Reviews

Welcome to Smileyland by Spencer Hamilton

kellyvandamme's review

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4.0

I was at a complete loss as to what to read and decided to give this horror novella a whirl. No regrets, it was just what the doctor prescribed! Welcome to Smileyland packs a whole lot of punch in a fairly limited number of pages. Abandoned amusement parks are always delightfully creepy, add a crazy man in a smiley mask and a sickle, I mean what's not to love!
Oodles of horror fun and a kick-ass non-binary MC, entertaining start to finish, recommended!

morguebooks's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

bloodymary3389's review

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

davemusson85's review

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5.0

This one is a really fun slasher full of gruesome deaths, creepy scenes galore and lots of

effynandez's review

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1.0

No.

idgiethreadgoode's review

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

maddys_needful_reads's review

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5.0

Okay, we've got a slasher in a creepy abandoned amusement park. Terrifying villain. Creative kills. Complex characters. What more do you need?

This was a blast to read. It's fast-paced and the perfect length. Smileyland is so vividly described that you can truly visualize it and even hear the sounds. Reading this feels like watching a fun summer slasher movie with just the right amount of gore.

It's also worth nothing that there is a wonderfully diverse and inclusive cast of characters. The main character, Ramirez, is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. Spencer Hamilton does an exceptional job writing with clarity so there's never confusion in regards to who he's talking about - Welcome to Smileyland is proof that we can adopt these pronouns to be regularly used as the third person singular.

I'm excited to read more from Spencer Hamilton, and I'm especially looking forward to returning to Smileyland!

pawsitivelybookish's review

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

haileyhughes's review

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

i loved parts of this (the gore, the setting and the LGBTQIA rep) but the writing style wasn’t my favorite and i had to knock off a couple stars for the confused plot. too much going on for not enough book. nothing had the chance to be fleshed out. also… the moms voice in the main characters head was so odd. 

libraryoftori's review

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dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0