If you are into slasher movies circa the 1980's, this summer thriller should be right up your alley! Years ago, Ella Winters made a name for herself in a sleeper horror film that took place in the Tennessee mountains. The cast largely became famous from the hit, and eventually went their separate ways afterwards to continue their careers.....all with the exception of Ella. Shortly after the film became famous, Ella left the Hollywood scene entirely in order to take care of her ailing mother. At least....that is what she claims. However, only Ella and her cast mates know the truth of what happened on that last, fateful night of shooting. Something so horrific and life altering that the cast is forced to split up, wanting to put that night behind them.....forever.

Now, twenty years later, the cast is getting back together at the same cabin in order to host a reunion documentary. Ella is apprehensive at first, but after the death of her mother, she is determined to resurrect her career. As the weekend begins, it becomes clear that someone attending the reunion weekend did not forget about the horrible events of that night. Not only that, but they are determined to get revenge. As the weekend goes on, dead bodies begin to pile up, in the same manner as they did in the fictional movie. Ella is terrified. It becomes clear that the perpetrator will stop at nothing to right a past wrong. Can Ella figure out who is seeking revenge and save herself, before it is too late?

This was a fairly entertaining read. Although it did lack a lot of depth, I was still very curious to see how it ultimately panned out. It would make an excellent summer beach read, and will inevitably have you guessing until the very end.

I love slasher films, so I was so excited to get to preview Smile for the Camera! Our Final Girl, Ella, reluctantly agrees to film a reunion documentary about her debut role in the smash hit Grad Night. When she arrives at the original location to start filming, the atmosphere is tense; the reuniting cast is harboring a dark secret from the last night of shooting.
Atmospheric and moody, solid writing, a good, if cliched, plot and the typical cast of characters. Not a great tome, but a tasty treat for any slasher film fan.

Smile for the Camera is a book for lovers of slasher horror and rooting for the final girl.  In this book, we meet Ella, who was the final girl in a 20 year old slasher film that still has a cult following.  After a break from show business to care for her mom, she is trying to get back into show business, and is reluctantly convinced by her agent to participate in a reunion show with the other original cast members.  We quickly learn that there was a real life horror event that the cast has been trying to live with or forget.

The book has a good pace as it switches between the past and the present, introducing us to the cast and crew, while also becoming acquainted with the movie characters.   To increase the authenticity of the reunion, the original cast and crew are participating and we learn that they have all dealt with their dark secret in different ways.  We also experiance all the different personalities you'd see in a slasher film - the virginal final girl, the jock, the slut and the nice guy, but we also get a glimpse of the arrogant director and behind the scenes trials. 

I like the character and plot development, and the ending does have some unexpected twists.  I had a moment where I had to go back a page or two to make sure I read something right because I was so surprised.  I did think it felt like the fact that there was an incident was a little dragged out as we were more than half way through the book before details were revealed, but it was worth the wait as it did all tie together well. 

I recommend this book and thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the advanced copy.

Twenty years ago, Ella made a name for herself in Hollywood as the final girl in Grad Night. After years away from the spotlight, Ella is ready to get in front of the camera again. When her agent convinces Ella to be part of the Grad Night reunion, Ella travels to the rural cabins where the original movie was filmed. There, she must face her former castmates and the secrets she left on set. During the last night of filming, someone dressed as the Grad Night villain starts killing the actors in the same manner as their characters died. It looks like someone is determined to find out what secrets the cast of Grad Night is hiding.

It seems that I am in a slasher mood when it comes to reading lately. This has been one of my favorite slasher thrillers I read recently. I enjoyed the dual timelines as we uncover the secrets the cast was hiding from the original set and discover why someone wants revenge twenty years later. Although this book has a slow beginning, the story picks up once the bodies start dropping leading to a dramatic conclusion. Although I thought I had figured out who was behind everything, I was completely surprised by the ending.

Smile for the Cameras is out June 24th.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Balentine for the opportunity to review Smile for the Cameras. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Twenty years ago, Ella Winters made a name for herself in Hollywood as the final survivor in a cult-classic slasher called Grad Night. When the cameras weren't rolling - something terrible happened that Ella and her costars agreed to never speak of again. After two decades away from the screen, Ella has decided to return to the screen. Ella finds her ticket back into Hollywood filming a reunion documentary with the cast and crew of Grad Night. As the cast and crew reunite at the original set, a rural cabin in Tennessee, things turn deadly and secrets are exposed.

Told in alternating now/then timelines, Smile for the Cameras tells the tale of the original filming twenty years ago and the current day reunion documentary. A feature I enjoyed about this book was that the original movie script was also put in between the chapters. It was fun reading the script as you get all of the typical 90s slasher vibes as Grad Night has all of the tropes horror movies are known to follow. I liked that the setting for both timelines was the same one, a movie set at a secluded lakeside cabin.

The pacing was one aspect I struggled with as the action doesn't start until the 60% mark. So it is safe to say it is a slow-burn up until that point, which I struggled with. I also struggle with when books elude to a dark secret the entire book, it gets incredibly repetitive. I would rather it be discussed shortly and then jump right into the reveal of the past secret and then the core action. There was a twist at the end that did make me audibly gasp, which I did not see coming!

Ella is the “final girl” from a 90s slasher film called Grad Night and she is back for a reunion after twenty years. Ella doesn’t want to go back, but if she doesn’t her career will never move forward. Someone knows what happened twenty years ago and we are uncovering the truth one page at a time. There are two timelines one from Grad Night and the second from the reunion. I really liked this book and the nostalgic feeling it gave me

Smile for the Camera is a fun slasher thriller about a group of actors who come back together for a reunion after 20 years. The split wasn’t just friends growing apart either. Something bad happened and their secrets are coming back to haunt them. Overall, I enjoyed this one. I loved the 90’s slasher vibes and the idea behind the story. While some of it was a little slow for me, I found it to be an all-around good read that I was able to get through quickly!

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.5 rounded up)

A nostalgic nod to '90s slasher films, this locked-room thriller delivers suspense and unexpected twists. As former scream queen Ella Winters reunites with her old cast, eerie parallels to their past roles emerge, blurring fiction and reality. A gripping read that keeps you guessing until the final page

This book had so much potential but unfortunately for me it did not deliver. The shocks were not shocking and the twists were not twisting. It was just a very meh story. Maybe it was my fault for having high expectations.

2.5 ⭐️- As a fan of slasher, I was excited to read this book. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. What I did enjoy were the premise, the dual timelines told partially through the original movie script and I really liked the writing.
Where this lost me was the overly emotional stream of consciousness which ultimately didn't make me like or care for these characters.
For a book about slshers, there wasn't enough of it, aside from the retelling of the original film.
I thought the concept was unique and could've been incredible, but the slow burn aspect of it and the twist were not enough to make me love it.
Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC. These opinions are my own.

I was really looking forward to this one! I loved the nostalgic 90's horror vibes and the fun concept. It grabbed my attention from the start but it just didn’t fully land for me. The pacing was slow, the twists were pretty predictable, and I couldn’t really connect with the characters. I kept waiting to be pulled in, but it never fully happened. It had a lot of potential, but overall it felt a little flat.

WOW! What a lovesong to horror movies and slashers. This was so cinematic and exceptionally plotted. I could not put it down and I loved the nice touch of the script of Grad Night throughout the novel. What a twist!

GOD I LOVED THIS BOOK! Ever since the end of the Indian Lake trilogy (hail Jade Daniel’s and SGJ!) I have been jonesing for a good slasher. I mean, Friday the 13th is a comfort movie for me! When I’m stuck writing, that movie shakes things loose. So imagine my utter delight at reading this book! It absolutely ticked all the boxes when it comes to the classic slasher. And I loved the setting too. It doesn’t get any better than a movie set! The characters were amazing, especially Ella. She really came out swinging with her character arc! I actually got so into this book that I didn’t even see the ending coming. Yes, I knew slashery stuff was going to happen, but I absolutely did not see that explanation for it all coming! Absolutely incredible job of channeling the classic horror/slasher vibes. Miranda Smith, you are 100% an auto buy for me from now on!

Huge thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

Thank you for giving me the opportunity on reading this arc ! I had a really fun time reading this one ! I genuinely felt like I was in a movie as the final girl , I love a good slasher book and this was well executed! I’m definitely going to read more books by Miranda !

This book was fun but slightly predictable. It definitely gave off early ‘90s vibes. The concept was highly stylized and campy. I can totally see this book as a feature film someday. The main character was impressive and had a strong, singular voice. I saw the ending coming from a million miles away, but I enjoyed this fast paced and zany ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine for a complimentary early release copy of Smile For The Cameras by Miranda Smith.

When it comes to the slasher troupe in books Smile For The Cameras is the exact kind of read that I’m looking when it comes to that subject. This was a quick enjoyable read! I loved both past and present perspectives plus the little screenplay scenes of the movie they made was a nice addition. I was always excited to get to those little scenes and I really enjoyed them! I found both timelines of events to be equally as thrilling, I liked getting to be able to see how things played out in the past. The characters were fascinating to follow, I liked Ella and the other cast members as well as a few of the crew members. I’m really happy with the choice to keep the characters names the same as the movies names, I think that was a really smart choice because I could definitely see myself becoming confused trying to remember who played who.

Smile For The Cameras was a great thrilling slasher, it had plenty of gory kills and a well throughout storyline. I genuinely thought that I had things figured out at the end but then things had gone in a completely different direction. I’m very pleased with how things played out in this book and the way things had ended. I throughly liked the writing, characters, and the twist! The twist was definitely twisty!

20 years ago, Ella Winters made a name for herself as a scream queen when she starred as the final girl in cult horror slasher classic Grad Night. During filming, something terrible happened on the set that she and her cast mates swore never to speak of again. Today, Ella is invited to join the rest of the cast for a reunion special. She reluctantly agrees, hoping to get another chance at an acting career, so she goes to the original filming location in a remote cabin in the Tennessee woods. But once again, it all goes terribly wrong. When cast members begin to meet the same grisly fates as their on-screen characters, it becomes clear that their carefully guarded secret is out, and someone is seeking revenge.

This is a super fun, fast-paced, delightfully campy thriller perfect for fans of classic slasher movies. Who doesn’t love a great Final Girl narrative? Ella herself is the perfect final girl—personality-wise, she kind of falls under the radar, but she finds an inner strength that no one else can. I loved her character, and I also quite enjoyed the rest of the cast. Each character is a unique take on classic archetypes in slasher movies, and each one has a lot to bring to the table.

I do think that there are pacing problems here. There’s a dual timeline (past and present) which mostly works, but I wish that we had learned more about what the big secret is before the 70% mark. If I didn’t like the characters themselves so much, I might have chosen to DNF because of that, but I’m glad I stuck with it because I did end up enjoying it overall.

Ella Winters made a horror movie many years ago and became famous off of it known as The Final Girl. She goes back for a reunion and it seems the movie is coming to life. Great book

Really enjoyable book that was well written with a great cast of characters! Great atmosphere and tension throughout the book up until the ending, which was awesome! A really fun and atmospheric thriller!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC of Smile for the Cameras!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
🎥 have ever wanted to be in a movie
🔪 love slasher films
🤫 can keep a secret
👻 ever see things that aren’t there

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Twenty years ago, Ella Winters was the it girl. She made a name for herself in Hollywood and throughout America as the sole 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.

Since 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 an express 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 more than a decade. But when the actors begin to meet the same gruesome fates as the characters they originally played, falling victim to someone dressed as the Grad Night villain, it’s clear their secret is out.

Now, the question is: Can the final girl survive one last nightmare?

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

I was so excited for this one, but sadly I was a bit letdown. The pacing was just a bit too slow for my tastes, and I considered DNFing a few times. I’m glad that I didn’t, as I really wanted to know who the bad guy was. I was also shocked by the twist, as I just didn’t see it coming. My favorite parts of the story were when they were filming in the past, as I feel like I learned a few things about what it’s like to be on set. I also enjoyed the movie, and would love to see it actually made into a full length film! Overall, this one just slightly missed the mark for me, but if you love campy slasher films, then you’ll probably love this one!