Gorgeous Gruesome Faces

By Linda Cheng

Book Overview

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, coming Fall 2025*

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250864992
• ISBN13: 9781250864994
• Release Date: November 2023
• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.3" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 14 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 9 to 12

Customer Reviews

Queer, dark K-Pop horror

Sunny Lee was once part of a popular teen pop girl trio with fans all over the world. Her stardom cratered when she was involved in a cheating scandal with a male pop star. Additionally, her trio dissolved when, Mina, one of the three group members inexplicably committed suicide. Sunny, humiliated, traumatized and devastated, withdrew from the public eye. Two years later, Sunny, seeking answers about the past, joins a competitive K-Pop performance workshop when she hears that her former bandmate and best friend Candy has signed up. Gorgeous Gruesome Faces is a queer, contemporary, dark horror novel with a slow start but a fast paced, tense second half. I enjoyed the Asian folklore/mythology that underpinned the story and the eerie unsettling, claustrophobic atmosphere. This book offered insightful social commentary about damaging female beauty standards and the pressures of stardom especially in the cutthroat world of K-Pop. It felt a bit muddled at times but overall, a compulsively readable thriller. 3 1/2 stars rounded up