I'll be honest, some of Empty Smiles was pretty unsatisfying. I could feel this novel straining against its own slim page count. So many moments of summary could have been full scenes that would have been emotionally impactful.

The climax and denouement especially suffer from the trimming of the fat. Problems are solved almost instantaneously and the story lacks the gravity of previous installments in the series. I'm especially disappointed at the way Arden retcons Brian, Coco, and Phil's reveal of their supernatural circumstances to their parents. So much of the narrative agonized over whether or not they were going to tell their parent only for the thread to be dropped in the eleventh out and never addressed again leaving me unsatisfied by their conclusion.

Despite my disappointments, there was a lot to like about Empty Smiles. I could never fault the anxiety-inducing stomach-churning children's horror Katherine Adren crafts throughout her novels. As the cover promises, Empty Smiles contains some fearsome clowns and Arden's ability to evoke pure terror remains strong

The characters in Empty Smiles were as lovable as always. Through the Small Spaces quartet, I've grown to love Ollie Brian and Coco (as well as new addition Phil) So seeing them finally overcome the monster they've been fighting was satisfying in its own right.