Title: Grim Lovelies
Author: Megan Shepherd
Publication: June 4, 2019
Publisher: Clarion Books
Genre: Teens, YA Fiction
Pages: 449

Amazon |  Barnes and Noble |  Goodreads  |  Author Website

SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)

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.

REVIEW:

When my significant other was up for the weekend (currently navigating a long distance relationship) he picked a book off my shelf and handed it to me and said this is your next read.  Which was good because he and I both knew that I was almost done with my current read and was going to need a new book to read.  That would require me to pick 4 books at random from my shelf and send him a picture and tell him to pick one.  This made it so much easier.  Although going forward I have picked a new way to have him pick my books that hopefully gets me to read through more on my shelves.  

Anouk is a beastie. Meaning she is an animal that is in human form that works for a witch.  The witch is the one who changed her and she will remain a human until her creator dies.  When that happens she has X time to remain a human till she is turned back or she finds a new witch to re-enchant her.  When her beloved “mother” is found dead, she flees with her other beastie, Beau, to find a new mother with someone they think will help them.  What unravels next is a sweeping adventure containing fantasy, action, adventure and even romance.  I quickly discovered that this book was going to be more than it let on.  While it appeared to not really be my cup of tea, it was written in such a way that I kept wanting to read more because I wanted to find out what happened next.  It left off on such a cliffhanger that I have added the next book to my Amazon Wishlist so that I can find out what happens next.  I need to know what direction Anouk will go with her choices that she has.  While there is one way that I want her to go there is a direction that I think would probably be more beneficial for her but not be the way she should go.

This book really reminded me of the TV show Grimm that used to be out, but not on such a bigger scale.  In the show the people turned into the animals when they were scared or in danger.  In this they are turned into animals by magic and remain till something occurs with their witch.  Then the marble women in the book reminded me of the weeping angels in  Dr. WHO.  They had that sort of a vibe.  It was a nice mix of things that held my interest.  I was a little bummed by how some things turned out for Anouk.  I wanted to get her happy ever after, while she got it to some extent it felt like it was ripped out of her hands at the last second.  The story also shows that you should never judge a person just by what you see in them for a short period.  People are complex and are not always what they seem.  I think the other message I took was you need to tell people how you feel about them.  Don’t wait around for that moment to occur, it may never happen and then you could lose them forever.  Life isn’t perfect, take that moment and run with it because who knows they may feel the same way about you.