Bad Things Happen here follows Luca as she struggles to deal with the loss of her sister and previously her best friend - both of whom died in horrible ways.
I enjoyed the representation shown with Luca as a black girl in a predominantly white town, plus the fact that she also has an asian girlfriend and mental health issues I can see a lot of people seeing themselves in different aspects of Lucas life. Luca as a person/main character I couldn't support. I felt that she was very immature and just gave off MASSIVE mean girl vibes so to me she just felt like a spoilt little girl as opposed to a seventeen year old.
I did figure out the ending to Whitney's story pretty quickly but for the most part still enjoyed the overarching story well enough.
I will note the ending to the book was disappointing to me. Between the ending and my feelings on Luca I was just a bit dissapointed.

Parris is an idyllic suburban paradise, but underneath the shiny veneer, the town hides a hideous history - a spate of unsolved deaths involving young women. Luca was devastated by the loss of her friend Polly, three years previous and is horrified to arrive home to discover the curse has once more hit home, with the death of her sister Whitney. Luca can not let this slide, and with the help of her neighbour Naomi, the pair begin to investigate. Their search for the truth unearths a hotbed of lies and deceit. #badthingshappenhere #Rebeccabarrow #netgalley

I'm not sure this worked for me at all sadly, as the premise sounds pretty excellent! I think it's because it was more written as a contemporary rather than a murder mystery.

2.5 stars.

I wildly twisty, never saw that one coming ride of a book - and no stones were left unturned, in a way that felt completely satisfying.

I definitely enjoyed this book while I was reading it, but it's definitely not as memorable or left an impact in the same way Don't Look Back did, which was a book I adored. However, it was very queer which I loved, and I found it an exciting read as I made my way through it. I especially did not see the end coming until it was upon me, but it was still a bit too open ended for my liking and I would've like a bit more closure. Still an enjoyable read though

Young women die on the island of Parris and when Luca’s sister is killed, she wants to find the truth and finally escape from the confines. But not everybody wants her to find out the truth.

Bad Things Happen Here is a dark tale, with many twists and turns to keep you guessing. The final outcome is not what I expected but it all comes together well with no loose ends left.

Great read. Would recommend.

Honestly I disliked this book so much. I wonder if it is because I have read so many books that I would consider the same plot and same outcome.
I do not however hate Rebecca Barrows writing style.

This was far too long. The central concept of there being a possible 'curse' on the island is really distracting and it felt shoe-horned in. Would have been a better book without it.

I could not get into this book, ultimately it was not form me and I could not finish it. It may be one for other readers

3.5 stars

There were some things I liked about this book but the ending was very disappointing. The plus side was there were short chapters so it didn't take too long to get through

I would struggle to be able to review this book due to issues with the file/download. The issues stopped the flow of the book. The issues are:
- Missing words in the middle of sentences
- Stop/start sentences on different lines
- No clear definition of chapters.

I would be happy to re-review if a better file became available. I have awarded stars for the book cover and description as they both appeal to me. I would be more than happy to re-read and review if a download becomes available. If you would like me to re-review please feel free to contact me at thesecretbookreview@gmail.com or via social media The_secret_bookreview (Instagram) or Secret_bookblog (Twitter). Thank you.

I found it hard to get into this book, as found the characters not easy to read. I wanted to find out what happened in the end, but found I was wanting more.

Luca's sister is killed and she is not the first young person to die in their community. Luca set out to discover is the deaths are connected and if so who is responsible. She is helped by Naomi the new girl next door and together they try to uncover the truth about what is really happening in the privileged Island community of Parris. This novel has lots of twists and turns and a racy pace.

It's not that I didn't like this book, I just felt nothing towards it at all. It's incredibly forgettable and the minute I put it down to do something else I had to force myself to pick it back up as there was very little intrigue in the story for me personally. The characters aren't very likeable which I struggle with when reading YA as usually they are the strong point of the book. I do love the setting and the discussions of society, these were really well done but I had to sludge through a lot that I didn't like to get to what I did.

Well written, addictive and unpredictable. This is a book I have really enjoyed and devoured. i definitely want to read more from this author. Full Review to follow.

Many thanks to the publishing team for my digital copy for review
My first read from the author and I was impressed.
This book touched upon more topics and I was surprised as you wouldn't expect this from just reading the blurb.
Luca does make you go through the paces and you at times cannot figure out whether that is a good or bad thing but will follow the emotional journey through lots of trials and tribulations which rounds the character development off nicely. But the books highlights the power balance from the privileged and discrimination some people will go through and the unfairness of this reality.
The book covers some sensitive topics such as abuse and grief.

I ended up getting a physical ARC of this in work, so I completely forgot about having it on here!
I loved this book. It was fun, stressful, emotional, everything a good YA book needs! The chapters are nice and short, which keeps the tempo high, which is definitely needed with a book of this genre.
Also, if you're looking for a book with a POC character that you'll love, this is the one!
This book is perfect for fans of Holly Jackson, and Karen M McManus..

Luca's sister is killed and she is not the first young person to die in their community. Luca set out to discover is the deaths are connected and if so who is responsible. She is helped by Naomi the new girl next door and together they try to uncover the truth about what is really happening in the privileged Island community of Parris. This novel has lots of twists and turns and a racy pace.

I enjoyed this and thought the setting was described perfectly. I thought this was very well written with an intriguing plot

I enjoyed this thriller, the descriptions of the island and community were spot on and the list of suspects well set up.