A friend-group finds out that what they remember may not actually be true. This book was really good, I had pretty mild expectations because while the synopsis was wildly intriguing, it felt like a lot to bite off. The author executed it wonderfully, though! I liked getting to unravel what is going on with the kids' memories and why they have nightmares and flashes of things that didn't happen to them. I thought that the romantic aspects of this story worked well and fit in well with the story. Twisty and turny, this one is going to be a hit with the teens at my library!

I really liked this one. It was such a fascinating and horrifying concept. I do think the end was a little bit rushed and maybe could have gone on a bit more to wrap things up, but maybe that also leaves it open enough for a sequel. I felt like this straddled the line between YA and NA and did that really well. The characters actually felt like teenagers who were reacting to a really terrible situation in appropriate ways. One character even reminded me of someone I know in real life so that’s fun. Overall, a solid read that I’d recommend to people who love Karen M McManus.

A group of friends find out that their memories may not actually be their own. What if your parents took away your actual memories and replaced them? These teens discover the truth of why they have flashes of memories they don't recall or nightmares. In this psychological thriller you are immersed in finding the truth for these characters as well as a slow burn romance. You may think you've figured out thr truth, but won't know for sure until the very end.

YA mystery/thriller- what if your memories weren't even real?

Oh man, what a gripping read! From the very beginning, Someone is Always Watching had me totally hooked. It chucks you right into the action, which I appreciated, and the mystery grows more and more complex from there. I liked the characters and the relationships between them, and the story leaves you a lot to contemplate as events unfold.

One side character felt oddly unnecessary and I don't understand why that person was included in the story. The romance subplot also felt kinda unnecessary to me, but that kind of thing is to be expected in YA. There was also an aspect of the plot that I felt lacked foreshadowing, but maybe I missed some things?

By the way...in my opinion, the official synopsis gives WAY too much away and I'm glad I didn't read it. So that's why I put that one sentence up top. I literally don't know what else to say about the plot without spoiling things (but I am someone who hates spoilers and likes to go into books completely blind, so my idea of what constitutes a spoiler is probably really rigid. Lol).

I definitely recommend that YA thriller fans check this one out when it publishes!

Many thanks to Penguin Random House Canada and Kelley Armstrong for the ARC, which I received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Someone Is Always Watching
Coming out April 11 2023

Thank you to NetGalley, Tundra Books, and Penguin Random House CA for the ARC of this book to review!

Blythe or “Bliss” as her best friend affectionately calls her is a teenager at a private school for kids of CMT’s employees. When one of her best friends has a mental break down in school Blythe discovers that things may not be as the seem. Are the people she loves actually who she thinks they are?

Kelley Armstrong does a great job of writing a mystery with psychological elements that will make you want to keep turning the pages. If you are a fan of books like One Of Us is Lying or A Good Girls Guide to Murder you will like this this twisted YA Thriller. It also managed to spook me and keep me on my toes while reading. All the characters are interesting and have secrets to figure out. Every character introduced was important to the main storyline.

The only thing that was difficult for me while reading this book is that the POV and tense changed a lot between chapters and sometimes I would forget whose POV I was reading. But I liked seeing all the characters plots develop and tie up.

Check this book out in April for a fast paced, fun read!

My review will be posted today Wednesday 3/29/23 on @readitwithtay on instagram. I will also share the review today on goodreads (Taylor Crowell). I will repost the review on my instagram on the publish date as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada/Tundra Books for the eARC of Someone is Always Watching in exchange for my honest review.

I am a huge fan of Kelley Armstrong’s books, I grew up reading her Darkest Powers series and have loved reading the Rockton series in my adulthood. This book is just as well written as the others, it carries itself well and is a solid mystery. I do think it was a bit young for me and I’d have definitely liked it more when I was younger, but that’s not to say that it wasn’t a quick and enjoyable read!

It focused heavily on the psychology and the interactions of the characters, but it didn’t feel bogged down by those features. I will say I recommend going in blind for this one as the synopsis gives away a lot!

This was a fun read! Fast paced, kept me guessing. The last chapters got a little confusing- a lot of information and plot resolution at once, but overall it was a good read.

Such a great read. I had no idea where this book was going to take me. I had such a great time reading this book, I will be looking into this author in the future!

Blythe and her friends have been close for a long time, although ever since an incident months before, things haven't been quite the same. Things become even weirder when one of the friends, Gabi, starts acting erratically and is found bloody in front of the dead principal. This leads to them starting to question their memories.

The suspense early on was missing for me. It also started shifting perspectives/narrators after a while of just being Blythe, so that felt a bit weird.

Someone is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong is a gripping young adult psychological thriller that will leave readers on edge until the very end. Blythe and her friends Tucker, Tanya, and Gabrielle have always been close, but a violent incident has caused a rift between Blythe and Tucker. Strange events begin to occur, and disturbing nightmares plague them. When Gabrielle is found covered in blood with no memory of what happened, the group's friendship starts to unravel, and long-forgotten secrets come to light.

Armstrong masterfully weaves together a tale of memory, friendship, and the blurred lines between reality and imagination. The characters are well-developed and realistic, each with their own flaws and secrets that make them both relatable and intriguing. The plot twists and turns, keeping readers guessing until the very end.

Overall, Someone is Always Watching is a thrilling and thought-provoking read that will leave readers questioning their own memories and relationships. Armstrong's writing is engaging, and the story is sure to leave a lasting impression on readers. This is a must-read for fans of young adult psychological thrillers.

SOMEONE IS ALWAYS WATCHING, Kelley Armstrong’s latest YA thriller follows a group of high school students as they search for a missing friend after she (possibly ?) kills the Vice Principal of their very small, prestigious school.
As Blythe, Tucker, Tanya, Callum and Devon try to find out what happened to Gabi they each also continue to have lifelong visions and/or nightmares of other crimes; both recent and in the past. There seems to be blood on everyone’s hands.
As the teens dig deeper and uncover more layers regarding CMT research, where their parents all work, they are forced into confrontations not only with others, but within themselves, that I didn’t see coming.
I found this one to be compelling and (unfortunately) maybe not so out of the realm of possibilities. I was turning the pages quickly to find out what would be revealed next. There are ALOT of twists and turns which I really like. So buckle in and climb aboard for this wild ride! 3.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random house for the early ebook.

Another hit by Kelley Armstrong. It was fast paced, psychological thriller with characters you just can’t help but love.

This may be a YA thriller but I as a 30yr old woman still loved it. It was a super unique story line that was amazingly executed. I spent the entire time I was reading trying to figure out the ending and I didn’t see it coming, not for 1 second.

This one hits shelves April 11th and I highly recommend anyone who’s looking for a bingeable, page turning thriller pick it up!

Engaging thriller with an interesting concept. While the twists and turns are somewhat predictable, ya fans of thrillers will find this entry satisfying. Perfect for fans of Holly Jackson.

I loved this. Armstrong always knows how to write the perfect male lead! The premise of the story was interesting and fast paced. The characters are great. I also love that I never knew who the "bad guy" was part way through the book.

What if your life wasn't what you though it was?

Blythe and her friends go to a special private school. When one of her friends starts acting strange, she decides to investigate. This eventually leads to a chilling discovery.

This book had me from the very beginning. Highly recommend!

Oh, my goodness, what a great read! I wasn't prepared for many of the startling turns this novel took. I had no idea what was in store for me because I hadn't read a book by Kelley Armstrong before. Still, the plot fulfilled my expectations. Both the prose and the characters in this novel were well developed. I highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Tundra Books for letting me read and review this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARc!

This was a pretty layered book for YA which was very refreshing. At times it dragged on and I wish we got some more in depth character development that would have elevated the twists to another level - but over all this was a really fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the eARC of this book!

I picked this book up, and it pulled me in almost immediately. I was flying through the pages to get more information and find out who was behind everything. I ended up giving this book four stars and would definitely recommend it.

There are some spoilers after this point.

The book starts with an introduction to the dynamic between Tucker and Blythe that define most of their interactions for the rest of the book, and then we’re straight into the action. Things start getting weird when one of Blythe’s friends seems to suffer what people refer to as everything from a mental health episode to a psychotic break, becoming paranoid about the school’s security cameras and talking about how her parents aren’t truly her parents. It peaks when Gabi murders the vice principal of the school with Blythe watching, before hitting Blythe in the head with the same trophy and disappearing. This sets off a whole chain of events that leads Blythe, Tucker, and Tanya to uncover the answers behind why they, and some of the people around them, are having strange memories and dreams.

I thought the way we’re introduced to what’s happening was great. There wasn’t any waiting around while small, strange things happened. The first sign that something was wrong was everything going terribly wrong in one go. It only gets more out of hand from there, but Kelley Armstrong wrote it in a way where not a single discovery seemed like it had come out of nowhere. Even a comment from a side character that I initially brushed off ended up being incredibly important to the plot and the big reveal at the end of the book. Despite the plot ending up very close to literal brainwashing territory, I just accepted everything because it felt like it fit into the natural progression of the story.

The only reason I gave this book four stars instead of five was that the end felt like it just appeared out of nowhere, including what felt like a sudden change from “the adults won’t help us” to “the adults are sorting everything out now”, which was kind of weird to put in the last chapter. I was kind of looking forward to an evil corporation messing with people’s heads. On top of that, the way the suspense of a reveal was dragged out over an entire section or chapter, which I wasn’t a fan of, and it started to grate on me after the first time it happened. Especially when we got towards the end.

All in all, if you’re a fan of Karen M McManus with a bit of Phoenix Files, I would recommend this book to you. It was a fairly quick read with action from the very beginning and it continues pretty consistently right until the end. I think it’s a book that will hold up to rereads, especially since I was flying through it so quickly that I probably missed a few details that I’ll find next time. This was a super fun read, and I’m super glad I got to read it before it came out. I will probably be talking about it for a while in the future.

Honestly, I just couldn't get into this one. The summary seemed interesting so I was willing to read it, but truthfully I just didn't like the writing, and couldn't get into the main characters, especially Blythe. The plot twists were interesting and kept me reading, but all in all, I couldn't find this book anything special.

Actual rating 2.5. I am a longtime fan of Kelley Armstrong and was excited to read another teen book by her. Someone Is Always Watching was just mediocre for me. The book started off strong and I was invested in the story, but then it began dragging as the characters tried to figure out the mystery which was clear to see as a reader. I didn't actually connect or care for any characters and I was not a fan of the random viewpoints inserted in between Blythe's narrative. As for the good, I admired Blythe's relationship with her friends and how they would do anything for each other. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.