I’m sharing another instalment of my Mini Review Mondays, the most recent of which was last week. In case you haven’t seen any of my previous posts, I do ‘mini’ reviews of books that I’ve previously read and am now ready to share my full thoughts about.
First up, I’d like to talk about The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert. Thank you to Nina Douglas and Penguin for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
‘Goddess, Goddess, count to five. In the morning, who’s alive?’
One town. One night. Four people gone.
Nora’s best friend, Becca, is one of the lost. As Nora tries to piece together the truth, she uncovers dark events in her high school’s history and a string of coded messages Becca has left for her. These clues point to another missing girl thirty years previously and a sinister urban legend: a goddess figure, who played an eerie role in Nora and Becca’s own childhood games.
As Nora struggles to unravel the mystery, it’s clear there are dark forces at work in her town – and they’re willing to stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried deep.
Publication Date: 22nd February
TW: death, murder, disappearance, sexual assault, sexual harassment, grooming, mention of school shooting, homophobia, grief, hit and run, cancer
My Thoughts:
The Bad Ones was a curled snarl of a book, soaked with rage and consumed with vengeance.
It was a stunning, shiver-inducing supernatural mystery. Albert just has such a gift for creating atmosphere that sinks its hooks into you and will not let go. From the very first page, I was completely under the spell of this book. It is a pacy, suspenseful read with plenty of twists and turns to uncover. The central mystery thread is so well executed and ties into the wider theme of rage and retribution. Albert asks what lengths would you go to in order to exact justice and reclaim a power stolen from you? This is particularly prevalent through the lens of feminine rage and the motifs of abuse, specifically within power dynamics and relationships. It is dark, unrelenting and spellbinding. I delight in stories like this that pulsate with a deep seated thirst for revenge and a twisted sense of retribution. Albert ensures this is challenged, but left morally murky and ambiguous. Every action has consequences, even if you are unaware of the darkness of those consequences and what they may cost the justice seeker themselves.
Albert also thrives in that blurry boundary between fantasy and reality. This book delights in the liminal spaces and the creative power of stories to transcend these spaces and become something more. They are both a belief system and a way to grapple with trauma, evolving into something potentially more sinister. I also loved how they epitomised the somewhat toxic relationship between Nora and Becca, laced with secrets and suspicions that cloud the judgement of everyone involved. They are both three-dimensional, flawed and messy characters that have their own problems to deal with and relationships that begin to emerge. Their narrative shows the progression from childhood to adulthood, but also the limitations of background and perceptions of outsiders. It challenges you to think beyond the norm and indulge in the childhood imaginations, which may have morphed into something else entirely.;
The Bad Ones is a captivating, sinister and deeply angry book that also delights in complex characters and the ambiguities of creativity.
Next up, I’d like to talk about In The Shallows by Tanya Byrne. Thank you to Team BKMRK for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
From the acclaimed author of Afterlove comes a beautiful sapphic second-chance love story drenched with longing, loss and mystery. Mara’s ex, Nico, is the girl of her dreams: beautiful, wild and unpredictable. She’s Mara’s everything, even though Mara’s never sure that she’s Nico’s anything. Then Nico goes missing.
New Year’s Day: A girl is rescued from the sea. She knows she is called Nico, but other than that, she has no memory of why she was in the sea or what came before.
When destiny reunites them, is this Mara and Nico’s second chance? Can their relationship make it out of the shallows? And what will happen when they discover the truth behind Nico’s accident? Because one day, Nico will remember everything.
Publication Date: 29th February
TW: toxic relationships, parental abuse, emotional abuse, manipulation, infidelity, amnesia
My Thoughts:
In The Shallows was an absolutely stunning book. Byrne has created another book that just finds a nook in your heart and stays there.
This book is so emotionally rich and complex with excellent characterisation, pacing that kept me glued to the pages and some deftly executed twists and turns. It had everything I adore in a YA contemporary and more, with the mystery plot thread running throughout. You want to know precisely what happened that night and the truth is heart-breaking. It is a dark twist and looking back, you can see the warning signs. As always, Byrne’s writing is incredibly gorgeous and evocative. The pages are tinged with such vivid emotion and characterisation. It is a difficult read at times but it is still one pursuing happiness and that desire for a classic, sweeping romance.
Through it all, you find yourself rooting for these characters with everything you have. Mara and Nico are brilliant characters and I particularly loved Mara’s narrative voice for its hopeless romanticism and looking for the spark of joy in things. She is a bit naive and optimistic at times, but just feels like a teenager trying to find her place in life. Their progression and character arcs are excellent, particularly with the amnesia aspect almost making everything start over again. This creates some morally murky moments, which are challenged and discussed on page. It is a book focused on manipulation and control, shown through several different types of toxic relationships. However, it is also very much a book about love and hope and beautifully messy friendships that form the basis of your teenage years. You grow up and doing so is not a perfect process, making mistakes and compromising trust along the way. They are authentically messy and true to life.
In The Shallows is another stunning, character focused marvel from an excellent author I adore within the YA contemporary space.
Finally, I’d like to delve into Lie or Die by A. J. Clack. Thank you to Graeme Williams and Firefly Press for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Ten strangers trapped in a television studio
Forty-two remote cameras
One rule: Trust no one
When a casting call is announced for new reality TV show Lie or Die, Kass is tricked into auditioning by her best friend. Big Brother meets Mafia, Lie or Die pits contestants against each other as they try to discover who is a murderous agent and who is an innocent player. But when contestants start to turn up dead (the real kind, not the fake kind), Kass realises that not being eliminated and winning the game is the least of her worries. No longer a game of truth and lies, Kass and her friends are in a fight for survival. ‘Reality’ just got very real.
Publication Date: 7rd March
TW: murder, death, violence, gaslighting, manipulation, electrocution, execution, allergic reaction, suicide
My Thoughts:
If, like me, you are looking for something to fill your life with the twists, turns and scheming of The Traitors, Lie or Die will fill that void perfectly. This is a pacy and perfectly riveting read that will have you up until the early hours, bingeing the story inside.
The concept of this book is fantastic and the execution is even better. Clack has put together an incisive and interesting storyline that flows smoothly and has that glossy feel of ‘scripted reality’ to it. Everything is not quite as it seems here. I loved the exploration of the cost of fame, its brevity in today’s environment and the cost of keeping it up. That throughline was impactful and an important message, particularly for a younger generation. The plotting was superb, with excellent twists up Clack’s sleeve. Because you get to know and enjoy these characters so quickly, it raises the stakes just much higher. They fit several reality TV types, but also show that they’re more than those stereotypes. There’s some meta commentary around this that I enjoyed.
Kass is a fantastic protagonist – smart, driven and a lover of puzzles. It should not be a surprise that she ends up on a programme like this, but she’s only there to pay back a debt to her best friend. Her mindset is interesting, especially her desire to make friends in a highly competitive environment. She is seamless as an audience insert, piecing together the unrelenting horror of what is actually happening behind the scenes. I loved her passion and how she put friendship first at her core, despite some silly mistakes. Her actions have consequences and these weigh heavily on her until the very end. However, she reads like a typical teenager, growing up and trying to find her footing in the world.
Lie or Die is a pulse pounding addictive YA thriller. Just like your favourite TV shows, you’ll be up obsessing over the pages.
A Short Book Lover 
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