Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Gorgeous Gruesome Faces by Linda Cheng

11 reviews

somelesbianwriter's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Body shaming

ka_ask2002's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It took me a while to come back to this book but I really enjoyed it. It only gets points off for the sequel coming in 2025 and the one dimensional character of Ji-hwan. It’s understandable though, since he’s not the focus. I would have liked to know why Sunday liked him so much though. As a fellow K-Pop girly, we usually have a reason for our biases. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Suicide, and Blood

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

lexcellent's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Gore, Death, Gaslighting, Suicide, Violence, Dysphoria, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Stalking, and Gaslighting

kurumipanda's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicide, and Torture

Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Fatphobia, Death, Body horror, Blood, Sexual harassment, and Confinement

Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Stalking

amy_salieri's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Death, Grief, Blood, Torture, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming and Bullying

booksmoviesandstories's review

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Gaslighting, and Gore

devynreadsnovels's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Bullying, Infidelity, Child death, Body horror, Violence, Gore, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Death, Grief, and Blood

Moderate: Dysphoria, Torture, and Abandonment

likeagilmoregirl's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Gorgeous Gruesome Faces is exactly what you want a YA thriller to be; it’s entertaining, dramatic, fun, and original. It’s not every day you pick up a sapphic K-Pop competition novel filled with scandal and horror.

The story centers around Sunny, a fallen-from-grace star, as she navigates the gruesome incidents happening to the girls she’s competing with in a K-Pop competition. A completion she joined to reunite with her estranged best friend (and former co-star) Candie who disappeared from her life after the tragic loss of their other friend and co-star, Mina. 

Told in alternating chapters of Then and Now, the competition continues as the number of victims grows and the past events leading up to Sunny and Candie’s estrangement are unraveled.

Filled with drama, scandal, and gore, Gorgeous Gruesome Faces is a fantastic example of YA Thrillers. I loved the concept and the writing.

This book ended up being 4 stars for me because I felt that while the novel as a whole was structured well, the pace of the novel fluctuated inconsistently. Some parts felt more rushed than I found myself hoping them to be. And there were moments I felt that I had missed something or wished that more time had been spent detailing some events or character relationships. 

I was given the chance to read this book in audiobook format and the narrator was fantastic! 

Overall, Gorgeous Gruesome Faces is a wonderful, fun read that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys YA thrillers. Especially with a little scandal involved. 

*Huge thanks to Linda Cheng, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for providing the ARC of Gorgeous Gruesome Faces in audiobook format*

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Body horror, Toxic friendship, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

caseythereader's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Thanks to Macmillan for the free copy of this book.

 - 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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Gore, Murder, Bullying, Death, Stalking, and Suicide

myuh's review

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Stalking, and Grief