Review: Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd

Feeling all kinds of thrilled that I got to be able to read this book early. When I saw that cover, I knew I had to read this one. And that summary. Gosh. It's incredible. I'm so happy to say that this book was all kinds of amazing. I enjoyed it so much, and I am so glad that I read it. The writing was gorgeous; loved that so much.

There is so much about this book that I wish to share. I shall try not to share too much, but oh, this book was beautiful. I'm giving it four stars, as I had a few smaller issues with the middle of the book. But that beginning. And that ending. Gosh. It was perfect. But also incredibly rude. I am not sure how I will survive waiting.

Especially since I am not sure if this is a series or not. But oh, how I hope there will be another book. Because that ending is fully open. And so much still needs to happen. Crossing all my fingers. It was such an awesome ending, though, despite how evil it was. First, the beginning. This book is told from the point of view of seventeen year old Anouk. She looks seventeen. But she has only been human for just over a year. She is a beastie. She used to be an animal, before a witch turned her into a girl. And oh my gosh how amazing this whole plot was. I loved this twist. I loved how it was written and how interesting and different it was. So beyond creepy at points too. And a little dark as well. I loved every moment of it. Most of this book was perfection.

I'm not going to describe too much about this world, just that it takes place in Paris. There are regular humans, whom are clueless about everything else. Then there are the Royals and the Witches and the Goblins. They sort of rule the world, in that order. And learning about all of them was so interesting and exciting too. I liked reading about the witches. I liked getting to know the goblins, as they were awesome. And just slowly learning about this world. All of it was so awesome. A little heartbreaking too, of course.

Anouk has lived her year inside of a house, never being allowed outside. She serves the witch that made her, Mada Vittora. Anouk is her little doll. Playing dress up with her. Anouk is also the maid of the house, always dusting and making food and doing everything else too. This is everything she has known though. And she loves her Mada. But even though she loves her, she do break the rules a little as well. Reading books she's not supposed to. And so learning about the outside world as well. And I loved that a bunch.

But gosh, how sad her life was. It broke my heart to read about. She is not alone, though. Mada Vittora made four other beasties as well. Anouk is the youngest. There is also Cricket, Luc, Beau and Hunter Black. The last person living in this house was Viggo, whom is human, and the person the witch uses to access blood for her spells. I did not like Viggo one bit at first. He was so cruel and he treated Cricket so awfully. I think I cared more for him by the end, maybe. Hunter Black was his protector, and an assassin.

But oh, all of these characters. I so adored reading about Anouk and getting to know her. Even with her conflicted feelings for the witch that keeps her captive. I simply loved Anouk. She was adorable. And so innocent in the beginning of the book, and completely dark and vicious by the end. I loved that so. She was still sweet, though. And I wish to get to know her even more. Something creepy about her is that she has only eight toes. Somewhat know what happened with her, and it makes me so angry. This poor girl.

I also adored Cricket and Luc. Cricket lives by herself in town somewhere, so Anouk does not see her often. And Luc was the older brother that they all adored and looked up to. He has been missing for a week now. I loved reading about them both, and getting to know them. And oh, Beau. He was adorable. Though he did make some wrong choices that made me angry. Hmph. He was very protective, good and bad. He was sweet too, though. And it made me so very happy, how he cared for Anouk. I so loved Beau.

There is so much happening in this book. And I haven't really shared anything about it, yet I have already written much more than I was going to. I could not help but share why I loved these precious characters. But yeah. Back to the plot. This book takes place over less than a week. In the beginning, we get to read a bit about Anouk's life. And I loved that beginning so much. It was awesome. But then Mada Vittora gets murdered. And everything changes. Anouk and Beau and Cricket are now on the run. Trying to stay alive.

And they only have three days left to live as humans, before they are turned back into an animal. None of them want that. They love being human. But when their witch died, her powers die too. And so they need a new witch to cast the spell to keep them human. But that is not an easy mission. So much goes wrong. Reading about it all was so much fun, though, and I loved it the very most. Anouk finally gets to leave the house. And those scenes were the best. But also sad, because she has missed out on so so much of life.

Okay. I must share the reason for why I did not love all of this book. There is a small romance between Anouk and Beau. First kisses. And it was beyond adorable. I ship them like crazy. But there was some drama too. With them both kissing someone else. It was not a big thing, and I think they are both over it by the end, but I wish it had not happened. It just made my heart hurt. There is the royal prince, Rennar. He wants to marry Anouk for her powers. This could turn into a triangle, but I do not think so. I hope not.

But anyway. Those were the reasons for why this is a four star, and not a five star. Because I had some issues with that romance drama. But everything else about this book was so good. And I adored Anouk and Beau so so much, and I want them together, always. This ending is a killer, though. I need a second book more than anything. Sigh. Grim Lovelies was such a stunning book. Full of magic and so incredible characters. This story was unique and all kinds of heartbreaking. I could not read this book fast enough.

Huge thank you to HMH Books for sending me this most precious ARC copy. I shall treasure it, always. Feeling so thankful that I got the chance to read and review this book early. And so so happy that I ended up mostly loving it all. Eee. I shall now be looking all over for news about a second book, and hoping I will find it. Because I am not nearly done enough with these characters or this world. If you love books about magic with amazing characters then you really must read Grim Lovelies. It was such an incredible story.

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