this is such an interesting book - the themes of girlhood, female rage, etc. are really well-woven into the plot and the characters.
however, i wasn’t totally vibing with the paranormal aspect and the way it just wasn’t explained well?? especially the ending i felt it was just so so rushed and jammed (bloated 3rd act)
really preferred lila’s pov over her mom’s - seeing the anger at her circumstances that have been thrust upon her was so riveting to read

A big thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for giving me a copy of this book for an unbiased review.

3/5 - Liked it.

This story is really quite creepy with gory imagery that kept my adrenaline pumping. The darkness and sense of evil in this book feels real and tangible, but all the more terrifying because it is difficult to place - is evil the dog-faced monster lurking in the shadows? Or the men who don't believe you, who want to keep you small? It's difficult to tell.

I enjoyed the uniqueness of this story - it truly is unlike anything I've read before and therefore unpredictable. And it fed into my frustrations as a woman and the rage I've personally experienced. However, it could be disjointed at times - characters came and went and seemed to pick up significance only because I was being told they were significant. Staying quiet would keep you safe, until it didn't. The world that DeMeester created was dark and unsettling, but sometimes I had a hard time following its rules and the overall narrative.

That being said, it was still a very interesting read, with strange characters and an unsettling narrative. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a unique horror story.

Love. Love. Love. L O V E. Love. Can that be my entire review? Because in case you didn't know or couldn't tell, I LOVED this.

A nice horror-thriller that builds on the fact that no one listens to women--instead, we're silenced, locked away, ignored. The intergenerational aspect of the novel and the class issues it raises add to the book's depth and range, and the settings are suitably spooky.

This book is strange and uncomfortable, but so good.

There were so many scenes where my mind felt like it was coming undone along with the characters. I loved the visceral and gory descriptions. This book is a true horror novel, not a thriller.

Unreliable narrators, unsettling scenes, and a whole lot of feminism. At times a little too on the nose, but still a book I’d recommend!

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story is about Caroline and her daughter Lila. Told from both points of view, 15 years apart. There is a mysterious killer taking young girls. When Lila begins having disturbing things happen she’s convinced her mother is somehow involved and sets out to find out how. This unfortunately puts her in danger, forcing Caroline to confront her past and sacrifice herself to save Lila.
This is not my usual genre to read but the story was well written and kept me interested in knowing how everything would come together in the end.

Such a Pretty Smile is an entertaining read and it is definitely a modern and exciting view on werewolves and their existence and origin.

Kristi DeMeester takes a mother's love for her daughter, combined with a dark secret from her past, and brings it all to a tumultuous and satisfying climax that left me wanting more from this author.

I was a big fan of the parts of the book that happened at Jazzland, both when it was operating in New Orleans, and after when it was an abandoned park. Amusement park settings are always difficult to pull off, but DeMeester manages to make you feel as if you are walking around the site.

The backstory on the missing girls was extremely scary, but I would have liked more information about it to fully understand the origin of the creatures who were kidnapping girls.

A fun, enjoyable read that won't leave you disappointed if you're looking for a creepy read.

Feminist horror where the true monsters, as in real life, are the people who expect women to mindlessly close their mouths and fall in line. While the book lost me a bit in the over the top denouement, it's a very interesting character study of a mother and daughter tied together by shared trauma, gaslighting, and general horrific treatment from the men in their lives.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to St. Martin's Press**

Multiple times throughout the story I had to read the synopsis to remind myself what I was reading. I kept thinking it was “paranormal” so I couldn’t be sure how to really read it. It is categorized as psychological thriller, horror, feminism, and after reading other reviews it seems the “paranormal” aspect I felt was supposed to be a metaphor on the female experience with men and society. A “monster” is always watching us and stalking us with the hope of devouring us if we aren’t good, sweet, obedient girls. The wayward an unusual girls are targeted by the “beast,” violated, and killed. Men are the beast in the story. Very well written but just slightly confusing for my not so smart brain. Interesting take on women’s lives from the time were young.

This book messed me up in the most wicked and wonderful way. At times a bit slow, but I couldn't stop reading, and the terror Caroline (and Lila) felt was palpable and unyielding. Now, I need to go call my mom!

Well-written, multi-narrators, past and present interchanging timelines, complexity to the storyline, with an ending I did not expect! I am still thinking about this storyline after finishing and would love to see a movie adaptation of this book!

A sincere thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me an advance copy (ARC) of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to read this story and leave my review voluntarily.

DNF

Got up to 53% and could not read more. Just really not good. The author has some writing talent but this novel just doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.I think the attempt at a feminist theme really falls flat. The men in this book are just a bunch of dicks. What’s new? I don’t see where the feminism comes in, maybe in the second half? But I don’t have the patience to get through more drivel to find out. Boring teenage angst and a mom with major issues was more than I could take. Some supernatural wild thing in there too. If the author was aiming for something to go along with Women who Run with the Wolves she was really overreaching. Can’t recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

13 year-old Lila Sawyer suffers an overprotective mother, and a best friend who isn't very nice to her, actually. Now she has a voice in her head getting louder and more insistent, telling her to be angry, and mean, and violent.
At the same time, young girls are being found murdered and mutilated in a way suspiciously like that of an assumed dormant serial killer called 'The Cur'. The spate of recent murders makes Caroline, Lila's mother, even more anxious and protective.
Caroline, 15 years earlier in New Orleans, Louisiana first learns of the murders of adolescent girls, while simultaneously dealing with an internal voice of her own. Both Lila and Caroline discover that their thoughts and behavior not only effect themselves and the people that love them, but that they may have do literal battle with the monsters that they conjure.
The dual-timeline perspectives of Lila and Caroline do a great job of filling in the narrative so the reader leans what they need to as they need to. The novel is really well written; there were sections that I had to reread more than once because they were so lyrical. Even the depictions of gore in places, which I have zero issue with. I also loved the way the characters were written as well.
I appreciate the treatment of mental health, specifically representation of schizophrenia. I was somewhat confused by the association with the voices influencing behavior, and specifically 'inappropriate' behavior that calls the...antagonist(s). They seem to be a little to closely related for a clear distinction to be made between the two. Also the monsters themselves may have been (and I own that this is a completely personal opinion) not described in a comprehensive way. I understand if certain details of physicality are left ambiguous to lend a certain amount of terror but, again personally, if I can't completely picture a villain, I can't be completely afraid of it.
All of that said, I really enjoyed the book, and would strongly recommend to other fans of horror.

This one was a wild ride! I wasn’t exactly sure what was happening, what was real and what wasn't, until closer to the end but once it all came together I was able to understand the symbolism and themes much better! It’s hard to hint at too much too soon without giving too much away but my only critique would be to make the Cur a little clearer from the beginning.

This was good, well written, kept me reading, and had a big "Ohhh!" moment at the end.

Horror-thrillers aren't really for me and I struggled at times with this (not knowing where it was going, slow start) but I'm still thinking about it days after finishing so I think that says something. I think the word for this is grotesque or like psychologically grotesque, as some descriptions of characters feelings, actions, and even their dialogue made me squirm. The entire book I didn't know where it was going or what exactly was going on but the ending laid it all out, a little heavy handedly, but a smart commentary on how society (men) treat women that don't conform to their ideas.

It is slow to start and just when I was wondering where the suspense and thrills were I heard a door slam and jumped off the couch. That's the kind of book this is. I still don't know if this is the type of book for me

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

It has been a while since I've read a good thriller and holy WOW was this a good one to get back into the genre with. Kristi really knocked it out of the park. Even if the park tries to keep you in. This was the perfect book to get me in the mood for spooky season. If you're looking for a gritty, disturbing and encapsulating thriller that will give you turns even the most frequent readers can't get, pick this up! You won't regret it.

DeMeester draws you into this story with lure of monsters lurking in the dark, but she keeps you in the dark as a part of the past becomes a piece of the future, even when the characters don't always want them to be. This is a send chills up your spine, haunt you in the night type of story that freaks you out, but keeps you glued to the pages to find out where the monsters are. Caroline and Lila are such a phenomenally opposites pair of mother and daughter who hear things that go bump in the night. Even when Caroline tried to run from her past, somehow the past always catches up, even when she doesn't want it too. I loved both Caroline and Lila, the alternating timeline and how this story unfolded. The pacing was great, as were the twists and turns. Any fan of thrillers should definitely pick this one up!

Let me start with - this book was very well written and I came to care for all the family involved!!! Without giving a way too much, I had a hunch but wasn't positive, until the ending. So, I did finish. But, I am not happy with what I think is the premise. As a matter of fact, had I known for sure, I would have hung it up and put it on the DNF shelf where it belonged. Thanks for the ARC, but I would give a little more synopsis of actual content so readers have a chance to decide if this is a topic (presented in a very gory manner) they'd like to read about!!

If you’ve ever had visions of stabbing the stranger who told you to smile in the neck, this may be the book for you. For real though, and this goes out to anyone who tells random people to smile, stop it. Right now.

Lila is in 8th grade and struggling with an unrequited crush on her best friend Macie. She also has been feeling off lately, as if there's some dark force inside her. When she sees Macie in a compromising position with an older boy, these two struggles collide as Lila has an almost feral, ferocious reaction. She has seen that her mother Caroline takes pills and knows she's been diagnosed with mental health issues. But that can't be happening to Lila too, right? She's not her mother. And like most teenagers she's certainly not ready to talk to her mom about what's been going on.

Meanwhile, the abduction and murder of young teen girls in the area has the already protective Caroline on high alert. Lila overhears her on the phone talking about how similar these murders feel to something in her past. A past she never talks about and has never shared with Lila. What happened back then and what does it have to do with now?

I would classify this much more as Horror than Mystery/Thriller, just so readers know what they’re getting. Allegorical Feminist Horror to be precise. There is some very strong, upsetting imagery here, and it’s not a comfortable read. That said, in my opinion, the discomfort was generally worth it. I did come away with some lingering questions (some of Lila's behavior still didn't make sense to me even after I'd finished), but I also came away with a lot of food for thought. This is a book that will stick with me.

Those of you who read my reviews regularly know I can’t stand the overly used “unreliable female narrator who may or may not be crazy and is on pills” trope, and that I’m pretty quick to call out what I feel is misandry in novels. So I want to mark an important distinction with this one. This is heavily feminist and very harshly critiques the patriarchy, and it also focuses on the mental health of female characters. The thing is, these ARE the book’s message, and they’re used with a very specific purpose and messaging in mind. They’re not cheap plot or narrative devices, so it worked for me and made this into a really powerful commentary rather than making a mockery of the concept or feeling exploitative.

CW: I don’t like to discourage people from reading books, particularly not books I enjoyed or found powerful, but I never want anyone to pick up something that is going to upset them. There are somewhat graphic descriptions of assault/mutilation of younger teen murder victims. Nothing happens to them “on page”, and it is akin to something you might read in more lurid news articles or true crime, but nonetheless, it’s triggering for lots of people and I get that. Dog lovers will also want to read with caution. .

I wasn't sure what to expect when the book started with what seemed to be a whiny pre-teen misfit and her unrequited love for her best friend. Once the narration shifted to the point of view of her mother, the story got much more interesting. I read a lot of horror and this is one of those books that made it hard to sleep and found its way into my dreams. Very well done and stays with you long after you finish.

This book is A LOT. The description makes it sound right up my alley in pretty much every way, and I appreciated the immersive writing style and the way the novel bounces back and forth in timeline and voice between mother and daughter. However, the focus on gaslighting men, disempowerment, and the lack of communication between mother and daughter in the present timeline were incredibly difficult--and frustrating--to read. I understand that much of this was 'the point' of the book, so this is very much a ME issue, but it made the novel much less enjoyable than I'd hoped going in (miscommunication/withholding information is perhaps my least favorite plot device ever...). Also, the fact that the story hinges around not only murder but sexual assault of minors was a lot for me to handle, so I didn't end up enjoying this book as much as the premise might have suggested I would.