Jody Gerhman | WATCH ME

Plot (via Goodreads):

Kate Youngblood is disappearing. Muddling through her late 30s as a creative writing professor at Blackwood college, she’s dangerously close to never being noticed again. The follow-up novel to her successful debut tanked. Her husband left her for a woman ten years younger. She’s always been bright, beautiful, independent and a little wild, but now her glow is starting to vanish. She’s heading into an age where her eyes are less blue, her charm worn out, and soon no one will ever truly look at her, want to know her, again.

Except one.

Sam Grist is Kate’s most promising student. An unflinching writer with razor-sharp clarity who gravitates towards dark themes and twisted plots, his raw talent is something Kate wants to nurture into literary success. But he’s not there solely to be the best writer. He’s been watching her. Wanting her. Working his way to her for years.

As Sam slowly makes his way into Kate’s life, they enter a deadly web of dangerous lies and forbidden desire. But how far will his fixation go? And how far will she allow it?

A gripping novel exploring intense obsession and illicit attraction, Jody Gehrman introduces a world where what you desire most may be the most dangerous thing of all.

Review:

This novel is a wickedly addictive literary suspense novel. I really enjoyed the plot to this one as it was reminiscent of Fatal Attraction and had hints of YOU by Caroline Kepnes to it. While it's definitely a slow paced novel, I was still immersed in its pages craving to know what happened next. This is by no means a fast paced thriller, but more of a contemporary fiction novel with hints of psychological suspense. 

What I found most intriguing with this novel was that while it's definitely a slower read, I still really enjoyed getting to know these characters and watching as the tension within this novel really started to boil over. About halfway through, there was a scene that was so tense for me as reader, I refused to take a break in reading it although I was starving. Featuring two really well written, albeit realistically messed up characters, it was a great ride getting to know both Sam and Kate and seeing how each others words and actions affected the other party. I will definitely give Gehrman credit for creating a storyline that features a stalker and his prey, but also giving it a different kind of twist in the sense that Kate isn't all that innocent or blindly unaware of Sam and his intentions. 

Featuring a plot that is unique and worthy of binge-reading, characters that are enjoyable to get inside the minds of, and a deliciously dangerous finale that left me speechless, this is definitely an enjoyable read. Definitely recommend this one for fiction fans that want a little suspense in their reads without too much violence and disturbing material.

*This title releases on January 23, 2018. Special thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4/5