I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis held so much promise, but the book failed to deliver as much as I hoped for from it. I enjoyed it well enough, but with a few tweaks it could have been an even more enjoyable read.

I loved this book. This book is a YA Thriller/mystery that is told from the main characters, Amanda and Rosalies, point of view. The dual POV is what made me truly enjoy this book, since you know both sides of the story but also know that the other main character doesn't. There were plenty of suspects to keep you guessing and alot of action and suspense to keep you on your toes.

A fun and fast paced young adult thriller! I don’t read too many thrillers however I did enjoy this one for the most part. I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this author.

This wasn’t the story I was hoping to read in reference to a good mystery/ thriller. If I am being honest I almost stopped reading it. I just really wasn’t feeling it but I fought my way through. It took a long time to get to any suspense but once I finally got to that point I was curious enough to finish. It had a somewhat decent twist but nothing that was earth shattering for me. However, the book wasn’t a total bust for me. I did enjoy Rosalie’s character. She is interesting and unique since she is a lesbian who has gone through conversion "therapy" due to her family's belief in the Fellowship of Christ church doctrines, but there isn't enough information given on her time in "treatment" to really do that narrative credit. Which is unfortunate, because that is a topic that kids need to read about. I would’ve liked to delve deeper into that storyline. Overall, I am kind of blah about this one.

I’m obsessed with this book. Kit’s thrillers are so sharp and real. The characters are so layered, and Kit’s writing is incredibly lyrical and poetic. A perfect book for fans of Karen McManus.

This is a super old review copy that I can't even find (was it on my Kindle? another reading app?) but was able to track down on Scribd and Hoopla. I started the audiobook and worked my way over to the ebook. Anyways, I was generally curious about this one, as I was trying to read more mystery/thrillers, and it kind of grabbed me initially. I think the two girls - Amanda and Rosalie - were a bit TOO stereotypical rich girl vs. lower-middle class girl, one in the fancy town and one on the less fancy side. They felt like cardboard cutouts. It also doesn't help that I personally never connect with characters in mystery/thriller books because I'm second guessing everyone and wondering if EVERY side character is the villain.

I also always struggle with books involving religion, even if the character is questioning it or struggling with an extreme church like Rosalie was. I just don't care for the topic overall. I did like Rosalie as a character though and appreciated her perspective on everything: she didn't want to lose her sister or even her parents in the process, despite what they believe within their church. Amanda wasn't quite as likable with her willingness to put up with Carter's cheating as long as she could maintain the lifestyle she planned for... but hey, everyone in this book was trying to appease their parents. I can totally get that.

I thought the mystery texter was super obvious throughout the book, so I kept hoping I was wrong and would end up being surprised in the end. I was pretty surprised actually! That was a nice plus. Unfortunately, this book overall didn't do much for me. I didn't connect with anything and wish there was more development for Amanda and Rosalie to make me care a bit more for them. I wasn't overly engaged with the story and wanting to read it, but it picked up in the end.

I’ve only read one book by this author, this one. This one was a lot more than I bargained for. I knew it would have harder hitting topics, but I didn’t realize how in depth it would go. I was waiting for just a young adult mystery/thriller, with a bit of drama. What I got was a lot more, the mystery aspect was done wonderfully, and it was definitely thrilling as well.

Both main characters showed a lot of growth throughout the book, which was great because I was annoyed with them both at the begining. I enjoyed the different backgrounds of each character, especially since they lived so close together. I definitely get the Pretty Little Liars comparison, with the anonymous texts, and I liked how each girl handled them.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one, and can’t wait to get my hands on this author’s first novel See All the Stars. If you are just looking for a mystery/thriller be warned there are a lot of trigger warning for this one. I would recommend this one if you are looking for drama, lies, and intrigue.

A thrilling mystery about two girls being blackmailed because of a boy in their life. In the beginning it all seems rather innocent, a couple of creepy texts, but then there’s a violent scene at Amanda’s locker and someone is trying to exposed Rosalie’s secret girlfriend, only to get even worse. Fun, exciting, a little Gossip Girl mixed in with Pretty Little Liars and you have All Eyes On Us.

All Eyes on Us by Kit Frick is a young adult mystery/thriller. The story is told from a dual point of view style with alternating the chapters between the two female leads, Amanda Kelly and Rosalie Bell.

Amanda is one of those girls that seems to have her future all laid out for her and a perfect life. Amanda has been in a relationship with Carter Shaw for years and they have been that golden couple in school. Carter’s family is incredibly rich and it’s assumed Amanda and Carter will marry someday leaving Amanda to protect that future and overlook Carter’s wandering ways.

Rosalie Bell is a girl from a neighboring town that happened to cross Carter’s path and catch his eye. Rosalie knows of Amanda’s existence but overlooks it to date Carter with her own agenda in mind. You see, Rosalie is actually in love with another girl but her overly religious parents would not approve so she’s only using Carter to keep them happy. This puts Rosalie and Amanda in the path of an anonymous texter who begins to threaten them both.

All Eyes on Us by Kit Frick was a solid young adult mystery read. The story had plenty of action and plenty of suspects to wade through as the suspense began to build. For me this one ended on 3 1/2 stars due to the fact I had my suspicions early on but I do think it was worth the read otherwise.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

All Eyes on Us had me on the edge of my seat with this smart, sophisticated YA thriller. Both girls are trying desperately to hold on their public image when an unknown person starts to stalk them and send them disturbing messages. Together, they must find out the truth and bring this living nightmare to an end.

I really enjoyed All Eyes on Us because I love thrillers and I enjoyed watching these characters grow over the course of this story. In the beginning, everything was just about status for Amanda and you could see everything change for her after the messages began. This was a great book and I can’t wait to see what is next for Ms. Frick.

I received a temporary digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

I absolutely loved "See All the Stars" so I was very excited to get my hands on the newest Kit Frick book. I liked "All Eyes on Us" but I felt like it was trying to tackle too many issues at once that it detracted from the main plot, <spoiler>drug use, alcohol abuse, cheating, religion, LGBTQ issues, and embezzling</spoiler>. The end was satisfying but I found it to be pretty obviously and not as well executed as "See All the Stars". Overall, this was good but "See All the Stars" was better.

Another brilliant book by Kit Frick! I loved the mystery, suspense and characters very much. I can't wait to read what Kit writes next!

Don't you hate when you finish a book and you don't know how to feel about it. Like it wasn't bad, but you didn't really care about it enough to be good either, so it's just okay I'm done with that - onto the next book. That's kinda how I'm feeling after finishing All Eyes On Us.

I liked Amanda and Rosalie's character progression, but I thought the mystery was pretty obvious and I never really enjoy religion in books - expecially if it endorces conversion therapy (majoy trigger warning). I also wish we got some more closure. I feel like the Amanda's interactions with the police just fell off the face of the Earth near the end of the story. And I was kinda confused by Amanda's mom's storyline. Overall an okay read, but it's not one that's going to stick with me.

This was a thriller full of twists and plenty of secrets that will keep you reading until the very last page! This is written in a dual point of view. I didn't mind this. The pacing was fast which I like in a thriller. There was definitely plenty of suspense and a creepy vibe with the text messages.  I do want to warn people that this book does talk about serious topics. I think the author handles it well but I still like to give warnings.

Following up with her brilliant debut #SeeAlltheStars, @KitFrick brings forth another literary triumph with #AllEyesOnUs.

This was a riveting #LGBT thriller that delved where forbidden romances and stolen secrets will keep your eyes glued to the page.

This is the second time I’ve had the pleasure of being part of the blog tour for a Kit Frick book, and LET ME TELL YOU, she’s so worth it. The writing is so fantastic, and this book was RIGHT up my alley – Gossip Girl mixed with Pretty Little Liars. SO GOOD, Y’ALL.

ALL EYES BANNER

In All Eyes On Us, Amanda and Rosalie are two people who are living very different lives. Amanda’s life is all about status and being with Carter, even if he hasn’t exactly treated her well during their relationship. That is until she starts receiving anonymous text messages threatening their relationship. And then there’s Rosalie. Amanda views Rosalie as the homewrecking side chick that Carter has decided he wants in addition to her. But what Rosalie is really doing is trying to protect herself from her narrow-minded parents and her uber-conservative church that uses conversion therapy on pre-teens and teenagers. YIKES. Amanda and Rosalie form an unlikely pair as they try to figure out who is threatening them, and why.

DUN DUN DUN!

all eyes cover

3 Things I Loved
The writing. Kit Frick is SO GOOD. Her first book, See All the Stars, was fantastic, and the ending was such a wonderful twist. This book is much the same. I’m so happy she’s going to keep writing, and I can’t wait for more books!
The characters. What I love so much about this book in particular is that we have alternating perspectives, going between Amanda and Rosalie seamlessly. And their voices are distinctly different, their lives are distinctly different, and I was never confused about who was speaking. And I was rooting for both of them surprisingly. The writing is just so good that I felt like I knew them.
Private. Goodness, I miss Pretty Little Liars. So having “Private,” the threatening number, texting Amanda was such a refreshing take on the PLL concept. And that end reveal! Daaaang.
Dislikes/Problematic Content
These two things are addressed very well and thoroughly in the book, but I wanted to point out two potential triggers for people who may pick this up just hoping for a little PLL fun.

Trigger #1: Conversion Therapy

I mentioned this at the top, but Rosalie was made to go through conversion therapy as a pre-teen and teenager with her church. I have no personal experience with this, but good grief, conversion therapy should be banned. It’s traumatizing, and WRONG, and that’s what you get to see play out with Rosalie. So if conversion therapy is a trigger for you, proceed with caution.

Trigger #2: Alcoholism

This is something I do, unfortunately, know a thing or two about. Amanda’s mother is an alcoholic in the book, and that is another understandable trigger for people reading. I had some trouble with parts, but for the most part, it was handled with care. But again, in order to keep everyone safe here, I wanted to point it out.

Rating
A reminder of the rating scale:

Red = DNF, I hated everything
Orange = Ugh, no thank you
Yellow = I mean, I’ve read worse, but there were problems
Green = This was good!
Blue = Oh my gosh, I loved this book!
Purple = This is the unicorn of books and I will be rereading it until the binding falls apart and EVERYONE should be reading it!
This book is SO good. I can’t even say I was surprised, though, because Kit Frick IS that good. All Eyes On Us gets a BLUE rating from me. Highly recommend!

Thank you to the Fantastic Flying Book Club and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All Eyes on Us is out now!

Are you interested in this book? I’m giving a copy away! Open to all countries where Book Depository delivers. To enter, comment on this post, and I’ll pick a winner on 6/20.

Happy reading!

All Eyes on Us is a captivating thriller YA novel that explores issues of acceptance in the LGBTQ+ community and issues of your homelife being unwelcoming of your identity. Our characters are put through some trying events, and I loved Kit Fricks style in her second novel. This novel reminds me of Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars, and I recommend it to everyone who loves something similar!

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve read, from cover to cover, a good thriller mystery. I don’t know if I haven’t had any luck with choosing a good one but All Eyes on Us blew me away. I honestly don’t read a lot of this genre, mainly because I’m always super gullible and my imagination runs wild. i tend to avoid the stories that stick in your brain and make their way into your subconscious. (Side note: I had to sleep with the lights on and my covers on top of the bed, with nothing hanging over, after sampling IT when I was in high school.)

All Eyes on Us takes high school drama to a whole nother level. Amanda Kelly and Rosalie Bell have literally one thing in common: Carter. Their boyfriend.

That’s right! He is dating both of them and they know about each other! It’s the weirdest set up of events but as the story unravels, you start to realize: nothing else would have made sense.

The events that happen in All Eyes on Us are not totally implausible. I don’t want you to think, dear reader, that just because the drama is top notch and the events seem as though they happen on Earth 616, they don’t. These events are totally possible and have actually happened. Maybe not these ages, maybe not these people, maybe not this ethnicity. Whatever else you want to put as a difference, fine. But things like this have happened.

Especially in small southern towns. (Side note!: I used to live in Florida and had friends that had lived in other southern states. They had always told me about things that happened in their towns with the pastor’s son and the chorus (male) student or when the affluent family would disappear out of nowhere.

Amanda, the “poor little rich girl”, was having some major family problems. I really empathized with her situation: this almost overwhelming pressure to be perfect whenever you were around other people and having to hide your family’s secrets from your best friend. It’s a lot for anyone. The fact that she wouldn’t and didn’t turn to that other path everyone considers demonstrates just how strong she was.

Rosalie, the “girl from the wrong side of the tracks”, was busy trying to survive an almost impossibly horrible situation. I feared for Rosalie more than anything. And the worst part is that her side of the story was the most truthful. We have all heard the horror stories about conversion “therapy” and the long-lasting effect it has on lgbtqia+ youth. She is a survivor.

The characters, besides Amanda and Rosalie, were shown as self-absorbed with very little to worry about and no external indicators that they did worry about anything. Amanda was the only one that had a group of friends or people she would hang out with. Rosalie didn’t really have friends. Amanda’s friends did try to help her but it was like they weren’t taking her seriously enough.

Obviously none of the characters were perfect, but that doesn’t mean anything. The characters drove this story and were all almost redeemable, which is the best part about character driven stories.

The mystery wound itself around and around until I was suspecting even myself. It gripped you and would not let you go. The emotions described were captivating and made you feel as though you were right there alongside Amanda and Rosalie as they were confronting Private.

I loved this book.

All Eyes on Us is a thriller that will not only feel that ominous lurching in your stomach, but also scare you in how heart wrenching the story is for Rosalie. Both Rosalie and Amanda are sort of masquerading in their lives, putting on shows, and managing their families expectations. But for Rosalie, she's hiding her lesbian identity from her Christian fundamentalist parents who have tried to convert her (and the scars this has left on her).

Kit Frick’s latest novel All Eyes on Us is a riveting thriller that kept me guessing from start to finish. It follows Amanda Kelly and Rosalie Bell. Amanda comes from a family of social climbers. The Kellys have gotten themselves into some financial difficulties and are secretly hoping that an alliance with the wealthiest family in town, the Shaws, will put them in better standing. That alliance would of course come about by having Amanda marry the Shaw’s son, Carter. When the story opens, these two have been dating for years and practically have their lives together mapped out, although all is not perfect as Carter is a known cheater. Rosalie is a lesbian in a fake relationship with a boy because she’s trying to fool her family into thinking she’s straight. The deception is wearing her out though and she knows it’s not fair to the boy since he has no idea she’s gay either. The boy of course is our cheater, Carter.

Amanda and Rosalie find their lives unexpectedly intertwined when an anonymous texter, known only to them as “Private,” goes after them both with an ultimatum – either help take Carter down or the texter will take them down. For Amanda, that would mean exposing her family’s financial woes, while for Rosalie, it would of course mean outing her to her family.

Who is this person and what do have they have against Carter that they’re willing to make Amanda and Rosalie collateral damage in their effort to bring Carter down?

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5 REASONS WHY ALL EYES ON US SHOULD BE ON YOUR MUST-READ LIST


All Eyes on Us sounds pretty cool, right? Now I want to dive just a little deeper and share some of the highlights of the story for me. If you love these qualities as much as I do, then All Eyes on Us is a must-read for you!


1. A Suspenseful Read Filled with Twists and Turns. The synopsis on Goodreads compares All Eyes on Us to Pretty Little Liars and I think this comparison is spot on. The story definitely has a Pretty Little Liars (or maybe even a Gossip Girl) vibe to it with the anonymous texter and the taunting threats he or she kept making. Just like I was with Pretty Little Liars and A’s identity, I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out who Private was and was suspicious of pretty much every character in the book. The writing is also fast-paced, which makes this book very easy to binge read. Always a good thing when you’re dying to get to the big reveal!

2. Is it a religion or is it a cult? I found the religious group in the story to be extremely disturbing. Every time I read about something they had done to a person in the name of “saving” them, I just wanted to scream. Frick’s presentation of the power of this radical group had me mesmerized though. I spent much of the book fascinated by them and how they managed to indoctrinate so many people to their extreme conservative ways. It felt more like a cult than it did a religion and if someone didn’t follow along with every one of their beliefs, they would be told they’re going to burn in hell.

3. Messy, Complicated Characters. Amanda and Rosalie both really drew me into the story because even though they come from completely different backgrounds and on the surface have nothing in common, they ultimately have one thing in common – their parents are trying to run their lives and dictate who they should and shouldn’t be with. Amanda’s parents have her life planned out to the extent that it’s little short of an arranged marriage with her childhood sweetheart, Carter, even though they are all aware that Carter has cheated on her at least once already. Rosalie’s parents, on the other hand, refuse to accept that Rosalie is a lesbian and are determined to “fix” her. The only time she’s allowed out socially is to date boys. Amanda is desperate to hold on to Carter so as not to disappoint her parents, while Rosalie is equally desperate not to let her parents control her. Their predicaments lead both girls to make some questionable, potentially hurtful, choices along the way, but I understood where their hearts were so I was sympathetic to both of them. They are both definitely living in dysfunctional family environments.

4. The Dangers of Conversion Therapy. I loved that Frick wasn’t afraid to tackle tough topics in this story. In addition to it being a riveting thriller, All Eyes on Us also goes a step further and exposes how truly harmful conversion therapy is and that it can have lasting negative psychological effects. It was heartbreaking to read Rosalie’s painful flashbacks to when her parents and their minister did everything in their power to try to get rid of her homosexuality.

5. A Message That Resonates. The overriding message All Eyes On Us conveys, that you can’t force a person to be someone they’re not, is so important. People are who they are, and if you want them in your life, you have to accept them that way. Trying to force them to be otherwise is just so psychologically damaging.

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If suspenseful stories like Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl are your thing, then you should definitely give All Eyes on Us a try. It will keep you on the edge of your seat!