4.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.
Four people vanish from a small town. Is it a coincidence or are they victims of a vengeful goddess from a jump-rope rhyme? This was the perfect read for autumn. It was very spooky and kept you guessing right up until the end. I couldn’t put it down because I just HAD to know all of the answers to the many dark questions. If you’re looking for a twisty, mystery-filled horror story, this one is for you!

A gripping dark fairy tale.

I want more stars to give this book. I love all of Melissa Albert’s books but this matches The Hazel Wood in being an all consuming page turner.
Nora’s best friend, Becca goes missing one night along with 3 other people. We follow along with Nora as she tries to find her estranged friend. It’s a supernatural thriller, a study in complicated friendship, with a dash of potential romance.
I love the characters- they’re all flawed & messy & complicated. The story is fast paced, switching between Nora & Becca in different time periods. A couple of very late nights because I could not stop reading. My favorite kind of book- you can’t put it down but are sad when it’s finished.

OMG MELISSA ALBERT IS AMAZING! She created a world where justice and vengeance are served, and girls feel powerful in a world that is often unjust or unfair. Nora's best friend, Becca, goes missing along with two other students from Palmetto High- all on the same night. Nora knows that Becca didn't just run away, and she couldn't have done something to hurt herself. As Becca uncovers what really happened to all of the missing students, she also uncovers a sad and twisted background of her school and community that led to the origin of The Goddess Game, a game where kids take turns putting their lives in their friends' hands and seeing if they survive.

This book was just creepy enough for early Spooky Season and had me hanging on every word! 5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader copy.

I really love this author so this was a good enjoyable read. The twists and turns throughout the story were fun and had me on the edge of my seat. I adored the spooky vibes and how chilling the plot turns. Excellent read for this fall season.

3.5 - rounded up!

The Bad Ones is a spooky book with lots of twists. I really enjoyed reading it and I thought it was so fun! I've read this author's other books and I'd definitely recommend reading this one. My only complaint is that I feel like there are some plot holes that were never answered.

I chose this book because the front cover and the description but I couldn’t even get past chapter two. It’s all over the place. I don’t know who the main character is, there doesn’t seem to be an explanation of anything that’s going on or what exactly the problem could be. I’m also not even sure who the narrator is. I think the concept of the book was good, but the development and writing style ruined it.

Immediately upon finishing The Bad Ones, I pre-ordered it. It's a book that I want on my shelves. Melissa Albert is the queen of dark, magical stories that steal your soul and leave you hungry for more.

"I love you": three simple words that trigger a chain of events that change Nora's life as she knows it. Nora receives this text from her estranged best friend, Becca. When she wakes in the morning, Becca, and three other people from their town are missing. As Nora struggles to learn what happened to Becca, it becomes clear there is more to her disappearance than it seems.

The Bad Ones has everything a spooky fall read needs: vengeful goddess, mysteries, dark magic, horror. It's the type of book you can easily devour, but find yourself slowing down so you can enjoy it longer.

Thanks to Netgalley and Flatiron books for providing a free arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

This is being marketed as a supernatural horror, but it felt more like an old school thriller, all slow burn. Nora and Becca are interesting characters, and I liked the shifting povs and use of flashbacks. It’s very well written, I really enjoy Melissa Albert’s writing style, but the pacing kept me from enjoying it as much as some of her other works. Still great overall,

This book is not my usual preferred genre, but I picked it up anyway because I like trying new things. I was hooked from page one and the story just kept pulling me forward until I had to take a break from reading for two weeks to focus on my coursework. That break was absolute t o r t u r e. I like how well-written this is and how chilling it was to read. Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for the honest review.

Wow - I loved this. I am not one to usually read horror books but this one was incredible. It will be great for any spooky / creepy displays. I hope there is a sequel!

I’m overall really enjoyed The Bad Ones, I would rate it around a 3.8. It’s a quick read and the story pulls you in from the start. I really liked the friendship of Nora and Becca, the ups and downs and how such a close friendship can also be damaging. The main aspect that kept me from rating it higher is the use of the side characters, I liked the side characters but they often felt like they were dropped in for a scene and weren’t really apart of the story, I wish that those relationships had been fleshed out more with a few more scenes of them together, I also would have liked a little bit more of the background story.

Melissa Albert books always leave me more than a little disturbed. The Bad Ones is exactly what you want out of a Melissa Albert novel. It's atmospheric, tension-filled, and feels only too real. I was never bored reading The Bad Ones. It was the perfect book to transition me into the spooky season. I'm going to be thinking about this one for a while.

Spooky season must read!!! Gothic horror book with supernatural elements. There’s also a little bit of romance but not a full on romance book. This book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I’m so glad I started off my spooky season read with this novel. I’m exited to check out other books by this author.

The writing was, as expected, wonderful. This is a chilling, atmospheric, and haunting novel, with just enough suspense to keep you turning pages. While I finished this relatively quickly, I did have the feeling while reading that this is a story I've read before. Not specifically in one book, but in the formulaic blend of tropes and characters and deliberately-withheld information leading to a twist reveal that you know is coming. There were some moments and ideas that felt original, but the characters were so superficially sketched, and interacted so unmemorably, that I could have been reading about any angsty suburban teen and her classmates investigating a mystery. This book did everything it needed to, it just didn't do anything more.

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the material. A good blend of horror, gothic, and mystery. The characters feel very much like teenagers that got swept up into a mysterious terror. It shows that everyone can be the villain or hero. It kept my attention the entire time and I loved every minute

It pains me to say this, truly, but outside of a stellar opening and an okayish ending there just isn't much here to get excited about.

Melissa Albert did the thing I love her for-- she caught the vibes, put them in this book then while it was in my hands it caught fire. I enjoyed every single twist and turn, the ties and releases of teenage friendships and more-than-friendships and expectations. She captured that feeling that comes up sometimes, like you don't know yourself anymore and then there are holes in your memory, only she made it eerie in that nostalgic, unsettling way.

Within the first few pages, the author is able to establish voice, mood, and stakes with their vivid and clear imagery. Perfect for the fall, with a good, fast pace that handles the mystery elements and the creepy tone that creeps in at just the right times, resulting in visceral reactions and a grip that wouldn't let go.

I would like to say thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this book!

In Melissa Albert's The Bad Ones, you're sucked into the story within the first few pages. Four people disappear in sinister, mysterious ways and one of those people is Becca, who is the best friend of Nora (the main narrator of the story). Did Becca run away? The more we learn about her, the more confusing her disappearance becomes, as well as those of the other people who vanished. Nora has to figure out what happened to Becca, who is tied to the others in an important way.

Without getting into spoilers, the pacing of this book is fantastic. There's enough action to keep the reader from getting bored with the story, while still teasing out details that aren't predictable. The tone is nothing short of creepy and uneasy (in the best way). The descriptions of feelings are visceral and keep the reader with that little lump of dread in the pit of their stomach the whole way. As more and more details are revealed, you're still dying to know the next thing, which is rare for me to find in a book.

I highly recommend The Bad Ones! Melissa Albert is fast becoming the Queen of Creepy for me and I hope other readers will agree.

This book will keep you in suspense throughout the chilling atmospheric tale of a vengeful goddess! So many twists & turns lead you to pieces of a highly interesting puzzle to solve! Great characters, loved the pace, can’t wait for more by this author