Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC. This is my honest review.
Now this was my type of revenger book. Our main character Vanessa was fired from her job because she has a ‘resting bitch face’. I mean how mad would you be if that happened to you? This was a whole new level of romance comedy but without the typical rom-com feel. I love that this book conquers real topics and can be serious. This is a total recommendation for those who want this life.

This book was just hilarious and petty as fuck. I literally was laughing out loud. Imagine getting fired because of your "resting-bitch-face" and coming up with a plan (with your best friends) to literally bring the whole company down. HAHAHA I absolutely loved it. If that little part of the premise doesn't make you want to read it... I don't know what will.

Witty, funny, and timely in the age of work from home Zoom calls. Enjoyable, but overall unmemorable read.

A fun, quirky read with women you would actually want to hang out with. Full of witty writing and a ton of laugh out loud moments. A bit unrealistic, but totally worth the read.

A refreshing and empowering read. This book encourages women to speak up and take control of their lives.
Many thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was an absolute delight. The combo of fun, charm, and steam paired with characters I'd want to hang out with made this the perfect summer read.

“you’re a crazy cat lady, but you only have rent-a-cats.”

Thank you Anastasia Ryan, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Telemarketer Vanessa Blair isn't in love with her job. It pays the bills and feeds her foster kittens, but offers only one other perk: her friendships with Jane and Trisha. But, as mind-numbing as her job is, things are about to get worse. Xavier Adams, her self-absorbed boss, calls Vanessa into the conference room and fires her. The reason? Her facial expressions. Apparently it doesn't matter that her sales numbers are stellar or that she organizes office events. After a girls' night of schnapps and imagining retribution, Vanessa awakens to find that Trisha is more literal than she thought, and has implemented a revenge strategy based on the classic business book The Art of War by Sun Tzu. At first, Vanessa wants nothing to do with it. She wants to file for unemployment and move on with her life, possibly with Carter Beckett, the cute, cat-loving unemployment rep assigned to her case. But when Xavier contests her unemployment and ruins her shot at her dream job, Vanessa is all in...

This was a cute read that made me laugh. I loved the friendships between the female characters. I did go into this book think it would have more romance. However, I would say it’s definitely more Women’s Fiction. There is a dual timeline that show events leading up to present time. My only complaint was that it sometimes felt like the book was kind of all over the place. I don’t know if it was the pacing or the transition between timelines, but something was throwing it off for me.

Book Rating: 3.5 stars

A cute light hearted story about a girl fired unreasonably and getting compensation and revenge. Enjoyed it somewhat though it’s not my usual style.

Ok in all honesty I chose this book because of the cover. A chick on a computer with her cat- whats not to love? Vanessa is fired from her job because of “her face”.. apparently faces matter when all you do is talk on the phone all day. After many drinks Vanessa and her friends plan to get back at her ex-boss and create chaos in the conference room. The narrators did a great job in this book! Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest feedback!

great book and such great characters. I enjoyed the mystery and some romance. I also enjoyed the journey of the characters. I didn't know what to expect with this book but I enjoyed it .

a quick, unremarkable read that I forgot nearly as soon as I was finished. It wasn't bad per se but there wasn't much that made it stand out.

Couldn't get through this one, unfortunately I just found the scenario to unbelievable in the age of "MeToo"

I am so glad I stuck with this book, because it turned out to be one of the better and funnier women's fiction novels I've read in the past five years.

I didn't really have high hopes after reading the first few chapters. There was the silly business at the main character's former job, from which she was fired for having essentially resting bitch face. The side characters were a bit much at times. The main character was far too quickly resigned to living underneath an overpass with her five foster kittens.

But. Just when I was ready to set this novel to the side and never pick it up again, something magical happened. It became so so funny. I laughed out loud multiple times. Which doesn't really happen all too often. This turned into a combination of a spy novel, a romance story, a revenge plot, just all the things all at once. And somehow it worked.

An absolute must-read for people who don't mind silly plots and quirky characters. I didn't think I was one of those people. This book turned me into one.

Vanessa is a telemarketer who doesn’t love her job, but does love her coworkers. When she is fired from her job for “her facial expressions”, she decides she needs to take action. She does so much for the company; top sales numbers, team player, and even organizes office events.

She decides to get even after a night of drinking with her friends and she was specifically told she shouldn’t apply for unemployment. But she finds out a lot by filing and meeting Carter, the cute unemployment rep assigned to her case. Seems like senior management wasn’t doing everything legally, including filing appropriate taxes.

The book is cute, but pretty unmemorable. Vanessa does borderline illegal things to get back at her boss. It was pretty funny that her resting bitch face is what cost her job. She does have cute banter with Carter and I loved that she loved to foster kittens. She was very passionate about rescuing and that was quite admirable. This book is good if you are a cat lover! 🐈😻🐈‍⬛🐱

Thank you to @sourcebookscasa for my gifted book and book themed toothbrush!

I was totally hooked by the title of this book. What woman hasn’t heard this line? I was all in without even having read the book blurb. Then, when I did, it got even better. I can totally sympathize with the main character Vanessa Blair. She graduated college with a degree in Latin and did not have a ton of career options. I love how the author sprinkled some Latin into the book. Vanessa got a job as a telemarketer and didn’t really like her job. Her boss was also a total weirdo. One day, Vanessa got fired for having a resting bitch face.

Vanessa lets her friends know what happened and also her mom. Everyone starts plotting revenge and one of Vanessa’s friends, Trisha, employs the Art of War on Sun Tsu against Xavier Adams, the boss. Vanessa’s mom also goes into action with the Bridge Brigade. Hilarity ensues. Vanessa gets an unemployment case manager. Who turns out to be nice, fun, hot and interesting. He unwittingly gets pulled into the plot. There is not too much romance in this book, but a smidge. However, the strength in this book lies with Vanessa staying true to herself and making the best out of a bad situation. It’s a feel good book with a lot of humor. I really enjoyed it.

If you’ve ever been a woman in the workforce, I think you’ll enjoy You Should Smile More by Anastasia Ryan. Although it’ll leave you frustrated and possibly plotting ways to exact revenge on coworkers and/or terrible bosses. If you’re anything like me, you’ll laugh and maybe want to cry and the ending will leave you grinning.

I haven’t seen this one around booksta much and this debut deserves some love. The best part of the story was the female friendships. And the foster kittens! So much cuteness. The story was light and funny but also addressed some very real issues of discrimination in the workplace.

There’s also a bit of a mystery to unravel and it’s all wrapped in humor. Parts of this book reminded me of the Finlay Donovan books. The characters are trying to do their own sleuthing, with the help of Vanessa’s mom and her hilarious friends and there are lots of lol moments.

Add this one to your TBR if you enjoy funny/satirical books about work (there’s a smidge of romance happening on the sidelines, but I wouldn’t call it a romcom), great friendships, and bringing down the patriarchy.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

I saw this on Instagram, got curious about it and I also liked the title. The story started out funny but after a while I lost interest. The pace slowed down and I'm a very inpatient reader, Also, things became a little to unreal :)

This was a quirky and off the wall book. I think this was a case of it’s not you it’s me. But I didn’t enjoy this book.

This book in 3 words: Clever. Light. Wild. 

Vanessa Blair, recently fired for her "resting bitch face", has too many cocktails with her girlfriends and accidentally jumpstarts a revenge plot. Directis, a telemarketer company, is all kinds of awful with unreachable goals, cringe team-building activities, and transparent disrespect among most employees. Vanessa is at a "what's next" stage, all the while learning more about Directis. 

First things first... The title? Nailed it. The cover? SWOON. Being someone who has been told "you should smile more" and "I should learn to tone down my face while in meetings", I couldn't request this book fast enough. 

Anastasia Ryan has created one of the most disgusting, ironic, and ridiculous characters in Xavier Adams. This always-barefoot-self-declared-prodigy is a compilation of every terrible boss story you've heard with a cherry on top. While Xavier is the worst, the character brings so many laughable moments. 

I enjoyed the relationships throughout: Vanessa and her close friends, the "bridge-brigade", Vanessa and her mother, the kittens, and we can't forget about Carter. Full of loyalty and glimpses of honest friendship, You Should Smile More nails it. 

You Should Smile More is a solid chick-lit story with tons of laugh out loud and "ARE YOU KIDDING" moments. It's an easy read and a perfect way to break up any of you heavy reads. For every reader with a bad boss, memories of those first jobs, toxic work culture, or practically selling your soul for the worst wage, this book is for you.

This title just spoke to me on a very deep level. And as much as I loved the title, I ended up loving the book. An absolute triumph.