I had the chance to review Critical Role’s newest book Critical Role: Smiley Day!, featuring words of wisdom from everyone’s favorite robot therapist Fresh Cut Grass!
Critical Role has released a number of books this year already as part of their ongoing 10th anniversary celebrations. Now this week they’ve released their newest book, Critical Role: Smiley Day!, a picture book starring Fresh Cut Grass, the robot cleric from Campaign The book is ostensibly written by Fresh Cut Grass with Sam Riegel, who played the character, serving as “co-author.”
Written by: Fresh Cut Grass with Sam Riegel
Critical Role: Smiley Day
Publisher: Random House Worlds
Release Date: September 30, 2025
For those not familiar with Critical Role’s third campaign, Fresh Cut Grass, also known as FCG, was Sam Riegel’s robot cleric character for most of the campaign, until a real life battle with cancer led him to write the robot out of the story by having him sacrifice himself in order to save the rest of the party. FCG quickly became a beloved character, with his quirky “life advice” and persistence in seeing the sunny side of life endearing the little robot to many, which made the character’s demise all the more poignant.
The book is set during an unspecified day, presumably between major events in Campaign 3. Fresh Cut Grass, delighted to have his very own book, is attempting to share his famous “words to live by” but is continually interrupted by the other members of Bell’s Hells, his adventuring party during Campaign 3. These interruptions lead to an important piece of advice: when taking care of one’s friends, never forget to also take care of yourself.
Having read through the book multiple times, I have to say that everything about this story is adorable. In typical fashion for Critical Role stories, the pages are full of Easter egg references to things and activities that the members of Bell’s Hells are known for. The story is made even better by the fact that the characters are seemingly self-aware that this is all taking place within the pages of a book. Fresh Cut Grass is the most aware of all, as he becomes increasingly frantic the further into the book you go, as he wants to deliver his important message before time runs out at the end of the book.
The art in this book is simply beautiful. All the illustrations were done by Thorn L. Knight and they bring each member of Bell’s Hells to life, but especially Fresh Cut Grass. For a robot, FCG is drawn to show a full range of emotions that perfectly reflect his growing frustration. As Bell’s Hells haven’t been seen in books all that often, I’d like to think this is a preview of what a future Bell’s Hells graphic novel might look like.
What I love the most about this book is how well it delivers the core message of “Self-care is important, remember to take care of yourself!” It’s presented in such a way that readers of almost every age level can take something away from this story. It’s never too early to learn about the importance of self-care and I love that the concept is presented in such a simple way.
Smiley Day! is a great addition to Critical Role’s growing library of books and readers of all ages will find much to love in it. I highly recommend picking this book up and adding it to your collection.
