Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Publication Date: June 24th, 2025


Synopsis:

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 '90s slasher films.

Twenty years ago, Ella Winters was the it girl. She made a name for herself in Hollywood and throughout America as the final survivor in the cult-classic slasher Grad Night. But the real horror is what happened when the cameras weren’t rolling—something terrible that Ella and her co-stars agreed never to speak of again. Shortly after the movie's premiere, Ella disappeared from the acting scene under the pretense of caring for her ailing mother, hoping for a quiet life out of the spotlight to ease her guilty mind.

Now, after her mother’s passing, Ella has decided to return to the silver screen. And with the cast and crew of Grad Night in the process of filming a reunion documentary, Ella has the perfect ticket back into Hollywood's good graces. Weighed down by the secret she’s been keeping all these years, Ella apprehensively makes the trip to the original set—a cabin in rural Tennessee—to reunite with her castmates for the first time in over a decade. But when the actors begin to meet the exact gruesome fates of the characters they originally played, falling victim to someone dressed as the Grad Night villain, it's clear their secret is out.

Review:

”Countless women are victimized because the sad reality is, we don’t have better options. Cole knows that and exploits it.”

I tend to gravitate towards thrillers that take place or revolve around movie sets, so it was a given that this would catch my eye. the biggest similarity would be to Friday the 13th, and I Know What You Did Last Summer but do keep in mind that the slashing doesn’t actually occur until the last section of the book. Ella was the final girl in a movie called Grad Night years ago, where her and the other cast members held on to a pretty terrible secret. the whole cast is roped into returning for a reunion special by the original director Cole, with things slowly starting to unravel form there.

Fans of old-school slasher movies, rejoice: Miranda Smith has reimagined the genre in novel form, adding elements of the isolation thriller for even more shiver-inducing fun. When the cast of the cult classic "Grad Night" gather for a long-awaited reunion documentary, final girl Ella Winters begins to fear the dark secret she kept with her costars may finally come to light. The present-day timeline is interspersed with excerpts from the movie's screenplay, creating an experience so immersive that you'll want to grab some popcorn and dim the lights. I loved this one.

Thank you to Random House for my copy of SMILE FOR THE CAMERAS.

I really enjoyed this one. It’s got some great tropes and an ending I didn’t see coming. I highly recommend this one.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantine for the book #SmileForTheCameras by #MirandaSmith. I love final girl movies and this one is super good. Ella made her big acting debut 20 years ago with ‘Grad Night’, but something happened on their last night of the movie and they all swore to secrecy. Present day and they are all back together filming a reunion documentary. This time, the actors are dying the same way as in the movie. Can Ella survive in real life and who is killing everyone?

Smile For The Cameras; female empowerment in the form of a horror whodunit, straight out of 90s slasher flicks, takes thrilling twists by placing complex protagonists at the center of a horror movie mystery. Cast members reunited in celebration of the franchise that made most of them famous, realizing not all secrets stay buried. When they find themselves targeted by a masked killer reminiscent of an iconic slasher villain from their famous movie, will they uncover the identity of the murderer or be consumed by the terror in the woods? Author Miranda Smith offers not just twisty suspense and yell-out-loud moments, but also dives into survivalist empowerment. Perfect for fans of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Thank you, NetGalley, author Miranda Smith, and publisher Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine/Bantam, for the thrilling opportunity to read this suspenseful perfection and give my honest opinion.

From the moment I read the description, I knew I needed to read Smile for the Cameras. There is nothing I love more than a good final girl moment -- so for all those fans of Scream and Final Girls, this one is for you!!! Miranda Smith delivered the perfect nostalgic slasher thriller for 2025!

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

I had some books ahead of this one to get through but with this synopsis and the tropes, I couldn’t help but break into this one right away and reading this in the summertime, I just HAD to, it felt right lol. When the studio of a big slasher movie wants to reunion up after 20 years have passed but the actors have secrets buried and the previous set is turning into living nightmare money may not be worth it. If you loved SCREAM then you’d definitely loves the vibes and lore in this book. This is 90’s final girl in the best way. This book alternates from past to present which is a good time as well. A quick eat it up horror-gore-slasher read that needs to be on our TBR. Ready for what’s next from Smith.

𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: Horror, 90’s Slasher, Dual Timelines, SCREAM vibes, Fast Paced

Large thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well as Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam

I was excited to get into this book, but it just fell a bit short for me. It did not keep me invested or interested in the middle. I will sure keep watch for this author again and give them another try.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read.
3 star

Smile for the Cameras is a slick, smartly nostalgic thriller that pulls in fans of slashers and meta horror. It builds suspense with its layered structure, keeps you guessing with its characters, and leans into the genre in a playful, knowing way. A slightly slow start and a final reveal that might not hit the mark for everyone keep it from perfection—but not by much.

If you like horror that feels both referential and fresh—with a mix of old-school slasher camp, psychological weight, and behind-the-scenes intrigue—this one’s a solid pick.

Smile For The Cameras by Miranda Smith, I have read and loved books by Miranda Smith and look so forward to reading this one. The problem comes in because this book was written by someone used to writing on historical natural non-fiction and not the Miss Smith I was expecting. Having said that the beginning of this book was in my opinion really good despite Ella’s bland generic personality and many things in the book that seemed unbelievable from the beginning, such as someone leaving there elusive acting career to tend to the sick mother right in the middle of their prime sounds so unbelievable but that was just the first eye roll of dozen and dozens of eye roles. I thought she really did a great job with them as teenagers but when they return 20 years later to do a reunion interview for their smash hit Grad Night, it felt as if they were the same people with no growth. not to mention the book was told one chapter from the past and one from current day in both head basically the same characters which in my opinion made it confusing because when someone dug up a body and said who it was I was shocked because I thought she was alive and well and back at the house but no that was 20 years before. I also thought they had a lot of weak plot points I finished the book and although the perpetrator was a total surprise to me because I did not at all see that coming. I still can only rate this three stars if you like slasher thrillers just know there is a lot of slashing in the book it is just light on the thrills. I wouldn’t say the author is talentless I would just say she needs a really good friend who will be honest with her and maybe a riding group she could bounce thoughts off of because this really could’ve been a really good read. #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #MirandaSmith,#smileForTheCameras,

This book had such a fun premise. Basically, a group of teen actors were part of a cult horror hit and come back together as adults for another movie.

This one had lots of twists and turns and I generally enjoyed it. I think those that like 90s horrors movie will like the nostalgia this one brings.

I chose Smile for the Camera due to my fondness for books featuring movies or TV shows. However, this one left me a little disappointed; it was too slow for my liking, and I didn't really care for any of the characters. Also the book is pretty predictable, and I wasn't shocked by any of the reveals. It did keep me entertained, and if the synopsis sounds interesting to you, then I think you should try it!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

If you know me personally, you’ll know that this is my favorite kind of horror book: fake horror movie and the real horrifying things that happened on set or while filming. It’s in reference to the spooky lore that has come out of the making of films like the Exorcist and Poltergeist. Don’t ask me why I love it; it just tickles my fancy.
Our main character debuted and starred at 18 years old in a cult classic horror film before disappearing to take care of her ill mother. At least, that’s what she tells people. Her and the rest of the cast share a horrible secret that happened the last night of filming and planned on never speaking of it again. However, an up and coming film director would very much like to reunite the cast for the anniversary of the film, with everyone in complete agreement. Little do they know, someone outside of their circle from that night knows exactly what went down — and will go to any lengths to get revenge.
This book takes nods from classic slasher flicks like Scream and Friday the 13th, complete with final girls. I thought I had figured out all the beats of the story but nothing would prepare me for the complete and utter satisfaction of the ending.
TW include but not limited to: mild sexual content, sexual harassment (on page), violence, murder, brief depiction of mutilation, sexual assault (off page; briefly described), death by overdose (on page)
Solid book; 4/5 stars

This book was campy horror fun and I found myself flying through it. It had some timeline shifts and unreliable narrators and a secret that doesn't get fully teased into the light until the end of the book. I really enjoyed reading this one and can't wait for more from this author!

Such a cool cover & concept but lacked a bit for me. Had so much potential and was hoping to love it but it was just okay. The beginning moved very slow, and the characters were uninteresting. Still enjoyed parts, and appreciate the opportunity to read it.

Although this book is supposed to be in the horror genre, I was excited to read it due to the Scream vibes it seemed to give! I read this all in one sitting! Even when I thought I had the killer figured out, there was a twist I didn't see coming. I would read more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC for exchange for my honest opinion.

Great book to read if you’re looking for a slasher style read but less gory. I enjoyed the premise, setting and the back and forth POV between, Now, then and the movie. I did struggle with the pacing and I wanted more “action” to happen throughout the book rather than towards the end. The characters were unlikable in my opinion.

This was a solid slasher thriller read and I hope it becomes a movie.

omggggg this book was WILD...

I was guessing every minute of the book and the twist was SO SHOCKING and I didn't predict it AT ALL....

I loved the vibes of this book and I thought it was the perfect vibes for a spooky summer season. If you love summer vibe slashers.. this book is FOR YOU!

Actual rating: 3.5 (may round up but unsure) — I enjoyed this overall a lot but there were times I wasn’t as into it. I was intrigued by the plot and wanted to see where it went and it played out pretty well. I really enjoyed getting chapters from the original script, the past during filming, and current timeline for the reunion. It was so fun getting to see all these vantage points and seeing what the original film was about and digging into the mystery of what they covered up. This book did have some slower parts for me where I just wanted to uncover what had happened and speed up where we get to the mystery and suspenseful parts, but at half way is when it really picked up. The twist was something I didn’t see coming at all and I loved that it took me by surprise. It was a pretty big let down when it was revealed who was behind everything (the murders, gathering the original cast together at the same setting as the film). It just seemed out of place to me and I thought it would’ve been someone closer to the case/film. I did like the ending overall and all the other reveals that came out and seeing it play out with some justice involved. I like getting a chapter in the future after some time has passed since that gives us more answers into what happened after everything.

I received a digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Miranda Smith for this novel!

Well that plot twist was LAMEEEEE

The last half of the book felt very soap opera-y and just wayyyyy too unbelievable. It wrapped up so fast it almost felt like there was no conflict at all.

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.