Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the gifted copy of this gem.

It's not my usual read but it was intriguing and I enjoyed the portrayal of the lengths people will go to to change their appearances in favor of fitting a beauty ideal.

I did find some grammatical errors but nothing that drastically took away from the reading experience.

Karishma faces the struggles of teen self-image, while her brother Nikhil wrestles with ambition and morality. Their story highlights the pressure and isolation of growing up as children of immigrants. A relatable read for anyone who’s felt unsure of themselves or their choices.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic (Roxane Gay Books) for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

While the premise intrigued me, I was expecting a more grounded dystopian or sci-fi narrative. Instead, the book leaned heavily into a YA tone that didn’t quite match my expectations.

The novel takes aim at the beauty industry, offering sharp commentary on its exploitation and manipulation, which I found to be its strongest element. However, the execution fell short for me. The prose felt uneven, and the pacing suffered under the weight of too many competing ideas packed into a relatively short novel. As a result, I struggled to stay immersed in the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic (Roxane Gay Books) for the ARC in exchange of a review.

I thought it would be more of a dystopian/sci-fi story but came across as YA.

Interesting exploration of how manipulative and predatory the beauty industry is.

The writing style didn't quite work for me and I struggled to engage with the story. There was too much going on in only around 300 pages.

Ravishing by Eshani Surya is a brilliant debut novel about an Indian American young woman who wants to change the way that her face looks. She gains access to a new beauty product that allows her to achieve this goal. However, the product causes horrible side effects. Ravishing covers so many issues including race, body image, health and family relationships. The character development is exquisite and I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic and Roxanne Gay books for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so. bad. The writing sounds like someone is just saying “and then this happened…and then this other thing happened…and then she went over there…and then…” just like a constant narration without any introspection or creativity. But then she wrote a make out scene where one dude “filled his mouth” with his tongue, “even the space behind the molars” and I’m sorry but WHAT. Oh and there were multiple descriptions of people shitting with more lurid detail than the sex scenes. Seriously, “she thrust, and thrust again” was talking about SHITTING. I kept reading parts out loud and no one believed this was a real book. What the hell. Roxane Gay your name is better than this drivel.

A great read that will appeal to all ages and lovers of twisty novels and pop culture.
Loved it and will recommend it far and wide to my patrons.

An impressive debut novel about the dark pitfalls of the beauty industry and its effects on the consumer, told through two protagonists who are both siblings.

Fresh from their parents messy divorce and daddy issues, Kashmira, a young indian-american teen is introduced to the innovative and life changing skincare cream, nulook and renulook by her former best friend, Roshni and with the help of the cream, her face literally transforms to something that she desires, anything to block out her dad's features on her. However, beauty is pain and she will experience the consequences of her actions and this is where the deuteragonist, Nikhil, who is her estranged brother and an employee of the company that creates this product will come into play.

Pace of this story is medium, not too fast but not too slow either and the characters are diverse. There's characters development especially on the two main protagonists.

Really recommended this book if you are looking for the horrors of the skincare or beauty culture as well as complicated family trauma.

the best way i can describe this is as a mix of the substance, black mirror and a coming-of-age novel. i had a good time with this! interesting family and relationship dynamics wrapped up in an almost dystopian cosmetic advancement that has its effects on more than just the surface level.

3.5 rounded up to 4

This is listed as a contemporary/lit-fic but I would say that this reads more like a YA novel. YA is something I normally don't read but I really enjoyed this book.

Ravishing is the debut author or Eshani Surya and I have to say I'm very surprised to see that this is her debut. Surya is very engaging with her writing and is able to provide a very unique and compelling read very reminiscent of Black Mirror. (Really reminded me of the Nosedive episode)

Surya also plays with so many themes such as the beauty industry, mental illness, family trauma, generational trauma, coming of age, and the struggle of embracing culture or assimilating into Western ideals. Cultivating into a commentary on how the next generation is coming into a world obsessed with obtaining a certain beauty standard, regardless of the cost.

I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this, and I'm excited to see where the author goes next.

I read this in a span of 24 hours. Ravishing is stunning. And a DEBUT at that? Surya promises to be a literary talent. Surya peels back our obsession with beauty in such a unique way - how beauty can tell a story of the trauma we hold and how our desperate need to unwind that can unwind ourselves as well.

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

The Ravashing is set to publish in Nov. 2025.

Ravishing is such a gorgeous, intense read—I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The stories dig deep into themes like desire, identity, and how we move through the world in our bodies. Surya’s writing is sharp but also really intimate, like she’s letting you in on something secret. It’s one of those books that sticks with you long after you’re done.

The teenage angst of wanting to change how you look, coupled with the summer of changing adolescence and hormones is perfectly captured in Karishma's teenage experience. Conversely, her older brother Nihkil is also torn between wanting to make a name for himself and doing what is right as a human. The juxtaposition of these two siblings on different sides of the same coin brings the complexity and isolation that is both the epitome and struggle of being the children of immigrant parents. For anyone who has ever struggled with feeling confident in how they look or being torn to do what's right, this is the book for you!

I really enjoy book that deal with beauty industry and the dark side of it, so when I saw this was about face altering cream I thought it would be straight up my alley. In a sense it was but it also left me wanting more. The story was interesting but I found the writing style didn't really make me wanna pick up the book and I felt like the story could have been streamlined more.

Overall a positive reading experience and I'm interested to see what the author comes up with in the future.

A thoughtful portrayl of the chokehold the beauty industry has on so many young people. Read like more of a YA novel as we follow the teenage protagonist through her struggle with her body image, and ultimately against the beauty tech company that has harmed her.

This was a brilliant book, especially now, with all the impact of social media and plastic surgery, that also had the time the complicated family dynamics of the protagonist.
It somehow reminded me of the movie "The Substance", with this idea of sacrificing who you really are to get what you consider your ideal face.
The writing was good, and I enjoyed both the point of views, as well as the chapters feeling like news excerpts.

I would definitely recommend this book, and had a great time reading it!

Ravishing is a bold and thought-provoking debut that explores the dark side of the beauty industry through the lens of two Indian American siblings entangled in a manipulative beauty tech company. As teenage Kashmira becomes addicted to a product that allows her to alter her features and erase the pain of her past, her brother Nikhil faces the ethical dilemmas of working within a company whose product is causing harm. With visceral storytelling and a poignant coming-of-age narrative, Ravishing offers a searing critique of body image, corporate greed, and the complex relationship we have with our own identities.

I want to thank NetGalley for sending me a ARC for me to review.

I do agree with a lot of reviewers here that I enjoyed how the book delves into how the beauty industry can affect society, and I enjoyed how got the two perspectives from outside the company and inside.

However, I did find myself finding myself not drawn to it as much as I thought I would, though wonderfully written.

3.5/5 for me.

This is a really strong debut that focuses on a brother and sister, one who dives deep into a startup that focuses on beauty technology, and his younger sister who's dealing with their father abandoning the family and the normal teenage fears, and starts using the product the brother is working on. Yes, it focuses a lot on the horrors of the corporate startup culture and what it's willing to do to the people who buy it, and what girls are told as they're growing up. But there's a unique angle in that Surya also looks hard at the grief of seeing someone who abandoned you so clearly reflected in your own features, and is honest about why she buys into what the company offers. Great debut and a name I'll be keeping an eye on.

There is so much to say about this novel, which tackles so many issues which feel pertinent — especially to those of us who feel 'othered' by western society and dominate culture. It reads much like a Black Mirror episode in many ways, which made it a personally compelling read.

Kashmira and Nikhail are siblings with whom we venture into this story — the sister who wants nothing more than the love and acceptance of her father, willing to go to extremes to transform herself into someone seemingly worthy of the things she so desperately wants. Then there is the brother who wants to change the world through the perceived empowerment of those who use Evolvoir, all the while remaining estranged from his sister, and her own needs.

The novel not only explores the ideas of self-image and the way society impacts that, but also power dynamics in many forms, as well as the true cost of 'beauty'. This was a fantastic novel that I could not stop reading, and plan to revisit in the near future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this ARC.