Grim Lovelies ~ Megan Shepherd

Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9781328809186
384 pages
Source: Barnes and Noble

There are so many stories involving humans taking on animal forms, personalities, or other traits. Whether curse or positive power, so many of our books and legends, imagine what we would be if converted permanently, or temporarily (werewolves, anyone?) to beings other than human.

Grim Lovelies takes that age-old trope and turns it inside out, following a band of furries beings turned into humans by a witch with questionable.

Though the premise caught my attention, the book was just mediocre, for me. There were certainly parts that kept me reading but there were a few things that poked out like jagged little edges. I wasn’t completely sold on the characters. They weren’t unlikable but they also never truly caught my attention. They all seemed to be standing on the edge of something deeper but their lives never really filled out the way I wanted them to.

The book was far more plot-driven than character or world driven. And that’s totally fine. Except, the plot held another little rough patch for me. It was almost as if I came in halfway through the book and was missing big chunks of the story. I am all for picking up a tale in the middle of chaos if it’s done well. There were just a few things that were only vaguely explained and I always felt as if I was a step behind and a minute late.

Despite those minor things (and they were truly minor in that they did not make finishing the book impossible or even impossible to enjoy), there were a lot of solid moments. Shepherd’s writing style was definitely within my sphere of preference and there was some depth, especially as things began to unravel, midway through the book.

I’d recommend it but maybe with the suggestion to borrow it from a friend or local library.