I usually like Kelley Armstrong. This is my first YA book and I think it will be my last. It was OK. It was predictable. It was shallow. It had nothing to really pull me in. And I swear I've seen this movie or read this book before. It just tickled the back of my mind the entire time. I finished it but I don't think I want to see these characters again.

Admittedly, this is my first Armstrong book.

I'm not sure if it's because of it being a YA novel, or the overall book itself, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me. I found it difficult to connect with the characters, and some parts of the book were a bit all over the place.

I won't count other books from her out because this had excellent potential, it's just not a book that I would read a second time.

“Someone is always watching” by Kelly Armstrong is a great psychological thriller that falls more into the YA category. I received an arc of this from netgalley and I’m super thankful I got to read this. The story takes so many twists and turns that you don’t see coming and the character development is great- Kelly did a great job as always at making her characters relatable to the readers in some way. If you’re looking for a good thriller, I highly suggest. I did give a 4/5 because I feel like there is some gap in the plot but I am also a harsh reader. That may be something someone else doesn’t pick up on! Completely loved this thought and looking forward to reading more by this author In the future.

I've not read Kelley Armstrong's YA thrillers before (they're scattered among my TBR, so that'll happen one day). I've read her adult thrillers, her adult mysteries, and I can honestly say this did not measure up to them. Not because of the YA factor, but because there wasn't anything about these characters (outside of Tucker) that I really cared about.

We start with a fairly large cast of characters - Blythe, our lead; Sydney, Blythe's sister; Tanya and Tucker, not-quite-friends-with-Blythe, siblings; Gabi, friend; Devon, former friend; Callum, potential love interest; and Andre, bland as plain toast.

While we spend much of the story in Blythe's POV, we bop around to many other POVs through the story - particularly Sydney's, Tanya's, and Callum's. While there are some aspects that surprised me, I felt like I knew more than the characters sometimes - though I also feel like half the fun was seeing the characters meander through what they know and what they don't. However, despite all that, I just didn't feel like I got to know the characters well outside of their one thing that defines them through the story and that was disappointing. Additionally, I feel like there was a lot that was left unexplained, or up to us to imagine, which is fine, to an extent, but it cut down on the world building as well.

The one character I absolutely loved was Tucker. Every moment he comes up in the book, I liked him more and more (save for one). He believes strongly in boundaries and consent - part of that is his history, and part of that is his rehabilitation - and it's clear throughout the book that her cares so much about Blythe and his friends. It was interesting reading about a character navigating anti-social personal disorder, but I don't know how that rep holds up (as I don't know much about it or know anyone with it).

Kelley Armstrong fits diversity in well throughout the book, and the mystery kept my attention well; but, while her characters are usuly very strong, the characters in this book just felt flat to me. All in all, this story was a page turner, but probably not one I'll remember in the long run.

Rep: ace secondary, lesbian secondary

TW: body shaming, murder, violence, blood, injury detail, gaslighting, sexual abuse, pedophilia, kidnapping, forced captivity, fire/fire injury, gun violence, religious bigotry, lesbophobia; mentions suicide, drugs

Plot: 4/5
Characters: 2/5
World Building: 2/5
Writing: 3/5
Pacing: 4/5
Overall: 3/5

eARC gifted via NetGalley by Tundra Books via Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review.

I got a free e-arc through Netgalley, this in no way affected my review.

I remember Armstrongs’ books from when I was a teen, but this didn’t completely hit the mark like it used to do.

It’s very clear from the start what the plot will be and I pretty much immediately knew how this book would turn out. There were a couple of things that did surprise me, but they were few.

The characters were also a bit too two-dimensional in my opinion, especially the secondary ones.

I only rated this book so high because I did enjoy the writing style, which made this a very accessible book.

I’ve been a fan of Kelley Armstrongs work for years. My favorite trilogy as a kid was The Darkest Powers. I use to reread it every few years with my sister. So I was overjoyed to receive this arc.

I would say 3.5 stars on this only because at times it was easy to guess the direction it was heading and the overall plot line. But it was still enjoyable and had me entertained the entire time. Almost like I was already rereading the book at some points. I think this would be a fantastic read for someone who hasn’t read much of this genre and wants to start and see how it goes! It’s a simple read with a satisfying pay out at the end.

"Do you want to do something bad?" The sentence that started the book, the sentence that started it all. I love a good YA thriller and this was a good one. This psychological thriller is told from multiple perspectives as we explore what happens when good intentions lead to unforgivable consequences. While I enjoyed the read, it didn't really go as in-depth as I would have liked. The plot had so much promise, but it came across as a surface-level overview. I would have loved to know more about the experiments and the community created around them. With the concept presented, I think I wanted more of a dystopian feel. The book definitely started off strong but then plummeted and I started to lose interest. When the book did pick back up, chaos ensued through the end. This is my first book by this author, but I will definitely read more.

Kelley Armstrong is my favorite author. This is a standalone YA thriller featuring a group of teens who attend a private STEM high school.

When one of them starts acting erratically the rest go on a hunt for the truth. Friendships are tested. Memories are questioned.

This book is creepy and mysterious and there is some romance. Overall it's a fascinating read.

I've been slowly but surely getting into YA thriller/Myster and Kelley Armstrong did not disappoint! I truly was immersed into this world and had thought the book was going into a different direction than what it did! I honestly couldn't figure out the culprit up until it was advised whom it was! Looking back Kelley left great Easter eggs to help the reader figure out who it was! If you're looking for your next thriller read, look no further!

Unfortunately I will be reviewing this one as a DNF @ 38%. Normally I LOVE Armstrong's books, but this is her first YA offering I've read, and I have to say I didn't care for it at all. I don't think her voice slows down for younger readers at all - she needs to stick to adult fiction. All opinions are of course my own. Thanks to Armstrong and the publisher for the chance to review - I'm definitely not giving up on Armstrong, but I am giving up on this book.

This book had me questioning everything. When I thought I had it all figured out, I was all wrong. It was very well written and the characters were not just one dementional. It was an enjoyable read, thank you NetGalley for the advanced preview.

I usually don't reach for YA thrillers or mysteries due to the fact that the characters are never fully fleshed out, and most of the time the plot bores me a little. The stakes are a little lower in these books. But this one was such a fast-paced, entertaining read from start to finish. If you're looking for a book to get you out of a reading slump or bump up your reading goal, pick this one up! You won't be disappointed.

Once the story started to unveil in Someone is Always Watching, I was hooked. It’s the kind of thriller I love, where it includes just a bit of interpersonal relationships and romance.

Blythe and her friends don’t know who to trust, and they’re on the hunt for answers. And as the storyline goes on, you as the reader aren’t sure who to trust either. I loved Blythe as the primary narrator; she was the most reliable and you honestly just wanted her to be alright. And her relationship with Tucker was a driving force for me, I couldn’t read fast enough.

Someone is Always Watching was a quick and entertaining read with some interesting concepts regarding memories and how they shape you as a person.

Thank you to Penguin Random House for the review copy!

I really liked some of the characters and the premise of this book.
Some of the other characters could have been more fleshed out; also, it felt a little repetitive when the characters were trying to figure out what was happening while emphasizing a character's trait or a past event. Never the less, it was an enjoyable read, and if you are looking for your next YA mystery, I would definitely recommend this one.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book!

Kelley Armstrong is my favorite author and I will always want to read from Kelley!
This YA thriller was a great read. From the first chapter I was gripped and didn’t want to put the book down. I loved the small town setting and all the different characters. Would recommend to everyone who like psychological thrillers.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the Advance Readers Copy.

3.5 ⭐️‘s
C-Prep is a small school with only 140
students, with most of them being children of CMT lab employees. There is a core unit of students that have been friends for several years and when Gabrielle, one of there own has a mental breakdown, it leaves the others asking questions. Questions about things that aren’t adding up in their own lives. What’s really going on at CMT? What are they covering up and where is Gabrielle? Armstrong’s stand alone YA mystery about memories and the way the shape the future was clever, though perhaps on the implausible side, but an entertaining read for sure. Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I am a big fan of Kelley Armstrong, and while I enjoyed this book, it felt a little too similar to some of her previous YA series. Young adults with unknown pasts or identities. The main difference being that this story wasn't "supernatural."
The kids in this book had lived through very traumatic things in their childhood and essentially had surgery done on their brains to try and alter their memories, without their consent or knowledge.
I still plan on reading Armstrong, but I may stick with her adult novels.

Someone is Always Watching did not land in my top favorite Kelley Armstrong books. It was simply underwhelming. The mystery/thriller took a back seat to drama. The switching POVs left me wanting more from the characters. I couldn’t connect with them enough to invest emotionally into the mystery. Although it started off pretty fast-paced, the story began to drag on and some of the thriller reveals came too soon. As for the ending, it was too… easy? It was rushed and not fleshed out. The overall concept was intriguing but Armstrong couldn’t execute it. It felt cheap. Mediocre at best.

This book was fast paced with lots to unravel and honestly, a lot of it I didn’t see coming, even when I saw something coming, it wasn’t quite right: the characters were well developed and I enjoyed watched them change and their interactions change as more and more was uncovered. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t put this read down. I definitely recommend if you’re a fan of A Good Girls Guide to Murder.

I had not heard of Kelley Armstrong prior to this, but I will be checking out any other book she writes. This book was engaging and I read it pretty quickly. Blythe and her friends look into their past and investigate what is happening currently. It is tragic and traumatic for them. This book takes you on a ride as you follow along. The majority of the book I didn’t know which way it would turn next.