Gorgeous Gruesome Faces
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4.6 • 5 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A cutthroat K-pop competition leads to a dark obsession in this twisty sapphic horror-romance. Perfect for fans of She Is a Haunting and Yellowjackets.
"A perfect blend of folk horror and dazzling showbiz that will grip you from page one." ―Trang Thanh Tran, New York Times-bestselling author of She is a Haunting
"The sweetest spot between horror and romance." ―Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of These Violent Delights
You’ll love them to death . . .
Two years have passed since Sunny Lee lost her best friend Mina in a mysterious death. With their other BFF, Candie, the trio had been the hottest up-and-coming teen pop group, until it all suddenly ended. And Sunny can't help but wonder if Candie had something to do with it.
Now, Sunny is still seeking answers. When she discovers that Candie is attending a new K-pop workshop, Sunny follows, hoping to uncover the reason why Mina died... and why she died so violently. Sunny and Candie's reunion is haunted by more than Mina's death as the old spark between them returns, even stronger than before. But there's no time for romance when the lines between nightmare and reality start to blur, leaving their competitors' bodies bizarrely maimed and mutilated. To survive, Sunny must expose the dark secrets surrounding Candie and the workshop's twisted promise for fame.
Stitched with cutting commentary on the ugly side of stardom and impossible beauty standards, Linda Cheng’s mind-bending, feminist thriller will have readers screaming and swooning for more.
*Don't miss the chilling companion novel, Beautiful Brutal Bodies, on sale now!*
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The mysterious circumstances behind an Asian American pop star's death spell disaster for the group's remaining members in Cheng's debut, a thrilling psychological horror. Two years ago, Sunday Lee, who is of Taiwanese and Chinese descent; Chinese American Candice Tsai; and Korean American Mina Park made up the all-girl musical group Sweet Cadence. But when nude photos of Mina are leaked online, Mina supposedly dies by suicide, and the group disbands. Now 18 and living in Atlanta, Sunny learns that Candie—from whom she's estranged—is arriving from Los Angeles to participate in a prestigious workshop from which a few candidates will be chosen to become K-pop trainees in Korea. As Sunny inserts herself into the workshop, she determines to unravel the mystery of Mina's death and reckons with the increasing instances of injury among her competitors, all while grappling with her ever-shifting relationship with Candie, who still seems to yield an inexplicable power over her. Alternating chapters titled "Then" and "Now" weave flashbacks from the height of Sweet Cadence's fame with harrowing behind-the-scenes looks into the world of K-pop and fascinating, eeriely rendered supernatural horror elements . Ages 14–up.
Customer Reviews
Gorgeous gruesome debut!
Gorgeous Gruesome Faces by Linda Cheng is an absolutely stunning debut! The story follows Sunny, who has been struggling to put herself back together after a fall from teen pop-star fame and a falling out with her ex-groupmate Candie, who Sunny has developed a bit of an obsession with. What’s more is Sunny is having hallucinations of her dead group mate while at a K-pop workshop at which her competitors begin to suffer eerie injuries and accidents. Sunny’s grim, desperate, and angsty world gripped me from the very start. The story is paced at breakneck speed with all the cut-throat competition, vicious cattiness, alliances, secrets, and shocking twists you expect in a horror set against the glittering backdrop of teen beauty and fame. Through it all, Linda Cheng maintains a gritty and grim atmosphere that strikes an unsettling yet alluring tone as she depicts every flawless dance routine, flashback scene, or tense interaction. This book was impossible to put down and I ended up reading it in a single day!