosia is very unsettling which makes for uncomfortable reading at times, and I loved it! I found it interesting to see the same characters 10 years later as, despite Ambrosia's claims, nothing had really changed. They still went to extreme lengths to cover their own backs. Brilliantly done. Utterly irresistible. Bold and fearless. Shocking, dark and full of menace. I'm still thinking about this book days after finishing it. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of The Girls Are All So Nice Here. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

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A twisty thriller with lots to say about gender, friendship, and sexuality, even if some of the beats feel familiar - the details are pitch-perfect, though, with a strong sense of place without the typical 'dark academia' cliches.

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Ambrosia (Amb) Wellington and Sloane (Sully) Sullivan, former best friends attend their university reunion at Wesleyan College in Middleton, Connecticut. At the reunion, they start receiving messages that become increasingly disturbing... As the past collides with the present, deeply buried secrets surface and Amb's behaviour from her freshman year may be punished.

This is an addictive, propulsive psychological thriller and it explores the dark complexities of female friendship. Amb is now married to Adrian Turner who worships her and is living a different life from the one she had imagined for herself. Told from Amb's point of view, The Girls Are All So Nice Here is full of twists, drama and surprises and owns a well-plotted and immersive storyline. Alternating between the first semester of the freshman year for the girls and the subsequent reunion, issues of betrayal and scheming are prevalent. As the story progresses, a hotbed of secrets unravels giving rise to feelings of unease and dread that had me on tenterhooks. A deeply unsettling, dark and toxic thriller with plenty of suspense and a gratifying denouement.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from HQ via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

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Wow this book scared me a bit. It’s amazing how people can draw you in and if you don’t see what’s happening advantage can be taken in different ways.
This book shows the intensity of a friendship and then not knowing what to do.
I really liked this book and the storyline.

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I devoured this book in less than a day. It’s compelling reading, even if at times quiet uncomfortable. The swapping between Then and Now worked very effectively in revealing the backstory as well as the current one. I really didn’t like Sully, was ambivalent towards Flora but the character that really intrigued me was Amb. She was the perfect mixture of sugar and spice, the girl who wanted to fit in but also stand out from the crowd. The girl who had been terribly hurt by her ex but was dealing with her grief of that failed relationship by throwing herself into wild situations. To some extent we’ve all been or known that girl. An excellent piece of writing, really peeling back the layers of teenage/college relationships, but this is not a YA book, it’s much more complex. Just read it!

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Oh i loved this book SO much. We all know a Sully and although we hate her, she's so intriguing and you can't help but want to know more about her (and probably be friends with her if we're honest). This was so so good, gripping and the ending was gobsmacking. Highly recommend this

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Ok so first of all thanks so so much to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in return for my honest review
What did i just read tho?
I loved this book, my goodness there is something about mean girl, school vibes that draws me into a book and this one didnt disappoint.
Told from two different time lines it follows the death 0f lovely Flora, room mate and hated by Sully. Sully is the ultimate bad bitch but is one that attracts girls to want to be her friend. Flora dies and who is to blame? Her boyfriend that was cheating on her? her room mate that didnt like her but felt so so sorry for her?
This school reunion went off, it was a pure rollercoaster of twists and i didnt see half of them coming, it was fantastic and i read it in two sittings, i literally had to know what was going to happen next
Fab - MUST READ!!!

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What a dark view of female friendship the author has explored in this psychological thriller, based in a US college. Told in dual timelines, we see Ambrosia Wellington as she starts her first semester at Wesleyan University and begins to make friends, but also as she’s invited to a college reunion several years later. In the now, Amb is a high flying PR agent, based in Manhattan; a long way away from the acting aspirations she had at college. Her husband Adrian dotes on her and they’ve been putting off ideas of parenthood to enjoy being just the two of them, as well as concentrating on their careers. Amb seems to have glossed over what happened at college, even in her own mind. Yet, the anxiety brought on by the arrival of the alumni invitation suggests there are secrets she’s been keeping, locked away and never resolved.

The past timeline starts to tell the tale of her arrival at Wesleyan and her first encounter with one of her fellow students, a girl called Flora who is her roommate. At first they’re friends, through proximity more than anything else, but Amb soon becomes tired of Flora’s sweet, insipid personality. She then meets Sloane ‘Sully’ Sullivan. Sully is the antithesis of Flora, rebellious and full of charisma. She draws Amb in with her charm, but that charm has drawbacks. Sully is reckless and can talk others into following her into dark and possibly dangerous behaviour. They stumble together, through parties fuelled by cocaine and alcohol and ending random couplings with strangers, Sully also has a cruel streak, and Amb watches her bully and manipulate other girls. Eventually she targets Flora, pursuing her boyfriend doggedly. Is that all that happened though? Amb doesn’t think so. However, before the reunion she receives a letter saying ‘you need to come, we need to talk about what we did that night’. The tension starts to ramp up as we are left wondering who has sent the letter and what do they want? Not only that, but what did happen all those years ago?

As the reunion arrives, the author has built the tension to fever pitch. There are curveballs flying everywhere as revelations of sexual betrayal are exposed and the true cost of the girl’s behaviour all those years ago starts to hit home for Amb. The writing is razor sharp and has the same charisma as Sully, drawing the reader through twists and turns to find out who is the letter sender and whether they aim to frighten or to exact revenge. While I couldn’t like the main characters, except for Flora, the book was compelling throughout and rewarded me with a satisfyingly dark ending.

The writer has a brilliant eye for human behaviour and just how bad teenage girls can behave towards each other. The psychology of Sully is fascinating and isn’t explored enough. I missed the ‘why’ of her behaviour - what had made her this way? I also wondered at the passivity of Amb, blindly going along with her schemes and immersing herself in dangerous situations. It’s as if Sully gives her permission to act this way and a totally different side of her is unleashed. Neither girl seems aware of the seriousness of the damage they’re inflicting. The letter writer

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It is a psychological thriller, alternating between Past and Present. It is a character-driven story where you witness their emotions and growth. In this case, you'll hate them, feel for them, disgust them, angry with them, shout on/for them and again hate them. I don't want to give away so much. This book was full of adventures, twists and darkness.

I wasn't comfortable in reading a few scenes because those were so graphic, a few times they were important to understand the development but a few times I found them unnecessary but maybe they were there so we can understand how the mind of mean girls works.

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The Girls Are All So Nice Here is dark and twisty from the get go. With two timelines – one following Ambrosia in the present as a thirty-something woman preparing for her college ruinion, the other detailing her first year in college – it’s almost like following two separate women. College Ambrosia was naive, too trusting, too desperate for attention and validation, that she went against her own wishes, her own morals, and her own desires to get what she wanted – the approval of the cooler girls. One cool girl in particular, Sully, took her under her wing and out into the world of boys, parties, drugs, and ruining other people’s lives. Adult Ambrosia is different. She’s more cautious, more paranoid – a secretive best friend and witholding wife, moulded into someone else by the events of that first year of college. But when a college reunion approaches, and a friend lets slip to Adrian, her husband, about it, she can no longer bury her head in the sand and pretend it’s not happening. She has to go. Especially when she gets the hand written note telling her ‘We need to talk about what we did that night.’

When ensues in a twisting tale of friendship, lies, betrayal, and secrets, all stemming from one girls insecurities and ambitions to be something bigger. Ambrosia doens’t want to be like most of the girls in her dorm, she wants to be edgier, cooler, more attractive. So she shuns the ‘nice’ girls, like her roommate Flora, who stays home from parties to study and call her long distance boyfriend, who is constantly offering Ambrosia hot chocolates in her half of the ‘best friends’ mug set she got for them, who peppers the floor with positive and uplifting post it notes.

It’s difficult to say too much about this book without going too into the plot, which I don’t want to spoil, but I do want to say this about the characters. This is such a good representation of female friendship and the dynamics that shift when you leave your small town high school and mix with people from all walks of life. The way that Ambrosia was depicted was so carefully crafted, always having her teetering on the edge of ‘good’ and ‘bad.’, and made her a very compelling main character to follow She was shown as flawed in many ways – she was cruel and she lied, spread rumours, dismissed others’ feelings, and a lot of the motivations for her actions were rooted in insecurities. I’m not saying this excuses any of her actions, but I think a lot of us who have grown up surrounded by teenage girls have found outselves drawn to one of them, and ended up acting hurtfully to another to gain some respect in some way (hope this wasn’t just me! Not one of my finer moments!) The depiction of toxic friendships and the hold that some people have over you is so brilliantly explored in this novel, especially alongside the mystery of what actually that fateful night that the secret notes are alluring to, and what happened to make Amb’s old bedroom be nicknamed Doom Dorm.

This definitely had Mean Girls elements to it but it is much darker and twistier, and I found myself fully drawn into this book, the characters, and this world. I also really enjoyed how the flashbacks were to college, rather than maybe high school, as there are so few novels set in college that I’ve found, and it was so interesting to read about this time in the characters lives. I think it was so necessary that it was set in college, especially that first year, when you’ve just left home and are trying to be someone new, trying to find your friends for life, but still have that string connecting you to who you used to be.

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I requested this off Netgalley because the publisher kept tweeting about it and I wanted to see if it was worth the hype and it was, I was gripped most of the way through, until the end which quite frankly sucked. Sorry to be harsh but the little sister suddenly comes along, kills the main baddie, gets the acomplice put in prison for life by framing her for the main baddie's murder and conviently gets the acomplice's man? Really?
Brilliant book, until the end, hence only 3 stars.

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The Girls Are All So Nice Here has such an ironic title. It's a deliciously dark and twisty read that shows the brutal lengths some girls will go to, to get what they desire.
It's a book that's very hard to put down once you start and is one you will easily devour in one or two sittings.

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We are back and this time reviewing a dark academia thriller – A huge heartfelt Thankyou to HQ , Harper Collins and Netgalley for our arc copy of this amazing book which was published in April 1 st 2021

As this book started off we immediately loved the style of writing, it was immersive and thought it would be a slow, simmering thriller with hints of what was to come, but it gathered speed quickly and we couldn’t turn the pages fast enough as it geared up for a chilling, killer climax. All the girls really so nice here made for an utterly compelling read – Think Pretty little Liars meets Mean girls with a murderous twist or two!

This sounds Perfect right?

It really does make for an unsettling tale of obsessive love and toxic friendships, a dark psychological thriller which bravely explores the complexities of female friendships- and shines the spotlight on the darker sides of casual sex, manipulation, secrets and lies.

This book really got under our skin and kept us hooked and invested from the first chapter. As the reader really had no idea who to trust or believe, and despite reading crazy amounts of thrillers it remained a shock ending- We didn’t see it coming! which is always a buzz.

Throughout the novel the questions remained- What happened during that first year ? Whonwas to blame abs who is making it clear that the buried secrets won’t stay that way for much longer?

It was deeply intriguing and as we read deep into the night, disliking the two main protagonists more and more as we moved through the story, it served as a stark reminder of the dangerous lengths teenage girls will go to fit in with their peers often with alarming consequences.

We watch as the students settle in to their first term at university, as all things academic play second fiddle to their new social situations, the girls embark on a journey of self discovery, negotiating life away from home and parents for the first time and forging bonds.

Beware if you’re an prude !!! The novel has a strong element of young women exploring their sexuality – attending dubious parties, fairly graphic casual sex, excessive drinking…

In All the girls are so nice here we Meet Amb ( Ambrosia) and Sully ( Sloane) who are typical mean girls, Amb is the flawed protagonist who tells the story from alternating chapters of “ now” and “ then”, which we loved as it heightens the sense of suspense and mystery, we learn secrets from the past abs then have to wait a whole chapter to learn more!

In the “ now” Amb is a successful PR in Manhattan married to Adrian who is about to realise he doesn’t really know his wife at all. She has created a new life and tried to put the past behind her but she holds secrets from the past and they continue to haunt her.

When she is invited to the 10 year university Reunion he supportive and enthusiastic husband is adamant they should attend and despite her best protestations in the end she has no choice but to reluctantly agree. Here all hell breaks lose and her carefully constructed life started to unspool.

Because in the “ then” Amb is a jealous and vindictive girl who preyed on her “ nicer” roommate Flora picking her apart like a vulture to impress Sully and gain friendship Kudos… Sully proves herself to be reckless and uses people as toy things to control like marionettes for her entertainment. Amb becomes obsessed with Kevin, Floras boyfriend and is determined to destroy their relationship so she can have him for herself … this all leads us to the final fatal night. But what happened and what part did Amb, Sully and Kevin okay? And who is sending the notes, and toying with them? Because someone knows the truth about what happened that night and they are determined to reveal it.

If you’re looking for a deliciously dark and tense coming of age thriller then you’ve found it in All the girls are so nice here, with a strong cast of female characters, a deftly plotted storyline that is executed with skill and well written prose it’s a story to read late into the night!
The thriller girls at HQ highly recommend it to our fellow thriller fans!

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An addictive, compulsive and disturbing psychological thriller that I couldn’t put down! I wizzed through this book so fast, The plot was well thought out and kept me wanting more. And what a great title! I know you should never judge a book by the cover but titles like these just draw me in.
Ambrosia (Amb) seems happily married and is invited to her 10 year college reunion. She doesn’t want to go and as you read on you realise why! Amb was not a nice girl at college. The narrative is Amb’s voice and alternates between now and then (back when Amb was a freshman in college) as the events unfold in the present you discover what happened in the past. These events are shocking and devastating. There is nothing more terrifying than girls who are insecure, fuelled by jealousy and wanting to impress each other. This is one not to be missed!

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Overall, 'The Girls Are All So Nice Here' was a decent read.

The story starts off at a good pace, introducing Ambrosia, who is unhappy to receive an invitation to her college's ten-year reunion event, and it soon becomes clear that a past event at college haunts her. The book then flits between the present and ten years ago, when Ambrosia, starting as a freshman college student, soon finds herself pulled between her goody-two-shoes roommate, Flora, and her intriguing, wild hallmate, Sully. As the story goes on, you see Ambrosia ascend into darkness and the theme of toxic female friendships is explored.

The second third of the book did slow down in pacing, and I did feel myself impatient for more action as I enjoy a fast-paced thriller. However, the author just about uses enough dripfeeding of new details to keep the story interesting. There are some twists, although I can't say they are incredibly surprising (except where I had to suspend my disbelief) as not one of the characters in the whole book was particularly likeable.

To summarise, the book was an okay read. The theme of toxicity and the 'mean girls' trope drew me in from the start, but it did lose its steam slightly. I would have liked to see more grittiness, as the story seemed to depend on the wild, shock factor of college women using drugs and sleeping with several men. I'd be interested to read another book by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn and see how it compares.

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Amb (Ambrosia) comes from a small town and finds it hard to fit in at her college. She meets Sully (Sloane) who does anything and everything for kicks. She embroils Amb in her nasty tricks and it is a surprise that they have time for their studies they are so busy taking drugs, sleeping around and playing tricks on others. Now 10 years later there is a college reunion and Amb is pushed into going by her husband. There are to be repercussions from the past, but who is responsible?
Not the most pleasant of reads with the subject matter and the cruelty of young women, but a definite twist in the tale.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Laurie Elizabeth Flynn/HQ for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

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A twisty, gripping read on theme of toxic female friendship.

Ambrosia Wellington is about to attend her college reunion- but that means facing up to a past she isn't proud of. Told in the past and present, Ambrosia's life as she starts college and tries to fit collides with her attempts in the present to pretend none of the terrible things she did to impress others, particularly the reckless Sully, ever happened.

Ambrosia's actions in this book make it at times uncomfortable to read - she is awful! - but it is always pitch perfect in its depiction of female friendships. The struggle to forge an identity and the often jealous judgements we make of those who have managed to do so is very effectively explored in this novel. I enjoyed reading a thriller with a main character so despicable and loved the ending!

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For me this was ‘Mean Girls’ meets ‘Pretty Little Liars’ and ‘Gossip Girl’ all rolled into one - and what a fantastic combination it makes!

The book transports the reader back and forth from present day into the past. It looks at the excitement of going to uni and the trying to strike a balance between studying and going out, partying, making friends and scoping out potential love interests (or not). This novel deals with all of this and the dramatic consequences of trying to fit in.

The protagonist, Ambrosia (Amb), is introduced in present day as a young woman with a secret and the last thing on her mind is re-visiting her past (with her husband in tow), at a University reunion that she has been mysteriously manipulated into attending. She doesn’t want him learning of her promiscuity and the unhealthy obsession she had of pleasing her best friend Sully (the bitchiest and meanest of girls on campus), whilst sabotaging a friendship in the truest and purest form, with tragic consequences.

However, that’s what happens - she confidently accepts the ‘challenge’, whilst planning on not letting her secrets reveal themselves to her oblivious husband. Surely, a colourful past will have a way of catching up with you - won’t it? You’re left wondering if Amb will leave the weekend unscathed.

This book is refreshing in that he breaks away from the usual thriller type storyline of characters that are targeted and victimised. Instead, Amb and Sully epitomise the stereotypical mean girls and this very depiction is what makes these characters detestable and hard to relate to. As a reader, I was consumed with needing to know if they got their comeuppance or not and if so, how? I found myself guessing what was going to happen next, whilst coming up with theories of who was behind different events and I found myself wrong each time.

The author focuses on identity and what it means to be true to yourself and not seeking the acceptance of others. They look at what goes wrong when you don’t fit in and the battles with mental health that can be attributed with toxic friendships and situations.

I was left speechless at the ending of the novel - I found myself re-reading the opening paragraph to make sure that I’d not lost the plot. It somewhat felt bittersweet - I was left feeling relieved and satisfied, and yet solemn too (you’ll know what I mean when you read it).

It was an interesting and thought provoking read. It’s a reminder that you have a choice on the type of person you will be and that actions do have consequences you’ll forever have to live with.

This is a book definitely worth your time. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC, in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

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This is Mean Girls go to college on drugs!

Ambrosia reluctantly heads back to head 10 year college reunion to face the demons if her past and confront the truth about her actions.

The chapters are split between the present where Ambrosia does not want to go to the reunion as she has worked hard to put her experiences at Wesleyan behind and become a different person, and her freshman year at college as she navigates the world of dorms, boys and parties.

She is determined to be someone new. Never feeling like she fitted in at high school she wants to reinvent herself and recover from her break up with her boyfriend.

She rejects the friendship from, too good to be true roommate, Flora, and instead gravitated towards Sloane Sullivan. Charismatic and reckless, Sully introduces Amb to a life of parties, drugs and casual sex.

Amb still feels like an outsider. And then she meets a boy who she think finally understands her. And Sully will help her get him.

The truth about the events of that night emerge slowly through a series of flashbacks. As a narrator Amb is honest and vulnerable but can the reader trust what she says?

This is such a compelling read – it’s a read page turner and I could not put it down. There are some shocking twists along the way. The reader has to work to unravel the truth among the lies.

Thank you to HQ Stories for gifting me a copy of this gripping read.

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