This book was good but a bit slow at times. There was multiple povs so at some times it was a bit confusing.

The Cottage
by Lisa Stone
Pub Date 09 Nov 2021
Harper 360,HarperCollins
General Fiction \(Adult\)| Mystery & Thrillers


Harper 360, Harper Collins, and Netgalley provided me with a copy of The Cottage for review:


Check out The Cottage if you want a book full of twists and turns!




Jan Hamlin needs a fresh start after losing her job and boyfriend. So she rents a secluded cottage in Coleshaw Woods.





Things quickly take a dark turn. Jan hears strange noises and faint taps at the window at night. Someone or something is out there.



Jan won't be scared off. The nightmare is just beginning, but whoever is outside won't leave...


I give The Cottage four out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

This book starts the thrills from the first few pages and keeps them going. Definitely one to consider if you enjoy a who done it type of storyline.

I've heard it said that having two stories or two timelines in books is dangerous. No matter how hard the author tries, you will always enjoy one more than the other and dread the switch that section. This book is an example of two stories in the same book where neither one interested me. I couldn't decide if I was relieved or upset about the switches back and forth. Also, the cover and premise didn't match the story at all, which feels like it's setting up the reader not to enjoy the book.

This book was okay -- I definitely wasn't a fan of the "two stories at once" thing but only because I didn't think they really made sense together until a bit further on. Definitely gave off low-budget horror movie vibes.

This book started off quick and a little spooky, but quickly turned into something so unbelievable and silly. The characters were not likeable and the dialogue and descriptions were boring.
*Trigger warning: descriptions of miscarriage/traumatic birth early on in the book.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't a fan of The Cottage. I couldn't get into the storyline.

The book and the premise do not match - I was expecting a totally different book! That being said, it was a good, quick read if you are interested in more medical based thrillers.

This book is not what the cover and the description lead you to believe it is. If it would have described the other side of the dual narrative, I probably would not have read it. I was expecting a creepy horror story and instead wound up with a medical "thriller." I use the word thriller in quotes because there were no twists, everything was ridiculously predictable. I finished it hoping there would be something else but literally I guessed the entire book by like the halfway point at least, probably sooner. Not all books needs surprise twists but most suspense books do and especially this one as it was all it really would have had going for it. The phenomenon this book was based on should not have been presented in a thriller format, not this way. It was almost offensive in parts. I wouldn't recommend it.

The stillbirth storyline was very triggering for me. I wish I would have known about this before starting the book. I could not finish unfortunately.

This a well written mystery that I really enjoyed. I finished it in one day and can’t wait for Lisa Stone’s next novel. Thank you so much for this arc!

This one has set on my Netgalley queue for a long while and, as it turns out, for a reason. I do try to be discerning when it comes to mystery thriller selections for there are simply too many for them out there, but it isn’t always possible. And so, sometimes books like this slip through.
Not that The Cottage is a terrible book, it just isn’t a very good one.
For one thing, the author is simply too prolific for quality to enter the equation. She has a good working idea of how these things are done and plies the formula. Flat writing and flat characters and a thoroughly predictable plot included.
It’s all serviceable enough the way mediocre thrillers often are, but just barely so for a discerning genre fan and in the end (including the very ending) it just gets kind of stupid. Or maybe trite is a nicer way of putting it? Either way, this tale of sperm donations, breeding challenges and small-town mores doesn’t have much to offer. Ok, the depiction of a city person taking a remote cottage is decent enough, the paranoia, the creeping unfamiliar noises, etc. but that’s about it. Which is nowhere near enough for a book this size. Pass. Thanks Netgalley.

Jan rents an isolated cottage in the woods after she loses both her job and her boyfriend. Shortly after arriving, Jan starts seeing and hearing things around the cottage once it gets dark. The people around her aren't taking it seriously when she explains what is going on so she tries to investigate it on her own. A bit of a predictable read. Needs a little more work.
Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.

Didn't capture my attention and engagement. Interested in trying it again though and hopefully it will take.

Thank you Harper Collins and. NetGalley for this e-ARC!

This book was ok for me. The premise of the story was very interesting and I was definitely invested in finishing it. However, the writing was very simplistic in my option and lacked detail. The mystery behind how the two stories connect was intriguing. Overall, it was a decent read!

When things begin to fall apart in Jan's life, she finds herself eager to move into the remote cottage in the woods she decided to rent. She's not used to the quiet in the pitch black dark, so when she hears noises and taps on the window, she has no idea what to make of it. She hatches a plan to find out who is outside the cabin, and what she discovers is something she is not ready for.

After reading the blurb I did not expect the storyline to turn out the way it did. I liked how Jan was determined to solve the mystery of who was outside, even though she was scared. The book also revolves around another couple, Ian and Emma, tying them all together. Overall it was an interesting read which took me by surprise. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper 360/HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this book.

I love Lisa Stone. This was a great mystery! Unique and enthralling with a perfect atmospheric thriller! So good!

I received an eARC of The Cottage by Lisa Stone from Harper 360 and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
I give this book 3 stars! This wasn't the most captivating book I've read but it was enjoyable overall. I appreciate the author's writing style and I would be interested in reading her books in the future.

Loved the twist and turns. This was a new author to me and I’m super excited to see what they do next! Great for horror fans

Full Youtube video has been filmed, I am just editing it but will edit this Good Reads post with the link once it is live. This book has SUCH a promising setting, a remote cottage with one loan protagonist staying there, what could go wrong? Sadly, this book takes SUCH a ridiculous turn and I just couldn't get invested. Once I understood the route this book was going, I didn't want to finish (although I did!) All in all, it had potential but fell VERY flat.