Dazed and Confused




This is the fifth book that I have read in 2022. However, this is the first book in a long time that has left me confused. Which is good and bad in equal measure. Bad in the sense that for a good 70% I was confused and good because this might be the one book I will want to read again just to see if I can get more out of it. Now before the author and the readers of this review get too upset with me this is a three-star read for me and that is still okay in my book. Let me explain my thought process, When I was approved for this book I was thrilled considering I had planned on buying it so win-win right? Yes at least for me. I just had a very hard time following it until the last 20%

Such a Pretty Smile focuses on two women (Lila and her mother Caroline) at two different points in time. Both are experiencing sights and sounds they can’t quite explain. Both are essentially told to sit down, shut up, and smile pretty by the world around them as they search to find the reason for their experiences. When I first started reading, I thought the daughter was part of a multiple personality disorder. That’s how confused I was. Which would have been a strong concept had I been right. That being said the highlights and strengths of this novel are its creepy factor. . I was drawn into what they were each experiencing, as I tried to puzzle out what was happening. Hints were dropped in the early parts of the story that pointed toward an origin in the distant past. Which made this easy to read in just a few days. Where I struggled is the development of characters. While both women had a voice the splitting chapters made it confusing. While the two main women are well done, the men all annoyed me and the main villain was just a total loss. I will be waiting to see if this turns into a series because it does have that potential. I eagerly await to see what's next for this writer and hope the next one is something I can connect with better.
Thank you, NetGalley for my arc. This is a toss-up but if you come across it I suggest giving it a chance. ( )

3.5 Stars ( )

Caroline Sawyer, is an artist and single mom who was raised to be a good girl and is raising her daughter to be the same. Her daughter Lila is trying to be a good girl while navigating hormones, her first crush, and the secrets she knows her mother is keeping from her about murdered girls and what that might have to do with her past.
There's an expression that I love and it seems fitting for this review. "Teach your daughters to worry less about fitting into glass slippers and more about shattering glass ceilings." Yet in this day and age so many girls, and so many women are told just to smile. This book made me think of how many times I've heard it myself. Just smile. Why aren't you smiling? As if women should go around with a perpetual grin plastered to their faces regardless of how they feel or even whether the situation calls for smiling.
If you enjoy a slow burn horror with a sharp feminist edge, or if you've ever been "mansplained" to this book is for you. It's part supernatural thriller, part social commentary, and totally different from anything I've ever read.

( )

This was a hard review for me to get started on. The description grabbed me right away. The majority of the book was riveting and suspensful. The ending kind of left me shaking me head. It was a bit too hocus pocus for me. It went from suspense to supernatural and the illogicalness didn't work for me.
The story involves a mother and her daughter. The book would switch back and forth between their two stories. The male characters were all portrayed as sexist, selfish and worthless. It kept my attention, but was too illogical for me to recommend it.
I received an ebook from Netgalley. com in echange for a review. ( )

Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

#FirstLine ~ There was blood in the water - a dull pink bloom - the morning Lila Sawyer heard about the first missing girl.

I think it is safe to say this will be a book you either love or it was too much for you. I don't think there is an in-between since the topics and themes are hard to reconcile. I enjoyed this book because I appreciated the themes and the way the author used them in the story. It was a tough read and I had lots of feeling when reading. It was original and dark and also hard to put down!!! ( )