Took about 2/3s of the way through the book to actually pick up, but it finished with a decent flourish. Backstory about K-Pop band/TV show was a little annoying in a 'girls can be catty at times' kind of way, but the rest of the story settled in. ( )

I have often felt that YA horror is a grossly overlooked genre that needs more attention. I am glad to say that not only is "Gorgeous Gruesome Faces" a good addition to said genre, but it is also a great addition for diversity in horror literature, both from an Asian and LGBT representation perspective. Is it a bit campy? Perhaps. But that is part of where the fun lies!

The best way for me to describe this book is to think of the sapphic vibes of "Jennifer's Body" (with thankfully less queer-baiting), the uber capitalistic/exploitative themes of "Squid's Game," and the horror elements of another great YA book I read recently "I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me" all joined together. If any of those elements appeal to you, then more likely than not, "Gorgeous Gruesome Faces" will as well, regardless of whether you are into the K-pop/K-drama scene. ( )

Sunny Lee was once part of a popular teen pop girl trio with fans all over the world. Her stardom cratered when she was involved in a cheating scandal with a male pop star. Additionally, her trio dissolved when, Mina, one of the three group members inexplicably committed suicide. Sunny, humiliated, traumatized and devastated, withdrew from the public eye.
Two years later, Sunny, seeking answers about the past, joins a competitive K-Pop performance workshop when she hears that her former bandmate and best friend Candy has signed up.
Gorgeous Gruesome Faces is a queer, contemporary, dark horror novel with a slow start but a fast paced, tense second half. I enjoyed the Asian folklore/mythology that underpinned the story and the eerie unsettling, claustrophobic atmosphere. This book offered insightful social commentary about damaging female beauty standards and the pressures of stardom especially in the cutthroat world of K-Pop. It felt a bit muddled at times but overall, a compulsively readable thriller. 3 1/2 stars rounded up. Thank you to BookishFirst for a copy to review. ( )

I Love the glittery cover and makeup on the cover of the book which is what made me want to read the first look and then I discovered it was also going to be about K-pop EEK!

I don't listen to K-pop but I do love crazy fandom people because I just learned about Harry Styles Stans and I am in Kansas City so the Swifties crew has been some interesting tea as well. They are in their football era for sure and also I am not a fan of her I don't hate her and I love how angry she makes all the dad brads and chads. I have a prima that is a k-pop fan and she is going to be a bookish first reader because I made this book suggestion to her so I am def recommending this read to all K-pop fans and fans of fandoms or fan fics. TBH that's all my cousin reads so I was surprised that she actually wanted to read a book instead of the internet stuffs she usually does.

Music lovers book for sure~ ( )

I expected more from this book than I got. The timing was weird, the pacing was awful, the flashbacks increasingly annoying, the details overdone in some areas and almost none in others. The supernatural events--okay, fine. The author would do a plot point neatly and concisely, then drag it out. I don't think this was to pad word count. I think she wasn't sure how to link things neatly, since she kept doing it in a particular way. The repeated "enemies to friends" was annoying at first, then frustrating, then finally enraging. Shut up! This was a poor portrayal of Kpop stardom and its fallout. "Kpop Confidential" by Stephan Lee handles these themes much, much better and is a far more engaging novel. It's a better debut to a series, too, unlike this one. This will develop into a series, but why? I was glad to finish this in any regard. Sigh. ( )