She Used to be Nice: A young woman must confront her abuser in this gripping debut novel by Alexia LaFata. Available NOW!

                    SHE USED TO BE NICE

A NOVEL

“A read-in-one-sitting novel I will be thinking about for a long time to come.”

—Olivia Muenter, USA Today bestselling author of Such a Bad Influence

“LaFata has crafted a beautiful battle cry: believe women!”

—Caitlin Barasch, author of A Novel Obsession

A young woman must confront her abuser in this gripping debut novel sure

to captivate fans of Sweetbitter and My Year of Rest and Relaxation.

One night in college changed the course of Avery’s entire life. Her rapist

took everything from her—including the trust of her friends and long

term boyfriend, who were convinced she cheated. A year later, she still

can’t bear to tell the truth about what happened and risk her friendship

with Morgan, the only friend she has left.

Instead, Avery finds her way under a man or into a bottle just to

convince herself that she has power over her feelings and her autonomy

—that her body still belongs to her. That is, until she meets Pete, a man

so kind and good that he awakens a part of Avery that makes her want

to try something new.

But somehow Avery’s rapist has resurfaced in her life as the best man in

Morgan’s wedding. And as maid of honor, there’s no way Avery can

avoid him. His mere presence grates at Avery’s already raw emotional

state, and she begins to drive away the final few who care about her—

including Pete.

As the wedding nears, Avery must decide whether to finally let her walls

down and tell her truth or risk spiraling toward a darkness she may

never be able to recover from.

Readers who seek out thought-provoking, character-driven stories and

book club novels with strong discussion themes will love She Used to Be

Nice.




Book Buy Links: 

https://www.bookbub.com/books/she-used-to-be-nice-by-alexia-lafata?source=link_share

Alexia LaFata is a writer and editor with over ten years of experience in digital media. She

currently works at Vox Media, which is home to Vox, New York Magazine, The Cut, Vulture, PS, Eater, and many more publications. Previously she was a senior editor at Elite Daily. She has a B.A. in Sociology and Communications from Boston College and lives in New York City. She Used to Be Nice is her first novel.

alexialafata.com | IG: @alexialafata_

The audiobook for She Used to Be Nice is produced by Spotify Audiobooks, Spotify's in-house publishing imprint, and available on Spotify or wherever you listen to audiobooks.



#SheUsedtoBeNice #AlexiaLaFata #FriendshipFiction #WomensFiction #DebutRelease #SisterFiction #CrookedLaneBooks

DISTRIBUTED BY PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE ISBN HC: 9798892422741 

ISBN TP: 9798892421713 

ISBN E: 9798892421720 

August 12, 2025 

PUBLICITY CONTACT:

DULCE BOTELLO | CROOKED LANE BOOKS DULCE.BOTELLO@CROOKEDLANEBOOKS.COM

#sheusedtobenice #debutnovel #womensfiction #sagafiction #romancebooks #ontour #AlexiaLaFata