Loved this! Highly recommend.
The characters were original.
The topic was also original.
I want to be a grim lovely and join this amazing team!

I saw Megan Shepherd's name attached and knew it was going to be a well-written book, but it was also wild. If you want elements of magic, histories of magic and magical beings, and some good old fairy tale twists (the beasties turned human of everyone's favourite fairy tales), then really have to look no further. What really struck this as a 5-star book over 4, however, was that it did not fall into all the little tropes and predictable traps I thought it would. Oh, there's a hot prince? HOLD ONTO YOUR BUTTS.

For all the characters' arguments about things being or not being black and white, Megan Shepherd wonderfully paints everything outside of shades of grey even. Colourful story, beautiful setting (FRANCE), solid premise, excellent plotting, good pacing, <insert another positive adjective> humour and dialogue. I can't imagine I will be disappointed by the next volume of this story.

Fans of the Kerstin Gier's Ruby Red trilogy and various books by Diana Wynne Jones will love this book.

Absolutely fantastic.

This is the story of the secondary characters of traditional fairy tales-those whose fate is oft forgotten when it comes to Happily Ever After-and what happens when their narrative takes center stage.

The feel of this book is very much that of a traditional fairy tale, but the author has put a unique spin on the concept. It's also incredibly propulsive, with some humorous allusions to a squad pulling a Job, like the animals from Cinderella starring in an episode of Leverage.

Racing against the clock is a good plot device for YA...it holds the interest of an audience that often becomes indifferent easily and propels the reader along with such speed that they're less apt to notice plot holes and iffy writing. That sense of compelling, I-can't-stop-reading action is present here in spades, but it feels especially impressive here because it's there for its own sake. There are no plot holes or draggy segments where the less dedicated reader might lose interest.

Extra points too for a book that certainly has plenty of appeal for adult YA readers, but is also not too much for the younger end of the YA spectrum.

Terrific ending as well, and one that has me VERY excited for the next installment.

Grim Lovelies is an enthralling adventure. Anouk and her friends used to be animals, until they were turned into human slaves of a witch. Now they are on a deadline to find a way to stay human or else return to a numbing animal existence. This is a grim foray into the darker side of fairy tales. The suspense and tension will hook the reader and keep the pages turning well into the night.

This is the easiest 5-star review I've given in a long time. The premise of this book alone was enough to have me excited, but from the very first pace, Shepherd pulls in the reader and sets the scene for what is a wonderfully exciting, adventurous, heartwarming tale of a ragtag group of "beasties" (that's animals turned into humans by a malevolent witch to act as her personal servants) fighting to retain their humanity and set the world right. Once I started this book I couldn't put it down - I read late into the night, woke up early in the morning to read more of it, and just found it a complete delight.

The character development here is great, particularly for Anouk, who went from being quiet, demure, and as hesitant about the outside world as she was excited by it to a fearless, badass leader who refused to take the easy way out and stayed true to what she believed was right. Obviously because of the YA-intended audience, there just had to be a romance in here (I SO wish writers would stop with this - there's more to the world than falling in love and it's possible to write an engaging, powerful book without it!) but thankfully Shepherd didn't focus on it too much and it was easy enough to ignore. I especially appreciated that <spoiler>Beau was returned to his animal form at the end, though I imagine Anouk will be working to reverse this in subsequent versions</spoiler>. Additionally (and totally non-related), I imagine there'll be an uptick of non-Francophone readers Googling "se faire foutre" and "merde" after reading, which makes me laugh.

All in all, this was a fantastic read - highly original, totally engaging, and really charming.

I received an ARC courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a fantasy fan, through and through. Thirty years of reading one genre though, and I've read quite a bit of the same story told in different ways. Grim Lovelies is absolutely an exception. Megan Shepherd created a world that is light and dark, hope and despair, adventure and romance, grim and lovely. The character development in this story is exquisite. Anouk is a protagonist who captured my heart from the start! The last lines of the story are heavy on my mind and I cannot wait to adventure further into this world to experience what is sure to come.

I have the honor of purchasing for school libraries at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. When this book is (FINALLY) released in October it will be on ALL my shelves. My one complaint: I don't know how I could possibly be expected to wait for the (hopefully many) sequels to come available for consumption.

I love this book, I'm already half way through it and I'm already wondering if there will be a series with this storyline as it is an incredible world that this author has created.