Miranda Smith nails the vibe of nostalgic, late‑’90s slasher films—but flips the script with a polished, psychological thriller twist.

I give 4 stars and finished this book in 2 days! Was obsessed!

🔍 What Worked:
• Meta structure: The story is told in three layers—present-day, flashbacks from the Grad Night shoot, and excerpts from the original screenplay—creating a vivid, eerie layering .
• Atmospheric camp: There’s just enough homage to cheesy slasher tropes without tipping into parody. Smith balances tension with a knowing wink to horror fans .
• Character weight: Ella’s internal guilt and trauma come through authentically. She’s complex, emotional, and painfully human—especially as her world crashes down again .

⚠️ What Didn’t Fully Land:
• Pacing issues: The buildup is slow. For readers expecting an all‑out slasher experience, it unfolds more like a looming, fear‑driven drama than non‑stop kills until the final act .
• Twist delivery: Some reveals feel like dialogue dumps rather than cinematic twists, which may underwhelm if you’re craving gore and sudden shocks .

Still, it hits the mark for readers like me who love character-driven suspense wrapped in nostalgic horror flick aesthetics.

Will be posting my review on my instagram 8.31.25, good reads and fable 8.30.25.

I enjoyed this book. I'll admit, it took me a moment to get used to switching from present, to then, to the script of the film, but I absolutely loved having all three perspectives. It really added to the intrigue and suspense because so many people seemed to have motive, and we were getting to watch the timelines align with each other. I was trying to figure it out from the beginning and was still surprised when it was revealed. I loved the twist. It's both a nostalgic and relevant book. I love the comeback that 80s horror/slasher is making in the horror genre in the form of actors returning to the sets where it all began. The characters are realistic and I enjoyed that it showed both the success of some and the fall of others in the industry. The book was well written and I look forward to reading more from this author..

Thank you to the publisher for giving me the chance to read an early digital copy of Smile for the Cameras by Miranda Smith. Smile for the Cameras will be out in a few weeks, and if it isn't on you TBR, you need to make sure it is. This one is for fans of the final girls; if you loved movies like Scream and Nightmare on Street Elm Street that brought back the final girl time and time again, this one is for you. It is almost like a screenplay for one of those movies. It was good. I was entertained and it kept me coming back for me. It was hard to put down. Totally bingeable and it is the perfect book to binge read on a Saturday afternoon.

4.5/5!

Calling 90’s horror movie fans! This one is made for us!

This book is perfect if you love:
📷 Final girl tropes
📷 90’s slasher movies
📷 Hidden secrets that come to surface years later
📷 Nostalgia
📷 Revenge

Miranda Smith has cooked up an engaging and fast-paced story that brings readers to the set of the fictional cult-classic movie, Grad Night, in both present day for a cast reunion and the original filming with script excerpts throughout to bring the movie straight to the page. From the moment things kicked off, I knew I needed to know more about our main character, Ella Winters, and her co-stars. It’s clear that something tragic happened 20 years ago with all of them, but what was it, who knows about it, and are they in danger of that secret coming to life? Things progress quickly as the reunion starts to go awry and chaos breaks out for the cast.

I loved how Smith chose to weave our timelines together with key reveals happening just as the tension was at its breaking point. The storyline kept me on my toes making guesses about what had happened in both timelines and I was pleasantly surprised once the final details came out.

Smile For The Cameras pays homage to the campy feels of a 90’s horror movie in the best ways possible! There’s a bit of Scream mixed with I Know What You Did Last Summer mixed with commentary on the darker side of Hollywood.

Highly recommend!

This book gave me all the I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes! I loved the scenes in between the chapters & I loved how you thought you knew who it was but plot twist !! This was such a fun thrilling read!

#ad much love for the ALC @prhaudio #partner

A love book to horror movies and a fun read

It’s a reunion 20 years in the making. One that Ella Winters really wants nothing to do with - but with the promise of more acting gigs to come - she can’t turn this down. But there’s secrets based around what happened on that set - they all have something to hide. Something to run from.

The story is told in the now and then abut also has manuscript minis between every few chapters. While I normally hate dual timelines it works so well with this book. We get to see what happened in the past and how it ties into the current time.

We get all the locked-room feels but also get that scary moody woodsy vibe. The setting is just so perfect there’s nothing I’d change about it. The characters have depth and you will feel like you’re reading a true story. There was so much to Ella that I felt myself relating to her.

Back then Ella was the final girl - but will she have to truly survive this time around?

Memorable
Graduation by Vitamin C - It’s been forever ! Loved that song

🎧 The audio for this was simply amazing. Abigail Reno, Marwan Salama, Louisa Zhu, Vas Ell, Jeff Ebner all did a fantastic job bringing this book to life. The manuscript parts were expertly done and sound amazing. Sounds like a podcast.

Also sucks I had to wait and buy a copy but some got the book and didn’t even read it.

Ella was the final girl in Grad Night, and now, 20 years later, she’s being asked to film a reunion special with the rest of the cast. She’s hesitant though because of a secret she’s been keeping for all of these years. She left the spotlight and hasn’t spoken to anyone from the film in years because her main costars are the only people to know what really happened back then. Pretty soon, the past comes back with a vengeance though as secrets never stay buried. Told in multiple timelines intermixed with scenes from the movie, readers are immersed into this horror story from the beginning. The characters are believable, and the twists kept coming in the end to lead to a satisfying conclusion.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I went into this thinking I was going to love it, however it wasn't my favorite. I struggled to relate to any of the characters, and therefore didn't care too much about them. Not to mention, the action happened later in the book, which I expected there to be more in the beginning. Overall, it's okay, but it's not my favorite.

A creepy, good time! And I did NOT see that ending coming! Smile for the Cameras was my first Miranda Smith novel and definitely will not be my last!

Miranda Smith's Smile for the Cameras offers a moderately entertaining ride, leaning heavily on the classic slasher trope of a sole survivor returning to face past demons. The premise itself is compelling: Ella Winters, the "it girl" from the cult slasher Grad Night, is haunted by a secret from the set, only to find herself back in the thick of it when a reunion documentary turns deadly.
Smith does a good job of setting up the initial intrigue. The idea of the real horror being off-camera is a strong hook, and Ella's reluctance to re-enter the spotlight feels genuine. The tension builds reasonably well as the cast reunites at the familiar, eerie cabin. However, once the "villain" in the Grad Night costume starts picking off cast members, the story settles into a somewhat predictable rhythm. While the mystery of who knows their secret and who's behind the killings keeps things moving, the scares themselves don't quite land with the punch one might hope for in a slasher-inspired tale.
Ultimately, Smile for the Cameras is a serviceable thriller that doesn't quite live up to its full potential. It’s an easy read for those who enjoy a bit of Hollywood intrigue mixed with a classic whodunit, but it won't leave you sleeping with the lights on.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Smile for the Cameras gave me that 90s slasher-horror vibe and Miranda Smith did a great job at setting the scene for a new kind of horror story. It gave major Scream vibes as well. I will say I never saw that ending coming! The characters were a bit hard to keep track of, thanks ADHD, but I managed to follow the story as it was pretty well paced. The only thing I will say that made me give it 4 stars as opposed to 5 is the ending, IYKYK, just kinda random-and how did that all work out perfectly for that character? It was a little convoluted I mean, and like with any slasher fic, the dialogue could be very cheesy at times, but the author made it work. I literally could not guess this ending and that’s a rarity. This book was so much fun! Can’t wait to see what this author comes out with next!

What a fun, bloody time! I LOVE me a good slasher story to begin with, so add in the element of 90's horror and media nostalgia and it was the perfect combo for me. This book kept me engaged throughout and its multilayered story is one I could see a lot of readers enjoying. I absolutely loved the elements of the original movie transcript that were woven into the alternating timeline chapters and while at first the timeline somewhat confused me, I quickly caught up and could easily tell which was which. This would be the perfect read for any thriller lover looking to pick up something a little more horror-leaning, while still delivering on the fast-paced plot! Definitely recommend picking up during spooky season if you are able.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bantam books for my early review copy!

An actress desperate to reclaim her fame must survive the real-life plot of the horror movie that made her famous? Say less—I was hooked from the start.

Smile for the Cameras is a psychologically twisted, locked-room thriller that gives major Scream meets I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes. It’s packed with slasher nostalgia, juicy secrets, and a suspenseful plot that kept me turning pages late into the night.

What I loved most was the creative way the actual movie script was woven into the book. It gave insight into the original film that brought these characters together and added an extra layer of tension as the story unfolded in the “real world.” A reunion in a secluded cabin in rural Tennessee? Absolutely the perfect eerie setup.

The characters were well developed, and the deeper we got into their secrets, the more I couldn’t stop reading. Everyone had something to hide, and it made for an incredibly addictive, twisty read.

This is perfect for fall and spooky season—I already know I’ll be re-reading it when the leaves start turning and the horror movie marathons begin.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed Smile for the Cameras and would recommend. It was a page turner & kept me guessing the entire time. Thank you to NetGalley!

This book was so boring. The premise sounded so intriguing, but the execution fell completely flat for me. There was so much padding that it felt like the real action didn’t even start until around page 200. And when it finally did, it led to a cringe-worthy villain monologue that managed to be both ridiculous and boring at the same time.

Honestly, a lot of this could’ve been cut entirely. I’m disappointed because the idea had so much potential, but it just didn’t deliver.

The book starts off strong and has a cool, nostalgic feel with all the flashbacks and fake script bits, but honestly, the middle dragged for me. It felt like not much was happening for a while, and I started losing interest in some of the characters. The ending twist was just okay...I kind of guessed part of it, and the rest didn’t totally make sense. Still, it was a fun, popcorn-style thriller that I didn’t take too seriously. If you're into horror movies and don’t mind a few clichés, it's worth a quick read, but it didn’t blow me away.

Years ago Ella played the Final Girl role in a movie called Grad Night. Now, Ella is trying to make a comeback by participating in a reunion special.
Unfortunately some crazy stuff begins to happen again. Who is out to get the cast? Why did they wait so long for revenge?

Honestly I didnt connect with the characters. I didn't feel for the characters or have any attachment.
It made it hard to get invested in the book.

It's fast paced. Easy read.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a great concept and while I liked certain aspects of it, it didn't always hold my attention. I did like the slasher/horror movie vibe of it and how all the actors came together after 20 years. Some parts just dragged and bored me but other than that, fun read!

This was a fun time! It's like a mash up of Scream (masked & robed killer) and The Last Time I Lied (90's camp slasher setting). We're following final girl actress Ella who is trying to reclaim her fame after her famous role in a slasher film called Grad Night. Something terrible happened during filming of the movie and none of the cast has ever spoken about it since. Now they are all coming back together at the original cabin setting where Grad Night was filmed to make a reunion documentary. We get two timelines in the story. One is "then" when they filmed the original movie and what tragedy transpired at that time. The other is "now" when they are filming the reunion documentary and people start getting murdered and their secrets are flushed out. I really enjoyed both timelines and felt they worked cohesively together. I like that the story touches on real life secrets and horrors that can happen in the Hollywood scene. It's fast paced and has great suspense. Solid thriller!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. #SmilefortheCameras #NetGalley

This book was pure nostalgic slasher gold—with just enough grit and psychological tension to make it so much more than a popcorn thriller.

From the jump, Smile for the Cameras taps into that eerie, irresistible space where 90s horror and Hollywood secrets collide. But let’s be clear: this isn’t just a “fun reunion goes wrong” trope. It’s layered. It’s smart. It’s about fame, regret, survival—and how the role you once played might end up defining your whole life… especially when that life is built on a lie.

Ella Winters was the final girl—iconic, traumatized, unforgettable. But now? She’s older, quieter, hardened by guilt, and completely unprepared to face what’s waiting for her back at the original set of Grad Night. The reunion starts off like a VH1 special and quickly devolves into something darker, bloodier, and way more personal. I had chills watching the cast members get picked off one by one—each death feeling like it was pulled straight from the original script and their real-life past.

Miranda Smith nails the tension. Every chapter pulses with dread, but what really sets this book apart is the emotional undercurrent. Ella’s guilt is not performative. It’s earned. And the deeper we get into the story, the more you start to ask yourself the same question she’s been asking for decades: What actually happened that night—and who really paid the price?

Also, bonus points for a villain reveal that didn’t just surprise me—it made sense. That’s rare in thrillers, and it made the payoff so much more satisfying.

If you loved Scream, devoured Riley Sager’s Final Girls, and like your thrillers with a strong female lead who doesn’t just survive—she fights—then go ahead and add this to your TBR. You won’t regret it.