Thank you so much to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for an ARC of The Mean Ones by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book exceeded all my expectations! The twist at the end completely took me by surprise. I had previously read "Such Lovely Skin" by this author and loved the writing style, so I was thrilled to enjoy this book just as much.

The dual point of view was an excellent choice, allowing the story to unfold gradually and revealing information to the reader bit by bit.

I can't wait for the next one!

Sadie is the only survivor from her summer camp cabin when her two roommates were brutally murdered. Ever since that night she has been haunted by a male voice in her head, sees her dead friends, and has horrible visions of another world around her. The only thing that makes it go away if when she is at the gym working out which she uses to her benefit as a physical therapist assistant. When her boyfriend suggests a trip to the woods with another couple Sadie knows it's an awful idea but cannot seem to tell him no.

What could possibly happen....?

Definitely one of the best horror books I have read in years! Dare I say revivals Steven King in his early years!

As much as I wanted to love this book, it didn’t end up that way. I LOVE the concept, the mean girl flashbacks unfortunately (?) also gave me flashbacks, so the writing style is immersive and smooth! But the ending felt extremely rushed, and I just don’t feel it was completely planned out well enough to have the impact the author was trying to go for.
I definitely recommend to someone wanting a quick, fun read, though!

Thank you Creature Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this!!

I've never read a Schlote-Bonne book before and this has convinced me to seek out more. The Mean Ones is a dual timeline about a girl whose best friends were murdered at summer camp when she was young. It bounces between the unfolding of those events, and the events happening 17 years later as an adult.

This took a completely different spin than I expected and I LOVE when books end in a non conventional way. I loved the pacing, I loved the side characters, I loved the imagery. Everything about this was a one sitting read I couldn't put it down.

I highly recommend checking this out, plus the cover is to die for!!

Thanks to the author and publisher for letting me read and review "The Mean Ones"!

I'm a folk-horror fan, so I really wanted to like this one. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me. It took 11 chapters to get any sort of action that wasn't Lucas gaslighting Sadie or being emotionally abusive or dismissive. The story flits back and forth from 2006 to 2023, but Sadie is very two dimensional. Her fears as a child and her fears as an adult are pretty much the same, even before anything happens. She just felt flat as a character. I hoped for more from the ending, but it felt very rushed. I think this could have used more time to be fleshed-out.

3.5 rounded up.

The Mean Ones is a great combination of trippy, mind bending horror and more common real-life issues. The blending of reality, trauma, and horror was written seamlessly and was a quick and interesting read. While the writing style was not as dramatic and poetic as I usually like my horror, it felt very relatable and modern, which I think will appeal to a lot of readers.

Sadie, formerly Sabrina, witnessed a horrible crime when she was a child. Dealing with the trauma of her past, a lifetime of insecurities, and lack of social support, she molds to and bends to the whims of her boyfriend all while wrestling with haunting visions. When he accepts an invitation to go to a cabin in the woods with their friends against Sadie's wishes, we're thrown into Sadie's biggest fears and uncover the mystery of her past.

There are lots of nerdy little Easter eggs throughout the book which make my nerdy little kid heart flutter. Sadie is a perfect example of the arrested development that a traumatized child with a dark inner world can experience. I really enjoyed this read.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

The slow unraveling of Lucas throughout the story was impeccably written. From loving, doting boyfriend, to nice guy who gets a little upset sometimes, to total abusive monster was a really great dive into the world of domestic violence. Not enough people understand the dynamics of IPV and Sadie's perspective changing regarding Lucas through the story and eventually culminating in her revenge was *chef's kiss* delicious.

Wow wow I LOOOVED this. I was interested by the description and was immediately hooked into the story. I loved going back and forth from past to present it felt like it flowed really nicely, I enjoyed the small reveals along the way, they felt natural and not forced in. And to me the ending was 🤌🏼 I will definitely be recommending this one!!

Thanks Netgalley for the arc of this book.

This was really well written, and one of those stories where you just want to know more and keep reading. This isn't normally my type of genre but it definitely surprised me with how good it was. The ending was not expecting that at all but at the same time I quite enjoyed the way the story wrapped up.

⏩ QUICK READ (202 PGs)
🤣 LITERALLY LOL’d MULTIPLE TIMES
DUAL TIMELINES - (2006 - 2023)
GREAT POP CULTURE REFERENCES

3.5 / 5
⭐️⭐️⭐️.✨

The Mean One crawls under your skin with its mixture of folky horror laced with visceral descriptions and laugh out loud moments. The vibes are kinda like.. MEAN GIRLS x STRANGER THINGS x PARENT TRAP x YELLOWJACKETS x AHS: 1984/ROANOAKE.. but also different from any of these. The 2006 TL delivers the perfect mix of nostalgia laced teenaged drama && a creepy, backwoods blood fest. Vivid depictions allow you to immerse yourself in our FMCs visions.

This was a quick enjoyable read for me. Was really excited to receive the ARC for this, so thank you to NetGalley && Creature Publishing. I devoured this book & I enjoyed every second of it!

Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC via NetGalley!

I decided to read this book cause I needed a nice break between fantasy series, and this book was the perfect palette cleanser.

This book was a mix of thriller/YA/horror/dark fantasy/mystery, and it was just absolutely perfect. I started this book about 5 hours ago and I just finished it because I did not want to put this down! The plot was addicting. One of my favourite things about this book was that the flashbacks to the past provided a lot of context and they were informative; some books I’ve read in the past have used flashbacks which I found more confusing than anything. But this book is such a good balance of plot and character development, and it was so easy to read because of the fluidity of the writing. The Grady Hendrix influence is clear within multiple parts of the book, but the writing is so unique that it doesn’t feel like something I’ve read before.

The exploration of human emotions and the ‘dark side’ we all have was so incredible, this book really made me think about humanity and life.
The FMC was relatable and I found the presentation of the possible abusive relationship tasteful and informative.

This book was a great combination of excellent writing, complex characters, an interesting plot line, plot twists, and it was just generally so enjoyable. This book truly earned the 5 stars I’m giving!!

Rating: 5/5 stars (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read this in a single day, and by a day I mean a shift at work, because I was so absorbed I genuinely could not stop reading. I would sneak 2-4 pages in between stocking my carts, hiding in the back room to finish a chapter here and there. Thankfully it was a slow night, so no one noticed! But even if we were busy I get the feeling I would have let my job suffer in exchange for finding out what was going on in The Mean Ones lol.

I guessed the twist early on, but the book didn’t suffer for it. What it did suffer from was a lack of length. I wish the book had been longer, so that it could really flesh out the summer camp chapters. I felt like we barely got to know the girls before tragedy struck; if there had been more build-up, more mystery and creeping dread, I think this would have been a real five star book. As it is, it’s just too short.

But even though it suffers from a lack of page time, The Mean Ones was a helluva ride and I was rooting for the ending I saw coming from the start. I think this author will become an auto-read for me now that I know how good of a writer she is!

Really interesting horror book. I went into it with no expectations and found I really enjoyed it! The twist at the end was the exact opposite of what I was expecting and I was plenty suprised.

Excuse me, but what. the. fuck?
I’m not new to Tatiana Schlote-Bonne’s writing, so I shouldn’t be as surprised as I am, but I am shellshocked by this book. It’s one of those books that leaves you staring at the words ‘The End’ trying to come to some understanding of what you just experienced. Schlote-Bonne’s transition from YA to adult horror is absolutely seamless. Unlimited stars!
Told in increasingly shocking and uncomfortable flashbacks, many moments of this book left me feeling viscerally unsettled and genuinely disgusted. I was in near constant, extreme tension from my jaw to my toes. I couldn’t control my physical reactions from eye rolls at 12-year-old meanness my soul seemed to remember, to cringes at various crunches and splashes throughout. The writing flawlessly alternates between perspectives of a moody teen, and the evolved version of that same girl (now, woman), and it created such a connection and protectiveness over the FMC that by the perfectly evolved finale, I was prepared to do anything to protect her.

First, thank you to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for this advanced copy for review.

I LOVED this book. I devoured it within twenty four hours. To be honest, I didn't know what I would think of it right away. I'm not a huge fan of folklore horror, but I really enjoyed this one.

A quick summary is that the main character, Sadie/Sabrina, suffers from what therapists consider PTSD from a traumatic childhood event. But the real question is, is it PTSD, or is the voice she hears in her head real?

This books jumps from 2006 to 2023, telling the stories of what happened to her at camp as a child, then onto adulthood. I related with Sadie as a child because I was bullied as a kid. I feel that is part of the reason I read this so fast and couldn't put it down. Relating to characters is huge and it pulled me in. You can tell as an adult why she acts the way she does. She is constantly wanting to satisfy her complete jerk of a boyfriend. That character. If you ever want to read about a spoiled brat of an adult, here's your chance.

I'm not one to put spoilers in my reviews so I will say, this was really well written and an easy read. I honestly loved all of it. You could really see all the characters in your mind, not to mention the surroundings. I say surroundings because I don't want to give anything away, but it's important. I could see this being a great read on a camping trip or at a cabin because you could really get into it.

I look forward to reading ore of Tatiana Schlote-Bonne's books. This was really fun read.

Imagine if the Satanic Panic was actually real. Toss in a demon called Ralac and a woman who lives between two worlds. Sprinkle in a couple of mean girls, stir, and you’ve got The Mean Ones.

SPOILER
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I was so glad that this book didn’t make the story be all in her head. Typically, I prefer when there is a real-life answer, but this time, I was down for a tale of the supernatural.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Is this a horror story or a love story? You decide hahaha. In the Means Ones we meet Sadie who goes to camp with her two “best friends” who also happen to be her bullies. Sadie soon witnesses the horrific murder of her two friends. She is irrevocably changed and experiences auditory and visual hallucinations of her dead friends, animals and nature speaking to her as well.

What unfolds from there is a back and forth from the present to the time of the murders. I could not put this down I usually steer away from horror but with every chapter I needed to know what happens next and the ending alone was shocking in the best ways. Definitely give this a try if you’re a fan of Bunny by Mona Awad and/or Midsommar.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

I give this book 3.5 stars!

I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it either. The last 10 chapters were the best part about this book.

The characters aren’t the best and the writing wasn’t amazing either but the story was fun!

What to expect from this book is cult vibes, some gore, and mean girl vibes!

I read this in one day because I just could not put it down. This one is for fans of horror. I LOVE Friday the 13th so the camp aspect really drew me in… and the cult??? SO CREEPY! I had so much fun reading this.

The alternating timelines with each chapter? *chefs kiss*

The Mean Ones crawls under your skin with visceral descriptions that bring your deepest fears to life. The dual timeline plays on our childhood fears, delivering the perfect dash of nostalgia. Creepy, unexpected, I devoured this book and loved every second of it!

This is a book I would autobuy based on the amazing cover (and author!) and would have 0 regrets!

The Mean ones was such a fun book to read. I loved the story and couldn't put it down and finished the book in under day. My favorite parts were the flashback scenes and what happened during those, loved how different things from my childhood would be brought in and how Sabrina loved lord of the rings or something else would be brought up and it would remind me about things from growing up in the same time period as her. Crazy story! Never guessed the ending and was so suprised with the ending loved it!