Member Reviews
I really love Kelley Armstrong, so I jumped at the chance to read this book when I saw it.
It was good, but not amazing. I struggled with the POV switch up between certain characters, I really think it made it hard to follow at times. I do think the plot was interesting though. 4 students discovering their memories may have been changed? It drew me in and kept me entertained. Did I enjoy the twists in the book? Yes. Would I read this story again? Meh, I might.
I loved this book. It pulled me in from the beginning with the mystery. Junior High students will be super excited to read this book.
Think one was okay for me. There were areas that were pretty confusing, characters to keep track of. But other than that, it was a good read! I think I would enjoy it more if I had bought the book and the pages lined up the way they were supposed to!
I love the fact that this book was such a fast-paced and exciting read. I read it in one sitting because I couldn't bear not to know what was going on. The opening line was so good. The backstories and the characters were really interesting and served a purpose. Sometimes I would think "oh is this character really important?" and then we would get a POV explaining why YES they are important. The plot twists were mindblowing and maybe confusing at times. I wish to see more of Blythe and Tucker!
"Do you want to do something bad?"
Who can resist an opening line such as this? Kelly Armstrong delivers quite the twisty, curvy mystery that sparks from the beginning of the book and leaves you desperate to read and reread to find out what is happening to this group of friends. So many secrets and truths to be discovered! Great read all around for fans of Karen Thomas or Gretchen McNeil.
2.5 Stars
In general, I love Kelley Armstrong's books. Unfortunately, this YA thriller just didn't do it for me. A group of teenagers, once tight-knit, has suffered a rift for reasons that are slowly revealed. The POV shifts characters and uses first-person for one and third-person for the others, which felt messy. The plot deals with memory issues, but I won't say more about it because thrillers are always better with as little information as possible. This is a quick read, and I never once felt like DNFing it, but I also felt somewhat disinterested in the characters, especially the eventual overwrought love connection between two of the characters. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada, and Tundra Books for a digital review copy.
As you may know Kelley Armstrong is one of my favourite authors but I have mainly read her books within a certain series so I was very excited to read something new.
Some triggers, this is a psychological thriller mentions death, neglect from parents and mentions of sexual assault.
Since I am very familiar with her writing I found this book to be a bit predictable, still intriguing and a page turner but the middle fell flat. The characters figured out part of the mystery making it more about the next steps but also not really completing the story. The ending felt very open ended which was interesting.
I loved Tucker and Blythe and the mystery of why they were supposed to be separated. Literally my favourite part was Tucker and Blythe and their friendship. I also laughed at a few lines that Tucker said and ultimately was drawn to him. He was an interesting character.
Overall this book kept me reading and had some interesting points but it felt rushed at the end and I feel like 10 more pages could have been added. Maybe 10 more pages of just Blythe and Tucker? Okay but I seriously shipped them right when they mentioned they met when they were 10 and even when they were separated I had hope they would meet up again.
Thank you Penguin Teen Canada and NetGalley for a copy
I received a free ARC from Netgalley in exchange for writing this review.
This is not the kind of book I usually read, but I’m really glad I took the chance! I love YA literary fiction, but I’ve never read a YA thriller before. Now I might just keep going in this subgenre!
The premise is what drew me in: science/tech-based secrets in a small community, the idea that someone is watching all the time (which is almost a reality in our world of doorbell cameras and smartphones in every pocket), and the promise of having the mystery revealed in one tight novel. I connected with the main character and appreciated seeing other points of view without having this turn into a multi-POV kind of book. I lost track of the characters a few times; no one’s name is terribly significant, which adds to the realism but confused me a bit. The buildup of action and the conclusion left me satisfied, and it got me thinking about the ways we live today and how much we know and don’t know about ourselves and the people around us. I’ll be interested to see more from this author!
Kelley Armstrong has always been an author I've loved to read. She writes series that really have you guessing and always carry a dark, thriller vibe to it. Someone Is Always Watching for sure nails those slots for me.
Blythe is a good girl. Always doing what she should, following the rules, and never getting into trouble. Until an incident happens at school and not everything is really what it seems.
I'm not really into YA books lately but when I saw it was written by Kelley I had to give it a try. & I wasn't disappointed! There are moments in the book where things drag a little or just don't really seem to make much sense. I also found Blythe a little too wishy washy at times. The twist at the end.. wasn't really a twist. You can kind of see it coming. The world itself is interesting though and I'm curious how this story can possibly continue!
Thanks to NetGalley for the Arc!
I received a digital copy of Someone is Always Watching via NetGalley to read and review.
I was hooked from the first chapter. There’s a group of high school friends who’s parents all work for the same research facility.
There’s a funeral for the Vice Principal- he killed himself but Blythe remembers a different story- her friend standing over the VP wielding a trophy and then that same friend knocking her out. Now Blythe doesn’t know if she’s losing her mind or something else is going on.
Someone is Always Watching is full of twists and turns. Some of them are a little predictable and some are not.
I expected to enjoy this book, but I'm afraid it didn't really work for me. Somehow the characters and plot just never fully engaged me. But I appreciate the chance to read the ARC in advance of publication in exchange for my honest opinion.
Someone is Always Watching | 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What would you do if you found out you have spent your whole life being watched and controlled by an upper source? It feels pretty scary when mysteries start to unfold in your friend group and you no longer know what the truth is.
Someone Is Always Watching is a great Young-Adult Murder Mystery read that I completely enjoyed! From the very first page, I was captivated and urged to know more about the story and it’s characters. Finding out the truth little by little, alongside the characters was amazing!
Getting to know this characters and understand them made the process a whole lot easier. Kelly Armstrong has a great deal in character building!
I recommend this book 100% if you’re looking for a mysterious read with an enjoyable ending!
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Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Will be uploading a spoiler free reading vlog on my YouTube Channel the day this book is published.
I ended up rating this book a "DNF" because about 40% into the story, I still wasn't drawn in. The premise is intriguing and the inciting incident hooked me right away, but I couldn't connect to the characters enough after that to care about what happened next. The action of the plot slowed immensely as well. Maybe I'll go back to it one day, but for now, it's not for me.
Things come to a head when Gabrielle starts muttering that someone is always watching and her parents are not her parents in a manic manner which is massively out of character for her. When she is found covered in blood in the principal's office with the principal dead on the ground, she cannot recall anything about what has happened.
Blythe, Tucker and Tanya know something is seriously wrong. Blythe’s sister has been having vivid nightmares and then someone calling themselves Veritas, keeps sending Blythe emails about a boy who slit another kid's throat and hinting that it is someone she knows and trusts. When Devon admits that he is remembering things that supposedly didn’t happen, it has the whole group wondering what is happening and whether they can even trust their own memories or each other.
I really enjoyed this one. It really pulled me in and I was hooked right away. It was very clever the way the storyline merged the way it did and I am so grateful that the ending was written the way it was. I felt it was tied up well enough to be a standalone but also left an avenue for a sequel.
I really enjoyed the notion of memories and the idea that they can be manipulated or changed. It was very well done without getting too technical. I could have done with a little bit more character development but I can see why it was necessary to not give too much information away.
Definitely an addictive read! 4.5 stars!!
Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong is a fantastic story! i never guessed where the plot was going.
ARC releasing 4/11/23. Strange things happen at school causing a group of friends to question their memories and secrets. This took me forever to read for no reason. There were too many characters and the plot was simply unbelievable and not fleshed out at all. The was no sense of urgency or reason to care. Big yawn
This was such a fun YA read. This novel is fast-paced with likable characters and a clever mystery to be solved. The characters live in a small town where suddenly one girl believes she is being watched and another girl thinks she witnessed a brutal murder. It's hard to know what is real and what isn't. I'll admit that I thought this story was going in a completely different direction than it did. The plot twist threw me for a loop. Part of me wanted a more realistic explanation of everything, but bonus points for creativity here. Overall, I enjoyed this even though I had to suspend disbelief quite a bit.
A YA title in Kelley Armstrong's outstanding catalog of titles that proves again that she couldn't write a bad book if she tried. I'm a Kelley Armstrong fan, having read every one of her titles. Her catalog covers a wide assortment of genres and some very unusual characters. They all have in common her outstanding writing style and some serious world building skills.
Teens attending a private school that is aligned with the scientific center their parents work for begin to exhibit strange behavior. As the core group loses members, they will pull together to find answers to the troubling questions that seem to multiply with every fact they find. As they discover more about their friends and even themselves, will they be able to help or will their answers be buried by the adults who keep telling them to stop.
This is a stand alone story. Armstrong has many diverse series in genres that cover just about anyone's favorite. Pick anyone and you'll be hooked. Happy Reading!!!!
If I had to describe this book in one word it would be wild.
The characters in this book were interesting, with a pretty good variation of personalities, motives and reactions to the situations that arise.
I'll admit, I had seen some other reviews of this book which called it predictable but I definitely did not figure out what truly was going on, and whodunnit so to speak until the book basically spelled it out for me, so at the same time as most of the characters within it.
It really is both a psychological thriller, as well as a mystery.
There was also no way I was going to put this book down until I knew further what was going to happen to the kids, and what crimes (depending on how you see it) the adults committed against them.
It also brings to question the thought of nature versus nurture within society, and if you can really change someone who has committed heinous acts, or someone who hasn't into committing them.
I'd recommend this to anyone who loved the YA thrillers of the late eighties and early nineties. This book is reminiscent of those, and will keep you gripped in its clutches. It had me rushing to go back to it after just the first chapter.
I really enjoyed this intense psychological thriller. I love Blythe as the intriguingly unreliable narrator and appreciated the suspenseful reveal of clues scattered throughout the story. I got very wrapped up in the mystery and was kept guessing until the end.