Tuesday, July 3, 2018

#Review - Watching You by Shannon Greenland #YALIT #Contemporary

Series: Standalone
Format: EBook, 305 pages 
Release Date: July 2, 2018
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Suspense

Viola’s always been that girl from that family, so a scholarship to a prestigious private school in Florida was supposed to be her ticket out of poverty and into a brand-new life. But Viola’s secrets have followed her. Her relationship with the intelligent and gorgeous Riel should have been the salvation she needed—he understands her troubled past better than anyone. But then weird things start to happen. 

Frightening messages.

Missing personal items.

The unsettling feeling that she’s being watched.

Viola’s never been one to give her trust easily, but she’ll need to trust in Riel if she’s going to survive her stalker. Because she’s not fighting for a new life anymore—she’s fighting to stay alive.




Shannon Greenland's Watching You is a young adult, mystery novel featuring Viola Burnett. Viola is the recipient of a full ride scholarship to attend Ponce De Leon Academy in the Florida Keys. Being from Tennessee, Viola is the girl who lives in the projects, whose mother is a stripper, whose her father is in prison, and whose older sister is a crack addict. She is someone who is trying to rise above her past, her family, and being one of those girls who could never get out of a life that was apparently meant to be her fate. She wants badly to do what's right for her younger siblings while aiming for acceptance into MIT, even if it means twisting the truth a bit. 

Yes, she is that smart, but she isn't infalible. She has made some mistakes that if they come to light, she could lose everything, including a surprising relationship with her mentor Rial Villanuevo, and his younger sister Mar who stole the show. If you need a reason to read this book, it is Mar's role in almost every aspect of the story. But, let's skip over that for now. Viola really begins to question her actions after realizing that the person she took the scholarship from, Rial, is a genuinely nice guy who works hard in everything he does, including taking care of his precocious younger sister who falls for Viola almost immediately.

Since this is a book that is set to the backdrop of a private academy with rich, spoiled, kids, you will definitely see your fair share of mean girls who just can't help but be vulgar, and intolerable, and annoying. This is a book that also features a stalker, and this character actually gets their own storyline. The stalker has chosen Viola for some reason that eludes me. Perhaps it was because of Viola's relationship with Rial. Perhaps it was because she isn't a rich spoiled brat who gets everything she wants and doesn't look down on others.

IMHO, Viola really should have uncovered who the stalker was way before trouble came raining down on her head and the ugliness raised its head. But, alas, this is fiction, and the author needed to play the story out to the final showdown while also putting in lots and lots of sexual situations. Fair is fair right? Could one call this a romantic suspense? Absolutely. Could one say that there is more romance than mystery or suspense? Absolutely. The best parts of this book were with Viola and Mar. I loved how quickly they connected as though they were friends, or sisters for all their lives.  





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