4.5 stars. This book was wild! Secret society type stuff doesn’t always do it for me but I couldn’t put this one down. Maren attends a boarding school and her roommate Polly is pretty much her only friend. When Polly starts distancing herself and eventually goes missing, Maren is determined to find her. Her search leads her to the elusive Gamemaster’s Society, where she manages to become a member and learns that things are even crazier than she thought.

This is a quick gripping read that will have you wanting to read chapter after chapter to find out what happens. There are tons of twists and you never really know who you can trust - I definitely found myself rooting for the wrong characters. There’s also a romantic element and a sort of love triangle which was frustrating but in a good way? Definitely recommend this if you like a good dark academia thriller.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for the ARC

4.5 out of 5
Boarding High school, secret society, mystery/thriller, very cloak and dagger, minor love triangle.

Really easy read. Short chapters kept me interested and maintained my momentum. The plot also encouraged me to keep reading because I wanted answers. The kind of book that you stay up all night to finish.

I highly recommend it so go check it out for yourself. Releases January 3, 2023.

Trust no one.
Victory or Dust

I thought this was a really solid YA thriller. The story takes place at a high-end boarding school called the Torrey-Wells Academy. After the main character Maren’s roommate Polly goes missing she takes it upon herself to find out what happened. She manages to get herself invited to join the secret Gamemaster’s Society that Polly was joining before her disappearance. As things unfold she befriends a football player named Remington. She is not sure if she can trust him and that is problematic at times. Her slacker lab partner Gavin also becomes involved, but can she really trust him? There is a bit of a romantic triangle between the three characters which I really enjoyed. The disappearances and the motives were very well-written. It also has a bit of Greek mythology thrown in to help explain some of the situations. The story is full of twists and turns and never lets up on the dangerous path that Maren must take in the Gamemaster’s Society in order to find Polly.

Talk about dark academia.. these society members meet after dark in the catacombs. It was an enjoyable and quick read.

Maren goes to an elite boarding school but when her best friend and roommate polly went missing two weeks ago from St. James’s the police the headmistress of Torrey wells academy and even pollys parents have ruled her a runaway but not maren she knows polly had a secret which she was gonna share with maren before she went missing and when maren finds an envelope hidden in Pollys things it’s a invitation to the gamemasters society do not tell anyone it says but maren is sure her class mates in the society knows what happened to polly and once maren has joined the society she starts playing games for clues about what happened to polly but maren soon finds out that the society is bigger and deadlier than she ever imagined they see they know and they kill
I really enjoyed this I couldn’t put it down totally recommend it
Thank You NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire
I just reviewed They're Watching You by Chelsea Ichaso. #NetGalley

What do I love? Boarding school mysteries in any, shape or form. Add in a secret society and a missing person and I am hooked. Maren has a best friend, tho that maybe pushing it, since they haven’t been close in awhile, Polly. Polly is suddenly ‘on a break’ and no one seems to care or has any answers. Maren wants to find out some answers which lead to a secret society, the Gamemaster’s Society.

She manages to get an initiation into it and pass through an initiation that is more than she expected. But will she continue to play the games in order to save her friends life or will she end up having to make a choice that could put her friends life at risk. Because the society is more powerful and has farther reaches than she knew. The deeper she gets the more dangerous she sees they can be. They can be life changing and that isn’t always a good thing.

There’s a bit of romance thrown in which actually adds to the book rather than detracts. The games are wild! There are just so many twists with the fact pacing with new clues coming at you quickly. If you are looking for a can’t put it down book, add this one to your list.

I can see this book appealing to those who like YA thriller/suspense set in a school. It was a little bit Hunger Games crossed with One of Us is Lying set in a boarding school.

Chelsea Ichaso can deliver chills, thrills, and goosebumps like it's nobody's business! "They're Watching You" was FIRE!!

They're Watching You is a YA thriller. I just read this author's other book dead girls can't tell secrets. I liked that one better. This one was still a fun thriller, but the twists felt super predictable. There's also your usual love triangle. I do like when characters actually try to get outside help and it was easy to understand the main character's motivation.

This was so fantastic! Thank you so much Source Books for sending an arc of this my way in exchange for an honest review. I have been looking for something that reminded me of the Secret History for the longest time and I finally found it. I ended up finishing this in one sitting and I couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait until 2023 so I can talk about it in more detail! Thank you again!

I loved so many things about They're Watching You. The fast-paced plot, the wild secrets and the detailed puzzles all grabbed my attention and refused to let it go. While I suspected some of the twists, there were a lot of surprises I didn't predict. I especially love that Chelsea Ichaso wrote a YA book with a strong female protagonist and a plot with complexity that isn't always found in the genre.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This has been one crazy ride of a book! Maren is a student at an elite boarding school. Her best friend Polly all of a sudden leaves claiming she needs a break from school. But Maren doesn’t believe this at all. Maren goes on to investigate what really happened and ends up in a secret society. The society loves their games and Maren is stuck in a fight to figure out where Polly really is. The society also has more power than anyone would expect. Maren is stuck between choosing to save her friend or do whats right.

This book was full of exciting twists and turns. I started it at bedtime and couldn’t put it down. I ended up being half way through by the time I went to bed. I loved the romance elements but I was definitely suspicious at times. Who can you really trust in a secret society where everyone has something to gain?

What I loved:
- Maren and her determination. Everyone needs a friend like that.
- These games! They are absolutely crazy, and at times dangerous. But it kept the book interesting. I caught myself reading chapter after chapter to see what would happen
- The romance! Even though I couldn’t decide which person to trust. I was always on my toes waiting for craziness to happen.
- The pacing was excellent. The book flowed really well. This was such a quick and fun read for me.
- The twists! I did not expect a couple of them

This book was a really fun and fast read that I was able to finish in less than 24 hours. I cannot wait to recommend this to my personal and online book club when it releases. 4 stars out of 5!

I love books about secret societies and this one is clearly are a winner. You will absolutely love the intrigue and mystery in this book. I absolutely loved the setting and the characters as well.