Watching You

by Shannon Greenland

• ISBN10: 1721623590
• ISBN13: 9781721623594
• Publish Date: 20 June 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 280
• Language: English

Reviews

[zooloo1983]

This was an easy read...I mean I read it in one evening. I found it quite enthralling, that I didn’t even realise that I had sat there for a couple of hours to finish it. The pace of the story was fast and I was forever trying to figure out who the stalker was. I guessed correctly a couple of chapters before the end. The only thing I was a bit disappointed about was the final showdown was over so quickly and wrapped up just as quick but I loved the story as a whole.

Viola comes from a “white trash” family but I never saw her like that. Yes, she’s had a hard and tough life but she did not let that define her. She chose to be a decent human being and not let her home life dictate who she should be, always trying to be the best version of herself for her family and for her. Something I found I could relate to. She is a likeable albeit naive character at some points, being given the scholarship to attend the preppy school so she can go to MIT. The only problem is the scholarship has always been given to Riel.

Riel is her mentor, but like you have guessed the potential suitor, with the typical will they won’t they. In this story that didn’t bother me, we watched their feelings grow at a natural rate, and it was nice to see when "lies" had been uncovered it was dealt with in a mature way.

I hate the chapters where you hear from the “Stalker”, they were awful because they chilled me to the bone. I could hear the creepy voice in my head and I hated it!

Shannon has created a story which captured me straight away. I was hooked from page 1, I wish there was a bit more of Levi though. Even though this book was over 300 pages I felt some of it was rushed (Crazy I know!) and that some character development was missed. 

There were quite a few red herrings along the way to keep you guessing who the stalker is.... you are in for a shocker

[readingwithwrin]

Thank you to the publisher and Xpresso Book Tours for a free e-copy.


Watching you is a thriller YA book that follows Viola on her journey to getting her family out of the situation they are currently in. To do this she first needs to go to a school in Florida for smart kids (which she is) and then she plans to go to MIT and get a great job! All sound like really great goals and like she has it all figured out. But of course, we have a few problems that happen due to admissions changing some requirements and her student advisor being someone who is just as smart as she is.



Viola is a very likable character. She worries about things, studies and does just normal life things that tend to get left out in books. I did feel like she could have done more things at times to stay safe, or to let someone know what was going on. But I also kind of understand why she didn't.


Overall I really enjoyed reading this book. I couldn't stop reading it and I wasn't able to figure out who it was until it was revealed! This is becoming a rare thing for me anymore as I've been reading so many mystery/thrillers recently. The whole mystery part of this book I really enjoyed, the stalker's point of view that we got to see every few chapters was extremely creepy and ominous that it really kept me interested in trying to figure out who it was. While I did have multiple suspects it was no one that had even been on my radar from the beginning.



As for the romance part, I didn't mind it for the first half of the book it was always just on the back burner in my opinion. The farther into the book the more prominent it became and it took over basically in my opinion which was a little disappointing because it seemed at first like Viola was going to be flying solo until she got all of her education. I will say I am so so glad that we finally got a YA book where both of the people in the relationship are super smart and still have the same goals even after getting into a relationship they just want to work on them together! I also really liked how involved Viola and Riel were in his little sister's life. She was never made to feel like a burden and they worked around her schedule. In fact, Riel could be my new book boyfriend just because of how caring he was about his sister, and making sure he was there for Viola but didn't push any boundaries.



If you want a lighter mystery/thriller book that has romance in it than this book is for you.



I also do want to mention that this book does have a few scenes where sex is implied. It never gets graphic though and is just briefly mentioned.

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