Audiobook Review – Empty Smiles (Small Spaces Quartet, Book 4) by Katherine Arden, Narrated by Renee Dorian (3.5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy/Horror
Length: 5 hours and 12 minutes
Publisher: Listening Library
Release Date: August 09, 2022
ASIN: B09KM99M38
Stand Alone or Series: 4th book in the Small Space Quartet
Source: Borrrowed Audiobook from Library
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
“It’s been three months since Ollie made a daring deal with the smiling man to save those she loved, and then vanished without a trace. The smiling man promised Coco, Brian and Phil, that they’d have a chance to save her, but as time goes by, they begin to worry that the smiling man has lied to them and Ollie is gone forever. But finally, a clue surfaces. A boy who went missing at a nearby traveling carnival appears at the town swimming hole, terrified and rambling. He tells anyone who’ll listen about the mysterious man who took him. How the man agreed to let him go on one condition: that he deliver a message. Play if you dare.
Game on! The smiling man has finally made his move. Now it’s Coco, Brian, and Phil’s turn to make theirs. And they know just where to start. The traveling carnival is coming to Evansburg.
Meanwhile, Ollie is trapped in the world behind the mist, learning the horrifying secrets of the smiling man’s carnival, trying everything to help her friends find her. Brian, Coco and Phil will risk everything to rescue Ollie—but they all soon realize this game is much more dangerous than the ones before. This time the smiling man is playing for keeps.
The summer nights are short, and Ollie, Coco, Brian, and Phil have only until sunrise to beat him once and for all—or it’s game over for everyone.”
Series Info/Source: This is the fourth book in the Small Spaces Quartet. I borrowed this on ebook from my library.
Thoughts: This was a decent conclusion to this middle grade horror/fantasy series. Where we left off in the last book, Ollie had disappeared after making a deal with the Smiling Man and the adults couldn’t remember what had happened. This left Coco, Brian and Phil to pick up the pieces. When rumors of a strange carnival and disappearing children come to Evansburg, they all think the Smiling Man must be involved. Meanwhile, Ollie is stuck in the traveling carnival and trying to unravel the mystery of three keys.
This was a fine read but the first book in this series remains my favorite. It was good to see the adults get more involved this time around, even if they weren’t much help. I thought the traveling carnival, creepy clowns, and eerie dolls were well done. I also really loved the mystery of the keys that Ollie had to unravel.
I did find the conclusion to this series unsatisfying. It just wasn’t that different from how the other books in this series ended. I expected a reveal that told us more about what the Smiling Man was; there are hints but you are very much left to your own devices to figure out what he is. It just seemed very open-ended to me. I did listen to this on audiobook and the audiobook narration was well done.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this story. It was a quick read and I enjoyed finding out what happened to Ollie. However, the ending felt very open and didn’t tie things up well. It felt like just another book in this series, not a conclusion to it. I would still recommend this series if you are looking for a creepy middle grade read that is well written and does a good job of blending horror and fantasy in a creepy (but not gorey) way. I will continue to watch for new books by Arden. Although, I will say that I enjoyed her “Winternight” trilogy a lot more than this series.
