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A review by autumn_alwaysreadingseason
Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang
4.0
What did I just read?!
Our narrator was a very talented pianist, trained in a unique way by her parents. She was recruited to study at a prestigious conservatory, where she received acclaim. But after one of her recitals, something happens to her parents and she quits the piano altogether. Now she's working in a restaurant, until a woman comes in offering her a job at an exclusive natural beauty store called Holistik. And then we go completely off the rails.
The imagery and body horror is so vivid. As the narrator sees her body and the appearance of others change because of Holistik products, the reader is given immense detail. And when the treatments go wrong, we are subject to the horrifying results. There's a creepy farm out in the woods where the products are made that feels so surreal. The store has an area called the Zoo that nobody is allowed in.
Victor is truly evil. I didn't exactly understand his motivations as explained, but it doesn't really matter. The way he recruited girls and planned their indoctrination into his empire for years was nauseating. Everything comes together and the reader realizes who he was preying on and how methodically he planned. Also, Saje is delusional and I don't feel bad for her at all.
What a way to end 2023.
Our narrator was a very talented pianist, trained in a unique way by her parents. She was recruited to study at a prestigious conservatory, where she received acclaim. But after one of her recitals, something happens to her parents and she quits the piano altogether. Now she's working in a restaurant, until a woman comes in offering her a job at an exclusive natural beauty store called Holistik. And then we go completely off the rails.
The imagery and body horror is so vivid. As the narrator sees her body and the appearance of others change because of Holistik products, the reader is given immense detail. And when the treatments go wrong, we are subject to the horrifying results. There's a creepy farm out in the woods where the products are made that feels so surreal. The store has an area called the Zoo that nobody is allowed in.
Victor is truly evil. I didn't exactly understand his motivations as explained, but it doesn't really matter. The way he recruited girls and planned their indoctrination into his empire for years was nauseating. Everything comes together and the reader realizes who he was preying on and how methodically he planned. Also, Saje is delusional and I don't feel bad for her at all.
What a way to end 2023.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Body horror
Moderate: Sexual assault and Medical trauma
Minor: Animal cruelty