Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - The Bad Ones

This book was kinda messy but in way I enjoyed! The time jumps were a little jarring with the perspective changes but once I got the handle of it (I listened rather than read the book) I could go with the flow better. I think there could’ve been more room for character development with the side characters because I enjoyed them and would’ve liked to see them more. I think James literally just served as a love interest (which I don’t dislike because lorde knows so many writers dump women in their novels as side characters just to serve as the MC’s LI) and I wish his role in things was a little more prevalent. I did really enjoy Nora’s extracurricular scenes because I really liked Ruth! With Becca, there was one line Nora’s sister said where it was made pretty clear Becca isn’t seen as good for Nora and (alongside a convo with Nora’s mom) implied that Becca’s too overprotective of Nora to the point that keeps Nora from making other friends. That felt like a big theme to have but it didn’t really go anywhere? Like all we see of their relationship is from Nora’s perspective but she spends 80% of the book only referring to their falling out and we only hear about the good parts really as they were when they were kids so that felt off. But! I had a good time and I’d read it again for sure!! I’m also happy it ended the way it did because Nora deserved some good things coming her way 🫶

Content Warnings

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

When 3 students and a teacher go missing one night, one of their best friends, Nora, and the mysterious boy James, get pulled into an old town myth, the Goddess Game.
Well, I found the book partly predictable. I figured out what was up with the connection to the old game, or who was now in the story was connected to it pretty easily.
There were some good parts, like the interesting twist as to why these particular people disappeared, and what exactly was going on with Becca being a bit harder to guess.
I didn't like the "evil Goddess" thing. It's an anti-Pagan trope that rubs me the wrong way, even though I do not identify as Pagan.
Overall, the book wasn't terrible, it was just a bit too anti-Pagan and predictable for me. Though at least it wasn't preachy it was more overall anti-religion.

Narrator Rating: 4 stars
The narrator was excellent but not spectacular. Her voice can also be a bit annoying at certain points; it just depends on her tone.

Elemental Levels: Heartfelt-3/5 Mystery-3/5 Predictability-3.5/5 Suspense-1/5 Tear- 2.5/5 Thrill-1/5

Content Warnings

herelieshenry's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

In the interest of full disclosure, this review is specifically regarding an ALC copy of the audiobook from Net Galley, so while I imagine this audiobook was pretty close to finalized, some details may have been changed between my copy and the official release.

I think I would recommend this book to people who have experience in being an outcast kid experiencing intense childhood friendships, especially if you’re someone who frequently reads Young Adult books. I think the strongest element here is the raw portrayal of messy teenage friendships and the way it ties in to the symbolism at play throughout the story. The weakest is how abrupt the ending was. I think I would have preferred this book in eBook format instead of as an audiobook. I’m not sure I’d pick up another book by the author unless the premise was particularly compelling to me.

Overall, I think the plot was very well-crafted and the way it was put together was relatively coherent. It was a little difficult to ease into, but once I was able to get invested, I was able to buy in and suspend my disbelief. Conflict felt authentic and realistic to teenage drama feeling much bigger when you’re experiencing it. The narrative structure was interesting, and I think it was a good choice on the author’s part. There’s a relatively even layout of dialogue versus prose. Dialogue is a little dramatized, but it’s believable enough overall.

The shift in perspective modes was relatively effective. Due to the chapters out of Nora’s point of view being in third person perspective (as opposed to Nora’s being first person), the point of view shifts are relatively clear. The depth of perspective is consistently strong, zoomed in on the anchor character’s interior world in their specific chapters. This prevents head-hopping and adds an earnestness to the style. The writing style is consistent but effectively malleable to point of view, showing character voice between Nora, Becca, and Ruth. It all has the cadence of teenage youth, overall serious but understandably dramatic for teenagers going through it.

Pacing was mostly straightforward, but a little bit stumbly. Word choice is very direct and precise, and phrasing is easy to understand. There’s a lot of use of description, but it’s rather lean, not overweighing the narrative. Visual and sensory details are very rich with metaphor while still realistic to the point of view characters. It’s not long-winded or overstuffed, but occasionally, it’s very poetic.

A lot of the character dynamics rang true for me. The relationship between Nora and her mother in particular hit home for me—while I can relate to Nora and Becca’s relationship too, I found it very authentic to the experience of growing up with a chronically ill mother. A lot of the side characters kind of meld together in my memory, but they were easy enough to distinguish in the story itself while reading. However, I really appreciated the diversity of the cast here and how casually it’s referenced to. The portrayal of different identities throughout this book felt realistic and natural, but more importantly, I found it to be respectful and authentic.

Content Warnings

goodwitchs's review

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

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.

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