Tweenage-targeted Christmas horror, as a father brings home a Christmas Elf that might just have too much ability to walk around the family flat at night, terrifying the lead girl. The problem is that said girl, Evangeline, is a complete bitch, a bully to the academically successful girl at school because she herself is not that way inclined. But she's also a bully to her mother, constantly being short with her and passively aggressively calling her fat. For a lead character, whose narrative we're asked to spend a couple of hours with, she's far too unlikeable.

Another put-off – for me at least – was how 'down with the kids' this all wanted to be. What this means is that Evangeline can be full of erudite description one minute, to get the story across, then the next bodge her grammar with a "would of" or "could of" and not, of course, "...have". The writing is full of teen-speak, where she admits to "getting lemon", at one point – whatever that is even supposed to mean. Someone calls her "facety", and again – you what now?

What's worse is the effort you spend wondering how this is all going to tie in with the theme park-set prologue – it isn't, is the answer. Add in a few F-bombs for little reason beyond edginess and you have a book that is hard to recommend. Still, it may be what a reluctant teen reader needs to kick them into the reading habit – it damn well shouldn't be, but it may be. The first horror scene of the nocturnal encounter in the kitchen is very effective, so this author – crap made-up name and all – can definitely write if he chooses to. But so many obvious choices would give so much obvious improvement to these pages, however. One and a half stars.

This book does have a premise but sadly it didn't deliver for me personally at all. I found the characters absolutely annoying and some of the characters really annoyed me.
This is such a creepy take of ‘Elf on a Shelf’ with a gory twist, I did find the ending to be rushed and it finished too quickly which made it feel like it was rushed sadly. I would try this author and there books again. Xxx

If, like me, you've always thought Elf on the Shelf was weird and creepy, then this would be right up your alley. The Watching Elf fits the classic "he knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake" judging children and adults alike, punishing those that are naughty. I feel like would fit a younger audience well - it's a quick, YA thriller, very centred in a teen world and mentality. I'm not exactly sure where or when it's set, as there was a jumble of slang used, though it did feature texting and a form of social media. This was a fun and easy read, but I would've liked to see more of a creepy atmosphere and more relevant creative punishments. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

A little bit gorey, a little bit silly but with a message that bullies always get their comeuppance! I enjoyed this Christmas-y horror story!

A very cool and creepy take of ‘Elf on a Shelf’ with a gory twist, I did find the ending to be rushed and finished too quickly and would have liked a deeper dive into why the main character was naughty to start with, however for a short novella, it was really good.

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

I quite liked this short, fast paced YA thriller. It reminded me of Goosebumps and stories like Night of the Living Dummy. Perfect for Point Horror fans leading up to Christmas.

You’d Better Watch Out is a short, fast paced horror/thriller, that’s perfect if you’re after a quick read between spooky and festive season! Think ‘Elf on the shelf’ gone wrong!

At only 144 pages, I finished this one in no time. It was also my first YA! There was the odd slang term/abbreviation that I had to look up the meaning of though- must be a sign I’m getting old 😂.

I loved the creepiness of the elf and the descriptive writing. They really brought the character to life! Parts of it reminded me of the Netflix series Elves too.

I didn’t see the twist coming at the end, and I loved how it left me wanting more 😍

There was also a preview of the authors next book coming next year, which sounded really good! There’s not a pre-order live yet but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out.

Thank you so much to @netgalley @cadaverousfrank and @uclan_publishing for the e-book copy.

Great premise but unfortunately didn't deliver for me personally.

I found the characters absolutely insufferable and the dialogue was really immature (even for a YA book) and grating.

I'd have really liked to love this book but I think maybe I'm just not quite sat in the target audience.

The story was a brilliant idea - I loved the Evil Elf on the Shelf plotline and as a parent who thoroughly rejects the twisted little fairy from my own home it was a delightful set up.

The ending wasn't as predictable as it should have been, in hindsight, and I enjoyed the pacing.

I think, for me, the writing style let the delivery down somewhat. I can see how it could appeal to a younger audience, but perhaps younger than the content (injury description) would suit? I was an early reader and might be atypical, but my own child who would appreciate the level the tale was pitched at would find the writing a little young for him, I think.

I felt the style suits a GooseBumps type of reader, and the story could too, but might need to be tamed a little to make it an easier sell. Just my own personal take though - like I said, I really appreciated the pitch, the pacing and the storytelling. It was purely the style that didn't sit for me.

Really enjoyed this book, was a quick, fast paced read, the story was quick to develop and the ending was super unexpected.
Can wait to read the next.

Thank you Netgalley and UCLan Publishing for my arch copy.

I really enjoyed this creepy little christmas story, it was more creepy then festive. The elf was as creepy as I wanted it to be and I really enjoyed getting the back story of the elf and finally finding out how it came into the characters life.

Thank you so much to UCLan Publishing and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

I really liked this book it was a great horror read, the premise was so intriguing and the evil elf didn’t disappoint at all. I did find personally that the horror within the book was very tame and mild, I was really expecting it to be a lot scarier, creepier and even gorier than it was.

The story itself was really fascinating and I was gripped into seeing how Evangeline was going to get herself out of the mess she’d gotten into with the evil elf watching and following her, attacking everyone that is remotely naughty around her. It was so very intriguing the whole read.

Though a big part of the story I did kind of figure out almost right away, though I won’t spoil what, the ending did take a turn I wasn’t really expecting to come, which was great.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was so different to other horror books I’ve read, I really liked the Magicka lore used within the story and the use of an evil elf on the shelf type topic. It’s a great tame horror read for people that get scared easily this is a good book to read as it’s not very scary but very entertaining.