Stop, Look, Read On: We Are Watching by M. Stephen Stewart BOOK TOUR! [GIVEAWAY+REVIEW!!]

WE ARE WATCHING (Mindshare #1)

by M. Stephen Stewart

Genre: Dystopia, Young Adult

Pages: eBook, 286 pages

Published: 16 Dec 2014

Source: Copy provided

Organized by: Xpresso Book Tours

Henry Malone’s childhood was shattered by the unexplained suicide of his father. Now a teenager, his days are spent studying to become a Neural Implant Technician for Planetary Link Corporation, helping them maintain an iron grip over his walled country and every iota of knowledge contained within—but he leads a double life. Henry’s nights are spent helping his mother wage a cyber war against them in her quest to find the truth behind his father’s death.

He’s managed to keep his two lives separate, a delicate balance that’s endangered after he repairs the neural implant of a stranger. He finds she’s in possession of illegal memories from the outside world, unauthorized knowledge of his father, and a message: speak to me later and tell no one. Henry has a choice to make—ignore the message and maintain his double-life, or answer and risk everything to uncover secrets Planetary Link would kill to keep buried.

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M. Stephen Stewart is a graduate of Indiana University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism. He makes his home in Indianapolis with his wife and two dogs. In his spare time, Matt is an avid sports fan, gamer, and reader, who loves to connect with new people. You can usually find him around town with his wife, exercising, or in front of his computer working on a new project.

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Is something wrong with me or it is this book?

I DIDN’T HAVE ANY KIND of FEELINGS TOWARDS THIS BOOK.

NO EMOTION WHATSOEVER. Okay, I felt one thing. I FELT SO WRONGED. I as reading through and I was so detached. What was that supposed to be? I feel so bad. Sure, I smiled through all the proper times and cheered a bit for the times I felt like we should be and I rejoiced when we accomplished one thing but really. NOTHING.

It felt so wrong you know, considering this book is a series of tragedies. NO YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO BREATHE. YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO SIGH A SIGH OF RELIEF. NO GUARD-DROPPING OR YOU’RE GOING TO DIE. Well, that or die helping these two teenagers.

I am telling you, I can point out a lot of holes in this book but let’s go through it in a fun, subtle, loving way because even if I’m way too detached to this book, I liked it. Science. Space. Who doesn’t love it?

The characters. Goodness, do you know how cool Harold sounded like? He’s cool and so stupid at the same time. There’s something about people who didn’t give a damn anymore but can still be so caring. But really, he’s plain stupid it’s anti-climatic but realistic to make him more lovable. Riya is… asdytresxcvnhyfd. She’s untouchable. You ever heard of people like that before? I love her. (I will still keep on saying I am not attached to this book, you’ll never hear the end of it.) I love her entrance. I love the way she was introduced (more like, thrown out there but same thing, right?) I love her personality. She’s so kickass of a heroine but she cares, you know. I love her.

Can I ask one thing though? (I’m already asking, I know.) In the span of how many hours did all of these happened? Life moves way too fast. You know, one moment, you were just calmly skipping classes and committing capital sins then the next you were swept up in a constant traumatic events. And how come they only ate once? Weren’t they hungry at some point in there? Through the chaos, I’m pretty sure my tummy will still growl. Or is that just me.

Moving on from little trivial things that you can find in every other novel out there, the plot is basic for a dystopian. The evil government, the people-around-you-knows-everything-but-you, the you’re needed slash you’re the only one who can do this. The pathetic lead until the other lead comes into view and suddenly he’s not so bad. You know, all those stuff. The crazy part here is the dad part. That’s crazy. Not that I didn’t think of that through it all but still crazy.

As I said, this book is really fast-paced. No breathing allowed. We’re going to eat, take a shower, get into an argument, war, then we’re headed for the space. No time for breathing or eating or bathroom breaks. I love the fast pace, no nonsense kinda thing. Plus, the writing as great. No strings attached but great. This is written in third person in random changes in train of thoughts but in Harold’s POV. By the way, the names and ages of people were confusing. Or maybe that’s just me but I was confused nonetheless.

Overall, We Are Watching is a cliche-complex-sci-fi, all-cliche-dytopian novel. The hint of romance and humour was there and the action scenes were great. One thing I can say to you is that this book is mostly made up of a lot that you’ve already read. I know so. The uniqueness is there but it really isn’t all new. So many characters were getting introduced at one and sometimes, you’d really wonder why they even came into the picture if they’re just going to die. Truth be told, I was more attached to the cat. Spoiler alert. That’s another thing, I lack attachment to the novel. No feelings whatsoever. There is something about the space and the world they are currently living in that is wrong and they can’t help but work on it. The dead is undead after all. And the power of the mind is endless. We Are Watching for a title doesn’t really make that much sense to me. Not much but it does. Honestly, I expected more from this than what I got but generally speaking, this is not a bad read. Short, fast-paced, and action-filled moments. That’s everything in one plus the great writing. I am not anticipating for the second book mainly because I am not that deep into the book. This is the kind of book I’d recommend to anyone who has nothing to read.Shipping Harold and Riya might help them get back to romance or the cliche-ness of the dystopia of this book might make someone crave more. Definitely going to push you into reading. In the end, this is a really good read. And life can really change so fast. 😉

GIVEAWAY!

Get a chance to win signed sopies of WE ARE WATCHING and A CONDUIT FOR A MAN (book 2)! Open INTL!