They’re Watching You is a fast-paced, action-packed read. You jump into the story right away, with our main character Maren trying to investigate the sudden disappearance of her best friend Poppy. When she finds an invitation addressed to Poppy from The Gamemaster’s Society, Maren tries to infiltrate the secret society to figure out what happened to her friend.

The plot and setting of this story are the strongest aspects in my opinion. The secret society was really fun to experience, and the headquarters being in the catacombs created a very creepy and claustrophobic atmosphere. I found some of the plot points and twists to be a little far-fetched for a YA, but I still thought it was really fun and entertaining.

The biggest weakness, however, was the characters. I think because we’re thrown into the plot right away, we didn’t have much time to develop the three main characters we follow - Maren, Remington, and Gavin. We barely got any backstory on any of them, and Maren’s personality seemed a bit all over the place and inconsistent. Since this is a YA, we also got a love triangle between the three, and it didn’t seem very believable from the start. We were being told rather than shown their history and feelings for each other, and it made it very hard to connect with any of the characters.

Overall, I think those who enjoy fast-paced, plot driven stories will really like this book.

This book was right up my alley on paper: secret societies, riddles, boarding school/prestigious academia environment. However, this book had a lot of critical flaws.

Starting with the setting itself, I think integral to this type of story is the ominous, dark, secrecy of the school, Torrey-Wells, itself. The story didn't do much to set the scene of Torrey-Wells and I felt myself grasping at straws for an accurate idea of what the school was like. This can also be attributed to the story's poor paving. Though I liked that the story grips you immediately, jumping right into the action of Polly's disappearance, I had little time to get invested in the stakes of the story.

Now the characters... lacking. Severely. Starting with the two love interests in the poorly executed love triangle: Gavin had a bit more intrigue to me but he still fell flat. Remington was equally flat and unconvincing. I found myself actively rooting against both of them. The main character, Maren, lacks any real characterization. Genuinely, as the narrator of the entire story, I have no idea who she is. She was aggressively flat.

Overall, the story felt very formulaic. Like you told the author: "young adult, love triangles, secret societies, dark academia" and they gave the most basic watered-down version.

This was giving The Inheritance Games but worse. Also. The riddles were boring.

This was an exciting book and thought it was well written. The author did a great job with the characters. 4 star read!

Maren’s roommate went missing two weeks ago and has been declared a runaway by the powers that be. But Maren doesn’t believe it. Sure Polly had been acting a little strangely, but Maren believes there’s more to her disappearance. After she finds an invitation to the Gamemaster’s Society among Polly’s things, Maren forms a plan to infiltrate the group and discover the truth about what happened to her friend.

The missing person angle and high-stakes games grabbed my attention, and I’ve enjoyed several other dark academia novels. It didn’t take long for the story to take off, and I liked that. It’s a pretty quick read that moves along briskly for the most part. To uncover the fate of her friend and play the games, Maren has to become a person she doesn’t like, but she has no other choice if she wants to receive clues about Polly. Her friendships with two other society members, Remington and Gavin, quickly turn into a weird kind of love triangle. Neither characters seem trustworthy, and she flip flops several times on who she can turn to. The identity of the Gamemaster also kept me guessing. It’s one of the people I suspected, but the author does a pretty good job of keeping it hidden.

The games, their consequences, and some of the acts these students perform are extreme at times, especially for high school students. Suspension of disbelief is a requirement for much of the story. If you can set that aside, it’s a twisty, enjoyable thriller I finished in a couple of sittings.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Elite private school, scholarship students, secret society? Count me in! In story that seems to follow the private school genre, “They’re Watching Us,” uses the secret society to weave some interesting differences in the genre. After Polly goes missing, her best friend, Maren finds out about a secret society on campus and manipulates her way into an invitation, all to find what happened to her best friend. What I didn’t see was the constant turns this story took, leaving me continuing to read way past bedtime to find out more. Just when you think you have it figured out, another twist happens, and it makes sense! Definitely give this one a read!!!!

Outlier alert! I just couldn't get behind the cult vibes and overall unbelievable storyline.

This is a YA novel, set in an elite school. Maren's roommate Polly has gone missing and no one really cares or thinks there is anything strange about it. Maren discovers that there is a secret society and they might know what happened to Polly, so she goes on a mission to infiltrate it and find Polly.

The book started strongly, I was intrigued by the missing person/secret society angle. Then it got weird. And weirder. And even with all of the weirdness, I was still bored and had to force myself to keep going to find out what happened. In the end, I just couldn't wrap my brain around how any of it worked and how anyone could have gotten away with it for so long. So much of it was massive Scooby Doo--"who is behind the Gamemaster mask? It's..." over and over again. For being such a secret there were way too many people involved for it logically to stay a secret, especially with kidnappings and poisonings, etc.

After a while I was saying "Who cares about stupid Polly, she's obviously fine" What if they had just gone to the police or the media with the videos? And to top it all off the romance angle was just awful. A bizarre love triangle that was absolutely unneeded.

Maybe I'm just not the right reader for this because I just did not connect with it in any way. I was expecting The Inheritance Games and got Scooby Doo instead.

They’re Watching You really didn’t work for me. The premise sounds so intriguing, but the execution lacked quite a bit in development and tension for me to enjoy reading it.

This ended up being one of those rare reads I knew I wasn’t going to like from the first few chapters. I thought the initial set up was so incredibly rushed in terms on introducing the conflict and the characters and the rest of the book didn’t change my mind on that. It was all very surface level writing so the fast pace would move the plot along from riddle to riddle and from twist to twist. This meant I, personally, didn’t have anything to hold on to.

Because of the point above, I wasn’t able to connect with any of the characters. I didn’t find them complex or interesting in any way and didn’t care about what they were going through as the story progressed. I also found the high school setting a really odd choice here, considering how everything went down and the scope of the society itself.

And the romance… ugh. The forced love triangle was awful, personally. It didn’t endear me to anyone and was very annoying. It was obvious who Maren was going to end up with and so that conflict, on top of everything else that wasn’t working for me already, dragged the story down even more.

This is a really good, YA, suspense thriller about a girl who goes missing and her friend who suspects it’s down to a secret society within the school.

As a YA book I would say it’s a 4* read, but, as an adult reading many similar books it’s a 3* good read. The reason being I did find it slow in parts. However, overall, it’s a cracking tale of boarding school life, cults, strange characters and with twists and turns.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to preview.

They're Watching you by Chelsea Ichaso is a gripping young adult thriller book. The pacing was fast, and the stakes were high. I also loved the main character, Maren, which seems to be a rare feat in thriller books lately.

The secret society aspect of the book was so intriguing, but this book turned out to be much darker than I thought it would be—it surprised me in the best way! Parts of it also gave me Hunger Games vibes.

I became a fan of Ichaso after reading Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets earlier this year, but with They're Watching You, she completely blew away my expectations. Fans of young adult thrillers will love this book! After greatly enjoying two of her books now, it's safe to say I'll read anything she publishes!

*Thank you to Chelsea Ichaso, NetGalley, and the publisher for the free eBook ARC in exchange for leaving an honest review!

Dang. A terrifying secret society with reaches far past the school grounds, and you’ve just become their latest obsession. This was such a great read and did have me second-guessing my predictions at times!

I loved this book so much! I read her other book, Little Creeping Things, and was drawn into her world in the same way as this book. The secret society, friendships, betrayal, and unpredictability kept me wanting more! I literally didn't want to go to sleep because I just had to keep reading. Without spoiling the book, it was one unexpected turn after another. A must read for any suspense and mystery fan!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for the review copy of They're Watching You. This was a entertaining quick read for me but also a read filled with a lot of themes I feel have been done recently and a lot of plot points that were both a blend of predictable and predictably unbelievable (for me). Does this mean I wasn't entertained? This was pure escapist fun so yes, I enjoyed it but at the end of the read, I felt there were so many twists and unexplained/too quickly dropped and not returned to plot points that undermine my enthusiasm for the plot (points that really could have been so fascinating if developed, particularly with the resolution to the missing girls plot line).

Everyone at Torrey-Wells Academy believes that Polly ran away. Except for her best friend and roommate Maren. She finds an invitation to a secret society amongst her friend's things. Thinking they know what happened to Polly, she decides to find them and join. She succeeds and partakes in their dangerous games with the promise she will get a new clue about her friend with every win. As she gets in deeper, she realizes how deadly they really are, in more ways than one.

The author gifts us with a grounded, relatable protagonist and a smooth-sailing, to-the-point narrative, that has you going through so many pages without realizing. The 1st person POV makes you feel like you're walking through the storyline along with the protagonist. I really liked the premise and the games were elaborate as hoped and as fun to experience through Maren as expected.

The plot thickens in ever-growing fashion, making you more and more invested as the story proceeds. Love the way it keeps turning the tables on us — kudos to the author — until the exhilarating finale.

I liked Maren's thought process on what was going on, but sometimes spelling it out for us presented repetitive. Also, the 'triangle' misfires or seems forced in parts.

This book is about greed, faith, the dangers of fanaticism and trusting in yourself. A clever, suspenseful mystery with deliciously devious twists and secret society antics.

I loved the concept of this book - a secret society, riddles, intrigue, a missing girl - so many great concepts in a thriller! Unfortunately, this one fell firmly to the middle of the pack for me in execution.⁠
What I did enjoy was that it as a quick read; I was never bored, and it's not a slow burn, which is something I appreciate. Thrillers that keep you engaged are essential to me. ⁠
I also truly didn't know how it would end. Hell, I didn't know if the thing was even going to turn out to be real. I definitely didn't predict anything and was surprised.⁠
As far as what fell short for me I have two bigger issues. The first was that these were high school kids. It just felt really misplaced to have literal minors involved at this level of stakes. The setting, the games, the level of maturity - all made for college-aged people.⁠
I also felt like it was a big miss to just jump into the story with the missing friend. Not only was it an abrupt start, but I think that had the book opened before Polly's disappearance and built up to that I would have been much more invested in not only where she was, but Maren's push and sacrifices to find her friend.⁠
Overall some hits and misses but its sure to be a quick read if you decide to pick this one up.

Maren knows her roommate and best friend Polly's disappearance has something to do with Annabelle, and when she discovers that Annabelle is part of a secret society on campus, she finds a way to get invited. The Gamemaster's Society promises advantages to its members, so long as they can win the games. When her classmate and fellow initiate Remington says his ex-girlfriend is also missing, Maren decides to work with him to try to save their friends. But these games are more deadly than she expected...

This had the elements I loved from [book:The Inheritance Games|52439531] - mysteries and a bit of a love triangle - along with a private school setting and a secret society, and a little more danger. Maren had many reasons to suspect Remington of double-crossing her, and Gavin (her friend who she discovers is in the society) of not being forthcoming. The elements of Maren's fear of water and Remington's colorblindness could have been worked in more thoroughly, but it was enough to up the stakes in the final game. This was a quick, fun read (it only took me as long to read as it did because I had to stop and read a book club book in the middle) and kept me guessing the whole time.

Story of the book-

It may result in power, privilege, or even death when a secret group has you on its radar. Polly St. James hasn’t been seen in two weeks. Even her parents have labeled her a runaway, according to the police, the headmistress of Torrey-Wells Academy, and others. but not her roommate and best friend Maren. Polly was ready to tell Maren a secret about the affluent, elite Torrey-Wells clique when she vanished, and she is aware of this.

Then Maren discovers an envelope with an invitation to the Gamemaster’s Society tucked away among Polly’s belongings. It warns not to tell anybody. Despite the difficulty of joining, Maren is confident that her fellow members of the Society are aware of Polly’s true fate. Maren learns about a world she never knew existed at her school after surviving the dangerous initiation, where Society members engage in high-stakes competitions for unheard-of rewards, including Ivy League connections, privileges, and favors.

Maren, meanwhile, has been sucked into a separate game where each victory nets her a Polly-related hint. Maren starts to realize how strong the Society’s game is—bigger it’s and deadlier than she could have ever imagined. They perceive, know, and exercise control. And they murder.

My review-

This book is great fun! This was so much pleasure to read! Throughout the whole reading process, I found myself continually doubting everyone and everything, as well as every move they performed. I loved how this book had me guessing right up to the very last page! It has everything I’m searching for in a young adult thriller. Every new revelation in each chapter prompted new questions, and nothing about this book was what was anticipated. There were no graphic moments, and the primary characters are adolescents. Perhaps you’re searching for a lightweight item for the beach. This is a fantastic one that will keep you engaged without making you gag.

The characters have depth and are well-rounded. Although there are quite a few of them, it wasn’t hard to tell one from the other. Both the wealthy and powerful students at private high schools as well as the less well-off ones were perfectly portrayed by author Ichaso. Ichaso captured the high school students so realistically, in my opinion. There are also a lot of individuals to snoop on because one never knows who can be trusted or not. Okay, so I did it. I had no notion, and I was completely baffled. Because of this, I could only hope for Maren’s efforts to unravel Polly’s secret to success.

Maren may be impetuous, and occasionally I worried that she had chosen the wrong person to put her faith in. She is a dependable friend, but I was impressed by how hard she worked to get through the challenges and discover what had happened to Polly. I would play some of the games if they weren’t so lethal since they sound like a lot of fun. A love triangle also appeared, which I didn’t mind, but the main character chose a partner I didn’t like. With the boarding school and the secret organization, this has romantic overtones and a serious intellectual feel. The tension of going through tunnels and vaults kept the book’s tone exceedingly gloomy and unsettling.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

They’re Watching You is my first read from Chelsea Ichaso, and I’m intrigued to read more. I love a twisty secret society story, especially within an academic setting, and this absolutely delivered.

I admit, I wasn’t sure what I was getting into within the first couple chapters, but I was soon reassured, and was swept up in the many twists and turns. The narrative is fast-paced and the plot remains engaging, keeping me guessing throughout.

Maren is a cool main character. She’s very much a badass who is able to roll with the punches and is able to take what is thrown at her. She can be impulsive and a bit too trusting at times, but it all makes her a layered, compelling thriller protagonist.

I really enjoyed this, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a solidly plotted YA thriller.

I am a huge fan of clue and who done it murder mysteries add in mixes of cults and I am sold.
This book included all of that.
I loved the play on the secret society actually being a cult and the nerd that I am wished that they would have gone into more detail about how and why the group was formed. But the story movies along fine with out all that extra details. But if Chelsea ever needs another book idea I would be first in line to get a copy of that!

Did I see all of it coming, no. I love when books do that and I am not able to predict everything that happens, to me that is what makes a book so great. Maren did get on my nervous a little because of her going back and forth about people but then again I have to remember if I was in her shoes and was dealing with this I would constantly second guess myself too.

Overall it was a great read. I am giving it 4.5 stars and not 5 because I am super picky and I would have liked a little more backstory as to why this cult was around and how it got started. But that is just me.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the digital copy of this ARC. Review to come.*

"Remington's figure is hunched on the side of the pool. His look pleads, saying what he can't shout in front of the cameras."

Summary:
Maren's life is already busy. She plays three sports, goes to school, and constantly studies to ensure her grades are good enough for her scholarship. But when her roommate and best friend Polly goes missing after months of distance, Maren adds something else to her plate: finding Polly. In the months leading up to Polly's disappearance she had been befriended by Annabelle, a popular, devilishly clever girl who runs the school chess club. When Polly joins the club, she begins to distance herself from Maren, and suddenly can afford expensive new clothes, is out all night, and ignores her former best friend. Yet when Maren searches through Polly's things, she discovers that the chess club isn't what it seems --it's a secret society.
Maren schemes her way into the Gamemaster's Society, desperate to find clues to Polly despite the costs. The Society meets at night past curfew, and breaks nearly every rule the school has in place, but the school doesn't seem to care. Even sketchier, each meeting centers around a game, where the consequences are far too dire, and the members of the Society seemingly have boundless power: At initiation Maren must solve clues to determine if she drinks poison; letters appear in her dorm room while she's sleeping; she misses an exam but scores a 100%. The society members could get away with murder, and no one would care.
Already suspicious of the Society and it's members, Maren teams up with her chemistry lab partner Gavin, who joined before her but for a good cause, and Remington, a fellow initiate who is looking for his missing ex-girlfriend Jane. Convinced that Annabelle and the Society are hiding Polly somewhere deep in the catacombs where the group meets every night, Maren is determined to move up the Society ranks to earn more clues about her friend, hopefully before it's too late.
But as she continues to win, Maren sees how far the Society stretches. What she once saw as Ivy League connections turns into breakthrough medical experiments, money, get-out-of-jail-free cards, fame, and more power than a person could handle. Suddenly, with shadows lurking in every corner, and tricks down everyone's sleeves, Maren doesn't know who to trust, or what to believe. The Gamemaster's Society is far more than a chess club--it's a deadly cult, and Maren only has so much time before they get to her too.

Thoughts:
While I normally love any book that deals with the occult and dark academia, there was something about They're Watching You that didn't click for me. I'm a big fan of an unreliable narrator, but in this case, it wasn't Maren who was unreliable, it was everyone else, which is necessary to a certain extent, but by the end of the book, I was tired of constantly wondering if Maren should trust Gavin or Remington.
I also found the pacing to be all over the place. The meetings take place at night, so of course most of the book does as well, but I never felt like I had the right timeline. Maren never seemed to attend classes, and I wasn't sure if this book took places over months or mere days. Furthermore, with nearly every scene taking place in the catacombs, it was hard to keep track of the clues she had earned or the games she had played, since they all were described the same way.
Nevertheless, I love a creepy setting, and did enjoy the use of catacombs under the school as a meeting place. I do wish they were used more sparingly, as sometimes the endless maze of rooms and tunnels could be used as a deus ex machina, but overall, the setting of a remote private school and dark, cold passageways was a plus.
I liked Maren as a character, but wanted more development from her. We know that she's athletic, on a scholarship, and that Polly was her best friend, but throughout the book we don't really learn anything else about her. Her dad is mentioned once in reference to his company not bringing in as much money as anticipated, and I wanted more from that. Or when Maren refused to give up on Polly, I wanted more about what that relationship meant to her as a person, not just the same stories and reminiscing over and over again. I also found the love triangle of untrustworthiness to become very old very quick. Gavin and Remington were both characters that could be perceived as sketchy or trustworthy an equal amount of times, and it frustrated me to not know anything more about them. In the end though, I did appreciate where Ichaso took the relationship.

Overall:
Of all the young adult thrillers I have read, this isn't my favorite, but it wasn't a bad read at all. The classic young adult mystery beats were hit--it was creepy, culty, and definitely had a Big Brother vibe. Add in the ever-present love triangle trope mixed with the time constraints of impending death, and you have a great novel on your hands. I look forward to seeing what Ichaso writes in the future.

They're Watching You by Chelsea Ichaso comes out January 3, 2023.

Thank you NetGalley and SourceBooks for this e-ARC! Unfortunately, this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention.