31 Days of Horror: Day 28- #HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 61: Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester

It's #HorrorForLibraries giveaway day and I have a giveaway of an ARC from my October Library Journal Horror Review column. But first, here is a refresher on the basic rules to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that  week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see giveaway #60. Our winner was Hannah from Lakewood/Smokey Point Library [WA]. 

Now on to this week's giveaway-- Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester. This titles is slated to come out January 18, 2022. It will be very popular with your fans of female driven Psychological Horror. See below for more articulation of the wide appeal of this novel.

Here is my Goodreads review which includes my draft LJ review and a link to that full review:

Review in the October issue of Library Journal: https://www.libraryjournal.com/?revie...

For fans of Christina Henry and Rachel Harrison

Three Words That Describe This Book: dueling timelines, thick unease, mental health 

What is scarier, sexism in mental health care or an actual monster? DeMeeter’s empowering, engaging, and intense Supernatural Thriller seeks an answer through alternating timelines, and brisk pacing. 2019: Lila, aged 13 is dealing with an overprotective mother, an unrequited crush on her best friend, and the murders of local teen girls. 2004: Caroline, her mother, is a young adult, facing an eerily similar serial killer, one that sets off a series of events leading Caroline to become renowned for her grotesque and critically acclaimed sculptures, get treatment for severe mental illness, and destroys her marriage. The unease is thick, pressing down on the reader as both narrators intimately share their dark secrets on the page, but struggle to share their supernatural experiences and disturbing realizations with others for fear of being labeled “crazy.” As both timelines spin out of control, past and present collide in an epic showdown that will leave readers looking over their shoulders with every dog bark they hear. 

Verdict: An obvious choice for those who like the female driven Psychological Horror of Cross Her Heart by Pinborough or The Return by Harrison, but also a good suggestion for readers who want to explore the trauma and inequalities in mental health treatment such as in The Devil in Silver by LaValle.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for sending me the ARC so I could give it away to one of you.