I didn't hate this book. I think that this book actually had a great amount of potential, but I was ultimately disappointed with the final product, and I cannot pretend other wise.
First let me start with what I liked. The writing style was fairly fluid and I thought rather good at describing things that were happening. Some of the book leans into the horror realm and I was definitely left squirming a few times because of it.
I also thought that the chapters written in the past were well developed. I was invested in the relationship between Sunday, Mina, and Candace. I thought that their journey was interesting and I was excited to read these chapters a lot more than I was to read the chapters set in present day.
Which brings me to my big issue with this book. The two different timelines feel like the author had two separate ideas for the same book, and instead of deciding to go with one, tried to fit both of them into one novel. The novel feels too rushed when reading about the past, and too slow when reading about the present. Many of the characters in the present timeline or glossed over and provide no movement to the storyline. Heck, not even the main character is very important to the present storyline.
I think that this novel would have been a lot stronger if the author told the story of the original three girls in a linear manner with some of the other timeline incorporated into the ending. As it stands, though, "Gorgeous Gruesome Faces" has a very intriguing premise, but lacks cohesion.
First let me start with what I liked. The writing style was fairly fluid and I thought rather good at describing things that were happening. Some of the book leans into the horror realm and I was definitely left squirming a few times because of it.
I also thought that the chapters written in the past were well developed. I was invested in the relationship between Sunday, Mina, and Candace. I thought that their journey was interesting and I was excited to read these chapters a lot more than I was to read the chapters set in present day.
Which brings me to my big issue with this book. The two different timelines feel like the author had two separate ideas for the same book, and instead of deciding to go with one, tried to fit both of them into one novel. The novel feels too rushed when reading about the past, and too slow when reading about the present. Many of the characters in the present timeline or glossed over and provide no movement to the storyline. Heck, not even the main character is very important to the present storyline.
I think that this novel would have been a lot stronger if the author told the story of the original three girls in a linear manner with some of the other timeline incorporated into the ending. As it stands, though, "Gorgeous Gruesome Faces" has a very intriguing premise, but lacks cohesion.