I wouldn't say this is one of the best books I've ever read, but I had a really good time with it. I read it super quick and was invested in knowing what was going to happen. I guessed pretty early on that there was going to be a skin walker, but that was made pretty obvious by the title and cover anyway. I really liked the romance subplot between Ash and Viv and I also liked the incorporation of twitch streaming. 4 stars.

I don't usually read horror books but I was intrigued by the premise and I thought it was pretty interesting and suspenseful enough to keep me engaged.

I’m not sure how I found myself on the wellness exorcism side of Instagram last year, but there I was, watching clips of a woman perform a ritual. She walked slowly around a figure lying prone in the middle of what looked like a bedroom decorated with advice from the pages of the encyclopedia of world religions. In her video, the woman says that she normally only does personal exorcism blessings in person, but for “today only” if you like the post and comment below, she will make sure to do a special prayer for you. Boost her engagement, and she’ll rid you of demons. Seems like a pretty reasonable arrangement.

In Tatiana Schlote-Bonne’s 2024 release Such Lovely Skin, the demons of the internet are alive and well, but no amount of virtual exorcism will come to the rescue. These demons use the thirst for online attention against their victims. Oh, and they can possess right through screens and impersonate their prey online like Catholic nightmare fuel specializing in identity theft.

According to the Instagram exorcists, demons feed off of trauma. Vivian, the protagonist of Lovely Skin, is no exception. Because of a mysterious accident involving her younger sibling, she is “like a sizzling demon buffet,” according to Ash, an outsider from her high school who partners with Vivian to try and defeat the demon. The solution? “To kill it before it kills you.” So begins this wild ride of young adult horror.

At its heart, Lovely Skin is a terrifying read. Jump scares and violent imagery abound. But it’s also really, really funny. In one scene, while the demon-fighting duo tries to find a place to interview a previous demon victim, Ash “says calmly ‘if Starbucks isn’t safe, then where is?'”

Where can teens escape these days, away from their screens, away from the prying eyes of their peers? Not even Starbucks will offer refuge.

This was an entertaining read, but the novel’s consideration of trauma, guilt, and forgiveness were particularly powerful.

Thank you to Page Street Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy of this title.

Comparable to Stay Alive and The Ring, this demonic entity that feeds off of your fear, pain, trauma, and terror comes for you and ruins your life while masquerading as you. You're forced to face your biggest secret and be tormented by the possibility of it coming to light. This book was very well written and has great descriptions. I really enjoyed the horror in this and was intrigued the whole time to figure out what happened with her sister, how she would navigate getting her friends to believe what was happening to her, and the struggles she faces dealing with her grief and secrets. I've been reading a lot more horror lately and this is of the ones I've really enjoyed.

**Such Lovely Skin** by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne presents a promising premise but ultimately lacks the creativity to fully captivate. The narrative explores the darker side of beauty, but the storyline feels predictable and formulaic at times. While the writing is competent and the characters are decently developed, there's a sense of missed potential. The plot progresses without many surprising twists or fresh angles, leaving readers wanting more innovation. Despite its shortcomings, the book manages to maintain a certain level of engagement due to its intriguing themes. Overall, it's an average read that deserves a 3/5 stars for its lack of originality.

I loved this book!!! It reminded me of my favorite horror movie, Stay Alive. I was hooked from the beginning. This one was such an easy, fun read that I almost wish I could read it again for the first time!

This was fun and also very creepy! Not about skincare like I expected...shoulda read the descriptions, but it was a eerie book with an ending that left me shook.

an effective and original horror story for fans of It Follows and The Ring. I could not put this book down

This was a really interesting horror story. That cover is gorgeous. The idea of watching someone wear your identity and ruin your life is horrifying but fascinating, and the streaming aspect was interesting.

Great Characters

I loved the characters in this. I thought Viv was great, and I was rooting for her. I thought she had a great personality, and I loved her passion for gaming. Viv had made some mistakes, but she apologized for them, which I thought was great. I loved the support group of Ash and Bri because they were so sweet to Viv, and

Genre

I’m new to the horror genre, but this one was great. I thought it was wild, and it’s the kind of horror I like to read because It was more psychological horror than body horror. I thought the mix of game and real life was a nice genre mix that I loved. The atmosphere was horror and tense, which I loved.

Writing

I enjoyed the writing in this. This was a debut, but I will read more from the author. I loved The mixture of fun scenes, where the group was having fun. There were also scenes that were more serious, and tense along with discussing important topics. The writing style was easy to read, and kept the book fast paced. I loved the attention to detail in the streaming moments, Viv talking to chat, and chat responding.

Plot

This story was wild. I liked the different routes this story took, and how there were two Viv’s near each other at the same time. I loved how this all started with a locked room video game, and I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I loved the journey this story went on, and how Viv grew by the end of it.

Video Games

I know I’ve mentioned this a few times, but as a gamer, I loved how video games played a part of this book, I loved seeing games mentioned, even if I myself would never play them. I loved how much Viv incorporated her chat into the games she played. Video Games also brought Viv and Ash together. I loved Viv’s passion for games.

💀 YA Horror, The Ring meets my Best Friends Exorcism

I am fussy with my YA horror and don’t read much of it, but something about the plot and cover of this just really made me want to try it out and I am SO GLAD I did. I didn’t want to put this book down. This book follows 17 year old Viv who is a horror twitch streamer as she struggles to come to terms with the loss of her little sister, which she admits to only the reader she thinks she’s responsible for. One day she picks up this new Horror game to try out for her followers and she soon finds out it’s cursed and it starts to do terrible things, including trying to admit her dark secret.

It was so refreshing to me how much I loved this book. It was a fun and easy read and I really thought the concept was unique. It was about gaming and I myself am not a gamer, but it was easy to follow and intriguing. I think this was because a lot of the gaming still involved horror, which I thought was quite cleverly planned by the author. The characters were all likeable and relatable, and the dialogue was believable. I really liked how it dealt with heavy subjects such as grief and racial stereotypes too.

I would recommend this to pretty much everyone to be honest! Especially if you are into: gaming, horror and demons 👹👯‍♀️🎮

Aaaa I loved everything about it and I'm looking forward to adding this title to my physical book shelf. From the narrative style to the fresh ideas including horror in a video game setting, this came to me at the very right time! ❤️ I am looking forward to reading more by this author!

Really amazing horror debut. About a twitch streamer who is healing from the death of her young sister. She ends up accidentally communicating with a demon who wrecks her life.

I thought the premise was interesting. It had some good suspenseful moments. Overall, it felt a bit short and the characters/relationships between them didn't get the chance to be fleshed out much.

I enjoyed this one! It's certainly unique and had some scary parts but I didn't love it as much as I hoped. I will read the author in the future based on it though because the writing is really good!

This was SO scary and hard to put down. I am officially afraid of video games and emails from people I don't know. I don't gravitate towards horror books often but I am so glad that I picked this up. Tatiana's characters felt real and their experiences and feelings did as well.

A creepy, eerie, and FABULOUS addition to the genre!!!

From CHAPTER 1 I was hooked! Powerful prose, incredible character arc, and just damn good gamer/horror fun!

This is a book you'll def want to play (read) again and again!

Such Lovely Skin is a terrifying delight!

Honestly from early pages on the suspense and eerie feelings started— and as it went on my skin was crawling!!!

I’m so sorry for being late posting this!

Such Lovely Skin is YA horror that did feel like a new concept to me in a novel. I had so much fun reading and really appreciated the themes of identity, grief, and social media. This one will make you feel uneasy—

It kind of gave me vibes of the movie Unfriended (but absolutely different if that makes sense? Idk)

This is probably the first book I’ve read that was centered around a gamer and that alone had me so excited and on top of that horror?! Count me in!!!

If you’re looking for something different and creepy—- check it out!

Thank you again @pagestreetya for sending me the advance copy. This cover is spectacular and truly fitting!!!!

An evil video game
A lying Twitch streamer
A demon hungry for her secrets

After spending the summer wracked with guilt about causing the accident that killed her little sister, ambitious gamer and chronic liar Viv returns to Twitch streaming. She never told her parents the truth about the accident, but she hopes that maybe making it big in streaming and giving the money to them is penance enough for her mistakes.

The weekend before school starts, Viv finds the perfect horror game to make her Twitch comeback, and during an offline practice run, an NPC asks Viv for a secret. She decides to tell them the truth about her sister’s death since a game could never share her secret―in doing so, she accidentally welcomes a demonic mimic into her life.

No one believes Viv when she tells them about her evil doppelganger. Viv has lied to get her best friend’s sympathy and has spread rumors for attention, so why should anyone trust her now? The only person who believes her is Ash, a cute social outcast whom Viv once bullied. In trying to clear her name and kill the mimic, Viv discovers that her lies have hurt people who never deserved it, herself included

Wowsers what a creep show!
I really enjoyed this one and found it spooky and disturbing. I could hear the skittering cockroaches, could perfectly picture every scene. Great attention to detail!

Part of the book dragged a bit but otherwise top notch.

This one has a really interesting premise in which an online gamer returns to twitch streaming after the death of her sister in an accident and accidentally inviting a demonic doppleganger into her life when she reveals the truth of her sister's death in a game. It reminded me a lot of the Netflix horror film, Cam.

This one was pretty entertaining and Viv's identity as an asian-american teen, plays into some of the conflicts and preconceived notions about her throughout the story. I also really enjoyed the gaming aspects and the authors inclusion of the games discussed. This was an excellent horror and that cover was AMAZING!

The biggest downside for me was the inclusion of internet slang that felt too over the top at times. It's like it wanted to remind us constantly that she is a gamer/streamer when it wasn't really needed.