Some friends are the type of people who will be at your side no matter what, who will lift you up when you’re down, and who will prove to you when you’re at your lowest who really loves you and will always be there for you. 

And some friends are the friends in these books. 

You can watch the accompanying reel here: 

And then read below to find out more about each of these books! 

The Girls Are All So Nice Here by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

This thriller is about a woman who returns to her alma mater for a college reunion, but she has dark secrets buried in her past, and someone knows—and is about to unearth them in front of everyone. It flashes back and forth between the past and the present, unraveling what she did in college that she would have to hide, and then following modern day events as she tries to figure out who is blackmailing her over the incident. 

Probably the most fun part about this book was reading about Amb’s college expeirnece because it was really nostalgic and a total throwback. She would have been in college only four short years ahead of me, so it was fun reading about all the 2000s trends and looks and the things they did that were similar to things my friends and I did at that age. But on top of that, it has the added secret/mystery aspect, and I loved trying to figure out what happened and who was out to get the main character. 

We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz 

We Were Never Here is kind of the ultimate vacation gone wrong book. Emily goes on vacation with her BFF Kristen. While on vacation, Emily gets into an altercation with a man she just met, Kristen kills him, and the two women decide not to tell anyone and to dispose of the body. 

Then the next year, they go on vacation, and literally the exact same thing happens.

So at this point, we aren’t the only ones asking, what are the chances of that happening??? Emily begins to wonder who Kristen really is, what secrets she really has, and what exactly is going on here. But to top things off, once they get home, Kristen becomes completely unhinged, and the tension just builds and builds as the book goes on. 

This one was sooo good and was the book that made me want to read everything Andrea Bartz has written or writes in the future. She is a master of hiding dark secrets in people’s pasts and then pulling them out at perfectly inopportune moments. 

My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix 

Ah, Grady Hendrix. One of the best at blending pop culture and horror, IMO, and My Best Friend’s Exorcism is a good example. Set in the 80s, this novel follows ride or die besties Abby and Gretchen. They’ve been through everything together since elementary school, but after Gretchen goes missing in the woods overnight during a party in high school, she starts acting a bit strange. And then even more strange. And things get weirder and more out of hand until Abby decides to delve further into the matter, and her research makes her sure—Gretchen is possessed by a demon. They’ve always been there for each other, and this is not going to be the exception: Abby is going to exorcise her best friend. 

Aside from being an entertaining story, this book is chock full of 80s references and nostalgia, right down the cover design (I mean look at that VHS tape book cover. I can’t even. Grady’s books always have the best cover design and concepts), so if you’re an 80s lover, you will really enjoy this one.  

The Merciless by Danielle Vega 

I was always the new kid, so I know from firsthand experience that making friends at a new school is hard. So for Sofia Flores, it seems like she’s having the best of luck when she gets to her new school and almost instantly is befriended by several other girls in her class. One is Brooklyn Stevens, kind of a more punk-y, rough around the edges, fiercely individualistic young woman who throws parties and takes Sofia to a local tattoo parlor. And the others are the school’s Textbook Popular Girls™, Riley, Grace, and Alexis, who adopt Sofia in a perfect imitation of Mean Girls on her first foray into the school cafeteria. 

I mean, she couldn’t be more lucky, right?

So when the popular girls invite her to an abandoned house in the middle of the night, the last thing Sofia expects is to walk into the basement and see that the girls have kidnapped Brooklyn, tied her up, and are now physically torturing her, with plans for a full-fledged exorcism on the night’s agenda. And they want Sofia to participate. 

So, not exactly the slumber party she had in mind. 

I’ve always loved this book and thought it was such a fun read, so it’ll probably always be a favorite of mine. The twists keep coming, and to make things even better, if you like the first one, it’s a whole series, with the best ones being the first and the third, IMO.  

Survive the Night by Danielle Vega

Another entry by Danielle Vega (also known sometimes as Danielle Rollins and now Danielle Valentine), Survive the Night is one of those books where the best plan is to trust absolutely no one. It follows Casey, a young woman who just got back from rehab and immediately returned to partying after being convinced by three of her friends that it would be a good idea to go to a rave an abandoned NYC subway tunnel. But things go from mildly uncomfortable to holy shit we need to get the hell out of here now when one of her friends wanders off and Casey finds her dead and mutilated body. When she runs back to get her other friends, they find that everyone has already ditched the party, and all the entrances they used to get into the tunnel have been sealed off, trapping down there. And they’re definitely not alone, and they don’t know what it is in the tunnels with them, but it wants to kill them. 

This is a perfect example of letting your friends get you into a situation you really didn’t want to be a part of, and Casey definitely regrets it as they’re hunted through the underground tunnels, desperately searching for a way out. I really liked this book because it’s difficult to know who to trust and it’s also difficult to know what’s real. Are things happening the way Casey thinks they are? Is some of it in her head? And how will anyone ever believe her if she makes it out of here?  

The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis 

This YA horror from Be Not Far From Me and Female of the Species is a modern Poe retelling that takes place in the town of Amontillado, Ohio. Tress Montor and Felicity Turnado are former BFFs, and after a series of slights and targeted attacks against her, Tress has finally snapped. When she and Felicity cross paths at a Halloween party, Tress enacts her plan to take revenge on her former bestie—Cask of Amontillado style, by entombing her in the wall brick…by brick…by brick. 

This one is really wild, and I thought it was cool to see a classic Poe tale being brough to life by modern characters. Aside from the overall plot, there’s tons of little Poe references and nods throughout the novel that any fellow fans are likely to appreciate.  

Have you read any of these books? Do you want to? Can you think of any other books with friends who are total nightmares? Let me know in the comments!