Grim Lovelies

Picked this up at the library because it sounded intriguing. I sometimes avoid YA cos I am well past that age range but there are some really fascinating YA books out there. This is one of them. I loved the concept of the beasties and the world building was well-done. I really felt for the beasties.

Urban fantasy at its best. Anouk is intensely loyal to the witch who made her into a beastie, but the others who have been similarly transformed, have markedly different feelings about their situation. She has never been allowed outside the house in Paris, that is until the witch is murdered and those who she changed have only three days to find another witch before reverting to whatever animal they were. Luc, the oldest of them has vanished, leaving the others to flee in hopes of finding a someone to renew their 'human' forms. Instead, they find treachery, threats, an odd alliance with goblins,
and some very scary battles. All of this is written to give readers a fast-paced tale that continues in a second book. Plenty here for those show more with active imaginations to savor. show less

Written by Megan Shepherd, Grim Lovelies follows Anouk, a girl made from a creature known as a Beastie. In this world with Royals, witches, and goblins, Anouk and her fellow beasties are forced to fight for their human lives.

This was a fantastic novel. Written from the perspective of someone learning everything it means to be human (Anouk was changed just over a year ago and never allowed to leave the house), this novel hits a lot of wonderful marks. Other than not being a standalone. The sequel, Midnight Beauties, is scheduled to come out sometime this year.


With a compelling main character and fully fleshed supporting characters, shepherd takes her readers on a wild and mysterious ride. I enjoyed Beau and the Prince and all of the show more complex things that occurred. This is a novel that touches on a lot of things that are popular in Young Adult novels now (transgender, gays, multiracial), but it handles all of those in a wonderful, realistic way. Which is, it doesn’t toss it in your face that those are present in the novel. They do have an affect on the stories and the characters. But they don’t smack you up the face with them.

And the story! This is a twisting story whose twists make sense. Yes, they are from left field, but they come that way through the characters. There is a history that plays into everything that goes on and the progression makes sense as you go. The rules apply, even if you don’t realize why they apply.


Something else that struck me, that I don’t normally take note of, was the goblins and their crazy. They are mad, but they aren’t evil. They are definitely mad, but they aren’t manic. I am struggling with how better to describe this, but they remind me how the mad hatter should be portrayed. It was very appreciated.

Overall, I think anyone could find something to enjoy in this novel. Unless you don’t like blood and gore in your books. Then turn away. Marketed as a Young Adult novel, honestly I think anyone over the age of 10 could enjoy this book. It is written well, has good pacing, and is an interesting story that avoids a lot of cliches. show less

This is the first book in the Grim Lovelies series by Shepherd. I got a copy of this to review through the Amazon Vine program. I believe this is a planned trilogy. This was a decent read; it presents a complex and interesting world but I had some issues engaging in the story.

Anouk is a Beastie; she was brought to life by Mada Vittora. Mada Vittora is a witch who helps run Paris. In this series all of the normal people are referred to as “Pretties”. The witches and Royals (fae-like magical being) control what the Pretties do. When Mada Vittora is murdered, Anouk finds herself on the run with Mada’s other Beasties as they try to figure out how to survive.

The idea is an intriguing one but it felt somewhat half-finished throughout. show more Anouk is one of those passive heroines who ends up being influential mainly through her own stubbornness. Anouk is an interesting collection of contradictions but I had trouble relating to her. The other Beasties Anouk travels with are fairly stereotypical types of characters and I wish they had been filled out a bit better.

It didn’t take me long to finish this book but the whole time I felt like something was missing. I am struggling to figure out exactly what. The story just didn’t have enough to engage me, the characters not quite enough depth, and the world was a bit unfinished.

Overall this was an okay book built around an interesting concept. I struggled a bit to engage with it and didn’t think it was Shepherd’s strongest novel. I enjoyed Shepherd’s Madman’s Daughter series a lot more than this one. show less

On the surface, Megan Shepherd is an author whose books I should love. Unfortunately, Grim Lovelies is another one she wrote that did not click with me. For one thing, I found the voice too young for my taste. The entire story reads more like middle grade versus young adult. Plus, the plot is a bit of a muddle and not well-explained until it is much too late. I found the entire experience rather boring but thankfully an easy and quick read. This is one series I will not be continuing.

This review is posted on both my personal account and the account for Crossroads Public Library.

Actual Rating: 3.25

We'll start with the good first to maybe sweeten the bitter that's about to follow. I thought the world building was interesting - I love a magic system with rules, and the kickback on witches when they cast the more 'curse' type spells was a nice touch. The idea of this secret magical society that rules and shapes the non-magical citizens of earth was interesting. There were some gruesome and brutal parts that felt like they were a part of a fairy tale - the real ones, not the Disney ones. There were a lot of aspects of books that were great, and maybe just needed a little fleshing out.

The bad: I was not even remotely show more interested in Anouk or Beau. And they're who we deal with the most. I just told one of my coworkers I wanted to read the sequel but only to find out what happens to everyone else. And I just had a lot of questions about the way Anouk handled some of the situations and her reactions that I probably shouldn't ask because they're spoiler-y. (And maybe it's because she's only been human for a year, but that seems like more of an excuse than any sort of actual character development.) One of my favorite characters died. One of my other favorite characters is probably dead. Usually, that won't affect my rating but...when you kill off the only two characters that I find interesting, it's kind of hard to let it go.

All in all: it wasn't my least favorite thing that I've read.

-Kelli show less

This was a very cool idea and I enjoyed it!
I love the world the author created, with witches and goblins and beasties. It was engaging and I liked the characters, especially Anouk and Cricket. The only downside was it sometimes felt like it dragged a bit, especially the build up to the final fight scene. Anouk was very innocent, since she has only been a human for a year and never left the house. She did become a leader and fighter throughout the book and I liked seeing her change. I didn't like Beau that much, he was sort of fickle. I actually liked Hunter Black, even though he was kind of a bad guy for half the story.
I am looking forward to book 2 so I can see what happens.