Are You Watching?

This was so good!!!! I flew through it and it is in my top favs! I definitely recommend!!! 😊

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, this has not changed my opinion in any way. The premise of this book was very promising - a girl using a youtube reality series to try and find her mother's killer. But for me, personally, I think it didn't really deliver. I really enjoyed the first half of the book and I actually stayed up way too late reading through the majority of this book, but the way the book ended brought my rating down to a 3,5 star instead of a full 4 star. I wasn't a huge fan of Jess as a main character and I didn't really like her friends either. She didn't grow on me until later on in the book, but then towards the end, she did some things that made me sigh out loud multiple times. All-in-all I thought it was an interesting book, but the ending kind of 'ruined' it for me (I guess, idk that's not really the right word).

3/5 stars. Even though it was a very good book, there were alot of things i think could have went different. The book felt like a leap. There was a lot of moments where i was a tiny bit lost. I still really enjoyed reading this. This is a book i'd recommend to pre-teens or teenagers. It was good just not really realistic but that's okay because not all books have to feel real. I loved the relationship between Jess and the Magpie Man. The way she dragged him on until he finally made a move. It was very interested and made me want more throughout reading it. I also loved how she talks about her dad just going lifeless. It was relatable for most and made the book more personal for me.

This was beyond incredible. I’m speechless.

Hmmmmmm... I have mixed feelings. I did not see the ending coming--and truthfully, I was a little disappointed with who the killer turned out to be. The whole "social media" aspect was interesting at first, but it barely played a part and (view spoiler)[the competition quickly ends as the other competitors forfeit in order to give Jess the opportunity to find the killer. (hide spoiler)] Honestly, it felt like wasted potential. There was also a lot of telling, not showing, so the short chapters (meant to reflect the tense nature of the book) fell flat because it wasn't immersive. I liked the overall story and premise, but I think it could've been better executed and overall.

4.5 Stars - Fast and easy read. I wouldn't call it the Walmart version of "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" but it is very similar to it. It was missing a component that would have made it 5 stars but it was still really good. I was hoping for more suspense but it was lacking on certain parts. The killer is very surprising ONLY because he wasn't a character that was a major part of the beginning and middle area of the story. I do recommend it tho. Short and interesting chapters.

Four-star read simply because I mostly dislike books that point in the direction of a bunch of different characters being the culprit and then, as it turns out, it's a character that we've either never been introduced to or it was only in brief passing. It ruins the story for me. That being said, I enjoyed it as much as I could. It kept me guessing and I suppose that's the whole point of a murder mystery. Whodunnit, you know?

Ralph was very creative with this story! I love this title (which is what caught my eye) and I would definitely recommend. This story is a great mystery without being too violent.

oh my word this book was so freaking good. it really keeps you on your toes like who i thought was the killer WAS NOT the killer he literally comes out of left field. like you really wouldn’t think it was this person and it is. and right when you think you think you’ve figured it out he throws another clue at you. def 10/10 would totally recommend.

This book had me on my toes and I could never really trust a character as they had always done something suspicious. I was not entirely shocked after we found out who the killer was but I did think it was definitely something I did not expect. There had been a few times where I could not put the book down because I wanted to figure out who the killer was and I really enjoyed that feeling!

I loved all the twists and turns. The way the story is laid out is amazing. The ending was so unexpected!

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the eARC for review! ______ Mom was thirty-two when she died, the first victim of a man they still haven’t caught. Number one on a list that now stretches to thirteen. So if you ask why I want to be one of the five people to star in a new online show about them and only them, it’s pretty simple. I want to catch the Magpie Man, and this is how I’m going to do it. What a ride! Honestly, I LOVED the blurb of this on NetGalley, and only realized when I saw the other additions of the novel on Goodreads that I've actually had this on my TBR since last year, when it was called Are You Watching?. Clearly I didn't feel to motivated to read it then. What a difference a trendy cover and new title can make! This was a fun take on a YA thriller. I loved the incorporation of social media and online sensationalism to catch a killer. I wouldn't be surprised if something like this actually happened (or has already happened!) There were a lot of red herrings. Every time a new character was introduced, especially a male one, I found myself suspicious. It was really fun trying to parse out the real clues from the trolls, the set-ups, and the anonymous tips. I thought Jessica was a great protagonist; a girl defined by her mother's murder, who essentially also lost her dad when he lost his wife, a girl determined to solve the crime no matter what. She toed the line between brave and reckless perfectly. Was this the perfect mystery? No. I found the final clue that set off the final chain of events to be a bit flimsy, some of the red herrings weren't explained the best, and I didn't feel much of a payoff when things finally come together (except for the very end. iykyk!) Nonetheless, it was a fun read!

A fast paced, gripping and addictively twisty read. Although I found the ending to be a bit underwhelming and somewhat disconnected to the rest of the plot, I had a lot of fun with this book and I definitely had a few creeped out moments in which I regretted reading it home alone at night... TW: suicide attempt.