They’re Watching You is the latest YA thriller by Chelsea Ichasco and centres around Maren searching for her roommate/bestie who has been missing for several weeks. The exclusive Torrey-Wells Academy is where Polly was last seen and the headmistress, police and even Polly’s parents think she’s just a runaway. Maren is convinced something sinister has happened and won’t stop until she uncovers the truth about Polly. However, Maren soon comes embroiled with a secret society, the Gamesmaster’s and competes in life and death games with unimaginable rewards and privileges in order to find Polly. With each new level achieved and game won, Maren gets one step closer to finding her missing friend. Unfortunately, some things are best kept secret and left alone.

What I liked about this book:
-dark academia and secret societies with a creepy, sinister undertone
-the posh, exclusive Torrey-Wells Academy in New England setting especially the creepy crypts
-the various games/tasks with clues that needed to be completed in order to lead to moving up levels in the society
-the twists and turns in the book that kept it exciting and fresh

What I didn’t like about the book:
-the love triangle between Maren, Remington and Gavin felt a little flat and more character development would have enhanced the storyline

My rating 4 ½ stars out of 5

My final takeaway: this was a fun, exciting YA read that kept me wondering what would happen next. I thoroughly enjoyed the secret society and their sinister, creepy vibes. I recommend this book to fans of Riverdale, dark academia, and Pretty Little Liars.

Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for the eARC.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

They're Watching You by Chelsea Ichaso is a contemporary YA thriller set in the exclusive world of private school The Torrey-Wells Academy.
Student Maren attends on a partial athletic scholarship while her parents use a variety of loans and sponsorships to make up the shortfall.. One of the conditions of the scholarship is maintaining excellent grades but since the disappearance of her room mate and former best friend Polly , Maren has been struggling. She knows that Polly was hiding a secret before she vanished, in fact she had arranged to meet Maren to show her something important on the very night she disappeared, Neither Polly's parents nor the school administration seem to be taking Maren's concerns seriously, chalking Polly up as a runaway , something that the police seem to agree with. When Maren uncovers the existence of a secret society within the school, along with evidence that Polly was involved, she decides to try to infiltrate it. The Gamemaster's Society is filled with the school's elite and its influence seems to spread beyond the student body, indeed beyond the school itself, and Maren will be taking her life in her hands if she commits to playing their games, but if it is her only hope of helping her friend it is a risk she is willing to take.
This was a really fun, entertaining fast paced read. The school setting is always fun and when you throw in a deadly secret society the drama is guaranteed. There is a love triangle involving Maren and two classmates that was a little irritating at times, I don't think it added anything to the book . Perfect if you want an entertaining fast paced read as a distraction from reality, but probably not something that I will remember in a years time.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

A missing girl, a secret society, and a deadly game begins as one girl must enter into a world she never expected in order to save her friend. Maren and Polly are best friends and roommates, but Polly begins pulling away and then goes missing altogether. Maren becomes obsessed with figuring out what happened to her and discovers an invitation to a secret society, now Maren will do anything to get into this secret society to figure out what happened to Polly. But from the moment she enters, she finds that she is in over her head and that the games they are playing have deadly consequences... but the only way to save Polly is to play the game and beat the other members. Cue fellow new member and handsome boy Remington and mysterious cute boy Gavin- Maren will have to decide which of these two she can trust to help her in the game and with her heart... and which one of them is lying to her. Maren cannot call for outside help as members of this secret society are everywhere watching, and the more she plays the game the more she discovers that people she thought she knew are not who they say they are and that the only way to beat the game is to beat the Gamemaster... and that there is an even more nefarious reason for the games. This is suppose to be an edgy secret society dark academia story but honestly I found myself getting irritated on the love triangle and the constant “oh he’s cute but I cant trust him” going back and forth between the guys, and lets be honest, Remington did not have a personality whatsoever. I guess I could excuse Maren’s decisions and hormonal decision making due to her age but come on girl.... please I’m begging you. Also Polly??? She really had no point, honestly, you barely feel the connection between Polly and Maren so you don’t really get Maren’s obsession with saving Polly. Unfortunately, this one just missed the mark for me and despite having an interesting premise this might be better suited for someone who is between 14-16? It just felt so juvenile to me and I usually adore these secret society type of stories. So yeah, if you are a younger reader on the YA section and are looking for a mystery read with romance this would be for you.

*Thanks Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire, Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you net galley for providing me a copy of this book. This was a fun dark and thrilling read. I havent read anything by this author before so I thought it was fun diving into a new author to read. There were lots of twists throughout this book I wasn't expecting which was nice and I always love a good twist in a book. Def a fun suspenseful read!

This is one of those creepy, dark books that you know from the beginning will keep you reading until the end! Maren's best friend at Torrey-Wells Academy has gone missing and Maren is determined to find her, knowing Polly would never just leave without a trace. When Maren is "invited" to a secret society headed by The Gamemaster, she is determined to find out if this had anything to do with Polly's disappearance. But she has no idea what she's in for: secrets, lies, jealousies, blackmail, crypts, mythological references, and more! My heart was racing during most of it and I'm still a little shaken. It's billed as YA but I believe for a very mature "young"audience so beware as it's surely not going to make you want to go "away" to college! Whew!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Great story for lovers of pretty little liars and river dale. Great writing and story line that kept you hooked throughout the story

3/5⭐

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the arc in exchange for a review!

I've read another book by the author and didn't like it that much, but when I saw that this one was about a secret society, I couldn't resist, so I gave the author another opportunity!! This one was much better

The book follows Maren as she involved herself in a secret society looking for clues to find her best friend Polly, who disappeared after she had made some friends in that so-called secret society. The book was full of puzzles, clues, and a big plot twist that I had guessed way before, but it was still fun.
I have to say, the secret society was not what I expected at all; it was much scarier, like people almost died doing these challenges to join it and people were threatened every single day. It's what made this book so exciting, you didn´t know if the threats would actually come true or if everything was just part of the game.
There was also a love triangle that I didn't mind, but the main character ended up with the one I didn't like. Even after all the revelations, I still shipped the Maren with the other guy more (btw I'm not saying names to not spoil the book for anyone!)
However, I think the characters were a little flat., some of them, like Remington (I think that was his name) were missing a whole personality. You can see who the author's favorite character was based on the development they had lol. And I know it's fiction, but the fact that the faculty and teachers and people in power KNEW and were in on the secret society (which again, was pretty dangerous) is really unrealistic to me. The ending was also very anti-climatic. I still don't understand Polly's point of view in any of this.

It could've been way better with that premise, but I liked it enough.

They're Watching You is about a girl named Maren, who does not believe her friend Polly truly ran away. In fact, she has a sneaking suspicion that Polly's new friends and a secret society might have had something to do with Polly's leaving. The problem? To truly know for certain if her friend's disappearance was not all that it seems, she's going to have to infiltrate the society to get what she needs...and ends up in more danger than she imagined.

This book was filled with so many twists and turns, keeping me on the edge of my seat. All of the characters were suspicious in one way or another. I could not trust a single one! The society was even darker, with bigger secrets than I originally thought. The reader and Maren are constantly being given small clues to where Polly is, making the book impossible to put down. The plot twist at the end was genius, and truly unexpected.

In my opinion, the love triangle in the book was not done well. Maren's interactions with both of them felt very surface-level and shallow. It did not fit well in the plot line. It was there just for the sake of romance when the book was great without it. Maren did not trust either of them, so it was odd that she had such strong romantic feelings that developed so quickly, while in the middle of trying to figure out what happened to her friend.

Out of all of Chelsea Ichaso's books, this one is easily my favorite.

When you trust almost no one at your boarding school and then the one you do trust disappears, where do you turn? Maren knows Polly didn't run away, but no one--not event the adults who should--will believe her. What lengths would you go to find your friend? Join a secret society, invite another friend to do so? Chelsea Ichaso created a great thriller with villains, catacombs, generations of secrets, and a very tangled web. Will Maren find Polly in time and did she trust the right people?

This one just wasn't a hit for me. I think the setup was really weak, and the story itself had no stakes. As in, sure there were stakes, but they didn't feel like they were that dire. I just couldn't find myself caring about any of the characters, and the love triangle came out of nowhere. There was a TON of background info missing for me to actually be invested in this book.

Full Review to come on Maeflower Reads

I almost DNF’d this book at first because the writing style threw me off. It was very direct and to the point, which I’m not used to, but when contrasted with the content and the mystery of the plot, it worked excellently in tandem.

I felt like Remington and Maren’s relationship could’ve been better developed, since we don’t see a lot of their history together other than a few mentions, but I still think they’re pretty cute.

I had guessed a few things right about the twists, but not one of the bigger ones (not elaborating just yet). It actually caught me by surprise, so that was epic.

Overall, I was hooked to the story and felt it was “The Inheritance Games” mixed with “Pretty Little Liars” esque.

I really enjoyed the mystery of this! I really didn’t know where the story was going at all, which is always a good thing for a mystery!

Thank you author and NetGalley for letting me review this novel.
It is suspenseful and fans of Diana Urban will also like this novel!
plot development ☆☆☆☆☆

When Maren’s best friend Polly “runs away”, she doesn’t believe that she’d leave her without an explanation. In the months leading up to Polly’s disappearance, she began spending more time with the most popular girl at their prestigious private school and seemed scared to Maren on the day of her disappearance. In her search for her friend, Maren discovers a secret society with a reach further than she can imagine. She’s determined to bring them down and save her friend.

“They’re Watching You” was a fun, fast ride. I breezed through this in a day and basically could not put it down. The writing is smooth and it was a well put together whodunit that has you questioning the motives of everyone that Maren interacts with. It leaves you guessing until the end.

This YA book comes out in January 2023 and it’s worth picking up. Thank you to @netgalley and @sourcebooks for the digital ARC of this!

DNF. I didn't love the writing style and it felt a little juvenille, despite the plot seeming promising

I was truly looking forward to this one but I honestly lost interest about halfway through the book. The plot is about a girl named Polly who is missing and has been for a while now. Maren, her best friend, decides to get to the bottom of why she's missing because the academy they attend and others simply think she's a runaway. I don't want to say what does happen and why she is missing, but as Maren searches for answers let's just say she gets in over her head. The problem I had is that so much of what happened was definitely too much, totally unbelievable for me, so I lost interest.

wow okay!! was not expecting this at all. not saying the book is unlike the summary, just much much deeper than i thought. i am kind of shocked but in a good way!! let me warn you and say this book is way darker than it seems lol. another warning—if you hate love triangles then stay away.

i’m gonna start off with the plot. it was honestly perfectly paced (besides the ending being a bit rushed.) the book starts off slightly slow, but i think that’s good because the author is giving you all the facts without info dumping. but once it gets going, i found it so hard to stop reading. there are twists that i was not expecting at all, and the surprises just keep going throughout the book. if you’re looking for entertainment, this is for you because i gasped multiple times.

now i’m gonna say, the reason my rating isn’t higher is because of the characters. they’re not bad—i actually really like all of them, unfortunately i don’t relate to them at all. and the name remington definitely doesn’t help.🤢 i really only found myself caring about maren and remington.

maren was a solid main character. she’s smart, good under pressure, and brave. she’s not a pushover and willing to take risks which i appreciate. she’s a loyal friend, but maybe too loyal. it kinda pissed me off that she did so much to get polly back when polly literally ditched her in the first place. maybe she needs to know her worth a little more, but i won’t complain.

anyways, moving on to the love interests. i had a hard time picking who i was rooting for. for the most part, i was team remington, but not gonna lie i had a hard time trusting him for most of the book. gavin was sweet at times, but he was a tad boring. another warning, this book will give you major trust issues ⚠️ i questioned pretty much every character at one point; the author always keeps you guessing and changing your mind. and i did not guess who the gamemaster was so that was a plus! i will say there was a tiny plot hole, but oh well.

overall, i am super super impressed. this book honestly reminds me a bit of the ’inheritance games’ series. if you are a fan of dark academia, secret societies, love triangles, boarding schools, mysteries, & games, you’ll love this!

thank you to netgalley & sourcebooks fire for the arc!

This was a cute and interesting book. The secret society is quick to enter the story. In just the first few chapters, the MC is aleady in and doing their dirty work. I liked the societies games and riddles to solve even if the stakes were higher than Maren thought. It is entertaining to read, especially if you like the secrets and the twists.

But I found this to be a little sweeter and lighter than I thought it would be. It was cute, and I liked it, just didn't love it. Oh and the twist totally had me, I never guessed a thing!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

what a fun and thrilling ya!
ya thriller is my comfort genre, mix that in with academia and it's perfect.
i really enjoyed it and I think it is one of my more favorite books that i've read this year.
i thought the mystery aspect was so interesting, and i really enjoyed the characters as well.

this is going to be a staple when it comes to ya thrillers and i can't wait for it's release!