The Watchers

4/5 Stars

I was super lucky to receive an arc of The Watchers from NetGalley.

When Mina agrees to deliver a parrot for a friend for some extra cash, she definitely didn’t think that she would be trapped in the middle of nowhere after taking a wrong turn with her car breaking down in the most inopportune location. Leaving her in the gaze of unknown beings with a group of survivors that have been hiding there for an unknown amount of time.

The Watchers was a fast passed, beautifully written book that I couldn’t bear to put down. It was thrilling, addicting, and full of the horror it promised. It was so lost in the hopelessness that there were constant emotions always running through me.

This book could have been a bit shorter and would have had the same overall effect, but the way it is as published was so entertaining with the storyline, characters, and twists.

Rating: 3.5
I really liked the beginning. After that it kept fluctuating from boring to interesting. I liked the twists and the writing, but I didn't care much about the characters. I think I would have liked it more if it was a short story.

This book is creepy but in a good way. It feels like watching a horror movie. It is set in a remote Irish forrest where every car breaks down. It is not a book I would usually read, however, I strongly recommend this for anyone who loves horror. Four out of five stars.

It takes a lot for a book to scare the pants off of me but this one definitely did that! This was such an engrossing read that I finished it in one sitting! I loved everything about it! From the characters, the atmosphere of the story, the tension, and the mythology, it all worked for me! I don’t want to say any more about this book but if you are a fan of horror, you will want to check it out!

Great story, fabulous author with brilliant writing and plot. Highly recommend to others, and cannot wait for more by this author.

I haven't enjoyed reading a horror as much as this one in a very long time and I would kill to see a movie adaption of it. Hand on heart, it's one of my favourite ever horror books, I can't fault it at all.

i find it so hard these days to find a good horror book but this was everything i wanted in a horror book. I read this in one sitting i just could'nt bring myself to put it down.

The characters were so engaging and so well written. The whole story was so clever and had me on edge. I do slightly regret reading it at night time though as i was on edge for a while after finishing.

I will be telling all my friends to read this book!!

A.M. Shine delivers an Irish folklore tale in the vein of the Quiet Place and Invasion of the Body Snatchers in this intriguing debut about a small band of people being held captive in a Galway forest bunker by strange creatures who come out of the woods to watch them each night.
Steeped in European folklore, The Watchers overcomes a bumpy start to settle into a solid if familiar mystery, in which the group must unlock the reason behind their bunker imprisonment and how to escape – only to come face to face with the consequences of that decision.

I loved the atmosphere and the weird way that this woodland horror combined strange elements of a classic spooky tale with traces of a sci-fi feel. This was the perfect book to read in January , and I will be sure to spread the news.

This thriller has enough horror parts to keep you interested.
Mina, and some strangers, is trapped in a bunker with a glass wall. The Watchers are trying to get to them. They are fighting to survive but they need answers too. So, they decided to try and escape.
Great adventure.
Thanks to NetGalley for this book.

“You’re not safe here anymore. They’re everywhere, Mina. They’ve been watching you.” The Watchers by A. M. Shine

3.5 stars. Ok really must take note of the blurb. But it wasn’t too bad with this one.

Mina is lost in the forests of Galway and stumbles into a nightmare. She’s retapped with 3 other people in a bunker or hollow in the earth. At night, the light is turned on in the room, and horrible creatures roam outside, watching them, like they’re fish or hamsters in a cage. Which it is, where they’re at. A cage. And they’ve only got limited time to get out to stretch their legs, find food and sanity. Who/what is watching them? And how can they escape?

It gets a bit slow after the cars breakdown. And their discovery of the secret below the room moves the story faster. The twist after their escape is great, how they can’t escape the watchers anymore. It’s a little lukewarm for me re the horror bit, didn’t keep me from sleeping soundly at night. But still a good story.

Thank you Aria & Ares and NetGalley for the arc.

There is no real way to describe this book other than to say it is really weird! But I don't mean that in a bad way - it's addictive and claustrophobic and confusing and very, very strange.

A young woman, Mina, is running an errand for a friend, delivering a parrot (random I know) to a buyer when her car breaks down on a remote road near a forest. Because it's a horror, Mina sets off into the woodland (with the parrot). As it begins to get dark, she sees a woman at the entrance to a strange shelter in the woods, shouting at her to hurry and get inside. In the shelter, she meets a group of people with the same story as hers - they all broke down, found their way into the woods, and found the shelter. But some of them have been there for a very long time. Because when night falls, something – the watchers - comes out of the woods. These monsters will kill them if they're not safely hidden in their strange glass shelter, and nobody has ever been able to get far enough before nightfall to seek help.

The pacing is quite slow, but throughout there is this building sense of dread that stays with you longer after you finish the book.

5 stars for enjoyment

You can't see them. But they can see you.

The Watchers is Shine’s debut novel and it takes place in a remote forest.

Mina’s car breaks down at the treeline of an uncharted forest. What she doesn’t know is that her car was not the first and it won't be the last. Stranded, she makes her way into the forest and is startled by a woman screaming at her to run to a concrete bunker.

The bunker isa room with a wall glass and a light that activates at nightfall, when the watchers emerge to observe their captive humans and terrible things happen to those who fail to reach the bunker in time.

Unlike her “roommates” Mina refuses to accept this as her fate and is determined to find out all she can about the watchers.

To say I loved this book is the understatement of the year. I can't believe not enough people has read it. It is fresh, intense, atmospheric and plain scary. It scares you from the human element and the supernatural. The creatures are vicious and Shine did such a fantastic job describing them through the fear of the characters.

These creatures are inspired by folklore (not telling you not to risk spoiling). but damn did Shine take that to the next level. His writing surrounds you and takes you where he wants you to go. It was one of my fave horror books of the year and I can not reccomend it enough. I hope more people pick it up, and I hope Shine continues to write books.

I am a huge fan of the Myst video game series and The Watchers had the same vibes. If I had to try to describe the vibe of this book I would say it is 'Myst meets Lasher (the character)' in the best and most original way possible.



Disclaimer: In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to Head of Zeus, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of The Watchers

Rounded up to 5. This was quite a creepy read. The deep, dark forest was a very atmospheric setting for such a story and it was a refreshing take on a part of Irish mythology. The ending was sinister. 10/10 would recommend. [4.5 rounded up!]

Sometimes I start a book and I am just not feeling it so I will put it aside to try again later. Sometimes later I still am not into it so I will put it aside forever. Sometimes, as was the case with this book, I will come back and give it another try, be in the right mood for it, and absolutely love the story. Stories like this one are why I normally give a book at least 2 tries. Your mood when reading can be very different depending on the day.

The Watchers was set in Ireland and was a fun, creepy read. Mina finds herself trapped in a building with 3 other people in some woods when her car breaks down along the side of the road. They are trapped in this cement room with a too-bright light bulb at night, only allowed to unlock the doors during the day when it is safe. The Watchers are out there at night. The Watchers who will kill you if you don't stay in the light, if you don't stay locked inside. The Watchers who Mina wants to know more about as she is determined to find a way out of here.

The other people in the building, Ciara, Daniel, and Madeline, have all been there longer with Madeline being the longest. She is the default leader, the one in charge, the one who makes up their rules and how they survive. You slowly start to learn more of the world, more of what is happening as Mina learns too. This story had a great sense of dread, an oppressive atmosphere and you can feel the fear. I loved how creepy the whole thing was. The characters are in this dense forest that seems impossible to escape from. Though what you learn near the end of the book was pretty obvious early on, it was still enjoyable. And the very end? I hope we get more stories from this world!

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for a copy of this book

Ok, let me first start by saying that I really enjoyed this book. Is it a little generic in the horror genre? Yes. Did I mind? Not at all. All the way through this, I pictured our standard horror movie set in the woods in my head but this didn't take anything away from the story for me. It actually helped.
Ok so we begin our story with Mina, who has agreed to deliver a parrot to her friend. While on her journey though, of course her car breaks down and she is forced to attempt to find help on foot. She ventures in to the woods (standard horror movie/book poor decision that we all know is not going to end well) and is met with a woman leading her to a shelter full of other stranded people. But they are not alone in the woods. As the title suggests, they are being watched.
Now I don't want to go in to spoilers in my review, but what I will say is that the twists and turns in this book kept me engaged throughout, the characters (from a literary perspective) worked well together and the setting and descriptions honestly gave me the creeps. I mean, isn't that what we all want from a horror story?
I was not left dissatisfied by the ending and would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys horror reads.

I was grateful to receive this book as an ARC from NetGalley. I don’t read a lot of horror/suspense novels but the premise of this book, with the folklore and mystery was intriguing. It was a good read with great quality writing. There were some points where I was confused about the specifics about what was happening but this would probably be cleared up for publication. I also wish our favorite bird was more included in the plot. But maybe that was my own curiosity - what was he eating? Did he ever leave the cage? Did they clean the cage?

This book was also set up for a sequel, which I would be excited to read!

Horror has been a favourite genre of mine for a long time and I really loved this book! I would highly recommend!

The Watchers is a horror story set in the forests of Galway.

Mina needs to deliver a bird to a friend of a friend. On her way, her car breaks down at the edge of a forest – one that you won’t find on any map. Unbeknown to her, the forest hides dark, deadly secrets and once you’re in, you aren’t coming out. Taking the bird with her, she enters the forest to seek help. Hearing a woman screaming at her draws her to a bunker where she finds three people hiding who tell her a tale that sounds far too implausible. Apparently, they have been there a while and by night hide within the light in the bunker and by day sneak out for food. But never too far, as what is out there will kill them before they reach the edge of the forest. The Watchers are waiting, and there is nothing anyone can do…

The book started off very slowly to me and there was a lengthy section where I almost didn’t continue with it as I thought it would just be the rest of the story about that. I’m glad I was wrong, as once it picked up, the story drew me in. The concept of the evil out there being unknown and unseen made it far more scary than a “monster” novel. The idea that you don’t know what they are or how to escape them (as verified by those there) made you think perhaps there was no way out.

The characters grew as the story progressed, and while Mina’s was the main POV, it was interesting to have some of the other chapters from the other characters’ point of view. This really helped to understand their back stories and the reasons they reacted as they did. This allows you to see how Mina views herself as so boring that no one would even miss her if she never came back. It shows how Daniel’s treatment as a child has broken him down so much that he is constantly on the edge. Ciara’s story has us seeing her going from one who is filled with optimism to a shadow of her former self. And Margaret, well, Margaret is a force unto herself. One minute you hate her and her attitude and ways, and the next you appreciate her decisions.

There were elements of the story that seemed a bit too much of a stretch, like the whole boat situation, but the plot twists definitely surprised me. You expected certain things to happen and were then presented with something else, so the story had you on your toes at times. The proofing of the book was done well, with no major errors glaring at you and interrupting the reading experience.

While not your average horror story, this one was creepy enough. I would love to have found out more about the Watchers themselves, and I was definitely rooting for “The Golden One” the whole way through.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book; it may be set in the horror genre but it is the perfect tale of human relationships and therefore I think would appeal to a wider range of readers

The story is well balanced between descriptive prose and plot; consequently the writer has managed to create an atmospheric world whilst maintaining pace and interest.

An excellent and surprising ending completes a well crafted story.