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.

"They're Watching You" is a great YA thriller that follows Maren as she joins a secret society to find out why her best friend disappeared- perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Jennifer Lynn Barnes. It was fast paced and kept you hooked throughout the entire story with lots of twists and turns. I am usually very good a sussing out the endings of YA mysteries, but this one kept me guessing until the end. It follows high-schoolers, so the official reviewers will probably put it 9th grade and up, but it would be fine for upper middle school as well- other than the murdery teens the synopsis suggests, there is only a little drinking and a little kissing for parents to object to.

“VICTORY OR DUST”
Secrets societies, trials and tasks to complete in order to safe long lost friends and a live triangle full of secrets and betrayal … this book was so good !!!
I couldn’t stop reading it !!!
The story, the plot, the characters and the twist and turns kept me interested and entertained and the adrenaline this high school mystery gave me was priceless !!!
I really liked the characters and once again I fell for the bad guy … although I’ll tell you, you won’t know who the bad it is until the very end of it!!
I wish I could say I saw it coming but the truth is … I didn’t!! And I’m so glad !!
Secrets cult and tasks to complete were probably some of the best part of the entire plot and they made the entire book way more interesting than I originally thought it would be!!
Please check this book out as soon as possible !!!!
“I’ve located the princess. Found her alive and well. But winning feels a lot like being played”

Oh Maren, with friends like these, who needs enemies??? What a fantastic book! I loved the face paced thriller of a game.. Who do you trust, NOONE.
Fantastically fun!

Thanks to NetGalley, sourcebooks fire and the author for access to the digital arc. They’re watching you is sue for release January 2023.
Set against the backdrop of a prestigious boarding school we follow Maran as she gets lured into the world of a secret society, with deadly intentions.
Overall I enjoyed reading this book, there were few bumps along the way but I would still recommend this to people who enjoy academic settings and secret society elements.
Written in an easy to read fast paced style this book made it effortless to slip into the whirlwind ride of twists and turns that ensue.
There as enough intrigue and the characters were likeable enough to keep me wanting to turn the page, however while I enjoyed the premise of the story i did find that some of the plot was too unbelievable and for me this took me out of the story in parts. For me this was mostly to do with the fact that the characters are teenagers/high schoolers.
The pacing for me was slightly off, I felt very rushed towards the end, which for me was slightly disappointing.
Like i already said I did enjoy this book overall, and would read from this author again.

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


Maren attends Torey-Wells academy, an elite boarding school where the stakes are higher than just trying to get into a good college. She finds herself wrapped up in the Gamemasters Society when her best friend, and roommate, Polly St. James goes missing. Before her disappearance Polly is acting strange and feverishly asks Maren to meet up with her, but she never shows. Maren is unable to let it rest and starts looking into her friends disappearance. She finds a mysterious letter addressed to Polly from the Gamemaster. Maren knows she must infiltrate the society to save her friends life.


These Deadly Games + Legendborn vibes!
The pacing in this novel is spectacular, if I had the ability to read this all in one sitting I know I would have. I was always on the edge of my seat and every time I thought I knew what was going on something completely different happened. I thought the dark academia vibes in this thriller were magnificent and Ichaso does a great job at creating an atmospheric read.


If you liked These Deadly Games, Legendborn, or the Truly Devious Trilogy then you will absolutely love this.

Due for release in January 2023, I was thrilled to get a copy of this via NetGalley. The cover and blurb had me tingling in anticipation…and now I’ve finished, I can’t wait to recommend this to others.
Ichaso strikes the right note here. At the outset, I was sucked in by Maren’s quest to find out what happened to her friend. She is gutsy, a little reckless, but it soon become obvious that someone was toying with her and that this game could be a lot more serious than she imagined.
What Maren learns is that Polly had become part of a secret society in their exclusive boarding school. Maren digs until she finds a way in…and then we started a curious cat and mouse game.
From the moment the Society is mentioned, Ichaso ramps up the tension. There’s a love triangle (of sorts) but it’s never clear who can be trusted, and Maren herself falls prey to this. Some of the challenges seemed rather childish…but it was evidently part of a much bigger plan. As we learn about the scope of the Society we start to see how serious this could be.
Once underway, this was a hard story to put down. It exploited the fears of the characters very well, and was written in a way that always left me with a niggling suspicion.
For a book about secret societies, deadly rituals and with potentially life-threatening scenarios this was great fun!

Wow. This is the story of Maren Montgomery. She’s in a private high school that sounds a lot like college. She stays in a dorm and has classes she must attend. Her roommate, Polly, suddenly turns up missing. The school and her family think she’s a runaway so they’re not really looking for her, just waiting for her return. Maren knows better. She starts poking around and asking questions and finds out that there is a super secret society, a don’t ask don’t tell type of society, a life or death type of society. She believes this society holds the answer to where Polly really is.

This book certainly has Hunger Game vibes and is certainly a mystery thriller. I spent most of the book not knowing who to trust. What’s real? What’s for the game? You do find out in the end. But the twists and turns kept me devouring this book in no time.

This is a great intro to the mystery genre for a young adult. The main characters are teenagers and there weren't any gruesome scenes. Maybe you’re looking for something lighter, something for the beach. This is a great one that will keep you interested but not cringing.

Excellent work Chelsea Ichaso. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC of this e-book. This review is completely my own and my honest opinion. They’re Watching You is set to publish in January 2023.

When Maren's friend and roommate at the Torrey-Wells Academy goes missing, Maren knows it is more than the simple answer that Polly ran away. Polly had started hanging out with some of the more elite members of student body and Polly had asked Maren to meet her the night that she disappeared. Maren starts to try to figure out what happened to Polly since she is convinced that Polly did not just run away. When Maren finds an invitation to the Gamemaster's Society in Polly things, Maren decides that joining the secret society is the only way that she is going to get the answer to what happened to Polly. When Maren is promised information about Polly's whereabouts for each game she wins, Maren finds herself dragged into a serious game of life or death. The book was good overall, but the ending was disappointing.

A truly thrilling read! I loved this high society mystery book! I loved all of the romance throughout the book. Def huge dark academia vibes which was a huge plus for me! Perfect for fans of private school secret society trope lovers!

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, SOURCEBOOKS fire and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Engaging, hard to put down, enjoyable, fast-paced! An intense read full of twists and turns.