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.

I randomly requested The Bad Ones and was super surprised when I saw I was accepted! Thank you NetGalley, Melissa Albert and Flatiron Books for the opportunity to read this ARC and leave my honest review!

I do want to first off preface this review by saying that I have only (attempted to) read one other book by Melissa Albert, The Hazel Wood, and for some reason I just couldn’t get into it. That being said, Melissa Albert is a talented writer and she uses a lot of description in her writing, which really does help you to get into the minds of the characters and sets the scene very well.

Overall, I think that I enjoyed reading this book, but there were things that weren’t explained as well as they could have been, especially as we get to the end of the book and its conclusion. I can see the complicated dynamics of Nora’s friendship with Becca and how that could lead to messy situations as they both grow older, and the theme of toxic friendships is very well explored.

When it comes to Becca’s reasoning for why everything happened and what led up to her disappearance, things get a little foggy and even at the end of the book, I am still uncertain as to her motives. But then again, sometimes we do strange things for our friends. It also explores some heavy themes so check trigger warnings!

The pacing is great, the themes are well developed, and I liked the horror/otherworldly feel woven throughout. Overall, I gave it 3/5 stars and would recommend to anyone who likes a bit of small town friendship drama with some supernatural horror elements thrown in for good measure.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

This was my first book by Melissa Albert and I was pleasantly surprised by the story. It’s full of mystery and suspense and kept me guessing. In the beginning, I was so confused but it all gets explained very well as the story progressed. The end really picked up and I was mostly invested in Rita & Patty’s story. It was heartbreaking & devastating. I liked how this book dealt with friendships that are pretty much toxic and how you need other people in your life. Nora depending on other people who weren’t Becca was nice to see. The blend of fantasy and reality was done so well. I was unsure what was real and what could be in Nora’s imagination.

I’m excited to read more by this author. I also have Our Crooked Hearts and will be reading it soon as well!

Content Warnings: death, murder, death of a parent, toxic friendship, blood, drowning, violence, brief descriptions of sexual violence, grooming

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC!

Love and devotion, while similar, are not exactly the same. Their definitions run alongside one another, sometimes overlapping, their edges bleeding together. In that dark, blurry space where they meet lives Melissa Albert’s The Bad Ones.

Over the course of a single winter night, four people within the same city vanish into thin air. One of the missing is Nora’s best friend, a talented photographer named Becca. Becca and Nora haven’t spoken in three months, until the night that Becca texts Nora “I love you” out of nowhere.

By the time Nora arrives at Becca’s house to talk, her friend is nowhere to be found.

This is a story that starts out creepy and gets a whole lot creepier. The sense of dread was wonderful; it was impossible to look away. The more I learned about the missing people and the city’s dark past, the more questions I had. All I wanted was to stay up all night and finish the book in one sitting.

I enjoyed the characters a lot more than I usually do with YA books. As a narrator, Nora was a character I could empathize with, and who I couldn’t help but root for. She was believable and likable, which is not always the case with teenage protagonists. The glimpses of Becca were even more interesting to me; I would love to read a version from her point of view. And all the side characters — James, Ruth, Sloane, Cat — stood out in their own ways.

The magical aspect is deliciously done. This is not sparkly, Disney-fairy magic. This is dark and primeval and quite possibly not of this earth. It is magic with a taste, a texture. It is feral little girl magic, amplified a thousand times over.

If any of this sounds up your alley, make sure to check out The Bad Ones. You won’t regret it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The mix of mystery and dark fantasy was perfect. I’ve just started getting into fantasy and this was a great read!

melissa albert has a way of writing that imbeds itself into my soul and doesn’t let up.
the bad ones is a ya horror fantasy about four people who vanish from seemingly thin air. one of those people being nora’s bestfriend, becca.
we are taken on a journey of learning the backstory to nora and becca’s relationship & why this disappearance might not be so mysterious after all.

nora is a multi-faceted character that i really enjoyed reading. she’s going through a lot and the character progression was done so well. by the end of the book i felt like i knew her better than i knew myself.
we are presented with an array of background characters that each add something different to the story, whether that be plot progression or just comedic relief. i felt like each character fit perfectly into the story & was fleshed out to be a single person.

the small subplot of romance is sooo good. melissa always does a great job of this & i loved the mmc so much. he was so cute. this story is not a romance by any means, but having that small little bit really adds to everything imo. sometimes i don’t enjoy romance in books like this. it can feel useless but melissa does it so well every time.

the writing is so creepy and claustrophobic. i could feel myself cringing while reading at certain points. the prose are so beautiful, adding such a beautiful depth to this story. we essentially are following multiple cases of disappearances in this town, and melissa ties it all up with a beautiful ribbon at the end.
the underlying messages of her stories are always so good, and this one just the same. she has such a way of writing about female rage that really hits me in my core.

the reason i rated this a 4/5 was because i did feel like at times the story dragged at bit. it definitely kept my attention, but the flowery writing just isn’t for me all the time.

i definitely recommend this! it was such a good story with such a good ending.

thank you netgalley for an e-arc of this book.