Sunny Lee. Former teenage star in one of the first successful all Asian-American girl groups, until scandal and tragedy forced her out of the limelight. Years later, Sunny wants answers from the only other surviving member of the group: Candie Tsai. Candie announces she's auditioning for a Kpop training program, and desperate to know what happened in the past, Sunny signs up to join her. But with accidents, betrayals, and the past coming back to haunt them, this situation is even more perilous than Sunny ever could have imagined.

I'd give this a 3.5. The supernatural element comes in a bit too late for me to have vibed with it--I thought it was more of a ghost story than what it was. Sunny is a likable, flawed character (although, she has done things that I personally would find hard to forgive, but she was also very, very young). The romance element as well came out of nowhere to me. I wasn't opposed to it, it just caught me off-guard. There are some serious issues in the Kpop industry that are brought up, but since this is in an (albeit all Asian) American company, all in English camp, those concerns are very periphery. Things like TW: (eating disorders, sleep deprivation, comparison, and even nods to the Burning Sun scandal (very loosely), also the idea that your bias may not be the person you think they are). These things feel nebulous because the training camp emphasizes that they care more about nutrition than certain weight scores (which is great! I am not trying to say that EDs should have been added to the book), but when Sunny discusses her knowledge of the Korean training industry, it feels very distant and like these issues are brushed off/dealt with quickly. The best way I can compare it is to ATK, the JYP survival show for the formation of the international girl group now known as VCHA. The claims were the same: these girls would be going through kpop-style training, eliminations, and trials, but at the end of the day ATK ended with the girls debuting, mere months after the filming and airing of the show (instead of the grueling years that kpop trainees go through. Which is another issue in and of itself, but I've gotten off track). Here, the workshop is supposed to lead the lucky finalists to Korea, where they join an entertainment company. Very similar. I just wasn't the biggest fan of it, in the end.

Romantic horror has never been my specialty, but Linda Cheng manages to find the perfect (and haunting) marriage in Gorgeous Gruesome Faces.

Gorgeous Gruesome Faces is a dark, gritty, mysterious co-star/friends to lovers story with a supernatural twist.

Sunny was part of a trio that starred in an Asian American musical show until Mina died in front of Sunny and Candie. Two years later, the two face off in a competition to relaunch their careers. But when strange things start happening again, Sunny knows Candie is somehow involved.

I'm not usually a horror fan, but this one drew me in from the start. Jumping between past and present, Sunny experiences what it's like to be a rising star, the crash, and the grief of losing someone. I liked the lack of homophobia, and I liked the way it addressed unrealistic beauty standards. I still have so many questions, but I guess that's why it's a series. Looking forward to reading the next book.

I first picked this up for the gorgeous cover, but this book is so much more than a nice cover, this book was amazing. I loved the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

This was a wild read. It's such an interesting take on K-pop that I haven't seen before. There were times where all I wanted to do was look away but at the same time I was glued to the page. The imagery was very well done, not for the squeamish.

I confess: I fell face-first into K-Pop fandom during lockdown. These days, I am especially interested in the machinations of the industry: from the management companies' marketing strategies to the trainee process and the organization of new groups. Gorgeous Gruesome Faces plays into the darker side of the industry, with a focus on a trainee audition process and the intense expectations on idol hopefuls, from the grueling practice schedules and pressure to fit a very specific beauty standard. This striving for superhuman perfection pairs with the folk horror elements of the book. The book is a fast read, but I was surprised how quickly the supernatural elements outpaced the industry insights.

This book unfolds in such a fun way. The reader is presented with Sunny Lee and Candence, two young ladies who in a previous life were part of a threesome girl group. Yet when one of their members dies the girls lose touch, only to be reconnected through and tv show promising to help young ladies break into the difficult world of K Pop music. Yet when things on set start to go wrong Sunny is forced to face the dark past that tore her and Candence apart. Will they be able to make up and help stop all the deaths that seem to be plaguing this show?
Overall, this is a very interesting book. The utilization of the past and the present unfolds the story in such a way that the reader never quite knows what is going to be revealed. Lovely job keeping the twists under wraps. I truly was not expecting how the story would play out. I am interested to see if both Sunny and Candice’s story continues outside of this book.
Thank you so much to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Roaring Brook Press, and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

4.5 stars rounded up!

I went into this ARC expecting to love it, and it absolutely exceeded my expectations!

Sunny Lee is a former celebrity, having been ⅓ of the teen pop group Sweet Cadence, alongside her best friends Candie and Mina. However, life isn’t as glamorous for her as it once was. After Mina’s tragic death and her subsequent falling out with Candie, Sunny steps out of the limelight, wallowing in her self-pity. Two years pass, and Sunny discovers Candie is attending a K-pop workshop. Determined to reunite with Candie and discover the truth behind Mina’s death, Sunny follows along. But once she arrives, she begins to realize that things aren’t quite what they seem, and the secrets Candie and Sunny kept may come back to haunt them.

There is something about this book’s atmosphere that is so compelling. The confusing layout of the building, the days blending together, and the ghosts lurking in the background all came together in the most beautifully horrifying way. Gorgeous Gruesome Faces has been compared to the likes of Yellowjackets and Perfect Blue, and I agree completely. There’s so much unexplained that it feels like you’re going insane along with Sunny.
I also really enjoyed the talk of what it’s like to be a celebrity and how it feels to be in the public eye. I found lots of the descriptions of celebrity life for Sunny to be very true to life, especially the scandals. There were definitely some comparisons to draw between the scrutiny of an idol’s life and a certain mysterious character in the novel.
There are some moments of a sapphic romance in this book, but I feel it could have been more featured. I imagine we’ll see more of this romance in book two though!
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishing for this ARC!

GORGEOUS GRUESOME FACES was a wonderfully paced gem of a thriller. Cheng captures the intensity of adolescent female friendships and the pressure the succeed with stunning prose. While I wish there was a bit more time spent on the magic aspect of the book, the entire story is clearly crafted with care.

A fun, scary, suspenseful horror thriller! It was engaging throughout, and the last 20 percent or so was full of twists and revelations. Although it wrapped up nicely and is a self-contained story, I’m really looking forward to book 2! I loved its depiction of fame and its toxic aspects, like unrealistic beauty standards, misogyny, and vicious and invasive fans whose access to performers is increased by social media. I also thought the relationships between characters (especially the Sweet Cadence trio’s friendship, Sunny and Eugenia's enemies to allies relationship, who Faye ended up being, and the romance) were strong and well-developed. A fabulous girl-centric horror/thriller!

SPOILERS:

Honestly, I thought this book would have been much better without the supernatural aspect involved. It could have been a more compelling story if the incidents had bern caused by a jealous rival. Also, the much-touted sapphic love interest was barely present. I did enjoy the criticism of the idol industry, but overall it wasn't for me.

Thank you to.NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

Sunny was on top of the world starring in a teen pop group with her friends Candie and Mia. They’re inseparable until a scandal breaks down and tears them apart. Shortly after, Mia dies in front of Sunny and Candie.

Now a few years later, Sunny has been longing for what she lost so she enters into a contest. She is shocked to learn that Candie is also participating in the workshop. As the lines between fantasy and reality start to blur right in front of Sunny’s eyes, bodies of the other contestants start to show up maimed and mutilated on set. In order to survive, Sunny will have to expose the ugly secrets behind the workshops closed doors.

This was a dark and disturbing YA thriller that I immediately wanted to read after seeing the cover. It was mentioned as being Yellowjackets meets She Is a Haunting I agree. The pacing was quick, and it held my interest, and I didn’t want to put it down. Sunday was such a likeable unlikeable character. She was everything I think of when I think of a groupie or a follower, but she was the main character in this book. The relationship between Sunny and Candie was alright, but for me it lacked some of the key things I think of when thinking of romance. I think for there to be romance you need a deeper connection and theirs just felt very superficial and codependent. The tension in this book was well done and enjoyable. The horror elements were so disturbing, but not too much.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group – Roaring Brook Press, and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A fresh spin on the k-pop novel boom, this is a welcome queer narrative with a healthy dose of uncanny valley horror. Once I sunk my teeth into this one, I knew I wasn't setting my phone down until I was finished.

Gorgeous Gruesome Faces
4/5
Disclaimer: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and Netgalley!

Once I saw this novel compared to Yellowjackets, Suspiria, and Perfect Blue (some of my absolute favs) I KNEW I had to read it.

I haven’t been loving many YA books lately but this one really stuck out to me. It was dark and disturbing and yet still fun and fast-paced. From the very beginning it kept my attention with its gorgeous (and gruesome ;) ) imagery. I loved the unique premise of this novel and found the lack of tropeyness refreshing.

I cannot wait for the next one!!

Gorgeous Gruesome Faces is an incredible name for a book. I immediately wanted to read it. I have a special list of books called "Let Girls Go Feral" and some of my favorite books fall into that category. Obviously this book is going straight on that list. I love an unhinged main character, what can I say? This book checked all my boxes. I couldn't put it down.

I will say, this book did a great job of keeping my attention and kept me turning pages so I could figure out what happened next. Sunday, our main character, is a bit unlikeable at times—she was caught in the center of a cheating scandal, she follows around Candie (the only other surviving member of her K-pop-esque TV show and girl group, Sweet Cadence) like a lost puppy, and she doesn't have much of a personality of her own. The flashback chapters were done really well and revealed a lot about the story, but I wasn't the biggest fan of the wild supernatural element that ran through the entire book (although others will be sure to love it, and it was executed well.) I also thought the set-up was a sequel was a little strange. Sunny and Candie had an interesting and well-written sapphic relationship, but there was very little romance in my opinion—it felt more like a toxic one-sided codependent one, and I didn't feel what I should have felt when they eventually got together.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely phenomenal! I was promised unhinged k-pop girlies and this book delivered. The horror is interspersed throughout, but the body horror is so well written it made me cringe. The girls are lovable, but also frustrating in their own ways. The commentary on what idols have to go through to make their debut is not lost within the plot or horror of the book.

The ending sets up for a potential sequel while having the plot of this novel fully resolved.

If you enjoy the movie Perfect Blue this feels a lot like that.

This was... something. I enjoyed the characters, the tension was done well, the storyline was written nicely, and it definitely held my interest. It just felt very teenish and sometimes the dialogue felt a bit wooden for my taste.

I went into this knowing nothing about it but what a wild ride. A sapphic K-pop horror thriller that talks about the exploitation of young girls and how the entertainment industry preys on them. I think it has a lot of teen appeal. I am not a big horror fan so initially as I was reading this I wasn’t sure how I felt about it but thinking about it I think I really like it. Definitely a book I will keep thinking about.

A story reminiscent of House Of Hollow and Natural Beauty about a disgraced idol, Sunny, who follows her ex-bandmate to a talent competition/training camp in a bid to find answers and get closure for a series of traumatic events that occurred two years prior.

I found this book interesting -- the tension was well built, especially in the beginning and I read this book in one day as it got me invested. The author made an effort to pull the reader into the scene. The unreliable narration was most certainly unreliable, although it was done through my least favourite method. The interspersion of the two timelines was well crafted, both story lines were well developed. I really enjoyed the way everything played out.

Here's the thing: I cannot discuss details but there was a lot of crossing moral boundaries that was never treated quite seriously enough on its own, if that makes sense? If you were to take the horror out of the book, the book would still be a thriller, is what I'm saying, but because of the horror aspect it feels like the gravity of some events was detracted from.

However, that did not make the horror aspect any less horrifying. The world-building behind everything is painfully exhaustive, which is good. The way it interacted with the characters was inventive, although I felt it could have gone even further with certain aspects.

The characters were well developed and I really liked some of them. The dialogue felt a bit stilted at times, but nonetheless the relationships that are present here are well structured.

The rehearsals and all the technical industry elements seemed well written but I am not an expert. I do wish we'd seen more of the routine stuff but I understand that succinctness and pace were at stake.

Overall, a good YA horror/thriller that left me wanting just a little bit more than what we got, but well crafted and written nonetheless. I am definitely interested in the series.