Well, here it is, friends: my first DNF (did not finish) of the year. It was bound to happen sooner or later, although I’m pretty bummed it happened with a book I was really excited to read. Oh well!

I typically read very quickly, but after slogging through this one for three weeks I *just* hit the 150 page mark. That’s saying something: I was not enjoying it.

I don’t really know how to explain this book to be honest, it’s so strange. The closest comparison I can think of is Nightbitch, which I read and reviewed last year. Both of these books, I think, are ones that people will either love or hate.

In Such a Pretty Smile there’s a lot of violence, dead girls, a dead dog, bloody descriptions of visions and events, and no one believes the women that something is wrong. The gaslighting is everywhere, folks!

I typically love a good unreliable narrator but in this one, I truly didn’t know what was happening and everything was horrible and it was a LOT to handle.

Now, I don’t think this is a bad book, I just think it’s not for me. There are a ton of great reviews for it on Goodreads, so be sure to check those out if you’re interested!

Thank you to Raincoast Books and St. Martin’s Press for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review! Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester came out on January 18, and can be purchased wherever books are sold.