As someone who grew up on a steady diet of '80s and '90s slasher films—Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Halloween—Miranda Smith’s Smile for the Cameras delivered exactly the kind of thrill I was hoping for when I picked up this book. From the very first chapter, it gave me those nostalgic, spine-tingling vibes of masked stalkers, eerie settings, and secrets that just won’t stay buried.

The plot is well-crafted and kept me guessing without ever feeling convoluted. Smith manages to strike that perfect balance between suspense and character development, keeping the pacing steady and engaging throughout. There’s no dragging or unnecessary filler here—every chapter serves the story.

What stood out most to me the most was the writing itself. Crisp, atmospheric, and loaded with just the right amount of dread, Smith proves she knows her genre inside and out. It’s cinematic without being over-the-top, and the final act had me flipping pages late into the night. As a teacher who's on summer break, I stayed up all night to finish this book! I was glad I didn't have to get up and teach the next morning! I couldn't put it down.

Smile for the Cameras is a perfect summer read—fast, fun, and just scary enough to keep the lights on. If you’re a fan of classic slashers with a fresh, modern voice, this one should definitely be on your radar. 4.5 stars, I am going to round up!!

Smile for the Cameras is a fun, fast-paced read with all the glossy, over-the-top flair of a ’90s slasher flick. I really enjoyed the campy setup and the meta-horror angle, which felt true to the genre it pays homage to. While the twist didn’t quite land for me and the final stretch got unnecessarily convoluted, the ride up to that point was engaging and full of nostalgic thrills.

Thank you so much to Random House and Miranda Smith for my copy of this book! It was about Ella, a famous final girl from a horror slasher Grad Night that debuted twenty years ago. Now, the studio wants to do a reunion, but Ella and her co-stars agreed to never return to where a real horror took place, the set. Ella hasn’t been back in the acting world for years, but she needs the money and, after losing her mother, thinks it’s time to return. But the secrets she and the rest of the cast are keeping are threatening to come out, and someone wants to make them pay. When people in the remote location start to meet the same gruesome fates as the movie, they know their secret is out and time is running out.

Thoughts: What an amazing homage to the horror genre. This book was the perfect combination of eerie and tropey and full of horror and gore. I loved the way it talked about Hollywood and the movie industry, specifically focusing on women and the issues they deal with. I thought the story was timely and interesting, especially with a reunion being filmed at the location of the movie’s set. I liked Ella as a main character, as well as the other main cast and their backstories.

I thought the ending was very slasher- over the top in the best way. It wasn’t believable at all and that’s what I loved the most about it. I felt like I was watching Scream for the first time and it made me so happy when the twist came out. I loved this book and if you love the horror genre, you will too. 5-stars!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC i was really excited to read this one the synopsis sounded like a book i would want to read so when i went into it i had high hopes and i will say this one definitely was a good one.. This novel was very slasher vibes and campy at times and had a great batch of characters and a lot of twists and turns which i really enjoyed i love how this novel took place back when something happen at a movie set and we flash back and fourth between present day and then. However the book starts by our main lead struggling in her career and getting the chance to go back to film a reunion for the hit movie they were in years ago so she’s very hesitant to go back to a place with secrets that the whole cast was protecting from ever coming out and stuff so we will find out if they successfully do that or if a lot of the stuff spirals into chaos. I really enjoyed our main lead as well as the other characters and a lot of the characters had storylines as well so it was nice and we also see the script they did etc and those were also cool chapters i enjoyed it and felt like the reader was on the set with them as well. I can’t say much in my review without spoiling because a lot happened in this book and just when you think you knew what was going to happen something else happened. Glad i read this one.

Cool concept, meh execution.

I was ready for a nostalgic slasher ride aging final girl, creepy reunion, buried secrets but the tension fizzled fast. The kills are predictable, the “big twist” is obvious, and the characters feel one-note. It tries to say something about fame and trauma, but never digs deep. Quick chapters made it easy to get through, but overall, it felt like a low-budget reboot that should’ve stayed in the vault.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I really wanted to love Smile for the Cameras — the premise was intriguing and the Hollywood setting had lots of potential. Unfortunately, the execution fell flat for me. The pacing dragged in several places, and the plot felt unnecessarily convoluted. I also had a hard time connecting with the main character; her motivations and decisions often didn’t make sense, and I found myself frustrated more than invested.

There were moments of clever dialogue and some sharp observations about fame and media, but they weren’t enough to carry the story. Overall, this felt like a missed opportunity.

I really enjoyed this! As someone who will tell anyone she is a fan of horror, I really love the aspect of showing how women play such a huge part in making horror work while also enlightening a lot of the issues that have been prevalent in the film industry, specifically horror. I would definitely recommend this to people who are fans of the classics like Friday the 13th, Halloween, scream - but who appreciate all it has taken to build the genre to what we see today & hopefully to a better future within the film industry.

I have enjoyed several of this author’s books and this one was good. Interesting plot that kept me engaged from the start and a satisfying ending. I look forward to reading more of her books.

Totally run time vibes
From the moments characters start to disappear you absolutely know something its really really wrong
This book its absolutely feeling and leave a deliciously euphoria feeling and desire to know who its behind all the mess happening?
Great
Simply great

Reminiscent or cult horror movies vibes, I was hoping for so much more. This just felt…meh. To start, nothing really happened for the first half of the story. I was hoping for more character-building or even creepy slasher-filled vibes. When the slashing did begin, I didn’t care about any of the characters. Part of the reason cult-classic horror movies get their recognition is the connection with the characters. I didn’t feel anything for any of them…positive or negative.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Bantam for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Smile for the Cameras will really appeal to those of us who grew up with movies like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, and if you didn’t, it still indulges imaginations wondering not only what would happen if something really did happen (on set) but anyone who loves a solid mystery set amongst the intrigue of stardom.

Ella put her easy path to fame on hold twenty years ago to take care of her mother, and hide from a traumatic event, despite her final girl role in the b movie Grad Night, becoming a classic. She had a little involvement in the industry but is only now really wanting to continue acting in movies. Unfortunately her Agent is adamant that to do that she needs to join her cast and much of the original crew back on the set to film a reunion special. And also unfortunately it seems someone out there knows what happened during the last filming and is going to use this one to wreak revenge.

This appeals to my nostalgia but is also a really tightly written mystery. Even twists that I might normally consider cheap were very well done in the story and just made sense. I also appreciated the scenes and flashbacks from the original filming, everything was very well done and sure to appeal to a wide range of ages.

Total “I Know What You Did Last Summer Vibes” make this a perfect summer read. Told in the past and present, this story also includes scripted scenes from the fictional movie that sets the scene for this book. The identify of the killer wasn’t even the biggest twist at the end of this story. Highly recommend for a weekend away or a late at night read. Would love to see this as a movie or miniseries.

I was really intrigued by the setup of Smile for the Cameras—a former scream queen returning to the scene of her iconic horror film for a documentary, only for the nightmare to start all over again? Total Scream meets I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes, and I loved that about it.

The alternating timelines between past and present, plus the inclusion of the movie script excerpts, added an interesting layer to the narrative. It gave a nostalgic, meta-horror feel that works really well for fans of ’90s slashers.

That said, the pacing dragged for me. The first 60% felt really slow, with not much happening aside from setup. It took a long time to get to the real tension.

The twist was definitely surprising, but it didn’t hit as hard as I hoped. It felt glossed over, and the main character just kind of accepted it without the emotional depth or fallout I expected.

Overall, this had a solid concept and great atmosphere, but it didn’t quite live up to its full potential for me.

Thank you to the publisher for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Such an amazing story! This book caught my attention just from the cover and title and the story kept me sucked in the whole time. I kept thinking I knew what was gonna happen but the plot twists kept coming! This book was great and so entertaining.

I love a good final girl book and this one was great. The plot and alternating timelines worked super well together and the end just added so much more to it all.

♡ thank you to Miranda Smith & Random House Publishing for an ARC of this book ♡

3/5 ⭐️

this book had a mix of eerie suspense and messy drama. i was definitely intrigued from the start and found myself wanting to read more. while it wasn’t a total jaw dropper, it did have its moments! some twists were super unexpected, some were a little less. but the ending was satisfying!

📖 plot & pace: the story follows a cast reunion with occasional scenes from the original movie. these cast members hold a dark secret that they're determined to keep. the pacing was fast, but i felt the first half of the book was very repetitive. the ending where all of the drama happens seems rushed, i just wished it could've played out better.

👥 characters: honestly... i didn't care for many of the characters. i think the only character who i truly enjoyed was petra. aries also grew on me! BUT, i do think this story was very representative of people in Hollywood.

🤩 tropes: secrets behind the spotlight, death on set, unreliable memories


overall, i thought this story was good, but i wish there were some changes to the pacing, but i still enjoyed reading this!

I have enjoyed Smith’s novels, but this one was out of my comfort zone, which can be a nice change. If you like horror movies this is the perfect book for you. I love scary, more than horror, but the idea of a “final girl” is always fun premise.

Ella Winters was that girl! She made her name with the cult-classic slasher “GRADE NIGHT”. At the top of her career she leaves to care for an ailing parent. Years later she returns with the cast and crew to film a documentary. Secrets come out and they are doozies.

WOW!

THIS is what I'm looking for in a thriller!

Ella starred in a horror movie 20 years ago, where she was cast as the Final Girl. It gave her the needed boost into the film industry, but as the years went by she was haunted by what happened behind the scenes and slowly lost relevance. Eventually, she left the industry to care for her mom, but now she is ready for a comeback. However, doing so comes at a price- she must attend a reunion shoot on location where her big break started.

Ella shows up and greets her cast mates, who have also been carrying around the awful secret. They agree to get the reunion over with quickly, and move on to hopefully renewed careers.

But someone knows what they did, and they will pay. Ella was right when she thought it wasn't safe to go back to Blackstone Cottage.

The book goes between past and present as well as including scenes from the movie Ella starred in. It was a good choice from the author and well done.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!!!

Right from the first page, I noticed something very unique about this book. It's presented in a similar manner that a script is written in. There were times when I questioned if what I was reading was part of the movie (fantasy) or if some of the events were real-life (reality).

The first half of the book continuously alludes to something tragic happening during the first taping of the movie "Grad Night" 20 years ago. It isn't until two-thirds of the way through the book, when the cast has gotten back together for a reunion, that the reader finally finds out what horrible event occurred. While the cast is together filming the reunion, crazy things happen, making their time at the cabin more reality than fantasy.

All in all, this book wasn't one of my favorites, but it also wasn't horrible.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion/review.

Reading the synopsis of the book I thought it was an interesting idea, but while I was reading I was like I absolutely have already read a book like this before and that kind of just took away the fun of it for me. I did finish this book though and it was fun to read, but I feel like I just couldnt get that into it because of the previous books I have read. It was an engaging book and I was never bored while reading it and it kept me engaged the whole time. It was just not a book that was for me unfortunately.