Bad Creek was such a fun, spooky YA horror read with a cast of diverse, loveable characters that I was rooting for the whole way through.

What I loved:
• Queer rep! I will never shut up about good queer representation, and this book did it so well. Both gay and bi characters were included in a way that felt natural and important.
• The mystery. The question of what really happened to Glory and the other drowned girls kept me hooked from start to finish.
• The monsters. This was peak summerween vibes—monsters, curses, and teenage shenanigans made for the perfect creepy summer read.

What didn’t work as much:
Not a lot, honestly. The MC was really headstrong, sometimes to the point of frustration, and I often didn’t understand her motives. There’s a difference between being bold and just refusing to listen to anyone, and she definitely leaned into the latter. That said, it didn’t ruin the story for me.

Audiobook thoughts:
So good! Michael Crouch is always a fave, and the other narrators did a great job too. I’d definitely recommend the audio version.

Overall:
If you’re looking for a spooky YA horror with solid queer rep, a chilling mystery, and the perfect amount of creepy summer fun, I’d definitely recommend picking this one

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Audio review: the narration is a good way to go, no complaints.

Review: This is a fun and very spooky read. It would be great for teens during spooky season. It did feel on the younger end of YA at times in terms of the writing however I still enjoyed the story. It's campy and a good entry level story for teens.

One thing that I will always love is a book with multiple narrators, and the way this audiobook has done it is fantastic. Having each character have their own voice for their own chapters, I love it.
This was such a fun book, but it did take me a little over half way to really hook me. But after that I didn't want to stop listening!
Thank you so much NetGalley and RBmedia for letting me listen to this for free!

I had no idea going into this that I would be picking up the perfect Summerween/pride read. This was so creepy and I could feel the sticky sweet humidity rising from the pages. Oh, I'm sorry, did you want rocket pops and swimming in the lake? Well, all I've got for you is dead girls, putt-putt and maybe a little bit of religious trauma splashed with a heap of bigotry. I hope that's okay.

This audiobook is narrated by Michael Crouch, Suzy Jackson, Nick Mills

I just finished Bad Creek by Peyton June and here are my thoughts.

Bad creek is the holiday destination every summer for 3 friends. Iris has a mission… Her sister Iris died in the water the year before and she can't move on from it. She needs to know what happened to her sister but she may not like what she finds out.

This was an odd book. A lot of what the book is about seemed irreverent and I wondered why it was in there… Then BOOM! Everything made sense and my eyes had popped wide open and I devoured the rest of the story.

It was pretty dark toward the end and I kind of wish the tone of the book had all been that dark because it was really a solid ending. It felt a little too fluffy at the beginning. I needed that ominous feeling because the characters were a little blah for my liking. It was like two different people wrote it!

I kinda loved it.. I also kinda was ambivalent about it. I have really mixed feelings on this book but…. I won’t be forgetting it in a hurry. The plot was good. I thought the writing was decent but it took too long to really get interesting and that's a real gamble with the DNF culture that reigns supreme now. It needed to come out of the gate stronger or not drag the story out.

Would I recommend it? Yeah, I can see people enjoying it. It will definitely hit the spot for people who like a slower paced build up.

3.75 stars from me.

I really enjoyed the narrator of the Bad Creek audiobook. This horror novel was not as campy as I would have liked, but still somehow felt too easy to predict what would happen next.

"Bad Creek" is kind of like "We Were Liars" but more of a murder mystery and with more gay people. I liked it, and the narrators did a good job, but I ended the book feeling like I just wanted a little more out of the story and the characters. If you're in the mood for a dark, sometimes creepy, summer mystery about rich people who go to the same lake every year, which is actually a genre that readers of "We Were Liars" might find themselves looking for after finishing it, then this is a good book for you.

I had to DNF this cause I couldn't deal with the narrator's voices or the plot. I thought it would be more interesting but I just didn't like the main character Iris at all.

Zoe and Jack we're a train wreck waiting to happen. This was a 2.5 star read for me. The story was a bit dry for me and way too much scientific references. The storyline took way too long to get to the point for me. This was a story about being so smart at trying make something and lying that it worked. Money came on speculation of a dream and the downfall was a horrific fall. Money is the root to all evil, so I've heard. Thank you to celadon books and NetGalley for the book and eArc in exchange for my honest review.

3.75⭐
Three friends are vacationing in Bad Creek this summer - like they did every year - only, there used to be four for them; one of them drowned in the lake last year.
The remaining three have unresolved emotions they're dealing with since the tragedy all the while they think they are being haunted by said friend.

Such a fast paced horror, kept me on my toes from start to finish.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Bad Creek by Peyton June
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I throughly enjoyed Bad Creek and the audio production. The use of multiple narrators added real depth to the story, it made you feel like you were one of the Disasters 2.0.

I would’ve loved this book as a teen, and a few different choices and it could’ve been adult horror. But I definitely think it hit its mark as young adult horror. There was still a sense of childhood wonder, that really sold the raw emotion of Iris’s character. Learning to grow up before you’re ready and watch everything around you change with the loss of a loved one.

I’ll put the spoiler warning here just in case: I preferred the supernatural element without the religious aspect. I understand the author's intended tone and acknowledge its effective execution. However, I would have preferred a narrative that maintained a supernatural spirit theme. The religious trauma was intricately woven throughout the story, whereas I would have preferred to escape from religious trauma. It cheapened the previous encounters when you realized the deaths were just to keep the bloodline clean. A compelling ghost story can be crafted without divine intervention.

A scene a particularly enjoyed however was the scene where all the dead girls jumped into the lake as a final goodbye. It signified that the lake was never something to be afraid of, it was the Clavey’s who needed to be feared.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

Okay this was a wild ride! I really enjoyed every minute of it. I finished this in one day because i just could not stop listening. The multiple POVs was so nice and added such depth to the story that would have been lacking with only one POV. I liked the spooky aspect that wasn't quite in your face horror, but snuck up on you throughout the story.

The ending CRUSHED me! It was so sweet and cute! The girls getting their final release was so bittersweet and i may have shed a tear or two. I enjoyed all of the characters so much and loved seeing them scooby doo this mystery out. The semi-religious culty vibes from the rich family was truly the icing on top of a good story.

PEYTON CRUSHED THIS DEBUT!

Bad Creek is laced with an eerie atmospheric setting & thematic depth. Peyton successfully created a bone chilling place. This success came from the use of multi-povs, which built up the story.

There is a lot of potent content for religious trauma & I am SAT for it.

Overall, this is super creepy & I adored every second of it. I am eagerly awaiting Peyton’s next book!

Audiobook is very well done.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, & the publisher for the ALC in exchange for my review.

Actual rating: 2.5☆

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ALC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

First, a disclaimer, I'm currently going to an awful reading slump after reading a lot of mid books, and unfortunately, Bad Creek was just another title to add to the long list.

The atmosphere here was really wonderful, honestly the biggest mark, you could really feel the sticky summer weather. The audiobook also helped with the different povs and getting a narrator for each character.

I thought the plot building was great until we got to the ending and the entire revelation behind the situation, I just think it was really serious and dark, and it got resolved just like that. The character work was also not my favourite.

Overall, it is a decent horror ya book with a great atmosphere.

This was a really creepy, campy summer read. I had no idea where this story was taking us and had a good time seeing everything unfold. It kind of gave 'stereotypical rich white people shit' vibes which I was here for. I enjoyed how this came to be a generational trauma sort of story, but I feel like the reveal didn't pack as much of a punch as I was hoping. I think because once we KIND OF had an idea where the story was going, nothing really was much of a 'surprise' after that. But overall, I had a good time with this one!

Bad Creek is an atmospheric and haunting debut that blends supernatural terror with timely explorations of religion, sexuality, and privilege. It shines brightest in its eerie atmosphere, complex friendships, and potent social commentary. While pacing and multiple storylines may slow early momentum, the payoff is well worth it—especially for readers craving eerie camp settings with a weighty moral undertone.

Best for: YA readers who appreciate a horror‑tinged coming‑of‑age story with layers of mystery and societal critique.

Considerations: It may start slow, and the horror is more suspenseful than gore‑heavy—best suited for those who enjoy slow‑burn chills over jump scares.

I loved listening to this book. There were different point of view chapters and each different pov felt unique and well separated from each other.
The story was fast paced and interesting and I loved the supernatural aspects of it. Each character had their own unique journey and goals and I did not see many of the twists coming. This is honestly the perfect summer horror story.

Iris and her family have been spending summers at Bad Creek for as long as she can remember - even now, a year after her sister drowned in those very waters. But Iris has never believed it was just an accident, and she knows she won’t be able to move on until she uncovers the truth.

With the help of her friends, Gum and Aiden, she starts digging into what really happened. But the deeper they go, the stranger things get. Iris begins sleepwalking and having terrifying visions. Gum’s already intense religious family starts acting even more disturbingly off. Something is definitely wrong in Bad Creek and it’s not just grief haunting them.

The narrators did such a great job! They still sounded amazing at 2.0x speed, and I was so excited to hear Michael Crouch’s voice!

This book started out good but then there was quite a few religious tie ins that I didn't enjoy. Then, for me, somewhere in the middle the story fell flat and started to drag. I was expecting it to be much spookier or a bit more of a thriller.

Three teens, one dead sister, and a whole lot of buried secrets. Bad Creek is creepy, emotional, and totally unputdownable. Iris can’t stop mourning Glory, Gum’s haunted by more than just ghosts, and Aidan’s carrying guilt that might’ve killed her. When the past starts crawling out of the lake (literally), they’re forced to face monsters both supernatural and human. If you love queer horror that blends grief, guts, and ghost girls with something real to say, Bad Creek is for anyone who knows the scariest ghosts are the ones we carry with us.