What a read! This one was unsettling.
If there is one thing that will hook me it’s a good dual timeline. This one definitely delivers. Both timelines (daughter in current day, mother many years earlier) were really interesting and well done, I was worried for and interested in both women, though of course as a New Orleans girl I was really into the mothers chapter.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is into creepy, scary, can’t explain it mysteries.
I was nervous and stressed just about every page

SUCH A PRETTY SMILE by Kristi DeMeester started really good for me; specifically, the perspective of Lila (2019) as she tries to make sense of what's happening within and around her is perfection. However, Caroline's internal turmoil in (2014), in the latter part of the book, weighs down the narrative to the point I was skimming.

As a fan of Horror, the dark storyline mystery surrounding the murders, coupled with Caroline’s state of mind when creating her artwork (2004), really amped up the tension—Loved It!

And the ending—My Heart!

‘Around her, the park breathed in and out, and whatever secrets it held would die inside of it.’

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with an eBook of SUCH A PRETTY SMILE at the request of an honest review.

This book is a hard one to review. I have very mixed feelings about it. The storyline I did come to enjoy, but the ending let me down and made me feel like the overarching theme of women standing up and speaking out was an after thought. At one point I even thought, what was the point of all that lead up - it felt like a lot of slow climb to a very short, quick climax that fell flat.

The way the story was written, told from two different perspectives, was what kept me interested. While the story was a slow to start, telling about Lila's life with her single mother, her distant father who has a new wife and baby and her being in love with her best friend; the story does pick up pace and draw interest.

The story alternates chapters between Lila in 2019 and her mother Caroline in 2004, who is narrating the story of her experience with the same bizarre events (blanks in memory, hearing and seeing things) that her daughter is now experiencing 15 years later. The story kept me interested and hoping for more from the ending. I was left feeling a little confused and like there should have been more.

Overall I don't think I would recommend this specific book, especially as it was labelled horror, but I would be willing to try another of the authors books based on her writing.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Such a Pretty Smile the story of Carline and her daughter Lila in 2019 and of Caroline in 2004. In 2019 Caroline is a single mother raising her daughter with the overall goal of having her daughter be a good girl. When Lila starts to hear noises she begins to question how good she has to be and she explores the roots of her repressed anger. The results lead to dangerous consequences.

I typically am a fan of dark horror stories but this book was too much. The graphic violence was off-putting and I felt it missed its mark when dealing with sexism and feminism.

Wow.

This book is full of plot twists. The powerful women characters portrayed is amazing. The theme is misogyny in my opinion., as in if a woman is powerful and badass, clearly she needs to be brought down by a man. Whew. It was a wild ride.

Such a Pretty Smile is exactly the kind of story that becomes popular for a minute. It is not unique or particularly interesting and the points it attempts to make, it misses.

This was so good. And so real! I feel like I have met Caroline and Lila before. It is definitely chilling, DeMeester got that part right for sure. Would recommend to anyone who is looking for a feministic, horror thrill ride!

This is my 2nd DeMeester book. I’m a fan. Any fan of uncomfortable horror will enjoy this one.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

This one was not for me.
Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Ooooooh I loved this. Dark, haunting brutal. The metaphor (though at times a little too literal) feels so raw. The ending really sold me as well. Would definitely recommend.

What a story! Lila is an 8th grader who lives with her eclectic artist mom and she is enamored with her boy crazy best friend Macie. There is a serial killer roaming the nights, victimizing young girls, leaving them mutilated and dead in the nearby woods. That’s really all I can say without spoiling the rest but, according to the author, this was written as a supernatural feministic allegory giving the finger to the patriarchy. TW for violent descriptions of victims. Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book is available now

This one was a little hard to read at times. Having to listen to unwanted characters give their opinions on how the MC should behave or what she should do.

The book was disturbing and creepy in great way and full of interesting developments.

I feel as if the end was a bit too abrupt however. I think there needed to be more substance to it.

I think one of the most important aspects of horror is discomfort, a feeling of being unsettled, of asking questions knowing the answers will raise the hairs on the back of your neck. And for that, true horror also requires a deep vulnerability. It is a genre that requires you to feel it and then respond to it, completely raw. And in Such a Pretty Smile, DeMeester brings a burning feminine rage for you to feel and an ending that cries out for a visceral response. Flinch, but don’t look away.

This book got under my skin in a way that I loved. It was eerie, dark, and unexpected. The deep conversations it sparks regarding violence against women, intergenerational trauma, and societal expectations for young girls were layered so perfectly into the story that nothing was ever obvious. You often have to read between the lines and metaphors to get to the open wound of it all.

I had read some warnings going into this book. Such a Pretty Smile follows the story of Lila and her mother, Caroline. I really enjoyed it but there were some intense parts to the story. Definitely would read something else by the author.

Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester is a bit hard to pin down. Conceptually, this book is one that would generally be a slam dunk for me. In execution, however, it's a bit of a bizarre read. I honestly cannot decide if I like it or not.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

There’s nothing pretty about "Such a Pretty Smile." It’s brutal. In-your-face. Unapologetic.

For this, I admire the heck out of it.

Kristi DeMeester’s feminist horror novel is about the inexcusable epidemic of violence against women. It’s about how women are too often told to sit down and shut up. How we’re meant to "know our place."

And yes, it’s graphic. Yes, it’s uncomfortable to read at times. But that’s the point. It should unsettle us. It should make us squirm.

What I struggled with, though, is the pacing of the story. After a riveting first act, the narrative stalls around the halfway mark. It’s like the story gets stuck in a rut and nothing much happens, and it frustrated me because I was beyond ready for something explosive to occur.

But the ending – I gotta hand it to DeMeester – she nails it. It’s all that I wanted: horrifying, poignant, and powerful.

Sign me up for DeMeester’s next book. I can’t wait to read what she has to say next.


My sincerest appreciation to Kristi DeMeester, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

Ok, so....

Great messaging in this one and because of that, I hate how I'm going to review this one.

This book was kind of a mess.
- A serial killer taking young girls and leaving them mangled but no one is on the hunt to stop this killer. Weird
- A teenage MC who cares more about her lustful fantasies starring her best friend than being safe, knowing that girls her age are being stalked and she's been seeing yellow eyes in the dark. Maybe this is how all teenagers act? I don't remember. I do know that so much time was spent on her lustful thoughts that it completely took me out of the story and all I could think was 'what am I reading?'
- The mom is strange, has creepy statues and an obvious crazy past that she's hiding. Her back story doesn't really fit with the current storyline and it felt jarring when storylines were trying to be connected
- The ending. Not good.

But, the overall message (Go Feminism!), the patriarch silencing women who speak up or don't act like they say they should and those women standing up for themselves is great. But the story just didn't do it for me. It was uncomfortable, which with the overall message is expected, but just not something that I enjoyed reading.

This was a very enjoyable read with a number of nuanced and interesting characters. That being said, I feel like whatever message/takeaway I was supposed to get didn't land with me. It seemed like the message was meant to be that women are punished for having a voice and this was personified in a serial killer, but the ending seemed to imply that silencing yourself is the only choice to avoid this fate?? Or something?? Unclear, but a good read nonetheless.

This story was scary and it had all of the elements for a horror tale with enough realistic details.

In 2004 Caroline Sawyer is dealing with delusions that she thinks are caused by her insomnia, Her fiance has urged her to find help, so her psychiatrist gives her pills to deal with the delusions that include dogs hauling and barking everywhere.
In 2019, Lila Sawyer, Caroline's daughter, starts sensing something wrong with her. Haunted by her mother's past and away from her father who has a new family, Lila doesn't have anyone to turn and has to find the strength to deal with whatever evil is possessing her.

Truth to be told, I was engaged by this story line but the ending wasn't as satisfying as I expected. The story is clearly a paranormal tale with supernatural elements but the author does a great job explaining things in a realistic way. It wasn't until towards the end of the story that it becomes clear that something else is going on. It was definitely a horror story, and I was taken aback by the ending and the resolution. Great horror read!

Graphic horror book - definitely not for everyone! This story falls into so many categories: feminism, coming of age, mother/daughter relationships, sexuality, artistic, and gory.

The story started strong but didn't quite hit the mark for me. 2.5 starts rounded to 3 because I was intrigued enough to finish the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for the free copy.