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I just finished They're watching you by Chelsea Ichaso and here is my review.
Polly St James is missing and the only person who seems worried is her roommate and best friend Maren. Her parents, the headmistress and police, all believe she ran away. Not Maren. There was something Polly was hiding and she was ready to tell Maren her secret then she just vanished.
Just as Maren starts asking questions an envelope shows up with an invitation... An invitation to join a secret society. There is something sinister about the group and Maren now believes that Polly may have been involved with the group before she disappeared. Can Maren infiltrate the group and find out what happened to Polly or will she end up becoming part of the very thing she fought to gain entry to?
I have a soft spot for dark academia books... This one ticked all the boxes. Love the idea of secret societies and this one didn't disappoint! Really enjoyed watching Maren as she unravels the mystery of her best friend and roommates disappearance and the dark underbelly of her school. Brilliantly done, the writing is really quite amazing and I was engaged right away. I ended up staying up late to finish it as I couldn't put it down.
Some pretty great twists and turns that will keep you on your toes. What I didn't love.... I wasn't a fan of Remington. I don't know why but I just couldn't bring myself to like his character and I was hoping the whole time he was the bad guy!
Do not let the fact it's a YA book fool you, it is the kind of YA that anyone outside of the genre can sink their teeth into! Loved the setting of the book and the descriptive language really set this book apart from others in the same genre. If you love a good thriller set in a school.... GET THIS ONE TODAY!
4.5 stars! Thank you to Netgalley and Source books fire for my review copy!
My rating: 3.4 / 5
What happened:
Maren's best friend has gone missing so it's up to her to find her. After getting a few hints from one of her classmates, her memories of her friend mentioning key words she realizes that there is a secret society at the school she is in which might be the reason why her best friend has gone missing. After trying her luck with one of the games she gets an invite to the secret society. Later on, she realizes, there is more to the story. Her life and others are at risk by participating in the gamemaster's game.
I thought this book was interesting in the first half / mid-section of the book. The plot was interesting and I was worried about the main character and others. I couldn't close the book because I wanted to know what would happen and learn more about the secret society. Although everything changes near the middle to end of the book...it felt rushed. This book also has a few small similarities with The Hunger Games.
What I wished happened:
I wished there was more connection between the main character and her potential love interest. The relationships felt rushed and due to the situations she was in I would have felt she wouldn't have wanted to be in a love triangle...she has a mission to save her best friend. It also would have been better if we got more of a backstory about the main character and others. As well, why does she care so much about Poppy?
Near the end, we get to see who is the game master which felt really out of tune. I thought it would have been someone older like one of the teachers, the headmaster of the school, or someone higher up...not one of her potential love interests. We don't really know what else happened to society toward the end of the book. We only know that it was shut down and some of the member's names got leaked. We don't know if there's going to be revenge since a lot of people depended on the secret society and loved the power behind it... or if someone new will take place while rebuilding the secret society undercover.
I felt like the author had the right idea but rushed it towards the middle/end of the book. It would have been really interesting to see the point of view of each character, their mental health, the situation everyone is feeling, more risks and thrills with better explanations. As well maybe just remove the relationship/love triangle.
