This sapphic YA supernatural horror/thriller centered on two members of a failed girl group trio going through a new trainee workshop in Atlanta was apparently exactly what I needed coming off the heels of Halloween.

Gorgeous Gruesome Faces follows Sunny Lee on her journey to confront her ex-best friend and groupmate Candie Tsai to try and understand what happened to the third in their trio, Mina Park, after she jumped to her death two years ago, marking the end of their group. When Sunny learns that Candie is going to be attending a new k-pop workshop in Atlanta, she enrolls so she can question Candie about her possible involvement.

From the prologue, you will be hooked!! And the story truly does not let you go, even after you’ve turned the last page. I believe there’s going to be a sequel, and I need it like I need air now. The story is told back and forth in time (split between the k-pop workshop in the present and Sweet Cadence’s trio debut in the past), and I love this style of storytelling! Cheng does such an expert job of dropping just enough details in the flashbacks to keep you turning the page to see how it connects to the present. I literally finished the second half of this book in two hours, I could NOT put it down!!!

I also was completely entranced by the tale of the celestial maiden included in this story—it added such a mesmerizing and melancholic and terrifying depth to everything. Overall, this book was creepy, it was gory, it was fast-paced, it was chilling, and I cannot wait to read more from Cheng in the future!

By now, I think YA titles are not my thing, but this one was enjoyable. It feels goods to read something just for pleasure without thinking so much about the storyline or the writing.

Hello creepy!

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job when the girls would talk about their faces that I was a little scared myself!

It's a story of girls-- behaving badly, obsessed, catty, competitive, and burned out from performance. Sunny is who readers are following as she wants to check back in on an ex-best friend of hers, Candie. They were part of a group that went sour after the shocking death of Mina. It's about performance and art and what happens when there's some magical/mythical like workings are revealed. And clearly because this is a #1 of a series-- more will be revealed about the motivations.

A thriller for sure featuring Asian teen girls as the main characters.

Sapphic? K-Pop? Horror? Not a combination I saw coming, for sure! This was definitely more horror than k-pop which was exactly where I hoped it would go. While it definitely kept me guessing and at the edge of my seat because it took many unexpected turns, it was also a surprisingly deep look into the k-pop phenomenon and expectations that those in that community have to abide by to stay relevant. It had a great gothic atmosphere throughout. The characters felt so human because they (duh, it's horror) sometimes made poor choices that were very questionable in context and out—especially Sunny, our lead. I think it was a really unique mix of thriller, cultural commentary, and horror that I haven't seen before in YA.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I love K-Pop and I love Yellowjackets, so, unsurprisingly, I loved this. The horror is well done, especially for YA, and I appreciate the queer romance didn't hinge on any self-denial or internalized homophobia, as is so common for YA. I did expect this to be a standalone, and was surprised by the ending until I realized there was a sequel, which enabled the ending to feel more conclusive in terms of the larger progression of the story. I don't have many complaints; I thoroughly enjoyed this! (And the cover is beautiful!)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Wow! This was one wild ride. The prologue started off with a bang, it was mysterious, devastating and utterly hooked me into the story. I really loved the characters Sunny, Candie, and Mina. So even when it was a little slow, it wasn’t boring. I liked getting to know more about the K-pop music industry and what it takes to become a pop star. The book took some very crazy turns that I wasn’t expecting but that I absolutely loved. This was a mixture of horror and sapphic romance. This was a mixture of so many things: folklore, cults, celebrity worship, and beauty obsession. I couldn’t stop reading because I was so invested in finding out what was happening (so many twists and secrets!). For horror fans, some truly gruesome, unsettling scenes would make for a very twisted horror movie. I really enjoyed reading this book and loved the main character Sunny a lot, even though she wasn’t necessarily always good and sometimes made poor choices, but it’s what made her more human to me.

I recommend this book to those who love sapphic horror novels, and although it is marketed as a YA, I feel like it can be a fun read even for adults.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Roaring Book Press for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was one of the more unique thrillers I have read in awhile and I loved it! As soon as I saw comps to Yellowjackets I knew I had to find out more about it. I really enjoyed how the characters were all very layered and complex, no one was truly evil but no one was fully innocent either. It felt very realistic for behavior of teenagers in a very cutthroat environment, so all of the motivation for their behavior and decisions made sense. The journey that Sunny faces regarding her sexuality and exploring that was very raw and real and I think will make a lot of readers feel seen.

I could tell that the author put a lot of passion and heart into this project and it really comes out on the page, especially in any conversation around K-pop! I'm eager for the next book in the series to come out!

I'm not entirely sure how to rate/review this book. I was very intrigued and invested in the story. I liked the main characters and felt like they were decently well developed. I loved the social commentary on the K-pop industry, beauty standards, fame and double standards. The horror aspects and eerieness were really well done. However, the end of the book felt somehow disconnected from the rest of the story, almost like I was reading two different books. I wasn't a super big fan of the direction the book turned. It's not that I wasn't interested in the end part...I think it just would have worked better if it had been explored in a different series. I did enjoy the writing style. I'm interested to see where the story goes in the next book. Readers that enjoy horror, social commentary or books about the music industry may enjoy this book.

Eh this book was ALRIGHT. The cover and the plot are what drew me in, but i honestly had to DNF mid way through because it just didn’t keep my interest.

I was excited for the premise of this speculative horror/thriller. It started off a little slowly but once it picked up I WAS INVESTED. I enjoyed reading about K-pop and Asian folklore, but at times the story got muddled. I like the ways that Cheng wrapped the story up. Overall, a solid read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC.

Interesting concept, and I enjoyed the past/present POV switch and the supernatural element. I would have liked more build up and suspense, overall the story felt rushed.

Needless to say this was a book I didn't expect to end that way. I wasn't the biggest fan but loved the representation of queer and Asian identities.

🎤 was this a pure cover influence that promised a shocking scandal and some ghostly hauntings? Yep. And did I fall for that only to have this book cause me utter confusion for most of the time I was reading it (like, to the point that I honestly should have DNF’d this but pushed through it since a physical copy was gifted to me)?

🎤 This book follows Sunday aka Sunny, who have encountered a scandal during the highlight of her teen pop-star career, resulting in their group disbanding and her secluding herself away from everyone. That is until a new K-pop recruitment agency opens and she finds that her previous co-singer is applying, so she takes the jump to join her (even if she hasn’t talked to her in 2 years and the last time was when they lost the 3rd member of their group). Ok, so still following me? Because this is where things took a turn for me.

🎤basically, the one singer has these VERY strange divine gifts that have been passed down through generations, and she has the ability to control people; oh, but the goddess wants free and starts projecting and haunting all those around them until she starts to think she is losing it. And then the K-pop assignment was all a front to getting a bunch of girls as human sacrifices? Yep, that’s where this is where we ended up. Oh, but then we also thought that Sunny is bi (I believe…?), but it didn’t really fit in, and then there were so many characters that I was trying to keep track of; there was no real factor. I also just learned (as I finished this) that this is going to be a series, but I don’t think I’ll be continuing this since I’m not too sure where we are going to be going with the second one 🤷‍♀️

✨a creepy, culty, and bloody k-pop competition where girls will do whatever it takes to make it to the top✨

This book was the perfect blend of intense competition, friendship dynamics, and relationships complicated by strange rituals and unexplained deaths. I don’t wanna spoil it too much so I’ll leave it at that, but I can’t wait for the sequel!

I do wish some of the lore was explained in a bit more detail, though. I’m hoping we find out more in the next book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Thanks NetGalley and Roaring Brook Press for this arc🎀🎬🎤

Eerily beautiful. This book will have you watch your back and to think twice about the things you may do and the people you may trust

This was SUCH an inventive, needed story—taking a thriller/horror spin on beauty standards and K-Pop is brilliant, and it was executed wonderfully. Was holding my breath and frantically turning the pages from start to finish!

This was a really good story that mixed pop culture stardom, along with horror, friendship, competition and societal beauty and social standards. I think anyone who is interested in the kpop world and the competitiveness that goes along with it, they'll most likely enjoy this. It takes a horror spin to it that is also really engaging. Highly recommend.

After a shocking scandal that abruptly ended her teen popstar career, 18 yrs old Sunny Lee spends her days longing for her former life and also cyberstaking her ex-BFF and bandmate Candie

Now Candie is chasing stardom in a new k-pop competition, and Sunny can't resist joining her and finally confront their traumatic history. As she can't figure out what happened that horrible night their third bandmate jumped to her death and whether the dark, otherworldly secrets they are keeping hidden has something to do with it

But when Sunny is haunted by terrifying visions, bodily harm even strange mutilations start happening to her competitors.

Read this awesome thriller to know the rest of the story.
📖
Thriller is a genre that I quite enjoy reading and this book is a perfect fit for that genre. This book is like a rollercoaster ride that takes the reader to the darker side of the glittering k-pop world. We only see the glitz and the glamour of every industry whether it's film, music , fashion or any other industry but often behind that there is a dark, gloomy world that exists. The author has beautifully written about that in a thrilling narrative. The author beautifully switches the scenes between the past and the present where she shows the transformation of Sunny's character, from being a cheerful girl to a disheartened one.

The author has also nailed the spine chilling atmosphere that will keep the readers at the edge of their seats. The glory scenes are also gruesomely written and obviously not for the faint of heart. So, trigger warning is advisable.

So, overall it's an amazing, exciting and thrilling read. A perfect read for this cozy weather.

- GORGEOUS GRUESOME FACES is a YA thriller that combines K-pop glitter with Chinese mythology.
- I love a book that explores some of the traumas of fame, especially for young people, and that is woven into the larger supernatural mystery of this book.
- I didn't realize this book was the first in a series until I got to the end, and I'm excited to see where Cheng takes this next.