This was an absolutely gripping read! I was not expecting it to hook me in the way it did, but it was worth reading!

This story is told from the alternating perspectives of Kate and Sam. Crazily enough, I was most drawn to Sam's character. He was obsessive, creepy, and willing to go to all lengths to win Kate over. He reminded me a lot of Joe from You by Caroline Kepnes; both of them were stalkers who just had to have the girl of their dreams. However, Sam was a lot scarier than Joe, with a more intense personality. His behaviour chilled me to the core. I loved how the author created this amazing chemistry between Kate and Sam; it was intense, it was sensual, and it was 100% addictive. I could completely understand why Kate felt drawn to Sam. I'm also glad that the author gave Kate a little bit of common sense so that she didn't just act based on emotions. 

I really enjoyed the writing style of this novel. Each chapter was short, making me want to keep reading. The pace was fast and intense, so much so that I got completely caught up in the story. I wish the ending had had a little more to it but apart from that, this was an absolutely fantastic read. If you are looking for a very intense psychological thriller, I would recommend this one! Solid 4/5 stars from me.

I love the uniqueness of this cover. It’s a great glimpse into what this book is going to be about. The broken glass over the image of the woman is creepy. However, once you look at the broken area and notice the dark night with a man’s image it takes on a sinister feel. That is exactly what I got from this book… dark and sinister hiding in plain sight! I’m always excited to read the debut book of an author. I feel like we’re gonna get some fantastically-enjoyable nights from Miss Jody Gehrman!

One of the main characters, Kate Youngblood is an author of a pretty successful book. After 10 years of marriage she is a recently divorced woman who’s struggling a bit with her husband falling for younger women. Kate is currently teaching at a small town college. She feels herself being drawn to a student. Finally, she’s remembering that heat, that passion that’s been lost for so long. Here Kate is, all of a sudden, falling for a younger man… a student, no less! She’s feeling sexy again… feeling that sizzling heat again for a man… a much younger man!

Our lucky young student, Sam, is just as infatuated with Kate… maybe a bit more so. Kate might be struggling with her infatuation but Sam is all on board and completely and utterly smitten. But Sam has a bit of a secret. He’s been in love with Kate for years and has been plotting his way right to her. Sam is completely crazy about Kate, and I mean that literally, not figuratively. I love how slowly, but surely, Jody Gehrman breaks down Sam’s character and shows us his true obsession.

What a disturbing read from Gehrman! I was delighted that this was a debut, it sure didn’t read or feel like one. The dialog between the main characters was fantastic and the alternating POVs pulls you into their minds and makes you think. I love how we are given bit by little bit of the two flawed characters. Completely enthralling read!


I received an ARC of this book with the hope that I will leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that... my opinions.

Kate is a novelist struggling to come up with her next number one. To make ends meet, she is a professor at a small college hoping to receive tenure soon. Sam is just a regular student with a good bit of talent. Kate wants to show him the ropes of the literary life. Little does she know, Sam has been watching her for years.

Kate starts out as a pretty strong, smart woman. However, I was a little shocked at how she allowed Sam to weave himself into her life. I expected a little more from her character. That being said, Sam….now Sam is a excellent stalker, which is why Kate allowed him to get so close, so very close. He does have a certain magnetism which attracts Kate and the reader!

This is your standard stalking novel. It has many twists and turns that keep the reader glued to the story. Standard is the operative word here. It is fast-paced and intriguing, but nothing new.

I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review.

The character development is absolutely astounding in this book. I loved the swapping from character to character, instead of just focusing on one. Be prepared to be submerged into a world of complete obsession and twists you're not expecting.

I am such a huge fan of the first person POV narrative style; especially when it comes to getting the inside scoop of an antagonist. Give me a novel with the deepest inner workings of a stalker or a serial killer and I am hooked. I don’t know what this says about me but I know for sure that novels like this keep me up late into the night and on the edge of my seat. Enter, Watch Me, the debut suspense novel by Jody Gehrman (best-known for her chick-lit).

From the first few lines of the synopsis, stating the novel would be for fans dark, twisty psychological thrillers and about how far obsession can go, I knew it would land at the top of my TBR pile. Young, recently divorced college professor looking for a protégé? Check. Handsome, promising student who wants more than a mentor? Check. Sexual tension? Check. Student turns out to be a stalker trying to ruin the professor’s life so she runs closer to him? Check. Check. Check. Told through back and forth narration between Kate, the college professor, and Sam, the creepy-stalkeresque student, the narrative unfolds and the reader is privy to both Sam’s obsession and Kate’s mounting fear.

Initially, Watch Me felt like a less gritty version of Perfect Days by Rapheal Montes or You by Caroline Kepnes. Sam Grist, the main antagonist of Watch Me, seemed a bit more surface than other stalker characters I have encountered. I felt like a lot of his backstory was left a little bit ambivalent. I do realize this could have been a deliberate choice from the author to keep the reader feeling like Kate (not knowing what is true or what Sam’s entire motives could be) but I feel like with a first-person narration, I wanted to understand the full story.

While bits felt a little redundant, I did enjoy Gehrman’s prose and I loved the bits and pieces that took place during Kate’s writing workshop. Discussion of the first person POV (how the reader should know all of the motives since they have sort of entered into a contract with the character) and the writer’s craft was so interesting to me. Although it had little to do with the actual plot, I felt like it added an extra layer of believability to the text.

I raced through the last 25% or so of the novel, even though the very end felt extremely sudden, and was pleased with the general direction it took. I was actually a little bit surprised at the final epilogue, which was nice.

Overall, if you are a fan of the stalker style thriller, then I feel like this would be a welcome addition to your shelves! I felt like it was paced well and solidly entertaining!

This is my first book by Jody Gehrman so I was excited and didn't know what to expect!
Jody Gehrman writes an unique novel from two different POVs. I could not connect with Kate, I think her and I would not be friends if we ever met lol, but Sam and I would I think. Sometimes when there is a character I don't like it makes for a hard read but I kind of liked hating on her. It added to the mystery and thriller aspect with I loved! 
I really enjoyed Watch Me and look forward to reading more from Jody!

This sounded like an interesting book to begin with. What I wasn’t prepared for was the coarse humor, the unnecessary foul language, or the depth of depravity. This book just wasn’t my style at all. I didn’t enjoy it, I regret reading it, and I wish I could erase it from my mind. I found nothing uplifting or redeeming about the story.;

The alternating first person viewpoints were interesting, but I found the character Kate to be weak and even annoying. For her to still be interested in Sam after she knew he had done such dreadful things was just its own level of desperate, sick, and twisted. I wanted to shake her and demand she have more self-respect. Sam’s point of view seems to have been better written, but I didn’t enjoy reading his thoughts and justifications for evil.

I received this book as an eARC from the author, publisher, and NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. I couldn’t wait for the book to end. I would not have finished reading it all except for the fact that I said I would review it.

3.5 Stars

Watch Me is the first book of Jody Gehrman's I've read and I am left with mixed feeling's about it. The story was interesting and told in a very unique way. It rotated between Kate's first person point of view and Sam's second person point of view. The yous and yours of Sam's sections really helped pull me into the story. Kate was a character I couldn't connect with and the main reason I didn't rate this book higher. I really wanted to like Kate, but the majority of the time I felt she was rather annoying. Being able to connect or at least enjoy the main character is very important to me and a large influence on how much I enjoy a book. The plot itself was great and I enjoyed the writing style. If I'd been able to connect better with the heroine, I would have definitely given this book more stars.
I voluntarily received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a slow burn thriller. With each page read, suspense increases. I totally enjoyed it.

Wow, this one is deliciously addictive and creepy in a way that I couldn’t put it down, yet also wanted to cover my eyes as if I were watching a horror film. Kate Youngblood is a thirty-eight-year-old professor and writer. Her first book was a huge success but the ones after that were lukewarm. Her husband left her for a much younger woman and her best friend is having a baby. Things are changing in Kate’s life resulting in her feeling less important, less interesting, and less desirable than she once was. Sam Grist is a twenty-two-year-old, talented, and hauntingly sexy student in Kate’s fiction-writing workshop. Kate quickly recognizes his writing talent, as well as, the effect he has on her when he looks at her or is close to her. She tries to fight the excitement from his attention and praise but soon finds herself getting drawn into Sam’s very disturbing life.

I’ll start with Kate. I quickly became emersed in her character and her inner monologue about getting older, having children, men, and so on. Although Kate was obviously a strong and intelligent woman, the changes that had taken place in her life over the years had sparked issues with her own self-worth where she considered herself invisible, unattractive, etc. She immediately recognizes and acknowledges all of the millions of warning bells going off in her head as she realizes Sam’s attraction to her, however, she struggles with ignoring those warnings. The lesson here – sometimes those first gut instincts are right on!!!

Sam is creepy, complex, dark, and mysterious from the beginning, yet it was impossible not to be drawn to his character at times. Although I was questioning his mental stability quite often throughout the novel, Sam had a sexy arrogance about him that seemed somewhat delicious at times. The author crafted the perfect creepy man for this novel and succeeded in not only planting doubts in Kate’s mind, but also in my own. I caught myself a few times thinking, “maybe he’s an o.k. guy, just comes on a little strong?” That push and pull between the two main characters are what made this an absolute page-turner.

Other characters such as Zoe, Raul, and Jessica were just o.k. to me. They did add to the overall story but none had any overwhelming likable or unlikeable qualities. What they did do, at least for me, was place doubt in my mind about whether or not Sam was really a bad guy. Perhaps my thought processes are as twisted as Kate’s, but as I stated before, I had some lapses in my sanity a few times while reading this one. Any lovers of creepy thrillers need to add Watch Me to the top of your TBR. This one isn’t going to leave you with a warm and fuzzy feeling, but absolutely keeps your mind racing over the events and revelations within the story!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was just an okay book for me. It seems a little unreal. I never could really get into the story and the foul language turned me off.

One word : creepy. 

Kate feels like she's disappearing. Her marriage hit the rocks, her best friend had a baby and is always busy and her career as a writer is going nowhere fast. And then Sam comes along and notices her, pays her the attention she's been missing for so long.

Now, there are stalkers. And then there is Sam. Who takes things to a completely different level. Sam has been watching Kate for years and has mapped out their entire lives together. He seems to know everything about her and knows exactly which buttons to push to make his way into her life.

As far as the characters go, Kate utterly confused me and I couldn't figure her out at all. Sam, on the other hand, is someone you can't help feeling for, which is all kinds of weird. There was an intriguing backstory to his life that may have given more answers but unfortunately, I felt that wasn't explored as much as it could have been done. Still, the chapters written from his perspective were incredibly gripping, albeit it sometimes slightly repetitive, and give a fascinating insight into how his stalker mind works.

After reading this, I may just walk the streets and continuously look over my shoulder to make sure nobody is watching me. There's such a threatening and terrifying vibe throughout this story and as a woman, it's sadly too easy to imagine being in this situation. This is a deeply unsettling story and a slightly different approach to the stalker genre so if that's your thing, this may the book for you.

“I move the binoculars up to your face. I’m not a pervert, a Peeping Tom. I am Romeo, gazing up at Juliet by moonlight.” Sam Grist

Sam’s unhealthy attraction to Kate is foreshadowed early on in this novel and disturbing to say the least. Kate knows well the professional boundary between professor-student but that line blurs as she is magnetically drawn to her student Sam Grist. Emotional decisions trump logical ones. I could see the train wreck coming. The story alternates between these two vivid characters and their growing attraction/infatuation become unsettling , creepy yet completely irresistible.

I so enjoyed Jody’s storytelling. Kate and Sam’s thought processes and actions, no matter how twisted and dysfunctional, made for a great roller coaster ride. What a tangled web they weaved.

Author Jody Gehrman has authored ten novels and this was my first. It surely won’t be my last.
*will add additional online reviews once published.

When does love and attraction turn into obsession?

Sam Grist is a college student in Kate Youngblood’s writing workshop. Kate is impressed with his writing style. She is also feeling a “strong river current” pulling her towards him. However, Kate is hoping to get tenure. Starting an affair with a student would not be smart and might even be career-ending. Her first crime novel was moderately successful but her agent hates her latest book. She needs the teaching job to support herself now that her husband has left her for a much younger woman.

Sam also has strong feelings for Kate. He stares at her with longing during class. Soon he starts following her and peeps in her windows. His obsession only grows from there.

Watch Me is a slow-burning thriller alternating between Kate and Sam’s point of view. At first, a reader feels sympathy for Sam’s love for Kate. It seems like a heartfelt student’s crush on his older college professor. But then Sam begins to go too far. As Sam’s history is revealed, his intentions begin to look much darker. The eerie atmosphere and Sam’s darkening worldview propel the plot forward even though the action doesn’t really start until more than a third into the book.

Watch Me is highly recommended to fans of character-driven psychological suspense. The relationship between Kate and Sam resembles the one between Agent Starling and Hannibal Lecter. It is obviously not healthy and will probably end badly but it is both a compelling and unsettling trip to that end. 4 stars!

Thanks to the publisher, St. Martin’s Griffin, and NetGalley for the advance review copy.

This is a very interesting book. I wasn't sure which way it was going to turn really until the end. Would they end up in a relationship together? Would he get arrested? Would he kill her? --seriously, all these options and more went through my head, sometimes making me feel a bit ill.

I should probably start again by saying, in the beginning I found parallels between Sam's behavior and previous "alpha male" romance leads. Sam, being the stalker. Sam cares for Kate and wants what is best for her and even changes her life without her say-so. It really drives home for those other novels with pushy leads "What if she didn't like him?". Therefore, I'll either have to forget about this book in order to highly rate those other books, or stay away from them.

Okay, enough about how I am processing romances, let me write a bit more about this book.
I wouldn't call the characters likeable, but I did enjoy reading about them. The switch in POV on alternating chapters from Sam (the stalker) to Kate (the stalked) are fascinating. Because they both have different agendas, they don't always understand how the other is thinking which can make the scene more enlightening, yet when they can guess what the other is feeling it is almost creepy to me. I do feel like Kate had a few moments where she wasn't perceptive, but knowing some people are actually like that is what made me believe it. Frances, Kate's boss though? I totally don't understand her and how she made her decisions.
That bit was a touch ridiculous to me.

The plot I feel is well done. While I did think the beginning was a tad slow, it was a great buildup for getting a feel for the characters and truly made me relax with them--thinking I knew who they might be, until...
I will say I don't think the thrill, or what got my heart racing, was from a chase, but from not knowing how Kate would react to things-- not knowing if she would figure out what was going on between her and Sam.

I really liked reading this book, even though it gave me a slimy feeling and I might never be able to look at romances the same. No, this isn't a romance, but love is the theme here considering Sam loves Kate and is ready to make her love him back.

Definitely one I'll recommend to others. This is my first book by this author, so I just might look up what else they have written, as well.

Kate Youngblood is disappearing. Muddling through her late 30s as a creative writing professor at Blackwood college, she is dangerously close to never being noticed again. The follow-up novel to her successful debut tanked. Her husband left her for a woman ten years younger. She’s always been bright, beautiful, independent, and a little wild, but now her glow is starting to vanish. She’s heading into an age where her eyes are less blue , her charm worn out, and soon no one will ever truly look at her, want to know her, again.

Except one – Sam Grist is Kate’s most promising student. And unflinching writer with razor sharp clarity who gravitates towards dark themes and twisted plots, his raw talent is something Kate wants to nurture into a literary success. But he’s not there solely to be the best writer. He’s been watching her. Wanting her. Working his way to her for years.

As Sam slowly makes his way into Kates life, they enter a daily web of dangerous lives in for bidden desire. How far will just fixation go?.

Jody Gehrman does one HELL of a job taking her readers into the mind of a COMPLETE sociopath!!, This story is CREEPY, DARK, and INTENSELY satisfying. A cat-and-mouse thriller about a man’s EXTREME obsession with a woman.

The chapters flip back-and-forth from Sam to Kate – the TWO (2) main characters of this book. Sam (THE CAT) - A sociopath, a stalker. He’s confident, good looking, and a 22-year-old student in Kate’s (THE MOUSE) writing class. Sam is OBSESSED with Kate. . He’s MORE than obsessed – he’s been watching her for FIVE (5) years now – ever since he was 17 years old. He knows everything about her. He knows her better than she knows herself. What’s more important – she’s the exact opposite of Viviemme – his mother – a whore, a junkie and a thief - And soon KATE will be his!

This book is EDGY and CREEPY and VERY seductive. If you like deeply disturbing, creepy to the max STALKER books - this one is a winner!

Really enjoyed this one. A love story of sorts about a teacher and her obsessive, slightly unhinged student, the author plays this one really well.

Kate Youngblood is one of our two main protagonists. In her late 30s and divorced, she is an author and college professor at Blackwood college. Shes had some success with her first novel, a mediocre second and has struggled to write anything of substance since. She can feel herself disappearing from public view somewhat. At her age she is getting less and less attention from the opposite sex. No longer do heads turn when she walks down the street like they did when she was younger. She has never felt more alone or lonely.

Sam Grist is Kates most promising student with an exceptional talent, writing quite dark subject matter. Kate has never seen a talent like his before. But Sam is there for more reasons than to learn to write. Hes been watching Kate. Obsessing over her since reading her debut novel 5 years ago. He has plans for her and he wont let anything or anyone get in the way of those plans. Its their destiny!

This is a pretty straight forward story with a small case of characters. The story is told from both our main protagonists view point and works brilliantly. This is a love story of sorts, forbidden love in more ways than one. Sam of course is obsessed with Kate even though she is 16 years his elder and Kate is hugely drawn to Sam too. The excerpts where she feels the electricity of him standing close to her are brilliantly written and the waters become muddied as you do think they may fall in love, despite Sam being totally unhinged. You feel empathy for him at times and feel sorry for him and you cant help but feel sorry for Kate as her life spirals out of control and you realise she is in serious danger.

I really enjoyed this one. The author kept this one tight and the whole focus being on the two viewpoints works brilliantly well. There is some real tension in this. Both characters are very well written and are essential to making this book work and thankfully they are very strong.

Id have no hesitation in recommending this one. It was the sort of book I was really looking forward to picking up again when Id taken a break. No reading back a page or two to refresh my memory. the characters and the story were in my head vividly.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dark, spooky obsession

It seems to be the current fashion for authors to write chapters from a different character’s point of view. Very often it fails as the author is unable to speak with a different voice but Ms Gehrman has pretty much pulled it off very well on this occasion.

Kate Youngblood is a professor of literature in her 30s. She has been hired by her university largely on the basis of her first, highly successful, novel but she feels her department head dislikes her which is an issue as she is now seeking tenure. She can perhaps best be described as yesterday’s woman as she has been unable to repeat her literary success. Her star therefore is fading as is her life in general.

Sam is one of Kate’s students. However, she is unaware that he has become obsessed with her since reading her novel and his intentions become clear as the plot progresses. He calls himself Sam despite being born to an American Indian mother who pops up occasionally throughout the book in a drug/alcohol induced haze.

So, the chapters alternate from Kate’s and Sam’s POVs. Initially his attraction to Kate seems just like many a crush a young man may have on an older woman of authority but as the reader gets deeper into the story things change and become much darker. We learn more about Sam’s past and it’s not that attractive. In fact, it’s frightening and depressing. Kate’s initial attraction to Sam doesn’t diminish and she is torn between her desire and the unwritten rules of the college.

The author does an excellent job of getting into the heads of the two main protagonists. Every one of Sam’s thoughts appear to him to be totally logical and reasonable and it’s only when set against Kate’s thoughts that it becomes obvious that this relationship will not be ending well.

It seems churlish to criticise an excellent read but it lost a star only because I felt that some of Kate’s, and other minor characters’, actions were illogical - particularly those of the police. However, it’s easy to set aside these concerns as it’s an absorbing read and well worth looking out for.

mr zorg

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

What a disturbing but great read this was. One of the creepiest psychological thrillers I have ever read. There were times even though I just wanted to keep reading but I had to stop, take a little break just to be able to handle what was coming next.

A lot of unexpected twists and breathtaking moments which is what makes the story this good and the characters. After reading You by Caroline Kepnes I never thought I was going to come across more characters like Joe Goldberg, so obsessed, possessive and with such sick minds but then you read this book and you are introduced to Sam and Kate and oh God, what a ride.

Liked the writing, a very interesting plot and also liked how the story is told from dual points of view, alternating between Sam and Kate. Watch Me, a great psychological thriller which I totally recommend.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am sorry, I should not have asked to read it ... Too creepy for me!