NetGalley gave me the opportunity to listen to the audio version of “Nice Girls Win”.
All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone.

I love self-improvement book. They can become repetitive - which is why they work.

Nice Girls Win acknowledges everyone is in a different place whether work or home and wanting to improve. It was nice to know anyone could benefit from this book.

I love that this book has questions for yourself as well as space for journaling and reflection. I think that would be better in the physical book more than from audio.

This book has the beautiful reminder that you can win, be nice, and stand strong in who you are - and that won’t make you a bad person or a pushover.

If you are on a self-healing/ self-improvement journey, and are willing to do the work, this is a great book.

Most ‘ambition’ advice comes in two damning options: be ruthless, or apologize for wanting. This book advocates for neither.

You may wonder why I, of all people, would pick up this ARC from Netgalley, given one, I’m not the target audience, and two, my life experience, and goals are wildly different from the author’s.

Yet what’s the point of reading unless it expands the mind and shows you how other folks think?

This book’s advice, as which might be obvious from the title, picks a sensible (and goodness knows) sustainable middle ground between be unbreakable or be liked, but you can only have one.

Like many things in life, humanity’s urge to simplify things has created a false binary. Generosity and ambition don’t have to be opposites. Neither do kindness and success.

I needed that reminder more than I expected.

I often struggle to feel allowed to…well, have needs/wants beyond what might be ‘acceptable,’ really. The book’s argument is what some might call a weakness can be one’s whole strategy.

The point is to win and stay yourself while doing it and make the world better for it. Read this if the loudest voices in the room have convinced you that’s not possible. This work shows it is.

20206 has been the year of self help books, recently started to read a few. This is the first time I listened to an audiobook version and I think it has become my favorite way to digest self help books, felt very much like listening to a podcast.

This book makes it known from the start that the road to being a girl boss will not always be easy and it will take a lot of worker on the listener/readers part.

I am excited to pick a physical copy of this book for friends and while listening there were prompts so I am curious if the physical book will have a space inside to write in it

An easy and enjoyable listen as an audiobook. Lot’s of valuable information, and the author is personable and engaging. Nice Girls Win covers so many important topics, such as workplace discrimination, burnout, remembering to play and have fun, confidence, saying No, setting boundaries, self love and the importance of taking care of yourself. I found so many of the 18 chapters to personally resonate with me and where I am in my life and career. While the book feels geared toward women who are focusing on career growth the author does acknowledge that there are other forms of work outside of a standard career. She mentions the mental load, running a household, caring for children, and managing family life are also work.

I also liked that throughout the book there were prompts to take your own notes, questions were posed and it appears that the print copy of the book would have space to record your answers as you read! I think there would be a lot of value in a print copy of the book to fully take advantage of the workbook portion and reflect during and after each chapter on the information and how it might apply to you as a reader!

This was a refreshing read and I really enjoyed the message that you can be kind and ambitious, you can be compassionate and assertive. Being a nice doesn’t mean being docile, letting people walk all over you or use you. You can reach your goals and be successful without being cold and unfeeling!

Book: 5 stars!
Narrator: 4.5 stars!

Let me start by saying that if I had not been given a free copy of the audiobook to review, I doubt I would have picked this book up. Self-help “girl boss” books have never been my cup of tea.

First of all, the author would bang me upside the head for using the phrase “girl boss” and her book in the same sentence, and I am sorry! One thing that was so downright surprising about this audiobook was just how much the author tries to pull the listener out of the “girl boss” and “you can do anything you put your mind to” philosophy that we women have been fed for the past two decades, and instead focuses on how a situation makes you FEEL.

Now this is not a “touchy feely” book; the author still expects the listener to work hard in their work and personal lives. However, over and over again the author reminds us that the ability to “say no” needs to come back into our vocabulary.

I don’t know what else to say—I can go on and on about how well this book lays things out without making you feel like either an idiot or a kindergartner. However, if you are anything like me, all you really want to know is, “Does this book suck?”

The answer is no, and I will be picking up a physical copy when it goes on sale.

As someone who reads quite a lot of self-help books, I absolutely loved this one. I really enjoyed how it redefines what being a “nice girl” means, moving away from the expectations society often places on women and turning the concept into something much more empowering. My biggest takeaway was learning to get comfortable with being uncomfortable in order to grow. Stepping outside our comfort zones can create more opportunities to stand out and keep growing, especially in areas like our social and professional lives.
This is definitely a book for all the girl bosses out there and anyone who wants to develop these qualities and put them into practice. I also highly recommend getting it in physical format rather than as an audiobook. It's one of those books you'll want to have a pen and some paper nearby to highlight, take notes, and come back to your favorite lessons.

I've spent most of my career in industries where women are expected to prove themselves over and over again. Medical billing, business ownership, negotiations...none of it rewards people who sit quietly and hope to be noticed. That's why Nice Girls Win resonated with me more than I expected.
I listened to the audiobook, and Kelly Ehlers narrating it herself made it feel less like someone lecturing me and more like a successful woman sitting across the table saying, "You don't have to change who you are to be successful, you just have to stop apologizing for taking up space."

One of the biggest takeaways for me was that kindness and strength aren't opposites. So many women have been conditioned to believe that if we're accommodating enough, work hard enough, and make everyone else comfortable, eventually the opportunities will come. In reality, you can be compassionate, approachable, and supportive while still setting boundaries, advocating for yourself, and expecting to be treated with respect.

As someone who manages a growing company, I found myself reflecting on leadership throughout this book. There were several moments where I realized that saying "no" isn't selfish, it's necessary. Protecting your time, your energy, and your vision doesn't make you difficult. It makes you effective. That's a lesson I think many women, especially entrepreneurs and leaders, need to hear.

I also appreciated that this wasn't one of those self-help books filled with vague motivational quotes and unrealistic positivity. It offers practical ways to change your mindset while acknowledging that many women have experienced bias, self doubt, and unrealistic expectations in the workplace. The advice felt grounded and actionable instead of preachy.

The audiobook was engaging, easy to listen to, and conversational. Kelly's delivery added authenticity to the message, and I found myself bookmarking several sections to revisit later.

If there's one thing I walked away with, it's this: being "nice" should never mean making yourself smaller. You can lead with empathy, treat people with kindness, and still negotiate confidently, enforce boundaries, and build the life and career you deserve.

Whether you're climbing the corporate ladder, running your own business, or simply trying to stop second guessing yourself, Nice Girls Win is a worthwhile reminder that confidence doesn't have to come at the expense of compassion.

A thoughtful, empowering listen that left me with plenty to reflect on long after it ended.

Overall, I felt like this was put together really well. It was thought provoking and empowering. There were many times I felt like I was being described. I have already started implementing some of the practices where I felt I needed the most improvement and I can feel the changes in me already.

I received an audiobook ARC of this novel thanks to NetGalley.
"Nice Girls Win" is a novel that hopes to inspire women to break out of the box they are so often forced into and become the version of themselves that they have always wanted to be. "Nice" may not be all that nice of an adjective. Too often "nice" is synonymous with "pushover", and it may even go as far as "nice" in part means "pushover". But what would life look like if women were nice AND stood their ground?
I think this is a great novel for every woman to read because I think there is something for every woman to gain. This novel is meant to be read while you are doing self-reflection work. So, if you want to get the most out of this novel, you will want to plot out time to be able to journal while you read so you can reflect on your own life.
I appreciated that the author peppered in elements of her own life throughout this novel, but it never felt like it became an autobiography. She always shared her own experiences and mindsets to help highlight the point she was trying to make.
I do think, at times, this novel felt a little redundant. I loved all of the messaging, and I think it presents some really powerful ideas that cause the reader to reflect, but it also suffers from a bit of circular logic and repetition.
I really enjoyed the audiobook of this novel. It was wonderfully produced and I still felt like I was able to do a lot of reflection while listening. I feel like a better version of me after finishing this audiobook.
I definitely recommend this to the woman who wants to tap into her greatest potential.

Nice Girls Win challenges the idea that women need to choose between being kind and being successful. Drawing on her own experiences in business and leadership, Kelly Ehlers looks at how qualities often associated with being a ‘nice girl’ can exist alongside confidence, ambition and strong boundaries.

You know what? Heck yeah, girl! There was so much in this audiobook that resonated with me, particularly the discussions around people pleasing, burnout, the mental load, workplace discrimination, comparison and constantly looking for validation from other people.

I really liked the way Ehlers addresses the expectations placed on women to remain agreeable and accommodating. There can be such pressure to make yourself smaller or avoid saying what you actually want because you're worried about appearing difficult, demanding or selfish.

What worked particularly well for me was that the answer isn't to completely change who you are. Kindness, empathy and warmth aren't presented as weaknesses that need to be replaced with a harder personality. Instead, Ehlers explores how you can retain those qualities while becoming more assertive about your own needs.

The sections around boundaries and saying no were especially interesting. The idea that protecting your own time and energy doesn't automatically make you unkind feels incredibly simple, yet it can be surprisingly difficult to put into practice.

I also appreciated how many different areas of women's lives are covered. This isn't solely about progressing at work, but also about domestic responsibilities, emotional labour and the expectations we place upon ourselves.

This was an empowering listen that left me thinking about the difference between genuinely being kind and simply being conditioned to keep everyone else happy. Being a ‘nice girl’ doesn't mean accepting less than you deserve.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

I really love the premise behind Nice Girls Win.

So many women are taught, directly or indirectly, that being kind means being accommodating, agreeable, quiet, or willing to put everyone else first. This book pushes back on that idea and makes the case that kindness and ambition absolutely can coexist.

Kelly Ehlers encourages women to embrace confidence, boundaries, authenticity, and success without feeling like they have to become harder or less compassionate in the process. That message alone is one I think a lot of women need to hear.

This is also a very interactive book, and I think that is probably where much of its real value lies. It isn't meant to be something you simply fly through and put back on the shelf. There are opportunities to stop, reflect, and actually engage with what you're reading.

And that is exactly why I'm putting it aside for now.
I simply don't have the time at this moment to give the interactive portions the attention they deserve, and I don't want to rush through them just to say I finished. I would much rather come back to this when I have the space to actually do the work.

So this isn't a DNF. It's a “I'm coming back when I can do this properly.”

The message is empowering, the concept is strong, and I think Nice Girls Win could be an incredibly valuable read for women learning that they don't have to choose between being kind and going after the life they want.

I’m giving it 4 stars because I truly feel that I got 4 stars out of this book. It was so engaging, and I cannot wait to sit down, take the time it deserves, and completely immerse myself in the workbook portion.

After reading this book, I’m making it my mission to honor my time and peace as my most valuable assets!! Such a great premise, wonderful lessons, and valuable takeaways. As a business owner, boundaries and burnout are words that circle my brain constantly. The pressure to feel constantly available to everyone can be crippling. This book filled me with so many words I needed to hear at this phase in my life. I’ll surely be keeping this with me: “I say no to what drains me so I can say a resounding yes to the miracles meant for me.”✨

I found Nice Girls Win both educational and motivational! I liked that it was narrated by the author. The narration was well paced and clear.

Thank you Netgalley, Big Circles Media LLC, and Kelly Ehlers for the opportunity to read the ALC. This book publishes on 9/22, keep an eye out!💞

3.5 ⭐️

I received an advance copy of *Nice Girls Win* through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. As always, these are my genuine thoughts and opinions on the book.

I was lucky enough to immersive read this one using both the e-book ARC and audiobook, and I really enjoyed experiencing it in both formats.

I think this is a great introduction to self-help for someone who hasn't read much of it but wants to explore things like setting boundaries, building confidence, practising gratitude, and figuring out how to build a life you actually love.

REWIRE YOUR BRAIN! Neuroplasticity, baby! 😂

For someone who has read a lot of self-help, some of the concepts may feel familiar or repetitive, but honestly, I didn't mind that. A lot of these are things we KNOW we're supposed to do, but knowing something and actually exercising that muscle every day are two different things. I liked the reminders to find gratitude in small, everyday things, like the sun on your face, the smell of coffee, or your dogs. It's easy to forget those little things when you're just going through everyday life.

I REALLY liked that this is basically a workbook/journal in book form. It actually gives you questions and exercises that make you stop and look at your own thought patterns rather than just reading about these concepts and moving on.

I also appreciated that the author acknowledges we're not all starting from the same place. Things like class, race, sex, and our individual circumstances can affect the opportunities and challenges we experience. I liked that the book recognizes those differences rather than suggesting mindset alone can fix everything.

This may be geared a little more toward career-focused women, but I liked that the author also acknowledges that "work" can mean running a household, organizing kids' schools and activities, managing family life, etc.

One quick audiobook note: in the advanced listening copy I received, Track 008 (Chapter 4) has a duplicate at approximately 1:31, where "They just need to be tough..." repeats itself. I'm sure this would've been caught during final editing, but I figured I'd mention it anyway!

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. It's especially great for someone newer to self-help, but even seasoned self-help readers can probably use the reminder that knowing what we should be doing isn't always the same as actually doing it.

You know what? Heck yeah girl! “Nice Girls Win” tackles themes of workplace discrimination, feelings of burnout, domestic obligations, carrying the burden of the mental load, the need for external validation, comparison culture, people pleasing, etc. All the heavy hitters every woman can relate to.

As women, we are conditioned to be docile, submissive, palatable, and accommodate others. Ehlers takes those notions and chucks them out the window. I loved how this book juxtaposes embracing those softer parts of yourself, while still being unapologetically assertive enough to maintain boundaries and forge your way in the world.

I listened to this, but the book format has spaces for you to write notes or perform the exercises discussed– which I would take advantage of if I had eyeball-read it. And on that note: I loved that this was narrated by the author because she made this audiobook feel like a soothing, affirming, and empowering conversation with a friend and not preachy.

Be sure to grab a copy when it’s released on September 22, 2026!

Thank you to Kelly Ehlers, Big Circles Media, LLC, and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for providing this ALC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.