NOT. FOR. ME.

It wasn’t a bad book just not for me. The story line seemed very underdeveloped along with the characters.

Two friends having one last trip before going off to college out in the woods. Sounds like it could be a good read something scary will happen and they survive. At least that's what I had hoped but nothing really happens. The creepy woods the friends having no idea what it is to be out in the woods. The story fell flat in the suspense thriller aspect.

Thank you to PenguinTeen for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’m still trying to figure out how this was a companion to There’s Someone Inside Your House. While the author’s first thriller wasn’t a favorite of mine, it was better than this one. We have shallow characters and a dragged out suspense plot. I kept putting this down just to make myself pick it back up again so I could finish it. I found this to be underwhelming and hard to get through.

The Woods Are Always Watching was alright, but it wasn’t the best book I have read. It wouldn’t be the first thriller I recommend to people.

I expected this to pick up right away, but it was pretty slow. It took about 100ish pages before I got sucked in. Our main characters were pretty unlikeable, they just fought the whole time. It was pretty frustrating having to read about them repeatedly insulting each other.

After it picks up, the book does get better. But it fell flat when it came to the ending. It needed MORE, an epilogue or something. It ended far too abruptly for my taste.

I wouldn’t suggest this for hardcore thriller lovers. It’s just an okay read. I will say that I think it would make a pretty good tv show. I know Stephanie Perkins already has one book in the works, maybe this one will get picked up too.

Thanks to @prhaudio and @penguinteen for my audiobook/book!

I loved There is Someone Inside Your House by @naturallystephperkins and am anxiously awaiting the Netflix movie so naturally this one high up on my anticipated new releases for 2021.

In this one two teens who have no experience with hardcore hiking and camping set off for one last vacation before going their separate ways, what could go wrong?

I had fun with this one, it’s a wilderness survival story and most of the time I spent listening to this one I was walking through the woods which added to the creep factor.

Great tension throughout and pacing had me rushing through this one to find out what happened. The audio book/book are fairly short coming at just a little over 7 hours/under 250 pages. The narrator did a great job and it was very easy to follow on audio. If you like shorter reads/listens another reason to pick this one up.

I hope Netflix turns this one into a movie too!

I had much higher expectations for this book than what it amounted to be. This book definitely was disappointing. For the entirety of the novel I just felt bored and uninterested in what was going on. I didn't enjoy any of the characters, and I didn't really care about what was going to happen. The writing to me felt quite plain and boring.

So I think this book did some great stuff, and other stuff not so great. It was a really wonderful portrayal of teen girl friendship. At the beginning when they were still full of hope, they joked a lot and I actually found their banter funny enough to audibly laugh. That progressively goes away, which makes sense, as you see their friendship be put through trial after trial.

I think this book was extremely atmospheric and the author did a great job of making you feel as though you are experiencing not only the trials of this hike, but the unsettling occurrences leading up to what ultimately became a horrific series of events. And speaking of horrific, this turned into gore SO FAST out of nowhere and I was absolutely not prepared. Like, body parts being blown off. It was rough.

This book features a main character with asthma which was a first for me. I've not actually seen this before and was glad to. Her needing her inhaler was discussed, but there is a point where she is having asthma attacks and cannot access her inhaler so if thats triggering for you I would avoid.

My issue with it was the villains. They were very underdeveloped but what development we did get, I found pretty gross in it's ideas towards women. The main characters very randomly were given visions of why these two men were so vile, and in both cases it was because, in part, they had had unhealthy relationships with their mothers and other women.

I honestly almost wish that all along the thing following them had been a bear.

Who knew hiking could be so dangerous?? I opened this up thinking they would maybe run into a bear or something, but nope! I can relate to having your friend go off to college and leave you in your hometown, and how things will change, and maybe that friendship will fizzle out. I really like the two characters, Neena and Josie, but their arguments don't really help too much when you're hiking just the two of you, because eventually you're gonna have to talk to each other and work things out. My only thing to say about this book was that it was too short!! But other than that, if you're into thrillers, hiking, or even just the story of two best friends, then you should definitely pick up this book! Thank you to NetGalley, and Penguin Teen for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Somehow this was my first EVER Stephanie Perkins book, and I was beyond thrilled to be able to read and review it thanks to an advance reader copy from Penguin Teen and PRHAudio for the ALC.

I'm not a HUGE audiobook listener, but this month with some projects at home I downloaded some thrillers, because those are my go to's for keeping me interested. I WANTED to love this one, because I had heard such great things about Perkins books and writing style, but this just wasn't the book for me. I wanted to like it so much I kept going, trying to figure out what exactly didn't work for me and I'll be honest that I'm not sure what exactly it was.

I think I kept waiting for something MORE to happen, but in the end it was mostly just suspenseful errors mixed with a friendship that I couldn't decide if I wanted to survive after leaving the woods.

🌳 Mini Review 👀
I have been a fan of @naturallystephperkins since Anna and the French Kiss. It was my first YA contemporary and the series that made me fall in love with the genre. Last year I read There’s Someone Inside You House and really enjoyed it. When I saw The Woods Are Always Watching I knew I had to read it. I was so excited when I got approved for this arc.

Josie and Neena are best friends that are going to different colleges 2,000 miles from each other. They decide to take a camping trip together as their last hurrah. Both are dealing with hurt caused from the other but are trying to work through it. They want their friendship to last.

What starts as a fun trip slowly morphs into frustration and true feelings coming out. Not only are they fed up with one another, but they feel like someone is watching them. As they try to make the best of the trip the worst possible thing happens to them, at least that’s what they think, and it doesn’t stop there, it just gets worse and worse.

I really enjoyed this book! It took me a minute to get into it. The first half of the book was good, but nothing too crazy happens. Once the first ball drops though, it is non stop crazy. I couldn’t put it down and ended up staying up till 2am to finish.

I’m supposed to go camping in the next few days and I’m so thankful its with my husband and 2 other families because I would be way too scared. I gave this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 If you are into hiking and camping I definitely recommend this book to you. 😈

I’ve read five of Stephanie Perkins’ books, and she always brings a visceral feeling to the table, whether she’s writing romance or horror. The Woods Are Always Watching is about two girls who decide to go hiking for three days in the mountains of North Carolina. Little do they know, this trip will change everything.

Perkins spends the first third of the book letting us get to know Neena and Josie. These two best friends have been through a lot together, but the trail immediately starts to test their relationship. The heat, the bugs, the weight of their backpacks, and the lurking dangers of the woods are enough to make anyone a little angry.

When an accident befalls one of them, that’s when they are truly tested—both as friends and as individuals. There’s something dangerous lurking in the woods, and the tension Perkins creates is palpable. I had to put the book down several times to take a break from the stress. But as scary as it was at times, my one wish was that the book was a little longer—that’s how easy it was to care about these two characters.

I love a wilderness survival story and wanted to love this YA thriller about two best friends who go on a hiking/camping trip before parting ways trot college. Sadly I did not love this book. Honestly I barely liked it.

This story starts out so slow. I almost gave up but decided to keep listening. The amount of bickering between the two main characters was unreal! The majority of the book was them arguing, over literally everything.

And don’t even get me started on the fact that had never done this before. They knew nothing about camping but somehow thought it was a good idea.

The story was predictable and in some cases just didn't even make sense. Also very unrealistic. I understand this is fiction but it was just too much for me.

I listened to the audiobook and I think the narrator was the only reason i stuck around. I enjoyed her voice and will listen to other books she narrates. Thank you penguin random house audio for the ALC.

Neena and Josie are determined to make their three day hike, as memorable as possible. Its their last chance to make memories before they go their separate ways for college. So they pack up their borrowed packs, gather their trail maps, and set off on the Appalachian Trail.
All it takes is one wrong turn off their path, and horror awaits them. Now its up to the girls to get out of the woods alive.

This book is categorized as Young Adult, but this 40 year old found it at the same level ( or better) then the adult thrillers out there now. I was gripped almost immediately by the magnetic personalities of Neena and Josie, and was ready to go on their adventure with them as a third wheel. I laughed with them at how unprepared they were with their blistered feet and sore limbs. Then I cowered in fear as the woods crept and made them its prisoner.
Everything about this book was great! Most of all, the scary and thrilling shift their journey makes halfway through the book. At that point I could not put it down.
I am recommending this book to my library for the YA section. I am hoping it gets mixed up with adult fiction so some adult readers won't over look it. And, now I have to read everything ever written by Stephanie Perkins. lol

WHY DID I LISTEN TO THE WOODS ARE ALWAYS WATCHING BY STEPHANIE PERKINS?
I have been a fan of Stephanie Perkins since her debut — Anna And The French Kiss. While I am not the biggest horror reader anymore — as I get older I become more of a chicken — I do find myself happy to support Perkins’ pivot into the genre. I liked There’s Someone Inside Your House well enough. And so, I found myself looking forward to The Woods Are Always Watching.

WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?
The Woods Are Always Watching follows Neena and Josie who were best friends in high school. The girls are about to go to college two thousand miles apart. However, they decide to go on one last trip before heading to school. The duo decide to go on a three day hike to Pisagh National Forest. The hike is going decent at first. But then things go off the rails as the girls leave the trail and get lost. There is evil in the woods and the friendship of Neena and Josie is absolutely about to be put to the test.

HOW DID I LIKE THE WOODS ARE ALWAYS WATCHING?
In all honesty, this book really give me The Hills Have Eyes vibes. It was creepy and certainly got under my skin. I was really invested in what the outcome would be for Neena and Josie. Perkins really nailed the atmosphere and making this book horrifying in different places. I went in with my expectations managed. I knew this was not going to be a sweet contemporary romance but a scary book. That helped my enjoyment — FYI. I really also liked how the book ended. The tension in the friendship between Neena and Josie was well done, additionally. I will admit I did not find Neena or Josie particularly memorable, BUT I was reading more for the scary aspect than the friendship aspect.

HOW’S THE NARRATION?
The audiobook of The Woods Are Always Watching is narrated by Reena Dutt. It is less than eight hours long. I listened to this book sped up — as I always do. It was a pretty good listen for my return to work audiobooks – now that I am no longer on maternity leave. This audiobook made reviewing data and reports go by so much faster. Dutt’s narration is easy to listen to and I have no complaints about the production value or narration style. I would recommend maybe not listening to this while driving around with your four year old child, but definitely pick it up while folding laundry and wearing earphones.

This is the book you should NOT listen to when one of your life goals is to run the entire Appalachian trail! Anyway this was a great YA suspense read. I listened on audio and the narrator did a great job portraying the characters. This wasn’t overloaded with suspense but it was enough to keep me interested. Definitely started out slow but picks up about halfway. I listened to this one in one day while doing things around the house. Love when I can do that!

3.5 stars for this survival thriller. I was annoyed from the start. The two MCs who were supposedly best friends argued the entire time. I didn’t feel like they were friends at all.
There were some gross parts, so trigger warnings if you don’t like blood and gore.
The killers and ending were fine, but nothing memorable.
Sorry to say this was just eh for me.

I give all the props to Stephanie - to be able to write such opposite genres (horror and romance) takes true talent! While this wasn't my favorite book by her, I thought it was an enjoyable read. It's a bit of a slow burn, but I really liked the young adult aspect to it. I think if this was an adult horror novel, I would've thought less of it. I really liked introducing a character with an Indian background and thought she did a really good job with it. On the other hand, I think the book was filled with a bit more drama than needed to be. I want a horror novel to sneak up on you. This had a lot happening all at once. Not a bad read, but not something I would read again. I did have a wonderful time with Stephanie and Malaprops Bookstore celebrating her book being published this week!

Firstly, thank you to PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook and to Penguin Teen for the gifted digital copy. You've brought a new author to my shelves. I sure as heck did not expect any of what I read and I loved how mouth dropping it was for me in that delicious blindsiding way. I almost don't want to review it because each and every one of you should go in blind on this one.

In an attempt to not leak a spoiler (or what I would consider one) I'll review a few base areas starting out with format. I would recommend either audio or physical. Honestly, both is even better. The narration is spot on and at the intense areas it was exceptional. This is one I can see being a Netflix movie in the near future. You hear that Netflix??!! The narration played like a movie in my head and I literally found myself so lost in the plot halfway through that I forgot what I was doing in real life.

I found the characters to be well developed and I really enjoyed the breaking of a strong friendship and watching it rebuild. Neena and Josie have their relationship put to the test on a hike that neither of them really want to do. Now I want to stop here and point out that this is an area that I struggled with for this novel. I couldn't see two girls, who did not want to hike, plus all of their initial issues, continuing their journey. But alas, they do. I think that it would've touched more on the realistic side if they were both eager to do this last hurrah together. It also took me a little bit to start liking both of them. They had traits I wasn't keen on but not a bad thing to start with. This portion aside, watching their inner female strength break free at the point of utter chaotic calamity was written perfectly. These two take the hardcore female award for me.

It's a slow beginning and things don't fully pick-up until a quarter of the way in. Even though there is a slow pace at the start, I was surprised at how many things wrapped back around to the build-up. Typically I don't catch details like this and Perkins did a great job laying the groundwork for the final hurrah. Creepy, atmospheric, cringe inducing and a good bit of cheering for the girls comes with this one. Perfect fall read for me. I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys twisted thrillers with an element that focuses on friendship and strength. Ya'll have no idea how much I am holding back right now. Grab this one!

Lions and tigers and Perkins. OH MY!

What do we have here? Two teenagers, who have never showed even a glimmer of outdoorsy-ness, in full camping gear, from packs to boots to blisters, in the middle of nowhere with just a map and a general idea of what to do. Come on. Haha...They’re just asking for it! The Woods Are Always Watching is horror at its classic best.

BFFs Neena and Josie are on one last adventure before parting ways for college. One girl is staying local and the other is headed out of state. A fact that may have caused a crack or two in the foundation of their friendship. Add a three day mountain hike and those cracks really begin to show. *rubs hands together* Let the bickering begin! Neena and Josie should be working together to find their way and set up camp. There is no one around to help if anything goes wrong. But what could possibly go wrong? Haha…Did you hear that? That was the sound of the horror gods giggling. Because maybe, just maybe Neena and Josie aren’t alone out there in the wild.

“It was as if something was watching them from behind the trees, always ducking out of sight before she could name it.”

Stephanie Perkins packed the spooky for this one! She gets the small, creepy chills on the page just right. Like the “Freeze! Did you hear that?” moments or the tense crackle of a killer’s crazy vibe. Some scenes will have readers avoiding any and all areas with more than five trees for goodness sakes. From snapping and rustling to hold your breath quiet, the woods ramp up the tension step by step. The hard climb, humidity, bugs and more all start to turn this adventure into a nightmare. But Mother Nature is the least of Josie and Neena’s problems. Scares, gross-outs, and killers are aplenty on this trek! I could have used some laughs to offset the bickering and complaining, but that’s my horror style showing. Humor and horror go together like peanut butter and chocolate or Jason and his hockey mask.

The big wrinkle in the action was the obvious foreshadowing. Numerous references in the first half of the book steal the KABOOM! of surprise from the second half. You’ll see most twists & turns coming. For instance, one joke and mention of a certain something would have been enough of a set up. There were just too many. It became crystal clear that one particular something (SO trying not to spoil) was going to make an appearance at one point or another. Hell—I would have been pissed if there wasn’t one!

There is a *gasping* surprise or two to be found in this quick dose of horror though. Mine was the fact that I still rooted for these girls even though they were hard to like. I cheered and yelled at them all the way through. When some idiotic decision has you screaming at the screen, you know the horror has you right where it wants you. I wanted Josie and Neena to not only survive, but to kick some ass along the way! Somehow Perkins turns the fighting between these two friends into a weapon and shield. True friends have each other’s backs—right? Especially when all hell breaks loose! It doesn’t mean they make it out of this alive though. We are in a horror novel after all.

Two girls go into the woods. How many come out? Grab a backpack, hit the trail, and find out. If you dare! Check it out from your local library.

**Quote taken from ARC. Thank you, Netgalley.**

me the first half of this book- "I should take up hiking, that sounds so relaxing"

me the second half of this book- "that's the worst idea I've ever had."

2 best friends Nina and Josie are about to be separated going to different colleges. they decide that before Nina moves away, they need to do something fun and new. deciding on a 3 day hiking and camping trip. the two novice hikers encounter a lot of frustrating issues and little by little these issues start weighing heavily on their friendship during the hike. tension rises between them and they decide that even though the trip isn't turning out like they thought, they are going to continue and stick the trip out. after taking a different trail, they stumble onto a problem straight out of a nightmare scenario.

So.....the first half of this book dragged a bit for me. mostly because it was just the two girls bickering and at each others throats since they were so frustrated with the trip. the second half however, took a DARK turn which I was not expecting one bit. the imagery and action picked up and I FLEW through the second half. so much went on that the buildup of the first half was worth it. The Woods Are Always Watching definitely packed a punch for such a short book. and its seriously a great summer thriller. Be warned though, if you enjoy hiking, you may want to steer clear of this book, it will scare you into never hiking again