I enjoyed this one by Melissa Albert. I enjoyed the character development and thought the story was good. I felt like I had more questions at the end in general, but overall I enjoyed this. The cover is spot on gorgeous.

Unique and intriguing story from a new author to me! The Bad Ones had that perfectly eerie tone throughout the book and several “WHAT?!” moments- a excellent recipe for a horror crossover. The two main characters were a great example of another side of girlhood- one that can be overlooked in stories. There’s jealousy and growing apart and it’s sad but also a part of life. Then add the supernatural elements these girls go through and BAM- electrifying story. Toward the end as we stepped back in time, the book lagged a bit for me. I think I would have preferred the past timeline be interwoven more throughout, but that’s a personal preference. I really appreciated that we got answers at the end as I know it’s difficult sometimes to wrap stories like this up. Overall, solid read and will be looking at Albert’s backlist and future books.

I'm actually so grateful I picked this one up! For some reason, Melissa Albert's debut The Hazel Wood didn't strike me, but I devoured The Bad Ones and it easily became one of my favorites of 2024.

This year, I've been really into this specific horror and fantasy crossover. I've discovered that, although I don't love slashers or gratuitous violence, I love the ability of the horror genre to convey specific themes of love, loss, and nostalgia—thematic considerations that I think work best when you're only confronted with fears that make you grow. For that reason (and others), it's also been a big trend genre-wise over the last few years, especially within YA, so I've been treated to a gorgeous assortment of executions.

Melissa Albert's specific style of narration was beautiful for this particular genre, so her story became a standout.

Existentially, I also think quite a lot about the liminality between belief and non-belief, and that's a major theme in my own book, MOUNTAIN SOUNDS (and a perpetual source of revision-centric anguish.)

What's This Book About?
I talked about this in my review of Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain (another favorite of the year), but I'm a little over the "missing ex-friend or sister" trope. Still, the right author can handle it skillfully—as in this case.

Basically, the main character (whose name I never remember), realizes that her old best friend Becca has been taken. During the same night, a younger kiddo and another teen disappeared. It's part Stranger Things (TV), part The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff, part Fury by Elizabeth Miles, and all sorts of eerie overall.

The description itself says that Norah and Becca's relationship is toxic. They definitely outgrew each other, but I don't recall enough magnetism to be able to tell entirely whether they were fully harmful for each other. I understood the gravity of wanting to save someone.

And then, naturally, things spiral.

What Do I Remember Most About It?
I will say that I never find Albert's narrators to be all that memorable. I do forget their names, which is always my litmus test of sorts. Maybe it's that her specific voice is so specific that I think of the narrator as Melissa rather than another entity. For whatever reason, her specific observational distance makes me feel separate from the protagonist. In some works, that's more successful than others.

Of course though, the prose itself is stunning. She's one of the most incredible writers out there—in my opinion—who meets my particular standard of "precise human detail." Everything she uses to set a scene, establish tension, create characterization, etc,. is a detail I curse myself for not having thought of first. She nails this expertise between being exceedingly thoughtful and clear while also rendering any portrait in searingly poetic, striking, and occasionally acidic language. Best of both worlds, and absolute catnip for me.

The tension builds and builds. I found the ending a little confusing, but couldn't put it down. The Bad Ones channels such a dizzying, scary, and
elegant mood that I couldn't imagine anything being different—and thus, it's a favorite for being so entirely distinctive and formative.

Gorgeous cover, too.

Who's It Best for?
Of course, horror fans will go crazy for The Bad Ones. Supernatural fans will appreciate the intoxicating elements of the storyline. I remember being in middle school and our English teacher showing us the Doctor Who episode with the blinking angels; this feels similar.

Any YA reader who appreciates beautiful language will of course relish every word of Albert's. Any fan of literary fiction who (how dare you) scoffs at the young adult label may have their misconceptions turned upside down. The Bad Ones embodies the best of crossover fiction—literary to commercial, adult to teenager. The level of detail was absolutely phenomenal, and is the quintessential quality of all my favorite writers. In many ways, it also channels the delicious eeriness of the late '00s paranormal boom.

And of course, I'd absolutely reread The Bad Ones during any spooky season. Since then, I've been hit-or-miss on Albert's other works. When I love them, she knocks them out of the fucking park. When not, they fail to grab me entirely. But when they work, they're unlike anything else out there
.

For fans of:
The Haunting of Hill House (TV); that angel episode from Doctor Who (TV); Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke; The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater; Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff; The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff; Blood and Salt by Kim Liggett; House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland; The Wren Hunt by Mary Watson; Fury by Elizabeth Miles; Brittany Cavallaro's observational qualities; Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick; etc,.

The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert has serious, eerie vibes—dark, creepy, and filled with sinister threats lurking right in the heart of a seemingly ordinary suburban neighborhood. When Nora’s best friend, Becca, vanishes one night, Nora is devastated. But when she discovers that two other teens and a teacher from her school have also gone missing, she begins to suspect something much darker at play. Her suspicions grow when Becca seems to have left behind cryptic clues that only Nora can decipher.

As Nora digs deeper, reexamining their complicated, co-dependent friendship and closely analyzing the clues, she uncovers a web of dark magic connected to local legends and possibly linked to decades of disappearances. With no one to fully trust and time running out, Nora races to unravel the mystery.

I was hooked from the very first chapter, drawn into the slow-burn mystery that steadily builds as Nora and Becca’s childhood game—creating a goddess to take retribution against the "bad ones" who harm others—takes on a chilling, real-world significance. The further Nora gets, the more the lines between past and present, good and evil, blur in unsettling ways.

The Bad Ones is a unique, dark, and propulsive YA horror novel that I couldn’t put down. I thoroughly enjoyed this latest release from Albert!

Horror, fantasy, dark magic, and winter in a small town? Sign me up. So much fun. I will be recommending this for sure to my horror friends!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

So, full disclosure: I was going through some stuff while reading this book, and thus it took me much longer than it usually would to finish it, and I wasn't as engaged in the book as I usually am. I don't believe that is the fault of this book, as I tried reading various other books at that time, with the same result. My point being, mu enjoyment of the book was maybe not where it should be, and if I reread it again at a different time, I might like it more, but it's hard for me to separate what were my general life issues at the time from what my issues were with the book itself.

That all being said, I enjoyed this book much more than I did The Hazel Wood, and maybe less than I did Our Crooked Hearts. The characters were complicated and compelling and flawed (soooo deeply flawed), which I like to see in a book, as it makes it feel more real. The little reveal at the end was fun, and the mystery kept me engaged enough to continue on. Overall, I would love to read this again at a later date and see how I feel about it then.

I was interested in the concept of this book, but I might not be the target audience for this book. I struggled a bit through this. Nonetheless, if you’re a fan of supernatural YA content, messy friendships, dark magic, small town mysteries, with a hint of a romance, maybe this is for you!

Melissa Albert is one of my auto-buy authors! I absolutely love her writing style and weirdness! This may not have been my favorite of her books, but I was definitely engaged by the beautiful storytelling and all the twists and turns!

When four people from a small town vanish on the same Saturday night, Nora finds herself in the middle of a waking nightmare.

THIS is what YA novels should read like. Albert's writing was so absolutely engrossing and entertaining, I often forgot I was reading a novel billed as "YA". This was a fast-paced horror novel that-while it didn't really keep me guessing-kept me on the edge of my seat nonetheless.

**3.5 Stars**
I am a fan of this author so I will pick up anything she writes without knowing what I am reading, and this is a prime example of that. I went into this with no idea what it was about and I can say that it was creepy and unique for sure. I was 100% invested in the book for at least the first half and then I was left floundering for the second half. The story went from a horror mystery to something...else, but I am not really sure what to call it. There was a lot going on, and even by the time I reached the end I am not sure I fully got the point or cared enough by that point to try and work through it, it got so convoluted and weird. The book deals with some dark topics of multiple types of abuse and hate, so be warned it was not light and fluffy read.

I felt some Wednesday/Riverdale vibes from this YA novel. If I were still a high school librarian, I'd be thrilled to purchase this for my library. The cover art caught my attention. 4 people vanish and Nora is trying to figure out what is going on in her town. Despite the absence of Becca, who was arguably Nora's BFF, Nora hears her voice, finds signs in her locker, and notes messages only Becca would know about. The novel covers heavy topics such as the death of a parent, grief and loss, and alcoholism.The mystery is well-developed, and the FMC's relationship with her male counterpart is enjoyable. However, the ending is a bit far-fetched, but the characters' ending is satisfying.

Emma Galvin does a great job with the audio. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC for an honest review

Slow start to this supernatural book, which got eerie and unnerving in the middle before losing steam near the end. Interesting meditations on codependent, sometimes toxic--and sometimes redemptive--friendships between girls.

Melissa Albert knows how to write spooky, chaotic, likable female characters. I really loved The Bad Ones, and it absolutely highlighted Albert’s ability to spin intricate world of magic

The premise of this book feels really fresh. There’s a story about a girl who died years ago and a local game that kids in town play without knowing its darker history. Our main character, Nora, has a complicated best friend and the two of them are deeply codependent. And then the best friend goes missing, kicking off Nora’s descent into figuring out what has been lying on the surface of her hometown all this time.

There is so much I loved about how this book portrayed female friendship, especially in the teenage years. Albert never loses sight of who her characters are - messy girls who love each other above all else.

This would be a perfect October read; it isn’t scary, but certainly maintains a spooky atmosphere as Nora learns more about what’s really going on.

Highly recommend, and will continue reading whatever Albert writes next!

Melissa Albert is amazing at gothic horror/suspense/thriller whatever you want to classify this book as. Once I got to page 200, I couldn't put it down. She is great at making you want to know more about what is happening and what happened and what is happening next. This might be one of my favorite reads so far this year! Looking at the writing, she does a great job of the use of young adult terms and has a great balance of style to her writing. This book had me on the edge of my seat and if you want a roller coaster, then get in and get ready to ride!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing me with an eARC of The Bad Ones in exchange for my honest review!

The Bad Ones gives me the eerie and atmospheric tale I'm looking for, one that constantly makes me wonder if we truly do have paranormal shenanigans on our hands. I'm always up for books that build up such mysteries, and it's particularly interesting to dive into this story as it explores the intricacies of Nora and Becca's dynamic. However, this story, its increasingly creepy mood, and the secrets that fester beneath the small-town setting do get weighed down by an extraneous romance subplot and some questionable worldbuilding logic that leaves me arching an eyebrow at how it's supposed to function.

But overall, I'm officially rating The Bad Ones 3.25 out of 5 stars, which I'm rounding down to 3 stars. I'll keep an eye out for more of Melissa Albert's work.

Our main perspective is from Nora, whose best friend Becca has gone missing. No one seems to take Becca’s disappearance seriously, so Nora sets out to find Becca on her own. Following clues Becca left, Nora finds that their childhood Goddess game might not be a game after all.

Since we follow Nora for most of the book, we’re in her head a lot. She makes a lot of questionable decisions, which did get a bit grating at times. We do get another perspective toward the end of the book, but I think if those two would have been intertwined more from the start.

If you’re not into graphic horror, The Bad Ones is very light on the horror elements. I’m fine with light horror, but there were a lot of logical inconsistencies. I know that happens quite a bit in horror, but I noticed it a lot in this story. There were hardly any explanation for the supernatural aspects of the story. If you don’t care about logical explanations, you’ll be fine with it, but if you’re an analytical person like me, it might drive you bit batty!

The writing style wan’t my favorite. It was often choppy writing both within and between scenes. It made the pacing felt very uneven for me. I also usually like going back and forth in time, but the story would do this at odd times.

The last half was definitely my favorite part! Lots of twists and turns. The mystery/horror ramped up and I found myself flipping the pages faster.

If you enjoy YA horror and don’t mind a slow start and horror elements that largely are unexplained, this is a fun book to pick up!

*Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the digital arc. All opinions are my own.

Well well well call this my new favorite thriller and slap a bow on the front because this was freaking wild. a wild wild ride. I get the hype and can't wait to read more by this author.

Initially, I was so interested in what this book could deliver but unfortunately either I’m not a fan of Alberts work or just this genre is no longer for me. I struggled to get through this and it’s such a shame for me. Absolutely love the cover, though!

I devoured The Bad Ones in one sitting and I absolutely love the cover of this book!

The Bad Ones is a young adult, psychological thriller that follows Nora on her quest to uncover the disappearance of her best friend Becca and three other people who all went missing on the same night. This small town holds many secrets surrounding mysterious deaths and a popular urban legend that has turned into a real game.

This is a slow build to uncover the truth behind the Goddess game. It is slow paced but so many questions are answered at the end, the reader is not left hanging. You still feel a sense of urgency while Nora is trying to find out what happened to Becca and make sense of what was left behind for her to follow.

I wish more supernatural elements were included, especially using the statue in the graveyard and in flashbacks or during the moments Nora "zones out". Similarly, I think there was so much potential to make this book more of a horror but it fell short.

I really enjoyed the concept of the Goddess game overall; it was a very different read for me but I would recommend this to people who are looking for a fun, psychological thriller with some supernatural features.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for an ARC of this book.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me a copy of this ARC!

Rating 3.75 Stars

Let me start by saying I've been obsessed with mysteries and thrillers lately and this one was so intriguing. From the cover to the synopsis, I HAD to read this. And while it was a little slow for me, I really did enjoy the plot, the mystery, and to be honest... the vibes were immaculately creepy.