I'm not usually into Horror but "The Watchers" by AM Shine is creepy as anything. Admittedly it does take a couple of chapters to get into, and I did have to go back and read the synopsis but after that, I was sucked in. Why are these four people (and a parrot) stuck in the coop? Why can they only go out when the light goes out? Why do they have to stay indoors when the light goes on? All because of the Watchers... Part claustrophobic, part "Lost" in vibe, this book will have you hooked right until the end.

This book was a bit of a mixed bag. At times, it was the best horror I've read of recent times but at others, it felt weak and underdeveloped. The story was interesting and i liked how the story had several dramatic peaks. The group of characters were interesting and i found them an interesting group to follow. The writing helped build the atmosphere and it gave the story a real dense of dread. I liked Mina as the main character and it was interesting to see what happened to her. The book kind of fell apart in the final stages and I didn't love how it ended as it was a little messy with what happened.

Thank you to @AMShineWriter and @AriesFiction for this advanced copy of The Watchers in return for an honest review.

Description 🔖

This particular forest isn’t available on a map and it holds many horrors. Anyone that comes to it’s treeline ends up breaking down with no option but to go into the forest. This is exactly what happens to Mina. She’s stranded, trying to find a way out of the forest when she is confronted by a woman screaming at her to run towards a concrete bunker and get inside.

The bunker houses others that have met the same fate. It’s a viewing chamber for the watchers. The humans can’t see the watchers, but they can see them. Every night, they come out in large numbers to watch the captives. Anyone who doesn’t make it to the bunker in time is going to wish that they’d moved faster.

General Thoughts 🤔

I decided to read this book due to the time of year. Who doesn’t love some horror in October?! It’s not my usual kind of book but I didn’t absolutely hate it. I struggle with books that don’t feel “real” in the most part however if they have a strong storyline, I can find myself lost in them. Unfortunately for me, The Watchers just missed the mark and I didn’t fall in love with it, but I certainly didn’t hate it.

The concept of the story was really interesting and it could have been really good rather than just good. I didn’t feel like I empathised or grew to know the characters enough to become invested in their plight. I don’t think I cared about them enough to completely and unconditionally want to see them to safety.

Characters 👫👬👭

Mia was the main character in the book and the one I learnt the most about. I admired her for her bravery and I think she was courageous enough to not go along with the status quo that had been established within the coop. However towards the end of the book, there was so much more I wanted to know about her and her life.

Daniel could have been such an interesting character, but again, I didn’t feel like I knew enough about his background to really understand him and his actions. His life prior to the forest is touched upon, but fleetingly. I think that this could have been developed upon to add depth to his character and his story.

Writing Style ✍️

As I mentioned, horror isn’t my usual genre but I do think horror books encompass many of the same things as thrillers. They should build tension and make the reader feel on edge. I think that A.M. Shine did a good job of doing this. During the scenes in the book where the watchers were present, I did have a shiver run down my spine and I was eager to see what was going to happen.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖️

Reading back my review it sounds like I really didn’t get along with this book but that isn’t really true. There were sections that I really enjoyed and they were spine chilling I just think that some more character development and bit more depth to the storyline would have ramped this book up to the next level.

I have three busy young kids so I can always judge a good book based on if I am willing to stay up late and sacrifice sleep to finish it... and The Watchers was definitely worth being a zombie for a day! I loved that the plot was different from so many thrillers I have been reading lately but still kept you on the edge of your seat. I suspected the plot twist towards the middle of the book, but even though I was correct I was still intrigued to keep reading and find out more. The only part of the book I didn't like was the ending, the author leaves you with a big cliffhanger. I wondered if they were setting the stage for a sequel, but I wish the story would have gone on a little longer so you weren't left to wonder!

It's an enthralling and gripping horror story that kept me turning pages. It could have been a perfect horror story but I found the prose too flowery and this made the book less terrifying and a tad too long.
Great atmosphere, really frightening moments, interesting characters.
It's better not to read it at nightime.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A fantastically creepy and horrifying book, that will linger everytime you look in the mirror. This book was intense and chilling. Can't believe how it ended and what it means.

Firstly a huge thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for granting me an ARC.

I noticed a lot of reviewers commented on how flowery the prose was in this book and how it wasn't needed. I loved it. I felt it flowed really well and it didn't take away from the story. For me it only made it all that more ambient and kept me turning the page for more.

Mina finds herself at the edge of a forest, her car broken down, on the way to help a friend sell a parrot. After spending the night in her car she ventures into the forest and, after hours of walking, comes across a building with a woman screaming at her run. All of a sudden she finds herself running for her life while creatures all around her scream and chase after her. She makes it into the building safely but finds herself trapped and entertainment for the creatures outside that the other inhabitants of the building call the Watchers. With no way out Mina has to learn to live with complete strangers all the while wondering what these Watchers are and what they want with their human pets.

I'd first planned on saving this ARC to read on my weekend away at a secluded cabin in the woods, but anticipation got the better of me.
Well thank GOD for that! Honestly, I think I'd have been too scared to step outside if i had read it at the cabin.

I love when a horror story holds back on reasoning. We don't know WHO the Watchers are or even WHAT they are nevermind WHY the house exists or who carved the golden rule of survival into it's wall... STAY IN THE LIGHT.

Survival horror is a weakness of mine, especially in woodland settings. Alongside the constant fears of starvation, dehydration and injury, The Watchers has added pulse pounding tension in a daily deadline; the race against the sun to get back into the 'coop' before the light turns on and the characters are locked out to face whatever horror is heard screaming into the night.

It was only when I paused for a moment to grab a cuppa that I noticed my chest was tight, A.M Shine writes an incredible atmosphere.

The Watchers is written in third as character chapters for each of the captives, Mina, Madeline, Ciara and Daniel as well as a prologue for John's escape attempt which sets up the story.
Though the novel is short, the nature of the situation lends plenty of scope for character development and Shine makes the most of this. I felt my attitudes constantly changing towards each of them save for Mina the main character.

When the Watchers were explained it all made so much sense, very cleverly done. There was a revelation that took a long time coming, something easily worked out by the reader but Mina took far too long to realise it, I was screaming at her internally!

I really enjoyed the sinister ending to The Watchers and it's exploration of what it means to be human. A fantastic debut novel, I'll be looking out for A M Shine in future.

First of all, the cover of this book is so pretty, I love it! I really enjoyed this book. It was very creepy right from the start, the prologue already made me very interested before we even met any of the other characters, and we saw a little glimpse of what was to come. The POV kept changing between all of the characters in the bunker, and I enjoyed that, because it gave us some more insight into their minds. I absolutely loved the ending, I did not see that plottwist coming, and that says a lot!!

What I don't really understand yet however, is what exactly the Watchers are and where they came from. Are they aliens or something..? I don't know, but it wasn't too clear to me. I definitely imagined them as Wendigo from Until Dawn, so that creeped me out.

The story was definitely creepy, and it was a very good read to me. I loved the ending and the plottwists, but I didn't really love all of the characters - Ciara and Daniel were kind of redundant to me. Some of the struggles were written really realistic in my opinion, and there weren't a lot of mistakes in writing. I do wonder if there'll be another book, since it had an open ending? I don't think there should be another one to be honest, since this is just the perfect amount of creepiness to end on!

This book is a perfect October read! Spooky forests, creepy fae creatures, and an escape trope all blended together to make this an overall quick read!

As someone who has visited the west of Ireland and has longed to go back, this book made me momentarily reconsider that fancy. Now, granted, I am not the most experienced reader of horror, but I can certainly say I have never read anything quite like this. The concept is so wonderfully chilling and horrifying - being watched, being trapped, and no one is looking for you?

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 October, and I will be sure to spread the news.

I have to start this review by admitting that I don’t usually read this genre of book at all. I'm a total wuss, and horror/paranormal thrillers are usually something I stay far away from. But as it’s almost Halloween I thought it might be fun to read something spooky.

The plot gets off to a bit of a slow start, I wasn’t sure how I felt about any of the characters, and wasn’t even sure I liked our protagonist Mina all that much. After pushing through the first third of the book, things suddenly got exciting, and from that point I couldn’t put the book down. I was definitely reminded how high-stakes and exciting books like this could be as I raced towards the finale of the book. Did I guess one of the big twists? Yes. But I still was on the very edge of my seat as I waited to see what would happen to everyone at the end of the story. Mina did end up growing on me, but I never really felt like I could connect with her, or any of the other characters really. My favourite character ended up being the parrot, but I quickly got bored of him being referred to as “the golden one”.

The writing style made the most of building the tension and claustrophobic feeling of the setting. I like not knowing exactly what the scary monster is, and what its motivations are, so the watchers were delightfully creepy. There were a few times when the writing would stall slightly, after some action it would sometimes then drag again which made for slightly stilted reading. The ending was also quite jarring, I'm not sure if the author is planning a second book, or if it was supposed to be an open-ended cliff-hanger type thing, but I wasn’t a massive fan.

Overall I did enjoy The Watchers, it got my heart racing and reminded me how exciting this genre could be. There were however a few issues I had with the characters and writing style, and they knocked off a star or two. I think if you read a lot of this genre then this isn't going to offer anything new or particularly memorable, but for people that just dip their toes into horror then this might be the perfect book.
3.5 stars.

I received an eARC from NetGalley in return for my honest review.

En-route to a house sitting assignment in rural island Mina (and her pet parrot) are forced to stay in a home with a dark secret.

While she thinks this is the big issue, when darkness falls another unseen force comes to terrorise her and the other inhabitants of this house.

Shine's tale begins quite earnestly and we get to know Mina, who certainly grows and develops as a character as the larger story starts to unfold.

There is much more to 'The Watchers' than initially appears and Shine does well to drip feed the narrative to us before revealing the bigger picture which has such scale and depth, it will keep you turning page after page.

The Watchers captures a similar paranoia as Birdbox, with the trapped people not knowing how and when they can escape the stronghold without being attacked. This adds a layer of distrust amongst Mina and the group she is stuck with, can they be trusted? Are they who they say they are? I guess you will have to read to find.

Overall this is a brisk, at times scary but thoroughly enjoyable read.

I felt like I was thrown into the middle of a story when starting this book. It felt like half the story had already happened and that was where the writer decided to start the book. I didnt know who these characters were or how they got here because we get no backstory or insight on them except for Madeline which we dont find anything about her until 50% in.

I read 65% of this and decided to call it quits. I wasn't into the story, for a horror book it was bland and the suspense not all that suspenceful to me. I felt it was kind of hard to follow and the backstory of the place gave no answers. And the random people showing up like the children made no sense to me. I guess this kind of horror just isnt for me.

Great cover though.

I will still give this book a spotlight on my blog with its synopsis on its pub day.

The Watchers by A.M. Shine is a gothic style, on the edge of your seat type read, just in time for Halloween. The story is told from multiple points of view, but especially that of Mina whose car breaks down and she finds herself in the creepy woods trying to survive the unknown. The story is all about surviving in a nightmare style place where you never quite know what is out there watching you. The drama is slow to build but gripping. At points the story was quite slow, but it does pick up if you persevere with some wonderful twists at the end.
ARC received for a fair, honest and sometimes long review. All opinions are my own. 😊

More of my reviews can be found on my blog: http://thehotmesslibrary.blogspot.com

This is a chilling debut. I enjoyed the multiple POVs and the Irish setting. Very creepy and atmospheric. A great read for fall or winter.

This is an honest review in exchange for and an ARC.

3.5/5 stars

The Irish gothic novel description really appealed to me and A M Shine has delivered a thrilling eerie debut.
Overall it was a gripping story that I read over two evenings and dreamt about the first night.! I initially found the opening chapters a bit of a slog and while usually I enjoy books with multiple POV, i didn't really invest in these characters until the focus was from Mina's ( a nod to Bram Stoker here?) POV. From this point on the story really gets its teeth. I have to say that the final third of the book was amazing so fast paced and the author created amazing tension although the ending didn't take me by surprise. Definitely recommend for a Winter read but make sure to close the curtains!

What a great horror debut and right in time for Halloween! This book grips you from the prologue and drops you right into a nightmare scenario, trapped in the woods with murderous creatures on all sides. I enjoyed following Mina as she stumbles upon this awful place, learns to survive, and eventually decides to escape or die trying.

In addition to making me leery of looking out a window in the dark, I also had a good time trying to put together pieces of where this little shelter came from and what exactly the Watchers wanted from Mina and her group. There are a couple great reveals that I didn't see coming and the ending came too soon. I want another book please!

This is a quick read and perfectly fits the spooky vibe for October! I'm giving this a huge recommendation for Halloween!

After her car breaks down at the edge of a forest, Mina wanders deeper into the woods in hopes of stumbling upon help- instead she finds herself face to face with a nightmare straight from folklore.

The Watchers by A.M. Shine is a fast-paced read that I was able to get through in one sitting- the story and mystery was fairly predictable but still interesting enough to keep me reading and not feel bored- though it did feel a bit drawn-out at certain parts and I reached the ending feeling that this would've made a better short story or novella. There wasn't a lot in the story that really shocked me- the twists and turns felt pretty standard and it follows the beats of a fairly basic "lost in the deep dark wood with monsters" horror story which left the ending feeling a little anticlimactic to me.

The characters were pretty average, but I never really felt any attachment to them, it felt as we were more often told their personalities and beliefs rather than actually shown them. Due to this whenever they were in danger I didn't really feel their fear or the suspense of the story- although I did want them to survive till the end, I didn't feel as though I would care that much if they didn't make it. Even with Mina, the main character, I can't say that I really cared all that much about her, even when the stakes were high.

All in all, this book felt perfectly average to me. Nothing about the story or characters particularly stood out and nothing about this concept really felt new. That's not to say it was poorly written or bad- it's great if you're new to horror as a genre and just want a quick, spooky read. In the end it did what I wanted it to do, it entertained me, and it shows a lot of promise as a horror author on A.M. Shine's part.

This Irish folklore horror tale read more to me like a thriller than an actual horror story. Perhaps it was the lack of character depth that made me feel disconnected from the terror the author attempted to portray. I found the story to be extremely slow paced and boring at times. There was an unnecessary amount of purple prose towards the beginning and middle that made me want to skip pages.

But the book wasn’t all like this. I’d say the pace picks up around 60% and the twist at the end wasn’t one I saw coming. I did truly like the ending of this book, and the last 1/3 of the story. I wish I could have cared for these characters more or that the multiple POV would have helped, but instead they felt thrown in.

Overall, I’d say this book was just alright. The writing was beautiful but tedious and unnecessary at times and I think this book would have benefited from simply being a creepy novella.

2.5/5 stars