I wanted to love this one but it was just okay for me. I liked the writing style and the characters. Saffy has charm and is very funny. My theory is that the characters are great but the plot isn't that interesting. There are too many lulls and I didn't feel any chemistry between Saffy and Jon.

The cover is probably one of my favorite covers I've seen in a while though.

The story began with a powerful female protagonist taking down villains, which was incredibly engaging. However, it gradually shifted focus to a man, with Saffy relegated to the role of the supportive female behind him. This departure from the initial premise was disappointing. While I enjoyed the story overall, I found the pacing inconsistent, with moments of brisk action followed by slower sections. Despite this, I struggled with the narrative's emphasis on Jon over Saffy—I craved more development for her character. With some revisions, this story has the potential to be excellent.

The epitome of "I support women's rights, but I also support women's wrongs."
Bad Men is a fun romp, featuring a villain you can't help but root for! Something about a sociopathic woman, dark comedy, and murder that just works so deliciously. I think this is a strong addition to this particular genre, and I love reading this type of story every time.
However, I could predict a lot of the twists thrown our way, and the pacing felt off throughout, which is why my rating sits at a 3.5.

3.5 stars rounded up. I unexpectedly enjoyed reading this!!! The prologue hooked me right from the start! Its was a fun ride, although the pacing wasn't consistent. It was fast-paced in the beginning, then it slowed down and kind of lost the excitement, but it picked back up again as I raced to the end. This is a fun, "popcorn", bad-girl thriller where you can't help but like the sociopath, serial killer MC who orchestrates a "meet cute" to get her crush to notice her. Thank you NetGalley and Zaffre for this ARC! Loved it!

This was a delightfully easy read, and kept me turning pages to find out how much more messed up the characters situations could become. I enjoyed the dark comedy and the clever monologue of Saffy.

i wanted to like this so bad, saffy’s story was legitimately interesting, she felt like a gone girl type protagonist who does awful things and you as a reader have to read into their reasons and mentality, however, this focused far to much on jon’s story which i found boring and flat, (also the person framing him was a bit too obvious for me) and their love story felt forced, especially considering how saffy created it all and jon is none the wiser, make him find out! make it uncomfortable!

thank you netgalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest feedback

This book had me on the edge of my seat wondering if Jon was going to find out Saffy's secret. Throughout the story some things are a given but while she is trying to get her man to be her man I was anticipating him finding out....

This story was great but it was like in the middle of trying to stay a romance and a thriller. I will say though that it was def my type of book since I love both genres. Saffy is an interesting person and while she does kill people it's because they are not good people. I hope theres a second book in the series where we can see how Saffy is in a relationship but also maybe see if Jon can decipher who Saffy really is...???

This book is perfect for those who love:
- a romance book and a mystery/thriller book combined into one
- Psycho character
- Podcast making main character
- 'Doing whatever it takes to get him to be your man' kind of love
- main character who kills bad men

Overall rating: 3.5/5
Would I recommend it? yes

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for giving me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I will read any book that's about a fictional female serial killer and so I was hyped for Bad Men,! And it lived up to the hype in my head! I adored our main character and her silly lovesick mind ---even if she puts a dog in danger on purpose.

Hilarious satire at it's best imo

If you rooted for Villanelle in Killing Eve, this book is FOR YOU! Our lead uses her cunning and guile to do the world a favor by taking out the trash of various Bad Men, while also carefully engineering a relationship with the one good man she's ever known.

The book had a captivating start, especially for someone like me who enjoys stories about female serial killers. However, in the middle of the book, the main character, Saffy, unexpectedly changes her focus from killing men to manipulating a man into falling in love with her. I was hoping for a plot vibe similar to "They Never Learn" by Layne Fargo or "A Certain Hunger" by Chelsea Summers, but unfortunately, the book didn't live up to my expectations. Despite the disappointment, I'm willing to give the author another chance in the future.

This was a wild ride from start to finish! I love a good female serial killer book!

Saffy is a socialite whose hobby is to kill Bad Men. She was successful for years until she decided to take a break to obsessively fall in love with a true crime podcaster. Something crazy happens to the podcaster and Saffy decides to become part detective part lover.

If you are looking for a fast read, this is the book for you!

This was a fun & easy read which is interesting considering it’s a dark subject. But the MC doesn’t keep too “dark”. I liked how fast paced this book was though I wished for a tad more plot.

Okayyyy so I’m not usually one to make this claim but the U.S. edition of Bad Men ARC on NetGalley was my all time favorite ARC and absolutely one of if not THE most fun thriller ever. Saffy, the protagonist, is everything a girl wishes to be. Effortlessly cool, stylish, rich, fiercely protective of her little sister, feminist, beautiful. I could go on and on. Despite her being everything I wish I could be, I don’t hate her. You can’t not love her! Even despite her deep dark secrets and tendency to stalk people she likes 🤣 this book truly is wickedly funny. The end had me cackling and telling everyone I know all about it.

3.5/5

This started SO STRONG! We had this incredible female bad ass who took out bad men. Then at some point this morphed into a story about a man with Saffy being the understudy who was the strong female standing behind the great man? It almost did the opposite of what the premised promised us this story would do.

I really liked this story, but I found the pacing to be incredibly off. Things would clip along, then utterly drag along. I honestly got past that, but I had a hard time reconciling that this story became so focused on Jon and not on Saffy - I wanted more on Saffy.

I think this is really good and with some edits could be really great.

I have mixed feelings. It was fun, I liked the premise, but at the same time I have read similar plots with a woman serial killer targeting men.

not the story I was expecting or wanting.
for a story that really makes it seem like it's going to be about a woman killing bad men, we really hear so little from Saffy.

Somewhere between 4 and 5 stars
In real life, I’m not a fan of capital punishment, but the men that Saffy kills are the kind that almost never get any sort of justice at all, let alone the death penalty, so I was mysteriously totally fine with her behavior. We don’t actually see her doing that much, but she lets us know about it, in between when she is trying to get a boyfriend, clearly one of the good men. He’s Jonathan Desroisiers, a podcaster who helps cops catch bad men, although in the course of doing so, gets in a bit of hot water himself.

This a fun, twisty mystery, although you can make some guesses about certain things early on. In any case, the characters, even socialite serial killer Saffy, are likeable. It’s fast paced and somehow funny.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES May 7, 2024.

I almost feel guilty for liking this story so much! Funny, fast and highly entertaining! All the stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and ABRAMS, The Overlook Press for the ARC!

Meet the most irresistible serial killer of the year in this twisty feminist thriller that’s as wickedly fun as it is lethal. This was a really fun read - I love a women serial killer who gets revenge on bad people. It’s fast-paced and will keep your attention.

the premise of the book sounded interesting however the execution of the plot was not great.

thank you so much to netgalley and ABRAMS for an arc in exchange for an hamlets review.