Such A Pretty Smile was a strange and creepy book. The story focuses on a mother (Caroline) and daughter (Lila). Caroline is an artist who specializes in sculptures made from found objects, primarily natural objects -- rocks, twigs, feathers, etc. In 2004, the focus of her story, Caroline's artistic endeavors were largely on hold, as she was working to earn the money needed to pay for her father's nursing home care, as he was dying of cancer. In 2004, Caroline also began hearing the sound of a pack of dogs barking, seeing a strange man-beast creature, and having dissociative episodes during which she created creepy sculptures, among other abnormal events. She was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia triggered by emotional stress and a history of trauma. She had undergone a traumatic event at age eleven, but she had repressed the memories of the event. However, her father, in pain from the cancer, mentioned the traumatic event, causing Caroline to delve into her history and try to figure out what had happened to her. Caroline believes that what she is experiencing in 2004 is related to her childhood experience and that there is someone or something dangerous out there.

Fast forward fifteen years and Lila is hearing and seeing things similar to what Caroline had experienced. However, Caroline has hidden her history from her daughter. Lila knows that her mother has been treated for mental illness, but does not know the background, and she is afraid to tell her mother what she is experiencing because she does not want to be medicated. In 2004 and 2019, there also appears to be an active serial killer, who has been named The Cur, who preys on pre-pubescent girls, leaving his victims horribly mutilated, especially the "nether" regions, as if the girls have been attacked by a wild animal. The truth behind what Caroline and Lila are experiencing is one main theme of the story, and represents the horror aspect of the story.

The other major theme revolves around treatment of and expectations of girls and women by men. In 2004, Caroline's fiancé and her psychiatrist are dismissive and condescending toward her, expecting her to be a "good girl" and listen to them, accepting that they know what is best for her. Her psychiatrist is not interested in her questions or concerns. Her fiancé is also an artist, and is actually employed at an art gallery, but he has not achieved the same degree of recognition as Caroline. He is jealous of her and attempts to hinder her success. When she starts having problems, he just wants her to take the medication and make the problems go away, returning to the supportive partner he expects her to be. Lila also feels pressure to be a "good girl" and when her symptoms manifest openly, she is expected to just go along with what the adults tell her and resume conforming her behavior to expectations, without questioning what she is experiencing. In connection with the Cur, there are also stories of beasts that take angry girls, girls who act up, who cannot be controlled and the beasts teach the girls to act right. The murdered girls are the girls who are defiant and refuse to behave.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This is one that grew on me more and more as I read it.

I ended up loving the darkness and the fury of it all. The story is grim, but the message about not being tamed is just about everything.

I’ll admit, though, that my love for it grew slowly. At first, things that should have been secret were all too obvious to me. I still don’t know whether the author intended to try to hide these things or not, but that was a little unsuccessful for me.

However, I kept at it and was glad that I did.

Hidden among the obvious were things I didn’t anticipate and I loved the reason behind everything, even as I wanted to weep for some of the characters.

A good and ultimately surprising read.

*ARC via Net Galley

I didn’t know what to think through most of this book. I was confused about the beasts and what was happening to Caroline and Lila. It all came together in the end and made perfect sense! I’m not sure that this is a book that I would love to reread and recommend, but it was definitely interesting and different. I wish there would’ve been more explanation as what the beasts are, that was what added to my confusion. The thought of where the beasts feed was also uncomfortable, especially since they “eat” prepubescent girls… it was an interesting story and I’m glad that it’s done and making sense in my head. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my free arc in exchange for my honest opinion!

Feminist horror is a thing. This novel was an absolute page-turner, fast-paced and definitely thrilling but also so beautifully-written, with distinct 3-dimensional characters. It was emotional and meaningful and its feminism was rooted in realism - which was the true horror.

This is the best book I have read all year.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc to review.

A disturbing and dark tale about beasts that prey on women and the fierce resolve women display to be true to themselves, be authentic, and above all…be strong.

Be quiet. Be sweet. Be obedient. And show that pretty little smile. Only the bad girls get attacked by the beasts. Better be good!

DeMeester have crafted a slow, intentionally tense build in Such A Pretty Smile. Here “beasts” extend their claws, snarl exposed teeth and hunt young girls on which they need to feed. But don’t worry: only disobedient little women are at risk. The only problem is the “beasts” decide what actions will be tolerated; they set the rules.

Only some women see and hear the beasts. When they report them, they will be ridiculed, medicated, called hysterical or crazy…they will often be ignored.

Have you seen a beast?

I have.

Four fantastic stars for this tour-de-force tale of strength, resiliency and the determination women show to be themselves!

See full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4229873425

Caroline Sawyer is exhausted, every waking moment is spent caring for her father. So she assumes the strange sounds she hearing, barking, growling dogs; is just a symptom of that exhaustion. Then the sounds become visions, which she translates into the bizarre sculptures she creates even as her psychiatrist prescribes a regimen of pills to keep her “spells” away. Fifteen years later, Caroline’s thirteen year old daughter, Lila is experiencing her own tortured visions. With her father newly married and a new baby under the roof, Lila does her best to suppress her “urges”…until the day she can’t. This is a dark, violent book about the repressed feeling of women and what happens when they are held in check. Brilliant

This book is dark, evil, and haunting. It gave me that pit in my stomach, heavy, anxiety feeling after I put the book down. It is one that made me have trouble falling asleep afterwards and worked its way into my dreams. It also is a page turner. You won’t want to put it down. Very well written.

There is a lot of cursing and crude language, especially in the first four chapters. Net Galley had this book categorized as mystery thriller/horror. I find that many books classified as horror aren’t really something that I would consider horror. This is!

A thread through this novel is females being silenced. Yes, many of these ladies did things they shouldn’t have, but the theme is that they were all silenced after the fact and not allowed to discuss their side of things. Express their feelings or tell their stories. I loved that this horror story had such a good message.

So, I love suspense thrillers, I don’t like really evil or scary books. I think I have had my fill of evil and spooky for a while. Hahaha I gave this book four stars. I loved the message of the book, but it isn’t a Kimberly book. If you are a fan of horror books, you would probably love this.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #SuchaPrettySmile

My sincere thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review an ARC of this fantastic, creepy book!

A feminist horror story told across two generations - Such A Pretty Smile focuses on our two main characters with sympathy, love, and fear for what they will face.

On the one hand, we follow lonely teenager Lila as she pines after the object of her unrequited affections while facing the loneliness of being a social outcast. With a distant father and a helicopter mother who is a famous artist to boot, Lila feels alone in the world and adrift in a family history she doesn’t fully understand. Her mother refuses to talk about the past, however Lila is sure something lurks there because when the bodies of young girls start to turn up, her mother’s fear and overbearing parenting increases to unimaginable levels. What is her mother so afraid of? Lila knows her mother suffers from mental illness, and she fears that she will inherit those genes. But is her mother’s reaction a symptom of her illness, or is there truly something to fear out there?

On the other hand, we follow Lila’s mother Caroline before the birth of her daughter. Her beloved father is in hospice care, and in order to pay for his care she has had to sacrifice her artistic pursuits to take a dead end job tutoring the troubled teenage daughter of a wealthy family in more “classical” artistic pursuits than her preferred medium of scavenger sculptures. Caroline’s fiancé Daniel is also an artist, however as she begins to see and hear things that may or may not be there, their relationship becomes strained beyond the normal competitive streak that has always run underneath their love. Daniel’s concern for her seems genuine, but is he more worried about her or how he looks next to a crazy woman? As young girls begin to vanish, Caroline fears what she is seeing is not just a hallucination.

As the two timelines diverge and then meet up again, the reader finds themselves engrossed in not the only plot but the emotions that the characters feel. From the pangs of early girlhood to young womanhood, this book perfectly captures fears that are innate in being a woman while also adding a potentially supernatural evil into the mix. Haunting, touching, and fast paced - I highly recommend this book!

UCH A PRETTY SMILE by Kristi DeMeester would be a great book if you’re just introducing yourself to the horror genre. It’s an awesome dual-timeline thriller-horror. It features a killer that is referred to as THE CUR that masticates its victims similar to a snake and a mother-daughter duo you’ll want to root for.

THE CUR is quite frightening and the whole “killing girls with big mouths who don’t know when to shut up and learn their place”
was a great storyline.

Parts of the book reminded me of Meg Gardiners UNSUB series. But ultimately feel this title felt a bit closer to a YA horror than adult.

The protagonist was young and the themes of the book were centered around using ones voice and learning self power. There was a lot of me screaming

“FUCK YES”

While reading.

A very enjoyable read!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to @stmartinspress for sending this my way in exchange for an honest review!