Book Review: Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd

Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd
Series: Grim Lovelies #1
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers ISBN: 1328809188
on October 2, 2018
Genres: Fantasy, YA
Pages: 376
Format: ARC
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Source: HMH Teen

I received this book for free from HMH Teen in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my 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.

The Reader’s Review

Alright, I have been trying to write my review for Grim Lovelies for a while and it’s a STRUGGLE. Mostly because I am very torn about this book. On the one hand, I really enjoyed Grim Lovelies and I think it was fun to read about the witches, goblins, royals, and the beasties (who used to be animals but were turned into humans by witches); but on the other hand, I was expecting a lot more when it came to its world-building and the magical system.

Focused on the life of Beasties since the main character is one, Grim Lovelies follows Anouk who was turned from animal to human form by a witch called Mada Vittora. Anouk looks like a 17-year-old girl but is technically one year old in the human world, and while the witch “owns” many Beasties, Anouk is by far her favorite–and by favorite it means she is forbidden to venture into life outside the Witch’s mansion.

Anouk is an interesting character and the premise to her life’s story is pretty epic. She wakes up one day and she realizes she is no longer an animal but now her life is to clean and serve the witch who turned her. This character LOVES the witch, despite that she cuts down her toes. Despite that she treats poorly the other Beasties. Her need to be loved clouds her judgement, and long story short, her life is to live caged. Until Mada Vittora is killed and now she has to save her life and the other beasties before time runs out and they turn back into animals.

With that said, I found the whole idea of running around Paris with a cool set of beasties to be exciting! They escape crows, they break into magical territories, and they prove to have magical powers too. Did I mention Paris?!? I love books set in Paris since it brings me back to old YA books (don’t know why, perhaps when I joined the book community it was all the rage books set in Paris).

However, while I really REALLY liked some of the characters, I just did not like Anouk and how she managed to cast spells. Seeming that she never tried magic before and wasn’t supposed to know, she naturally (and conveninetly) remembers everything she saw or read from Mada Vittora’s books and controls magic better than the Royals & Witches who have been using their powers for years and years.

I wish the magical system had been explored a bit more so the characters could have had a chance to embrace it. Even Anouk. What made sense for her, did not make sense to me. Part of the charm in new magical worlds and magical systems is struggling alongside the characters to learn and master, but that part came easily to Anouk so we never got the chance. But perhaps book 2 gets more of this, since the other characters have yet to learn what they can do. Also, there are still so many things to be explored from the world in the following book! I have that hope!

There’s some romance in this book between Anouk and Beau (one of the other Beasties of Mada Vittora) and well, it wasn’t that great. Mostly because Beau is not good enough for Anouk. He even comes out as mean and petty at one point, which immediately turned him into a terrible love interest. Really hope Anouk gets someone better!

Also, I do have to mention that this book has poor character representation. The only POC character is absent for the most part of the book, gay characters are killed off (or hinted at), and so on.

Final Verdict:

All in all, Grim Lovelies turned out to be an interesting read with some unique fantastical aspects that make me want to read the sequel to find out more about them! It’s not my favorite read, despite wanting to love it as much as its gorgeous cover, but I did enjoy it and would recommend to anyone looking for a wild ride against magic and time. 🙂

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