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
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