Such Lovely Skin

By: Tatiana Schlote-Bonne

Narrated by: Chandler Gregoire

Viv isn’t known for telling the truth, but she’s not lying about having an evil doppelganger.

After spending the summer wracked with guilt about causing the accident that killed her little sister, ambitious gamer and chronic liar Viv returns to Twitch streaming. She never told her parents the truth about the accident, but she hopes that maybe making it big in streaming and giving the money to them is penance enough for her mistakes.

The weekend before school starts, Viv finds the perfect horror game to make her Twitch comeback, and during an offline practice run, an NPC asks Viv for a secret. She decides to tell them the truth about her sister’s death since a game could never share her secret―in doing so, she accidentally welcomes a demonic mimic into her life.

No one believes Viv when she tells them about her evil doppelganger. Viv has lied to get her best friend’s sympathy and has spread rumors for attention, so why should anyone trust her now? The only person who believes her is Ash, a cute social outcast whom Viv once bullied. In trying to clear her name and kill the mimic, Viv discovers that her lies have hurt people who never deserved it, herself included.

©2024 Tatiana Schlote-Bonne (P)2024 Listening Library

Keeps you engaged and wanting more

Thoroughly enjoyed this book! From the beginning it keeps you engaged and wanting more. Highly recommend this book and I look forward to more from this author!

Creepy doppelgängers and twitch streamers

The narrator did a great job at really portraying the emotion of every scene. Some parts had my heart racing waiting for evil doppelgänger to make a move, while others had me sitting down connecting with the characters and their struggle. Overall a great story to start out creepy fall listens. 1000% will recommend!

Underlying tension

The narrator was amazing. This book was so good. My first ever YA book. It has horror, angst, and sitting at the edge of your seat. The underlying tension is what really made this book amazing!

Tense, insightful young-adult horror story.

My daughter (late teens) and I (early 50s) listened to Such Lovely Skin together over a few days and really enjoyed it, plus I found it very thought provoking.

Probably the thing that made the story most enjoyable for us was how flawed and relatable the characters seemed. This helped the horror elements feel more threatening, and generally kept us on the edge of our seats.

Viv, in particular, starts from a place of great sadness and guilt due to bad decisions, must fight for her life and sanity against a truly awful supernatural force, and (without giving away too much) ends up taking responsibility for her mistakes in the end. That’s a long and painful journey, but we both thought Such Lovely Skin really nailed this.

I also found the story thought provoking because the characters’ physical and virtual lives are entangled in a way that really amps up the tension and mystery. Instead of helping them be more capable and aware, technology leaves them vulnerable and unsure of themselves. Which I suppose is where most of us are these days, and I think it’s rare for fiction to deliver this so effectively.

Anyway: We loved Such Lovely Skin, and we hope you do, also.

Also: Great narrator. I think she was a perfect fit for Viv.