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semeyers's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Really enjoyed this one, honestly. I loved the dry humor and the exploration of a toxic friendship. Kind of went off the rails a little bit at the end and leaned into the full supernatural, which I wasn't expecting and did drag it down a little bit. But the very tame, very high school appropriate romance was so cute.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Self harm and Alcohol
aamarii_98's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
The writing style of this book was very confusing for me. I can’t describe it very well, it just felt like the pacing would change suddenly and there was a lot of explanations for unnecessary things at random points. I was curious about how it ended, so I only finished the book for that reason
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Self harm
spadefootfrog's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Alcohol
arrr's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This book does such a good job of accessing that transitional period between magical thinking and growing up. Explores topics of trust, honesty, consequences, vengeance, justice, and friendship. Empowered young women and supportive peer groups. A few queer characters. Good example of kind masculinity. Good examples of how young people can process and cope with the actions of the "bad ones" while being true to themselves and maintaining their power.
Best friends play the bad kid version of the goddess game and unlock an old mystery.
Best friends play the bad kid version of the goddess game and unlock an old mystery.
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Pedophilia, Self harm, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
purplepandaa's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Minor: Violence
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
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
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
Graphic: Medical content, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Mass/school shootings
goodwitchs's review
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Self harm, Mass/school shootings, and Car accident