Really kept me hooked, I read this in one weekend. There was something so unsettling, yet so familiar, about this story. How people can be swept up in beliefs based on rumors. But the extent the believers go to was downright frightening.

After an explosive start, the beginning of this book was a little slow for me. Meg and her daughter Lily are getting over an accident that killed their husband and father. A lot of characters are introduced and there are long dialogues establishing their personalities, backstories and relationships. This is not something that I normally enjoy, so I wasn’t sure that I was going to like this book. Then, Lily and Meg find out why freaky stuff has happened around them all their lives. Meg’s father, an aging rocker, may not have been paranoid after all and then all the tiny details that I thought were boring, all the characters that I didn’t see the point of, all the dialogues that provided information became terribly important. From there, the plot never stopped and I couldn’t put the novel down. The writing is very good, the characters are very well developed and it’s fascinating to see how they change as you learn more about them. I also went from a slight dislike for Grandpa Nate to openly cheering for these three people. The ending seemed a little sudden, but it made sense and even left room for a little shocker. Very good!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/William Morrow.

Really enjoyed this novel and its level of suspense. The conspiratorial thinking of the mob harassing a family for multiple generations is timely, and I loved the ending, which left the conspiracy just that...a conspiracy.

Dark, disturbing and deeply unsettling, Alison Gaylin has done it again!

Meg is driving the car as she and her husband, Justin, are taking their daughter, Lily, to college. When some skinheads start to harass them on the highway, Meg loses control and Justin is killed when the car goes off the road. Months later, she returns to work at her bookstore but her world has changed in more ways than she imagined. People are watching her and Lily and no one can be trusted. What in the world is going on?

This story is horrifying and filled with paranoia. I wasn’t sure who to trust and could not imagine how it was all going to turn out. I really don’t want to spoil this for anyone, you just need to go in and experience it for yourself. If you enjoyed her book, The Collective, you will love this new one!

Thank you Netgalley, William Morrow, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on January 28, 2025

Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for the digital e-arc. Appreciate it!

This book has something for just about everyone- rock & roll, family drama, a decades old fantasy book, and a cult. What more could a reader ask for?

Meg and Justin are driving their daughter Lily to college to start her freshman year. Lily notices the passengers in the car next to them are recorder her with their phones. Their driving gets more aggressive and Meg’s car crashes, killing Justin. Weeks later, after recovering from the accident, Meg returns to work at the bookstore she and Justin owned. The store was founded by Meg’s father, a former singer and guitarist who never really made the big time. Soon Meg and Lily discover that their family is at the center of an online cult’s obsession. And that obsession is turning deadly.

This one just pulled me right in from the jump. Author Alison Gaylin kept me on the edge in my seat trying to figure out what was going to happen next. She is an excellent storyteller and keeps ratcheting up the tension as the story unfolds. I found story is also very thought provoking too. It shows how far a conspiracy theory can spread and take over eventually ruining people’s lives.

We Are Watching comes out Jan. 28. Preorder it now or add it to your tbr list. It’s a good one!

NetGalley! Thank you for getting me out of a reading slump with this one. Alison Gaylin is one of my favorite authors rn and I was so stoked to receive an arc of this book (comes out in January, run don’t walk)

This was such an interesting premise, and one I haven’t seen done before. At times it felt a little unrealistic but that’s also what added to the whole creepy and trapped element of the book. Absolutely go pick this one up once it gets released, I was so enthralled the whole time. Thank you again to NetGalley for the opportunity!

This started out very slow for me but half way thru it picked up. I wasn't sure where the story was going for a long while, that bothered me but the writing was good so I kept with it. The second half was very intriguing and put together. Definitely worth a read if you like slow burns.

This is one of those authors who I wish was given more recognition. Every single book of hers that I have read, I have absolutely loved, and this one is no exception. It was creepy, chilling, and thought-provoking. Not just the story either, but the reality of what conspiracy theories can lead people to do. The writing was descriptive, giving the reader a sense of being right there in the story, visualizing every character, the surroundings, and the overall atmosphere. This was suspenseful through and through. It evoked that eerie feeling of being watched, not knowing who to trust from beginning to end. Anyone who loves stories involving cults will love this one. Four and a half stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and William Morrow, for this ARC.

A psychological thriller built around conspiracy thriller threats. What if something you did when you were a kid kicked off a bunch of conspiracy theories and categorized you as the spawn of the devil? They are watching you and waiting for the right moment to attack you and your family.

This book starts off tragically with the death of Meg's husband as they are driving their daughter Lily to Ithaca College. Months later when she is reopening her bookstore, strange people start appearing and the comments on her social media focus on doomsday approaching on '121222'. It was suspenseful until the end. I felt you didn't know who to trust in Meg's life with so many followers out there. It gives you chills, especially since conspiracy theorists can be crazy!

You know that feeling of someone watching you? Imagine feeling like that for every hour of every day.
Meg, Justin and their daughter Lily were on their way to take Lily to college when tragedy struck. A car pulled up beside theirs on the highway and the men inside were acting odd. Next thing they know, Meg had lost control of the vehicle and Justin didn’t survive the crash.

A few months later, Meg is pushed to re-open her local bookstore that her and Justin owned together. Not long after the re-opening, people begin targeting both Meg and Lily. As the targeted events continue, they discover that this group of people is obsessed with a book called the Prophesy that Meg had written 30 years earlier.. These people believe the book predicts an apocalyptic event. There are social media posts/videos that connect both the book and Meg’s father to Satanism. Therefore, they must seek revenge on Meg since she wrote the novel.

Through all of this, Meg and Lily begin to wonder if the car accident was more than just an accident….

This was my first novel by Alison Gaylin and it definitely will not be my last. I had a hard time putting this one down. As I worked my way through the story, I felt like I was watching a movie unfold in my mind. The author creates such beautiful, realistic imagery that I felt like I was right there, submerged in the story. It was like I could feel the feelings the characters were feeling as they felt them. I remember my skin crawling a few different times.

This was a unique storyline that I really enjoyed! I highly recommend this book.

Wow! This is definitely a unique storyline. What did I just read???

A couple is on the way to take their daughter to her first year of college. While on the road, a car causes them to have a terrible wreck, leaving one of them dead. The two that remain will soon find out just how that accident was connected.

This story was definitely a trip!

3.5 ⭐️

This was fantastic. I really enjoyed reading it and didn’t want to put it down. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

We Are Watching by Alison Gaylin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was so excited to learn I was approved to read Alison Gaylins new novel! Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers. This book was different than what I've read in the past but its not to say I didn't enjoy it. Alison Gaylin did a great job and creating an atmosphere of suspense and paranoia. The story is of a family trying to protect themselves from a conspiracy group out for blood.


Those who love cults and conspiracy theories will eat this one up. So, so good!

Are you into conspiracy theories?
On what should have been one of the happiest days for this family, quickly turns tragic.
Meg and Justin are driving their daughter Lily to college when their car goes off the road, killing Justin. A horrible accident, right? Dig a little deeper. Maybe there was something much darker behind Justin’s death.

Meg slowly recovers both physically and emotionally, enough to reopen her bookstore months later. But things don’t go as smooth as she thought it would. Specifically, people spewing hatred toward her on social media and vandalizing her bookstore Who’s behind this campaign? And why?

There’s conspiracy theories…then there’s THIS! Taken to the extreme. A storyline delving deep into both conspiracies and hatred. I have to admit I was left feeling a bit unsettled by the end. If that was the author’s intention…it worked!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow

This novel tells the tragic story of Magnolia, who is grappling with the loss of her husband. As the story unfolds, it takes numerous unexpected twists and turns, evolving into a completely different type of book than I initially anticipated.

While I generally enjoyed the book, there were moments when I found the plot a bit hard to follow. The multiple perspectives offered by various characters added depth to the narrative, although some of the twists were somewhat predictable. Overall, it was an engaging read, but the complex storyline required careful attention to keep up with the shifts and changes.

This one was a bit out there for me. We Are Watching takes conspiracies and obsessive groups into the spotlight in this thriller about a cult following of a book written by Meg Russo. The groups fanaticism escalades into violence and death, and Meg is caught in the middle of it all. Fast paced and different, I think that is what makes Alison Gaylin a unique author to the genre. Her ideas are not the same troupe and pushes a reader to question whether or not this type of fringe behavior is really happening out there?

I received a free copy of, We Are Watching, by Alison Gaylin, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Meg Russo lost her husband Justin, in a car accident, Meg was driving. Meg and her daughter Lily survived. This book was a little off putting and disturbing to me.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This one was...strange. There was just a lot of nuance and some of the writing really didn't make sense to me? I liked the premise of some crazy foreshadowing outlined in a book that the main character was selling at her store but somehow the rest of the plot did not really tie into that in a way that was reasonable or even enjoyable - then she turned out to be the author of the book? I was just mostly confused with everything and unfortunately, the cult theme didn't quite land with me. I do like most of Gaylin's work but sadly, this was a miss for me.

This book was absolutely wild and I have never read anything like it before!

After surviving a car crash that kills her husband, Meg and her daughter, Lily, are struggling to move on. They start to feel attacked like everyone may be out to get them.

This is a book for those that love conspiracy theories and signs and cults. It was a dark, stressful read that kept me turning the pages! Not like any thriller I’ve read before so it was refreshing to read something different!

3.5⭐️ - I enjoyed it and would recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for my ARC.

Conspiracy nonsense in my opinion. I just find it ridiculous but these people do exist and the author did a good job at showing how deep and dark these people can get. While it’s not for me and I found most of it predictable it did make for an easy read.