This was a great young YA I WILL RECOMMEND!!! I love it and felt like that the young and old will love this read as much as I did

Omg another stunner from this author! This scared the hell out of me. It’s culty, creepy and twisty. The dual timeline helps weave the story so nicely, and my millennial heart loved all the references from my childhood. I really related to the FMC feeling like an outsider her whole life and wanting to be “normal”.

Thank you so much to Creature Pub and the author for providing me an eARC to honestly review!

📖(𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚕𝚕 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍):
𝙨𝙮𝙢𝙗𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙢 • 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩 • 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧 & 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 • 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 • 𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙨 • 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙥 𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 • 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙨 • 𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 • 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 • 𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙚 • 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝 𝙧𝙚𝙥 • 𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙥 • 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 • 𝘿𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙣 • 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙨 •

🦌:
If I said I couldn’t set this one down, I’d be lying, but it’s not because I wanted to. I wish I could have read this from start to finish in a single sitting, but I’ve been one sleepy person lately.

📖:
Back to this amazing book! It’s one of those reads that sucks you in from the very start. I was engaged the entire time, and my interest and attention never faltered!

There were moments where I questioned my own grip on reality - that’s how involved I was with Sabrina or “Bina’s” (Sadie) episodes.

Sadie, formerly known as Sabrina, has more than she ever dreamed of: A handsome boyfriend, a job she enjoys, her health and weightlifting.

However, her perfectly constructed life hides the inner turmoil Sadie fights with privately.

Sadie has visions that are triggered by stressors and the PTSD she has from her childhood. These visions are super creepy and nightmarish, yet comforting to her.

I don’t want to give too much away to avoid spoilers, but I do recommend reading this book when you can.

Read this if you enjoy:
-𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳
-𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨
-𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 ✍️ 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴
-𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴
-𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘺 𝘴𝘩!𝘵
-𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴
-𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴

Loved it - a great shorter horror with enough twists to keep you hooked. Reminded me a little of chilling adventures of Sabrina.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. I love the cover so much and midsommar is my go-to comfort movie, so I was so excited to read this!

3.5 stars

Oh boy are these characters unlikeable. I actually found myself having zero sympathy for the MC because of the people she chose to put herself around. Yeah, pre-teen loneliness and adult PTSD, but I just couldn't feel bad for her. I found myself boo-ing way too often as I read.

Towards the end, things just didn't make sense. Why would the police completely ignore the only witness's story, even if it seemed wild? They were on board with the cult angle, but somehow her reporting the name of the demon being worshipped was too much?

The end made it all worth it though! Love those "for the girls" vibes.

Sadie survived a harrowing ordeal at summer camp when she was younger- an ordeal that left her two friends dead. After years of working towards being "normal", she is still having PTSD related hallucinations. When her friends invite her boyfriend and her to a cabin in the woods, things that happened nearly two decades ago begin happening again.

This was my first read by this author, and it was right up my alley; I enjoyed every second of it. It was fast paced and easy to get sucked into. The back and forth of past and present timelines was done perfectly. I could imagine this being turned into a tv show that I would be obsessed with.

My only gripe is that it was a little too simplistic/short. Written a smidge too YA for an adult book for my liking. I wanted more of everything (mostly because I really enjoyed it, not because it was necessarily missing anything)- the horror, the lore, the why. Will definitely be picking up more from this author in the future!

I rated it 4.25/5 rounded down to 4.
Thank you to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for the ARC!

5 stars. From beginning to end this had me hooked. Culty female rage girls who got bullied when they were younger STAND UPPPP THIS ONE IS FOR YOU. No but seriously any book involving “cult” and “female rage” babe I’m reading it. So what if babygirl Sadie hears a sexy male voice in her head and also hears and sees dead animals talking??? Doesn’t everybody? She’s trying to live a normal life and forget her traumatic childhood by being with her normal bf and pretending she has a normal past and being a gym girlboss but what if it keeps calling her back? She takes a vacay with her friends and bf, Lucas, to a cabin in the woods that bring back her past alllllll over again. Seriously, this was addicting. I couldn’t stop reading even when I was tired with one eye open. Thank you Amanda Manns for approving my request to read an early copy for an exchange for my review <3 I loved this one

The Mean Ones is my first book by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne and it definitely won’t be my last. Thank you to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.
I loved this. I absolutely ate up the camp slasher vibes. I was hooked from beginning to end. The plot kept me engaged and wanting to know more. I love a well done dual timeline. Normally one timeline is stronger than the other, but that wasn’t the case here. Past and present were both very well written and interesting. The end went a different direction than I was expecting and just left me like OH OK in the best way.

Tatiana Schlote-Bonne is becoming one of my favourite horror authors. I ATE up her debut novel back in October 2024, Such Lovely Skin, and so when I saw the opportunity to receive an ARC of her next release, I had to jump on it!

I loved the slow burn of this story, and I felt like the flashbacks did a great job of building the tension and slowly revealing the truth of Sabrina’s past, and how it may be coming to catch up with her in the present. I am a huge slasher fan, so this story was right up my alley and was giving me all the gore!

Tatiana’s writing is easy to follow and she does a masterful job of keeping you engaged and on the edge of your seat to find out what happens next. I was rooting for Sabrina the entire time! The ending had me on the floor - I did not see it coming. I wanted so so so much more and would have read 200+ more pages of this story!

If you are a slasher & horror fan, you NEED to pick this one up when it comes out!! I am a Tatiana Schlote-Bonne stan and will for sure pick up anything she writes!!

Thank you so much to Tatiana, Creature Publishing, and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!!

Sadie has a secret - she isn’t who she says she is. She’s hiding a past better left forgotten and desperately wants to be normal. Except sometimes she hears the voices of her childhood best friends, who were brutally murdered. And sometimes she sees a twisted world where trees are upside down and blood drips from the ceiling. She tells herself she’s not crazy, that she’s just got PTSD from her traumatic past that she’s been hiding from everyone in her life.

Sadie pretends that she’s found solace in becoming a workout junkie and in her boyfriend she hopes to marry one day. She’s got a new best friend, one that is caring and kind, unlike the friends from her past. Her episodes have become less frequent. And as long as she avoids nature and any wooded areas, she’s good.

But when Sadie and her boyfriend are invited by her best friend to go on a weekend couple’s vacation to a cabin in the woods, Sadie can’t figure out how to get out of the trip. And she can only hope that this trip to the woods won’t turn out like the last one...

I loved this book! To sum it up, if the TV shows “Yellowjackets” and “Stranger Things” had a baby, it would be “The Mean Ones.” It’s got a dark, cult-like atmosphere and supernatural elements where the lines between our world and a gnarled, upside down underworld are blurred. The mystery surrounding Sadie’s past and the murder of her childhood friends is suspenseful and keeps the reader guessing. There’s more than one person hiding their true identity.

This is well written and perfectly paced. Alternating between the past and the present works well to illustrate the parallels in Sadie’s life. The choice she made at the end was both surprising and not surprising, but in a very satisfying way. I enjoyed the mix of horror, mystery, suspense and supernatural and would recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for a dark, shadowy, supernatural thriller.

3.5 stars
Unique and scary in some parts, this was a fun read. I enjoyed Sabrina’s character, and the dual timelines made sense and worked well in this format. The writing was a little stiff in parts and the ending felt rushed, but I enjoyed my time reading. No spoilers, but I was pleasantly surprised by plot twist at the end too!

This felt like something a cousin would come up with to spook the little kids during a vacation. The cult aspect was wonderfully done

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.