Let me start by saying THERE BETTER BE A THIRD BOOK. The absolute chokehold that The Watchers series has on me...I need more.

This book picks up a couple months after The Watchers ends. We join Mina in an isolated coastal cottage, hiding from the changelings that are after her.

A.M. Shine has a gift for folk horror and no-frills chills. The writing is gorgeous and the plot moves along at a nice pace. I don't want to give too much away since this is a sequel but if you're not reading A.M. Shine, you are seriously missing out. My new favorite voice in horror.

This is book 2 to The Watchers!

Mina is still living on the run after she escaped the watchers. She suffers from PTSD and rarely leaves her home. She is committed to determining how to beat the Watchers and spends most of her time on the internet. It isn't until an archeological dig uncover secrets that should long stay bured that the story really takes off. Can Mina save humankind?#Bloomsbury #headofzeus #stayinthelight #thewatchers #amshine

The Watchers I gave 4.5 stars to, but unfortunately Stay in the Light would have 3.5 for me. There were some scenes in it that were even more chilling than in the first novel, and I truly enjoyed learning more about the history of the watchers through Sean's lens. Unfortunately, it seemed to drag on a bit at parts and there were a few specific chapters I would have changed quite a bit or cut entirely.

I don't want to include all the notes I have written because it would contain partial spoilers, so I'll leave it with this: while it was weaker than the first, it stuck the landing at the end and made me excited for book three.

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this early!

I’m a huge fan of everything A.M. Shine has written, but I’m especially invested in The Watchers series. It’s such an involving world, somewhere I just want to spend time in. Be it through reading it or watching the movie that came out this year.
The author is one of those who make you feel like they write beautifully with such ease. His vast vocabulary had me tattered to the dictionary, learning lots of new words. His prose doesn’t feel pedantic in any way.

Spoilers start here.

I think there’s something so alluring about centralizing the work on ferries, in a similar way that other horror works have used angels. Often times the more Catholic leaning fiction will cite the passage in the Bible when an angel says “do not fear” because their presence can be scary. In a similar fashion, what we’ve learned to think as wonderful beings, A. M. Shine flips upside down as the most terrifying presence lurking from the darkness: the ferries. I’m a huge fan of the way he is bringing these stories into a new genre of fresh gothic stories.

Another aspect of this work that I absolutely adore, is that the monsters are not just foes, but they can be friends too. There’s something just so fresh about this perspective, that not many authors I have read, explore.

I’ll be adding this book to my all time favorites and certainly rereading it too. Looking forward to the next stories he has in store for us, hopefully Mina’s and Madeline’s will continue too.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

To say I was excited to be approved for this is putting it lightly. I was ecstatic, especially with the recent release of the movie version of the first novel,The Watchers. This follows the events of the first book, which I highly recommend reading first, or again, if you are like me and forget a lot of details nearly a year after reading. The author did me a favor, though, by subtly detailing what exactly occurred in the past so I wasn't lost or confused.

This was a completely different atmosphere and setting than the first, so don't jump in expecting it to be. We follow Mina with her paranoia and trauma into this one, as well as a few of her friends you may remember. While this was an entirely different read from what we were given previously, this was still scary in its own right, with an ominous feeling throughout that is hard to shake off. Starting off slow in order to build up suspense while reconnecting with Mina, the reader is pulled into her world as well as her mind. We are given more history into these creatures, and while in some scenarios, it kind of destroys the overall terrifying effect they give, this somehow made it stronger and more horrifying. Once things really get going, this takes off, leaving you on the edge of your seat and turning on all your lights, afraid of what may be lurking in the dark. Descriptive, scary, and emotion-packed, this was a brilliant read that left me praying for yet another one to come. Four and a half stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA, for this ARC.

This book follows Mina after the events of the first book. Traumatized and paranoid, Mina hides from the Watchers, her only allies being Ciara and Madeleine. This book had a much different feel than the first. There is no eerie feeling of doom the woodland setting provided. I didn’t find myself holding tightly to my kindle as I hold my breath waiting for the watchers. Instead this book read more like an urban fantasy sprinkled in with some horror. Don’t get me wrong this is still a good read and I would recommend to anyone who enjoyed the first book. This book makes way for a great third book in the series which hopefully we won’t have to wait to long for.

Stay In The Light by A.M Shine is the sequel to The Watchers. It took a couple chapters but then I was completely hooked! I did not enjoy how the book ended on a cliffhanger. I need MORE, I need to find out how it all ends. I am left with more questions but this just means I am eagerly waiting for the next book of this series…..


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Excellent sequel to the first novel. Absolutely addictive and terrifying page turner and I'm already looking for more from this awesome author!

So I binged The Watchers in one day, before my friend and I saw the movie, because I’m forever a book first girlie. The movie was fine, but the ending of the book messed me up for DAYS after!

So when I found out a sequel was coming, obviously I had to check it out!

The beginning was a little slow for me, but once things really got moving, I couldn’t put it down! Shine’s writing is so genuinely beautiful, which isn’t something I’ve said about a lot of horror, but I just want to curl up and live in his words. Not so much his world though, because I’m not sure I’ve been this creeped out by a horror villain in a long time.

Monsters that can imitate anyone are apparently my biggest phobia, and the reason It Follows still scares me after all this time.

No spoilers, but there are two specific moments in this book that actually gave me chills, and that doesn’t include the ending that broke me almost as bad as it did in The Watchers!

I SO enjoyed this follow up to The Watchers. Thrilling story and killer ending. More please! Highly recommend and will be purchasing for libraries.

WOW what a comeback! This took me a few pages to get back into, but once it started rolling, the familiar horror from the woodland was all present and terrifying. We expand our characters and meet the son of our professor, who has stumbled upon the archeological find of a lifetime, and only Mina knows the danger lying in wait.

This is a second in what will be at least a three part series, and if the cliff hanger speaks to the next book, there’s everything to fear and nowhere to hide.

Really enjoyed getting more of Mina's story... I will read anything AM writes 🙌 Looking forward to more from this author is an understatement! The ending sets it up for a third book and I am excited!!

Thank you, Bloomsbury USA, A.M. Shine and Netgalley for an arc of this book.

I was so excited to receive this early! I absolutely loved The Watchers, and this sequel blew the 1st book out of the water. The beginning had started out strong but slow. It picked up by the middle, and the end was amazing!! 10/10 Definitely recommend

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for an ARC of Stay in the Light.

The Watchers was a good (but not great) read for me with some really spooky, tense moments. I had high hopes Stay in the Light would take those spooky moments up a notch. Unfortunately, I spent half this story being annoyed by how whiny and pathetic Mina's character became, and the other half being bored to tears by what felt like a dull history lesson. In the end, I dont think this sequel added much to the story. The ending seemed like a set up for a third title in the series, which I definitely plan to pass on.

2.5 stars

This was a great addition to The Watchers! I loveeeeeeee the continuation and more backstory that we get and will definitely be reading ALL Shine's novels.

The way I SCREAMED when I was approved for this ARC!

A.M. Shine is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. This sequel is EVERYTHING. It’s even better than the first book, which is absolutely fantastic. The Watchers is my favorite horror novel of all time and now this masterpiece. I am obsessed.

We pick up with Mina and the yellow one where they’re living (hiding?) by the sea. She’s staying in a cabin pretty far from everything. Then there’s Ciara, still grieving her husband, isn’t doing so well, either. We also get Madeline’s POV as she wanders around the city and the POV of Sean Kilmartin, the son of Professor Kilmartin. Sean, wanting to prove his father was right, has a team of archaeologists excavating the Burren, looking for proof of the changelings he’s so obsessed with. They’ve found proof of a chamber very deep underground and a tunnel to lead them to it.

The atmosphere is dark and tense and the story moves at a fast pace. The high stakes had me so stressed and I could not stop reading until I finished. It was the perfect sequel to The Watchers. It ends with a setup for a third book, which I cannot wait to get my hands on. Definitely a five star read for me. Thank you so much Bloomsbury & Netgalley for the ARC!

I liked this ten times more than the first one. NOW WE ARE COOKING WITH GAS! I loved this okay? If you liked the first one, you’ll need to read this immediately. The whole gang is back, and things have started to roll!!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the ARC of this book! This will be out in October, although a movie adaptation of the first one is out now!

My thanks to Bloomsbury Press, A.M. Shine and Netgalley.
Well, color me bummed! Much as I absolutely loved the first book, this was mostly tiresome.
I hated and was bored silly for the first 50 to 60% of the book, but I'll admit that the last half of the book was pretty fantastic!
I honestly don't know if I'm excited for the next book "part 3" or if I'm just ready for the end.
O.K., that's a lie. I'm really ready for the final book! I'm hoping that it will be as good as the first in this series.

4.5 stars
A sequel that's even better than the first! I really liked the watchers, but I absolutely loved this. I loved the atmospheric and immersive writing style. It was dark, suspenseful, and full of tension. I was thoroughly engrossed the whole time. I really liked how it ended; it definitely sets the story up for another book. While I loved the ending, I did want more of a punch from the climax.

STAY IN THE LIGHT IS SPECTACULAR AND IS TRULY AN AMAZING SEQUEL!!

Stay in the Light picks up exactly where we left our characters in The Watchers. Mina has just found out that the Watchers are more prevalent than ever. There are more out in the world than they could have ever imagined. However, upon discovery that the Professor's son is attempting to finish the work that the Professor started, Mina realizes that she is going to have to be brave once more and find the Watchers before they find her.

I cannot truly say how fantastic this follow-up was. I truly found myself flabbergasted at how great this book was. The characters are so rich and I could not get over how enraged I found myself reading this book. I felt so mad because there was nothing that I could do to help these characters and I was desperate to help in some way. I think this just speaks to how exceptional A M Shine's writing is. It is next-level folk horror. Readers are going to love this because not only do we get the characters that we know and love, but there is fresh blood in the mix and the characterization feels both familiar and amazing.

Additionally, the action in this particular had me on the tip of my toes!! This book had me unnerved and paranoid much worse than The Watchers. I don't know exactly how A M Shine did it, but I was truly feeling freaked out reading this. Not to mention the stakes are just as high if not higher in this sequel so don't feel a sophomore slump. The action will pull you in and not let you go until you read the very last page.

PREORDER THIS BOOK and make sure you don't miss out on the next thrilling chapter of the Watchers. Oh and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE A M SHINE - WE NEED ANOTHER BOOK ASAP!!!!