I am a huge fan of slasher movies, so I was very excited for this book. I didn’t end up enjoying it as much as I thought I would, but it was still an enjoyable read! Ella is our main character/final girl who is returning to film a reunion for the slasher film she starred in years ago. The plot was overall pretty engaging, although it is a bit of a slow burn and I didn’t think the scenes written as “scripts” added much to the story. For a slasher, this has a pretty low body count. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it did seem like there wasn’t a whole lot of action throughout the book, nor was there much tension. The ending was pretty satisfying and it did surprise me. Overall I enjoyed this book and would definitely check out more from this author.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Miranda Smith’s Smile for the Cameras is a gripping, locked-room style thriller that kept me hooked from the start. The story follows Ella Winters, the sole survivor of the cult-classic horror film Grad Night. Twenty years later, she returns to the set for a documentary reunion, only to find that someone is recreating the film’s terrifying events in real life.

The eerie, isolated setting adds to the suspense, and Smith does a great job building tension as the cast members begin to realize they may not make it out alive this time. Ella is a compelling protagonist, grappling with past trauma and the burden of survivor’s guilt, which adds emotional depth to the mystery. The book also plays with classic 90s slasher tropes in a fun yet unsettling way.

While some twists felt a bit predictable, the story remained engaging, and the final reveal was satisfying. Smile for the Cameras is a thrilling read with a great mix of psychological suspense and horror nostalgia—definitely worth picking up!

It's not often that I find a book that I absolutely cannot put down, but I read Smile for the Cameras in one day. I couldn't bring myself to stop until I knew exactly what happened and why. From the very first page, there's a mystery that demands to be solved. You know that something happened, but not what, how, or why. Each chapter brings you a step closer to figuring it out, until you abruptly realize that the narrator is maybe not as reliable as you thought she was.

Ella felt like a real person as I was reading her story. I appreciated the different timelines and how they were presented. This book was written expertly, in a way that draws the suspense out until you're on the edge of your seat just waiting for that one final detail that will make it all make sense. The blending of past, present, and script sets it apart from others in the genre. That being said, my one criticism would be that the ending felt a bit rushed. What should have been an exhilarating climax was more of a calm conversation with an unexpected conclusion. It wasn't a bad thing! It just surprised me. In a way, I think that's what sets the killer apart from all other thriller books that I've read.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy of Smile for the Cameras. I really enjoyed this story of young actors getting their big break in the slasher movie Grad Night. Kept me guessing until the end.

This book was insane and the exact type of horror novel I love to read! It’s definitely for fans of I Know What You Did Last Summer or Scream. The vibes are very 90’s teen horror and it reads like a movie. The characters are fleshed out and the pacing moves well. I did think it was a little predictable and I did figure out who the killer was, but I don’t think most people would figure it out as quickly. Overall, the story is an exciting and fast read and I will definitely be recommending it!

I get this book 4 stars. It was a really good book, but I felt like I was watching a movie while reading this book but I felt like it was very a very slow read

This is my first ARC review so it’ll be a little different 😊 Overall, I liked this book. They actually got me with one of the twists and that’s pretty rare. Below are a few notes:
-I’m meh on the title, I don’t think it fits the book; if I didn’t know what it was about, I would’ve guessed it was about a reality tv show; I think the focus should be the reunion aspect
-based on the plot summary, it took waaaay too long to get to the part where the serial killer was coming for them in the present time, I thought that was going to be a bigger part of the book page wise
-I’m indifferent on how the movie script was included, but if it is, I think the scenes should be numbered differently, implying there are scenes between that were not seeing; the movie was only like eight scenes? With virtually no plot? If those script pages were actually filmed, it would probably be a 10 minute movie and it being Mr. Rhodes isn’t even interesting; number one rule for movies like this is that the killer has to be someone you wouldn’t expect
-in chapter 24 when Petra says, “two bodies and two messages. They must be connected right?” Cut this line. The bodies being connected is an absolute given to anyone reading.
-there’s also a line that says “And I'm nearing forty now. Basically, a death sentence for a woman my age in Hollywood.” That’s redundant. It should be “for a woman in Hollywood”, remove “my age”.

Hope my feedback is helpful!!

An actress desperate to reclaim her fame must survive the real life plot of the horror movie that made her famous in this psychologically twisted locked-room thriller influenced by nineties slasher...
Great book! Wow! Brought back some great memories of some chilling nineties thrillers!! This book had fabulous suspense, gruesome murders, mystery, chilling scary scenes, dark past secrets, and some shocking twists and turns! The story was very interesting! I highly recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

This took me back to the late 90s and early 2000s and gave me all the nostalgic feels. I loved a good (though corny) scary slasher movie in high school and college and I guess some things never change. The setting was perfect and I appreciated how there were two stories being told at once. I also definitely didn't guess the twist at the end, which was fun! I will say a lot of this seemed really unrealistic, but I sort of feel like you'd have to expect that given the premise of the book. It is a book about a slasher film, after all. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for an ARC of this novel.

Holy cow! There wasn't a part I didn't like about this book. The fact that there are two timelines, so we know what happened in the past and how it's connected to the present. The movie/slasher they filmed with the script in between. The setting in an isolated place. The very appealing characters. Not having a clue about who the killer is or why is killing. And the eerie feeling through the whole story. They all make it a page turner. Congratulations to the author for such incredible book. And thank you Ballantine and to NetGalley for sending me this ARC.

This book delivered on everything I wanted for a final girl catch up book. I loved the flashbacks and the motivations for revenge.

3.25 stars for this slasher thriller.

This was a book that I found the big cast worked really well. There are a lot of characters in this book, but once you get to know ac of them, its pretty easy to follow. I think that was an aspect that I enjoyed most, character dynamic.

A group of actors and the director eat back together to pay homage to the slasher film they were all a part of years ago. This film came a huge hit, but there were rumors through the years that the film was cursed… Now, back together, they must confront their demons from before because someone who knows about what happened on set is coming for them.

This had really good pacing, but I could spot the ending from the beginning.

I Know What You Did Last Summer meets Friday the 13th in a book. This was well paced horror/mystery with a good twist I didn’t see coming! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I loved the classic throwback slasher film vibes in this book. It was fast paced an well rounded overall. Thank you NetGalley and Bantam for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

What a ride this book took me on. I first fell in love with the cover. Then I was intrigued with the synopsis. Once I started reading it, I could not put the book down. This was a wonderfully twisty turny book that when the plot started to thicken, I was right there enjoying every minute of it. I really enjoyed the multiple different time jumps from the ‘Then’ to ‘Now’ and also the chapters where you were reading the script of the movie. I found this book to not only be entertaining, but if this was ever made into a movie, I think this would be a hit. Loved this. Thank you to the author!

If you enjoy 90s slasher movies, this may be a book for you. The story is told in a Now and Then split timeline, which I really enjoyed, and the ending was a surprise. Outside of those things, I wasn't invested in any of the characters and found the actual story to move rather slowly. The ending did help redeem the story some. Overall, 3 stars.

Perfect for all of my horror film lovers! I loved that this book kept me guessing throughout. Unexpected twists, very suspenseful, and the perfect amount of horror! Great read!

Loved!!! This was so much fun. Horror movie within a horror movie. Really hope this book does well! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read it before publication!

The cast of a cult classic thrasher get back together and, of course, their lives are all very different now.

I thought this was a super unique format for this kind of book, we get told the story through a past timeline, a present timeline and the script of the movie. I thought that was super cool. I can struggle sometimes with multiple timelines, but I appreciated how unique of a take this was on that (especially including the script beats for that context. (As someone who went to film school, I found that cool and think other film girlies will also.)

This was a very interesting and unique story, there was lots of action at the end and with a rather satisfying ending, but I did think that the start was quite slow. It did drag for a bit until the main action/climax. Maybe the characters being so vague about certain things in the past emphasized the slowness. At least fill me in on all the information if you're going to make me wait to see anything happen with it.

I would recommend this to film fans for sure, but especially if you like the classic 90's thrashers and scary movies. Hopefully the slowness of the start can be something you can overlook (some people don't mind that at all, I find it to bore and distract me quite a bit). And I could see this working well as an audiobook or even a movie. Reminds me almost of that movie Final Girls from like 2015.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_LIpman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

Smile for the Cameras by Miranda Smith is a gripping thriller about fame, memory, and the final girl who was never allowed to forget.

Twenty years ago, Ella Winters became a star as the final girl in the cult slasher Grad Night. But after a disastrous wrap party and a personal tragedy, she walked away from the spotlight to care for the one person who had always believed in her—her mother.

Now, following her mother’s death, Ella is ready to step back into the acting world. But Hollywood isn’t kind to women who’ve been gone too long, and her only real offer is a Grad Night reunion special. Against her better judgment, she agrees.

But the moment she steps back onto the remote estate where it all ended, Ella feels it: the past hasn’t stayed buried. Flipping between then and now, secrets unravel, loyalties are tested, and Ella begins to question not just what happened that night—but who might be seeking revenge now.

Because someone’s still watching. And this time, the cameras aren’t the only ones rolling.

#randomhouse #smileforthecameras #mirandasmith #finalgirlenergy #thrillerfiction #gradhorrorsurvivor