by Megan Shephard
♦publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
♦release date: October 2nd, 2018
♦hardcover, 376 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: Grim Lovelies, book 1
♦source: from publisher for honest review
Seventeen-year-old Anouk envies the human world, where people known as Pretties lavish themselves in fast cars, high fashion, and have the freedom to fall in love. But Anouk can never have those things, because she is not really human. Enchanted from animal to human girl and forbidden to venture beyond her familiar Parisian prison, Anouk is a Beastie: destined for a life surrounded by dust bunnies and cinders serving Mada Vittora, the evil witch who spelled her into existence. That is, until one day she finds her mistress murdered in a pool of blood—and Anouk is accused of the crime.
Now, the world she always dreamed of is rife with danger. Pursued through Paris by the underground magical society known as the Haute, Anouk and her fellow Beasties only have three days to find the real killer before the spell keeping them human fades away. If they fail, they will lose the only lives they’ve ever known…but if they succeed, they could be more powerful than anyone ever bargained for.
From New York Times bestselling author Megan Shepherd, Grim Lovelies is an epic and glittering YA fantasy. Prepare to be spellbound by the world of Grim Lovelies, where secrets have been long buried, friends can become enemies, and everything—especially humanity—comes at a price.
{My Thoughts}
This one was a charmer, but also a little lighter than I expected? There were parts of Grim Lovelies that I really loved, and parts that I thought were just so-so. The Paris setting is enchanting; I loved Anouk's curiosity in the new world she discovers outside her life of servitude--our world but new to her eyes. Throw in the magical and dangerous touches that regular humans don't see and you get the darkly glamorous setting for Anouk's adventure to free herself and her friends.
Anouk starts out a bit meek. Though she is curious about what goes on outside the house she was made in, she is quite comfortable to stay where she thinks she is safe, serving a witch who is quite cruel to her with a kind of love-hungry gratitude. Then a mysterious run-in with the prince of the Haute forces to her wonder about her place in the magical world, and when the Witch turns up dead, her entire world is upended. She'll be forced to lean on her friends and fellow beasties to find a little fierceness inside herself and keep them all from turning back into animals.
The story unfolds at a fast pace---it helps that the plot is a literal countdown to midnight! You can feel the intensity as the dreaded hour closes in. I really enjoyed getting to know the array of characters and all their wildly different personalities. From witches to goblins to topiary bears, this one keeps the excitement high until the very end. There are also quite a few good laughs in this story, usually provided by my favorite snarky character, Cricket, and most definitely with a funny turn of events with the ever egotistical Viggo.
Where it faltered for me was the love story. I felt the direction of the romance was at first a little misleading, and then the awkward feelings between her and Beau started up, but it was definitely missing any amount of chemistry. The story didn't really need it, and in the end it felt a little out of place and forced.
Still a wonderful entertaining story and, with the way it ended, I am definitely looking forward to the follow-up, Midnight Beauties, and hoping for some sort of miraculous magical turnaround on the fate of a few of these characters!
{About The Author}
New York Times bestselling author Megan Shepherd grew up in her family’s independent bookstore in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She is the author of several young adult and middle grade novels. She now lives and writes on a 125-year-old farm outside Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband, two cats, and an especially scruffy dog.
Purchase the book: Indiebound • BookDepository • Amazon
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