Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

When I said "honest review," I meant it. I DNFed this book. I took issue with several parts of this book, the parts I read anyway. First - any group of adults past high school that refer to themselves as a group name is immediate cringe. You're a working adult - act like it. Right from the rip I did not like these characters. I honestly felt like I was reading a Clique novel sequel where they've all grown up but are still living as entitled rich kids when they "upend their entire lives" to find one of the ex-boyfriends. It was too Pretty Little Liars and completely unrealistic, to the point I could not finish it.

I don’t usually read a lot of thrillers—but I’m so glad I picked this one up.

Watch Us Fall hooked me from the start. It follows four close college friends—Addie, Estella, Penelope, and Lucy—who are out in the world, living together in Georgetown and trying to figure life out. They’ve got big dreams, busy lives… and then everything changes.

After Addie’s high-profile boyfriend Josh—a well-known investigative journalist and son of a late senator—suddenly disappears following a very public breakup, the spotlight swings straight onto the women. The media starts circling. People start whispering. And things spiral fast.

What I loved most? This isn’t just a twisty mystery (though there are plenty of twists). It’s also a story about loyalty, friendship, and what we’re willing to do for the people we love. It felt real—messy and raw at times—and had me flipping pages late into the night.

If you’re in the mood for a suspenseful, smart read that blends emotional depth with true thriller energy, this one’s worth a spot on your TBR.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy!

Watch Us Fall is a fast-paced, gripping thriller that takes place in Washington D.C.. The story centers around identity, friendships, and loyalty.

Addie, Lucy, Estella and Penelope have all made it through college together and are now working in their respective careers. The four are still roommates and can't imagine life any other way. Josh, Addie's boyfriend, is a hot investigative journalist who happens to be the son of a late senator. When Josh goes missing the media frenzy begins. The girls band together to do all they can to help find Josh. What follows has the girls questioning everything they know to be true. Will their friendship be able to survive everything that is brought to light during the investigation? How will their past affect their future?

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy, Addie, Estelle, and Penelope were college roommates, who became best friends. Now they are sharing a house in Georgetown as their post graduation lives are taking shape. Life is good for all of them, until Addie and her boyfriend Josh break up. Then the unthinkable happens, no one can find Josh.
The story is told from Lucy’s POV in the now, and by Josh detailing the events leading up to the day he disappeared. For whatever reason, while Lucy’s POV moved the story along, I really looked forward more to Josh’s chapters. I made an incredibly early guess on who was involved, and I was correct. As the story unfolded and more information was revealed, I wound up getting the why wrong. I would like to say more, but everything leads to snow-covered spoilers.
Lots of twists and turns, though I do wish there had been a little more information at the end.

4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Watch Us Fall is a twisty mystery full of toxic friendships, secrets, and slow burning suspense. The Sweeties might seem perfect, but when one of their exes goes missing, their carefully curated world starts to crack..

Lucy’s unraveling is messy and compelling, even when she’s frustrating. Some twists were predictable and a few characters lacked depth, but the emotional tension and drama kept me hooked.

Perfect for fans of Big Little Lies meets Gossip Girl!
Dark, addictive, and impossible to look away.

Thank you Simon and Schuster for an arc exchange for my honest review!

A twisty thriller that reads like a documentary or a podcast. Love the way this story was told! Extremely gripping from start to finish. If you love your thrillers to be fast paced and full of jaw dropping scandel this one is for you!

First, I want to thank NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for allowing to read this eArc to give my honest opinion.

Just finished this and wow! I wasn’t expecting to get so sucked into the twisted web of secrets and unraveling friendships, but once it got going, I couldn’t put it down. The tension, the buried guilt, the shifting loyalties... it all hit hard.

There were moments I wanted to yell at the characters, and others where I just sat there like, “Did that really just happen?” Lucy’s perspective was frustrating at times, but so believable. I could feel her spiraling. And even when I thought I had things figured out, there were still surprises.

Docking a star only because a couple of the twists were a little easy to see coming, and a few characters could’ve used more depth. However, the atmosphere and emotional messiness made up for it.

Liked this! It kept me on my toes and loved the setting of Georgetown, DC. Thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honesr review

Wow. This book had me hooked so fast. There was so much misdirection and I loved it. It's so fun when a book keeps me on the edge of my seat and trying to guess what's happening next and sometimes being completely wrong. This story was very fast paced, complex and so fun to read. There was a plot point in this book that had my jaw completely on the floor and I loved that. Such a fun read!

3 Stars

Watch Us Fall feels like a lot of other mystery/thrillers that have come out recently and left me feeling disappointed. The mystery at the heart of it is more sad than anything. There is no satisfying comeuppance where a killer gets caught, just a situation that kind of sucks for everybody involved. I think what it is is that there is no catharsis at the end where something tragic and life-altering has happened, but at least there is closure. No one is better off for having the answer. It is well written and the characters are well-developed. I can see how someone might enjoy it, but I am not that someone.

A suspenseful book with many twists and turns sprinkled with a lot of drama. The alternating point of view were helpful although sometime a bit distracting. So much was going on and the story pulled you in and kept you intrigued. I agree with some other reviewers that the ending made me scratch my head a bit - it does fit but I feel it should have been fleshed out a bit more and perhaps include what happened to them at the end. I enjoyed the story and the way relationships were built and explored throughout. Many thanks to the Author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Five stars for Watch Us Fall
Glamorous, gripping, and just the right amount of unhinged. 🖤
The Sweeties might look picture-perfect from the outside, but when one of their exes vanishes, the cracks start to show—and so do the secrets.

This is Big Little Lies meets Gossip Girl with a slow-burn mystery, toxic friendships, and a chilling dive into obsession, power, and the lies we tell ourselves. I was hooked from the first page and couldn't look away as it all unraveled.

If you love messy girl drama with real stakes and a jaw-tightening mystery, this one's for you.

Christina Kovac’s upcoming thriller Watch Us Fall is a sharp, layered mystery that reads like a cross between a gripping true crime documentary and a character study of modern womanhood under pressure. Set in Washington, D.C., this chilling story weaves together the glitz of politics, the high-stakes world of media, and the messy loyalty of female friendships—all wrapped around a haunting disappearance.

The story centers on four women—Addie, Estella, Penelope, and Lucy—fresh out of college and living together in Georgetown. They’re ambitious, confident, and navigating the tightrope between adulthood and their past college lives. Their world is shaken when Addie’s boyfriend Josh, a high-profile investigative journalist and son of a late senator, vanishes after a public breakup. Whispers quickly turn toward the women of the house. As the media frenzy grows, secrets emerge, and trust begins to crack.

Kovac deftly builds suspense by alternating perspectives—Lucy’s present-day narration is emotionally raw and riddled with self-doubt, while glimpses into Josh’s final days provide chilling context. The dual timeline structure works beautifully, painting a fuller, more unsettling picture as the story progresses. The use of an unreliable narrator adds an extra layer of tension, and the narrative plays cleverly with perception and memory.

At its heart, Watch Us Fall is about how far people will go to protect the ones they love—and what happens when loyalty turns destructive. The writing is polished and immersive, with sharp dialogue and a steady undercurrent of dread that builds to a startling conclusion. While some plot turns may be more familiar to avid thriller readers, Kovac’s handling of character psychology and interpersonal dynamics keeps the story fresh and affecting.

Haunting, emotionally intelligent, and eerily plausible, Watch Us Fall is more than a mystery—it’s a slow unraveling of identity, trust, and truth. Come for the missing person plot, stay for the subtle mind games and the emotional shadows they leave behind. A solid read and recommended.

I was completely captivated by this missing person mystery! The pacing read me hooked from beginning to end. I read this in one day because I could not out this down! The author's writing style is truly exceptional; it immediately reminded me of Frieda McFadden, but with a unique, distinct voice all its own. I particularly appreciated the vivid descriptions of Washington D.C. and the surrounding areas. As a Virginia resident myself, I found the imagery incredibly evocative and felt completely transported to the snowy landscapes of the story. The winter setting perfectly complements the suspenseful narrative, making this an ideal read for those cozy nights by the fire when the book is released in December 2025. I will eagerly recommend this to all my book lover friends. The blend of mystery, local flavor, and gripping plot is a winning combination.

“Watch Us Fall” by Christina Kovac is a suspense thriller that focuses on 4 college friends who are out of school and facing the work world as strong independent women. Addie, Estella, Penelope and Lucy all live in Georgetown together and are living their best lives, throwing parties, exploring the dating world and focusing on their careers. Addie dates Josh, the hot investigative reporter, whose father was a presidential candidate. Things are going great, until they’re not. They have a big fight and break up and then Josh goes missing. Suspicion turns on the girls of the house, secrets come out, lies are revealed, who can be trusted? What happened to Josh?

I found myself enjoying the story, I liked the characters and found them to be strong female roles. This story was fast paced, with an unreliable narrator, and an engaging story line, you will enjoy “Watch Us Fall.” Themes of trust and loyalty run strongly in this novel, along with friendships and how far one will go to protect one’s friends. The writing style was polished, and I enjoyed the character’s inner dialog as well as the transition from 1st person to another character in 3rd person. This added depth to the story. Although this was a four-star read for me, it was not without some flaws: I found the plot points slightly predictable, especially being an avid reader of the suspense thriller genre. The ending was satisfying but left me wanting a more definitive resolution for certain plot points. These were small things for me and I will definitely read more by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this digital advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

In Watch Us Fall, Christina Kovac delivers a stellar thriller where nothing is quite what it seems. Set in the cutthroat, post-college world of Washington, D.C., the story balances psychological suspense with an intimate portrait of friendship and unraveling identity.

Lucy and her housemates that are known on campus as “The Sweeties” for the suite where their college bond first formed are living a picture-perfect Georgetown life: shared dinners, rooftop drinks, all together in a chosen family following graduation. But when one housemate’s ex-boyfriend mysteriously disappears, the friends begin to doubt their ties.

Part psychological thriller, part character study, part social commentary, Kovac weaves a tense, emotionally layered narrative that keeps you questioning every motive and memory. A retired TV reporter, she brings a sharp eye for detail and a deep understanding of how truth gets shaped under pressure.

The tension comes not just from what’s happening around Lucy, but from what’s happening within her.
Smart, suspenseful, and deeply human, these friendships will echo long after the final page.
#WatchUsFall #ChristinaKovac #simon&schuster

A sharp, twisty domestic thriller with a bite.

Watch Us Fall hooked me from the very first chapter. Christina Kovac delivers a fast-paced, high-stakes story full of scandal, secrets, and betrayal — the kind of book where you think you know who to trust, and then everything shifts. The tension between ambition, marriage, and public image is masterfully done, pulling you deeper with every chapter.

What stood out:
🎯 Complex characters navigating ambition and betrayal
💔 A marriage full of secrets
📰 High-society drama with a dark underbelly
🔪 Twists that kept me second-guessing until the end

Perfect for fans of Big Little Lies, The Wife Between Us, or The Perfect Couple. If you love domestic suspense with an edge of psychological drama, this one’s a must-read.

Twisted. Binge worthy. You won’t put it down It read like a true crime podcast! Loved this story and will tell everyone to read it!

I thought this book had a lot of great things going for it, the setting and characters were fun and specific, it moved pretty quickly and was an easy read. I probably would have liked this book a lot if it didn't utilize my least favorite thriller/mystery trope. I encounter this trope (SPOILER: the plot hinges on information that the narrator has the whole time, but withholds from the reader until the reveal at the end) often enough that I am sure there are people out there who enjoy it, but unfortunately it wasn't for me.

What lingers most after reading is the unsettling recognition of how easily curated lives can collapse. The novel plants seeds of doubt about the stories we tell ourselves, the friendships we idealize, the versions of ourselves we present to the world.