Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

I Know About You by Erin Kaste is a gripping psychological thriller that delves into the complexities of hidden pasts and forbidden love. Set against the backdrop of an elementary school, the novel follows Cary Smith, a teacher who believes she has successfully left her troubled history behind. However, the arrival of the enigmatic Tina Flores at the school sets off a chain of events that threatens to unravel Cary’s carefully constructed life.

Kaste masterfully weaves a tale of suspense and intrigue, where every character is a suspect, and trust is a commodity in short supply. The narrative is taut and well-paced, with Kaste’s prose bringing to life the tension and fear that Cary experiences as her world begins to crumble. The author’s background as a musician and teacher adds a layer of authenticity to the story, particularly in the vivid descriptions of the school setting and Cary’s internal struggles.

The relationship between Cary and Tina is portrayed with sensitivity and depth, exploring the risks they take in a world that may not accept them. As Cary’s past catches up with her, the reader is taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, from the thrill of new love to the terror of being stalked by an unknown adversary.

One of the strengths of I Know About You is its ability to address serious themes such as identity, morality, and the consequences of our actions, all while delivering a compelling mystery. The characters are well-developed, with Cary’s journey of self-discovery and acceptance being particularly poignant.

I Know About You is a thought-provoking and intense read that will keep you guessing until the very end. Kaste’s debut is a testament to her storytelling prowess, and this novel is sure to resonate with fans of psychological thrillers and those who appreciate complex character-driven narratives. With its blend of suspense, emotion, and social commentary, I Know About You is a standout addition to the genre.

It had a lot of potential and great character setup just fell short from time to time and felt the ending could have been differnet and it would have benefitted the book better.

A small religious town that has issues with LGBTQA. Count me in. This was a rollercoaster ride of a mystery. There's some very intense moments in this book and it all centers around Cary and her past It was well worth a weekend read.

This book will have you on the edge of your seat. Even when it is over, you will be thinking about it.
Cary is a teacher and once she meets the new teacher, Tina, weird things start to happen at home and at work. She doesn't know who is doing it or why. That is until she finds out who is behind it.
I would recommend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It’s very hard to believe that this is Erin Kaste’s first book. She masterfully leverages all the necessary literary elements to not only capture readers’ attention, but make their hair stand on end. There is an unbelievable level of talent on display within these pages; the likes of it are rarely seen in first time authors of this genre. In fact, I haven’t been this impressed with a book in this category since Clare Ashton’s The Tell Tale, a 2022 Golden Crown Literary winner.

Right out of the gate, Kaste sets the tone and grabs readers’ attention. The opening scene is quite gripping and lays the groundwork for the tension and suspense that’s to come. In those very first pages, she offers readers a truly compelling and unique premise, one that sparks curiosity as well as intrigue.

The characters in this cleverly woven tale are beyond compelling. They are multi-dimensional, complex human beings that possess relatable strengths and flaws. Their personal challenges not only add depth to their character arcs but the story arc as well. Their backstories are neatly threaded into the overreacting plot and contribute to the ongoing tension and suspense. Readers are invested in their journey as they navigate the twists and turns that unfold during the story; it ultimately feeds an empathy for the characters that lingers long after the final paragraph has been read.

Mystery and suspense lovers will appreciate the thought that went into the mapping and development of this story. Kaste gradually builds the tension throughout the narrative, using pacing, suspenseful moments and unexpected twists to keep readers engaged. The foreshadowing is spot-on too; Kaste drops subtle hints and clues throughout the storytelling to build anticipation and bring readers closer to solving the mystery. Yet, at the same time, she incorporates a few red herrings to maintain uncertainty. It all plays out so well on the page; there’s no way readers won’t be impressed.

Final remarks…

I Know About You is one rollercoaster ride of suspense and thrills! Readers will be kept on the edge of their seats with Kaste’s well-paced plot and unexpected twists. The jaw-dropping moments are so superbly and intricately executed that they leave readers guessing until the very end. This is a noteworthy debut and Kaste has done a commendable job with it. I can’t wait to read her next one.

Strengths

Well-written
Well-developed
Solid character development
Solid story world construction
Engrossing
Entertaining
Must read for any suspense lover

𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗦: 𝚂𝙰𝙿𝙿𝙷𝙸𝙲. 𝙸𝙽𝚃𝚁𝙸𝙶𝚄𝙴. 𝚃𝙴𝙰𝙲𝙷𝙴𝚁𝚂. 𝙲𝚁𝙰𝚉𝚈 𝚆𝙾𝙼𝙴𝙽.
📚 ᴀʀᴄ 🏳️‍🌈

Emphasis on crazy, because that was just ridiculous. Ok Cary is a teacher and now sexy teacher, Tina, comes along and it is sexy stares here and there. All this is fun, but there is a supposed stalker.. who is NOT? stalking, a lover who is NOT? loving and of course a relationship that is NOT shipping. There were quite a few plots and plot holes.. like the dude who was all over Cary, Cary stealing Susan's stuff and menacingly cutting them all, Kathy's parents, the lingering looks between Kathy and Cary; PS: I was shipping them. Now the major issue for me was how the whole situation around Cary and Tina was portrayed... Like I understand only because I read but I was not satisfied. I feel like the author wanted to go so many different directions during different scenes that in the end, stuff made very less impact; on me. The crowbar, Cary's suspicion that wasn't followed up, and my God, those weird phone calls, that revelation behind them was disappointing. And then Tina, like really... I did see the avenging but all crazy and worked up.. now that even made less sense than Cary reacting so meekly. Debut, is it?

I loved the friendship between the characters, though, them not being there in the end, also was weird.


𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙫𝙞𝙖 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙤 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬.

I work in a UK primary school, so I can relate to some of the descriptions from this book about school settings. The characters are ok, and likeable, on the whole, I did enjoy the story but I did expect slightly more from the storyline. I do recommend this story and I’ve given it a 3.4 out of 5.

I’ll be looking out for future realises from Erin Kaste,

Her good whodunit murder mystery possible romance. This was a rollercoaster ride of a mystery. There's some very intense moments in this book and it all centers around Cary and her past. There's some really bad people in this book and some really good people. The kids were kind of hilarious as were some of the other characters. I felt that this was a well written book with some likable characters. I would definitely recommend this book and and I look forward to what's next from this author.

A well written book, f=great setting and a good plot. The main characters were loving and fun. Well done. I recommend.

Thank you, Bold Strokes Books, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Giving this one a 3.5. If you're like me, books make you feel a certain way. Dark books like this one usually stay with me, but not in a good way.

The story itself was engaging. I played the game of "whodunnit" throughout the book, but in the end, I found it so unbelievable to the point of being laughable. The characters were fleshed out and the writing itself was done masterfully, but the story fell short. At one point there was a considerable amount of violence between two of the characters. This normally doesn't bother me, but it did in this book.

This is a well written book set in an elementary school in Texas. There is a fair amount of angst and some genuine scary moments. There are no spoilers in this review but Cary certainly has a few heart stopping moments.

It’s obvious from the title and the blurb, that Cary has a secret but it isn’t till the very end that we learn what it is. There are several red herrings including Cary’s girlfriends, and one of her bosses. Some of the characters didn’t ring true to me - if they were really all so scared of being outed why did they get drunk with Daniel and act the way they do? I wanted to give him a shake.

The plotting is fairly tight and the setting is well developed. I will look out for another book by this author but I’m not sure I’d read another with Cary in it.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley.

I loved this book! Very realistic life circumstances with fun and loving characters! Happy to have found a new to me author!

Cary is a lesbian teacher in a Texas school with a strict morality code. She is out with a fun group of teacher friends, Tina, an attractive new teacher arrives at the school and Cary starts a relationship with her. Cary starts getting anonymous messages, silent phone calls and other incidents. The story is told in present time, and in Cary's past, revealing her big secret, and threatened exposure. Cary and her colleagues and pupils at school are interesting characters and their conversations are often funny. The mystery has a good twist at the end. Enjoyable.

This book had me hooked from the start!

Cary is a 6th grade teacher with a past, who meets and falls for kindergarten teacher, Tina.

In this small religious town LGBTQ relationships are frowned upon so their relationship has to stay secret, it doesn't help that there is also a morality clause in their contract.

Weird things start happening to cary which leave you wondering what will happen next.

I suspected everyone at one point or another during this book but in the end it did end up going the direction i thought.

I felt it was quite an abrupt end unsatisfying ending to an otherwise exciting, intense read.

This book takes place in West Texas, following an Elementary school teacher named Cary Smith. Cary is secretly part of the LGBTQ community, having to keep her identity a "secret" due to the morality clause. Having just broken up with another teacher at Bush, she starts a clandestine romance between her and a fellow kindergarten teacher, Tina. Since the beginning of this relationship, Tina seems hesitant to give any information regarding her past. As the story and relationship unfolds, Cary is plagued by an unknown assailant, threatening to reveal her past. Firstly, I really enjoyed this book. The choice of West Texas as the setting was spot on. It fit perfectly with the overarching plot, especially in terms of highlighting those morality clauses that are still very much a part of the community. Growing up in the South, I could totally relate and understand the morality clause issue that played a central role in the book. It felt like the author really captured the essence of what that's like and the fear it instills in most employees. The way the characters developed throughout the story was impressive, and it added so much depth to the plot. I found that Amy was a character I found surprisingly relatable. We all know someone who's had to keep parts of themselves hidden because of their religious background, and her story felt authentic to that. Now, as for the plot twist, it was good, but I did see it coming a bit. It didn't totally catch me off guard, but it did make sense in the context of the story.

So. Good. I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I was going to. The beginning of the book was slow to me and didn’t start grabbing my attention until about the 20% read mark. BUT LET ME TELL YOU- I am SO glad I stuck with this book! I really enjoyed it and I will be recommending it to my fellow reading friends.

There was drama, there was murder, there was suspense, there were secrets, there were hookups. What more can you really ask for in a book?! This book was not overly sexual, but there were plenty of steamy, tension filled moments to keep it all the more exciting!

I enjoyed this author’s writing very much. I found myself suspicious of almost every character at one point or another during this book and I never truly knew who was responsible for wreaking havoc on Cary’s life until it was literally spelled out infront of me. I loved that it kept me guessing the entire time. The ending was a bit abrupt but I do feel as though all of my questions were answered and the loose ends were tied up nicely.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. It was my first time reading this author and it was a pleasure. I look forward to reading some of their other works.

Exciting Thriller!

New teacher Tina catches Cary’s eye and despite school policy that doesn’t allow relationships between teachers, Cary continues to explore what might be possible with Tina. Starting a secret relationship is going well until strange things start happening that have Cary worrying that secrets of the past might have finally caught up with her.

A totally unexpected and surprising story that had me hooked and loving every second of it from the very first chapter and always left me wanting more! Cary was a great character, with little quirks and although wary of trouble and disruption, wasn’t afraid to be herself. Her initial interactions with Tina seemed normal but as we got to know Tina better, these senses were tingling that perhaps something wasn’t as it seemed. I’d never have been able to predict where this story ended up and it is difficult to share too much without it spoiling the whole thing, so much of this will be more about the feelings.

Erin built a great sense of false reassurance with Tina and Cary’s budding relationship, and that secret they shared of their relationship really felt like the only danger, yet it was an exciting and good one. When the story took a darker turn with these strange things happening to Cary without leads or explanation as to who could be behind them, I was on the edge of my seat and loving every second, even though my instincts were telling me to be suspicious and try to notice clues, I really didn’t because just like Cary I was swept up in what was developing between her and Tina rather than what was going on around them.

Such a great story that was dark, daring, and edgy to keep me intrigued with every chapter to the point I was unable to but the book down until I knew what it all meant. I’ll be really excited if there is a follow up story about Cary!

This book was frustrating and ultimately I could not finish it. It started out strong, there was some tension and a little forbidden relationship to begin but it quickly fizzled out. I was not able to empathize with the MC and her inner monologue was just confusing.

I would try another by the author because the writing itself was good, but maybe another genre would suite better. This just felt like a poorly executed mystery with missing pieces.

I know about you is a tense read from beginning to end. Set in the third person, this book describes a school teacher with a dark past threatening to catch up on her.
The slow pace was difficult at times and this wouldn't be a book i would read again, but the plot was intriguing and some characters likeable.

I work in an elementary school and scenes like dreading observations by administration, quick gossip in the faculty lounge and a night out with co-works ring realistic to me. Cary Smith (27) is a 6th grade teacher in a smallish town in Texas and is very good at her job. Her friends are limited to a few co-workers and her next door neighbors. She has a casual ongoing relationship with PE teacher Amy but no one is out and proud as teachers have a vague morals contract clause. Tina, the new kindergarten teacher is catching her eye. A classroom break-in with a warning message has Cary feeling anxious.

This starts strong and tension is building but then it sputters. I enjoyed the realism of the school setting but the daily lesson and lunch chats. Co-worker Daniel comes off as annoying more than being a friend. And when pieces come together the payoff doesn't equal the build up. I don’t want to have spoilers so I won’t list things that may have worked better for me. I liked the writing style especially in the beginning. I also liked Cary but it was hard to sympathize with her. I honestly got a confused becaues often when Cary talks about herself she tells lies but in her mind she reveals the truth to reader. I lost track of what her co-workers knew versus what I knew. But that didn’t really matter in the long run.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review.