Book Tour: Beautiful Brutal Bodies by Linda Cheng

Beautiful Brutal Bodies

by

Linda Cheng

YA Horror

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Publishing Date: November 4, 2025

Page count: 336 pages

SYNOPSIS:

Full of skin-crawling folk horror and sapphic romance, this feral fairytale and standalone follow-up to GORGEOUS GRUESOME FACES follows a reclusive songstress and her bodyguard who must unravel the occult mysteries of their past to escape from a cursed island.

Tian is a singer-songwriter with a massive online following, known for her hypnotic vocals and ethereal looks. But behind the glamorous façade is a disturbing reality: raised in an isolated mansion, Tian is a prisoner in her own life.

Liya is Tian’s childhood friend and her only close companion, tasked with protecting Tian at all costs. But hidden beneath Liya’s beautiful human exterior is a beastly secret: her teeth are far too sharp, and her appetite much too ferocious.

When several fans mysteriously suffer fatal injuries while watching her livestream, Tian, along with Liya, are sent to a spiritual healing retreat on a remote island in the South China Seas. They are joined by Tian’s musical collaborator Shenyu, a troubled idol whose recent brush with the law and string of bad boyfriends has him seeking his own new start. But the trio soon discovers that the island is no peaceful getaway. There is constant surveillance, bizzare rituals, and something terrifying lurking in the forest. Something not quite human.

In order to escape with her loved ones, Tian must uncover her connection to the island’s blood-drenched legend — and the truth behind Liya’s monstrous identity — before the island claims them all as its final sacrifice.

Content Warning: blood, body horror

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Linda Cheng was born in Taiwan and spent her childhood moving between cultures and continents. She received her BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and worked as an art director across South Carolina and Georgia where she developed a deep love for sweet tea, grits, and Southern Gothic stories. She currently resides in Vancouver, Canada with her family.

Her debut novel GORGEOUS GRUESOME FACES was named one of Kirkus Review’s best young adult books of the year 2023, and has been nominated for the 2025 White Pine Award.

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November 3rd
BookCrushin – Book Look
Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – Promotional Post

November 4th
Mx. Phoebe’s Viewpoint – Review, Favorite Quotes
The Violet West – Top 5 Reasons to Read Beautiful Brutal Bodies

November 5th
Betwixt The Sheets – Promotional Post
Kim’s Book Reviews and Writing Ahas – Review, Tik Tok

November 6th
Ilovebooksandstuffblog – Promotional Post
The Clever Reader – Promotional Post

November 7th
Confessions of a YA Reader – Promotional Post
Never Hollowed By The Stare – Promotional Post

November 8th
Books1987 – Promotional Post
The Book Dutchesses – Promotional Post

November 9th
foxingontheedges – Review

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Book Review: When Ghosts Call Us Home by Katya de Becerra

When Ghosts Call Us Home by Katya de Becerra
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is an eerie, atmospheric story of a young woman trying to reconnect with a beloved, missing sister.

When Ghosts Call Us Home is the creative brainchild of talented author Katya de Becerra and is a gem of a young adult horror story that breathes uncertainty and unease into every suspense-filled page. The inwardly focused narrative placed me in the story at the very center of the young protagonist’s frightening experiences.

The main character, Sophia Galich, had struggled for the past five years with the fame and renown of her older sister, Layla, and her starring role in Layla’s hit horror, Vermillion. Even though she knew all the terrifying images in the movie that her twelve-year-old self had encountered during the filming were special effects, they’d imprinted themselves deep and refused to release their grip on her psyche.

But after her much-loved sister disappeared without a trace two years ago, not a moment goes by that Sophia doesn’t grieve her absence. She jumps at the chance to return to the house where the film was shot to search for signs of her missing sister, even though it is for a documentary on the film in preparation for the five-year anniversary of its release.

Knowing her parents would not approve of this plan, Sophie constructs a well-planned deception to keep them in the dark, including forging their signatures and sending them pictures from her friends’ vacations. The parents have to be grieving themselves, but it appears from the story they have a long history of being distracted when it comes to their daughters, while they are trying to make a living. Note to parents: there are enough good ideas presented here to be considered a fairly good how-to guide.

The story unfolds from Sophia’s point of view, with surprise after surprise increasing the suspense. There’s a scene reminiscent of The Phantom of the Opera when a chandelier inexplicably crashes down on the exact spot Sophia was sitting moments before. The eerie goings-on, the constant sound of the ocean pounding against the rocky cliff where Cashore House sets, and the certainty of being watched by more than motion-activated cameras keep everyone, readers included, on the edge. I became unsettled by the atmosphere in the old house and began to notice every weird sound in my own as I read. The payoff, however, was well worth the unease.

I recommend WHEN GHOSTS CALL US HOME to readers of young adult horror, thrillers, mysteries, and suspense.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy through TBR and Beyond Book Tours.

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Book Review: The Devil's in the Dancers by Catherine Yu

The Devil's in the Dancers by Catherine Yu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Suspenseful and atmospheric young adult horror story!

The Devil's in the Dancers by Catherine Yu is an engrossing and eerily atmospheric young adult horror story set at an exclusive and elite summer ballet intensive for the children of the wealthy and privileged. Told from the viewpoint of a hopeful young scholarship student who is there to augment her high school resume for her application for admission to Harvard, this haunting, upended fish-out-of-water story had me glued to its pages.

Marianne "Mars" Chang is thrilled to be accepted into the prestigious Allegra Academy summer ballet intensive on a full scholarship. She is shocked when the founder, Allegra Bechler, takes a personal interest in her attendance, holding out the possibility of a place at the school for the regular term, if she'll do her one small favor. Alex, Mars's roommate, is Allegra's great-niece and is acknowledged as the best dancer in the program, despite the girl having expressed her flagging interest in dancing. Allegra wants Mars to secretly replace Alex's daily nutritional supplements with a new and improved formulation not yet on the market. Mars agrees despite her ethical reservations, but finding the right moment to make the switch proves to be a logistical problem. As she begins to question the fairness of giving the most privileged dancer yet another advantage over the others, she impulsively shares one of the pills with a struggling but devoted scholarship student. Hannah shows immediate and amazing improvement in her performance, but soon begins to exhibit some alarming side effects. When Allegra turns a deaf ear to Mars's concerns and Alex's friends close ranks against her, she desperately tries to warn Alex of her aunt's plans and get her away from the ominously over-secured campus.

Mars is a likable main character with reasonable hopes and aspirations, despite agreeing to the founder's suspicious plans to switch out her great-niece's supplements. Why didn't she just approach Alex straight on? Mars is an underdog from the wrong background, with a reach-for-the-stars dream. Alex is the cool girl, and Mars develops a crush as she gets to know her, genuinely lacking the thought of how Alex's status could enhance her own. However, her attraction to her roommate takes a backseat to the mystery behind the need for the supplements and what is really going on at the school. Alex's friend from home, Naomi, Sophie, and Sasha, are creepy and menacing 'mean girls' and their presence really keeps the action suspenseful.

The Allegra Academy setting is gothically atmospheric, with empty, echoing hallways and unusually proportioned spaces. In a secluded, remote location, the sprawling campus is fenced and gated, with a plethora of cameras keeping watch, but perhaps not for possible intruders, but for the program attendees. Strictly-enforced curfews add another layer of control and a hint of menace.

The plot moves quickly, and the author's storytelling is absorbing; I read this book cover to cover in one day. The ballet classes and dancers' experiences will be familiar territory to students of dance. The aches, the pains, the interminable rehearsals, and the chaos of the dressing room before performances are realistic and may be eye-opening to those unfamiliar with ballet life. I loved how the story gradually transformed from a fish-out-of-water tale into a horror story with unexpected elements of the supernatural. The climax was an absolutely terrifying surprise and answered the questions I'd been harboring from the very beginning. I was delighted that I was not left hanging in the aftermath but presented with an ending of hope for normality for the girls.

I recommend THE DEVIL'S IN THE DANCERS to readers of young adult horror, especially those who enjoy stories set in boarding schools, remote settings, ballet, and a hint of sapphic romance.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy through Toppling Stacks Tours.

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Book Review: Girls of Dark Divine by E.V. Woods

Girls of Dark Divine by E.V. Woods
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gothic tale of naïve young dancers given their heart’s desire – with strings attached.

Girls of Dark Divine by E.V. Woods is a mesmerizing gothic tale of what happens when some naïve and ambitious young dancers are lured into unknowingly trading their lives for their heart’s desire to dance as a member of the renowned Manrow’s Marionettes. The story follows lead dancer, Emberlyn, and her sister dancers, revealing the truth behind the success of the magical troupe.

The dancers of Manrow’s Marionettes are exquisitely beautiful, flawless visions as they perform the magical choreography of Malcolm Manrow, giving the audience the illusion of full-sized, lifelike dolls. What the audience doesn’t realize is that, despite being living, breathing women, their amazing “stringed” performances are real, the result of a curse and controlled by Puppetmaster Malcolm Manrow himself.

Emberlyn, the lead and longest tenured of the Marionettes, has always been looked up to by her fellow dancers for guidance and protection. However, by the time of the opening in the novel, she is burnt out and exhausted by the unimaginable truth of her life, stretched to the breaking point by her horrific existence. She is ready to attempt an escape, with or without her best friend in the troupe, Aleida, even though Malcolm has made it clear that dancers can never leave. Her planned escape is one of survival rather than an abandonment of her sisters. I felt she was long past being selfish and heartless or any noble sentiments whatsoever by this time. Malcolm is a cruel predator and master, especially after he’s been drinking. He exercises control through fear and violence, and is devoid of any redeeming qualities.

The workings of the curse are original and horrifying, and details are kept hazy and mysterious through most of the story, increasing the gothic feel of the work all the more. I was captivated by the unique addition of the shadow, which initially only appeared during Marionette performances, to lift and twirl Emberlyn across the stage. His mysterious existence was a highlight for me, and I particularly enjoyed this aspect of the story.

With its atmospheric settings, many sympathetic characters, and a frighteningly imaginative plot, I recommend GIRLS OF DARK DIVINE to readers of gothic young adult mysteries, thrillers, and tales of horror.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy through Toppling Stacks Tours.

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Flight 171 by Amy Christine Parker

Flight 171 by Amy Christine Parker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An imaginative and terrifying tale of horror for YA and adult audiences.

Although Devon Marsh agrees to go on the senior class ski trip, she feels deep inside that she shouldn’t be here. Her twin sister, Emily, had been the one who helped plan the trip, and she was gone, killed by a hit-and-run driver months earlier on Halloween night. Emily had decided to walk home from the party the sisters had attended when the accident occurred. Devon had been stricken with guilt every since because she was the reason Emily was afoot in the first place. The twins had argued over Devon’s recent behavior, and Devon had taken the car and driven off without her. Now, she was aboard a plane headed to Denver with most of Emily’s closest friends, and the four-hour flight was soon "wheels up.”

Besides Devon and two dozen or so classmates, teachers, and chaperones, there was also a handful of other passengers on the red-eye flight unrelated to the ski party. Devon’s mother, a pilot for the airline, was also along; she was to pilot a different plane out of Denver the following morning and planned to catch some sleep in the crew cabin tucked away above the galley. But another passenger caught Devon’s eye: a little gray-haired old lady sitting in her seat, humming to herself and knitting furiously. But as Devon made her way to her seat farther back in the cabin, the old woman looked straight into Devon’s eyes, giving her an impossibly wide grin and intently holding her gaze as the line to the rear crept on. Even though the woman appeared elderly and harmless, she frightened Devon and put her on edge.

But as the plane takes off and the flight gets underway in earnest, the old lady passenger proves to be much more than a creepy senior citizen. And as the flight progressed, it became apparent that everyone on the plane had secrets to hide, including Emily’s unidentified hit-and-run driver, who is among the passengers.

Flight 171 is a terrifying tale of high school students suddenly trapped on a plane mid-flight as it makes its way from Philadelphia to Denver for a senior class ski trip. The story is told from the perspective of Devon Marsh; an anguished young woman gripped in grief over the recent death of her twin sister, Emily. Devon blames herself for her sister’s death, though it had been determined to be a tragic accident. Devon had been handling her guilt by slowly remaking herself into her sister, wearing her clothes and jewelry, and even abandoning her own friends for Emily’s. She also focused on tracking down the hit-and-run driver who never came forward or was identified. The stress she’s put on herself on top of her grief is taking its toll.

Her classmates are a variety of personalities, athletes, partiers, and high achievers, but each one is also harboring secrets of their own. The use of the onboard television screens to reveal the students’ hidden sins was terrifyingly effective. I held my breath as each person’s big secret was exposed. I was on the edge of my seat at each attempt to overcome the onboard evil, and it was almost a gut punch at each failure. It was frightening as fear turned the passengers into a blind mob.

The elements of horror pushed all the right buttons for me. The description of the old woman creeped me out from the start with her too-wide grin, the intense eye contact, and the constant humming. Just thinking about this character again gave me the willies. (And these attributes aren’t the worst of it!) I could feel the kids’ panic throughout the story as if I were among the passengers myself.

I recommend FLIGHT 171 to readers who enjoy the YA horror genre, especially those who like forced proximity, locked-room-type stories. Probably not the best bet to take along on your next flight, though.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author or publisher through NetGalley and TBR and Beyond Book Tours.


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It Looks Like Us by Alison Ames

It Looks Like Us by Alison Ames
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Exciting and horrifying plot along the lines of John Carpenter’s The Thing and Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None with very likable YA characters

The ad was for a two-week summer stay in Antarctica as part of a young adult scientific data collection team offered by the auto tech billionaire Anton Rusk. And after the horrible school year, she’d just completed, Riley Kowalski jumped to apply. It’s just what she needed, a chance to get away, a new start with people who had not witnessed her humiliating and debilitating panic attack in the hallway at school that day. Soon she found herself at Victoria Station in one of the loneliest places on Earth, with four other student workers, an unfriendly chaperone from the sponsoring company, and the lone scientist leading the two-week project.

Riley and the others were impressed by the sumptuous luxury of the accommodations that greeted them at the SladeTech facility: lots of unexpected amenities, and everything was plush. The following day they were quickly trained and began their duties by taking ice core samples to be examined for microplastics eventually. The work wasn’t difficult, the conditions were good, and everyone seemed to mesh well and get along. Riley and Luke, another student worker, struck up a friendship early on, relieving some of Riley’s anxiety that she didn’t fit in.

Things fell into a routine until one day, while out collecting samples, the group caught a glimpse of an odd snake-like creature that disappeared down into the surface of the ice. Up to this point, they’d not seen a single other sign of life, not even a penguin, and when they investigated, it appeared the creature had bored its way through the ice somehow! However, that evening another animal was seen briefly through the station’s common room window. With dim light conditions and the creature at a distance, no one got a good look, but the thing seemed to be watching the students.

However, things took a horrifying left turn when Greta, the scientist, returned from a trip to retrieve supplies from their drop point. Not only was she dangerously late getting back, but she did not seem herself when she returned. Later, after everyone had gone to sleep, Riley was awakened by an odd noise in the hall outside her dorm room. Getting up to investigate, she saw Greta, wearing only her sleepwear, standing outside on the ice ground surrounding the station. Was she sleepwalking? But as Riley watched and wondered if she should wake Luke to help her get the woman back inside before she froze to death, Greta dropped to all fours, her arms and legs bending in directions they were never meant to go, her face taking on the shape of a muzzle before her very eyes!

It Looks Like Us was an exciting and fun horror story, with the vibes of the movie by John Carpenter, The Thing, and hints of the great Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. I loved the whole setting of a remote science facility in Antarctica and the part the wealthy Anton Rusk plays in putting the teen characters there. These young adult characters represent a variety of personalities, backgrounds, races, and even sexual identities. But no matter their backstory, each one was engaging in their own way and easy to like.

The story fell within both the mystery and horror genres, and both were well developed. The action was non-stop, and there were shocking twists and turns throughout that kept me glued to the pages. The author inserted bits of factual information about Antarctica that I found interesting. However, it is the horror elements that take centerstage. They were imaginative and frightening, and I wish I hadn’t started the book right before bedtime. For those that need to know, as the action and tension ramps up, so does the use of expletives, including some heavy-duty choices.

With its exciting, non-stop action and engaging young adult heroines and heroes, I recommend IT LOOKS LIKE US to readers who enjoy young adult fiction, mystery, and horror stories or are intrigued by a story set in Antarctica.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author or publisher through NetGalley and TBR and Beyond Book Tours.

View all my reviews