This one was a wild ride. I love secret societies, especially like having to infiltrate them and figure out what's going on. So when the MCs friend Polly went missing. It was like super fun to have the introduction to the society and try to figure out what's going on.
A couple things that I didn't love as much. I didn't love the weird kind of love triangles situation that was very much confusing. There was some insta-like situation that wasn't my favorite either.
All in all, I really enjoyed it and read it quickly. The concept of the secret society and the location within the school was really fun to get into. There is pieces that didn't necessarily fit well together or make sense, but all in all it was a good read.

Although I found the start a tad slow, as I wasn’t sure what was happening, once the action kicked in I was hooked. It ended up being a fast-paced story that was a true rollercoaster ride. I could easily see this turned into a movie.

Great YA read – no trigger warnings that I could think of.
I’ll be checking out other books by this author.

I thought this was such a great book. It was a bit intense because I was always wondering who was "in" on the big secret. The author did a great job of making the main character clever and likeable. There were a few twists...one I saw coming but another that took me completely by surprise. I thought the plot was really thought out, with a bit of a mythical twist, the ending wrapped the story up pretty neatly. Very impressed!

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the copy of They’re Watching You. This is the first book I have read by this author but it won’t be my last because I loved the writing and was riveted by the story. Do not be put off because this is a YA book, this is a solid, mysterious thriller. Maybe it was a little far fetched but it was still a great, engrossing read. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Maren’s best friend, Polly, has gone missing. No one is looking for her as everyone including her parents, the school and the police have decided she is a runaway. Maren thinks differently and sets out to find out what happened to Polly. Maren’s quest leads her to the Gamemaster’s Society and life or death tasks. As she delves deeper into the society, trying to find clues that will lead her to Polly, Maren is torn between who to trust, who is telling the truth and who is setting her up to fail.
Chelsea Ichaso takes readers on a fast-paced ride that fans of the YA thriller genre will enjoy. The book is full of exciting challenges that lead the reader to an unexpected end. The characters are interesting with different backgrounds that bring the story together. I highly recommend reading this book and adding it to your mystery collection.

Thank you Netgalley for the free eARC (and the publisher + author, too!).

This was unputdownable! A solid dark academia thriller read with stakes and numerous twists and turns. Though I ended up predicting a couple of twists, I still loved the book and really enjoyed the read! I thought the love triangle was a little redundant and the guy I was rooting for most of the book didn't end up with Maren but I'm willing to forgive the book for that. The love story that was told I didn't fully believe but the plot kept me going!

This book picked up so quickly and around the 50% mark I was well and truly hooked and I didn't move, didn't dare breathe for the last 50% from there. I enjoyed this much more than Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets. Ichaso has really developed her style!

*I got a free copy through Netgalley, this in no way affected this review*

This book was a rollercoaster from start to finish! I really liked the boarding school, thriller/mystery vibe this book was giving off and really enjoyed my time reading it!

Some things were a bit predictable, but I didn’t really care as I was so immersed into the story and wanted to know how it would end!

The ending was a bit bland in my opinion and a bit too good to be true, but over all, I had a really good time reading this book.

First, I'd like to thank NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book! I decided to give this book a chance as I've actually read Chelsea Ichaso's YA thriller 'Little Creeping Things' when she first debuted, which I enjoyed (it was also my first ever ARC). Admittedly, I wasn't initially drawn to the plot at first - a secret society set at a posh boarding school - yeah, I've seen that before... I will say overall I'm glad I gave it a chance!

While this book was very different from 'Little Creeping Things,' it was filled with a LOT of twists and turns that made the long journey to the end more enjoyable for me. And believe me when I say LONG.

At the beginning, I couldn't really find myself connecting with any of the characters, even though the protagonist gets thrown into the society pretty quickly and had to solve the mystery of her missing roommate. But the story picks up more in the middle and I found myself enjoying the book more and more as it went on. I will say the unexpected surprises definitely kept me on my toes, as it kept me questioning who to trust. While everything gets wrapped up pretty neatly by the end, the ending still left me pretty satisfied!

I really enjoyed this and thought the pacing was excellent. The characters were three dimensional and very enjoyable read

3.5

I definetely enjoyed this more that Chelsea Ichaso's Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets. It was much more developed and complex and intriguing and I'd definetely recommend it if you want a soft thriller/mystery read.

I'm not really sure about the plot twists. I think they weren't explained enough at the point where some didn't make sense. Also the ending could have been developed more and not just get a glimpse of what happened five months later

A secret society built on Greek lores, lots of mystery, secrets, betrayals and dash of love.

I didn't like the book. While the writing was great, the plot just wasn't it for me. The big-secret was well-kept till the climax but it wasn't worth 200 pages.

And the romance, it was awful and forced. The two characters didn't seem to connect at all. For the female MC, love seemed more like an added convenience because the guy was just available.

As far as secret societies go, this one seemed to have all the cliche wrapped in one and presented plainly.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the chance to read this book through an e-arc!

This book was so thrilling, I knew who it would be but I didn’t expect the last part. The book gives me dark acadamia vibes, with them also living in a dorm gives me boarding school vibes, which it kinda is. But learning about the thing they’re discovering was giving me the icks because they were really watching them which was so creepy, and I know understood what title means. I enjoyed it! Finished it in less than a day!

3/5 stars. To be released January 2023.

An elite boarding school, a secret society, and a deadly game - Maren finds herself infiltrating an infamous secret society after her best friend supposedly runs away. What she thought was just playing innocent games takes a dark turn and she has no idea who to trust. Full of twists and turns, They're Watching You is a fun, quick read that makes you question every character's motives.

A very fun time! This was a quick read that satisfied my need for a young adult thriller. The writing was easy to follow, but not too simplistic or juvenile. The premise itself sounded fascinating and I was not disappointed by the direction the book took. I was worried about the characters, which is always a good thing, because it means the cast is worth caring for. I'd happily check out the author's other books.

Mannnn, I was sitting in the edge of my seat!!! Very well done. I didn’t see that ending coming at all.
Secret society books are easily becoming my new favorite! The plot was excellent- the characters are intriguing and my oh my. I loved it!

WOW. I am not much of a mystery/thriller reader, but THIS. BOOK. IS. IT. Y'ALL.

Meet Maren who attends a high-profile private school. Maren discovers a Secret Society that is near impossible to get into. When her best friend goes missing, her gut tells her this Secret Society is involved. Maren manipulates her way into the Society. With dangerous games a play, is it really just a game? Or is there something bigger at stake in play?

Chelsea Ichaso has crafted a story that you simply cannot put down. I could not turn the pages fast enough to find out the next game, the next betrayal, the next clue! As avid readers, we can often predict the AHA moments, "who did it," and where we are going... but just when I thought I had something figured out, boy was I wrong. Ichaso was always four steps ahead of my reading=loving mind!

These characters were very well crafted: complex, strong, and real. The plot was perfect. I cannot rave about this Young Adult Thriller enough!

Thanks so much to CHelsea Ichaso and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

With the dark academia aesthetic and murder-mystery, I found this novel remarkably reminiscent of The Inheritance Games and Truly Devious. I found Maren to be a likeable character, and wonderfully relatable! Since the book is scheduled to be released in eight months at the time of writing this review, it was a thrill to receive an eARC.

I did, however, find the plot to be quite unbelievable at times, given that the main characters are high school students. It might have been slightly more immersing and feasible to swallow had the characters been college age.

But overall, it was a solid read! It's nice to have a YA book which doesn't have many gruesome scenes (this one had none). A light murder-mystery, though it's definitely an oxymoron, pretty much sums up this book.

Sadly disappointed by this one!

The reservations I had here are the same I had with another Ichaso book, Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets, which makes me think I’m the wrong audience for these books. The blurb made it seem upper, darker YA, but it read as very young YA/maybe MG? with the plot and characters being pretty caricatured. The pace was snappy to the point of being jerky. And the names were jarringly dated—Polly, Diana, Annabelle, Maren, Gavin, Kara, Paul... I don’t think I’ve met anyone in the last couple of generations with these names? Definitely not Polly, Diana, or Annabelle.

I think this could be a good read for younger YA readers… but unfortunately it’s become apparent this author isn’t for me!

Still super grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc!

-A

I really liked this book a lot. Kept me guessing the whole way through wondering who Maren could actually trust. Very well written, with very few mistakes. The main characters is a third year student in a boarding school who has a good head on her shoulder and wasn’t like so many other main characters who repeatedly make terrible decisions. I would recommend this book.

A girl realizes her now-missing friend was part of a secret society at the fancy-pants boarding school they both attend on a scholarship. She suspects the secret society shenanigans may be part of the reason her friend is missing, so she decides to join the society and you guessed it, shenanigans (deadly ones!) ensue.

So, I think actual teens will like this, but the suspension of disbelief required really ramped up throughout the book and by the time I got to the 60% mark, I was like, I guess I'll finish it? I mean, it's a very fast read and it's entertaining, but you have to be willing to believe that a bunch of adults will let their lives be dictated by the actions of like some 16 year olds, and like, nah. Maybe if this were a college? But it was pretty bananas, and I couldn't get over the ridiculousness of it all. It's very similar to The Inheritance Games in that regard, so if you have a reader that liked that that series, hand them this. I'll definitely recommend it to teens, but it's not one I'd recommend to adults. 2 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the eARC which I received in exchange for a free review.