Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Gorgeous Gruesome Faces by Linda Cheng

9 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

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

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-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

I thought this was just a thriller, but it turns out it takes a turn more into the horror genre. Which isn't a bad thing! But by the end of the book, things get...interesting. I'll read horror, but most of the time I'm not a huge fan of it. And this one gets a bit graphic in parts as the horror amps up by the end of the book.

However, I did appreciate the critiques on the K-Pop/entertainment industry and the expectations that are thrown on teen girls in particular. Sunny struggles with the expectations, especially coming from her mom. It's definitely something that negatively affects her mental health as well. Using the horror genre to explore those sorts of topics definitely works in this case.

If you like darker horror/thriller books, this might definitely be for you! It does wrap up at the end, but there's space left for a sequel (which I guess is happening eventually). We'll see if I read the next one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, and Death

Moderate: Torture, Grief, and Suicide

Minor: Cursing, Body shaming, and Bullying

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

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

kassiereadsbooks's review

dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Grief, Sexual harassment, and Torture