I want to preface this by saying that I wrote this in three parts while reading the book, so this is made up of my thoughts in real time. I like doing this for books that I'm not particularly feeling from pretty early on to kind of document if my opinion changes at all. So without further ado, let's begin.

I’m writing this part of the review at the start of Chapter 22, roughly 42% through the book. I am tired. This book has actually put me to sleep on several occasions. There are 54 “named” chapters, and 10 other chapters titled with timeline points, and the two FMC’s names, Nora and Emma (it’s actually Becca, which tells you where I’m at mentally right now with this book...). So that brings the total chapter count, for all intents and purposes, to 64. I normally wouldn’t really care about that, except for the fact that the FMC Nora is so insufferable right now, that at this point I’m rage-reading, and it’s making the story drag. This is the third time I’m trying to read this book since downloading the file to my kindle app and it’s the first time I was able to get past the first ten-ish chapters. At this current moment, I do really enjoy the premise. There’s just something about Nora and Becca that I do not like, at all.

Right now, I’m taking the time to read through the other reviews on NG to see what the general consensus is (it has an overall rating of 4 stars), and was kind of (but also not really) shocked to see that there were other people who shared the same sentiments. The beginning of the story is attention-grabbing enough that people have been pulled in, but are ultimately feeling like reading becomes a chore. Which is how I’m feeling about it now.

I feel like if this was a print book, I would be incentivizing myself to read like I did back in high school and college, with putting snacks at the end of the chapters I had to read in massive textbooks for homework. Unfortunately, I cannot do this in the Kindle app... And unfortunately, this book does feel like homework at this point.

And I don’t think the issue lies in the fact that it’s a YA book. I do tend to like YA books, as they’re typically decent enough palette cleansers for when I get out of my dark and objectively *~icky~* reading moods. But The Bad Ones is just falling exceptionally flat right now. I like the story more when the focus/narrator is focusing on the /other/ people involved in the story. I feel like that says a lot.

Nora and Becca's relationship is starting to show itself as the toxic friendship briefly mentioned at the end of the synopsis on NG. I got the vibe early on, and still have the vibe even 22 chapters deep, that Nora is weirdly obsessed with her. And I feel the weird need to point out that I keep calling her Emma and not Becca, and I really, truly feel like that says a lot about how I feel about this book at this current moment.

There’s also this weird tension between Nora and the other photography dude that was friends with Becca (again, the lack of knowing this guy's name says a lot) that seems like it’s leaning towards romance...? It feels extremely unnecessary in the overall plot. And Nora was weird about him being friends with Becca... GIRL!!! You didn’t talk to her for MONTHS, what do you expect? But also? She’s allowed to have other friends...? Unless I’m missing something? I don’t know. It all goes back to not liking the relationship/friendship between Nora and Becca and just their characters in general. It’s giving me both the heebs and the jeebs.

Something else that’s bothering me and making it hard to read, and I know that the file is relatively unedited... but the syntax is weird, right? It could just be me, honestly. But there’s something weird about the way the story is written that is making me have to reread lines several times to wrap my head around it.

At my current spot, nothing is leaving me filled with suspense or wondering what’s going to happen. I am purely just wondering when the next time Nora says something annoying will be. I'm confused about the Mr. Tate angle right now because it's just ‘Mr. Tate is bad’, but I’m sure that’s going to be expanded as I continue reading, considering it was just introduced as a plot point in chapter 19?20?

But I’m going to continue reading now, and I’ll come back when I have something to comment on.

Hello, it’s me again. Now at the first page of chapter 32 and I do have things to say. First and foremost, I do still want to DNF this book, but I’m pushing myself through it against better judgment. Second, I do understand the Mr. Tate angle. Dude’s a creep and deserved what he got in the disappearing. Which... as I’m reading, I think the girl in the prologue that everyone saw was actually Becca, considering the last chapter was about some kind of weird and vaguely explained apprenticeship with some older woman who can tell a bad person from a good person just from one glance.

The initial draw that the book had for me in the premise has now been entirely lost. I find books that center around people who call the shots so to speak, extremely tired. If I knew going into it that this is what the plot would turn out to be, I probably wouldn’t have requested the book. I don’t think there’s ever been a book with this plot point that has been done well enough to not earn some eyerolls whilst reading. And boy did I roll my eyes when Becca mentioned playing “goddess”. I don’t know, it doesn’t feel original enough to me. Also a very interesting concept to pose to young adults, considering the age range is typically geared towards 12-18 year olds, however more than half of the people who actually read YA novels are over the age of 25 based on my findings. I wouldn’t want to pose the concept of being the one deciding who dies to someone still very impressionable? That’s probably just a personal problem?

In the ten chapters between the last chunk of text and this one, I still dislike the main two girls. The word choices that are being made when the narrator is focusing on Nora makes me think that they were made to make Nora sound smarter, but in reality they just make her even more insufferable. I don’t know what the author’s reasoning for the word choices were and I don’t want to speculate further than I have because I just want this book to be over. I have a little over 2 hours left, per the tracker in the Kindle App, so at this point I can't convince myself to stop reading since I'm so close to the end now.

--
I'm now done with this book and. Just and. I don't know. It was a book...? I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone to be completely honest.

The one/two page chapters sprinkled through the book started to really bother me, mainly because if I'm picking up a book that boasts 40+ chapters, I'm expecting a book that should seriously be considered for being split into two separate books because the chapters are 20+ pages long. This was not that.

This was honestly not a lot. A lot of words, sure. But there was nothing that really stood out to make this worth talking about with anyone. In hindsight, I probably should have DNF’d after chapter 22.

I really don't like being negative about books because I do know how much work it is to write something, let alone publish it. So I can appreciate authors’ abilities to do it, and that's where one of the two star rating comes from. The other star is for Ms Ekstrom. She was the only character that I actually liked. And she was the only character I couldn't get a read on, no pun intended. Her being revealed as the woman that Becca was meeting with did actually make me go “huh...” whilst reading, which was the only positive adjacent reaction that I had.

If I could recommend just the chapters that focused on Ms. Ekstrom, without any context needed, I would. But I can't.

Someone that will bother me for at least the next 7 business days, is James’ character (I remembered his name this time, look at me go). He felt… wholly unnecessary. His character was so poorly developed. The mysterious photographer guy, with a beautiful face, who comes off as moody is maybe... just... shy... Please go away. That is so… James deserved better development, especially if Nora is going to say that he's the shoulder that she needed to deal with everything happening. He gave like four crumbs of plot when he was around, and I'm supposed to just be okay with that? Also??? Still feel like the romance aspect was what? Unnecessary! Not everything needs to have this as a sub plot, and I wish the story would have developed without it. Not only because it was unnecessary to the main point, but because I just don't think Nora deserves James and I don't trust Nora. James deserves better.

Justice for James 2k24.

I have a lot more notes for this book and some of the characters and events that take place... but for brevity's sake, I'll keep those to myself and most likely add screenshots/quotes to a blog post after the book is published.

I’m sure this author’s other works are great (although I have seen several people compare this book to one of her other series and said it was pretty similar), but I have a fairly decent idea that they’re not my cup of tea because this book overall wasn’t my cup of tea. Even though this isn't my cup, I do wish the author a very successful release.

I would like to thank NetGally, Flatiron Books, and Melissa Albert for the opportunity to read this book ahead of being published. I am truly appreciative of it.

Thank you Netgalley and Flatiron for providing this ARC for review!

I currently read a lot of fantasy, but if I'm being honest, my love of reading is rooted in horror novels, so I was excited to switch it up a bit. This book follows the Palmetto's most famous true crime story - the night multiple people disappeared and no one can figure out how they are all connected...except Nora.

There is so much tension as we follow Nora's journey to find out the truth, with "replacement" friends woven throughout as the result of the current state of her most important friendship. The relationship is key to the story, though it quickly becomes clear that Nora may be better off. She's able to form new bonds, but she forms them in alignment with the relationship that started the entire ordeal.

The tension in the book keeps you reading, but when I got to the big reveal, I was a little disappointed. The theme of devotion and to whom is interesting, but I thought the urban legend could have been a bit more developed so it felt more tragic and worthy of the long-standing goddess game.

This was my first book from Melissa Albert and it won’t be the last. This is a Young Adult Horror book. I really enjoyed myself with this book and it was nostalgic for me. It reminded me when my cousins and I were kids and we would play this game of making potions from whatever we found outside-sticks, grass, leaves, mud, etc. We would chant and when we were done . We would splatter the concoction on the tree. Almost like making an offering to Mother Nature.
The care free days.
This book has a horror murder mystery of who did it. Then gives you twists and turns that you never see coming. It brought up a lot of memories from childhood, which is awesome when a book can unintentionally do that. I really enjoyed this book and hope anyone that reads it, likes it as well.

Thank you to NetGalley, Melissa Albert, and FlatIron Books for providing me with a free ebook in exchange for an honest review

First and foremost, thank you to Netgalley and Flatiron books for this arc. My opinions are my own.

I have mixed feelings about this one.
One of the things I liked about this book was how atmospheric it was. I could feel the eeriness that the town and Nora were experiencing. The overall story kept me on my seat. I never knew what was real or what wasn’t. I didn’t find the twists to be too predictable either.
However, I don’t know how I feel about the characters. I liked Nora enough but hated Becca. I know that they are supposed to have an unhealthy friendship, but it was still really hard to read. I was hoping this story would go into a different direction than it did when it came to learning to let go but it didn’t.
I also found the ending to be rushed and flat. When the “big reveal” was happening, I was a little let down. Going to a different character's backstory for a couple of chapters, although it’s important, messes up the flow of the story. I also found that it was hard to remember who was who in the flashbacks since the characters had the same letter of their first names. That’s probably just a me problem but I struggled through it.

Overall, it was a good, quick read. I think a lot of people would like this one even though I had rather mixed feelings about it!

3.25 stars

I’ve read a few of Melissa Albert’s other stories and I think this one takes the cake so far! I really thought I called the end to the book but I was definitely wrong! I absolutely enjoyed this book and it was so unique. I’m so glad that James and Nora had a happy ending and Becca was safe. I want to know where the goddess went and if she just disappeared forever. I can’t wait to enjoy what ever else Melissa Albert comes out with.

This is probably my favorite from the author, despite the average rating. I think Melissa Albert may just be a 3 star author for me, and that is honestly okay. No, this isn't a new favorite or anything like that but 3 stars for me aren't bad. They're enjoyable enough and keep me entertained, I just don't get attached to any characters or plot the way I would in a higher rated book.

I will say that the book is very intriguing and did make me want to keep reading to find out what was happening. Unfortunately, that reveal is where it got confusing for me. Without giving anything away, I think that there just needed to be some more development of a few plot points. For instance, the Goddess part wasn't quite as developed as I would have liked to see, and it left me feeling more confused than shocked at some reveals. I would have loved some more characterization and backstory of this Goddess character in order to truly know why she matters to these characters, and how she connects to the childhood games the main characters played.

This book was very confusing in my opinion and I did not know was was going. The plot was good but again it was very confusing to read.

people are disappearing. it's nothing new. people disappear all the time, right? but when four people go missing in one night - taken from a sleepover, from a running vehicle, a porch, and from a cemetery - nora knows something is up, particularly because one of the people that's missing is her former best friend, becca.

soon, nora starts finding clues - little scribbled notes that point to a childhood game that she and becca used to play and she starts to wonder how the goddess game connects to the missing people and why she's starting to uncover that the missing people all have murky, insidious secrets.

i read our crooked hearts by melissa albert and i had a good time, however i think with this particular book i struggled with some pacing issues. the first part was slow burn and there wasn't a lot of clarity about what was happening. i regret that - i think larger chunks of the plot only really came out in the last 25% of the book and i found myself wishing there was more explored in the first part of the book.

overall, i'm a revenge girly and did have a decent time, though i do wish some of the supporting characters were more deeply explored - payoffs didn't feel as good when we only read a sentence or two about each person.

4 people vanish in the middle of the winter night, when Nora realizes her estranged best friend Becca is one of the 4 people, she was left with clues, secrets and questions. Everything all goes back to the nursery rhyme they would say as kids. “ goddess goddess count to five in the morning who’s Alive”. How does everything go back to that rhyme it’s just a myth, a childhood game… or is it?
The bad ones is YA horror, fiction, medium to fast paced read. The bad ones I thought everything was perfect, I loved it. Just something about the ending through me off, maybe it’s cause it’s YA but in the end I do recommend this book to people who love YA horror read

Thank you negally and publisher for this ARC

the bad ones is a great YA horror thriller, but did not feel annoyingly juvenile in the way some YA books do. I loved the writing style and the cross-over between fantasy and horror. The book did have a bit of a slow start but was well worth it.

Overall a decent horror/paranormal/thriller. Slow place throughout until about 77% with a few unsettling spooky moments along the way. The ending is fine nothing truly exciting.

The beginning to this story was a tad bit confusing, but it’s full of important information that links the rest of the story together✨

Estranged best friends is always gonna tug on my heart strings I’m so happy with the ending of this story✨

Self made goddesses dreamt up by too young girls ✨

Very twisty every time I thought I knew what was going on I was mistaken lol✨

The sci-fi magic esc element to this story was such a fun fun twist ✨

Lots of emotion lots of character development I loved this story✨

A definite reread✨

The Bad Ones is a YA horror thriller, it kept me engaged throughout the story. I was a bit confused as some points, but all gets explained at the end. I will sure be checking out more by this author.
Thank you Flatiron and Netgalley for the digital ARC.
4 Stars

This one was a DNF for me, but I am still very thankful to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for granting me advanced digital and audio access to give this one a try.

4.25 stars

17-year-old Nora's and her best friend since childhood, Becca, aren't speaking when Nora gets an unexpected text from Becca in the middle of the night. The same night that Becca mysteriously disappears, along with 3 other seemingly not connected residents of their small town. Nora is desperate to find out what happened, and when she starts finding what appear to be clues left for her by Becca, she starts to question if the fantastical games they played as children were actually make-believe.

Nora teams up with the obligatory mysterious new guy, James, who of course, "... looked extremely good in that looks-like-shit way almost no one can pull off. Like he'd rolled out of a ditch twenty minutes ago and put on shoes." I actually really vibed with James despite his seemingly cliche archetype. He wasn't what I expected and his humor wasn't trite, plus he didn't overpower the heart of the story, the friendship between Nora and Becca. Because while James might look rolled-out-of-a-ditch hot, Becca and Nora are "... in black and white. Two girls o the hood of an old sedan, shoes kicked to the concrete ... Americana as anything, a small-town summer dream. But if you looked close you could see a darkness between them, shaped like a question mark. A complicit edge to the way they looked not at each other but straight ahead. That's what made it an interesting photograph."

This is marketed as YA horror-meets-fantasy, and it delivers. I loved the writing style and how Melissa Albert depicts the whimsical magic of childhood and the dangerous power of belief and feminine rage. I don't want to give too much away because I think going in blind for this will make it so much better, but I loved how it walked the line between the creepy and sinister occult and innocent and beautiful imaginings of kids and how the disillusionment of reaching adulthood can distill one into the other. Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

Albert has a way with words and I really enjoyed this twisty book. The premise was so intriguing and I couldn't put it down. I loved trying to put all the pieces together.

The first half of this book was so intriguing, creepy, and fun, However, it did lose me a little bit towards the end. I did enjoy it overall and I can't wait to see what else Melissa Albert has up her sleeve.

I am obsessed with this book that I am going to picture it up once it's released. This crossover horror fantasy has to be my favorite of Melissa Albert's works. I highly recommend this to everyone who loves a good Horror Fantasy.

This was a fun and sinister, at times riveting, supernatural YA horror fiction. The characters Nora and Becca were great center points to this story about a vengeful goddess. Anyone who is a fan of YA horror will enjoy this book! Melissa Albert never disappoints. It's fun to see her write such a great YA horror book!

I initially requested this book because it gave me Tara Isabella Burton vibes. And I was so right! It is gothic, sinister, and riveting.