Bad Like Us by Gabriella Lepore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars rounded up**
Bad Like Us is the most recently released YA Mystery from Gabriella Lepore. This fast-paced novel hit shelves in early March and I couldn’t wait to get to it.
After enjoying this author’s last two novels, I was expecting a certain vibe and it delivered exactly what I wanted.
In this story, we’re following a group of teens setting out together to spend Spring Break at a rustic lodge on the Oregon coast. The lodge is owned by one of the teen’s Uncles, making it free and all theirs for the week.
Unencumbered by adult supervision, the kids are looking to party, spend time together and just relax, shaking off recent stressors, of which there are many.
The group, in and of itself, has some complications. At the heart of most of the drama seems to be Piper. Her constant live streams and pot-stirring attitude have everyone on edge. Can’t she give it a break?
It’s not solely Piper though, there are definitely other tensions brimming just under the surface that make the environment, shall we say, touchy.
Our main perspectives are Eva and Colton. I enjoyed both of these characters and the audiobook did have dual narrators which was great for making their voices distinct.
After a night featuring a campfire on the beach, some adult bevys, and high levels of interpersonal drama, one of the teens is found dead the next morning. The police swoop in and a tense investigation into them all begins.
I enjoy the way Gabriella Lepore builds out teen friendship groups. This is a feature of all of the books that I have read from her and I always get pulled into their lives easily. I also feel like the mysteries are always solid and engaging.
I loved the setting of this one and the set-up of the teens being on Spring Break. A lot of secrets are being kept amongst the group and it ended up going much deeper than I initially anticipated, which I appreciated.
Overall, this was another fun one from Lepore. I’ll continue to pick up all of her releases. If you enjoy YA Mysteries, and haven’t read her work yet, you should give her a shot!
Thank you to the publisher, Inkyard Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
Lepore never fails to entertain me and I’m looking forward to picking up whatever she puts out next.
Bad Like Us is available now!!