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aparker89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual violence, Body horror, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Terminal illness, Torture, Child death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, and Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Chronic illness, Dementia, and Pregnancy
nerdsbianhokie's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child death
Minor: Death of parent
bellestallard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Misogyny, Murder, Death of parent, Blood, Child death, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Body horror
Minor: Pregnancy and Vomit
minimicropup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
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🥹 I found the experiences of the characters relatable for anyone who is sensitive or intuitive and has been accused of being too emotional or too sensitive. Like feeling lost or alien in your own body and mind and feeling feral sometimes.
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- Coming-of-age friendship drama and finding your true self
- Mental illness, monster, memories, or magic?
- Ominous undercurrent of serial killer crimes through the decades
- Archetypes, commentary, and themes around animal nature, “fuck politeness”, patriarchy, and the beasts that walk among us
- "Are you the one?", "Will they make it?" romantic suspense and drama
Graphic: Child death and Death of parent
Moderate: Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Body horror, Misogyny, and Cancer
oliviavm8's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Body horror, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
szyca's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Blood, Gaslighting, Sexism, Animal death, Mental illness, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Body horror, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Bullying, and Grief
cjblates's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Terminal illness, Child death, and Sexual violence
raychelbennet's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The plot and the message of this book are really powerful. Kristi DeMeester really masterfully handles feminine horror in a patriarchal society. Every event is related to what a woman should do, how they should act, and their position in society. It focuses heavily on both the internal thoughts of girls/women and how they are forced to project themselves to the world. The use of the almost omnipresent Cur can be read as a physical manifestation of the patriarchy that wants to consume the inappropriate behaviors found in young girls. All of this is amazing, 5 stars, incredible.
Where things get difficult for me is the books' use of imagery depicting violence against animals and sexual violence. I am never a fan of violence against animals but I can skip over a scene if I feel it furthers the plot. The violence here I felt was *extremely* heavy-handed and drawn out longer than necessary. I get its purpose in the narrative but it made my stomach churn.
The discussion and depiction of sexual violence can be important—especially in books that deal with feminist themes. As someone who identifies as a radical feminist and who 100% agrees with the message that I feel this book was trying to portray already, maybe I just was not the target audience for this. I cannot comfortably read books with scenes of sexual violence where I cannot skip them. In Such A Pretty Smile, the sexual violence that occurs is fully entwined in other events that would leave important plot points out if it is not read. This put me in an uncomfortable and potentially unsafe situation and I think that could be true for other readers. Additionally, the language described—while not the worst or the most graphic I’ve ever read—is almost overbearing. Again, maybe I was not the target audience because I did not need to see anything in a different light to understand DeMeester’s point.
Overall, I think this is an important book. I think it is a really important addition to the horror genre and Kristi DeMeester is going to definitely be an author to look out for. I just think this might benefit from a few content warnings, which I am trying to explain here.
Graphic: Mental illness, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Ableism, Animal cruelty, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Violence
ataraxicbear's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Overall, I gave this book a 4/5 stars. Here's why:
I personally love dark and twisty books, so this was right up my alley! I loved the unique story line, the mysterious aspect, trying to figure out what the heck was going on, and the generational dilemma. My biggest issue with the book was the pacing in terms of alternating timelines. Sometimes we would go several chapters of one timeline before switching, and I wish they switched a little more often, leaving me with cliffhangers as I'm going through the book. The other issue I had is that in really high stakes fast paced scenes, I feel like the author missed some things and was unable to fully flesh out her thoughts. It felt skippy and that certain things would come out of nowhere. It just wasn't explained the best.
Content warning: this book is DARK. If you are bothered by any of the following, this may not be the book for you... body mutilation, sexual assault, paranoid schizophrenia, anxiety attacks, gaslighting, animal abuse, gore, violence, murder, child death, pedophilia
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advance e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Child death, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Rape, Violence, Gore, and Mental illness
ohhthehorrors's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship