I wish I’d gotten to this book sooner!

I loved the writing style, the plot, the characters (even when they annoyed me). The ending felt perfect and I want to read this again soon

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for the eARC

I enjoyed Bad Graces, the direction the story went had me intrigued. I thought the characters were well developed and the writing had me captured. I loved how it all played out and I thoroughly enjoyed the read.

The right mix of thriller, horror that keeps you on the edge and turning pages. I had fun and read it as fast as I could
A more extensive review will follow
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Bad Graces is fantastic in every sense, and I loved it. Creepy and horrifying but magical and uplifting. Super fast-paced. Every revelation felt like a gut punch. I'm not a Greek mythology buff, but what references I understood were pitch perfect. The theme of healing and growing and changing was so well executed. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, my God, this was phenomenal. Gory and creepy and mysterious and companionable and so very instinctive, this was such a fascinating read! I have loved the good, old shipwrecked, "need to survive together or we'll all die even though we hate each other" trope ever since Flight 29 Down, and this absolutely didn't disappoint. With a bunch of cagey, prickly teenage girls at the centre of the cast, not to mention the horrors facing them on the island they find themselves on, Bad Graces is such an evocative exploration of human experience and teenage girl experience, as well, with everything that is society and its pressures stripped bare. The characters are all equally empathetic and relatable in their own ways, and the mystery of what's happening to them the longer they stay stranded keeps you hooked right until the very end!

I was so surprised by this book but I had such a great time! I didn't realise how in the mood for creepy horror I was but this was exactly what I wanted. It's very mysterious and tense; I love any kind of story that involves being shipwrecked and ending up on an island (you have the Grey's Anatomy plane crash episode to thank for that), so I really enjoyed that aspect of the plot, and then it got even better when each injury they face heals in a very strange way. There's quite a bit of body horror, which I both love and hate at the same time (because I'm squeamish lol).

Our characters are a group of teenage girls, all very different from one another, thrown into this survival mode, and I felt like they were well fleshed out. I admit that a couple of the side characters, I kept getting mixed up. I also do think that the ending felt quite rushed, although I have to say that I didn't figure out the reason behind their injuries healing in the way they were until the moment the author wanted the reader to figure it out, which was fun!

Very easy to read, perfect for spooky season, a great time!

I adore Kyrie’s writing! I’ve never read a bad book by her, the way how she hooks you from the start makes the reading experience enjoyable leaving you unable to put it down.

I loved, loved, loved this book, the story sucks you in and grips you so you can’t put the book down. You instantly fall in live with the characters. I would highly recommend this book

Award-winning YA author Kyrie McCauley combines coming-of-age narrative with a queer love story. Her gripping, sensitively told piece brings in elements of mythic fantasy and gothic horror to explore the ways in which teenage girls might unite to support each other in getting past earlier traumatic experiences. McCauley builds on aspects of her own life here, as well as the advocacy work that grew out of her interest in gendered violence. On the surface the plot’s fairly familiar, six teenage girls are shipwrecked on a remote Pacific Island, cut off from the outside world and forced to fend for themselves. But they’re not alone, something or someone is watching them. Something not quite human.

McCauley cleverly incorporates references to similar narratives from Yellowjackets, to Lost, and The Lord of the Flies but her perspective’s far more optimistic, often unusually nuanced. Her central character Liv has endured a succession of disastrous foster placements; eventually reaching the Millers who quickly bond with her quiet, studious twin Everley. But rebellious, obviously damaged Liv remains an outsider. Her only outlet’s poetry and writing. When she wins an internship to go to Alaska to work on a film version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Liv sees an opportunity to run away and reinvent herself. Five other girls are also part of the film’s cast and crew: pop star Paris and her girlfriend Celia an online influencer; Rosa a former Olympic gymnast; and sisters Effie and Miri up-and-coming screen stars. But partway through their journey to Alaska unforeseen events leave them washed ashore miles from civilisation.

All of the girls have been stuck in some kind of survival mode, routinely preyed on by older men and other abusive adults. But the island, an abandoned military base, with its strange sounds and sudden mystical transformations unexpectedly offers a chance to bond, to heal and move forward. McCauley’s narrative ultimately a fluid, lyrical exploration of “found family,” fantastical yet grounded in reality - her approach and style sometimes reminded me of Mona Awad’s. Although a few of the characters are slightly undeveloped, Liv's a highly convincing figure, hard not to root for. A thoughtful page-turner that reaches a satisfying conclusion.

Thank you netgalley for the arc.

This was a really good YA horror. It did take a while for me to get into it but when thr story did pick up I did not want to put it down, I loved the difference dynamics and relationships between the girls. It didn't fall flat and I thought they were developed well through the plot.

Oooh, this was a tantalising good YA horror. It’s tense, mysterious, and it held me deeply in its grasp until its last page.

After years of struggling through foster homes Liv Whitlock wants out. Unfortunately, her history isn’t the most shining example of who she is, so when an opportunity comes along to win an internship, to be on set for a movie adaptation of ‘The Tempest’, she jumps on it, sending in her written application, but using all of her sisters personal details. The application wins, and she suddenly finds herself on a yacht, heading towards Alaska, with the director, the hottest young actresses of the moment, a famous pop star, a young Olympian, and a social media influencer. However, things take a very sharp turn when their boat hits a storm, and next thing they know, they’re waking up sputtering on a beach. As they start the fight for survival, they also begin to discover that every injury they sustain on the island is healing in an inexplicably odd way…

What I loved about this book is that there’s
the ‘typical’ horrors of what it would be like to be ship-wrecked, washed up on a small North Pacific island with minimal provisions and no way of calling to help, and then there’s that creeping, mysterious, unease as each injury heals in a different way, as they realise there’s some kind of otherworldly creature on the island, and they try to decipher what any of it means.

There’s quite a lot of body horror imagery in here, enough that it gave me the odd shivers up my spine, which I always find impressive in a YA horror.

The characters are all so well fleshed out. Their fears, wants, emotions, all heightened as a result of this situation they’ve found themselves in. This is a group of teenage girls, with very different back stories, who’ve all sustained some level of trauma in their past, thrown into pure survival mode, and having to adapt to that. It’s not always pretty, but they’re all always doing their best dealing with the circumstances they’ve been handed, while forming bonds along the way.

The key story here is about surviving trauma, what that means, and what that might look like, against a backdrop of ominous creeping horror, and it’s extremely well done.

Thank you to the publishers, and Netgalley, for the copy to review.

I really enjoyed this book and it was very different from what I usually read. It had an eerie, horror vibe to it and was really gripping and kept me hooked the whole way through.
The book evokes some strong feminist messages with well developed female characters who are engaging and have lots of depth. I thought the pacing was very good and kept me on the edge of my seat. It's also not a very long book which I felt was another strength.
Overall a really good book that I would recommend reading, especially if you like horror or books with lots of mystery and suspense.

This book is deep, evocative, tragic, eerie and dark. It is filled with unexpected happenings and tragic turn of events. It has everything; magical realism, mystery, suspense, tragedy, atmospheric setting and LGBTQ element. The writing is engrossing and whimsical. The unspeakable things, unthinkable happenings and plot twists kept me on edge. This is a kind of book, the less you read about it, the more you will enjoy it.

Violet and Liv didn’t had good bond. With the tragic turn of events, Liv steals Everly’s persona to see the filming of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. But unthinkable things begins to happen and somehow Liv along with other people gets stuck on an island in the North Pacific ocean as their yacht is completely destroyed. The island is not only frightening but the strange mystery is surrounding it. Everyone including Liv begin to change and heal through their trauma but what’s even more terrifying is that there is a predator and how long the girls will be able to protect themselves from portentous and frightening island?

Thanks to the Publisher and Author.

solid 4 ⭐️

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was fast-paced with queer relationships, with plot twists coming out of nowhere. Normally, mystery/thrillers are not my fav genre but here it mixed really well with the fantasy elements, and I was hooked from chapter 1. Recommend.

Nothing at all what I expected it to be like, but it was such a good book! Very Yellowjackets-esque with a hint of the supernatural. Supernatural isn't what I usually go for but I really enjoyed this one!

Thank you Magpie!

This book was nothing like my usual books and I really enjoyed it!!

I love the character development with the group of girls in this book! Liv, the FMC, was amazing and dealt with everything in a mature way

This book kept me on my toes trying to work out what was going to happen next!

Great book and excited to read more by this author!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the Publisher / author for accepting my request to read and review an early copy of this gorgeous little book!

I adore weird YA horror mystery books, ones like Wilder Girls and The Burning Girls. So this one sounded straight up my alley!

And I really enjoyed this book, read it so fast which I’m sure is partially due to the shirt size but it was fast paced and gripping. I adore shipwrecked stories, Lord of the Flies girlie though and through,

This book was like the Amazon Prime show about the girls stranded on a beach mixed with annihilation - but make it more fantasy.

Oh and don’t get me started on the body horror, I was HERE FOR IT.

But I did struggle with a few things worth mentioning.

One, the girls were describing at times what seemed like a tropical island but then said there were pine trees and a wolf? I was so confused at what the environment looked like. Even now I can’t fully grasp what this location was.

Two, I felt like the author didn’t want to write about scenes that got too complicated so she would just skip over them entirely, especially at the end. There were big things she didn’t explain at all and I felt that it stunted my enjoyment.

I don’t want to spoil the book but the ending felt really rushed, which was unnecessary as the book was already short and didn’t need a quick wrap up.

In saying that it was super readable and intriguing and I do highly recommend it to others who enjoy weird YA

So eerie and addictive! I could not put this down!! I loved each of the girls transformations on the island, each so freaky and in a way kind of beautiful. I loved that they all found their place in the end and stuck with one another still. Honestly so good. Loved every second.

𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣 𝘼𝙍𝘾 𝙫𝙞𝙖 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬

⟡

5 ☆ before the time jump, 4.5 ☆ overall

Bad Graces is eery, bizarre, tragic and beautiful all in one. There are themes of body horror and trauma but it's also so comforting somehow.

The intriguing prologue pulls you in from the first sentence and the beautiful writing and fast pace keeps you hooked the rest of the way through. You could absolutely read this in one sitting, it held my attention the entire time. The authors writing is fantastic, it was so immersive and I truly felt like I was right there on that island. There are both tense and quiet scenes and both are depicted perfectly to create an amazing balance. The book has just the right amount of plot, romance and character development. The romance is probably the lightest element but it's still so well done I was really rooting for them and we get two sapphic romances!

I think the pacing was perfect throughout the book except for the ending, once we got the time jump it felt a bit rushed and not quite as immersive as before.

I absolutely loved the characters, it really felt like you were right there with them bonding and growing with them. I was so invested in all of their survival. With the Yellowjackets comparison I was worried this would be a sort of cliche but I am so happy to say it wasn't. This truly is a story of these girls bonding through the trauma they've experienced and are experiencing and surviving because of that solid bond. I loved that their wasn't forced fighting amongst them, if they fight it's because of hurt not because they're being vindictive.

The magical elements and body mutation was so fascinating. Every injury the girls suffer mutates their body in a new and unique way. This really added to the horror element (not in a scary way more in a squeamish way) and made me want to keep reading to find out more.

I loved the way the story was written about the "monster" and the way the girls learned more about her and how to coexist with her.

Bad Graces is a book about survival, with a nod to The Tempest and Greek Mythology, girlhood, trauma and feminism. If you liked A Study in Drowning, Yellowjackets or Lost this one is for you!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

At first glance Bad Graces is a book about 6 girs and their survival after a shipwreck. But it's more then that: by incoperaring Shakespeare and intereting body horror, Kyrie McCauley tells a story about connections, isolation and how people can change. I would have prefered a less rushed ending, but overall the story was really enthralling.