I can honestly say going into this book I had no idea what to expect. I will always appreciate a multiple POV.
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There’s a murderer out there who’s taking girls, who are not yet women and they are left brutally mutilated.
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I had no clue where this was going and was shocked with the reveal. This is a story of urgency, fear and quite unsettling.
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Thank you #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins Press for a free ebook copy for review. My rating is 3.75/5 stars.

Such A Pretty Smile is the story of a young teen and the parallel horrors that she and her mother have experienced 15 years apart in in the modern USA. In 2004, Lila’s mother Caroline feared the serial killer known as “The Cur” when multiple teen girls were kidnapped and found dead. Now in 2019 it seems that The Cur is killing again. Meanwhile Lila faces pressures from her friends, mother, and society that make her feel like she should hide her true self.

There were some really creepy descriptions (like Caroline seeing Lila under the bed) that made made me cringe and squirm. And there were disturbing scenes/descriptions that shocked me (like Lila’s rants to Macie and her father/Rebecca. These were my favorite parts of the book.

While I would classify this as a horror story, it also hinges on social commentary with regards to how women are treated in society (specifically mentally ill women). While I am passionate about this subject, it’s one I prefer not to be combined with my usual reading material. I’d rather pick up a nonfiction book about feminism, a memoir, a historical account, etc. to teach me these things. Maybe I’d feel differently if the patriarchal and feminist metaphors weren’t so on the nose. But at the very end of the book there was an epilogue that seemed to tie all this together a little too perfectly. Like, out of nowhere Lila is suddenly super close with her dad and Rebecca? And he totally respects Lila now and regrets ignoring her mother? What??

I believe that this attention to the social commentary’s part in the story is what made the reveal/explanation of the killer as… my best guess is an immortal, magical patriarchal demon… as unsatisfactory to me.

Special thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I think this is a certain type of book for a certain group of people. Certainly not for the faint of heart (torn nipples, etc) and dog lovers alike. But, it is a horror.

Strangely, I liked this book. The story I have to say confused me a bit until midway, but then it was understandable to my wracked brain as of late.

What I enjoyed most was the author's writing and I'd definitely read her again. I also enjoyed the mother/daughter dynamic and some of the similarities to my mom (as an artist and local celebrity, I guess).

Anyway, I think you should go into this story blind. I certainly didn't hate it.

I enjoyed this story. Really loved this author’s writing style. So one may wonder why just the three stars. I feel like there is a big chunk of something missing in the story to help the reader understand the plot better. I needed more of The Cur. Yea more understanding. I don’t like to give spoilers and other people may not feel the same as I do so I suggest you read it yourself and form your own opinion.

If you are looking for a book that focuses on feminism, and taking down the patriarchy while also being a horror/thriller, LOOK NO FURTHER. I don’t think I could classify this as a mystery. It’s dark, and not for everyone. Definitely look up TW if you’re worried! I am definitely going to read more books by Kristi DeMeester now!! Can’t wait to talk about this book in my book club.

SUCH A PRETTY SMILE
BY: KRISTI DEMEESTER

I have probably read about five books in the horror genre in my life. This one was fantastically creepy and I hope that it doesn't give me nightmares. I usually don't read gratuitous violence or sadistic books and definitely not movies. This one I must warn in advance could be a trigger for dog lovers or a parent that has lost a child to murder. I didn't know if there was a serial killer named the Cur or if it was a group of serial killers named the Cur. Young girls go missing and get abducted usually around the pre-teenager year's what seemed to me at before their menstruation takes place. There is some graphic mutilation descriptions which I usually don't like reading about but it was not heavily themed so I was able to tolerate this. I found this to be unique and once I got hooked I couldn't put it down which I must stop doing because I am not getting anything done. It was a real page turner for me and I was gripped and read it from cover to cover. Towards the end it does have themes of keeping young girls/women submissive, compliant and kept in ones place, but I don't remember it being the main theme throughout most of the book. When the mention of beasts and dogs barking and growling or when Caroline who is Lila's mother started seeing men with dog heads and it mentioned fangs and sharp teeth I started to not take this as seriously disturbing but there was still an element of horror because of the young women that had gone missing and the serial killer angle was still playing out which is scary.

Lila is thirteen and she lives with her mother Caroline who is a single parent who doesn't like to give her daughter much freedom. Caroline drives Lila to school everyday and picks her up after school immediately when school lets the students be dismissed or and Lila gets dropped off with no time to socialize before or after school. Lila has to beg her mother to go to the movies with her best friend Macie. It turns out that there are good reason's for this because while Lila is supposed to be at the movies, Macie has planned to have arranged a double date with a older boy and his brother who drive out in the country sneaking back into the movie in time for Caroline to pick up Lila after the movie. Lila has a secret crush on Macie and Macie doesn't know it and is obviously boy crazy. Lila has a surge of anger towards Macie and alienates her and she gets expelled from school. Plus with young girls disappearing and getting sexually mutilated what parent wouldn't become cautious? Lila's father lives in New Orleans and has a hospitalized infant and he neglects Lila by focusing on his second child and neglects Lila. This timeline is 2004.

Fifteen years earlier Caroline is taking care of her dying father and gives art lessons to a young girl named Beth to pay for her father's hospice care at an expensive facility. Caroline lives with her boyfriend who got his chance to finish Art School and is an artist who paints and works at an Art Gallery. Caroline had to drop out of Art school and her creepy sculptures that she creates are edgy and her boyfriend is jealous that Caroline is the more talented Artist. She has suffered from many sleepless nights and it's questionable if she is having hallucinations or it is the stress and grief from caring for her dad whom she is close and loves dearly.

I personally thought that this was an excellent horror novel. I really enjoyed it but due to the themes and trigger warnings I realize that this isn't for everybody. It turned out to be one that I have been second guessing about, but found it compulsively to be engrossing. I think that I liked being challenged in my thinking while reading it I kept asking myself just what is really going on here? I like when a book can pull me in and I lose track of time because it keeps me on my toes. There was definitely a lot going on here and while I know that this would bother some people I thought that it was original and it was a Five Star read for me.

Publication Date: January 18, 2022

Thank you to Net Galley, Kristi DeMeester and St. Martin's Press for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#SuchaPrettySmile #KristiDeMeester #StMartinsPress #NetGalley

Many things would probably end quicker if we believed women (and victims, generally). The entire horror genre might collapse in on itself into little more than 10-minute vignettes, but justice would out and predators of all kinds would probably be squashed before they were able to hunt. Monsters come in all shapes and sizes. We each have one inside of us. The question is whether or not we feed it. Told from the alternating perspectives of mother and daughter, across multiple years, Kristi DeMeester's Such A Pretty Smile toys with the idea of how feeding the beasts of impulsively strong emotions can go from tantalizingly freeing to borderline uncontrollable with impressive results. What does feeding the monster look like in women? In girls? Men?

There are many ways to approach the subject of monstrosity and the fear that comes along with it. Such A Pretty Smile does so in part through the lens of realistic depictions of schizophrenia and dissociation. While I cannot speak to having lived with the experience, it is necessary to recognize the importance of a work setting out to show it in a way that does not villainize the person living with mental illness. Rather, the most dangerous villain at play here is the all-important cocktail at the heart of nearly every work of horror: disbelief and denial. Denial of self, occasionally, but most usually denial of the ones around us. Disbelief, usually, until it is too late.

Such A Pretty Smile weaponizes female rage in ways I have not seen in quite some time. It digs into the rage at the heart of competitive and consuming teenage girl friendships - notoriously intense relationships spun with the threads of love and longing with varying degrees of intensity - and of fractured family dynamics. Lila is a 13-year-old coming to terms with (and still hiding) her sexuality. Caroline, her mother, has secrets buried so deep down she won't even think about how they might be blooming in her present. When Lila's rage begins to manifest itself as a voice within her, egging her on to voice her deepest feelings, Caroline must come to terms with the fact that keeping secrets buried can sometimes cost us the ones we love and decide what she is willing to sacrifice in the name of constructing a "normal" life for her family in a world being hunted by a man who exploits the town's deepest fears.

We all aspire to be braver than we are. Brave in the face of our darkest moments. In the face of the things we force ourselves to look away from so that we might continue our lives without completely melting down. More often than not, actually cultivating that bravery requires us to reach out to others for support. Whether those who grab for us in return have good intentions is another matter altogether. When Lila begins to give into the voice inside her begging her to let the poison thoughts out, she at first feels free. There is, after all, an enticing freedom to damning the consequences and speaking your mind, especially as a woman who spends most of her time in the world being told how to act in order to survive. Women are told that speaking their mind, releasing their anger, is a threat to their safety rather than a tool to ensure it. That's what makes strong femmes in horror so alluring: they get to release their rage and live to tell the tale.

Lila's newfound anger and subsequent pressure-release-valve come hot on the heels of witnessing a trauma while sneaking out with her friend to meet some boys in the woods. But nothing is quite what it seems, and soon she begins to ride the roller coaster her mother boarded so many years ago: giving in to the thing that stings often enough that suddenly reality and fantasy intertwine into a terrifyingly indistinguishable nightmare. In order to regain control of her world Lila must confront the demons nipping at her heels, and bring Caroline to do the same.

The men at the heart of Such A Pretty Smile are mostly on the harmless-to-irreparably-toxic spectrum to varying degrees. The teenage boy who hangs back with Lila while her friend is being assaulted in the woods is harmless to a fault, though he must have known what was happening. Caroline's husband is so wrapped up in his own desires he frequently tosses her anxieties to the side so he can use her artistic draught to climb his own career ladder. The Cur, the enduring beast who has reappeared in town to hunt girls who use their voices to deconstruct the boxes society would force them into, is ripping his way through girls like Lila and Caroline with gleeful abandon, hoping to lure back the one that got away. Amid it all the women of Such A Pretty Smile must find the things about one another to hold onto so they might survive a world that wants to smile only with their blood on its teeth.

Such A Pretty Smile is a defiant, heart-wrenching testament to the strength of victims fighting battles those outside their sphere have no way of comprehending. No one but the fighter truly knows the depth of determination it takes to look a society who wishes to silence you in the eye and give it every ounce of rage you have within. We are all, at least a little bit, made with spite running through us. What matters is how we use it. What matters is who we protect with it. What we use it to survive. And how we turn it in the service of love for the ones we need the most.

Such A Pretty Smile comes to booksellers near you January 2022. I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to receive an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review, and Kristi DeMeester for flaying the demons no one wishes to face.

I wanted to love this so much, but I just couldn't connect with the characters enough to care about them. I ended up not finishing the book.

This is a story about the rage behind the pretty smiles.

I think conceptually this book was interesting, but it didn’t quite work for me. I felt disconnected from the characters, and the narrative felt chaotic at points (that may have been as intended?).

Thank you so much Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for the eArc!

I really really wanted to like this book. Angry woman horror stories are often creepy and cathartic and a good genre. This book has two timelines, following a teen girl in present day and her mother in 2004, and switches between them. Both women suffer from hallucinations and awful imagery and are scared. There's also a serial killer who targets girls.
Unfortunately, I had to stop reading this book at 65%, and it was hard for me to even make it that far. The graphic imagery and grotesque murder descriptions were too much for me. It's undeniable that the author is talented because the writing evoked very strong emotions and a visceral reaction.
I believe that people who enjoy horror and don't mind gory description may enjoy this one. Just know that it is definitely more psychological horror than thriller and please check content warnings.
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Another really intriguing story, I thought that though parts of it were easy to guess what was going to happen, other twists really surprised me. I also enjoyed the ending and thought the protagonist was enjoyable to follow throughout the book

I have to say I have never read a book like this one. It was brilliant, eerie, and consuming. I got lost in the
story and the characters. It's a fast-paced thrilling story, that I couldn't put down once I started it. One of
the best books I have read all year. Thank you Netgalley for the arc.

A digital copy of this book was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
There are some mental health issues that could be a trigger to some readers.
It's 1997 and Lila, a 13-year-old girl is growing up with a single mother. She has the stereotypical teenage concerns - not pretty enough, not talented enough, not smart enough. Then we rewind to 2004 and follow her mother, Caroline. Caroline, engaged to Daniel, is a talented artist. In both years, 12–13-year-old girls are disappearing, and their bodies are discovered torn apart.
This book wasn't for me. I didn't care for the language the girls used, Lila's obsession with her best friend, Macie or Macie's attitude. Then one night, Lila sees Macie and a junior out in the woods and she becomes "overtaken" by a monster. Caroline and Lila have hallucinations, and although Caroline reaches out for help, she doesn't seem to get it. The ending had potential, but I felt it fell short. I tried to like it, but I really felt it was too descriptive and too long.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press

4.5 stars - rating rounded up

If a man has ever told you something along the lines of needing to smile more, that you're "too emotional" or "crazy," this is the perfect novel for you and all of that pent-up anger.

Rather than falling into the common trap of horror using mental illness or "female hysteria" as a plot device/excuse, this book heavily critiques this and shows the power of believing women. I absolutely loved how unsettling and creepy it was, especially since both points of view were not quite reliable or stable. The writing was very atmospheric, and I loved the vivid descriptions of what the characters experiencing.

This is a book about a mother and daughter fighting against sexism, societal expectations, and gender norms. So many parts of the plot and characters made me want to scream because of how horribly the female characters were treated, but it does, unfortunately, accurately reflect the experience of young women.

As someone who experiences society as a woman, this book hit extremely close to home, and the last few chapters even made me tear up. This was a perfect middle finger to men who think that they can silence women through fear and intimidation. This story was bizarre but will hit very close to home to women in modern society— I absolutely recommend it.

This book was middle of the road for me. I found it very slow but it is well-written. This book has some horror elements and good suspenseful chapters. I think there's a market for this book but, unfortunately, I may not be it. Thanks for the advance review copy.

Make sure to put Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester on your list of books to watch out for in 2022. This book was a disturbing horror that I couldn’t put down. I’m still reeling from the ending. This booking is a thriller about women being silenced and their fight back. I loved every minute of it. It was visceral and original. Kristi DeMeester is a new horror voice and dang is she one to watch out for.
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Make sure to check out Such a Pretty Smile in mid January—it’s totally worth the read.
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I expected so much from Such a Pretty Smile and unfortunately, I was let down, this one just wasn't for me. I found the writing and dialogue stale and not exciting. I also normally love dual POVs but in this instance found it confusing and distracting.

Thirteen year old Lila is keeping secrets from everyone she knows: her absent father, her school psychiatrist, her new best friend, and especially her protective mother Caroline. But as she tries to keep them in, something inside her is trying to burst out - and she doesn’t think it’s something that’s supposed to be there. At the same time, local girls are turning up dead, butchered in a way that reminds people of a killer known as The Cur, who hunted fifteen years earlier in New Orleans … when Caroline was living there.

This is easily one of the best horror books I’ve ever read. The pace is remarkable - the author gives you just enough leave the reader unsettled and wanting more. A constant sense of uneasiness permeated the book, and I felt genuinely scared and creeped out while I was reading it.

I also felt so very angry (seriously - there is a character that I loathed so much I’m still seething). This book not only tackles the paranormal part of horror, but also real world issues such as sexism, the patriarchy, and gender norms. It is unapologetically feminist, and I think that played really well with the traditional horror trope of a “helpless and brutalized female victim.”

The only reason I didn’t give this five stars was because I don’t know how I feel about the end (when you read this - and you should - please let me know because I am dying to discuss it with someone). However, I loved everything else. The timeline and point-of-view switches were well placed and balanced, and it unfolded almost like a mystery novel by revealing small bits at a time to keep the reader off balance. The writing is graphic and it might be upsetting to some, but I found it to be very well written. If you are squeamish, I’d be cautious going in to this, but if you like horror coupled with social commentary then I can’t recommend this enough!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the advanced copy!

My entire life, strangers - mainly men - have told me to smile. And my entire life, I have hated every single time they have said it. It's not funny. It's not helpful. It's not going to make me smile. If anything, it's going to make me scowl even more.

Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester is a new type of thriller. It's not about a lost woman or a missing child or a husband who did something wrong. It's about something deeper, something darker, something more feral. Something is taking girls. Trouble-makers, girls on the verge of becoming women, girls who refuse to conform, girls who won't shut up, girls who aren't going to smile.

Told in two timelines and with two narrators, this is a terrifying look at oppression and power and darkness. It's about female power and desire and the true power of being a woman. Roaring as loud as possible, never shutting up, never smiling when they tell you to.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book was just not for me. I didn't find it scary and it was more of a YA tale. The writing wasn't bad, I just didn't enjoy the storyline enough to stay with it till the entire end. Quit at about 75% mark.