When No One is Watching

DNF! Boring! I'm more than halfway and the only threats are bedbugs and evil landgrabbers. Talk about slow burn and bellyaching protagonist!

The book was slow paced then 2/3 in everything got intense... Basically how thrillers are.... Very educational and brought to light a couple of things. Would recommend and be patient with it.

DNF

The premise and message Alyssa Cole talks about is great, but I am not convinced by the execution. Half of the book is slow exposition, ballooned by numerous background neighborhood characters that I had a hard time keeping track of (I wonder if that is more a commentary of me though, an outsider peeking into a neighborhood that isn't mine, not getting to truly know about these other people beyond the main protagonists? Hmm).

When Sydney and Theo finally connect the dots with the bad guys, I became so confused because I felt like it was almost... obvious that everything is connected to the Big Bad. Like didn't Sydney already uncover this before? Then it became even more confusing about what Sydney and Theo already knew vs. what they were discovering in their research. Also, the ending where the neighbor reveals he's kinda known all along there were other incidents like this in other cities... why didn't he mention this before? I don't know, everything to me started to fall apart after the community garden and felt like they turned into convenient plot points to reach the ending, which was just a bizarre, unrealistic, and out of place action movie. The villains felt so cartoonishly evil, the “resolution” was so abrupt and left me wondering about the consequences. Also kind of ridiculous is how did the neighbors know where and how to find them? It was just too convenient that the entire neighborhood seemingly had a “backup plan” to find and save them in the hospital.

I was fine with the dual perspectives at first, but wanted to throw the book at the wall because of Sydney's doubts towards Theo during the last 1/3. It would have been a bigger satisfying thriller if the book was told entirely in Sydney's perspective as we build on her suspicions and distrust. As readers, we sorta trust Theo because we know his thoughts; he hasn't been lying or disingenuous so far, and it wouldn't fit if it was suddenly revealed that he's a lying first POV narrator (but this is a thriller, any twist could happen). But then seeing the whiplash of emotions in Sydney's perspective, it was like come on... he's on your side.

As for the writing... I guess it's just not my taste, like I don't need all these extraneous details that feel like overstimulation... do I need to know about the ugly sandals this guy is wearing? Not really.

The setup is great, the message is great, but the book feels a little ridiculous.

Great Read!

This book kept me on the edge of my seat... I was guessing what was going on the entire time! If you're looking for a book that will keep you guessing and interested from beginning to end. This book is for you!

3.5.

“I need you to channel the confidence of a mediocre white man. I'll give you mine.”

I was debating between 3 and 3.5 stars with this one.
I decided to go with 3.5 stars.

3.5

I seem to have an unpopular opinion with this one but it just did not work for me.

It just seemed like it couldn't decide what it wanted to be - contemporary? Romance? Thriller? Social sciences commentary? Just odd and I ended up not caring.

This is an interesting psychological thriller that affects an entire neighborhood. A lot of truths in the story make the twist almost believable that it would happen in today's world. I was on the edge of my seat towards the end, but the build up in the beginning was a little slow-burn for my taste. However the payoff was definitely worth it.

Get out (the movie) meets something else that I don't even get. Characters are good and solid and it's scary and interesting until it isn't- the ending was a bit jumpy and rushed, it felt.

This is the second Alyssa Cole book I've read and the first I was able to finish. She's a decent writer with some great ideas but she needs a better editor or critique partner or something cause her execution fails. Pacing is irregular, characters lack depth, inconsistent tone, etc. But the story is fun and if they made a movie, I would absolutely watch it.

4.5

WHO THE HELL SAID THIS ISN'T A THRILLER. MY PANTS BEG TO DIFFER. I POOPED SO MANY TIMES.

ended up DNFing this book can't give a fair review so i will leave this without a rating.

Dit boek voelde voor een groot deel van het verhaal niet aan als een thriller, maar eerder als een hedendaags romantisch verhaal met enkele mysterieuze elementen. Dit maakte het lezen voor mij extra boeiend, gezien ik zat te wachten tot de aap uit de mouw kwam. Toen deze eruit kwam, vond ik het nogal gehaast en de slechteriken vond ik te karikaturaal om de boodschap die de auteur wil brengen echt kracht te geven.

4.25 stars

This was a very intense book and it totally held my attention from beginning to end. 4.5 stars because although I did enjoy the whole experience, I have a minor criticism or two.

First, Alyssa Cole has said that this isn't a romance. It is not romantic and sweet, but it has the structure of a romance, for the most part. I hesitated to read it because I wasn't sure about the book's structure, so if you're the same, don't worry.

I've only ever read a few books in the suspense genre, and it's usually somewhat difficult for me to identify with the main characters. I found Sydney very easy to relate to, partly because I also have an anxiety disorder, but more than that, because she's alone in life in many ways. I also feel that there aren't a lot of official resources available to me, but I am white and know that fact makes my path easier than hers, both in the real world and in this book.

I really liked how Theo and the white lesbians were not actively hateful, and would probably have all called themselves anti-racist, yet they still did not understand things, and still benefited from racism. IIRC this theme is more prominent in her book An Extraordinary Union, and more subtle here, but it's relevant. Probably a lot of white people read this book thinking ourselves anti-racist, but are we really? For example, I'm ashamed that I hadn't until now made the obvious mental connection between gentrification and colonization. That's really the focus of the book, and it has given me a new framework to understand some things.

I liked the romance a lot. There was a big gap between how they saw each other and the reality of things. I enjoy that type of plot in any romance, but it was very intense here, because the stakes felt so high. I thought both characters had excellent development to make it clear why they would have so much trouble trusting each other. I also found them both easy to like and cheer for.

Two criticisms: first, some of the side characters could've had a little more depth or detail, especially Drea and all the elderly neighbors. But I think I see why it was written this way: Sydney couldn't trust her own perceptions, and we were mostly seeing these characters through her eyes. Second, the ending: Like I hinted in my first spoiler, I was expecting this book to have an unhappy ending, and it doesn't. But the ending did seem to come from nowhere in a few ways. I may have missed some foreshadowing, though.

I already loved Alyssa Cole's books and I am excited she has published a book in a new genre. I recommend this book to romance readers and thriller readers alike. Above all, I really did enjoy the story. I did not want to take breaks from listening. The audiobook had two narrators, Susan Dalian and Jay Aaseng, and they were both fantastic.

Yes!

I normally find thrillers absurd, and sometimes I really don't care for the tropes. Like toxic female friendship. I didn't have to worry about that here. It all might seem incomprehensible, but what happens in this book, well, there's historical precedent. It isn't as far-fetched as one would like. It was stressful, mortifying, depressing, even sociologically scary. And it was so good. This is a grade-A thriller.

In all the times I'd moved in New York, I'd only thought about how safe the area was for me, not what my presence meant for people in the neighborhood. Not about what advantages I had that they didn't. I was poor, too, after all, even though I had figured out how not to be, for a little while at least.

Enjoyed the suspense initially, but I felt like it got oddly goofy at the end.

3.5/5

At the end of the day, this book offers a good primer on social issues and environmental racism. Although I don't read many thrillers, the book laid enough mystery and suspense to keep me on the edge of my seat, and the two points of view offered a good contrast between those who've lived in their homes for generations, and those who are coming in through gentrification. Given its “Rear Window meets Get Out” accolade, I'd say the book has the mystery and voyeurism of Rear Window, but it lacks the subtlety that makes Get Out work in terms of its antagonists. While the author makes it a point to showcase racism in its entirety, most scenes come across as over-the-top, and because of this, most of the antagonists come off as one-dimensional and simply designed for you to dislike them. Whereas in Get Out, you got the sense that there were racists, but it was more entertaining to see the layers peel back as the story progressed. WNOIW instead just gets the ball rolling, which is understandable, but it kinda took me out of the story at times. Other than that, as my first introduction to the author, I'd say it's a strong enough entry.

I had a hard time rating this book. It was really interesting and captivating. It held my attention but until the last 20% or so it didn't feel like a thriller. I feel like a good 15-20% could have been removed to quicken the pace. That being said, that's in no way about the book but the classification of thriller. I felt everything that happened was important, both in the story and in educating readers. I liked the build up and how everything tied together in the end. That last 20% had me gasping and turning sitting on the edge of my seat.
Some of the scenes in this book may be hard for some people to read/ listen to but they are important to the story and the impact they have on the reader/ listener.

The narration was great. Performed by Susan Dalian and Jay Aaseng. They both brought something unique and realistic to the performance. The production was great with no issues to note.

If “All Lives Matter” has ever come out of our mouth as if you thought you were saying something, this is not your book. If you are that person, you'll just write a review about how the main character is an angry black woman, the author is racist against white people, how it wasn't a thriller until the end, and the resolution came out of nowhere.

In reality, the main character has a lot of reasons to be angry and depressed, the author is just holding up a mirror, tension started mounting on page 1, and everything was clearly foreshadowed. A lot of the end was ... inevitable. Everything you thought was over the top has happened in some form. The book actually mentions those forms.

Sydney's close-knit community is changing fast. Everything and everyone who meant safety to her is disappearing. She's a Black woman, and her life is one viral video of Karens* making her life miserable after another, only without the viral video. Nothing feels safe. She doesn't know who she can trust. So many things are just a little off, but not so off that if she told someone she wouldn't be in danger of being committed, or at least laughed off.

Like a lot of thrillers, this operates on the old saying that you're not paranoid if people are really out to get you. The last several years would make anyone paranoid who is confused over why people they thought were good and decent are anything but, what with racism and misogyny running rampant. It makes you wonder what's going on, and if things are still worse than we even know.

This is a book about if all those fears are built on a foundation of fact.

I would love to see an intelligent group of students be assigned this.

The romance was only okay for me. Theo, the love interest, wasn't my favorite, or nearly good enough for Sydney. But he did pass the friendship test in terms of “shovel duty.” The style of the sex scene felt out of place, and more in line with her romance novels.

This is such a tiny issue in a book I adored.

(Library borrow through Libby.)

*Karen is a lovely name. I think it means pure. If you're a nice she, he, or they named Karen, it's not about you. Used for shorthand.