Myth, Monsters, and Motherhood: A Review of "Beautiful Brutal Bodies" by Linda Cheng
- Kim Bartosch
- 3 hours ago
- 5 min read
From the very first page, "Beautiful Brutal Bodies" had me hooked — not just because of the eerie, skin-crawling atmosphere or the feral fairytale vibes, but because Linda Cheng has crafted a story that’s both horrifying and heartbreakingly human. This standalone companion to "Gorgeous Gruesome Faces" dives into folklore, femininity, and monstrous love, all wrapped in blood, secrets, and a truly haunting setting.
Thank you to the author and publisher for the book and my honest review. This book tour is sponsored by Toppling Stacks Tours. Read my full review and get the book!
🩸 Haunting Mythology & Feral Lore
Told through a lyrical, time-shifting narrative that dances between “Then” and “Now,” the story explores the legend of the celestial maiden — a mother imprisoned, a daughter transformed, and a legacy soaked in sacrifice. The folklore elements are beautifully brutal (fittingly), pulling from East Asian myth and twisting it into something original and eerie. The world is soaked in mystery, where every glance, whisper, and ritual feels like it could lead to ruin.
Cheng doesn’t just play with horror tropes — she reshapes them. This isn’t your typical haunted island story. It’s part fairytale, part psychological thriller, and fully immersed in a culturally rich, bone-deep mythology that feels fresh and electric.
🐺 Shapeshifters, Secrets, and Spine-Tingling Suspense
Our main character, Tian, is a reclusive pop idol with an ethereal online presence and a haunted real life. Sent to a “healing retreat” on a secluded island with her bodyguard Liya and fellow musician Shenyu, she’s looking for peace. Instead, they find surveillance, cultish rituals, and a forest filled with teeth and shadows.
Liya, the fierce protector, carries a secret that threatens to consume her — she’s more wolf than woman, a protector spirit with a monstrous side. Watching her dynamic with Tian evolve against the backdrop of dread was mesmerizing. Their bond, laced with sapphic tension and unspoken devotion, was one of the book’s strongest threads.
Shenyu adds a bit of chaotic contrast — a troubled idol seeking redemption but hiding his own secrets. Together, the trio tries to unravel a mystery that keeps twisting itself tighter around them.
👩👧 Complex Motherhood & Cultural Echoes
What hit me the hardest, though, were the layered mother-daughter dynamics woven into the story. While I didn’t have that kind of relationship with my own mother, I know how deeply rooted these expectations and sacrifices are in many Asian families — what a parent should give up for a child, and vice versa.
This book explores those emotional complexities beautifully. Tian’s connection to her mother and the island’s legend feels like a metaphor for inherited trauma, expectations, and the painful bond that often defines generational ties. Cheng gives space to grief, love, resentment, and duty — never flattening the relationship into something simple or predictable.
🧵 What I Loved
Honestly? Pretty much everything. The writing is lush and haunting. The pacing keeps you breathless. The plot is full of twists that actually land. I loved the way Cheng blurs the line between myth and reality, good and evil. One moment, you think you know who the villain is, and the next, you’re doubting everyone. The suspense is deeply effective without relying on cheap thrills — it’s slow, creeping, and deeply atmospheric.
The transformation of Liya into a wolf spirit was especially compelling. It felt both like a personal curse and a divine calling — a duality that speaks to the theme of monstrous inheritance.
And perhaps best of all? The story feels original. It’s not a recycled horror tale with a myth slapped on — it’s a chilling reinvention of fairytale horror that centers queer characters and Asian myth in a powerful, intentional way.
👻 Content Warnings
This one definitely leans into body horror and blood-soaked imagery — so heads up if that’s not your thing. Cheng doesn’t shy away from making readers uncomfortable, but always in service of the story.
🧠 Final Thoughts
Beautiful Brutal Bodies is a stunning blend of horror, mystery, folklore, and sapphic longing. It’s about transformation — both physical and emotional — and about breaking free from what binds us, whether it’s a cursed legacy, a family’s expectations, or our own monstrous selves.
For fans of atmospheric horror, complex female relationships, and queer mythology, this book is a must-read. Cheng’s voice is fierce, poetic, and unforgettable. I’ll be thinking about Tian and Liya — and the ghost of that island — for a long time.
🌕 Final Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5Dark, beautiful, and deeply original — Beautiful Brutal Bodies will sink its teeth into you and not let go.
About the book:
Genre: YA Horror
Publishing date: November 4, 2025
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Rep: Sapphic, LGBT+, AAPI
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
Meet 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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