I was hoping I'd enjoy this book but I just realized that this genre does not work for me. I am sure someone else would enjoy it if they are a fan of the genre.

I am disappointed with this book. I was expecting one thing and received another. It had potential but it was not well written.

A Better Bad Idea should come with many trigger warnings.
TW: Child abuse, sexual abuse, murder, toxic relationships, alcoholism
I may have missed a few, but from those listed above, you can guess this book is DARK.
We follow two girls from the same small town. Reid is a girl who died one year ago (not a spoiler, we find this out on page one), and Evelyn, who just wants to get away from her mother's abusive boyfriend. But when she runs into Reid's ex-boyfriend, Ashton, the pair are both destructive and desperate enough to do something that might finally get them both out of McNair Falls.
If you watched the show LOST, Evelyn's story reminds me a bit of Kate's backstory.
I really enjoyed watching these two characters grow and learn how to cope in their very difficult situations.
Thank you so much to Imprint & NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

"I wonder what that’s like, to feel someone watching you. To know their only intention toward you is love. Respect. Or better yet, fear."
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My Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟 [4/5]
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Thank you @turnthepagetours and @netgalley for the gifted Review copy.
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This book follows our main characters : Eve, who tries so hard to fit in at home and protect her sister from everything that touches her; Ashton, who is wallowing in his grief and is struggling to find a way to come out of it; and Reid, who has a very different view of life and is the reason why this book exists. It's a story about complicated human emotions, effects of grief, the need for control when everything else falls apart and a single moment that can change your course of life. It's a story about survival.
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TW : Mentions of domestic abuse, drinking, toxic relationship, murder and death.
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First, I absolutely loved the writing style and the way this story was told. The characters each had so much to deal with and their view of their problems were done in a way that everything was important. No trouble was less and none were greater. Second, I absolutely loved the characters and what they represented. They were flawed, had issues to deal with and viewed life as if it owed them something. The topics discussed and the scenes that inspired the plot of the story was necessary, and even though I didn't like how the story ended for the characters, I can definitely see why the author did it that way.
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Overall, I really liked the story and the characters and the concept this book delivers with the difficult themes that it discussed. I loved the writing style and the format of the book even though it took time to get familiar with. I was not fan of the ending, but I liked it nonetheless. If you are a fan of psychological fiction (I don't know if it falls under this category but it's definitely gave me the hard hitting contemporary thriller vibes) then definitely pick it up!

Happy Friday Eve! The weekend is generally when all of our better bad ideas come rising to the surface, but apparently that was my Tuesday night, when I stayed up WELL past my bedtime devouring this incredible book.

And. Holy. Shit. Talk about amazing!

Before we get into that, however. It's important to note that this book is heavy with a Capital H. Readers who find domestic abuse, child abuse, substance abuse, depression, and violence should be aware that these topics are woven intricately into the storyline. It's handled beautifully, but this is a no holds barred book, so be warned.

Alright. Here we go!

A Better Bad Idea sucked me in from page one, and honestly, if you're wondering how intense it's going to get... I mean, it opens with an obituary. And then switches to the dead girl's POV. And it just rockets forward from there.

It may seem like knowing Reid is dead and getting a POV from her anyway might feel less tense. Like somehow there's no mystery because we know what happened. But no. And it's not just that we get the sense that perhaps we have no idea what happened at all, but woven between Reid's past and Evelyn's present, it's nothing but a roiling sense of dread that builds in our guts and refusing to let go. It's that we know something awful happened to Reid and can't help but fear that Evelyn is on the path for something just as bad.

By now, y'all should know how I feel about stabby girls and even stabbier prose. And god does this book have both in wild abundance. Each sentence threatened to gut me, carving their way under my skin with devastating precision. Evelyn and Reid are girls who wear their defenses on their skin, sharp barbed wire hiding who they are. And fuck if I didn't relate to them both on some level.

Except obviously barbed wire is just meant to keep people out, force people away. Even when they make decisions we don't understand, we get it. On some level, we understand the rational, the motivation. And when we don't, they show us and it wrenches the heartbreak another notch deeper.

The two POV's alternate, taking us on different timelines, but both have a countdown to events. One is Reid's death, but we don't know where Evelyn's path is taking us. To the start of a bad idea, which just start building, one on top of the other, until the tension is so fucking nerve-racking there is no choice other than to finish the book.

And I think that's a powerful mirror between these two girls and reality. This book tackles a lot of issues, domestic and child abuse along with substance abuse. And for anyone caught in the reality of living with either, it's heartbreaking and tense and overwhelming. It can feel like there's nothing but better bad ideas, where escape becomes something you're so desperate for, you're willing to do anything to survive. Devore captures this so vividly, so profoundly. This is a book that forces you to see, to think. It's a book that changes you by the time you reach the end.

Evelyn and Reid are two girls who live different lives, and yet, in so many ways they are the same. Reid leans into her sense of feeling out of control. Of feeling lost and sad and angry. She wants more and refuses to succumb to anyone telling her she doesn't deserve it. Evelyn is just as fierce, just as defiant but in entirely different ways. She wants more too, but more normalcy. More stability.

Their narratives orbit around each other, and I love how they each admire the other for the parts they don't admire in themselves. How real is that? How true it that? God, I've had heart to hearts with women throughout my life and been blown away by how they see me, how they interpret things so differently––and usually more positively––than I did. How tragic that we don't encourage girls to talk about these things, instead making competition and resentment the primary language between them.

A Better Bad Idea is a book full of hard truths. The kind that make you flinch. The kind that dares you to look away knowing you can't. It's a hard read. One where I had to put it down and close my eyes at how parts hit. The domestic abuse and child abuse is hard. How it impacts not just Evelyn, but the people around Evelyn hits hard. The substance abuse is the same. These characters are fiction, their struggles are made up, but there are people living these devastating experiences, this heartbreaking reality right now.

For those who pick up book to feel and to learn, A Better Bad Idea is for you. For readers looking to connect and give them a perspective of the world, of how they can understand themselves, helping them to understand others, this book is for you. It's hard. And it makes you feel, it makes you think, it makes you work. But holy shit, is it worth the journey in the end.

Evelyn loves her little sister Kara so deeply and will do anything in the world to protect her and that’s exactly what she does. She wants to get away from McNair Falls but has to stay for Kara, until she realizes how to free them from her mother’s abusive boyfriend.

I unfortunately didn’t really care about any of the characters or feel connected to them. I like that it was written in two POVs; Evelyn and Reid. I wanted to read more of Reid’s story though, she seemed more fleshed out than Evelyn at times. I appreciate Evelyn as a character and how she was always trying to be strong for everyone even when everything was falling apart.

I don’t really like how the repercussions for what happened were kind of just glossed over in the end, but I guess it also made sense as that wasn’t the point. Besides that I like how everything was tied up in the end and happy with the choices the characters made.

Thank you to Fierce Reads for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh man this was a heavy read and just really wasn’t expecting it to be so bleak and dark but I guess from the blurb on the back it really didn’t seem like the fluffy happy rom com that I usually read. This book is about three teens trying to come to terms with the past and who they are as well trying to leave their dying South Carolina town and never come back or they will never be able to get out. Just really bleak and depressing and like a car accident you don’t want to keep reading but you just can’t stop and look away. The author was really good at writing unlikable characters that you get invested in and need to keep going so you can see what happens next. All in all, I don’t know if I would read it again but it kept my interest and it was really very well written just not my cup of tea.

Thanks to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

First off, lists of trigger warnings. This one is dark and bleak. Very depressing and there's alot of abusive and toxicity in the relationship. Not much of this was what I was expecting but in such an amazing way. I won't stop thinking of this one for a while. Really went through some heavy emotions in this one.

Now it's a slow burn and that was not a problem for me with this in the absolute slightest. You will find it very hard to put this book down and get it out of your head. It's so heavily character driven mind you.

All these characters make one ba decision after another and I really enjoyed watching it all unfold. This author has a talent for telling a very real and compelling story. I can't wait to read more from this author especially if the books keep up like this one.

If you need a dark and messed up book, dive the hell in now. We got tons of secrets, multiple POVs and timelines. Again, be warned of the abuse and how messy (like mentally) this is.

I inhaled this book. 5 stars

I was given an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book was not my favorite but it wasn't dull either. Both characters push each other in a way that I felt was a little too hard to believe.

A Better Bad Idea surprised me in a so many ways. Devore’s writing being paired with these raw characters was just an amazing combination. The writing style is truly unique and the way the book’s timeline flows will have you anxious the entire time you are reading the book. BUT anxious in a good way!

Evelyn and Reid’s characters truly read like a teenager and their thoughts were sometimes erratic, but in all honestly my thought process was a lot like this growing up as well. I really related to their need to escape the life that they have been given. While I was reading I found myself comparing Reid and Evelyn to each other quite a lot even though they grew up and ended up in different circumstances. I find that this helped to bring A Better Bad Idea full circle and tie everything together in the end.

The plot of this book is so so good. I am not going to say a lot about it because I think going into the story with just the blurb is enough. But it has been a very long time since a contemporary book hit me this hard. I completely felt for these characters and the story Devore has written for them. Evelyn and Reid are going to be on my mind for a very long time.

The story’s setting being in South Carolina really hit a soft spot in my heart. I grew up in SC and I still live here today. Devore’s descriptions of the weather and scenery in SC is so spot on; it truly felt like I was in the story with Evie. It was very hard for me to come back from reading this book at times because reading about my home always makes me not want to put a book down. It is so clear that Devore put her heart into describing the setting for her story.

Overall, this book was truly a masterpiece and surprised me with every page.

Okay I am kind of still processing what I read and I am pretty sure I will keep processing it even when I should stop. It is that kind of novel which makes you think, question, think, question and keep on going on in that loop until you finish it. It is hard to put it down, and a sort of hunger possess you to read the book and see where the plot is going.

I’ll be honest when I say that I don’t read thrillers frequently. They unnaturally make me think a lot and a point comes where I kind of spoil the book for me (Pro Tip: Don’t flip the pages of the book you are reading especially if it mystery or thriller) but not this time. This time I was completely enraptured by the characters, the plot, the writing style and the build up. The story is a slow burn thriller so naturally the build up was slowly progressing. And as I mentioned before, a slow burn thriller can be a bit frustrating. BUT, NOT THIS ONE. I don’t remember when I was last this desperate to see where the story was headed. Part of the reason could be that the book is heavily character driven while reading, with a plot at its base. The narration shifts in POV, with Evelyn the main protagonist and Reid being a reflection from the past. Evelyn is trying to survive McNair Falls while Reid wasn’t able to. And then there is Ashton who is even more complicated.

The plot is highly driven towards how people are trying to make it, to survive the shitty world which they have contributed to make it the way it is. They have their own methods and through the narration we see what everyone was doing. The town itself is dying, its toxicity highly reflecting through the writing. If I haven’t mentioned before, I would really say that the book is amazingly written – it is one of those book which compelled me to read the ending after experiencing the whole story. I don’t want to give much away because there can be endless spoilers here in this book.

At last I would just say this – when you plan to read this book, and haven’t read contemporary books set in real world with such heavy themes, don’t pick up the book at night. I mean it is your choice but while reading this I wished I would get more room during day to ponder upon my thoughts rather than dreaming them lol. It was really refreshing to read this book, intrigue and mystery blended together amazingly!

*Note: I was provided with a review copy via netgalley in exchange for an honest review for this tour.

**Trigger Warnings: Toxic Relationships, manipulation, arson, sexual assault, domestic violence, abuse, alcoholism, murder, intimate partner violence, child abuse, suicide, mental health.

Teens on the Run

McNair Falls is a dying southern town. Evelyn Peters has lived there her whole life. She’d love to run and make a new life but stays to protect her half-sister from her mother’s abusive boyfriend. She’s still mourning her beautiful friend Reid, who wanted to escape but didn’t make it out of the town alive. She’d also like to connect with Ashton Harper, the golden-boy who was Reid’s boyfriend. One tragic night she and Ashton collide in an incident that sends the world up in flames, and they to go on the run.

The book is about the three teens trying to come to terms with the past and who they are. The story is told by Evelyn in the present and Reid, who is now dead. A great deal of the book is taken up with the thoughts of these characters which at times makes it a rather slow read.

The book is billed as a contemporary thriller, but it could equally be a romance. However, neither fully describes the book. It is a character driven story about teens coming to terms with the world and their place in it. I thought it was well done, The ending tied things up although there seemed to be a number of loose ends in the middle.

I received this book from NetGalley for this review.

Erm. So I´m crying. That´s a thing that´s happening right now.
To me this feels like a book where everything comes together in the end and really makes you feel things.
I thought the way this book was constructed, with the two perspectives of Reid and Evelyn set before and after various events was really cool and added a lot to the story-telling with the parallels between the two girls.
I kind of wish I'd been able to read it in one sitting as I think that would have added more to my reading experience but sadly school got in the way of all that.
These characters are very morally grey and there's a lot of toxic and abusive relationships throughout. This wasn't something I necessarily enjoyed but I did find reading about it but it was interesting, especially Reid's point of view. I think this book did a very good job at portraying how these characters felt trapped..

Loved this!
Despite there being a dead girl in the plot description, this wasn’t a book based on crazy twists or huge surprises - instead it’s a story about three very broken teenagers struggling to figure themselves out and find a connection. Evelyn’s home life is awful, and she will do anything to protect her little sister. Ashton is a popular, cute boy with disastrous taste in girls. Reid is a train wreck - I’ve been rewatching The O.C. and I kept picturing her as a brunette Marissa Cooper - constantly making terrible choices and acting out in a desperate bid for attention. I also really loved the way the story was structured with a flip-flopping timeline and dual perspectives from Evelyn and Reid.

This book was not at all what I was expecting - in the best way possible. I definitely need to read more of Laurie Devore’s books.

IG review posted 3/17/21

A BETTER BAD IDEA is my first read by Laurie Devore, but I’ve had my eye on WINNER TAKE ALL since it came out and now I’m definitely going to go back and read it. A BETTER BAD IDEA is a contemporary novel exploring life in a small Southern town, prejudices that echo through generations, how the choices we make can determine the course of our lives, and the impact of domestic violence on all involved. All three of our main characters (two alive, one dead) are damaged and are somewhat unreliable narrators, so if you appreciate books with complex and damaged characters, stories of small town life, and/or books that deal with real-world issues, then this is one you should pick up.

Fair warning, there is both discussion and depiction of domestic violence in this book, so please be aware if that is a trigger for you. I actually lost my sister to domestic violence in January 2008, when I was a few months pregnant with my son. However, the focus here is more on the connections between Evelyn, Reid, and Ashton and the aftermath of Evelyn and Ashton’s *first* bad idea, so I didn’t think this book would hit me so hard. But then, at the very end, there is one little scene in the general store that just had me gushing. Yes, it’s a difficult book to read, but it’s also a special one, telling a story that’s far too common, but with an ending that will make your heart feel lighter. I highly recommend this one!

RATING: 4 stars!

**Disclosure: I received an e-ARC of this book from the publisher for purposes of this blog tour. This review is voluntary on my part and reflects my honest rating and review of the book.

3.5 stars

***TRIGGER WARNINGS***

This story revolves around three troubled kids in a very small town in South Carolina where you either leave and never come back, or you'll never get out. Evelyn is a product of her rough childhood and destructive home life and wants to do anything to protect her baby sister. Ashton is a product of his relationship with Reid, who has turned him into a passionate, but volatile guy. And Reid is trying to shake things up and secure her way out of town—until she dies.

Bleak and depressing. This just made me sad. Laurie DeVore is really good at writing unlikeable characters that you still are kind of rooting for, or that you find captivating to read. These characters are messy and their toxicity gets taken way too far. The story was so messy—like a car crash, you can't tear your eyes away.

Reid is uncaring, manipulative, and just mean, but like the characters in the book, she has a magnetic energy that you're drawn to. Evelyn is fascinated with her and her relationship with Ashton. When her and Ashton go on the run, there were times that felt very unrealistic in regards to money or their whereabouts, but it was still entertaining to read. I was gripped the entire time. I wouldn't really call this much of a mystery or thriller, but definitely a dark and dreary contemporary. Someone compared it to the British show The End of the F***ing World and I think that is a great comparison.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for giving me an ARC copy of the book to review.

This book is definitely character driven more than plot driven (which I always love) but I felt like this book did not hit the mark. This book did have a lot going for it from the dual timeline/pov to the intriguing plot.

I felt like the author should have spent more time writing in Evelyn's pov so we could understand her story better and would have made the story a lot better. There were sections of the book that just felt repetitive and like I already read it earlier in the book.

Overall it was a book that kept me on the edge of my seat for majority of the book however I don't think I would read it again.

Thank you to Netgalley and Imprint! I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Better Bad Idea hits hard with grit, angst, and desperation while giving three very different and broken characters a voice and a story to tell. Layered, complicated, and messy (in the best kind of way!) are Laurie's strong suits and she does not skimp here. Highly recommended for those contemporary readers who can also appreciate a good slow burn thriller!

Like her first two books, Laurie Devore's A BETTER BAD IDEA is full of destructive, angry girls. And they have good reason to be. Evelyn doesn't know how to escape her life, the town that views her as trailer trash and a slut, and her mom's abusive boyfriend. On a night of particularly ugly abuse, Evelyn is desperate to protect her younger sister and decides to take matters into her own hands. She collides with Ashton Harper, the town's golden boy who has been on a downhill slide since his girlfriend Reid's death, and together they formulate a plan.

This book is full of characters who make one bad decision after another, but for reasons I understand. Laurie Devore writes some of the best angry, complicated girls in YA today, and I loved getting down to the nitty gritty messes that are Evelyn and Reid. These girls so desperately want to be loved but are terrified about what that might entail, so they armor themselves with the reputations the town gives them, earned or otherwise.

Most of this book takes place with Evelyn and Ashton on the run, and I wish we were given more of a solid plot structure at times -- it was hard to build up any anticipation because I wasn't sure where we were going, other than getting to know Evelyn, Reid, and Ashton's dark insides.

Laurie is a master at crafting those poor, dying southern towns whose occupants want nothing more than to escape. Everything from dialogue to setting to metaphors aligns to paint the picture.

If you're a fan of SADIE or any Courtney Summers book, definitely give this one a try!

(CW: abuse, alcoholism, murder)

Recently I’ve seen a lot of chatter about “unlikeable” protagonists, and I don’t know about you, but sometimes the characters that you’re MADE to dislike are my favorites because they add so much to the story.

This character driven title was the perfect read for going in clueless (my favorite way to read!) and I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I read this one & how much I enjoyed Devore’s writing style. The dual POV with two different characters, one present day & one past, I was immediately hooked into this story. It was my first book by this author, and I’ll be sure to pick up others in the future!

While it may have quite a few trigger warnings from violence, to sexual assault, to domestic problems & toxic relationships - this story handles all of these situations within a small town in a way that makes you relate to the characters and hope that they claw their way out of their desperation for something MORE. While this is not a part of my own story, I enjoyed the well thought out characters and how the author chose for her characters to react and, keep the title moving.

I don’t want to ruin anything with more details, but this was a book I was glad I had the chance to read thanks to Turn the Page Book Tours, Imprint publishing + NetGalley!