Just finished reading WATCH OUT FOR HER by Samantha M. Bailey. Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for my eARC copy in exchange for my honest review. Official publication date was April 26th, 2022.

As a fan of WOMAN ON THE EDGE, I knew I needed to get my hands on this one. I haven't read many thrillers recently, but I enjoyed this one. Loved the creepy stalker vibes that Bailey created in her debut follow up. I felt like even I was looking over my shoulders while reading 👀.

This one is told from dual POV, in both the past & present. With an unofficial mother daughter relationship, a babysitting gig gone bad, and unreliable narrators. Was also surprised by the ending, which always adds an extra 🌟 from me!

Pick this one up if you like the sounds of any of the above

Samantha Bailey’s novel Watch Out for Her is an ok read as far as thrillers go. This was not a fast-paced thriller as some suggest, it did not always hold my attention. The characters are well-developed and wonderfully flawed and will fascinate readers. I did enjoy that it had multiple plots and timelines.

I love thrillers, this was somewhat exciting but fell flat at times.

Thank you #netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Watch Out for Her was the perfect psychological thrilled. Sarah and Daniel hire a local young woman, Holly, to watch their six year old son for the summer. Holly is in med school and seems like the perfect wholesome person to watch Jacob so that Sarah can explore her photography passion and have some time to herself. At first, things seem straightforward and everyone is very happy with their new arrangement, but things turn south after a few months. Told in alternating storylines that switch between the past and present, we find that Sarah and Daniel have suddenly moved several hundred miles away. Trying to put the summer, and Holly, behind them and forge a new life. But, Sarah can’t forget about Holly. And, it seems that Holly can’t stop herself from contacting both Sarah and Daniel. Watch Out for Her was excellent at developing an engaging storyline and had the perfect amount of suspense. I found that I had to put it down at night because I was getting creeped out, but loved that it kept offering twists with each new chapter. Samantha M. Bailey has created a magnificent story with main characters Holly and Sarah both offering characteristics for readers to fall for.

A sincere thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

You think you're alone, but someone is watching...
Sarah is relieved to move across the country with her husband, Daniel, and their son, Jacob. There is a lot she is ready to leave behind, including Holly, the beautiful and young babysitter they employed for the summer. At first, everything was perfect, but Sarah always kept a close eye...maybe even a little too close at times. Sarah ended up discovering a secret of Holly's that she could never unsee, making her want to get as far away from Holly as possible. Sarah is ready to start fresh, but when they enter their new home, she finds hidden cameras. Who is watching from the other end? Has Holly found them or does someone else have their eye on them?
This was my first read by Samantha M. Bailey and I was not disappointed! I hated the moments I had to stop reading and couldn't wait to pick back up where I left off. This story kept me on the edge of my seat and constantly guessing; I couldn't wait to reach the end and see how it all played out. I listened to the audiobook as I followed along with the e-book. Both narrators, Hillary Huber and Joy Osmanski, did an excellent job voicing the characters. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a psychological thriller that pulls you right in!
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

A dual-perspective, dual-timeline story that will have you guessing from the very beginning!

I enjoyed the elements of mystery here and trying to figure out which characters were reliable narrators and what information we were missing. I found that the story fizzled for me a bit about halfway through. I questioned some of Sarah's decisions and found that she seemed to overreact in some situations and under-react in others, and I found Holly's character a bit juvenile for her age. Though it was a fast-paced read, the characters kept me from really loving this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book. I’m a huge fan of Samantha Bailey!

I loved how it was told in two POV’s, it kept the story interesting. It did very interesting at the end. I did nit expect it at all.

I was a huge fan on Woman on the Edge and I could not wait to read this one. I found it more creepy and dark than her debut novel.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Net Galley for my digital arc for my honest review.

3.5 stars! Really enjoyed the back and forth between the “before” and “now” and the two characters. I knew this was an unreliable narrator type of book, but wasn’t sure which way it would go, but I had an inclination about half way through. Didn’t guess it all, but some. Def recommend if you like a dual timeline, dual perspective page turner!

I really enjoyed Woman on the Edge so I knew I needed to pick up Watch Out for Her as soon as I could! It was a fast paced read. I enjoyed the settings and the characters. Would recommend to others interested in thrillers.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Thank you to NetGalley, for a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest opinion. Released April 26, 2022.

Title is actually perfect for the plot because of its ambiguity. however, writing is a little juvenile I certainly a few eye rolls at the writing style. Also inconsistently told from first person and an outside narrator within the same chapters which threw me off. The characters are all unlikeable, I have trouble reading untrustworthy tropes, it makes me anxious and not in a good omg im thrilled way.

This may be a personal thing; I love that it is set in canada/written by a canadian but it almost felt like Vancouver and Toronto were used as name drops repeatedly throughout, like why not call their old house just that... “our old house” not “our vancouver house” every time. It felt very ‘dont forget were in canada in the most popular coolest cities’. I don’t know if this is a personal preference but I found this kind of odd.

First 25% pulled me along quite quickly, I was not dying to pick it up but also intrigued to see what was happening. But ultimately it flopped. Idk if it was just me but the twist… it was pretty obvious.



Overall Rating 2.0

Story Telling - 2
Characters - 2
Writing - 2
Intrigue - 2
Plot - 1
World Building - 3
Enjoyment - 2
Overall Average - 2.0

WOW WOW WOW I loved this book! I loved The Woman On The Edge and loved this one equally.

Was such a great addictive page turner.

Binged in 24 hours! You don't want to miss this one!

I really enjoyed that this book was set in Canada. It was an enjoyable thriller but one that I don't think will stick with me. I did enjoy the suspense of not knowing who to trust and who was really causing the issues but I did fell board at times. The two POVs and the before and after timelines were great but I felt myself losing interest as it went on. I also struggled to connect with the main character. Her overreactions got on my nerves and I couldn't figure her out.

Overall an entertaining read and I liked the writing style so will check out future books by this author.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this books.

Watch Out for Her was a new twist on a psychological thriller. I really could not guess who I should like and who I should hate. Sarah seemed like a great person but why did she take those photos? Holly seems like a misunderstood daughter but why did her family kick her out? And who is spying on the family? There were so many questions buzzing thru my head for the entire book. Plus a great twist at the end. Will definitely look for more books by this author.

Read for a psychological thrill from the first page to the very last!

The twists in this book were so unexpected and spine-tingling. More than once I found myself thinking I did not see that coming. So many times I looked to the title wondering which "her" I should be watching out for. The author always kept me guessing, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out "who."

I can't even imagine being in the position of Sarah Goldman, the main character, who was the one being watched. I can't imagine what I would feel like moving into a new home and finding cameras planted there by some unknown individual, a stalker, maybe someone wanting to do my family harm, but not really knowing for certain why. Reading this book was like reading on the edge of a knife. I knew it was fiction, but it truly sent thrills and chills through me and sometimes scared me.

I would definitely read something by this author again if given the chance. I didn't find one hole in the story. She did an excellent job of jumping back and forth from past to present without confusing the reader or confusing any details. Highly recommend!

I received this book for free from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A thriller set in my home city? Love it!

This book explores the complex relationships of family and how some people will do anything to keep theirs together.

I loved the pacing and felt the fear and paranoia building throughout. Who holds what secrets? I couldn’t guess! The twist at the end was good old fashioned thriller magic. Would recommend.

3.75 stars.

Brilliant, twisted and constantly wanting “just one more page” this will have you on the edge of your seat and needing to find out what happens next. Grab this and tear through it asap, you won’t regret it.

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!

After a mysteriously bad experience with her nanny, Holly, Sarah is delighted to move across Canada and start over - but when she finds hidden cameras in her rental house, she wonders if she actually got away. The action splits between present day and the events leading up to Sarah's move, and the past story starts out pretty rosy. When Holly is hired by Sarah, not only is she delighted by the job, but the two seem to be fast friends. It definitely makes you eager to find out what went wrong, particularly since it was enough to precipitate a cross-country move. There were a lot of twists that kept me guessing, but I did successfully figure out two of the characters who were not what they seemed. Overall, this was a bit creepy, but not too scary; however, Sarah and Holly were a bit hard to connect with because of their tendency to ridiculously overreact to some things (though oddly underreact to others).

Watch Out For Her gave me chills the whole way through. It's every woman's worst nightmare...original and terrifying!

This was a great thriller from a great author. It had me at the age of my seat as I quickly kept reading. I will say the story wasn’t my favorite since I do have young kids myself, and do have to use babysitters.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

Watch Out For Her came highly recommended from a lot of booksta friends - so maybe the hype was a little too high for me, but I'm still not sure if this should be a 3 or 4 star for me. This is DEFINITELY a case of 'it's me, not the book' because I am a very hard sell on thrillers, especially with unreliable narrators like this one. While I did love the suspicion, the tension set up throughout the book and the constant wondering of what was going to happen and who did what, I had figured out a big part of the ending early on, which never really happens for me. I couldn't really help but roll my eyes every time Sarah questioned herself and if she was crazy, making things up, or if the things happening were real, because I'm just sick of that plot line. I felt pretty let down at Daniel's story line - to avoid spoilers I'll just say I wanted so much more from it. Holly was a very interesting and infuriating character - probably my favourite of the book.

I am giving it 4 stars, I think, because I did quite enjoy how twisty it was and how much tension and suspicion build up there was. The ending was a jumble of twists that I did enjoy even if I had figured a lot of it out. I'd definitely recommend this read to domestic thriller lovers, it seems that I'm definitely a minority that didn't LOVE it. Check it out!