This book definitely hooked me and kept my interest! I appreciate that this wasn’t a slow burn and pretty much jumped right into the action.

There were a few things I didn’t particularly care for. Without giving away spoilers I’ll say my biggest issue was the back and forth between the guys. This made it less believable when in the end Maren is “in love” with one of them.

On the subject of believability my other major issue was just the believability of the entire plot taking place within a high school. If this was set in college it would have been just slightly more believable.

Overall though I would still suggest this book because it kept me guessing along the way and kept me on the edge of my seat nearing the end because I just couldn’t fathom a conclusion to everything. Definitely a fun read if you like dark academia, secret societies, cults, and high stakes games!

This was my first time reading anything by this author. It ended up being a great book. Good characters, great storyline and a little bit of mystery. I ended up reading it all in one sitting.

4.5 Stars

Chelsea Ichaso is 100% an auto-buy author for me. This is her third novel and it’s the third I’ve read from her! She’s seriously underrated and I urge you to check her out for yourself if you’re in the market for a YA Mystery author other than Karen McMamus.

Maren and Polly were inseparable once they became roommates at Torrey-Wells Academy, but after Polly joined chess club she became suddenly distant. One afternoon, Polly asks to meet with Maren to explain her weird behavior. Maren is excited to finally get some answers and reconnect with her bestie, but then Polly disappears. She’s written off as a runaway, but Maren suspects the campus’s secret society has something to do with it after discovering an invitation in Polly’s things. Maren decides to infiltrate the society to get some answers, but realizes there’s more to this whole conspiracy than originally meets the eye.

Ichaso has a flair for making you assume everyone is guilty and innocent during various points in the book. This is by far her most trippy plotline, and that makes for a lot of interesting theories. I wasn’t surprised by many of the plot twists this time around, but still my mind would constantly change over whodunnit.

There is a love triangle in this book. I know this isn’t a very beloved trope. Personally, I like me a good love triangle, but I have to say this one didn’t do it for me. Firstly, there were times I couldn’t trust either of the boys, so I didn’t really like either of them for Maren by the end. Secondly, I hated how oblivious Maren was to their interest in her. They would straight up confess to liking her and she wouldn’t dare to believe it. I felt Maren was a pretty oblivious protagonist in general. She would believe anything she was told, even if it was by the enemy. Maren was incredibly intelligent, but her blind trust is what caused me to knock this down half a star.

Still, I ate this novel up and was incredibly invested. The dark academia setting and vibes were great and I cannot wait to see what Ichaso comes up with next.

Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Chelsea Ichaso and team for this ARC! This book was a twisty tale of high society and a boarding school. I loved the dark academia thriller vibes throughout the whole thing! It took me about 20% to get into the book but then after that I was HOOKED and couldnt put it down! I was able to predict a few twists but not all of them! I havent read a lot of books with a secret society so this one was a nice change of pace. I will be checking out more books from this author. 4 stars!!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review. This is YA thriller is Ichaso's third book, and my first by her that I've read. I requested this as I was looking for a YA thriller that was reminiscent of Karen M. McManus and Maureen Johnson's books. What I got was something that tried to be similar but fell a bit short to what I was looking for.

The beginning of this book had exactly what I wanted. Intrigue, references to a cult, and an MC that will do anything to find her friend. It even seemed to bypass the trope of teens not asking for help from adults, since all the adults around her were convinced that Polly merely ran away. So Maren at first did go to people of authority and since they didn't believe her, she decided to strike out on her own and investigate. In that regard, I really liked it. In so many books/movies/shows, the conflict could have been avoided by just telling an adult, so I appreciate what Ichaso did to not fall trap to this trope.

Another thing I enjoyed was the pacing. I was able to read this fairly quickly because it was so fast paced. No part seemed to drag more than the other, and the hints sprinkled throughout the book were well timed enough to keep me interested in the overall plot.

Now, there were a few things that got on my nerves, or that I straight up didn't enjoy. The first being the love triangle. I will always hate how every single YA book seems to throw in a love triangle. It's always a girl who no one notices and doesn't fit in, who is thrust into a love triangle with the two boys who have nothing in common. I understand that I may not be the target audience for these love triangles, but I will never understand why an MC needs more than one love interest in just about every YA book.

Another thing I didn't enjoy is going to be a spoiler. As soon as it was revealed that teachers were also involved in the secret society, I lost all hope in this book. I immediately knew the principle was in on it, and as soon as that scene happened, no other "big" reveal held the same impact as it was supposed to. It made the ending completely predictable. I could tell that the reveals were supposed to have that oh crap moment, but they just didn't. I am of the opinion that if no adults were aware of what was happened, or at least not multiple, it would have been much better. The reveal that the head of school was involved would have held so much more of an impact. But the fact that multiple teachers were part of the society as well just brought the whole book down.

Overall, I think this book had a lot of potential, and I did enjoy the games and cult aspect of it. However, with predictable ending and the strange choices in plot made this not as enjoyable as I think it could have been.

3.5/5 rounded up to 4 stars

I went into this book expecting very little, but I was honestly surprised with the direction this book took. I did not expect this book to be this dark! The writing style helped immensely with getting stuck in the story and with trying to guess who the Gamemaster was.

I couldn't quite get on board with the main character and the love triangle. For some reason I couldn't really vibe with Maren. I still can't put my finger on it, maybe it was a personal thing...
Also, that love triangle was in no way necessary, but did add some tension and frustration to the story.

Overall, a greatly enjoyable story that at times got quite disturbing. Still, I greatly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it if you enjoy thriller-y and creepy books.

Maren's friend Polly disappears. She quickly puts the pieces together that there is a secret society on campus and that it has something to with Polly's disappearance. Maren manages to secure an invite and quickly become a pawn on the chessboard.

A really interesting take on a modern day cult like society. This is pure YA and I almost wished it wasn't so it could have been a bit darker. The characters were great and the story flowed well. Loved the twist at the end. I didn't care to much for the bit of romance displayed but I was really rooting for Gavin to save the day...

Overall not a bad read.

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

This had a very interesting and intriguing concept. I loved the idea of a secret society at an elite boarding school, and the concept of Maren completing game-like tasks for clues on the whereabouts of her best friend Polly, who has mysteriously disappeared. But this didn't pull me in as much as I would have liked. I was perplexed by some of the logistics this secret society would entail. We're shown some students' motivations for why they would engage join this society, but I still struggled to understand exactly how it worked, or why so many students would give anything to be part of this society (we're told about some of the benefits, but it didn't feel like enough for me).

Logic aside, this was very well paced and I never felt bored. The writing style was simple and straightforward, which made this an easy and fast read (and an accessible read for the intended YA audience, particularly anyone who's struggling to get into reading). I read the second half of the book in an afternoon because I was so enthralled!

This book will keep you on your toes guessing and second guessing every thing you think you know. Those things you think you know, you don’t.

Secret societies to murders to missing persons to blackmail to love triangles to mind games, this book has it all and then some.

If you enjoy thrillers that constantly have you doubt everything this book is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review.

Polly is gone. There is no way that Polly would have run away. The police don’t believe Maren. True Maren and Polly’s friendship has changed after the last year, but she knows Polly would never run away. Especially when she had asked Maren to meet her the night of her disappearance. Maren finds an invitation to a mysterious group in Polly’s closet. Could this be why Polly disappeared? Maren goes on the hunt to find the game master, only to find herself emersed in a group where the stakes are high, and games are ones that could end in life or death. Who can one trust? Hopefully the end game will help Maren find what happened to Polly, either that or it may just be game over permanently.
I really enjoyed this book. You have the perfect amount of tension mixed with drama. The games were such fun to see play out since you never knew what the actual outcome would be. I think that teens are really going to enjoy this book and it is one I can’t wait to recommend. Thank you so much Sourcebook and Netgalleuy for allowing me to read this book.

I’ve read this author’s last two books and have liked them. One was a bit better than the other but still engaging enough where I wanted to finish to see what the outcome would be. This was like the others. It’s a popcorn read. It’s good and enjoyable but it isn’t a wow and I think that was just due to not having enough development for my taste. Don’t get me wrong, I still liked it!

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Maren, a student at an elite private school. She is in search of answers when it comes to her friend, and roommate, disappearing although people will say she ran away. I thought that she was a very loyal character and she would do anything for this friend, especially join a weird secret society. I can’t say I would do the same, haha.

A lot of the characters, including Maren, are very surface level. They don’t go deep, although they have some deep backstory for their whys. I wish that there had been more development for them so that I could connect on a deeper level and feel something more. This could also be said for secret society and backstory of the school etc. It just needed more for me to fully understand the plot. There is also a bit of romance but it feels very instant and I wasn’t convinced.

The plot was engaging though. I was curious from the beginning and there are a lot of secrets and betrayal that happen while she investigates. I wasn’t expecting any of the plot twists which was nice!

Overall, this was a good book and I did like it. I just wish it would have been longer and had more development. I think it could have easily been a 4-5 star read.

When Maren's roommate, Polly, goes missing Maren decides that she has to take matters into her own hands to find out what happened. Finding an ancient secret society at her high school that has its members in positions of power throughout the school, Maren decides to infiltrate the society to find her friend. Within the walls of this secret society Maren doesn't know who she can trust, who is really involved and just how far people will go to get what they want. When Maren becomes a player in this deadly game which puts her life on the line and she must decide who she can really trust. I couldn't put this book down with its twists and entertaining storyline. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

They’re Watching You is a fast-paced, action-packed read. You jump into the story right away, with our main character Maren trying to investigate the sudden disappearance of her best friend Poppy. When she finds an invitation addressed to Poppy from The Gamemaster’s Society, Maren tries to infiltrate the secret society to figure out what happened to her friend.

The plot and setting of this story are the strongest aspects in my opinion. The secret society was really fun to experience, and the headquarters being in the catacombs created a very creepy and claustrophobic atmosphere. I found some of the plot points and twists to be a little far-fetched for a YA, but I still thought it was really fun and entertaining.

The biggest weakness, however, was the characters. I think because we’re thrown into the plot right away, we didn’t have much time to develop the three main characters we follow - Maren, Remington, and Gavin. We barely got any backstory on any of them, and Maren’s personality seemed a bit all over the place and inconsistent. Since this is a YA, we also got a love triangle between the three, and it didn’t seem very believable from the start. We were being told rather than shown their history and feelings for each other, and it made it very hard to connect with any of the characters.

Overall, I think those who enjoy fast-paced, plot driven stories will really like this book.

This book was right up my alley on paper: secret societies, riddles, boarding school/prestigious academia environment. However, this book had a lot of critical flaws.

Starting with the setting itself, I think integral to this type of story is the ominous, dark, secrecy of the school, Torrey-Wells, itself. The story didn't do much to set the scene of Torrey-Wells and I felt myself grasping at straws for an accurate idea of what the school was like. This can also be attributed to the story's poor paving. Though I liked that the story grips you immediately, jumping right into the action of Polly's disappearance, I had little time to get invested in the stakes of the story.

Now the characters... lacking. Severely. Starting with the two love interests in the poorly executed love triangle: Gavin had a bit more intrigue to me but he still fell flat. Remington was equally flat and unconvincing. I found myself actively rooting against both of them. The main character, Maren, lacks any real characterization. Genuinely, as the narrator of the entire story, I have no idea who she is. She was aggressively flat.

Overall, the story felt very formulaic. Like you told the author: "young adult, love triangles, secret societies, dark academia" and they gave the most basic watered-down version.

This was giving The Inheritance Games but worse. Also. The riddles were boring.

This was an exciting book and thought it was well written. The author did a great job with the characters. 4 star read!

Maren’s roommate went missing two weeks ago and has been declared a runaway by the powers that be. But Maren doesn’t believe it. Sure Polly had been acting a little strangely, but Maren believes there’s more to her disappearance. After she finds an invitation to the Gamemaster’s Society among Polly’s things, Maren forms a plan to infiltrate the group and discover the truth about what happened to her friend.

The missing person angle and high-stakes games grabbed my attention, and I’ve enjoyed several other dark academia novels. It didn’t take long for the story to take off, and I liked that. It’s a pretty quick read that moves along briskly for the most part. To uncover the fate of her friend and play the games, Maren has to become a person she doesn’t like, but she has no other choice if she wants to receive clues about Polly. Her friendships with two other society members, Remington and Gavin, quickly turn into a weird kind of love triangle. Neither characters seem trustworthy, and she flip flops several times on who she can turn to. The identity of the Gamemaster also kept me guessing. It’s one of the people I suspected, but the author does a pretty good job of keeping it hidden.

The games, their consequences, and some of the acts these students perform are extreme at times, especially for high school students. Suspension of disbelief is a requirement for much of the story. If you can set that aside, it’s a twisty, enjoyable thriller I finished in a couple of sittings.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Elite private school, scholarship students, secret society? Count me in! In story that seems to follow the private school genre, “They’re Watching Us,” uses the secret society to weave some interesting differences in the genre. After Polly goes missing, her best friend, Maren finds out about a secret society on campus and manipulates her way into an invitation, all to find what happened to her best friend. What I didn’t see was the constant turns this story took, leaving me continuing to read way past bedtime to find out more. Just when you think you have it figured out, another twist happens, and it makes sense! Definitely give this one a read!!!!

Outlier alert! I just couldn't get behind the cult vibes and overall unbelievable storyline.

This is a YA novel, set in an elite school. Maren's roommate Polly has gone missing and no one really cares or thinks there is anything strange about it. Maren discovers that there is a secret society and they might know what happened to Polly, so she goes on a mission to infiltrate it and find Polly.

The book started strongly, I was intrigued by the missing person/secret society angle. Then it got weird. And weirder. And even with all of the weirdness, I was still bored and had to force myself to keep going to find out what happened. In the end, I just couldn't wrap my brain around how any of it worked and how anyone could have gotten away with it for so long. So much of it was massive Scooby Doo--"who is behind the Gamemaster mask? It's..." over and over again. For being such a secret there were way too many people involved for it logically to stay a secret, especially with kidnappings and poisonings, etc.

After a while I was saying "Who cares about stupid Polly, she's obviously fine" What if they had just gone to the police or the media with the videos? And to top it all off the romance angle was just awful. A bizarre love triangle that was absolutely unneeded.

Maybe I'm just not the right reader for this because I just did not connect with it in any way. I was expecting The Inheritance Games and got Scooby Doo instead.

They’re Watching You really didn’t work for me. The premise sounds so intriguing, but the execution lacked quite a bit in development and tension for me to enjoy reading it.

This ended up being one of those rare reads I knew I wasn’t going to like from the first few chapters. I thought the initial set up was so incredibly rushed in terms on introducing the conflict and the characters and the rest of the book didn’t change my mind on that. It was all very surface level writing so the fast pace would move the plot along from riddle to riddle and from twist to twist. This meant I, personally, didn’t have anything to hold on to.

Because of the point above, I wasn’t able to connect with any of the characters. I didn’t find them complex or interesting in any way and didn’t care about what they were going through as the story progressed. I also found the high school setting a really odd choice here, considering how everything went down and the scope of the society itself.

And the romance… ugh. The forced love triangle was awful, personally. It didn’t endear me to anyone and was very annoying. It was obvious who Maren was going to end up with and so that conflict, on top of everything else that wasn’t working for me already, dragged the story down even more.

This is a really good, YA, suspense thriller about a girl who goes missing and her friend who suspects it’s down to a secret society within the school.

As a YA book I would say it’s a 4* read, but, as an adult reading many similar books it’s a 3* good read. The reason being I did find it slow in parts. However, overall, it’s a cracking tale of boarding school life, cults, strange characters and with twists and turns.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to preview.