Thirteen year old Lila Sawyer is keeping secrets. From her mom, her friends, and herself. Everyday she fights to keep herself buried and be the girl everyone wants her to be. Her mother, Caroline, seems to want to cage her in but Lila knows she’s keeping secrets of her own. Told from the perspective of 2019 Lila and 2004 Caroline, the mother and daughter might have more in common than they think.

Kristi DeMeester interlaced an ominous horror story with a beautiful allegory of feminism and womanhood. She explores the expectation of women in relationships, work, school, and as parents. All women can identify with the way men and society worked to silence these women.

I’ve never read a horror novel that had me absolutely terrified until now. I had to stop reading way before bed (I do most of my reading at night) so I could actually get some sleep. The visceral reactions I had to the scenes in this book are unmatched! This story is incredibly powerful and I know I’ll want to read this again and again!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Such a Pretty Smile definitely gave me those spooky/haunting vibes while reading the synopsis. So I was pretty excited to dive into this one with Halloween basically being around the corner. In this, you will get to meet Lila and Caroline. They are daughter and mother and they have more in common than one would originally think.

I'll be honest here folks. I was mostly confused while reading this book. I kept thinking that they both dealing with the same kind of mental illness - like being bipolar. Then we get some twists and turns and it seems like it had something to do with hormones or whatever. Let's call it 'Girls and their inner beasts' type of puberty.

Whatever you call it - I was getting more and more confused with each chapter. It also doesn't help that the family dynamic just threw me off. It was just very weird and I couldn't wrap my mind around it all. Honestly her parents deserve a participation trophy and that's about it.

Then there's the actual ending of this book. Again, it was just weird and I'm not really happy with how things went down. It didn't seem like the problem was ever solved and I have no idea if it ever will be. I guess, in a way, you can enjoy the chaos guys.

A palm-sweating, breath-holding, have-to-put-this-down-for-a-second kind of ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing early access to this title. This novel completely exceeded all of my expectations. It has precise pacing, seamless transitions between two timelines, engaging characters, and of course (and best of all) is truly, deeply creepy.

The juxtaposition of a young protagonist with exceedingly mature narration and content was completely successful in being both jarring and disturbing, and added to the growing sense of unease that I felt while reading. The themes of mental illness, power imbalance, and female rage were all palpable throughout. My one criticism is that at times the misogyny was too heavy-handed, a case of telling rather than showing that I feel would have been all the more powerful had it been less laid at my feet.

Still, this book truly succeeds in capturing both the awkward and achingly uncomfortable feelings of growing up, of finding your voice in a world where many would rather you didn't, and manages to do so while maintaining a truly creepy and at times haunting story line.

Is this really a debut author? Kristi DeMeester, writes with such precision and execution its hard to believe this is her debut novel.

I absolutely devoured Such a Pretty Smile. This is a bit of a slow burn but it does lead up to an explosive ending. With each chapter, my suspense grew.

I will say that at times it was a bit predictable but it did not deter me from moving forward.

This is a quick and easy ready with suspense and edge.

Wow. I'm in shock and awe. This book was unlike any I have read before. I loved the way the author switched perspectives in between chapters giving you two points of view to set the plot. I felt once I reached 30% that I couldn't put the book down because I had to know more about The Cur. The details were so vibrant and hauntingly real that I sometimes had to take a break from the story and come back to reality. My only wish was that more background was given on Lila. I felt that there could have been so much add to her character to give her more life. When I finally finished this book I was left with so many thoughts. Was The Cur real? Who really was The Cur? What secret society is helping Lola get through this life? I love a book that makes me think and haunts me well after reading it. This is definitely one that does just that.

Trigger warnings: Animal death, sexual assault of minors, misogyny

"It's what men have always been doing, isn't it? Shutting us up anytime we say or do anything that doesn't fit into the nice little box they want us in."

"Mothers, mind your daughters. Keep them sweet and polite and mannered, and it will keep the teeth from the door."

"It was always her. Always Caroline left behind to pick up whatever wasn't right."

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the author did an excellent job of writing really unsettling images that make the reader wonder what exactly is real. But on the other hand, I feel like the author provided an ending that was rushed and didn't give a full explanation as to what had been happening. There's enough explained that a reader shouldn't feel utterly deprived, as the book does wrap up loose ends. But there are some things that just didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

The other big thing about this book is that it's alllll about misogyny. Every single man - and some women! - in this book are just the worst, with the exception of Caroline's own father. He made some questionable parenting choices, I think, but nothing he can really be blamed for and it's clear that Caroline is very close to her father and they love each other very much. But her fiance, Daniel? Nope, didn't like him at all. The doctor she sees? Nope. The counselor her daughter sees? Nope nope nope. The not-so-subtle theme of this book is women who need to "behave" and "be good" and basically look pretty for their men, or in a couple of cases, for their mothers. They need to be "normal" and not draw attention and it seems really just seen and not heard.

In short, it's about women who are both literally and figuratively chewed up by oppressive males and leave nothing but a shell behind. Even the women who are pushing their daughters to be "normal" and obedient and "sweet" have been damaged by a man. That's why they're pushing their daughters to be compliant. It's a bit on the nose, to be honest, but it's still a pretty entertaining read.

I'd give it 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

I really appreciated the bones of this novel, the nuanced characters, and the colorful dynamics of their relationships unfolding in both backstory and in the present . . . until the thematic journey started to weigh the story down.

Some jerks do harm. I totally get it and as a woman, I don’t like to be strong-armed or accept condescending pats on the head either. Female empowerment. Down with the patriarchy. Don't let them take your voice, chew you up, or spit you out. Yes, again, I get it. This book is so thick with these themes, drags it down like sticky swamp mud, and there's an added double-dip of teenaged angst and melodrama.

Being from South Louisiana, I also found myself distracted by a loose inaccuracy about Jazzland that was a bit hard for me, personally, to ignore. I wanted to be immersed and enjoy the atmosphere of this creepy read, but it sadly fell short of my expectations of a solid thrill fest.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Such A Pretty Smile for an honest review. 3 stars.

Such a Pretty Smile was a captivating and haunting read, but unfortunately, I don't think it lived up to its potential.

I love reading dual POVs and both Caroline and Lila's were well done. One of the minor issues I had was how there were a few instances where Caroline's name was used instead of Lila's. Since their storylines are so similar, I feel like this should've been carefully looked over and it was a bit distracting when I read Caroline doing something that was meant to be Lila. I also wish there was a bit more development with Caroline and Lila because their relationship wasn't really explored. I would expect a mother-daughter story to have a stronger connection, but I felt frustrated with Caroline and Lila's interactions and felt like their stories were very separated. Neither were willing to open up to one another and this left me feeling unsatisfied by the end.

The main story was very interesting and while a bit predictable, I still felt compelled to keep reading to find out more. I was interested in The Cur and Jazzland's history, so I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get very much background information. Also, this is more of my own personal preferences, but I wasn't too fond of the graphic details and sexual nature of Lila's POV.

Did Little Red Riding Hood survive the Big Bad Wolf or was she gaslighted into believing one never existed? A modern day twist on a tale as old as time, Such a Pretty Smile is a novel that crosses genres with no remorse. It is a modern fairy tale, a tale of horror, a crime thriller, a story of mothers and daughters, a story of mean girls, an ode to women's mental health, and feminist fiction at its finest. What it is ...is deviously good. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. What a fabulous kickoff to my October spooktacular reads!

Dark and disorienting. This was an interesting read about a serial killer who targets young girls and a mother and daughters slow decent into madness. Kept me guessing about what was truly going on in their head and is the disillusions were indeed so. The ending left me with more questions than answers.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

Eh, this was an interesting read, but the lack of details surrounding the supernatural explanation didn't make for a very satisfying ending - it just seemed intentionally vague.

I started this and read voraciously, forgetting to eat lunch in the process. The plot drew me in and I found it kept my attention throughout.

Okay. It’s a couple of days later after I’ve finished the book. I wanted to take the time before I wrote my review, to see if my feelings had changed.

This book left me unsatisfied, in the way that only a story with a strong beginning / middle and an unfortunate ending can do.

Pros -
Readable
Relatable younger MFC
Relatable depiction of ‘friendship’ with a mean girl
The entire book up until the ending

Cons -
A bit too unbelievable in parts
Dog lovers, beware of book
The ending

I really liked this book up until the ending, where things transpired in a way that was too contrived and too neatly stitched up.

I’m giving this three stars, because I found the first parts of the book to be fantastic.


Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an eARC of this title. Opinions shared are influenced by nothing other than my reading experience.

Prepubescent girls are being violently murdered by a killer known as The Cur. Caroline, when she was a girl, had been taken and escaped. She is now a single Mother to Lila and both of them are very troubled and anxiously attempting to hide it. Caroline has been medicated since her abduction and Lila won’t admit to anyone but herself just how troubled she is. Each portion of the novel is either Caroline’s stories from 2004 and 2019 or Lila’s story from 2019. It is well written and although I am not a fan of horror as a genre, I found it to be compulsively readable. Thanks to Net Galley and St. martin’s Press for an ARC for an honest review.

This book definitely had a slow start, yet I am glad that I stuck with it. The mother and daughter's stories intertwine and connect as the daughter relives the mother's past. I struggled a bit with the characters at times. I felt that the daughter's sexuality just seemed off. She likes girls, but in an extravagant, offputting odd, weird way. This is not reality for anyone. The mother came across as cold and austere after all of her past and just seemed to have no personality. Her later character just felt flat although she was a creative character in her work life and in her art. These discrepancies just came off as distracting to the story and threw off the plot at times. I really struggled a bit with the ending and felt that it was a little too cut and dried after the tremendous build up. I guessed what was going on fairly quickly in the book. I definitely want to read more from this author and did find this to be well written. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

Not my usual fare as far as horror goes but this one grabbed me and left me reeling! Disorienting & dark, the atmosphere created is great! The message is loud and clear. I thought the ending could have been more rewarding and I was fully expected werewolves.

This book was disturbing at first. I’m fine with disturbing. That has nothing to do with my rating.

Young girls are going missing and wind up dead.

Suspense/mystery novel, right?
Wrong.

After the beginning of the book the kidnapping murders take a back seat to what becomes a journey through the disturbing inner workings of the minds of Caroline and her daughter Lila.

They are disturbed. They see things. Bad things. At first it is shocking. Then I found my way 3/4 of the way through the book wondering when the story is going to start.

This is a cross between suspense, psychodrama and fantasy.

I fully expected the characters to be revealed as werewolves or vampires early on. But nothing is revealed until the end of a long feeling journey that didn’t seem to get far from where it started.

#netgalley #suchaprettysmile

Tense page-turner with a bit of the supernatural and a dash of romance thrown in to keep things interesting. Definitely some unexpected developments along the way.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Publishing for the opportunity to review this book.

All families have secrets. But some secrets can kill you.

DeMeester presents us with a young girl on the cusp of womanhood named Lila. In many ways she is facing the chaos that young adulthood brings to many: a growing sense of her own sexuality and an unexpected attraction to her best friend; divorced parents, with a father who now lives out of state and has remarried and has a new baby; a mother, Caroline, with whom she shares a home and a growing fear that she may also share the genes that have made her mother a paranoid schizophrenic. When young girls are found butchered in the area, new feelings are awakened in Lila. Feelings of darkness, revenge, and delight.

But these events also awaken something in Caroline. Memories. And fears. Caroline has experienced similar murders before, and the mysterious serial killer known as The Cur. But her parents thought it best to let those things fade from her trauma-soaked memory, and now she is alone and needs to remember, before it is too late to protect her own daughter.

SUCH A PRETTY SMILE is a wonderfully tense book. DeMeester masterfully creates tension and dread that absolutely oozes out of the page and into the reader’s mind. The plot is well crafted and the characters easily move between every woman’s problems and the fantastical terros in a way that oftentimes leaves the reader questioning what is real and what is imagined. Or is it all real?

The book is written from the POV of both Caroline and Lila and the story is presented in a jumping timeline that is very well done. DeMeester keeps her secrets well hidden.

I appreciate that the book is written from a strong female point of view and uses the opportunity to highlight some of the very real damage that is inflicted by men in our society today. Kristi does a great job of speaking the truth of these realities and leaving the reader to decide how to feel about it.

I gave the book 4 stars because I left it wanting more. It is a pretty quick read, and I felt that there were sections of the book where the author told me something that I would rather that she had shown me. Another 50 pages used to flush out some of the background and more fully introduce characters who were more important that I at first realized would make this book a masterpiece.

SUCH A PRETTY SMILE is a well crafted and tension filled read that fan’s of horror should add to their to be read lists.

This took a long time to reveal what was actually going on, then kind of info-dumped a lot of it in the end. There are two main viewpoint characters and some flashbacks for one of them, and at least one thing that I thought was going to be a main plot point just kind of faded out near the end.
The author is good at setting the stage and making things seem creepy though. This might have been better as a movie than a novel.

Such a Pretty Smile
A Novel
by Kristi DeMeester
WOW. This was one wild, evil read. It is raw, full of naughty and insanity. Not the norm of books. The girl is crazy wild.