Title: The Girl Are All So Nice Here
Author: Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
Published: April 7th 2021
Publisher: HQ Fiction – GB
Pages: 320
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary
RRP: $29.99
Rating: DNF
A darkly intoxicating novel of female friendship and obsession that will keep you turning the pages, perfect for fans of My Dark Vanessa and The Virgin Suicides
––––––––––––––––– Nice girls can do bad things…
When Ambrosia first arrives at prestigious college Wesleyan, she’s desperate to fit in. But Amb struggles to navigate the rules of this strange, elite world, filled with privileged ‘nice’ young women – until she meets the charismatic but troubled Sully, with whom she forms an obsessive friendship.
Intoxicated by Sully’s charm and determined to impress her, Amb finds herself drawn deep into her new best friend’s dangerous manipulations. But if she wants to play Sully at her own game, Amb has no idea just how devastating the consequences will be…
Deeply unsettling and compulsive, The Girls Are All So Nice Here is a gripping exploration of the brutal lengths girls will go to, to take what they think they are owed.
Review:
Laurie Elizabeth Flynn is a successful young adult novelist, who has penned three popular books in this genre. The Girls Are All So Nice Here heralds Flynn’s first foray in the field of adult contemporary fiction. A dark, twisted and salacious tale The Girls Are All So Nice Here is a novel for all those who have encountered a mean girl.
The Girls Are All So Nice Here follows the life of Ambrosia in a split then to now narrative formation, spaced out over a ten year period. We meet Ambrosia in the past, when she arrives at Wesleyan, a highly sought-after college. Ambrosia is keen to fit in with her fellow classmates, but she encounters some teething problems assimilating into college life. When Ambrosia connects with Sully, a popular student at the facility, she develops a toxic style friendship with this questionable young woman. Sully has Ambrosia under her spell and she soon makes a number of unreasonable demands. With Ambrosia desperate to please and impress her fellow classmates, she willingly takes on Sully’s requests. But Ambrosia knows what she is doing is both deadly and very wrong, can Ambrosia escape Sully’s clutches unscathed?
The Girls Are All So Nice Here is the debut adult fiction novel from Laurie Elizabeth Flynn. With no prior knowledge of this author’s work, I was interested to see how this young adult novelist would fare in the adult contemporary fiction field. I was also intrigued by this title based on the social media hype this novel has managed to rake in on Instagram. With a juicy sounding synopsis, I was keen to step foot in the pages of this mean girls style novel. However, after four separate attempts at trying to complete this book I gave up. Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect to the characters or storyline, no matter how hard I tried. Hate, nasty actions, abhorrent deeds and general distaste fills the character set and narrative bend of The Girls Are All So Nice Here. I had to concede defeat at page sixty as I seemed to be going nowhere with this title. This seems a shame as I am a generally a fan of crime and psychological thrillers, but The Girls Are All So Nice Here was a did not finish title for me.
The Girls Are All So Nice Here may appeal to those who gravitate towards dark tales set in college environments. Pretty Little Liars springs to my mind when trying to link this title to other known reads.
The Girl Are All So Nice Here by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn was published on 7th April 2021 by HQ Fiction – GB. Details on how to purchase the book can be found here.
To learn more about the author of The Girls Are All So Nice Here, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, visit here.
*I wish to thank Harlequin Australia for providing me with a free copy of this book for review purposes.
