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.

This is an interesting book…but it wasn’t enough for me to read it. The beginning hooked me but I just don’t feel the drive to finish it. I think people will like the suspense and the tension and the mystery in the book.

Someone is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong has an amazing premise with an ok follow through.

The book follows a group of friends whose parents all work for a company called CMT.

We get a few POVs through out the book. The mfc is who we follow the most. I don't want to say too much about the book bc there will be spoilers. We get into the story very fast which is something I like. It.was an easy and quick read which is always a plus.

Now the bad.... well I don't know if you consider it bad, but I knew immediately what was going on. It didn't take me long to figure it out and idk if it's just me (bc I mostly read thrillers and mysteries) or if everyone would get what's going on.

I ended up giving this 3 stars. It wasn't horrible, but it also didn't make a lasting impact.

This one was so much fun! I am so glad I received a review copy. I had a weekend away and was set to fly in and fly out on my own, and Someone is Always Watching made the flight pass very quickly.

I read a lot of thrillers, and about 50 pages into the book I had understood what was “the problem” and I had a good idea of how it was going to unfold. I didn’t know who was the bad guy, though, which made the final reveal quite shocking.

I love myself a good multiple voice narration, and I was so happy with the voices that presented the story. Each character had their own style, and it was easy to slip in and out of each of them and to believe that you were truly in their mind. And, to my surprise, considering that all the point of view of the book are those of teenagers, they were all quite likeable!!

I would warmly recommend my students to pick this book up. We could definitely have some discussion on integrity and on friendship based on prompts found within the story (I cannot go more in depth than this without spoilers), and this would just be a good read for those pupils who do not like to read long complex books, those who need some more drama.

This book was so creepily chilling. It’s one of those books that really sticks with you and makes you really think. The way the entire mystery unfolded made me unable to put the book down. I loved the character work, specifically on Blythe and Tucker. I normally feel like romances that are left untouched until the third act tend to feel rushed, but I thought this romance unfolded perfectly! I will definitely be purchasing this book to have on my shelf when it’s published!

This was an interesting story, it tested my guts while reading it even though the end seemed a bit rushed. The story was well crafted, from the depiction of the setting, the characters really put my mind and imagination into a truly horrifying situation. I had to take several pauses to catch my breath before moving on to the next part of the story.

𝟝/𝟝 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝕊𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕨𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘
𝔸𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣: @kelleyarmstrongauthor

This was my first book by Kelley and I was blown away. This is the type of thriller I love to read, it messes with your mind, the characters are strong, and it gets ya right from the beginning. I don’t want to give too much information out so as to not spoil the whole story but the ending really throw me for a loop! Great twists and turns, I couldn’t put it down.
Kelley thank you so much for this amazing story about Blythe and her friends!
@netgalley thank you for providing me this #arcbook I love being able to discover new Authors!

I have always likes Kelley Armstrong's writing so I had really high hopes for this one too and let me tell you it did not disappoint. is it the best mystery/thriller "'ve ever read? no. but it was fine and I was hooked from the first page itself so that's saying a lot. it was fast paced and a lot was going on the whole time so there wasn't any part where you'd feel bored. the plot was interesting and the short term memory loss thing provided the "unreliable narrator" concept, and I absolutely loved it. the characters were nuanced and typical teenagers (not in a bad way) which added to the credibility of their actions and made them seem believable. however I do think the ending was kind of rushed but that could be the opening for a sequel so I don't know. Other than that it served and i devoured every second of it.
also, maybe its just me but the premise did give me "don't worry darling" with the whole secret organization dealing with neurological science and these seemingly (almost) perfect families with everyone having some sort of secrets which added to the ominous setting the book was aiming at.

This is definitely a YA book. I normally connect somewhat to YA books but I just didn't with this one or how i do with normal suspense/thrillers. I will say it was fact paced and had some great twists. Who doesn't love a little paranoia? Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me.

This was my first read by Kelley Armstrong. I absolutely was sucked in from the very first chapter and before long I was completely hooked and needed to know what was going to happen next and more importantly, what was real and what wasn't. This was a very interesting read and I couldn't put this down. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a fast paced thriller.



Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada, Tundra Books for allowing me to read this ARC in advance for my honest opinion.

I wish I could give half stars because while I don’t think this book deserves the full 5 stars it’s definitely worth more than 4.

Blythe is what you’d call a goodie 2 shoes, she always has to do the right thing. But what if the right thing is also the wrong thing? When her best friend starts having a mental breakdown Blythe is determined to figure out what’s going on and in doing so she accidentally falls down the biggest rabbit whole of lies that she’s forced to unravel.

To be completely honest this book had a kinda slow start and it took me a few days to get into it but when I finally hit the plot twist I couldn’t put the book down. I was convinced I knew what was going to happen and then Kelly Armstrong would pull the rug out from under me. This book does a good job working on the concept of what makes a person who they are and how nature v. Nurture affects us. Definitely worth a read!
TW: there are a few mentions of some heavier topics that may be triggering.

*arc review*

I've enjoyed previous books by Armstrong and was looking forward to her latest release. This is a psychological mystery that involves strange events that start happening and hazy memories that leave the characters confused. When things start to fall apart at the school this group of friends start to work together to piece together the clues of what's happening to them.

This started out strong and held my interest, but by halfway through the pacing slowed and I found myself losing interest, the end also felt a little rushed. There were a lot of character perspectives to keep track of and you are constantly jumping between each character.

Overall, I didn't enjoy this as much as I was hoping to. This was just an okay read.

this is gonna be a short review, not because i found the book lackluster, the opposite honestly, but because i feel it’s better to go into this book with no idea what’s going to happen, the synopsis already gives too much away.

🥼🔬: i’ll say, i really did enjoy the plot. there was a lot going on and you figure it out pretty quickly, but i think it was written really nicely, and the personal character dynamics never outshone the plot, which i appreciate.
my one main complaint is the ending, it felt too rushed & anticlimactic and i guess i just expected more. maybe the whole point of the ending was the fact that there really isn’t no bad guy, just good people doing bad things thinking they’re helping. idk. i just wish there was more, i hate when a good story is wrapped up too quickly. it just feels so incomplete?

on another note though

📋: i really did enjoy the characters. there was some plot twists with certain characters, though a tad bit predictable , done certainly well. i’ll definitely say our sibling duo, tanya & tucker are the MVPS of this book. i really wish we got to see more of the group pre-mystery & all that bc i really enjoyed their dynamics and the ending especially leaves me feeling bittersweet.

have i mentioned how much i hate parents sometimes?

also lesbians! ace rep! we love to see it!

4 stars!
★ ★ ★ ★☆

thank you netgalley, penguin random house canada, & tundra books for granting me access to this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

**A more in-depth review has been posted to Goodreads that does contain spoilers. This review was edited for brevity prior to posting. **

I have never read a book by Kelley Armstrong, I’ll be honest. It isn’t due to the fact that I haven’t wanted to, but due to the fact that her works have never come across my radar up until learning about NetGalley. I would also like to preface this by saying I wrote this review in two stages whilst reading, so some initial opinions *did* change towards the end. I want to be clear on that so as to avoid any confusion going forward with this review, but I wanted to include my first impressions and how they changed throughout the reading journey.

The first 75-80% of the book was written very well in my opinion, as well as being decently paced. I don’t feel like the plot line was dragging, and the thriller/suspense aspects didn’t feel convoluted (or conversely, watered down). What I initially liked most about the book was that Blythe felt very relatable, which is always something that I like to look for in a book. The relatability translates directly into readability, for me personally. A fair amount of people have had falling outs with friends and getting to learn about the causes of Blythe’s was pretty interesting and didn’t feel predictable in my opinion, which was extremely refreshing when it comes to the suspense aspect of the plot. I don’t want to be able to sniff out what’s going to happen by the time I get to the fourth chapter. Thankfully, this book did not do that.

The sinking feeling that I felt when certain characters were brought into the mix made me feel like I was watching a series or a movie for this book. That anticipation made me want to keep going, and it kept me well hooked.

Up through chapter 18, I feel like the reader was given enough information to continue to make inferences but not definitively come to a conclusion about any one person. and once the cat was well and truly out of the bag, I was left with almost an ache in my chest.

Despite the feeling of repetition and a sense of being rushed in the remaining 20-25%, the story did maintain enough of a mystery to keep me hooked until the last word. At a certain point, I thought the adults had more to do with everything than what we were being given. I thought Tucker and Tanya's dad had something to do with it. I felt like I couldn't trust anyone, and I relate that back to the feeling of relatability with Blythe. I appreciate Armstrong's ability to write the MC in such a way that the reader feels like they're there, in the moment.

I think I would have given this a 5-star rating had there been more at the end... I can appreciate the young love addition, but it felt a wee bit unnecessary at the end given the base plot of murder and suspense. I would have liked a look at what exactly happened on the back end after everything is revealed to the reader and the 'resolution' is provided. I do also agree with the disappointment of Andre’s involvement, or lack thereof. I would have liked to see his character developed a little bit more instead of him being mentioned a scant handful of times. Same with Cassidy. I think they both had amazing potential to be fully developed characters.

TL;DR: The first 75% of this book was written pretty well. The twists weren’t predictable to me, and when I thought I had it figured out I was proven wrong. The last 25% felt a bit repetitive and lackluster in terms of the wrap-up. I closed the document wanting more. Even just an epilogue would have sufficed. Some of the aspects feel a bit Pretty Little Liars adjacent, but if you liked the PLL show or the books, I think this would be something you would enjoy.

With everything considered, I’m looking forward to picking up more books by Armstrong, and I’m very pleased that Someone Is Always Watching was my introduction into her catalog. I'm very grateful that I had the opportunity to read this ahead of publication, so thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to do so.

**As mentioned in the beginning of this review: a longer review has been posted to Goodreads, containing minor spoilers. **

I have been a fan of Kelley Armstrong for a long time, and this latest book was every bit as enjoyable and easy to read/fall into as any I've read before. She has an innate ability to write YA in a way that is accessible and entertaining across age groups. Her stories have complex plots and characters, with motivations and thought processes that are age appropriate but also still feel relatable even to someone WELL beyond the genre's typical demographic. I found the premise engaging and all too plausible, as well as the (disastrous) results that followed. It was a quick read that grabbed my attention early on and held it throughout. I did feel that the resolution came fairly quickly, but that's not necessarily a bad thing - I didn't read this for education or edification, but for entertainment. And entertain it did!

I liked this book but didn't love it. It was an okay read and I overall really love reading thrillers but this book wasn't for me. I felt like it was too slow for me. It was an easy read which I enjoyed, but the storyline could've been more thrilling in my opinion.