Watch You Burn by Amanda Searcy Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway

Hello! Welcome to the next stop on the Watch You Burn blog tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. I'm really happy to share my thoughts on this book with you!

Title: WATCH YOU BURN
Author: Amanda Searcy
Pub. Date: October 23, 2018
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 352
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, iBooks, TBD

Jenny didn't want to move to the creepy, possibly haunted town with her dad. But the cops are on to her, and the only way she can protect herself is by moving as far away from her hometown as possible and staying out of trouble.

But even after she moves, Jenny still gets the itch. The itch to light a match and then watch it burn.

It's something she hasn't been able to stop, ever since an accident years ago. Now, in a new town, Jenny has the strange feeling that someone is watching her every move. Will her arsonist ways be exposed? Or is the burning truth deep inside her a greater danger? 

𑁋

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product. 

Normally, I'm not a paranoid person, but I was suspicious of everyone and everything in Watch You Burn. Jenny's actions made me feel anxious and unsettled, and she frequently chooses to be reckless. I wish she had refrained from taking unnecessary risks, but it did move the story along. She's struggling with her addiction to fire, and it wins more often than not. I thought it was an interesting perspective, and it made me think about arsonists in a different way. I wish someone had helped her instead of letting her addiction spiral out of control.

I sympathized with Jenny, but I didn't like her. I also didn't agree with most of her decisions. First of all, she was extremely hypocritical. She wanted to collect everyone's secrets, but she was unwilling to share her own. Secondly, I think she should have come clean about her mistakes and dealt with the consequences of her actions. Jenny clearly needed help, but all they did was send her somewhere else. She's also insecure, petty, and jealous. Her confidence was fleeting, and would quickly be replaced by anger and frustration.

At times I felt like the story was a little slow, but the mystery kept me turning the pages. I had theories, but never felt confident about them. Everyone was hiding something, so I suspected every person she came into contact with. There were also a lot of unexpected twists that made me question everything I thought I knew, and I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending. It left things mostly unresolved.

Overall, it was an interesting read. However, I do wish Jenny had been more likable. I found it hard to relate to her and her way of thinking. She wasn't kind to others, and she threw money around like it didn't mean anything to her. I was annoyed when she used her parents money for stupid things just because she could. We already know about her extracurricular activities, and yet she still takes advantage of others.

There were a few romantic possibilities, but ugh. I feel like the romance could have been left out. Jenny used people to get what she wanted. She only worried about herself and what would happen if her secrets were exposed. She went along with whatever Ro suggested, and didn't treat her or Kara with the respect they deserved. Her relationships with everyone felt strained and awkward, and I'm not a huge fan of her father. He should have inserted himself in her life more, but he was too busy being distracted by the woman warming his bed.

I sped through Watch You Burn because I was invested in the mystery. I wanted to know what was happening and why, but also learn more about Jenny and her struggles with arson. The characters fell a little flat for me, but the story itself was okay.

My Weekly Pull [40] & Can't Wait Wednesday [10]

My Weekly Pull is something I do every Wednesday to show which comics I had pulled for me that week! If you're into comics, or you're looking to start, please join me! If you decide to do your own post, leave a link in the comments. I would love to stop by and check it out!

Blackbird #1 by Sam Humphries, Jen Bartel

Magic Order #4 (of 6) by Mark Millar, Olivier Coipel

Jacob's comics for the week!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Macro-series Donatello #1 by Paul Allor, Brahm Revel, David Peterson

Deadpool #5 by Skottie Young, Scott Hepburn, Nic Klein

There weren't that many comics this week, but there's also an extra Wednesday this month. All of our monthly comics will be spread out over five weeks instead of four.

Blackbird is going to be a new one for me! I saw a flyer for it at my LCS and was immediately intrigued by the blurb. "Blackbird is a coming of age story about Nina, a young woman living in Los Angeles who discovers a hidden world of magic when her sister is kidnapped by a mystical beast." It sounds awesome, right? The flyer shows more of the characters, including a cat with three eyes, and I sort of wish it had been the cover for the first issue. I hope it's as good as it looks!

Magic Order is daaaaarrrk. A family member died the last issue (people die every issue), so things are more personal this time. The prodigal son returns (I think), and I hope we get to see why everyone thinks he's so awesome. They've played him up the last few issues, even though he's made it clear he wants nothing to do with that world anymore. Despite his lack of involvement, I believe the villains will seek him out regardless. I also want to know more about what happened to his daughter... It's starting to seem like he may have been at fault, but you never know.

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, that highlights upcoming releases that we're anticipating and excited to read. It's a spinoff of the feature Waiting on Wednesday that was hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Watch You Burn by Amanda Searcy

Expected publication: October 23rd 2018

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Jenny didn't want to move to the creepy, possibly haunted town with her dad. But the cops are on to her, and the only way she can protect herself is by moving as far away from her hometown as possible and staying out of trouble.

But even after she moves, Jenny still gets the itch. The itch to light a match and then watch it burn.
It's something she hasn't been able to stop, ever since an accident years ago. Now, in a new town, Jenny has the strange feeling that someone is watching her every move. Will her arsonist ways be exposed? Or is the burning truth deep inside her a greater danger?

𑁋

I've never read a book about arson, so I'm curious to see what this book has to offer on the subject. How does it impact someone's life? What compels them to set things on fire? 

The blurb also mentions a "creepy, possibly haunted town," which makes this a great October book! Twenty more days isn't too long of a wait...