This is most definitely more horror than thriller, and I think it's important for it to marketed as such. Me, personally? I love horror, so this worked for me. Give me all the gore. Would have loved to see more development in Lila, but the character Caroline was amazing.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

// Book Content Warnings: alcohol, blood, gore, mention of homophobia, mental illness, panic attacks, violence, disassociation, implied sexual content, sexual content, mention of sexual harassment, insanity, intrusive thoughts, disturbing scenes, death, death of an animal, graphic violence, sexism, pedophilia, sexual assault, sexual harassment, murder // – As always, please educate yourself on the content warnings for this novel before reading. This novel is especially heavy and contains many disturbing and dark scenes/themes that can make one very uncomfortable.

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// Quick Statistics //
Overall: 5/5 Stars – I would rate it higher if I could.
Characters: 5/5 Stars
Writing: 5/5 Stars
Setting: 5/5 Stars
Plot: 5/5 Stars
Memorability: 5/5 Stars

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// Quick Review //
Such a Pretty Smile is a chill-inducing novel that examines the patriarchy and sexism through a terrifying tale of death and mystery. Oozing horror at every flip of the page, I could not put this electrifying novel down until I read it cover to cover. Filled with relatable characters and emotion, Such a Pretty Smile was overtly thrilling, blood-curdling, and above all, powerful.

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“Those pure, innocent girls kept from anything that defined them in the name of protection, while their brothers carried on as if there was nothing to fear. But for them, there wasn’t. They would never understand the inherent trepidation that came as a result of being wrapped in girl flesh.”

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// Other Information //
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Page Count: 320 pages
Release Date: January 18, 2022
Series: None
Genre: Fiction, Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary, Horror, Suspense, Supernatural, Dark, Gore, Feminism

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// Book Description (from Goodreads) //
A biting novel from an electrifying new voice, Such a Pretty Smile is a heart-stopping tour-de-force about powerful women, angry men, and all the ways in which girls fight against the forces that try to silence them.

There’s something out there that’s killing. Known only as The Cur, he leaves no traces, save for the torn bodies of girls, on the verge of becoming women, who are known as trouble-makers; those who refuse to conform, to know their place. Girls who don’t know when to shut up.

2019: Thirteen-year-old Lila Sawyer has secrets she can’t share with anyone. Not the school psychologist she’s seeing. Not her father, who has a new wife, and a new baby. And not her mother—the infamous Caroline Sawyer, a unique artist whose eerie sculptures, made from bent twigs and crimped leaves, have made her a local celebrity. But soon Lila feels haunted from within, terrorized by a delicious evil that shows her how to find her voice—until she is punished for using it.

2004: Caroline Sawyer hears dogs everywhere. Snarling, barking, teeth snapping that no one else seems to notice. At first, she blames the phantom sounds on her insomnia and her acute stress in caring for her ailing father. But then the delusions begin to take shape—both in her waking hours, and in the violent, visceral sculptures she creates while in a trance-like state. Her fiancé is convinced she needs help. Her new psychiatrist waves her “problem” away with pills. But Caroline’s past is a dark cellar, filled with repressed memories and a lurking horror that the men around her can’t understand.

As past demons become a present threat, both Caroline and Lila must chase the source of this unrelenting, oppressive power to its malignant core. Brilliantly paced, unsettling to the bone, and unapologetically fierce, Such a Pretty Smile is a powerful allegory for what it can mean to be a woman, and an untamed rallying cry for anyone ever told to sit down, shut up, and smile pretty.

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// Characters //
The novel follows the past and present of Caroline Sawyer and her 13-year-old daughter, Lila. Before really going into Caroline and Lila, I want to mention how realistic, deep, and relatable the characters of this novel truly were. As this novel deals strongly with sexism, misogyny, and the patriarchy, both Caroline and Lila deal with various frustrating scenarios in which I was also frustrated. The author does a fantastic job of conveying the emotions of their characters to the reader, which made me become even more attached to their lively characters.

Caroline is an artist whose life has been anything but easy. Though she does not remember, at a young age she was kidnapped by the infamous ‘serial killer’ ‘The Cur’. Though still alive in 2019, Caroline was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2004 when she started seeing ‘visions’ of strange half dog/half man creatures in the corner of her room, heard unreal dogs barking, and lost time as the days went by; all around the time of a series of murders and mutilations. Called crazy, Caroline submits to her drug-induced stupor and recommits her life to art in order to take care of her daughter, Lila. However, throughout the novel we see a new side of Caroline: the strong, powerful, and headstrong Caroline.

In 2019, Lila is a 13-year-old with a crush on her homophobic best friend, Macie. It really cannot get worse than that: being in middle school while having a crush on your unattainable best (and only) friend. Alas, it does. Another series of young girls going missing and turning up murdered occurs, seemingly inducing a strange switch in Lila’s personality. Lila begins to hear dogs barking that aren’t there, see things that also aren’t, and becomes malicious. Caroline, of course, is disturbed by this change in her sweet baby. Things only get worse as more murders occur and Lila feels pressured by Macie to become increasingly different and rebellious.

All of DeMeester’s characters were utterly realistic and relatable. As I said, the personalities of each character shone through and made me become even more connected to the characters and the story.

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// Writing and Setting //
DeMeester’s writing is true magic, one that can transport you from your dimly lit room at night to an eerie scene. Everything was described in graphic detail, but not to the point of boredom. I could truly envision everything that occured in the novel and felt like I was there, which made the book’s horror even more terrifying. The in depth and practically poetic descriptions of this book’s events provided many gory scenes.

Dark and energetic, the atmosphere of Such a Pretty Smile was inescapable and deliciously malevolent. The novel splits between Caroline and Lila’s points of view. Caroline’s POV differs between 2004 and 2019, which provides a unique view of past and current events in the book.

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// Plot //
I have nothing but good words to say Such a Pretty Smile‘s perfectly paced and anxiety-inducing plot. Every little detail is important in this novel, and you never have a good idea of what is truly real or false until the very end. Never a dull moment, Such a Pretty Smile is terrifying throughout the novel and never stops being so.

The story centers around the lives of Caroline and Lila while a series of murders and mutilations occur seemingly in the background. But, with Such a Pretty Smile, nothing is ever as it seems. Things become particularly serious for Caroline and Lila as Lila seems to change overnight and Caroline relives a similar killing spree from years before.

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// Overall Review //
Such a Pretty Smile was eerily entertaining and powerful, conveying a strong message about the origin of women’s daily fear of the outside world. I cannot think of a better horror book I have read, for Such a Pretty Smile is the epitome of a perfect novel.

Caroline lives her life in fear from a distant childhood memory. Her consolation is keeping her daughter Lila safe and making sure the beast from her past doesn’t come back from her daughter.

Okay I’ve never read a book quite like this. It’s unique for sure. I really got sucked into Lila’s story and what was going on with her right from the beginning. I loved the teenage drama that was included. It reminded me a bit of My Best Friend’s Exorcist. When the dual time lines got started I got even more into it. I was a little confused at times as to when was when, but I just had to look back at previous chapters.

“There was still that single word floating in her brain. Jazzland. Some link to before, to whatever it was that had made her mother afraid.”

Such A Pretty Smile comes out 1/18.

Interesting that it’s a feminist novel built around a horror story.Has a flavor of It by Stephen King.Kept me reading late into the night will be recommending the book and the author.#netgalley #st.Martins

What a twist!!!! This book had me questioning things until the end. A great story with lots of things to keep you hooked. There were characters to love and ones to hate. Super interesting and had some issues that are prevalent in today's society.

Well, after all the holiday fluff, I decided to dip my toes into the horror section next. At least after reading Such a Pretty Smile you'll be so afraid you won't mind waiting up for Santa.

This book was amazing. It was a middle finger to all the men who tell women to smile a little more and call you crazy or overly emotional.

I really enjoyed the dual perspectives between Caroline and her daughter Lila. Their relationship felt so realistic. There's also a dual timeline between what happened to Caroline before Lila was born and present day. Both timelines and perspectives equally creeped me out.

There's nothing scarier than feeling like you can't trust your own head. The hallucinations were terrifying to me. The imagery is really intense and triggering. I didn't realize the deep symbolism until the ending. Now I think I want to go back and read this with a broader lens.

Such a Pretty Smile is about missing girls. Murders. Mental illness. Sexism. And an abandoned theme park called Jazzland. Need I say more?

Wow, this one is hair raising, do you like Stephen King? Do you like serial killer books?
Lila is a confused teenager, living with her stand offish mother.
She starts seeing things, hearing things….never realizing that her mother has those issues too.
Oh, and then there is the murderous serial killer on the loose.
This one makes you want to just keep reading to find out who/ what is going on.,
When I thought I had the answer…turned out I was wrong.
This is a pretty darned good book, highly recommend.

Caroline Sawyer, is an artist and single mom who was raised to be a good girl and is raising her daughter to be the same. Her daughter Lila is trying to be a good girl while navigating hormones, her first crush, and the secrets she knows her mother is keeping from her about murdered girls and what that might have to do with her past.
There's an expression that I love and it seems fitting for this review. "Teach your daughters to worry less about fitting into glass slippers and more about shattering glass ceilings." Yet in this day and age so many girls, and so many women are told just to smile. This book made me think of how many times I've heard it myself. Just smile. Why aren't you smiling? As if women should go around with a perpetual grin plastered to their faces regardless of how they feel or even whether the situation calls for smiling.
If you enjoy a slow burn horror with a sharp feminist edge, or if you've ever been "mansplained" to this book is for you. It's part supernatural thriller, part social commentary, and totally different from anything I've ever read.

This book absolutely gives off screw the patriarchy vibes. It was very interesting to say the least. It started off a little slow in my opinion but really built.

We have two unreliable narrators we follow; a mother and a daughter. The daughter is a young teenage girl learning to deal with some big feelings. The mother is an artist that is very protective of her child. We get glimpses of their lives slowly told through each of their perspectives at different times and different years. There is also a serial killer referred to as the Cur, killing young girls who don’t listen brought up in both perspectives.

The story really unfolds in a unique way and it was very feminist. The author does a really great job of crafting characters that are unreliable but not in the way of them being just hysterical women. They had real problems and secrets. It was neat to have such in depth characters with so many things that have to be unfolded in such layers. It had me on the edge of my seat for the last 60%.

To anyone who has ever had to deal with a stranger telling them they would be prettier if they smiled this one is for you.

A big thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For several reasons, I didn’t finish this book: I didn’t realize going into it that it was horror, and gruesome horror at that. I also feel like the author took on a little too much: a feminist story about women’s issues of inequality, a mysterious pile up of bodies, and mixing past and present of two narrators. I think the book would have been better with a narrowed focus.
However, I can say that from what I read, the writing us good as is the character development. If you want something a little unusual or outside the box, give this one a try!

This was a good read! It got my attention within the first chapter. It’s a great illustration of its themes: sexism, feminism and societal expectations. I also love books with unreliable narrators, it keeps you guessing through out. It was a fun psychological thriller read.

Unfortunately, I am not able to finish this book. It is too graphic for me. I am sorry, but I would not recommend it.

A mind trip thru a young girls life that twists and turns with a plot about a dog faced murderer. It goes back and forth between Caroline as a teen and Caroline as a mom with a teen named Lila. Teens are being horribly murdered and Caroline and Lila are having visions of dogs and grotesque thoughts. It definitely does not explain exactly what happens but leaves it more to your imagination to understand.

Such a Pretty Smile was something unexpected, unique and a bit unsettling. I don't know what I was expecting, but Kristin DeMeester flipped any idea I may have had on it's head.

This story is told from two peoples' POV and from the past (2004) and present (2019).
Caroline is Lina's mother and she has all but raised her daughter on her own and has kept her somewhat sheltered. Lina visits her father on occasion, but their relationship is strained at best. She doesn't feel like she belongs.
Lina's part of the story is the present. And the present starts with some gruesome killings in their small town. Everyone thinks this is a serial killer that once haunted the country years before. He's known as The Cur and he leaves no trace of who he could possibly be. But Caroline may know more than she lets on.

Caroline is the second POV and her parts are from the past in 2004. She was a talented artist and had a partner (Lina's dad) that she thought she could rely on. But there is so much that happens to her, her mental health, her student and her art. It's a lot to take in. But when weird and odd things start happening, Caroline doesn't know what to make of anything and just wants to succeed as an artist.

This story was evocative, creepy, scary and had some cool elements of feminism all wrapped up in a story that dealt with some wicked ways. The characters grew from the beginning of the story and the past and present collided in a way that was unique and added to the development of the characters. A few things weren't really addressed, but once I was in the story, I was IN!

If you like scary and don't mind a bit of gruesome bloody scenes, I think this might be up your alley. It's a mix of horror, thriller and a tad bit of supernatural along with powerful women that were being held back by the men in their lives. I'm curious to see what DeMeester will do next. For a debut book, I'm definitely intrigued. 3.75 stars

Wow.

This was not what I thought it would be, but I loved it. It's a supernatural thriller with undertones of sexism. Men pushing women to be what they want them to be, how they want them to act. If the woman doesn't behave the way they want, they're "crazy" and need to be medicated or silenced.

I enjoyed the fact that both main characters were still intelligent, strong women given the fact they were labeled "crazy" by everyone else.

Even today, women are still pushed to the side; silenced, labeled hysterical if they get upset, told how to dress, they're not 'ladylike', asked to 'smile'. This book was basically a huge middle finger to that stereotype and I loved it.

This book does have some descriptive murder scenes as well as graphic auditory and visual hallucinations.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this story.
I really liked the authors writing style in this book Once I got into the story I was unable to put it down until I was done.

I received a digital advance copy of Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester via NetGalley. Such a Pretty Smile is scheduled for release on January 18, 2022.

Such a Pretty Smile focuses on two women (Lila and her mother Caroline) in two different points in time. Both are experiencing sights and sounds they can’t quite explain. Both are essentially told to sit down, shut up, and smile pretty by the world around them as they search to find the reason for their experiences.

The strength of this novel lies in the creepy, questionable situation DeMeester creates for her characters. I was drawn into what they were each experiencing, as I tried to puzzle out what was happening. Hints were dropped in the early parts of the story that pointed toward an origin in the distant past.

What did not work as well was the development of the characters and the world itself. While the characters were clearly different from each other, the splitting of the story between two characters in two different times prevented either of the main characters from becoming fully fleshed out. Most of the characters in the story felt like stock characters, rather than unique individuals.

The larger issue for me was the development of the speculative elements. There is clearly something sinister hunting the two main characters and other women in the novel. The experiences of mother and daughter are clearly connected. Unfortunately, while there was some attempt to explain what was happening, and why, in the end I was unclear on how the sinister came to be and why it has chosen to affect different women in different ways. DeMeester relies on the theme of the novel to carry the story, but misses a bit on the world-building needed to make the story feel fully developed.

Overall, Such a Pretty Smile has an interesting premise and a clear message, but needed a bit more development in character and world to fully deliver on the premise.

I found this read to be just a mediocre story. Not a lot of suspense but a lot of unnecessary side stories. Nevertheless I was prepared to give this book a good rating. Then at the end the author got on her soapbox and unrelated to the storyline gave her political speech. Ruined any good that there was in the book. I am giving this book a very generous two-star rating.

Too far fetched for me but some will love it. I struggled to find my footing with all of the dark and vague references to an unknown subject matter. Just not my style.

SUCH A PRETTY SMILE by Kristi DeMeester


An immersive psychological thriller told through the eyes of Caroline Sawyer and her daughter Lila … stressing the misogyny of women, and warped societal expectations of normalcy in gender. Lila’s point of view is the present …. while Caroline’s is not only now but in 2004 New Orleans. This affords the reader insight not only into actions and motivation of Caroline … but, more importantly the mortar that built Lila. Teenage girls are being murdered and ravaged and mutilated. As the body count mounts, it is assumed a serial killer is menacing Atlanta, the present home of Lila. The similarities to the decades old killings of The Cur, immediately draws attention …. the same killer resurfacing or a copycat? Lila is unaware of her mother’s past in New Orleans. The true history of her mother’s meeting and marrying her father, Daniel, and her mother’s abrupt departure and divorce. Traumatic events occurring in New Orleans, and especially Jazzland are alluded to …. but, never explained. Her mother is a beautiful and talented artist, while Lila is somewhat plain, not talented, nor brilliant in her studies . Her sculptures are sought after … although they create a feeling of disquiet, and are even considered vile, threatening and macabre. They are formed of natural materials and throwaway items that Caroline finds on her frequent walks. Through Caroline’s point of view from the present and 2004, the history of Caroline, Daniel and their individual problems and foibles are unspooled.
DeMeester weaves a disturbing tale of escalating dread and tension using graphic imagery.
She successfully explores many feminist themes. The reader is kept guessing who the real victims are through intense visceral language and intricate plotting. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review…. at readers remains.com