Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. This book had a lot of potential, but I felt indifferent about several elements, particularly the ending, which left too many loose ends and unresolved questions. The plot setup felt high-stakes, but it didn’t quite deliver the tension I expected after reading The Overnight Guest. While the Italian setting added an eerie atmosphere reminiscent of Squid Game, the character depth was lacking, making it hard to connect with or root for anyone except Marie, whose motives felt more genuine. Despite the quick pacing and keeping me engaged, the reveals didn’t feel as impactful as they should have, leaving me disappointed. Ultimately, while I enjoyed the premise and setting, I wished for a more cohesive resolution and robust character development.

I've read a lot of Gudenkauf's books and all have been good but this may have been my least favorite.
NOW having said that, it is still a good book and I flew through it.

I do feel like the 5 main characters were sort of cliche for stories like this. The mother with a sick child, the rich hollywood type, a politician, a lawyer and an psychiatrist all come together to compete for a huge chunk of change, LIVE.

This is full of twists and turns and I love how it all came together at the end.

What in the world?! This one is like Big Brother.....but make it evil. A group of contestants are selected to compete for a prize while being live-streamed for the world to watch. But this isn't any competition, its one amongst people who have secrets to hide. A wild rollercoaster of a story!

This one had an intriguing premise, but for me, it ultimately fell flat due to its lack of character development and underwhelming storyline. The narrative felt a bit disjointed and made it hard for me to connect with the characters. Despite its potential, it failed to leave a lasting impression on me

Five contestants are chosen to participate in a first-of-its-kind game show where the prize is a whopping TEN million dollars. The show is live streamed so that viewers can experience the game alongside the contestants and vote for who they want to stay on the show. Aside from knowing they will compete in challenges, the contestants don’t know what to expect and don’t have any idea how dangerous this game actually is. Isolated at an old mansion with their phones taken away and no way to contact the outside world, this is a game to die for.

I cannot believe it took me so long to read this book- but I absolutely loved it! This is the second book I’ve read by Gudenkauf and definitely my favorite. Gudenkauf’s writing aligns perfectly with the style I most enjoy reading. I was hooked right from the opening scene and the story held my attention the whole way through. I loved finding out the connections between the contestants and could not wait to find out more and get to the bottom of everything. I was completely shocked at the end of the book and did not see that ending coming at all. If you liked One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware, you’ll LOVE this book!

As someone who loves game shows and thrillers, this book was right up my alley. I also have read from this author twice prior, so I was looking forward to this so much! It was giving Survivor and The Traitor's because of the challenges in it. I read it in one day. The feedback I have is that I could have done with even more challenges, but the premise was so fun and I hope this sets the precedent for more game show thrillers in the future,

A mysterious high-stakes game proves life-threatening in this twisty thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Overnight Guest
The Best Friend. The Confidant. The Senator. The Boyfriend. The Executive.
Five contestants have been chosen to compete for ten million dollars on the game show One Lucky Winner. The catch? None of them knows what (or who) to expect, and it will be live streamed all over the world. Completely secluded in an estate in Northern California, with strict instructions not to leave the property and zero contact with the outside world, the competitors start to feel a little too isolated.
When long-kept secrets begin to rise to the surface, the contestants realize this is no longer just a reality show—someone is out for blood. And the game can’t end until the world knows who the contestants really are…"

I loved this book's well-developed characters and intense conflicts. The island setting adds tension. It is soon revealed that this is no ordinary reality show and that the contestants were chosen for a reason! Heather Gudenkauf writes an entertaining thriller. I have enjoyed her other books and was thrilled to have the opportunity to read this one through NetGalley.

I was so excited to read this book after loving The Overnight Guest but this book was a huge letdown for me. I don't typically enjoy books that have a game as a plot and this solidified that I still don't like them. Add in a reality TV show and social media and it's rolled up into something I'm not going to enjoy.

I didn't mind the book at first until it got to the point of the contestants sitting in The Vault to talk with the cameras one on one. It felt forced and cheesy, almost like watching an episode of The Real World. I didn't care for any of their challenges or the characters themselves, and I thought all of the big plot twists were quite frankly, just dumb. The ending felt super rushed and unbelievable (I understand it's fiction but still) and I actually rolled my eyes at the last sentence.

I know this author has other books she's written so I might give those a shot but this one was definitely not for me.

Many thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing/Park Row for the gifted copy for my honest review!

A high stakes game for 10 million dollars. Five contestants have been chosen to compete. Who selected these certain contestants and why? A race to the death ....would you compete? A thrilling ride of a novel.

5 contestants
10 million dollars
No cell phone
Multiple challenges
Live feed

Would you participate
All contestants seem to have something to hide
All contestants seem to have a story that they dont want anyone to know
All contestants seem to be connected one way or the other
But someone seems to know your secrets, and people may find out whether you want them to or not
Play the game or let the game play you
Which will you decide

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. A reality show where the winner gets 10 million dollars. The contestants are varied - a mom with kids, a senator, a lawyer….and the game is very calculated and high stakes. There are unsuspecting occurrences with twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I think the best way to review this book is to start with the good because I feel like it will give context for some of the bad. First of all, I really felt there were a lot of signs pointing to the possibility of the "twist" being that one of the characters was crazy/had multiple personalities. That did not turn out to be the case, so the author gets points for that. Second, once I got into it, the story kept me hooked and I did not want to stop reading until the end. Third, the author easily could have overloaded this story with POVs by getting into the head of all the contestants plus Fern, but she was judicious and chose to stick to 3 only except for a few one-off POV chapters. Finally, as cheesy as it might seem to some people, I did really enjoy that the author gave this story a "happy" ending.

Now onto the bad. Unfortunately, while it was not nearly as bad as what I expected, I wasn't really thrilled with the "twist" to this book. Rather than them being a group of mostly disconnected people who happened to do something illegal/the antagonist didn't approve of, I wish all the contestants had been connected in some way. Another issue I had with this book is that it required a lot of suspension of disbelief. And while I am not against that for a really good story, for me the outcome of this one was just not enough to justify the amount of things that had to be overlooked. I mean someone ends up locked in a wine cellar completely unplanned and yet there is conveniently food and water inside? I also feel like the pacing of the game and the rate at which things escalated felt insanely fast. I think it would have been far more believable if the game had seemed more normal at first and slowly got more dangerous, not going straight to tasers and scorpions in the first 2 challenges.

Overall I definitely wouldn't say I hated this book and I had a decent time reading it, but I also wouldn't necessarily recommend it to someone who asked for a good thriller/mystery either.

I find this author's books to just be the best popcorn reads. I can devour in a second, and even though the ending is a little predictable, I have a great time on the ride there. A high stakes game is a serious buzz word for me and this one delivered on that. I look forward to more in the future.

2.5 rounded up

This might be a "Me, not you" issue. I chose this for the premise, only to discover that the premise itself, is what I ended up disliking the most. Not sure if it's my age, but I was expecting something more along the lines of The Truman Show, but got something like The Bachelor instead, with way too much drama and of course, death. I guess I've felt "the Bachelor" concept has been used one too many times in novels over the last couple of years in rom-coms that I wasn't prepared or ready to see it play out again with a thriller.

I found myself not attached to the MC or interested in how it would play out 'til the end. Almost DNF

Thank you to NG and the publishers for giving me a chance to read and review!

I absolutely LOVE novels by Heather Gudenkauf and this one was no different. A master storyteller I cannot recommend this book enough. A great plot with great characters that are complicated and not all so enjoyable, this was a great read. Highly recommend!

Let me start off by saying that I enjoy Heather Gudenkauf's books, so I was really excited to be on the list to receive an ARC to review.

With that said, I don't know how I feel about Everyone Is Watching. Is it fast-paced? Yes, Did it keep my attention? Yes. Was I annoyed by the plot the entire time? Yes. Are all of the characters unreliable and obnoxious? Yes and yes.

This is the second book I've read this summer that has a Squid Games-ish vibe to it, and it's just not my cup of tea. I have no doubt that this book will be successful based on the fact that there is a huge part of the population who enjoy that type of premise though!

3.5 ⭐️ - a quick easy bingeable whodunnit reality tv murder mystery. This is perfect if you’re looking for a book to switch over from summer reads to fall spooky reads. A topical location and aspect, but add a few twists, turns, and thrills.

Five contestants are chosen for a new reality TV show: One Lucky Winner. The winner wins 10 million dollars. No one knows what or who to expect, they’re told they cannot contact the “outside world”, they’re living in a secluded villa, and it will all be live streamed in real time. When long kept secrets are exposed, contestants realize this is no longer just a tv show… someone is out for blood.

I liked this one. It was quick, addicting, and a fun puzzle to put together. I’m a little bit over this reality tv show murder mystery trope, so I think this could be a me thing. I need to take some time away from it. I did like the way the story and the characters connected in the end, even if I saw some of it coming. The characters were easy to keep separate which was good because there’s quite a few. If you’re looking for something quick and easy to jump into thriller/mystery season, this is it!

Review posted: 3.22.24

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I’ve read a few of Heather’s books and have really enjoyed them. And the ones I’ve read- well either a child is in danger/hurt/dead or a family is. And while that may sound creepy that I say I enjoy those books- that is just the subject matter she writes about.

So Everyone is Watching is a def departure from books like This Is How I Lied, Before She Was Found, and The Overnight Guest.

The second thing to know is that I am not a fan of Big Brother. I had no idea what Squid Game is until I Googled it. But I have enjoyed Heather’s books in the past and I was ready to see where we’d go here.

And for me, it was just ok. I read this book in early 2024 but am just now writing my review and nothing really remarkable is jumping out at me. Maybe it’s because I’ve read a handful of lackluster books this year, books that looked to be AMAZING, but left me wanting more. IDK. But 2024 has not been a year that I’m raving about books so far.

What I Liked:

I did love the cover.

I liked the secrets between the contestants and the tension between them as they began to see how far each would go for 10 million dollars. I also liked the secrecy in the when the show was going to air.



Bottom line: For me, some of the twists were over the top. The secrecy of who was behind the whole show and why their identity had to remain top secret. Some of the things that happened as the book unfolded felt more for shock value (and might would have played better if this was an actual TV show.)

In the end, while I think it’s good to stretch out of your comfort zone when writing, I do hope that Heather’s next book is more like the ones I mentioned and linked to my reviews than this one. However, that is just my 2 cents.



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

What I liked about the book:

1. Loved the premise of the live streaming show for a lot of money - people do some crazy things for money!
2. The setting was well done - creepy/eerie yet beautifully done in the wine country.
3. Fast paced, fun read.


Thanks to Net Galley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Park Row for the ARC.

I love reality tv with challenges, such as Survivor, The Challenge, Big Brother, so this book was right up by alley. Five people are invited to star on a reality tv show where they could potentionally win 10 million dollars at the end, but it comes with reveliving your secrets to the world. I enjoyed following the characters of this book, trying to figure out what was going on and who was behind it and guessing what was going to happen next and the challenges they had to compete in wowza!

Thank you Heather Gudenkauf, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.