This was a really interesting book that kept me on the edge of my seat. The pacing was a little slower than I'm used to, but overall, I enjoyed it. 3.75/5⭐.

I really liked this one. If The Bad Ones was a tv show/movie during my teenage years you can be sure I would be glued to that screen every week. Four teenagers (and one teacher) vanish without a trace one Saturday evening. There is seemingly no connection between them, but Nora knows that her best friend Becca didn't run away and she's still alive out there. Piecing together the clues Becca left for her, Nora discovers the Goddess game they played as children may have a more sinister origin than as a basic nursery rhyme.

The book was creepy and I loved the supernatural elements. I thought Nora was a great main character and I loved following her as she tracked down the history of the Goddess Game. This was a bit of a slower burn, so I ended up tandem reading along with the audiobook and really liked reading it that way. In terms of movies/tv shows this reminded me of, I found elements of Pretty Little Liars/Fear Street/Stranger Things (season one), so if you like any of those I would recommend checking out The Bad Ones.

Thank you to Flatiron and NetGalley for a review copy.

“Goddess, Goddess, count to one…
who will you pick when the day is done?”

This book had such an amazing build-up in the plot, and while it may have been a bit slow in the beginning, it was worth the climb for this amazing and brutal ending. As each chapter unfolds, we follow our FMC on her struggle to uncover her best friend’s disappearance along with 3 other people in town. We’re gifted beautiful moments of our FMC reliving her childhood friendship, and glimpse little pieces of story time magic that Melissa Albert so artfully sprinkles throughout her books.

I’m usually pretty close or spot on at guessing an ending and I had a full ah-ha moment when I reached the climax of this book – I truly didn’t see this full ending coming. This story is so beautifully written and highlights female friendship, love, loss and revenge.

Would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a YA Horror that’s queer-normative and lighter on the gore.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for an E-ARC copy of this book!

Overall this was an ok book. It is not the strongest of Albert's catalog but it was solid. The pacing played a part: it is extremely slow until about a third in. The ending is also underwhelming.

3.5 rounded down because it just wasn't strong enough to be rounded up.

I was a bit bored In the beginning of this one. I did like the pretty little liars vibes this gave off and it feels like a good mystery for a Ya. J could see my students liking this (Highschool) I did want more thriller and less supernatural and the ending was a bit odd for me.

4.5/5 stars

This book is amazing! It's exactly the sort of folk horror/gothic fantasy story that has become Melissa Albert's brand, and I loved it. It managed to have both the suspense and the tinge of youthful nostalgia (with a twist) that Our Crooked Hearts has, and yet be entirely unique. This book is compelling from the first sentence and pulls you right in to the mystery. Nora is a really interesting narrator, as her past is more complex than is initially let on and she's not entirely reliable, but you can't help but root for her to find her way, both in the plot and in the broader scope of her life. I really enjoyed the folklore and horror elements, and I thought they were woven very well into the missing-persons-mystery element of this story. It seemed initially as if there were too many different threads for them all to connect together, but in the end they did. This book is also just exactly the right balance of whimsical and spooky! I was drawn into the magic of Becca and Nora's childhood memories while also creeped out and on the edge of my seat as things unfolded in the present. It was unsettling in the way that always urges me to keep reading and reminded me of a modern-day fairytale (a real one, not a Disney-version of one).

I will say, I was a bit confused by some of the logistics of the reveal (like how Becca, as a physical being, could have been where it turned out she was while she was missing). But I liked other elements a lot, like the exploration of toxic friendships, and the true power of imagination and what we put our faith into. And I know that the fantasy elements of this make it easier to explain away some of those elements of the end that confused. I did really like the reveals and who turned out to be behind it all, I thought the pacing of that was excellent! I also wish we had maybe gotten some more from some of the side characters, especially the lit mag crew---because they were good friends to Nora and tried to save---James as a love interest, and Cat and Miranda as Nora and Becca's family members. It was sometimes hard to grasp the weight of scenes without more knowledge of the side characters. That said, I do understand that Nora and Becca were dangerously absorbed in each other (hence the Goddess Game, etc) and so it does make sense that much of the story would be mostly focused on them as well, without fleshing out the other characters.

Over all, so well-paced and well-written. Perfectly scary and magical! I really enjoyed this book a lot and will say that Melissa Albert has definitely carved a niche for herself, and she owns it. I love it.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert! It was engaging and well-paced with a likable main character, Nora. I’m not sure I would classify this book as horror though but more of a magical mystery/thriller.

The prologue gives this book a strong start by introducing us briefly to the four people who disappear in one night. Considering that the book starts off slowly with Nora only piecing together that four people have disappeared after the first few chapters, the prologue ensures that the reader at least knows that four people have disappeared right off the bat. Nora slowly discovers more about the three people other than her best friend, Becca, and each revelation is spaced out enough to keep me wanting to read more.

The ending is probably the weakest part of the book as we have <spoiler> Becca basically explain her entire side of the story from a hospital bed. The toxic friendship between Nora and Becca remains unaddressed with Nora seemingly forgetting about it with Becca’s return.</spoiler> I wished that Nora had a stronger character arc as I felt like the book was moving towards Nora realizing <spoiler>how manipulative Becca was and how poorly she treated Nora at times. I really disliked how Becca’s trauma was basically used to justify her behavior towards others, especially Nora, and the harm that she caused.</spoiler>

The book also does a pretty bad job of explaining why <spoiler> the entity that possessed Nora was so bad. Obviously, I’m not condoning murder but there’s no reflection on how Becca/the entity literally prevented a school shooting and stopped a child predator/groomer. It's not clear that Becca or frankly Nora really learned anything from their experience or how to deal with evil in the world. </spoiler>

If the ending was stronger and the toxic friendship between Nora and Becca was explored more, I think this could have been 5 stars. As it is, this is a solid 4-star read.

I was really intrigued by this one (I mean, that cover! The description!), and I found myself drawn in easily by the horror and mystery of it all.

The Bad Ones follows Nora, a high schooler whose town is rocked by the mysterious disappearance of 4 individuals on the same night. And one just happens to be her kind of ex-best friend. Following the clues her friend left behind, Nora unveils a supernatural truth at the heart of the disappearances, and realizes she may be closer to the mystery than she originally thought.

I thought Nora was a great protagonist, and I loved that we were uncovering things alongside Nora throughout the story. Weaving together Nora and her friend's past and present was an interesting way to connect all the dots. It was definitely creepy enough to keep my heart pumping!

Overall, I enjoyed the read. I will say that I felt that pacing was a little slow in the beginning, but picks up in the last half or third of the book. There are a lot of twists and turns, and plenty of things I didn't see coming. Although it didn't all work for me, I can see what the author was doing and appreciated the story for what it was!

This is a complicated beautiful story about the way girls are so often ignored when they go missing and the way they are blamed. I've always been curious by this unattainable idea of a perfect victim. That none of us are valid until we are that but we will also never be that. I think this captures that.

This book ended up not being for me, and I did not finish it. I knew I was taking a chance, as horror is not a genre I typically read, so I won't be reviewing this title. I did spotlight it as part of the blog tour, and here was the intro of my post:

Today on the blog, I’m featuring The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert. This is the latest release from The Hazel Wood author, and while that series may have some light horror vibes, this one jumps right into the genre. The tone of this book reminds me of a cross between The Wicker King and Carrie. If either of those titles resonated with you, I think this one will be right up your alley. I would be interested to know if you’ve read this author before, and if you have plans to pick The Bad Ones up!

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

This was such a fun read! I loved how the mystery unraveled over the course of the book. The biggest reason this was a four star read and not five stars was the massive info dump explainer towards the end that answered most of the questions left in the book. But I would still absolutely recommend!

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this book.

Slow burn at the start but definitely picks up towards the end! I found myself drawn in completely by the main character and loved the supernatural aspects.

Over the course of one winter night, four people vanish without a trace from Nora's small town -- and one of them is her estranged best friend, Becca. As Nora searches for the truth about Becca's disappearance, she discovers a dark secret in her town's past -- as well as a mysterious connection to a game Nora and Becca played as children that involved a vengeful goddess. As the lines between make-believe and reality blur, Nora must attempt to unravel the town's secrets before Becca is lost to her forever.

The Bad Ones is one of those books that is all vibes, with a dark, moody atmosphere and elements of sinister magical realism. Melissa Albert immerses you in the world of the book with lush, vibrant prose and ethereal imagery. Nora is a believable teenage character whose actions and responses feel authentic for someone of her age and circumstances, without seeming completely overwrought or annoying. Her complicated relationship with Becca is well-written and allows Albert to explore some interesting themes surrounding toxic female friendship, the mysterious power of make-believe, and the magic and invincibility of childhood -- and the agony of leaving it behind.

I wanted much, more more from the mythological and supernatural elements, though. The conclusion didn't fully satisfy me because there is no explanation for how any of it actually works, or how the myth truly originated. I'm not one of those readers who needs everything spelled out for me, but the end of this did leave me scratching my head and wishing for more, especially since the pace of the book is quite slow so I'd been hoping it was building up to an earth-shattering ending. Others are loving this book a lot more than I did, so if The Bad Ones sounds up your alley, I'd definitely encourage you to give it a try.

The Bad Ones (ARC)
Melissa Albert
4⭐️

Pub Date: 2/20/2024

Woah! This one took me in for a ride. It's YA, thriller and horror altogether! The beginning was immediately interesting. People are missing. And as I read on, the story just descends into a more sinister plot. The confusion I was feeling was tingling my senses in all the right ways. All I can think about is "what the heck is happening?" The writing style is really good although again, just because of the actual plot, it was a bit disorienting. But I thought that was appropriately done. It's mild, there's not a lot of rush or action but the unsettling feeling was very heavy. I do wish that there were more details about the victims, the aftermath and also the angel that was on the cover! It did mention it at the beginning but since it's the cover, I was kind of anticipating it to be more of that. But I will say, I could not stop reading it!!!

Author Melissa Albert is back with the new book The Bad Ones. Nora and Becca have been best friends for as long as they can remember. After a mysterious emergency pickup, Becca seems to have cut Nora out of her life entirely. When Nora receives a strange text from Nora in the middle of the night, she rushes to her home. That night, four people vanish from their small town without any sign of where they could have gone. Nora immediately tries to figure out where Becca has gone, but keeps coming across a series of seemingly coded messages from her best friend. Could the secret to Becca's disappearance be connected to an occult childhood game the two once played?

Melissa Albert is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors to come across my review desk. Her writing is smart, fascinating, and fabulously creepy. Her female characters feel like real people, even when they do seemingly unreal things. The Bad Ones is the type of book that once you dive in, you won't want to put down until you get to the stunning conclusion.

The Bad Ones is now available.

I’m a fan of Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood series, so I was glad to see her in even better form with this YA horror revenge tale. The eerie nature of the mystery here kept me engaged the whole time and I was eager to find out what happened to Becca and the other missing townies. Always love a complicated friendship story, and thought this deftly showed how childhood-to-teenage codependent relationships can be both toxic and wonderful.

I do wish the ending had turned out different, but I’m a supporter of women’s wrongs, so…take that as you will.

I really enjoyed this one from Melissa! Atmospheric, engaging with the perfect amount of horror elements. This book left me uneasy at parts but continuously flipping the pages. I loved, loved the aspect of taking childhood games that are often rooted in something tragic and truly making it horrifying as we Melissa did with the goddess game. I loved Becca and how flawed she was throughout the book.

Definitely will continue to pick up more books by Melissa!

In a small town with a lingering secret, three teens go missing on the same night. As Nora works to figure out what happened to her friend, she reveals more secrets and rethinks their troubled past. Sometimes your friends are more dangerous than the Bad People in this addictive, supernatural thriller.

A perfect start for reluctant readers as three unconnected teens are lured by something supernatural and ominous. Part mystery, part complicated toxic friendship, part girls securing their power, Bad Ones will have readers sleeping with the lights on for fear of what might be lurking in the dark. The immersive, cinematic quality of Albert’s writing makes this creepy, claustrophobic thrill ride compulsively readable. A “steal this from your teen” selection: writing so smart, sharp and visceral it will surely appeal to both teen and adult readers. The fluid timeline keeps readers on their toes smoothly to an explosive end. A good fit for readers who enjoyed Our Crooked Hearts, Ginny Myers Sain Dark and Shallow Lies, Amelia Brunskill’s Wolfpack or Courtney Summers complex girl relationships.

The nitty-gritty: A supernatural revenge story revolving around a dangerous game is the focus of Melissa Albert’s latest, a beautifully written, dark tale with a compelling mystery.

Melissa Albert once again proves what an excellent writer she is with The Bad Ones, a YA horror/mystery that is perfect for adult readers who don’t usually enjoy YA—take it from me, I’m one of those readers! This is a dark tale with strong urban legend elements, touching on the unique bonds of childhood friendships and how toxic they can become. The otherworldly elements are subtle until you get to the end, but I loved the journey, and the mystery was intriguing enough to keep the pages flying.

On the night Becca Cross disappeared, three other seemingly unrelated people went missing as well, abruptly and without a trace. Nora and Becca were inseparable friends until only a few months ago, when Becca did something unforgivable. But when Nora receives a strange text from Becca—”I love you”—she’s compelled to investigate. Something must be wrong, because the text felt like a good-bye. Nora goes to Becca’s house, but instead of finding Becca there, she finds her cell phone abandoned in the back yard.

When Becca doesn’t turn up the next day, and reports start coming in of other missing people, Nora fears the worst. And if something happened to Becca, why is Nora finding strange clues that could only be from her best friend? With the help of the reclusive James Saito, a boy who knew Becca through their mutual love of photography, Nora decides to find her friend, and in the process, figure out what happened to the other three people who are missing: a thirteen year old girl named Chloe, a teenaged boy named Kurt, and Mr. Tate, a teacher at Nora’s high school. Becca left James a message—Tell Nora I’m off to play the goddess game—and Nora has a place to start. Because the goddess game was what came between the two friends in the first place.

Albert doesn’t waste time setting up her mystery—the disappearance of Becca and the other three, seemingly unconnected people—and the reader is immediately sucked into the story. Most of the chapters are told from Nora’s point of view, but we also get some flashback chapters that follow Becca leading up to the present. These sections (“Six Months Ago,” “Three Months Ago,” etc.) reveal more details about Chloe, Kurt and Mr. Tate and why they might have been targeted. We also learned more about the goddess game and how its origins are shrouded in urban legend, as well as Becca’s chilling connection to the game. It isn’t until almost the end that we finally learn what really happened, and I loved the way the author tied everything together.

At the heart of the story is a complex, ultimately unhealthy relationship between Nora and Becca, which starts when they are only seven and escalates into a codependency that’s nearly impossible for Nora to break out of. At first the girls are thrilled to have found each other. Becca is the new girl in school, a petite, sprite-like creature who chooses Nora out of all the kids in her class to befriend. Becca has a vivid imagination and creates all sorts of magical games throughout the years. The nearby woods act as their playground, where the two can let their imaginations soar. Nora goes along with everything, especially when Becca takes up photography and creates her “goddess” photos, posing Nora in costumes and inventing names and purposes for each goddess. Eventually they incorporate the goddess game into their play, a trust game with deadly consequences. It’s this game that finally fractures their friendship, when Becca goes too far one day and scares Nora to death. Up until the scary codependency parts, their friendship brought back lots of memories from my own, magical childhood, so for me this story had an extra layer of nostalgia to it.

In order to explain the goddess game and how it started, we meet another character later in the story, a woman who is connected to the high school and may be the key to everything that’s happened. Melissa Albert is a master at complex plots and characters, and I was in awe of the way she was able to tie all these threads together at the end of the story.

Definitely not your run-of-the-mill YA, The Bad Ones is perfect for readers who like their stories dark, and their characters darker.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

Paranormal mystery, crime drama, and YA best friend story all in one - heck yes!

As always, Melissa Albert gives us interesting, powerful, young women with complex backgrounds who face unusual, paranormal nemeses. Albert doesn’t try to instill bland moral lessons with her stories, she explores her characters evolving identities with refreshing authenticity.

This was a fast-paced read that didn’t take much time to get to the action. It contained many of the themes Albert’s other novels include, and that’s part of what I love so much about her books. She’s a master of describing dream worlds and bringing urban myths and classic fairy tales to life with dark, suspenseful vibes.

The Bad Ones left me with many questions about the technicalities of how, why, and what next in this story. I wonder if a sequel is in the plans? I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled! I can't wait for one or more of her books to become a movie/TV series.

I really enjoyed reading this (as I have every single one of her books). I kept thinking about it for weeks after I finished. I recommend this to Melissa Albert’s devoted fans and YA witches who need to spark a fresh reading streak.