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Smile for the Cameras: A Novel
An actress desperate to reclaim her fame must survive the real-life plot of the horror movie that made her famous in this psychologically twisted locked-room thriller.
“A gloriously glossy solid slasher with more unexpected twists than a roller coaster . . . Fans of ’90s horror flicks (like me) are going to lap this up.”—John Marrs, USA Today bestselling author of The Family Experiment
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 Can the final girl survive one last nightmare?
“A gloriously glossy solid slasher with more unexpected twists than a roller coaster . . . Fans of ’90s horror flicks (like me) are going to lap this up.”—John Marrs, USA Today bestselling author of The Family Experiment
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 Can the final girl survive one last nightmare?
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First published June 24, 2025
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About the author
Miranda Smith
87 books119 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name
For other authors of this name, see:
Miranda Smith - Suspense
Miranda Smith is a long-standing editor of information books for both children and adults. She has a particular interest in the field of natural history and has written books and articles for children on the subject, including the encyclopedic Living Earth (for Dorling Kindersley).
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name
For other authors of this name, see:
Miranda Smith - Suspense
Miranda Smith is a long-standing editor of information books for both children and adults. She has a particular interest in the field of natural history and has written books and articles for children on the subject, including the encyclopedic Living Earth (for Dorling Kindersley).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 667 reviews
June 29, 2025
”Countless women are victimized because the sad reality is, we don’t have better options. Cole knows that and exploits it.”
i tend to gravitate towards thrillers that take place or revolve around movie sets, so it was a given that this would catch my eye. the biggest similarity would be to Friday the 13th, and I Know What You Did Last Summer but do keep in mind that the slashing doesn’t actually occur until the last section of the book. Ella was the final girl in a movie called Grad Night years ago, where her and the other cast members held on to a pretty terrible secret. the whole cast is roped into returning for a reunion special by the original director Cole, with things slowly starting to unravel form there.
i didn’t care about any of the characters to be honest and there were several things i seen coming from a mile away. that doesn’t mean that i didn’t have fun with this though, it was entertaining when it needed to be. we get snippets of the old movie script, along with past and present timeline switches and i didn’t always love that.. it messed with the flow occasionally. the reveal of who the killer was this time came out of of nowhere to me, but I would still say this was an okay read mostly.
➸ many thanks to NetGalley, the author and Random House Publishing Group— Ballentine for the arc.. all opinions are my own.
i tend to gravitate towards thrillers that take place or revolve around movie sets, so it was a given that this would catch my eye. the biggest similarity would be to Friday the 13th, and I Know What You Did Last Summer but do keep in mind that the slashing doesn’t actually occur until the last section of the book. Ella was the final girl in a movie called Grad Night years ago, where her and the other cast members held on to a pretty terrible secret. the whole cast is roped into returning for a reunion special by the original director Cole, with things slowly starting to unravel form there.
i didn’t care about any of the characters to be honest and there were several things i seen coming from a mile away. that doesn’t mean that i didn’t have fun with this though, it was entertaining when it needed to be. we get snippets of the old movie script, along with past and present timeline switches and i didn’t always love that.. it messed with the flow occasionally. the reveal of who the killer was this time came out of of nowhere to me, but I would still say this was an okay read mostly.
➸ many thanks to NetGalley, the author and Random House Publishing Group— Ballentine for the arc.. all opinions are my own.
June 24, 2025
Great concept... a horror movie had some unsettling things happen onset, and someone disappears. Years later, the lead actress is finally convinced to do another movie in the cult phenomena that launched her career. Except when she returns, the horrors start happening again. Who knows what they did years ago to cause the person's disappearance? So much potential!!! But the way in which things happened in the present unraveled in a slightly disappointing way. I enjoyed various parts, especially the connections from the first time period and the current one, and the main character has a lot of charm. But I also struggled with "what happened in between" and why the murderer waited so long to get revenge. Still, I enjoyed it and will look for more from the author in the future.
October 17, 2025
**3.5-stars**
Smile for the Cameras is a fast-paced and entertaining Slasher ((Lite)). IMO, Smith brought the right amount of Camp to it to get me in the mood for Summer Screams season.
This book is told in three ways: a present perspective, a past perspective and through the screen play of a decades old cult-classic Slasher Film, Grad Night.
Our protagonist is Ella Winters, who was a young, inexperienced actress, just trying to make her way in the industry, when she got tapped to play the Final Girl role in Grad Night. It certainly changed her life.
20-years later, Ella's star has burned out. She retreated from the spotlight after filming, as she had great difficulty putting behind her some traumatic events that happened during the shooting of that iconic film.
She used the excuse of her ailing mother as her reason to retreat from the Hollywood life, but now that her mother has passed, Ella is thinking of making a comeback.
When her agent offers her the opportunity to participate in a Grad Night reunion documentary, she's quite hesitant at first, but as her agent points out, it could be the perfect way for her to reemerge onto the scene.
Ella eventually agrees, and makes her way to the original filming location, a cabin in the woods in rural Tennessee, for the reunion weekend.
When the people on site begin being murdered in gruesome ways similar to the film, and the original cast suddenly finds themselves stalked by the Grad Night killer, it becomes clear this reunion was a trap. Perhaps as payback for something they did all those years ago.
Ella would happily give up Hollywood forever if she could just make it through the weekend. Who will survive?
This was fun. I enjoyed how the original script of the film, and the past perspective, which followed Ella during that original filming, boosted up the action in the present.
For me, all three of the aspects played off each other very well and contributed to a well-rounded Slasher story. I felt Smith did a great job keeping it all distinct and easy for the Reader to engage with.
It is quite dramatic, the characters each seeming to add fuel to the fire in their own ways. I felt for Ella the whole way through. She was quite young during the filming of Grad Night, and was definitely influenced by her fellow cast members. She was a bit deer in the headlights.
The ending was somewhat meh for me, but I never guessed it, so good on Smith for keeping me on my toes. My head was spinning as I tried to figure out who was killing everyone. That was hidden quite well, I thought.
Overall, this an entertaining Horror story, with a classic Slasher vibe. It's a great read for Summer and if you love Horror that brings Camp, you'll def find that here.
Thank you to the publisher, Bantam, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This gave me exactly what I was looking for!
Smile for the Cameras is a fast-paced and entertaining Slasher ((Lite)). IMO, Smith brought the right amount of Camp to it to get me in the mood for Summer Screams season.
This book is told in three ways: a present perspective, a past perspective and through the screen play of a decades old cult-classic Slasher Film, Grad Night.
Our protagonist is Ella Winters, who was a young, inexperienced actress, just trying to make her way in the industry, when she got tapped to play the Final Girl role in Grad Night. It certainly changed her life.
20-years later, Ella's star has burned out. She retreated from the spotlight after filming, as she had great difficulty putting behind her some traumatic events that happened during the shooting of that iconic film.
She used the excuse of her ailing mother as her reason to retreat from the Hollywood life, but now that her mother has passed, Ella is thinking of making a comeback.
When her agent offers her the opportunity to participate in a Grad Night reunion documentary, she's quite hesitant at first, but as her agent points out, it could be the perfect way for her to reemerge onto the scene.
Ella eventually agrees, and makes her way to the original filming location, a cabin in the woods in rural Tennessee, for the reunion weekend.
When the people on site begin being murdered in gruesome ways similar to the film, and the original cast suddenly finds themselves stalked by the Grad Night killer, it becomes clear this reunion was a trap. Perhaps as payback for something they did all those years ago.
Ella would happily give up Hollywood forever if she could just make it through the weekend. Who will survive?
This was fun. I enjoyed how the original script of the film, and the past perspective, which followed Ella during that original filming, boosted up the action in the present.
For me, all three of the aspects played off each other very well and contributed to a well-rounded Slasher story. I felt Smith did a great job keeping it all distinct and easy for the Reader to engage with.
It is quite dramatic, the characters each seeming to add fuel to the fire in their own ways. I felt for Ella the whole way through. She was quite young during the filming of Grad Night, and was definitely influenced by her fellow cast members. She was a bit deer in the headlights.
The ending was somewhat meh for me, but I never guessed it, so good on Smith for keeping me on my toes. My head was spinning as I tried to figure out who was killing everyone. That was hidden quite well, I thought.
Overall, this an entertaining Horror story, with a classic Slasher vibe. It's a great read for Summer and if you love Horror that brings Camp, you'll def find that here.
Thank you to the publisher, Bantam, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This gave me exactly what I was looking for!
July 31, 2025
I liked the idea of the classic slasher movie réunion falling victim to its own slasher.
The setting of old secrets and relationships reuniting in a remote cabin in the woods was great.
But I felt the story progressed too slowly for my tastes, and the main character wasn't the most interesting of the cast. I would have liked more development for the others members of the original cast.
The setting of old secrets and relationships reuniting in a remote cabin in the woods was great.
But I felt the story progressed too slowly for my tastes, and the main character wasn't the most interesting of the cast. I would have liked more development for the others members of the original cast.
March 18, 2025
ARC for review. To be published June 24, 2025.
2 stars
Twenty years ago actress Ella Winters was riding high on her fame as the final girl in cult classic “Grad Night” (which, if I’m being honest, sounds like a truly terrible horror movie that might have been plotted by your average fifth grader…not even a gifted fifth grader, mind you.) Something happened during filing that Ella and her costars agreed to keep secret. After a few more years in Hollywood and about six years on a TV show Ella left the business to care for her sick mother.
Now Ella wants to return to the business and her agent, Fiona has convinced her that the best way to do so is to agree to a “Grad Night” reunion with her surviving three costars and their director. They are going to return to the original location, a cabin in rural Tennessee and this is Ella’s first time seeing the group, including Leo, her former boyfriend, in twenty years. But then the scariness starts…are the former stars doomed?
Honestly, I didn’t care what happened to any of them, so (shoulder shrug.) Again, there’s no way this awful movie was loved by anyone (why? Because it had a couple of sex scenes in it? Um, welcome to every scary movie?) and the entire story was dull and contrived. There’s just nothing to like here, sorry. Give it a miss. It gets a star because it’s not badly written.
2 stars
Twenty years ago actress Ella Winters was riding high on her fame as the final girl in cult classic “Grad Night” (which, if I’m being honest, sounds like a truly terrible horror movie that might have been plotted by your average fifth grader…not even a gifted fifth grader, mind you.) Something happened during filing that Ella and her costars agreed to keep secret. After a few more years in Hollywood and about six years on a TV show Ella left the business to care for her sick mother.
Now Ella wants to return to the business and her agent, Fiona has convinced her that the best way to do so is to agree to a “Grad Night” reunion with her surviving three costars and their director. They are going to return to the original location, a cabin in rural Tennessee and this is Ella’s first time seeing the group, including Leo, her former boyfriend, in twenty years. But then the scariness starts…are the former stars doomed?
Honestly, I didn’t care what happened to any of them, so (shoulder shrug.) Again, there’s no way this awful movie was loved by anyone (why? Because it had a couple of sex scenes in it? Um, welcome to every scary movie?) and the entire story was dull and contrived. There’s just nothing to like here, sorry. Give it a miss. It gets a star because it’s not badly written.
May 21, 2025
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!
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!
June 3, 2025
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
April 10, 2025
“Dear God, I think she might be dead.”
Déjà vu slapped me in the face hard with this one. There was something about this one that I remembered. I wrote what I thought I remembered happening on a piece of paper and gave it to my husband. When the big reveal happened, I had him read the book and then my note. It matched up perfectly. Was this book released previously? Or am I just weird? Or do I just read too damn much? Maybe don't answer most of the questions.
This book had a lot of potential, but the final result was disappointing. The plot was predictable, and I could easily figure out what would happen before it actually did. Books like this do nothing for me, as they leave little to the imagination.
The characters were uninteresting, and I did not care about any of them or what happened to them. The only thing that made me happy about this was when it was over.
How can something with such an amazing cover be so boring?
Déjà vu slapped me in the face hard with this one. There was something about this one that I remembered. I wrote what I thought I remembered happening on a piece of paper and gave it to my husband. When the big reveal happened, I had him read the book and then my note. It matched up perfectly. Was this book released previously? Or am I just weird? Or do I just read too damn much? Maybe don't answer most of the questions.
This book had a lot of potential, but the final result was disappointing. The plot was predictable, and I could easily figure out what would happen before it actually did. Books like this do nothing for me, as they leave little to the imagination.
The characters were uninteresting, and I did not care about any of them or what happened to them. The only thing that made me happy about this was when it was over.
How can something with such an amazing cover be so boring?
June 3, 2025
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)
𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.5 rounded up)
November 8, 2025
TW/CW: Language, sex, cheating, bullying, alcoholism, drug abuse, drinking, blood, gory scenes, violence, misogyny, sexual abuse, death of parents, death by suicide
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Twenty years ago, Ella Winters was the it girl. She made a name for herself in Hollywood and throughout America as the final 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.Now, after 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 the perfect 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 over a decade. But when the actors begin to meet the exact gruesome fates of the characters they originally played, falling victim to someone dressed as the Grad Night villain, it's clear their secret is out.
Release Date: June 24th, 2025
Genre: Thriller (not horror)
Pages: 320
Rating: ⭐
What I Liked:
1. Cover of the book
2. The plot of the book sounded interesting
What I Didn't Like:
1. Why do they keep saying commode it sounds so frat boy
2. Book sounds like YA
3. Characters do not sound like characters in a horror movie
4. Disappointing ending
Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}
You know what's confusing for a book? When you have the real characters use the same name as they have in the movie. Talk about a dumb idea. So not only do you have different timelines but now you have characters with the same name in each timeline. Yeah, this would be a good idea in a real movie but in a book it doesn't seem to come across the same way.
So they filmed a classic horror movie in the same vain of Friday the 13th and they skip over the sex in the movie saying there was no nudity. Weird.
These characters do not feel like the stereotypical characters in a horror movie. I know when they're describing why they picked each person and who they were going to be it didn't feel like that's who they were when we would go back in the script for the movie.
I'm bored. These characters have no dimension.
It is driving me crazy that Aries says her favorite horror movie is I Know What You Did Last Summer, but when when it comes time to bury a body she doesn't reference that movie.
Okay so Jenny was pregnant from Cole but was scared he was going to make her get an abortion so she disappeared. How would Cole force her to get an abortion? Cole is the son of a famous director not apart of the mob so why would she disappear? It doesn't make sense. And she was scared he could get custody. So he would have wanted her to have an abortion but if she didn't have one he would have went after custody... Okay I know there are people like this but it's just so crazy in this book.
Cole is I guess putting drugs in women's drinks or trying to sexually assault them so Aries being the smarter one puts herself between Jenny and Cole to protect Jenny. Sigh. I get that Jenny needed a job so she could leave but I still don't understand taking a job with a man that has assaulted her. This is the moment she could take back control of what he has taken from her but instead she works with him and let's him get away with stealing her screenplay.
Ohhh and Ella finds out that Leo was working with Cole to get her drugged to have sex. In the middle of the woods she decides to jump up and confront two men alone. How unbelievably stupid.
I refuse to believe that a female character was able to do these murders. The things she was able to do. Oh Fiona is the killer. And she was in the same home as Petra. Why would Petra never have mentioned Fiona at all when she was describing her life at the home? It seems odd to make out like you're alone the whole time and don't even have a friend. Plus if Fiona and Petra are such good friends that she would kill for her why would they had not stayed in touch. Such a weak reasoning for murder at the end.
Hahahhaha so somehow Fiona ties together that Petra was the one who was killed for this movie just because Leo was drunk one day and recorded saying they killed a girl on set. Of all the movies and all the actors she is able to just know it was Petra that was killed.
Ahhhhhh Fiona let's Ella and Riley go because she found out that they didn't actually kill Petra. They still hid the body for 20 years.
Cole is alive. Of course. They don't kill him but instead think they will let justice handle him. Omg and now Aries is alive. What kind of slasher is this!? Everyone ends up being alive!!
Final Thoughts:
This is like the bored version of a slasher. This is not a horror book. Once you get to the ending it feels so dramatic and stupid. It's more of a thriller. Everyone just stands around for most of the book arguing with each other. In the end everyone seems to be okay. No final girl but final 4. Ummm okay.
IG | Blog
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House/Bantam for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Twenty years ago, Ella Winters was the it girl. She made a name for herself in Hollywood and throughout America as the final 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.Now, after 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 the perfect 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 over a decade. But when the actors begin to meet the exact gruesome fates of the characters they originally played, falling victim to someone dressed as the Grad Night villain, it's clear their secret is out.
Release Date: June 24th, 2025
Genre: Thriller (not horror)
Pages: 320
Rating: ⭐
What I Liked:
1. Cover of the book
2. The plot of the book sounded interesting
What I Didn't Like:
1. Why do they keep saying commode it sounds so frat boy
2. Book sounds like YA
3. Characters do not sound like characters in a horror movie
4. Disappointing ending
Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}
You know what's confusing for a book? When you have the real characters use the same name as they have in the movie. Talk about a dumb idea. So not only do you have different timelines but now you have characters with the same name in each timeline. Yeah, this would be a good idea in a real movie but in a book it doesn't seem to come across the same way.
So they filmed a classic horror movie in the same vain of Friday the 13th and they skip over the sex in the movie saying there was no nudity. Weird.
These characters do not feel like the stereotypical characters in a horror movie. I know when they're describing why they picked each person and who they were going to be it didn't feel like that's who they were when we would go back in the script for the movie.
I'm bored. These characters have no dimension.
It is driving me crazy that Aries says her favorite horror movie is I Know What You Did Last Summer, but when when it comes time to bury a body she doesn't reference that movie.
Okay so Jenny was pregnant from Cole but was scared he was going to make her get an abortion so she disappeared. How would Cole force her to get an abortion? Cole is the son of a famous director not apart of the mob so why would she disappear? It doesn't make sense. And she was scared he could get custody. So he would have wanted her to have an abortion but if she didn't have one he would have went after custody... Okay I know there are people like this but it's just so crazy in this book.
Cole is I guess putting drugs in women's drinks or trying to sexually assault them so Aries being the smarter one puts herself between Jenny and Cole to protect Jenny. Sigh. I get that Jenny needed a job so she could leave but I still don't understand taking a job with a man that has assaulted her. This is the moment she could take back control of what he has taken from her but instead she works with him and let's him get away with stealing her screenplay.
Ohhh and Ella finds out that Leo was working with Cole to get her drugged to have sex. In the middle of the woods she decides to jump up and confront two men alone. How unbelievably stupid.
I refuse to believe that a female character was able to do these murders. The things she was able to do. Oh Fiona is the killer. And she was in the same home as Petra. Why would Petra never have mentioned Fiona at all when she was describing her life at the home? It seems odd to make out like you're alone the whole time and don't even have a friend. Plus if Fiona and Petra are such good friends that she would kill for her why would they had not stayed in touch. Such a weak reasoning for murder at the end.
Hahahhaha so somehow Fiona ties together that Petra was the one who was killed for this movie just because Leo was drunk one day and recorded saying they killed a girl on set. Of all the movies and all the actors she is able to just know it was Petra that was killed.
Ahhhhhh Fiona let's Ella and Riley go because she found out that they didn't actually kill Petra. They still hid the body for 20 years.
Cole is alive. Of course. They don't kill him but instead think they will let justice handle him. Omg and now Aries is alive. What kind of slasher is this!? Everyone ends up being alive!!
Final Thoughts:
This is like the bored version of a slasher. This is not a horror book. Once you get to the ending it feels so dramatic and stupid. It's more of a thriller. Everyone just stands around for most of the book arguing with each other. In the end everyone seems to be okay. No final girl but final 4. Ummm okay.
IG | Blog
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House/Bantam for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
July 6, 2025
2 stars
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for allowing me access to this ARC
I wanted to love this; I was highly anticipating it from the start. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me, for several reasons. The first being I was fairly bored throughout the book, nothing really piqued my interest until about the 60% mark. The plot felt very straight forward, not a lot of creepiness or eerie vibes for a place that was supposed to be haunted. The second thing is I failed to connect with the characters, especially our FMC, Ella. She was a quiet kind of girl who seemed to make a lot of poor choices both in the past and the current timeline within the story.
My favorite character was Aries, and honestly, I wish she had been the protagonist. She actually had some interesting things going on and seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. There was one twist in the book I didn't expect, so I appreciated that, but it wasn't enough to save it for me. This was, at it its core, a slasher story so I was sort of expecting the reveal to border on ridiculous and perhaps I wasn't wrong, but I didn't dislike that part of it.
Although I wasn't a fan of this one, I can definitely see it appealing to other people, and I would be interested in checking out future works from this author.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for allowing me access to this ARC
I wanted to love this; I was highly anticipating it from the start. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me, for several reasons. The first being I was fairly bored throughout the book, nothing really piqued my interest until about the 60% mark. The plot felt very straight forward, not a lot of creepiness or eerie vibes for a place that was supposed to be haunted. The second thing is I failed to connect with the characters, especially our FMC, Ella. She was a quiet kind of girl who seemed to make a lot of poor choices both in the past and the current timeline within the story.
My favorite character was Aries, and honestly, I wish she had been the protagonist. She actually had some interesting things going on and seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. There was one twist in the book I didn't expect, so I appreciated that, but it wasn't enough to save it for me. This was, at it its core, a slasher story so I was sort of expecting the reveal to border on ridiculous and perhaps I wasn't wrong, but I didn't dislike that part of it.
Although I wasn't a fan of this one, I can definitely see it appealing to other people, and I would be interested in checking out future works from this author.
March 24, 2025
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I ate this up! Scream meets I Know What You Did Last Summer in this fast paced novel with all the 90s slasher movie vibes. Ella returns to the movie set of Grad Night where she was the “final girl” for the 20th year reunion documentary. This brings up past trauma from the secrets they have been carrying for the last twenty years that quickly turns into a nightmare. Someone knows what happened and they want revenge.
I ate this up! Scream meets I Know What You Did Last Summer in this fast paced novel with all the 90s slasher movie vibes. Ella returns to the movie set of Grad Night where she was the “final girl” for the 20th year reunion documentary. This brings up past trauma from the secrets they have been carrying for the last twenty years that quickly turns into a nightmare. Someone knows what happened and they want revenge.
July 26, 2025
What a fun, bloody time! I LOVE me a good slasher story to begin with, so add in the element of 90's horror and media nostalgia and this was the perfect combo for me. This book kept me engaged throughout and its multilayered story is one I could see a lot of readers enjoying. I absolutely loved the elements of the original movie transcript that were woven into the alternating timeline chapters and while at first the timeline somewhat confused me, I quickly caught up and could easily tell which was which.
This would be the perfect read for any thriller lover looking to pick up something a little more horror-leaning, while still delivering on the fast-paced plot! Definitely recommend picking up during spooky season if you are able to - this gem reminded me a lot of the Scream franchise but with commentary about the film industry woven in.
This would be the perfect read for any thriller lover looking to pick up something a little more horror-leaning, while still delivering on the fast-paced plot! Definitely recommend picking up during spooky season if you are able to - this gem reminded me a lot of the Scream franchise but with commentary about the film industry woven in.
June 30, 2025
3.5/5 ✩
“He thinks the crux of every horror movie is the sex and the violence. Sure, that might be why people buy tickets, but the heart of every horror film lies in the women on-screen.”
Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me with this ARC.
QUICK SUMMARY
Smile for the Cameras is a nostalgic, summertime horror referential to familiar tropes of the genre. With a two timeline and script woven into the narrative, it has an interesting story progression that, unfortunately, falls short due to weak characters and underwhelming twists, which left me wanting more.
R.E.A.D.S. SCORE
R: 5/10
E: 6/10
A: 7/10
D: 8/10
S: 7/10
Total:6.60/10.00
“He thinks the crux of every horror movie is the sex and the violence. Sure, that might be why people buy tickets, but the heart of every horror film lies in the women on-screen.”
Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me with this ARC.
QUICK SUMMARY
Smile for the Cameras is a nostalgic, summertime horror referential to familiar tropes of the genre. With a two timeline and script woven into the narrative, it has an interesting story progression that, unfortunately, falls short due to weak characters and underwhelming twists, which left me wanting more.
R.E.A.D.S. SCORE
R: 5/10
E: 6/10
A: 7/10
D: 8/10
S: 7/10
Total:6.60/10.00
June 29, 2025
As a horror movie fanatic, this story definitely hit home with me. I enjoyed Miranda Smith’s writing style in this book, and the concept in general was entertaining & kept me engaged from start to finish.
20 years after Ella played the final girl in a famous slasher film Grad Night, she was asked to return for a reunion special. Desperate to revive her career, she hesitantly obliges but these cast members have a deep and dark secret that they are hoping they can keep hidden throughout this reunion weekend. Forced to return to Blackstone cottage, Ella’s cast mates slowly begin to meet a deadly fate that is very close to the characters they played in the Grad Night movie.
I recommend this read for thriller/horror fans especially those that enjoyed 90s slasher films like the Scream franchise & I Know What You Did Last Summer. The alternating timelines that shows POVs from 20 years ago, chapters that were actual scenes from the film, to present POVs was brilliant! It was truly necessary for the overall plot. & the twist around 80% in I did NOT see coming. Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for this reader copy. All opinions are my own.
20 years after Ella played the final girl in a famous slasher film Grad Night, she was asked to return for a reunion special. Desperate to revive her career, she hesitantly obliges but these cast members have a deep and dark secret that they are hoping they can keep hidden throughout this reunion weekend. Forced to return to Blackstone cottage, Ella’s cast mates slowly begin to meet a deadly fate that is very close to the characters they played in the Grad Night movie.
I recommend this read for thriller/horror fans especially those that enjoyed 90s slasher films like the Scream franchise & I Know What You Did Last Summer. The alternating timelines that shows POVs from 20 years ago, chapters that were actual scenes from the film, to present POVs was brilliant! It was truly necessary for the overall plot. & the twist around 80% in I did NOT see coming. Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for this reader copy. All opinions are my own.
June 1, 2025
Fans of old-school slasher movies, rejoice: Miranda Smith has reimagined the genre in novel form, adding elements of the isolation thriller for even more shiver-inducing fun. When the cast of the cult classic "Grad Night" gather for a long-awaited reunion documentary, final girl Ella Winters begins to fear the dark secret she kept with her costars may finally come to light. The present-day timeline is interspersed with excerpts from the movie's screenplay, creating an experience so immersive that you'll want to grab some popcorn and dim the lights. I loved this one.
September 18, 2025
Good gosh I hated this book. I’m not wasting any more brain cells on a review. Just dumb.
June 8, 2025
Can the final girl survive one last nightmare? With a tagline like that, and 36 years of slasher fandom under my belt, thanks to my babysitter, I was all in. Unfortunately, this was less Scream and more snooze.
I find it hard to trust anyone who says this was “thrilling” 😬. Even by slasher standards, the characters were flat, the plot dragged for a good chunk of the book, and it all felt like a rehash of stories we’ve seen. There’s nothing wrong with playing the hits, but this didn’t bring anything new to the genre, and didn’t deliver the pace or gore I showed up for.
Since it’s not out yet, most of the "thrilling" reviews are from ARC readers. And listen... can we be honest? Are some of y’all just handing out 5 stars so you keep getting free books? I get it, I too received an eARC, thank you to the publisher, and I will say the audiobook narration was solid. But the content? Not much to work with.
There were glimmers of potential. I loved the inclusion of the original screenplay within the story’s timeline. If the book had mirrored more of that slasher-within-a-slasher structure and cut the filler, it could have really hit. Slasher stories don’t need endless backstory, they need red herrings, fast pacing, and creative kills.
My 2-star rating isn’t because it was poorly written, it’s because the vibe was all wrong. If you’re going to sell a thriller with a slasher heart, you can’t make readers wait half the book for action. Give me the breadcrumbs. Give me the blood. Don’t make me sit through pages of plot padding just to get to the fun stuff.
I find it hard to trust anyone who says this was “thrilling” 😬. Even by slasher standards, the characters were flat, the plot dragged for a good chunk of the book, and it all felt like a rehash of stories we’ve seen. There’s nothing wrong with playing the hits, but this didn’t bring anything new to the genre, and didn’t deliver the pace or gore I showed up for.
Since it’s not out yet, most of the "thrilling" reviews are from ARC readers. And listen... can we be honest? Are some of y’all just handing out 5 stars so you keep getting free books? I get it, I too received an eARC, thank you to the publisher, and I will say the audiobook narration was solid. But the content? Not much to work with.
There were glimmers of potential. I loved the inclusion of the original screenplay within the story’s timeline. If the book had mirrored more of that slasher-within-a-slasher structure and cut the filler, it could have really hit. Slasher stories don’t need endless backstory, they need red herrings, fast pacing, and creative kills.
My 2-star rating isn’t because it was poorly written, it’s because the vibe was all wrong. If you’re going to sell a thriller with a slasher heart, you can’t make readers wait half the book for action. Give me the breadcrumbs. Give me the blood. Don’t make me sit through pages of plot padding just to get to the fun stuff.
May 25, 2025
This was the first book I’ve read by Miranda Smith. Smile For The Cameras was about an actress desperate to reclaim her fame and had to survive the real-life plot of the horror movie that made her famous. But then the actors began to meet their exact gruesome fates and it’s clear their secret was out.
Unfortunately, I did not find connections to the characters nor the storyline. Ella, the main character, was lackluster and weary. She was also full of guilt and desperate to make a comeback which I found particularly unlikable. I much prefer a strong character lead in a psychological thriller story like this one. When I initially read the book synopsis, I was intrigued by the 90s slasher theme. As the story moved forward, I became increasingly annoyed with the characters and the low key narrative. Nothing was twisted or shocking to note.
All in all, Smile For The Cameras had the potential to live up to its synopsis but the execution failed it. Fortunately, this will not hinder me in reading future books by Miranda Smith.
Thanks to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, I did not find connections to the characters nor the storyline. Ella, the main character, was lackluster and weary. She was also full of guilt and desperate to make a comeback which I found particularly unlikable. I much prefer a strong character lead in a psychological thriller story like this one. When I initially read the book synopsis, I was intrigued by the 90s slasher theme. As the story moved forward, I became increasingly annoyed with the characters and the low key narrative. Nothing was twisted or shocking to note.
All in all, Smile For The Cameras had the potential to live up to its synopsis but the execution failed it. Fortunately, this will not hinder me in reading future books by Miranda Smith.
Thanks to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 21, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of
Smile for the Cameras.
The premise rides the current trend where the main character is a former actress/actor who is pulled back to the old timey horror movie that made her/him famous for a reunion so she/he can revitalize their career.
I love horror movies so this was right up my alley but I'm getting weary of these types of narratives because not one of them has met my expectations.
I didn't like Ella or anyone; for a main character she's dull, boring and not interesting.
I get the cast are representative of horror movie tropes but they never grew out of their typecasted roles 20 years later.
The author makes pointed commentary about the misogyny and sexual violence prevalent in Hollywood and the moviemaking industry, which the narrative seems focused on.
There's very little suspense and urgency and the narrative is interspersed with parts of the original screenplay of Grad Night.
I don't mind mixed media elements but a little goes a long way.
All the revelations happen at the end and they're eye-rolling.
If you can suspend disbelief, you'll have no problem accepting what happens.
In short, most men are scum no matter if they're an actor, director or Joe Schmo.
I guessed whodunit and the big reveal was not a surprise, though the ending was anti-climatic and pointless.
The writing is okay, but the tone felt very YA-ish and the writing immature and silly, befitting the slasher movie theme, I guess.
There are well written YA books but this ain't it.
The premise rides the current trend where the main character is a former actress/actor who is pulled back to the old timey horror movie that made her/him famous for a reunion so she/he can revitalize their career.
I love horror movies so this was right up my alley but I'm getting weary of these types of narratives because not one of them has met my expectations.
I didn't like Ella or anyone; for a main character she's dull, boring and not interesting.
I get the cast are representative of horror movie tropes but they never grew out of their typecasted roles 20 years later.
The author makes pointed commentary about the misogyny and sexual violence prevalent in Hollywood and the moviemaking industry, which the narrative seems focused on.
There's very little suspense and urgency and the narrative is interspersed with parts of the original screenplay of Grad Night.
I don't mind mixed media elements but a little goes a long way.
All the revelations happen at the end and they're eye-rolling.
If you can suspend disbelief, you'll have no problem accepting what happens.
In short, most men are scum no matter if they're an actor, director or Joe Schmo.
I guessed whodunit and the big reveal was not a surprise, though the ending was anti-climatic and pointless.
The writing is okay, but the tone felt very YA-ish and the writing immature and silly, befitting the slasher movie theme, I guess.
There are well written YA books but this ain't it.
October 16, 2025
3.5✨
My expectations were Scream meets Cabin in the Woods without the experiments. Nothing really happens throughout. It took about 80% until the night where everything happened comes into view. There are sprinkles of mystery throughout but nothing that pushed me forward. I had to switch to audiobook for a few chapters. One aspect that was fantastic was how the forest plays such an intense role. Eerie, alluring and has such a darkness it grips you. The setting was phenomenally descriptive and well done.
Our FMC is riddled with guilt and takes anxiety meds to get through most days. I wish to say her progression is worth the read but it wasn't. It isn't until the last five chapters that she grows feeling very forced. Aries was phenomenal though. She is one of those people that does good things or speaks up for others without the desire of any reward. I didn't believe the misdirect then when the big reveal happened it felt very random. Was it plausible? Yeah but I didn't feel a strong emotion to justify the villain. I thought this was going to go more in the direction that In My Dreams I Hold a Knife went. The concept was there but it missed the mark for me.
My expectations were Scream meets Cabin in the Woods without the experiments. Nothing really happens throughout. It took about 80% until the night where everything happened comes into view. There are sprinkles of mystery throughout but nothing that pushed me forward. I had to switch to audiobook for a few chapters. One aspect that was fantastic was how the forest plays such an intense role. Eerie, alluring and has such a darkness it grips you. The setting was phenomenally descriptive and well done.
Our FMC is riddled with guilt and takes anxiety meds to get through most days. I wish to say her progression is worth the read but it wasn't. It isn't until the last five chapters that she grows feeling very forced. Aries was phenomenal though. She is one of those people that does good things or speaks up for others without the desire of any reward. I didn't believe the misdirect then when the big reveal happened it felt very random. Was it plausible? Yeah but I didn't feel a strong emotion to justify the villain. I thought this was going to go more in the direction that In My Dreams I Hold a Knife went. The concept was there but it missed the mark for me.
May 15, 2025
♡ 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!
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!
July 22, 2025
3.50 - I love a good slasher book and film, so I needed to grab this one.
I wasn’t particularly drawn to any specific characters. I felt like most of them were pretty unlikable, even Ella. Everyone felt surface level with one another and so did the characters themselves. I’d like to have seen a bit more depth to them.
I was hoping for more gore, killings, and jump scares like I usually get in slasher books, and was hoping for them to happen earlier on in the book. It felt less horror and more mystery thriller.
The setting, premise, and writing was great, and I did like how it went back and forth between now, then, and the actual movie itself. I did struggle a bit with the pacing. I felt like it started off with a bang then slowed a bit in the middle only to pick right back up in the end.
A great book to read if you like slasher types of books with messy characters.
A solid read and now I need to read Miranda Smith's other books!!
I wasn’t particularly drawn to any specific characters. I felt like most of them were pretty unlikable, even Ella. Everyone felt surface level with one another and so did the characters themselves. I’d like to have seen a bit more depth to them.
I was hoping for more gore, killings, and jump scares like I usually get in slasher books, and was hoping for them to happen earlier on in the book. It felt less horror and more mystery thriller.
The setting, premise, and writing was great, and I did like how it went back and forth between now, then, and the actual movie itself. I did struggle a bit with the pacing. I felt like it started off with a bang then slowed a bit in the middle only to pick right back up in the end.
A great book to read if you like slasher types of books with messy characters.
A solid read and now I need to read Miranda Smith's other books!!
August 24, 2025
Ella rose to fame 20 years ago as the final girl in the horror film Grad Night. While filming, she found love and enjoyed parts of the experience, but a dark secret haunted the set—someone died, and the cast kept it quiet to protect the film. Now, two decades later, Ella is convinced by her agent to attend a reunion special. She’s hesitant, with no fond memories of that time, but she’s promised it’s the only way to get her career back on track. What she doesn’t realize is that the reunion is more of a setup than a celebration.
This book gave me total scream vibes, with its mix of slasher-survivor energy and “movie within a movie” setup. I loved the way it shifted between past and present, slowly revealing what really happened all those years ago. It kept me hooked and constantly guessing, and the reveal of who was truly behind everything wasn’t what I expected at all.
A fun, twisty horror-thriller that fans of slasher films and dark Hollywood secrets will enjoy.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This book gave me total scream vibes, with its mix of slasher-survivor energy and “movie within a movie” setup. I loved the way it shifted between past and present, slowly revealing what really happened all those years ago. It kept me hooked and constantly guessing, and the reveal of who was truly behind everything wasn’t what I expected at all.
A fun, twisty horror-thriller that fans of slasher films and dark Hollywood secrets will enjoy.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
July 7, 2025
A campy '90s slasher film became a surprise hit and 20 years later, the original cast and crew gather for a filmed reunion. Readers quickly learn that the cast has a shared secret and chapters alternate between past and present to give us details.
While I love the premise here, the ending fell flat with a weak twist that was supposed to be surprising and a reveal that was supposed to be shocking but just left me thinking it was weak and far reaching.
I wanted to love it but the ending left me with a 3 star rating.
While I love the premise here, the ending fell flat with a weak twist that was supposed to be surprising and a reveal that was supposed to be shocking but just left me thinking it was weak and far reaching.
I wanted to love it but the ending left me with a 3 star rating.
August 16, 2025
Ooof Miranda Smith's Smile for the Cameras is not only painfully unoriginal, but also shallow, trite, and, quite frankly, annoyingly juvenile.
But maybe unoriginal was the goal?? Because this sure does fit the bill of a classic slasher a la the Friday the 13th and Halloween franchises. It has everything from the horny teens to the menacing, shadowy man-figure stalking them, to the small town/summer camp setting.
So if you REALLY like slashers, you might like this more than I did.
My biggest problem with this book is its hyperfocus on romantic and sexual drama. I don't think there's a single chapter that doesn't have one or more of the following words: kiss, sex, sex scene, relationship, crush, lips, and even at least once, smitten ffs.
I kept waiting for things to switch focus from romance to murder, and it honestly never does. So, despite having all the hallmarks of a slasher movie, I don't know that I would even call this horror. It lacks the tension, dread, and atmosphere of a horror book and felt more like a steamy thriller in a horror setting.
But like, more mildly hot and sweaty than actually steamy. Because it's not detailed sex scenes (thankfully), just a hint of a description of it. Like, enough that I wouldn't quite categorize this as YA even though it definitely had the vibe.
The story here is about the reunion of the cast of a slasher movie filmed like 20 years ago. Final girl, now 40ish years old, wants to reinvigorate her career and also maybe her relationship with the actor she met onset and then lost her virginity to because of course there was chemistry and blah de fucking blah blah blah. Like actually, who cares??
And I swear to god this cast of dingbats acts exactly the same as adults in the present as they did as teenagers in the past. As if none of them grew up and matured, they are all still horny teens trying to make out and fornicate.
And then in the last 75ish pages of the book Smith decided to introduce a plot and some twists that were just so eye-rolling and stupid. Nothing is setup well, but it manages to somehow, still be predictable and unsurprising.
I really didn't like this one.
2 out of 5 stars.
But maybe unoriginal was the goal?? Because this sure does fit the bill of a classic slasher a la the Friday the 13th and Halloween franchises. It has everything from the horny teens to the menacing, shadowy man-figure stalking them, to the small town/summer camp setting.
So if you REALLY like slashers, you might like this more than I did.
My biggest problem with this book is its hyperfocus on romantic and sexual drama. I don't think there's a single chapter that doesn't have one or more of the following words: kiss, sex, sex scene, relationship, crush, lips, and even at least once, smitten ffs.
I kept waiting for things to switch focus from romance to murder, and it honestly never does. So, despite having all the hallmarks of a slasher movie, I don't know that I would even call this horror. It lacks the tension, dread, and atmosphere of a horror book and felt more like a steamy thriller in a horror setting.
But like, more mildly hot and sweaty than actually steamy. Because it's not detailed sex scenes (thankfully), just a hint of a description of it. Like, enough that I wouldn't quite categorize this as YA even though it definitely had the vibe.
The story here is about the reunion of the cast of a slasher movie filmed like 20 years ago. Final girl, now 40ish years old, wants to reinvigorate her career and also maybe her relationship with the actor she met onset and then lost her virginity to because of course there was chemistry and blah de fucking blah blah blah. Like actually, who cares??
And I swear to god this cast of dingbats acts exactly the same as adults in the present as they did as teenagers in the past. As if none of them grew up and matured, they are all still horny teens trying to make out and fornicate.
And then in the last 75ish pages of the book Smith decided to introduce a plot and some twists that were just so eye-rolling and stupid. Nothing is setup well, but it manages to somehow, still be predictable and unsurprising.
I really didn't like this one.
2 out of 5 stars.
May 25, 2025
Miranda Smith’s Smile for the Cameras brought anything but a smile to my face—more often, it provoked yawns or eye rolls. With a sprawling cast of characters (past and present) and a "story within a story" framework, it tries to deliver a twisty slasher-thriller. Unfortunately, the result feels more muddled than menacing, despite the eerie '90s cabin setting and the lurking presence of an unwelcome guest. The big question: what if the creepiest person isn’t a stranger, but someone you used to trust? Sounds promising, right? Sadly, the execution falls flat.
Smith does get points for the setup. As a fan of classic slasher flicks, I appreciated the nods to genre conventions: a “final girl” in the form of a washed-up B-list actress, best known for her breakout role in Grad Night, who agrees to a reunion interview with her former cast and crew. Once at the remote location, old memories resurface, secrets unravel, and things (predictably) go off the rails.
It sounds like it could work. But as I read, I struggled to believe that Grad Night—the fictional film that anchors the narrative—could ever have been successful. From the brief scenes we get, it comes across as a bland, sex-heavy slasher with none of the originality or tension that made real-world classics like Scream or Friday the 13th stand the test of time. In fact, I wondered if those films even exist in this book’s universe—because that’s the only way Grad Night makes any cultural impact.
The novel also suffers from clunky pacing and underdeveloped characters. A flood of names and backstories are dumped onto the page early on, with little time to connect or care. The final twist left me shrugging rather than shocked, and by the end, I found myself disengaged from both the mystery and the people at its center.
Smile for the Cameras had potential but fails to live up to its premise. It may scratch a very specific slasher nostalgia itch for some, but for me, it didn’t make the cut. Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC.
Smith does get points for the setup. As a fan of classic slasher flicks, I appreciated the nods to genre conventions: a “final girl” in the form of a washed-up B-list actress, best known for her breakout role in Grad Night, who agrees to a reunion interview with her former cast and crew. Once at the remote location, old memories resurface, secrets unravel, and things (predictably) go off the rails.
It sounds like it could work. But as I read, I struggled to believe that Grad Night—the fictional film that anchors the narrative—could ever have been successful. From the brief scenes we get, it comes across as a bland, sex-heavy slasher with none of the originality or tension that made real-world classics like Scream or Friday the 13th stand the test of time. In fact, I wondered if those films even exist in this book’s universe—because that’s the only way Grad Night makes any cultural impact.
The novel also suffers from clunky pacing and underdeveloped characters. A flood of names and backstories are dumped onto the page early on, with little time to connect or care. The final twist left me shrugging rather than shocked, and by the end, I found myself disengaged from both the mystery and the people at its center.
Smile for the Cameras had potential but fails to live up to its premise. It may scratch a very specific slasher nostalgia itch for some, but for me, it didn’t make the cut. Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC.
July 17, 2025
I received an ARC of this book.
About halfway through with this book, I realized that nothing suspenseful, tense, thrilling, or even interesting had happened. The characters were all very two-dimensional, the pacing was glacial, and the MC was hard to connect to and boring. The 1st person POV felt like someone narrating a documentary, instead of a person experiencing events that were terrifying and extremely difficult to navigate. I got absolutely no sense of why Grad Night was actually a revolutionary movie in the genre--it sounded just like an average late 90s/early 2000s slasher flick. (It would have made more sense if they had talked about the movie developing cult-status or something.) Then the ending was literally preposterous. When the killer was revealed, I literally had a moment, of "Who is that?!" due to the fact that so many superfluous characters and obvious red herrings had been introduced throughout the whole book. The bouncing back in forth between timelines and movie scripts added to the feeling of abruptness and lack of organic flow.
This book was not scary, was not full of horror-inducing tension, made me feel like I was being talked at, and not being allowed to watch a story unfold organically. There was an enormous amount of showing and not telling. I really wanted to DNF about 60% of the way through, and I probably should have. This felt like my 13 year-old wrote it (minus the ridiculous sex-scenes). I would not recommend it at all.
About halfway through with this book, I realized that nothing suspenseful, tense, thrilling, or even interesting had happened. The characters were all very two-dimensional, the pacing was glacial, and the MC was hard to connect to and boring. The 1st person POV felt like someone narrating a documentary, instead of a person experiencing events that were terrifying and extremely difficult to navigate. I got absolutely no sense of why Grad Night was actually a revolutionary movie in the genre--it sounded just like an average late 90s/early 2000s slasher flick. (It would have made more sense if they had talked about the movie developing cult-status or something.) Then the ending was literally preposterous. When the killer was revealed, I literally had a moment, of "Who is that?!" due to the fact that so many superfluous characters and obvious red herrings had been introduced throughout the whole book. The bouncing back in forth between timelines and movie scripts added to the feeling of abruptness and lack of organic flow.
This book was not scary, was not full of horror-inducing tension, made me feel like I was being talked at, and not being allowed to watch a story unfold organically. There was an enormous amount of showing and not telling. I really wanted to DNF about 60% of the way through, and I probably should have. This felt like my 13 year-old wrote it (minus the ridiculous sex-scenes). I would not recommend it at all.
July 25, 2025
#ad much love for the ALC @prhaudio #partner
A love book to horror movies and a fun read
It’s a reunion 20 years in the making. One that Ella Winters really wants nothing to do with - but with the promise of more acting gigs to come - she can’t turn this down. But there’s secrets based around what happened on that set - they all have something to hide. Something to run from.
The story is told in the now and then abut also has manuscript minis between every few chapters. While I normally hate dual timelines it works so well with this book. We get to see what happened in the past and how it ties into the current time.
We get all the locked-room feels but also get that scary moody woodsy vibe. The setting is just so perfect there’s nothing I’d change about it. The characters have depth and you will feel like you’re reading a true story. There was so much to Ella that I felt myself relating to her.
Back then Ella was the final girl - but will she have to truly survive this time around?
Memorable
Graduation by Vitamin C - It’s been forever ! Loved that song
🎧 The audio for this was simply amazing. Abigail Reno, Marwan Salama, Louisa Zhu,
Vas Ell, Jeff Ebner all did a fantastic job bringing this book to life. The manuscript parts were expertly done and sound amazing. Sounds like a podcast.
A love book to horror movies and a fun read
It’s a reunion 20 years in the making. One that Ella Winters really wants nothing to do with - but with the promise of more acting gigs to come - she can’t turn this down. But there’s secrets based around what happened on that set - they all have something to hide. Something to run from.
The story is told in the now and then abut also has manuscript minis between every few chapters. While I normally hate dual timelines it works so well with this book. We get to see what happened in the past and how it ties into the current time.
We get all the locked-room feels but also get that scary moody woodsy vibe. The setting is just so perfect there’s nothing I’d change about it. The characters have depth and you will feel like you’re reading a true story. There was so much to Ella that I felt myself relating to her.
Back then Ella was the final girl - but will she have to truly survive this time around?
Memorable
Graduation by Vitamin C - It’s been forever ! Loved that song
🎧 The audio for this was simply amazing. Abigail Reno, Marwan Salama, Louisa Zhu,
Vas Ell, Jeff Ebner all did a fantastic job bringing this book to life. The manuscript parts were expertly done and sound amazing. Sounds like a podcast.
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