•Everyone is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf•
★★★☆ 3.5/5 stars

• synopsis
The Best Friend. The Confidant. The Senator. The Boyfriend. The Executive.

5 contestants have been chosen to compete for 10 million dollars on the game show One Lucky Winner. The catch? None of them knows what to expect, & it will be live streamed all over the world.

• Read if you like :
- reality/competition shows
- popcorn thrillers
- revenge plots
- high risk & high stakes
- The Last One by Will Deans
- locked room thrillers

• my thoughts
Revenge by reality show - what an awesome hook. I loved the premise of a reality tv game show gone wrong set on an isolated luxury estate.

While a bit far fetched, it’s certainly an entertaining thriller with a lot of shock value! My favorite part was the livestream reactions of the viewers. I’ll be honest - this is a show I’d watch.

If you enjoy some high stakes drama & are willing to suspend belief a bit - this was a super fast paced thriller that I think you’ll enjoy! Plus the audiobook is narrated by one of my favorites - Brittany Pressley!! I would definitely recommend listening to this one.

Thank you to @htpbooks, @htp_hive, & @netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC! ◡̈

Fans of reality television and twisty thrillers will want to check out Everyone Is Watching.
Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for my eARC for review.
Five apparent strangers are sought out to participate on the new online streaming reality show, One Lucky Winner.
The stakes are high - the winner receives $10 million. And the challenges are intense, unsafe even. The participants each have their reasons for wanting such a prize, including Maire with a chronically ill daughter and mounting medical bills.
But in true thriller fashion, the participants and the show producers are not always such strangers to each other.
Everyone Is Watching is told in dual timelines, with background on each contestant revealing more than their on-screen personas.
This was a fun locked-room mystery, with tons of twists and reveals. Recommended!
Released on March 26.

I read this book in one day. It was so fast paced, and had such great momentum throughout. There was never any dull moments that had unnecessary filler which i appreciated. We learned just enough about all of the characters to get a sense of their personality and to be invested in what was going on. There were several subplots going on through a dual timeline but the author was able to connect them all quiet nicely.

I'm giving this book 4 stars. It would have been a 5 star read if the ending was a bit stronger and had more of a shocking reveal that was more in line with the high stakes that was set throughout the rest of the book. It finishes rather quickly and overall I just wanted something a little more.

I strongly recommend this one.

Entertaining.
Fast-paced.
Unique.


Think virtual Big Brother meets Squid Game. Huge amount of money in play.
People willing to do anything for it.
Secrets being revealed, and lives being destroyed.
It’s basically a car crash you can't look away.

Everyone Is Watching is a must-read for anyone who enjoys competition reality TV shows! I enjoyed reading this immensely, as a huge Big Brother fan, I'm instantly drawn to stories that take place in this type of setting, the Italian villa put me in mind of the castle from The Traitors. This book is fully stocked with intense moments, multiple POV's with interesting storylines, and well-developed characters. This high-stakes story put me in mind of Squid Games at times, after all, there is ten million dollars on the line and very few rules to the game. This is my first time reading a Heather Gudenkauf novel and I'm incredibly impressed with how she tells this story and how each character's storyline connects seamlessly.

Everyone is Watching will suck you in like any good reality TV show has the power to do, you really could binge this in a day - it's that good! The high stakes and competitive nature surrounding this story is incredibly original, putting it in a league of it's own. This book was so much fun to read and I highly recommend it!

4.5/5

3.5 stars.
The first half of the book started out great for me, I love the suspense, and the chapters were short enough that it really kind of flew by. The second half it became obvious what some of the mysteries were. Only Maire was likable character everyone else I just didn’t care about and they were kind of forgettable. I thought the mystery involving Maire ended up being a little weird and i still have questions about what really happened. Also, I wasn’t a big fan of how things resolved with Cat’s character. Overall I really liked the premise and it certainly didn’t bog down for me which is why its a 3.5! I can see this being a popular beach read this summer, you can easily read it in one sitting!
Thanks to netgalley and Park Row for an arc in exchange for an honest review

This was a fun locked room thriller! You definitely have to suspend belief for this story, but it was fast-paced, and I enjoyed the reality game show plot and that it was live streamed. I liked that we periodically got comments from people who were watching the show. The characters were not particularly likable, and it took me a while to figure out who was who, as each chapter referred to them by their game show name (the confidant, the best friend, etc.). Overall, I recommend this one if you are a fan of locked room thrillers!

Thank you, @netgalley and @htpbooks, for the #gifted e-arc!

3.5 rounded up

pointless games, plots that go back and forth with connected characters from outside the game play. did not care for this book

Everyone is Watching takes the locked room mystery trope and uses a Big Brother/Survival show as the locked room. Five contestants complete for $10 million in a no holds barred, no rules, anything goes competition. While I found the premise intriguing, the story fell flat for me. The beginning was slow and a little confusing and even for a reality show there were too many unbelievable, over the top things that happened that kept taking me out of the story. If you liked locked room mysteries and can suspend disbelief, this is the book for you.

I received an ARC of Everyone Is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf from Netgalley!

Being a huge fan of reality competition shows, I was super excited to read this book, and it did not disappoint! I thoroughly enjoyed the book throughout, with each chapter giving you little snippets into the lives of these characters and what they could possibly hiding. each challenge had my heart pounding at what crazy obstacle could be thrown at them next .. who could turn on each other .. and who could be trusted. Ultimately .. who would be the one lucky winner!? What a fun read! I will definitely recommend to friends and can't wait to read other books by this author!

I think I've read too many reality TV themed books lately because this one seemed very run-of-the-mill. None of the characters really caught my interest, and it definitely felt like the story took some crazy turns that didn't make a lot of sense. It was entertaining and had a pretty satisfying ending.

Everyone is Watching has a very a creative reality show premise, however it is one of those fun-time thrillers that unfortunately didn't stick for me. I read it a couple of months ago and honestly can't remember what occurred. Thank you for the opportunity to read this e-galley.

This was very fast paced. I finished it in less than 24 hours. I love the concept of a reality show gone wrong. The story is told from multiple POV’s. The characters’ stories were revealed throughout the book in a way that kept me turning the pages.

I did find it very predictable. The motivations of some of the characters made sense but others I found sort of dubious. I felt like the author wanted to push the limits and kept almost doing it but held herself back. It could have been taken further and had a much bigger impact.

Overall it was a quick read and the concept was interesting even without any real surprises or twists. This book is good for anyone looking for a fast, straightforward and entertaining popcorn thriller.

"Big Brother" meets "Survivor" in this exciting and binge-worthy locked room (literally) mystery/thriller. From the first chapter, I was hooked and stayed up way too late to finish. I loved the unique plot and enjoyed the tension and suspense as the contestants' juicy secrets were revealed. The story is told from multiple POVs in a nonlinear timeline with backstories of the contestants, creating well-developed characters. When the big twist came, I was a bit disappointed and thought it was too predictable. Overall, though, a very fun and clever thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and HTP/Park Row for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free ARC of this novel via Netgalley.

The basics:
Five contestants compete for $10 million dollars. The catch? None of them know why they were selected— and the game is much deadlier than they could’ve imagined.

My thoughts:
I genuinely loved this novel. One of my favorite parts of this novel was that each character was morally grey— you could root for anyone and I’d completely understand your reasoning. The challenges were interesting, exciting, and equally dangerous. I love the way this author unraveled the secrets of each character.

I’d highly recommend this book to thriller lovers!

4.5 stars

I'm a fan of reality TV shows, such as Big Brother and Survivor, so I was excited to check this one it. It didn't disappoint!

Five people are brought together at a secluded villa with the promise of one of them winning $10 million dollars: the Best Friend, the Senator, the Confidante, the Assistant, and the Executive. Who will survive to win the money?

The premise was different than anything I've ever read. I found this to be a twisty roller coaster ride. I loved the multiple POVs, as well as the flashbacks as a way to give background on the characters. It was fun to piece together what the connection was between the chosen competitors. Of course, some characters were easy to root for, while others you love to hate ... just like on other reality TV shows. The storyline kept me fully engaged, and I hated having to put the book aside! I look forward to reading future books from Gudenkauf.

Everyone Is Watching was a fun and fast-paced contest-style thriller. Five seemingly unrelated people are invited to participate in a "Big Brother" style reality competition show for $10 million. But as the contest progresses, it is clear there's more to it. I found the plot to be predictable, but I was still glued to the edge of my seat. Nothing much in the way of character development, but it didn't ruin the book for me. There was one contest in particular that was rather anxiety-inducing that I liked. I enjoyed watching the story unfurl, even though I knew what it was going to say. Simple, fast, and enjoyable!

Wow! This is a book like no other I have read before. A reality show, with a big pay out, but at what cost? These 5 individuals are brought together to play a game of high stakes competitions for the hopes of winning 10 million dollars. Unbeknownst to them, however, there is a common denominator of someone in the show who wants to see them all pay for crimes in their pasts.
This book will have you cancelling all your plans while you flip the pages to find out what happens next! LOVED IT!
Big thanks to NetGalley and Park Row Publishers for a pre-publication edition in exchange for an honest review.

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐈𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝐁𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐤𝐚𝐮𝐟
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐑𝐨𝐰
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟑.𝟐𝟔.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝑂𝑢𝑡 𝑁𝑜𝑤!


Thank you @HTPbooks @parkrowbooks and @harpercollins for a spot on tour and a gifted digital ARC.

I’ve enjoyed Heather Gudenkauf’s books in the past, as she tends to tackle tough topics in her thrillers. However, this was a bit of a change for her. I felt it was more of a suspenseful popcorn thriller.

Five contestants, a live-streaming reality TV show, and a ten million dollar prize–the question is: what will they be willing to do for the prize?

I don’t watch reality TV, yet I found this entertaining. It was interesting that the contestants didn’t know the rules beforehand and, once on the secluded estate, they had no contact with the outside world. Yet the world was watching them as it was being live streamed; very creepy.

I love that we got multiple POVs; it helped me understand that the game was no longer just a game. Secrets would be revealed, and blood may be shed. This would not end well, and the whole world would be watching.

𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨!

I truly enjoyed the writing of the story, definitely out of comfort zone from Heather usual books. But there is always going to be one person who is trying to run away or face their past. The way Fern’s boss decided to take matters into her own hands is perfect revenge.