Review: Bad Like Us by Gabriella Lepore

Author: Gabriella Lepore
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Publication Date:  March 2024

Spring break is a vibe—until someone gets murdered

Partying with popular classmates they barely know is not what Eva and her BFFs had in mind for their spring break. But things have been off ever since Miles' academic career took a turn for the worse (they don't talk about it), so a trip to a private beach lodge might be exactly what they need. And Eva won’t admit it, but the chance to reconnect with Colton is worth putting up with Piper’s constant livestreams to her thousands of “besties.”

At first, it’s all sand and waves, but tensions run high when an anonymous letter shakes up an already-flailing love triangle.

When someone turns up dead, Eva can’t even trust her closest friends—but she thinks she can trust Colton. As they get closer to the truth, they uncover secrets that upend everything they thought they knew about their fellow spring breakers

Bad Like Us is a YA "Isolation" mystery.  Eva and a bunch other friends go to a cabin for spring break of their senior year is high school.  All of the have secrets and someone ends up dead.  I was really looking forward to this one since I have enjoyed the last 2 books that I have read by this author.  Sadly, this one was disappointing.

The reality is that I was bored.  There is no tension.  Nothing is creepy.  There were way too many characters and too many perspectives.  Most of the boys sounded the same and I had a hard time keeping everyone straight.  It wasn't hard to figure out who ends up murdered. There is also another reveal that I called very early on.  The fact that there is no resolution to that reveal in the end was a major disappointment. I also have an issue with two of the characters and their college money problem.  Given their financial circumstances, both boys would be prime candidates for financial aid as well as scholarships.  Also, they could choose to go to a local college and live at home.  That saves a lot of money. A simple conversation with their guidance counselor would have cleared that up for them. Why are we using that for crime motivation?  I know it's nitpicky, but it's not reality and it's a tired trope.  Anyway, this was a disappointment.  I'm not sure I would really recommend it.  I hope that the next book is better.