Professor turned author Kate has been in a bit of a downward turn of luck lately, even her best friend isn't as engaging. When Sam shows up in her world she thinks things are on an upswing, then things are terribly wrong.

This was a creepy psychological thriller. Kate is a professor and Sam is her obsessed student. It's interesting to see Sam's rationalizations for his irrational behavior.
I would read more from this author.

3.5 stars

This book is a little different than a typically thriller in that we know who the bad guy is from the beginning - but what he's up to and how long it will take everyone to figure it out are at the heart of the book.

Kate is a professor and bestselling author who is at a low-point in her life: she can't seem to recapture the magic of her first novel, her husband left her, and she worries her best friend, who is pregnant and recently married, will be next. Then a student in her writing workshop begins to intrigue her - he's handsome and seems to say all the right things. But little does Kate understand just how dangerously into her Sam is.

This book was really intriguing and the author did a great job of creating suspense and an air of mystery. Kate and Sam were both interesting characters in their owns ways, since there's not a lot of background that we're given on each of them. We're left to piece together their motivations as the book goes on.

I also liked that there were some very witty lines and some very spicy scenes scattered throughout the book. They added the right amount of spark to what could have been just a run-of-the-mill stalker story.

The foreshadowing was a little much, however. It was pretty obvious how it was going to end about 40 percent of the way in. I also did not like the epilogue, which kind of made me feel....icky? Frustrated? Something like that.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, but had some issues with it. However, there were more than enough redeeming qualities to keep me reading until the end.

Where do I even begin with this one? I’ll start by saying this book was not quite my cup of tea. I was eager for a creepy, suspenseful stalker book that made my skin crawl. This was not that book. Or, maybe it’s more accurate to say that half of this book was not that book.

Watch Me switches between two points of view: Sam (the stalker) and Kate (the stalked). Kate is a creative writing professor at a local college. She has published one fairly successful novel, one flop, and can’t seem to find her inspiration. Her husband has left her, and her best friend is pregnant, so she experiences this overwhelming feeling of isolation. Sam, on the other hand, is one of her students. It soon becomes clear that he is not only infatuated, but dangerously obsessed with Kate.

My beef with the novel: Kate is clearly attracted to Sam (even once she starts to realize that he is a stalker!) and parts of this book felt like I was reading a sappy romance novel instead of a psychological thriller. No. Just no. Sam, on the other hand, had a rich backstory and provided that element of mental derangement that I expected from this novel. The problem, for me at least, is that when the “prey” is not scared, there is a very much lessened sense of fear and suspense. In that way, Kate failed me as a victim. Alternatively, I could have appreciated a strong woman who was able to defend herself and remove herself from the situation, or even fight back. Anything would have been better than a doe-eyed, love-sick, passive Kate.

Other than my disappointment with Kate, this was a good thriller. If you can get past her as a character, this book has all of the elements that lead to a dark and twisted read. But I couldn’t. If you read this book, read it for Sam. This rating is for Sam.

I may not be very generous, giving this book a 2.5/2.75 star rating... while I enjoyed the beginning, I was a bit disappointed in the middle and felt the end was a bit abrupt. I felt a bit bogged down by the details in thought by our "stalker" and felt our target, the school teacher, wasn't as concerned as she could have been or as obsessed and attracted to her stalker as she could have been, making me feel she lacked a strong feeling one way or the other. This in turn made me feel a bit lacking in feeling towards my characters as well. I appreciate the ability to read this book through NetGalley, and while not up my alley, others may enjoy the premise and writing style of this author.

A very creepy story of stalking and told from both the stalker and victim. I am not a fan of stalking stories but this one was gripping. It was hard to read in parts due to the material . It definitely is as advertised and for all who like a good psychological thriller.

Now this was certainly an edge of your seat psychological thriller! What a fantastic read! Looking forward to reading more

This creepy psychological thriller kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through.

I received an ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Written from first person perspective of both student/stalker Sam and teacher/author/stalkee Kate, this book lets you delve into the minds of both parties which as both creepy and fascinating at the same time. Which was perhaps a bit disturbing for me, was actually being able to sympathasize with Sam. I was rooting for him which was weird because he wasn’t portrayed as a psychopath. Even more interesting to me were Kate’s feeling about certain situations that she seemed to find herself in with Sam (I don’t want to give anything away).

This isn’t your typical stalker novel and it doesn’t follow that same predictable path. It’s more intricate storyline, and emotional connections give it a fresh more real perspective. At least for me. I could totally identify with how Kate was feeling and Sams logic half the time was startlingly sound.

I really enjoyed it and found it hard to put down. I’d definitely recommend it and look forward to reading more from this author.

Reading about Sam stalking Kate, his college writing instructor, I couldn't help but be reminded of Joe stalking Beck in You, a book I liked a lot. Both books have unlikeable characters who are emotionally needy, and the males are creepy and disturbing. My comparisons were endless. Of course, You came first and created quite a sensation -- a stalker with a sense of humor; a killer who was at times sympathetic. Sam has few good qualities. Sam is smart and Kate is certain he could someday become an accomplished writer. His character, a sociopath, provides the tension but also incredulity. Kate at age 38 acts like a 20 year old school girl rather than the adult. Very frustrating.

Like I said in my review of You, I'm usually able to enjoy reading about a variety of disturbed people as long as it's also an intriguing story. And I guess therein lies my problem. Maybe Watch Me isn't trying to emulate You, and I hope it isn't, and maybe my comparisons are unfair or obtuse. These are simply my reactions. 2.5 stars, an OK read.

I received a free copy from St. Martin's Press Publicity through NetGalley.

This book is incredibly creepy! Holy crap, I don't think I've read a book this creepy since I don't know when! There are a ton of twists and turns and pages filled with suspense! So glad I found this book!

I’m guessing Jody German had fun writing this. She has captured the craziness that goes through writers’ heads in flushing out their flawed characters. Both her protagonists are writers, one a teacher the other a younger student, who is obsessed with her. At first I thought it was going to be a scary stalking story, but it is so much more nuanced. Both the teacher and the taught participate in an exquisite (and sometimes scary) dance that ends so unexpectedly. Truly an engrossing and satisfying read, and I will certainly be looking for more stories by this author.

A dark and twisted tale that had me screaming at Kate to pay attention and watch out. A great thriller and a fast read.

Yup - I would definitely call this a book that is as advertised! This book was intense and very disturbing (in the best way? If that's possible). I could empathize with Kate- she's going through somewhat of a "mid life" crisis and feels the best days are behind her. Her friends seem to be in the "right place" and her ex husband is remarrying. Her student, Sam, is very interested and this devolves into a scary, obsessive unilateral affair. This isn't random- Sam is a fan of her first book and sought her out purposefully. He's not quite at Misery level obsession, but disturbing in his own way. I also love the book within a book vibe. Very hard to believe this was a debut!

Kate enjoys her "safe" academic world, with her creative writing class and her own writing she's doing trying to gain eligibility for tenure. But, apart from that, life's become lackluster and she's begun to feel a little bit invisible. Enter Sam...a bright, young (but not too young) student whose dark stories intrigue Kate and give her something to look forward to for a change...however, Sam might want a bit more than a teacher/student relationship,.

Great psychological thriller that will keep you reading way after you should have turned out the light!

Turned off from the very beginning with cheesy narration. Not for me.

Jody Gehrman walks readers through a story of obsession and desire. Watch Me follows young, brilliant writing student Sam Grist as he shares his observations of his teacher, Kate Youngblood.

Kate is oblivious of Sam's obsessive stalking so when he shows up randomly and focuses all his attention on her, she's caught between doing the right thing or giving into temptation. It's interesting how the story not only reflects both Kate and Sam's point of views, but Sam's point of view is written as though he's speaking to Kate instead of readers. It gives the story that much more of a creepy, thrilling sensation.

I though the story was just fine. While everything is falling away from Kate, she kind of let it shatter around her. I didn't think she was a compelling or redeeming character. I can't recall one thing she did to help herself. In fact, the weird guy following her around was much more interesting because I wanted to know what motivated him and what took him over the edge. I enjoyed reading Watch Me, but by the end I was just ready to move on to the next read.
*ARC provided in consideration for review*

This is really a decent book. However, I was 40% into the book before something finally started happening.

The suspense factor is there, but I am so over Sam by that time that there were parts of me that just didn't care to go on. It's like I was in his head for so long. I get it, he's psycho, but his ramblings on and on, a little much.

I like the stories with Eva which told us his past and what he is. There was just too much of Sam's thoughts and ramblings. It was making me psycho.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Great story and plot. Well written and an author to look out for!!

Watch Me by Jody Gehrman certainly lives up to being a dark thriller. I did find though that I could not stand either main character, Kate or Sam. The story is told in alternating chapters from each of their points of view. Pretty much, neither Kate or Sam had any redeeming qualities in my opinion. But, I do think that makes both characters memorable. I certainly will not be forgetting Sam's creepiness anytime soon. Kate just came across as unlikeable and annoying with an attitude of self-pity. The book moved quickly at times, I did not want to put it down, but then a few times it would drag some and I did not care what would happen next.

Is it weird to say I wanted this story to be darker? I just really did. Watch Me by Jody Gehrman had so much more potential to be dark and twisty but in my opinion, it just wasn't.

I think my favorite thing about this book was how you could tell Kate wanted to like Sam Grist, how she did like Sam. He was brilliant and talented. His writing was phenomenal and dark. It was interesting watching her try to reason with herself and trying to stop herself from crossing that line between teacher and student. It was even more interesting watching him cross the line between love and obsession.

Jody's writing was great and her words kept you wanting to keep reading all the way up until the end. The web of lies and the obsession were enough to keep me into the story and to see what the outcome would be between Kate and Sam.

Other than that, I just felt like this book was too much like You by Caroline Kepnes. Now if I haven't read You, I probably would have been sucked into this and not been able to put it down but I have read it and I kept comparing it to Watch Me even though I try so hard not to do that.

I would still recommend this book if you are looking for an obsession type story. I just wish it would have found it's way to come out of the shadows of another book a bit more. overall, it's still a decent read and it did have factors that I liked about it and I know a lot of you would enjoy it.