They're Watching Us is a super fast paced and highly engaging young adult novel. The setting gives perfect dark academia vibes as it is set in an elite school and its dark secret society. While I found myself devouring this book and having a good time the believability of a high school-run organization with significant influence is questionable and while a fun premise would have worked out better as an adult novel as the sheer power they have is far fetched and the reasons for joining are quite serious - this doesn't mesh well in a high school setting. Maren is a standout character, despite her changeability ( which can easily be forgiven, given her circumstances and the fact she is a teenager), However i feel as though the other characters lack development and this book could have used another 100 pages or so to do a bit more through character and relationship building. I really though Ichaso nailed the ending and the twists and turns left me wanting to read chapter after chapter . It is a highly recommended read for those in the YA age range or those looking for a good fat paced YA thriller.

This was a pretty good mystery set in a private school. Is it a game or is it deadly? The concept of students acting like this and a secret society looking for sacrifices is engaging.

Polly has been drifting away from her best friend Maren for the past few months. Staying out late, not coming back to their shared dorm, and hanging out with a new group of friends. Maren confronts Polly, telling her that she misses her best friend. Polly tells her to meet her at their fountain that night, she had something to show her. Polly doesn't make it to the fountain. Maren knows that Polly wouldn't run away even though that what the authorities have determined. It's up to Maren to find Polly.

A secret society full of games and intrigue await Maren as she tries to rescue her best friend. I was very entertained while reading. The twist and turns were really good, especially the big ones towards the end. While I could have done without the semi love triangle, I still really liked the book. I don't trust either of those boys, even at the end, a certain someone seems sus to me. After everything they went through, I still don't trust him!

This was a fun, quick read that will keep you on the edge of your seat, wondering who you can trust or who is working for the Society.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This started a little slow for me but as soon as it picked up, I couldn't stop reading until I finished.

Elite secret societies and a murderer on the lose? Sign me up! The underground world building was absolutely phenomenal, and the Maren’s devotion to Polly really made me feel for her. The story flowed, the romance was EVERYTHING and the twist at the end!! I was screaming! Thank you for a great read!

Thrillers in general are something that I tend to avoid, I like mysteries cozy and with lower stakes, but when I do read a thriller I love to go for YA. There’s something specifically ridiculous and fun about them that I love. Then you add in a secret society and I’m sold.

The premise of this one hooked me right away, you’re really just thrown into the story and I loved it. Starting with the mystery of what happened to Marens’ best friend and going right into figuring out what’s going on with this secret society.

There’s a solid mystery, romance, a good amount of dramatics and twists and turns all the way through. The stakes also do feel pretty damn high. Honestly if you like YA thrillers then I’d definitely check this one out, it’s an author that I’ll for sure be checking out the next time I feel like diving into this genre.

Loved the dark vibes and academia aspects to this book! It’s like a mix of Leigh Bardugo and Olivie Blake and I loved every second of it.

This had such dark academia vibes and i was down for it. It’s so got such an interesting plot that had me gripped from start to finish. I’m excited to read more from the author in the future.

I did not see those twists coming. I like when a book can surprise me and keep me guessing. This book managed to do just that.

I haven’t read a Chelsea Ichaso novel before, but I must give her credit—she knows how to write a page turner. I blew through this novel at a breakneck speed and found myself torn about how to feel. On one hand, the tension was unbelievable, and I couldn’t trust a single character on the page. On the other hand, Ichaso skipped over the necessary character work to invest the reader in Maren, the point-of-view character. Overall, I found myself confused as I walk away from this novel as I both loved and disliked different parts of it.

Before jumping into my critiques, I want to compliment Ichaso on her pacing and tension. This plot rarely let up on its characters but, when it did, it made the quieter moments all the more worth it. When Maren wasn’t fighting for Polly’s life/her own life, we were given glimpses of life on campus and the type of peers Maren dealt with at the Academy. These glimpses gave Ichaso the opportunity to further build the tapestry of distrust—I was truly suspicious of every character; I even had no trust for Remington, even through the novel’s end—and showed the reader that not even the adults on campus could be trusted. All of the scenes built together (and built up) to support a delicious feeling of tension and stress.

However, this novel did have a fatal flaw: the lack of connection to Maren. Within the first handful of chapters, I noted that there was next to no set up done for our point-of-view character. But that’s the thing about mysteries and thrillers, right? They often don’t give the main character the page space to be their own person. Instead, their entire personality is about the missing person and/or mystery, and that’s not as interesting to read about. A reader needs that through line of who the character is and what their goals are to make them worth reading about. Sure, Maren had the goal of saving her friend Polly, but there wasn’t nearly enough why to support Maren’s goals. Alongside failing to establish Maren’s agency as the main character, the novel also failed to establish the friendship with Polly. Truly, some intermittent backstory could have launched this novel to the next level. An extra handful of scenes proving that Maren and Polly had a friendship to care about and a friendship to fight for could have elevated this novel. Instead, the missing character exposition truly knocked this novel down and prevented it from being something truly great.

As is often the case for young adult novels, I found the story resolution to be too short and unbelievable. Maren hurtled through 300+ pages of traumatic events, just to end up continuing to attend the academy that nurtured and covered up a cult on its campus? And she walked away in love with Remington, which was difficult to buy into to because that plot barely received page time (and don’t get me started on that half-hearted love triangle sprinkled throughout). All in all, I had to heavily suspend my disbelief to get the ending to work, which was disappointing in the face of the fast-paced plotting and tension driving the rest of the novel forward.

As far as young adult thrillers go, this novel was okay. I just found myself craving more from this novel. More character work, more backstory, more romance to make it believable. Was this story fun? Certainly. But it isn’t something that’d I seek out to reread in the future.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

It's been two weeks since Polly St. James went missing. The Police, the principal of the Torrey-Wells Academy, and her parents say she ran away. Except for Maren, her best friend and roommate. She knows that Polly had a secret that she was going to share with Maren before she disappeared. Her only clue is a letter from the Gamemaster Society.
I began reading the story with no expectations, knowing only that a girl would disappear from a prestigious school. The conclusion left me feeling angry and anxious, but I believe this was a good thing because it elicited a strong emotional response.

I enjoyed the author's writing style, but I believe she could have delved deeper into the relationships between the characters. Additionally, I felt that the subplot involving the game could have been more thoroughly explored.

Maren's unwavering determination to locate Polly stood out as her defining trait. I chose to disregard the subplot involving the love triangle as it does not appeal to my taste.

I highly recommend this reading as I found the ending to be quite intriguing with a clever plot.

More and more I feel like I am outgrowing YA books. This one didn't hold my attention like I thought it would, I couldn't even finish it.

this book seemed really good and i tried my best to like it but it just...wasn't for me, i couldn't pass the 40%, it didn't catch me and i didn't care for the characters either

I did it.

I have achieved what I set forth to do.

I wanted to read a book that would have me:

1. chew my fingernails down to the beds
2. hold my breath in angst
3. fear what lurks in the shadows.

I had to call my therapist after concluding They’re Watching You.

This is in no way shape or form a bad thing, the fact that this book had this much of an impact on me is still mind boggling BUT if anyone could do it, it was sure to be Chelsea Ichaso.

I read Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets, awhile back and right there I knew that Ichaso and I had formed a "book-ship" of sorts, that would eventually escalate and lead me down a path of unwavering obsession to her books both published, and yet to be published.

Does Chelsea Ichaso, have that effect on you too? Maybe we can start a support group.

All kidding aside, Theyre Watching You, has easily snuck on in to my number one slot of most favored books.... EVER.

Teaser:

When a secret society has you in their sights, it can lead to power, privilege… or death.

It's been two weeks since Polly St. James went missing. The police, the headmistress of Torrey-Wells Academy, and even her parents have ruled her a runaway. But not Maren, her best friend and roommate. She knows Polly had a secret that she was about to share with Maren before she disappeared― something to do with the elite, ultra-rich crowd at Torrey-Wells.

Then Maren finds an envelope hidden among Polly's things: an invitation to the Gamemaster's Society. Do not tell anyone, it says. Maren is certain her classmates in the Society know the truth about what happened to Polly, though it's no easy feat to join. Once Maren's made it through the treacherous initiation, she discovers a world she never knew existed within her school, where Society members compete in high-stakes games for unheard-of rewards―Ivy League connections, privileges, favors.

But Maren's been drawn into a different game: for every win, she'll receive a clue about Polly. And as Maren keeps winning, she begins to see just how powerful the Society's game is―bigger and deadlier than she ever imagined. They see, they know, they control. And they kill.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc! All opinions are my own

I really enjoyed this book, it was quick paced, edge of the seat intense and at parts- creepy.

I did however, find the ending a bit rushed and lack lustre, which really brought down my rating of the book, and my overall enjoyment as I wish more things had been tied up.

All in all ‘They’re watching you’ was a solid thriller that I would rate 6.5/10

I am in a YA thriller kick - and loving it! Unfortunately, They're Watching You was not my favorite read recently.

I was very intrigued by a plot that wove together a love for games and challenges, and a secret society/cult; however, it ultimately fell short for me - only because I felt it was entirely unrealistic, so I couldn't buy in to the story or characters.

After reading, I was grateful for the cult dynamic of the book - the mysterious rituals, hidden agendas, and the sense of danger added tension and spurred me on to tread more. I appreciated the paranoia and uncertainty woven throughout the story.

However, at the end of the day, the fact that this type of organization was left to run successfully for years - with hidden places to meet and by causing real harm to others at a school - I just felt I couldn't buy into it, as it was lacking some grounded to make it feel plausible for me.

I really wanted to like this one but I unfortunately didn't like a lot of the aspects. It had a very interesting premise as a dark academia young adult horror novel filled with secret societies but it didn't feel believable or full fleshed out. I ended up not enjoying this one.

I really liked the story but I didn’t care for the very end. I wish it ended differently. I would prefer a ending that was the opposite of what we got.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this.

This book was a lot better than I thought it would be. While not quite 4 stars, I would ultimately rate this 3.5 stars.

I found this engaging, and it did keep me guessing until one chapter, where for me it basically gave everything away, but despite this, I still enjoyed the story, as, throughout the journey, you are continuously guessing who you can trust and who you can't.

Private school, secret society, love triangle, trust issues, missing roommate, and a secret society/ cult. What else do you need for a twisting, turning mystery?
Maren is determined to figure out where her vanished roommate Polly has gone, but to do that, she will have to get to the bottom of all of the secrets she realizes Polly was keeping from her. In her quest to learn the truth, Maren stumbles into the clutches of the Gamemaster's Society, and she realizes that she will have to become a member and play their games if she is going to discover the truth about Polly.