This reads derivative of others in this subcategory of mystery that seeks to unravel the darker sides of friendship and romance and use the characters' childhoods to mine some current mystery.

In this case, four kids have gone missing including the character's friend. But the introductory chapters cause confusion rather than a sense of impending doom. Then, as in the past YA books, the clue-leaving was left to a boy chasing his manicpixiedreamgirl. In a sense, it's the same thing here but with friends. There's a weird mystery that S L O W L Y unravels over too many pages to attempt to enhance the drama but instead ends up bogging me down with unnecessary drama. Where I enjoyed the pacing of Our Crooked Hearts and the premise was unique enough, this one felt like I'd read it before with the reveals not being anything earth shattering-- it reminded me of I'm the Girl, After You Vanished, and The Black Queen in this respect.

This book is really not my cup of tea, but I know a lot of readers will enjoy it! The writing style didn’t work for me and the pacing was too slow to keep me engaged. But it’s a good creepy YA book for people who have liked this author’s previous books.

At first glance, THE BAD ONES by Melissa Albert is a compulsively readable supernatural horror story about teen girls, friendship, and urban legends come to life. Under the surface, however, it capably addresses myriad dark themes, including dead parents, grief and emotional isolation, toxic friendships, and suicidal ideation.

Albert's writer voice is strong and stunning; I could visualize every setting perfectly, and her characters were individual and full of emotion. Nora was such a well-developed MC, whose conflicting feelings about her friendship with Becca were relatable on a level that I have rarely ever felt while reading a YA novel. (Her relationship with James, on the other hand, was completely unnecessary, in a way that genuinely aggravated me whenever he appeared on the page. The romance was too obvious and heavy-handed. Definitely would have preferred for his narrative function to have been given over to Ruth, who was a much stronger character despite appearing less frequently and whose interest in Nora's well-being was more developed and believable.)

My main criticism, aside from The James Thing, comes down to the mystery wrap-up, which was confusing and unclear in a way that the rest of the story hadn't been up to that point.

I could not put this book down.
I've always been a fan of Albert's prose, haunting settings, and prickly main characters, and The Bad Ones did not disappoint. You'll be hooked from the first page of this contemporary horror fantasy, which reads like a fever dream as seemingly disconnected people disappear from a small town in one night.
High school student Nora explores more than her town's dark history on her quest to find her estranged best friend Becca, who is also one of the missing. With the help of a hot, aloof classmate (who also happens to be an artist), Nora follows clues left behind by Becca. And the story gets more twisted from there.
Albert employs a gentle touch as Nora explores the complex and highly emotional journey of coming of age through her and Becca's shared experiences with abandonment, sacrifice, grief, and more.
This thrilling and unsettling story is great for fans of Amanda Linsmeier, Krystal Sutherland, and Autumn Krause.
Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC!

This started with a super strong, very creepy beginning, and then my interest in the story slowly began to wane. It was very creative and I liked it, I just wished the creepiness from the beginning persisted throughout - it really turns into more of a mystery situation. Overall though, I will recommend it to teens who like horror (which I think is all of them right now). 3.5 stars Goodreads, 4 stars Netgalley.

Thank you NeyGalley for a copy of The Bad Ones. Wow this book was insane from start to finish! I really had no idea where this book was going. I would say the first 50% drags a bit but I kept finding myself wanting to keep going to try to solve the mysteries in this book!

A deadly game, a toxic friendship, and missing people... one girl will have to uncover the secret to her friend's disappearance and unravel the supernatural mystery at the center of it. Becca and Nora are best friends, their friendship is co-dependent and toxic but they love each other... until they have a sudden falling out. Becca sends Nora a text out of the blue that says "I love you" and goes missing, along with other people in the town. Becca leaves clues for Nora and with the help of Becca's other friend James, Nora has to figure out what happened. The story is a mystery that goes back and forth from present to past, has touches of supernatural element, and a little bit of horror. It started off really interesting but kind of lost me during the middle part. The overall story felt a little bit all over the place and the pacing was odd, the mystery and clue pacing was really slow and I wish there was a nicer flow and rhythm to the story. While this was a mystery with supernatural elements, it still felt a bit underwhelming unfortunately. I adored Melissa's previous book and was really looking forward to reading this one during the Halloween season, but it just fell flat and didn't live up to the expectations I had. Unfortunately this one was a miss for me but if you enjoy slowburn mysteries with toxic friendships then give this one a go, maybe you'll have a better time with it than I did.

*Thanks Netgalley and Flatiron Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I say it every time Albert publishes a new novel...I want to just crawl around in her imagination! Amazing imagery, sharp, biting narrative. She nails the complications of friendship and growing out of childhood magic/innocence. The end was a bit scattered and confusing, but still wonderful.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

3.75⭐️

This was pretty good! It held my attention and was spooky without being too spooky (I scare easily 🫣) I had no idea what was going on but it was fun trying to figure it out

My review will be posted to Goodreads closer to the publication date

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was very hard to put down. It starts off so creepy good with the missing people and then Nora waking up to a friend that vanished too, as well as missing time. The unraveling of this case was just right, keeping on my toes guessing the whys and hows. I always love a bit of supernatural and Melissa Albert does a great job of having just the right amount to keep me hooked. I love the addition of the Goddess game with all its hidden meanings and when it all came together at the end, it was awesome. That was definitely the power of friendship and trust between two girls. Though I would love to learn more about the secret and why it decided to go after the "bad ones" in humanity and where it came from.

Good book, best read in one sitting because of all the twistys and excitement. Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book the read and review.

"Goddess, goddess, count to three. If I'm good will you pick me?"

Nora and Becca have been best friends since elementary school - Becca chose Nora because she told the best lies. Their friendship over the year was a little bit co-dependent and toxic, but they loved each other through every season of life they endured from elementary through the teenaged years of high school, but after a falling out the two stop talking for a bit...

"Like any deity, the goddess began as an agreed-upon reality. And like any good story told when the lights were on, her power grew when no one was watching. In the dark."

Becca sends Nora a text out of the blue that says, "I love you." Nora goes to Becca's house to see what's going on and falls asleep outside on her lawn, only to be found the next morning by Becca's step-mother. Soon -- news has shown that there are three other missing folks in the town... a freshman girl named Chloe, a boy in Nora's grade named Kurt, and a creepy teacher named Benjamin Tate.

Becca leaves clues for Nora after disappearing and Nora is determined to solve this mystery with the help of one of Becca's other friends James, as well as some other unlikely supporters along the way.

This book was so captivating and hard to put down - the chapters were short so it was really quick to get through the book! I give this book 4.5 stars, because as satisfying as the mystery and the chase were...I found the resolution and ending to not live up to what I was hoping for... but that didn't take away from how fun this book was to read and how much I enjoyed it.

There's a lot of modern references sprinkled throughout the book which I don't always enjoy but they were fun in this novel - listening to the Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack and using Charlotte Tilbury make up.

This book does a great job with foreshadowing, which makes it a lot of fun. As you are reading through the novel there are moments that just "click" and you think, "OHHHHH" which is a lot of fun for me. It definitely was not predictable whatsoever - the supernatural elements kind of creep up on you a bit, it's hard to tell what's real and what's imagination. It's too bad this book doesn't come out until February, because it's definitely a perfect read for the spooky Halloween season.

I am so grateful to NETGALLEY for the ARC so that I could read this book ahead of time and give my honest feedback. I will definitely be looking into reading more from Melissa Albert after consuming this piece! 4.5 stars from me :)

A childhood rhyme, turned dangerous game, turned clues to the disappearance of 4 people on one night.

Nora wakes up on her best friend Becca’s porch, but Becca is gone. Now there are 3 other missing people in the same town, all leaving behind their possessions and loved ones. Nora is determined to find her best friend, but the closer she gets to answers, the less she feels like herself. Strange things are happening to Nora - she doesn’t recognize herself in the mirror, she wakes up having written notes in her sleep, hears Becca’s voice in her head so powerful she can’t tell if it’s actually Becca or her own thoughts.

This was my first YA horror and it was so good! The writing was simple (which I always appreciate) and easy to follow and quick to read. Highly recommend!

fun concept, poor execution. nothing was happening the first 60% of this book, and nothing was really overall interesting. the ending just fell really flat. i know this book is meant to discuss toxic female friendships, but i feel like way more could've been done with it.

There's nothing I love more in a book than supernatural disappearances, female friendship, and magic. When I read the synopsis of The Bad Ones, it seemed like it was written just for me. But unfortunately, I did not love this book as much as I expected. I should have had low expectations for this book considering I read Our Crooked Hearts earlier this year and found it lacking and overall nothing mindblowing. In a way, I feel the same about The Bad Ones. I was so excited to be approved for an ARC, and I started it as soon as I got it. That was in August and it's October now and I struggled to finish this. At times, the book felt too confusing and it was too tedious to read. I found it difficult to connect with the characters, the pacing was slow, the plot was underwhelming, and even the writing wasn't my favorite, which was shocking as I loved the way Our Crooked Hearts was written.

Overall, The Bad Ones had the potential to be something great but failed to meet my expectations. For a book that seemed right up my alley, I just hoped for something better. Melissa Albert is a beloved YA author, so I'm sure her fans will appreciate this book, but it misses the mark for me.

Full review to come and will be posted on socials closer to the release date. Thank you Flatiron Books for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

“I wasn’t prepared for the grinding dailiness of her grief.” The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert is a creepy thriller about myth, belief, toxic relationships and a dash of high school drama. People have disappeared and we spend the book following one person, Nora, who is left to look for them. Most important to her is her best friend Becca.

There are some great thoughts and quotes in this book; not just the one I started with but this one as well:

“Let’s say you’re the girl who saved your best friends life. The person who kept her alive. What becomes of her life when you’re sick of saving it?”

This is a fiction book that will make you think back on your friendships and best friendships and what lengths you would go to for them. The books becomes more fast paced as Nora’s story unfolds, and we learn more about Becca and the people in her life. I couldn’t put this down even though I got more and more creeped out (in a good way). The end was a bit lackluster and fast, but ultimately it was a great story.

Another awesome book from Albert! Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

"The bad ones" holds great promise, but it may test the patience of readers with its slow start. The initial chapters are filled with an extensive build-up, taking its time to set the stage for the main topic. While the writing is undeniably good and the world-building is rich, some readers may find themselves longing for a quicker entry into the heart of the story. However, patience pays off in this case. Once the book finally reaches the interesting parts, it becomes an unputdownable experience. The author's storytelling prowess truly shines as the narrative unfolds, and the intricacies of the plot begin to emerge. The character development, which was subtly established during the slow build-up, now comes into full play, making the reader feel deeply connected to the protagonists.

A serviceable YA horror mystery novel, The Bad Ones presents a sl0w-burn unraveling of the strange disappearances of several people on the same night from the same town. The protagonist, Nora, has a believable teenage personality, and the way that she handles the struggles presented throughout the book make a lot of sense. Her complicated relationship with her best friend Becca is well written and serves as a good foundation for central conflict of the story.

However, the pace was a little too slow for my taste. The plot doesn't really begin to pick up until about a third of the way in, so at times, I struggled to stay interested enough to press on. Once the plot does pick up though, it presents a few creepy twists and turns that, while not being especially scary, do add a fair amount of dread and tension to the disappearance mystery. Like with a lot of horror novels though, there's not much in the way of logic or rules in the way that the story concludes. The supernatural elements just....are, and the book doesn't give any explanation for why any of them are possible.

Overall, I though this was a decent book, but the plot could've had better pacing, and the horror elements could've been a little more organized.

I felt like this book had a lot going for it in the first half. It kept you on your toes and kept you guessing about the first chapter throughout most of the book. That being said, I didn’t love the ending. I felt like halfway through the book I was hoping for more clues and a snippet into what was going on but it came as a flood towards the end. I felt like it just rushed through the plot twists and didn’t make much sense. I did love the supernatural element of it though. That being said, I felt like the ending scene where Nora is drowning was out of character for the goddess. I feel like Becca coming back was weird and we never knew where the other people went.

The promise of this book was very interesting. I have mixed opinions on it. Some parts were good but some not so much.

This book was amazing. I'm still trying to form coherent thoughts....
I'm not usually one to foray into supernatural/fantasy novels, but it captured my attention and held it. I loved Nora, and reading from her perspective was nice.
The Bad Ones was dark, and full of vengeance and fantastical elements and a *whisper* of romance. I really appreciate the author leaving the romantic aspect of the main character until AFTER the resolution. The character thought to herself, even, that the person deserved to be more than a distraction at this traumatic time. I liked that.
Without spoilers, I loved the ending too. Great spooky story, I'm very happy that I got to read it in October!