Watched

by A.V. Brown

Freya has spent years scrubbing the memory of Roman's touch from her skin. She's finally building a life defined by her own rules. Then she meets Rune Higgs. He's everything Roman wasn't; protective, steady, and devastatingly intense. Their chemistry is a wildfire she's not sure she wants to put out.

But in a world of psychopaths and betrayal, happily ever after might just be a death sentence. Roman is back, and he's not just looking for her, he's looking for blood. With a traitor in the midst, Freya is forced into a deadly game of cat and mouse. To save those she loves, Freya will have to descend into the darkness once more.

To survive, Freya must learn to trust the man who has been obsessed with her from the shadows. More importantly, she must learn to trust herself. Can she step into her own power to save the people she loves and secure the future she deserves?

This book contains high-heat, explicit scenes and dark themes that may be triggering for some readers.

255 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 26, 2026

About the author

Find my books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/A.-V....

A. V. Brown writes the things that lurk in the periphery of your soul. Lurking in the shadows, she crafts fiction and poetry where the light is a luxury and the dark is an old friend.

Living in the South West, UK with her family and very large, very needy dog Princess Peaches, when she's not writing you'll find her trawling the local library, or holed up in a coffee shop with a book (usually filled with morally grey MMC's).

Reviews

[Leah Fairhurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watched was a great debut from A.V. Brown and a strong introduction to the trilogy, setting the scene for what may come in the following books.

The story kept me intrigued throughout, with plenty of twists and turns that helped maintain the suspense and kept me wanting to know what would happen next.

This was a story about escaping a toxic past relationship, only for one person to discover that the other had returned seeking revenge. The tension between the characters was compelling, and I particularly enjoyed Higgs’ golden retriever meets stalker energy.

As this was a shorter book, I did find that some elements of the story were only briefly touched upon and I would have liked more depth in certain areas. However, these aspects may be developed further in the following books, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the story continues to unfold.

Overall, Watched was an interesting start to the trilogy and has left me curious to see where A.V. Brown takes the story next.

Thank you to A.V. Brown for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Lissa Readz · Rating 4 out of 5]

**ARC Review**

This one had me right from the beginning. The writing is great and really kept you wanting to keep reading. I literally finished it in one day. I couldn’t put it down.

The characters were great and left me wanting more. I absolutely need more of Freya & Higgs (swoon). I want more Diya (so fierce). I want more Jax (mostly for his backstory). I need more Dan (seriously though, I really do).

I sometimes have a hard time completing series but I’m excited to see where this one goes.

I’m a Virgo so of course I have unanswered questions, but I am hopeful I will get my answers in the next book(s).

AV did an excellent job for their debut novel. Can’t wait for release day (June 26th) so I can get my hands on a physical copy!

[Luke Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

📖 Watched
✍️ @avbrownwrites
🗓️ June 2026

Spoiler free review.

This book was absolutely amazing and kept me entertained from the start to the point that I've started and finished it in 2 days and loved every second of it.

This is a beautifully written dark romance first book written by @avbrownwrites and it is genuinely amazing, it was dark at times, but that is the point of a dark book, and the spice in it was 🤌, it wasn't I've the top and didn't take away from the actual story.

This is an amazing book that simply boils down to the fact that you control your future and how it pans out, there's going to be surprises along the way and your past will haunt you at times, but you can become stronger because of it and find who you are.

Freya, Higgs and Diya are all amazing characters, but the main characters Freya and Higgs are the best and seeing how they mold together throughout and how their paths crossed at one point was amazing.

I am looking forward to seeing if a few things are addressed in the next book and how it all pans out, but after reading the epilogue, I know the next book is going to be just as good and I'm looking forward to it already.

This has all the things that you would want, a morally grey MMC, touch her and 💀, betrayal and who did this to you, just a couple to get your interest 😜.

An absolutely amazing first book from @avbrownwrites and I hope the journey continues 😊.

[Jade Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watched is a psychological thriller full of spice, angst, complicated characters and dark themes.

Freya, who has suffered going through an emotional and abusive relationship, is trying to move forwards with her life, whilst healing. A.V.Brown paints a dark and heart-breakingly realistic picture of someone who carries a lot of wounds, but is deteremined to rebloom. As a survivior myself, I appreciated the way A.V.Brown portrayed such a difficult theme - showing how an individual's future can be affected by their past, despite their desperate urge to break free and heal.

There was a lot of spice, and I enjoyed how the characters developed, and how well A.V.Brown portrayed both healthy and toxic relationships. Kink themes were touched on, and treated perfectly - the characters communicated what they were ready for and enjoyed, and developed together as the story progressed. There was quite a lot of spice, but it went hand in hand with the plot, which moved at a steady pace together.

The ending intrigued me, and left me rethinking how I felt about the main character Freya. It actually made me question a lot of things (which I always appreciate in a novel!), like how people can heal in different ways, and how events can change an individual as a person.

I received this as an arc, and am really grateful for it! I've read A.V Brown's poetry collection which I obsessed over, so was intrigued to see how I found her debut novel. I think it will be a great hit with dark romance lovers.

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

⋆｡°✩ Spoiler Free Reviews ⋆｡°✩

I was kindly provided with this book (censorship is BS and I hate it but here we are!)

A long awaited ARC from a bestie! The best way I can describe it is psychological thriller meets dark romance - it works and I need book 2 now!

Tropes for this one; touch him/her and die, he falls first and harder, she’s escaped an abusive relationship, he works as a tech vigilante, good girl & good boy, badass FMC and MMC, high stakes and tension - oh, and he cums in his pants from looking at her!
Smut was 2.5/5 on the spice scale and it’s a HEA but there will be future books!

Freya is our FMC and I think she might be the most relatable FMC I’ve read in a long time. She thinks she’s this terrible person but actually, she’s just not spoken up about the shit she’s been through. When she comes into her own though, peak badass levels are reached!

Rune Higgs is our MMC (gave both names cause he goes by both separately in the book) is an enigma and one I want to climb like a tree. He’s got golden retriever energy, but also powerful “don’t fuck with me” vibes and I’m here for both!

[b00kishbritt · Rating 4 out of 5]

One look at the trope list, & I knew I wanted to read AV Browns debut book 😈 She's quickly grown into one of my favorite people because, well, she's awesome! 🖤
Her writing style was fun to read, so many parts made me laugh. Diya & Dan were especially funny. Every good book needs loveable side characters 🫶
Higgs, one of our MMCs is a top tier golden retriever, but would still f*ck sh*t up for Freya!
Interested to see what happens in the next book.. This was sort of a different twist on the stalker trope and I thought it was pretty cool.


Thank you for letting me ARC read for you AV Brown!

•255 Pages
•Dark Psychological Thriller
•Plot Twists
•Crazy Ex Bf / Good Boy New Bf
•He Falls First
•Revenge
•🌶🌶

[Laura La · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll start by saying how much I liked the way the dialogue was written. People actually sound like real people talking to each other instead of overly polished speeches or dramatic romance monologues. Another thing that felt real was the girls’ friendship. It felt genuine, supportive, messy, and real.

There were a few moments where the writing slipped into romance cliché wording a little too much for my taste, but the spice scenes completely made up for it. Especially the ones happening in their imagination… uuummm yeah. Those were the strongest parts for me.

For a debut novel, this was genuinely impressive and I’m definitely curious to see where the story goes next.

[Ekaterini Karasmanaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was dark from start to finish.

Freya is trying to survive everything Roman put her through, while Higgs slowly works his way into her life.
He’s just as morally grey but in a completely different way.
Roman was absolutely vile, manipulative and the kind of character you love to hate.

The kidnapping, the bunker, the revenge and all the trauma kept the story moving, while the spice added just enough heat without taking over.

[Leah Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was bloody brilliant!
LOVE LOVE LOVE
thank you so much for the arc!!