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Where Fear Smiles
Would you forgive your best friend if she was responsible for ruining your life?A whispered rumour draws a group of students into the dense forests of coastal a lost Indigenous artifact, hidden for centuries and promising academic glory.
While Leah’s colleagues are determined to claim it, she only agrees to the trek because she can’t bear the thought of being left behind, and forces her best friend Charlotte to go with her for support against her dark thoughts.
What was meant to be an escape from the weight of the academic semester, quickly it turns into a test of endurance. The deeper they push into the forest, the darker Leah begins to dream. When they finally uncover what they came for, the discovery reveals something far more terrifying than any of them imagined.
A demon born of nightmares is unleashed, and with it, carnage.
Now the survivors must find a way to drive the nightmare back to its realm before society is doomed to never dream again. But as the forest closes in, the greatest horror isn't the ancient evil—it's watching a lifelong trust begin to rot.
For readers who love psychological tension and dread that grows under the skin. A story of friendship cracking under pressure, of trust decaying from the inside, and of nightmares that don’t stay in the dark.
Open the book and face the nightmare.
While Leah’s colleagues are determined to claim it, she only agrees to the trek because she can’t bear the thought of being left behind, and forces her best friend Charlotte to go with her for support against her dark thoughts.
What was meant to be an escape from the weight of the academic semester, quickly it turns into a test of endurance. The deeper they push into the forest, the darker Leah begins to dream. When they finally uncover what they came for, the discovery reveals something far more terrifying than any of them imagined.
A demon born of nightmares is unleashed, and with it, carnage.
Now the survivors must find a way to drive the nightmare back to its realm before society is doomed to never dream again. But as the forest closes in, the greatest horror isn't the ancient evil—it's watching a lifelong trust begin to rot.
For readers who love psychological tension and dread that grows under the skin. A story of friendship cracking under pressure, of trust decaying from the inside, and of nightmares that don’t stay in the dark.
Open the book and face the nightmare.
221 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 13, 2026
About the author
E. V. Ortolan
3 books1 followerE. V. Ortolan is a book editor, lifelong reader, and a horror fan. She has always been drawn to the uncomfortable side of stories.
Her work blends the psychological with the uncanny, but she is less interested in monsters than in the people who open the door for them. The supernatural may start her stories, but humans are always the ones to finish them.
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Born and raised in São Paulo, she discovered early on that the best way to overcome our fears is to control them with pen and paper. With a bachelor’s degree in Literature and Languages, she has turned her creative and unsettling thoughts into stories since adolescence, though sometimes she surprises herself with a happy tale.
Her work blends the psychological with the uncanny, but she is less interested in monsters than in the people who open the door for them. The supernatural may start her stories, but humans are always the ones to finish them.
-
Born and raised in São Paulo, she discovered early on that the best way to overcome our fears is to control them with pen and paper. With a bachelor’s degree in Literature and Languages, she has turned her creative and unsettling thoughts into stories since adolescence, though sometimes she surprises herself with a happy tale.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 4, 2026
Review of ARC received from the author
First of all I would like to thank the author for providing my first ARC ever, it is an absolute honour to read your debut and be part of your writing career in horror.
The story follows Leah and Charlotte, two best friends who join their friend group to search for and discover a grotto in the brazilian jungle where it is rumoured that an ancient Tupi summoning ritual took place. The group is, however, riddled with conflict, insecurities and, to some degree, betrayal that only begin to truly show after they find the grotto and the summoning site. Everything falls apart after they underestimate the power of the forces they are dealing with and it quickly derails into a series of… unfortunate events.
For me this book overall is a solid 3 star. I feel that the story around Tupinology (which for me was my first encounter with) is a pretty good setup for the chain of events that are being set in motion. I enjoyed the psychological aspects of the book and how the entity operated, though I wish he’d have shut the hell up more often haha. I went into the book expecting a quiet psychological jungle with a entity that doesn’t communicate effectively; and I was surprised to see that the story evolves further than the jungle.
The ending was not at all underwhelming, I think it lines it pretty well with the rest of the story being told and it’s well thought out in the sense that so often I read books where the ending is an afterthought to the action.
Another thing that I felt were refreshing was the diversity of characters.
Onto the more critical aspects:
I wish the characters had more defined character speech - in the beginning, before the group got smaller, it was hard to keep track of who was speaking at one time. This issue doesn’t persist in the second half of the book with small exceptions. Because of this I felt the need to reread passages to fully comprehend what was going on.
Another issue I had in the beginning is that the localization of the story feels off - I’m not sure entirely but it feels like the exact location gets revealed to us a little too late in the book, especially since the unique setup at the crossroads of the beach, mountain and in the jungle may make the reader raise their eyebrow when presented to them. I remember reading Sao Paulo and thinking “Oh that makes more sense”.
The book does feel as if it was written by a non-native speaker - some of the patterns used for writing certain passages feel as if translated (and this comes from my own understanding of english as it is too my second language). While the author has a good grasp on english and we have some very beautiful descriptions in many points of the book, it felt inconsistent between the two points, leading to high highs and some lower lows. The one example I prepared was the dream creature’s oozing dark substance being described as “goo”, where I would have personally liked to see a different approach.
Overall this is a solid, fun read. It has some gorey aspects that I really did enjoy, the ending was well crafted and while it does have the charm and mistakes of a debut novel, I’m excited to see the author’s progress into horror in the future.
Again thank you for the opportunity and hoping to see more :)
First of all I would like to thank the author for providing my first ARC ever, it is an absolute honour to read your debut and be part of your writing career in horror.
The story follows Leah and Charlotte, two best friends who join their friend group to search for and discover a grotto in the brazilian jungle where it is rumoured that an ancient Tupi summoning ritual took place. The group is, however, riddled with conflict, insecurities and, to some degree, betrayal that only begin to truly show after they find the grotto and the summoning site. Everything falls apart after they underestimate the power of the forces they are dealing with and it quickly derails into a series of… unfortunate events.
For me this book overall is a solid 3 star. I feel that the story around Tupinology (which for me was my first encounter with) is a pretty good setup for the chain of events that are being set in motion. I enjoyed the psychological aspects of the book and how the entity operated, though I wish he’d have shut the hell up more often haha. I went into the book expecting a quiet psychological jungle with a entity that doesn’t communicate effectively; and I was surprised to see that the story evolves further than the jungle.
The ending was not at all underwhelming, I think it lines it pretty well with the rest of the story being told and it’s well thought out in the sense that so often I read books where the ending is an afterthought to the action.
Another thing that I felt were refreshing was the diversity of characters.
Onto the more critical aspects:
I wish the characters had more defined character speech - in the beginning, before the group got smaller, it was hard to keep track of who was speaking at one time. This issue doesn’t persist in the second half of the book with small exceptions. Because of this I felt the need to reread passages to fully comprehend what was going on.
Another issue I had in the beginning is that the localization of the story feels off - I’m not sure entirely but it feels like the exact location gets revealed to us a little too late in the book, especially since the unique setup at the crossroads of the beach, mountain and in the jungle may make the reader raise their eyebrow when presented to them. I remember reading Sao Paulo and thinking “Oh that makes more sense”.
The book does feel as if it was written by a non-native speaker - some of the patterns used for writing certain passages feel as if translated (and this comes from my own understanding of english as it is too my second language). While the author has a good grasp on english and we have some very beautiful descriptions in many points of the book, it felt inconsistent between the two points, leading to high highs and some lower lows. The one example I prepared was the dream creature’s oozing dark substance being described as “goo”, where I would have personally liked to see a different approach.
Overall this is a solid, fun read. It has some gorey aspects that I really did enjoy, the ending was well crafted and while it does have the charm and mistakes of a debut novel, I’m excited to see the author’s progress into horror in the future.
Again thank you for the opportunity and hoping to see more :)
Review of advance copy received from Author
Where Fear Smiles is a creepy, emotionally charged horror story that makes a strong addition to any spooky season reading list. I really loved what E.V. Ortolan was trying to convey here, the terror is not just in the nightmare fueled supernatural elements, but in the emotional fallout, fear, and fractured relationships at the heart of the story.
There were a few moments where I felt a little confused and had to reread passages or flip back a few pages to make sure I understood what was happening. That occasionally interrupted the flow for me, but it did not take away from the overall impact of the book.
For the most part, this was a solid, unsettling read with plenty of emotional terror woven into its darker moments. If you enjoy horror that blends eerie atmosphere with character driven tension and the kind of fear that lingers beyond the monsters, Where Fear Smiles is worth adding to your spooky season rotation.
There were a few moments where I felt a little confused and had to reread passages or flip back a few pages to make sure I understood what was happening. That occasionally interrupted the flow for me, but it did not take away from the overall impact of the book.
For the most part, this was a solid, unsettling read with plenty of emotional terror woven into its darker moments. If you enjoy horror that blends eerie atmosphere with character driven tension and the kind of fear that lingers beyond the monsters, Where Fear Smiles is worth adding to your spooky season rotation.
November 3, 2026
This was a gripping, chilling horror read following Leah who with her best friend Charlotte goes on a trip to find a grotto connected to a local tribal legend with some friends ,Leah is reluctant in going as she feels like the others are more Charlotte's friends than her which is why she begs for her bestie to come along. Soon things start to happen which rattles her especially as some truths come to light and she has vivid nightmares. When they get to the grotto things go wrong and something horrible is unleashed. The remaining members are soon trying to fix it while also trying not to succumb to the dark entity. This was a great read and I enjoyed it but I didn't really feel the ending so I would give this a 4.75 overall in rating.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
October 13, 2026
Thank you to the author for letting me preview your book. While the story starts a little slow and a little hard to follow, it picks up about halfway through and finishes strong.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews