Ok girl power!! Love strong females standing up for themselves finally and this had that and more. This was empowering and clever for sure!

When I was offered the arc of Smile and Look Pretty, I decided to check out this debut novel. I like to check out new authors, because you never know what kind of gem you will find.

The blurb actually didn’t do the book justice, in my opinion. Amanda doesn’t write about underpaid and overworked assistants, but she tells the tale of women, who are harassed at work. Women, who silently accept being pinched in their butt by their boss or send on a wild goose hunt to find the perfect cupcakes for their bosses children’s birthday.

And when they start to share their stories, anonimously on a blog, they unchain a flood of reactions of women in similar situations.

The irony is that this is actually happening currently in Holland: an online documentary went viral about one of the biggest entertainment programs, where similar behaviour of male employees has been going on for years. And when a few courageous women spoke up, it started a floodgate of­ocomplaints. So, in my opinion, Amanda has made an outstanding debut. Recognizable, funny and courageous. Hopefully an inspiration for women around the globe to unite and speak up. Five out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

Smile and Look Pretty was published last week and I am obviously a week late! No surprise there! But the benefit of being late, the book still gets previewed and brought to peoples attention.

To be honest, I was hesitant with this book! When I read the summary it sounded to much like The Whisper Network, and I did not enjoy that book at all! I am so glad that I gave this book a chance!
You meet four women, who are best friends and assistants to powerful men. Dealing with discrimination, sexist comments, and feeling invalidated with their jobs they start an anonymous blog to vent. Their blog goes viral but will they be able to keep their anonymity?
I loved everything about this book! The characters were amazing! You could easily find something to like and hate about each woman. As a working woman, it was very easy for me to find an action where "yep, that has happened to me" moment!
I would highly recommend this book! Thank you to Netgalley, Parkrow, and Amanda Pellegrino for my gifted arc copy!

Cate, Olivia, Lauren, Max, are friends who have been emotionally supporting each other and get together once a week to vent about their jobs. All four of the women have been either been taken advantage of, sexually harassed or forced to do demeaning work. They have all been plugging away and tolerating the bad behaviour in their jobs with the hopes of moving up the career ladder in their position. At one of Thursday night vent sessions they decide to create a website called Twentysomething where they will start posting about the things that are happening to them as an opportunity for others to come forward and help bring about change.

The book felt very much about the me too movement where employers take advantage of employees who are starting their careers and are forced to work long hours and tolerate bad behaviour as previous employees have to move forward with their careers. I think this book would be a great movie. I do feel that there wasn't enough character development and I sometimes struggled with distinguishing the characters and was getting them mixed up from time to time.

The author had written the story originally in the first person perspective and I think I might have enjoyed that more because I may have been to connect more deeply with the characters.

So, I kind of feel like Smile and Look Pretty is a little bit misleading. I had expected more of a thriller than anything else, but that's not really what this story is.
There are aspects of this story that I really enjoyed though. I love how certain characters believe the other character that brought to light how their boss is sexually assaulting them in some way. There are way too many people who don't want to believe those who come out potentially years later after it happened. Those who don't believe are obviously people who have not been through this and are sometimes the reason why people wait so long. So, I love that aspect of this story. I think it's great that the story actually has girls supporting each other. There's way too much cattiness between women anymore so it's nice that it was the opposite in this book.
The only reason I didn't enjoy the story as much as I had hoped is that I went into the story thinking the story was going to be a thriller. I'm not even sure why I had thought that.

Something that stuck out to me in my reading experience was how human the characters were. Cate, Lauren, Olivia, and Max all make mistakes and ready or not, they face the consequences for them. At times with books mistakes are hidden under the rug, and I appreciated that this story didn’t do that. I also found that each girl’s perspective was well written and relatively easy to tell apart because while they are all good friends, they’re each their own person with their own outlook on how life is playing out for them.

Overall, this was quite an enjoyable read and I found it refreshing in how the author didn’t shy away from having the main friend group all facing their own obstacles and are able to work towards overcoming them.

There are a lot of titles that have come out as of late concerning a lot of recent and current events and this is definitely one of the stand outs on the fictional front for me. Tackling the #metoo movement and showing the lives and work experiences of the four leads - Cate, Lauren, Olivia and Max - was really well done for the most part. There were perhaps some moments of immaturity on their parts, but it gave some authenticity to their personalities in some ways. The book itself was well written and the last section of the book was definitely the best part. I enjoyed the author tackling such a current and relevant topic and writing a great story out of it.

Close friends Cat, Lauren, Olivia and Max have had enough! They each work as assistants with horrible bosses. They are more than ready to fight back against sexual harassment, being taken advantage of, doing personal chores, working all hours of the day and being underpaid. They've come up with a unique way to fight back - a blog. A place where they can vent and be anonymous. It gives them a chance to get things off their chest but not lose their jobs doing it.

They never expected their blog to take off as well as it did. Now they fear their identities will be revealed and they will not only lose their jobs, but their entire careers and livelihood.

This book started off slow for me, but after a few chapters, I was totally engrossed in the plight of these four friends. It’s a timely book considering the current work place atmosphere. There’s some humor, but mostly my heart broke for these women trying to make careers for themselves but having to face obstacle after obstacle.

It’s well written and truly mirrors what’s going on in the world today. It's a captivating read that kept me anxious about how it would end. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.







FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Four best friends living in NYC who work as assistants for horrible bosses have had enough! They are tired of being sexually harassed, being their bosses’ gophers, and being passed over for promotions because they are women. They decide to say “NO,” to call it all out, but under cover of anonymity on a blog called 𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. Of course, as their blog entries get bolder, the site goes viral.

𝐒𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 is a fantastic debut about toxicity in the workplace and the power of female friendship. I loved these girls and how they supported one another.

Although the subject is serious, the narrative has wit, warmth, and humor that adds the perfect balance. You’ll be cheering on these friends as they risk it all!

Thank you to @parkrowbooks @HTPbooks and @BookClubbish for a spot on tour and a gifted ebook.

Four friends doing assistant jobs to open the door
To jobs they've dreamed of doing forever more.
But they've been doing their jobs now for years
And their dreams all seem to end in tears.

Instead of opening doors for them it seems
Their bosses just overwork them and forget their dreams.
These four meet every week to share their woes
Accepting assistant roles aren't what they supposed.

However, exchanging the dreadful ways they're used
Is not something to help them stay happy or amused.
Instead it is demeaning, undermining and so
They decide to give sharing them in a blog a go.

They share their experiences using anonymous names
And never actually name their bosses, though they are famed.
But they never expected so many others to join in
Maybe banding together they can thwart the patriarchy and start to win?

This is the story of girl power at its best
Showing what they can achieve even when stressed.
A witty, fun and inspirational read this proved to be
Showing working together can cause change powerfully.

A story about #MeToo and friendship, love and romance
A great read, I'm so glad I gave it a chance!
I'll certainly look for more by this author in future, too
And hope enjoying reading it you'll also do.

For my complementary copy of this book, I say thank you,
It is such an inspirational read, this is my honest review.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when starting this book but I was pleasantly surprised and found a new author to keep on my radar. SMILE AND LOOK PRETTY is a solid debut for Amanda Pellegrino and revolves around four friends that start a blog venting about their day-to-day lives in their professions but when it gets bigger than they ever imagined possible there comes the obstacle of keeping anonymous for as long as possible!

Cate, Lauren, Olivia, and Max are all assistants for some powerful men in the entertainment industry – which as we can only imagine comes with high stress situations, outrageous demands, and unfortunately some mistreatment in the workplace. Cate is an assistant to the head of a major book publisher, Max is an assistant at a news station and ordered around by the lead anchor, Lauren is an assistant on a show, and Olivia is an actor’s assistant. All of them are subjected to sexual harassment, demeaning comments, being used for personal errands, and all while having their dreams dangled in front of them. The meet for drinks every week to vent to each other about their horrible bosses and that’s when Twentysomething is born – a blog where they can vent about their day-to-day treatment but must use nicknames (due to NDAs) and remain as anonymous as possible. Well, things get complicated when their blog goes viral. Should they remain anonymous or should they go public and face the inevitable?

I loved the writing and thought all the characters were really well-developed. I felt for them all and shared in their frustrations with how they were being treated and I just wanted them to get the revenge they deserved to enjoy. I thought this had a great pacing to it and will definitely be keeping an eye out for more from Pellegrino in the future!

I saw Amanda Pellegrino's debut compared to the movie 9 to 5, which certainly piqued my interest. The comparison is pretty accurate, and if you've ever worked for a top-of-the-heap jerk who thinks they have a right to walk all over people, you can at least empathize with these women. I can completely understand the need to vent, so relating to these women wasn't difficult. The story is sharp and witty and kept me turning pages and talking to the characters long into the night. Yes, I tend to talk to the characters when I'm fully engaged, and I talked to these A LOT. Most people wouldn't do what these women did, but it sure is fun to think about it, and I had a blast with this story. It's wonderfully written and thoroughly entertaining. Smile and Look Pretty is one impressive debut, and I'll be interested to see what this author does next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of Smile and Look Pretty by Amanda Pellegrino.

I truly enjoyed this story. It is rare that I find a book that focuses on four women that doesn't immediately focus on their romantic relationships. This one does have elements of that but it is also more focused on jobs, friendships, and how to make things better.

Cate is done with being abused as an assistant at a publishing house. Since her three best friends are also assistants in their various careers they band together to create the website Twentysomething that anonymously posts about the ridiculous, horrible, and down right abusive things that happen at work with their "Bosses."

When new things come to light and the blog takes off the women have to decide what the right thing is?

This kept me on the edge of my seat and I didn't know which way it was going to play out until the end. So captivating.

We meet the four friends who make up the lead of the story- Cate, Olivia, Lauren, and Max- when they are ankle deep in professional and personal crises galore, every single one of them underpinned by the stress their bosses are infusing into their lives and by their own secrets from each other.
I loved how they care about each other and how we learn about nuance through perspective shifts throughout the story; this was a beautifully written tale that focused on how interesting the characters were in their own right without their love interests taking center stage, or any kind of romance (although one girl does embark on one).
When the women have had enough of the sexism, sexual harassment, and glass ceiling of differing heights in the workplace and decide to start a website called twentysomething, where they anonymously blast their bosses behavior, the results are stunning- they’re not alone, and maybe change is on the other side of speaking (and receiving) uncomfortable truths.

This book is SO FUN.
⁣
Smile and Look Pretty is about 4 best friends who work as assistants for the famous, the powerful, and the most important of bosses. But they are underpaid and they are overworked - and they are FED UP. ⁣
⁣
Tired of hiding their frustrations behind smiles, they start an anonymous blog where they can vent and tell all the juicy stories of their terrible bosses- and the site quickly goes viral. Enough is enough seems to resonate with more women than they could have ever imagined.
⁣
But what happens if they are exposed? Will they lose everything they’ve worked so hard for?⁣
⁣
This book is flipping amazing. It’s a smart, fresh, and wickedly funny debut, and I am beyond thrilled to have read it.

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Smile and Look Pretty is a story told from multiple views and deals with many issues that women face in the workplace. Who hasn't wanted to start a blog to talk about their workplace experiences? When Cate, Olivia, Lauren and Max do just that, they don't realize how big the blog would get. This book was an entertaining follow and I related to so many of the things that the young women went through in their workplace.

The story revolves around four best friends (Cate, Lauren, Olivia, and Max) who are assistants in the entertainment industry and they are overworked in toxic environments meanwhile they watch their male colleagues getting better treatment. The friends decide to create an anonymous blog called Twentysomething where they and other contributors can post about their experiences, and we as readers watch as this snowballs.
This was an entertaining read that I could not put down.

Thank you Harlequin-Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Smile and Look Pretty by Amanda Pellegrino is a fictional contemporary story that dives into the #metoo movement. This one is described as a version of 9-5 for this generation and that description does fit. The story in Smile and Look Pretty is one that is told by changing the point of view between the various characters to give all sides.

Cate, Lauren, Olivia and Max are all good friends that have one thing in common, they all have complaints about their various assistant jobs. Meeting once a week to air all their grievances feels like it’s just not enough anymore so they begin a website to anonymously post all the dirty laundry and allow others to post their stories as well. Before they know it the site takes on a life of it’s own.

Honesty I went into Smile and Look Pretty by Amanda Pellegrino thinking that it was a thriller novel and some do have it tagged as just that so I was a little let down in that regard. The story in this one is one that has been being told in the media in the last few years with these particular women being a fictional take on that movement and it was interesting to read but I was left wanting a bit more probably due to my early expectations. Overall I rated this one at three and a half stars and felt it was solidly written so perhaps I would try the author again after reading this debut novel.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Girl Power!
Ok, so, I can't believe this is Amanda's debut. It's so good.
It grabbed my attention from the beginning and didn't let go.
It's an empowering women's read and I couldn't get enough.
Highly recommend!

Best friends Cate, Lauren, Olivia and Max get together once a week to gripe about their ridiculous bosses. All four work as assistants to powerful people in the industry and are tired of the awful way they are treated. They start an anonymous blog to safely share their stories and it soon goes viral. Hundreds of women write in with their own accounts of bad boss behaviour and they’re soon faced with the dilemma of how to manage this fame when they may be on the brink of making a major change.

In this moment of holding people accountable, Smile and Look Pretty is an incredibly timely subject to explore. I can equate it with various Instagram accounts who anonymously air the dirty laundry of different industries – some fueling actual change – and this felt inspired by that. I do want to share a content warning at some moments in the novel of sexual harassment that may be triggering and uncomfortable for some.

The experiences and stories from the four leads, and subsequently the other women later, all seemed extremely probable and likely could even be based on actual incidents. I would think that almost everyone could probably contribute some horror stories (because there’s never just one) that they’ve experienced in their workplace at some time or another – myself included. That helpless feeling of being too afraid for your job to speak up. I loved the empowering feeling this book evoked, hopefully inspiring others to no longer accept and put up with being treated in inappropriate ways just because of their hierarchal standing in a company.

My main challenge with the story, however, was that I felt there were too many names to easily keep straight of who worked for who, and in what role. The four women all had similar “entertainment” industry type jobs, and they each had a whole cast of characters related to their roles, the timing for how things play out in their jobs is similar, and most of them also had a guy they were interested in. And while usually the chapters separated the POVs, sometimes it would switch mid chapter and I’d have to wrap my head around which setting we were now in again. Like, wait is she the one who works for the actor or the writer? Is she rich or is that the other one? I understand the want to make it a foursome of best friends but, personally, I felt perhaps that either their individual stories were differentiated a bit more drastically, or there were a few less people/POVs.

Overall, I really enjoyed this debut novel from Amanda Pellegrino. It felt reminiscent of the movie Bombshell which was set in and around 2016, but updated for a present day landscape. I’m hopeful for this growing movement to hold people accountable for bad behaviour. Maybe eventually one day those starting out in the workforce won’t know the extent of how their predecessors were once treated.