Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 is a fun, mysterious, and a little suspenseful popcorn thriller about an extreme game of hide and seek with influencers and master gamers as the contestants. Set on a remote island in an old abandoned hotel. Of course, being highly centered around social media, and their sponsors, the game is being live streamed and documented by the hosts and each contestant. Told through multiple POVs including a true crimes podcast, social media posts, and viewers comments.

I was worried this was going to be a book that has already been done multiple times, but it was actually more of a behind the scenes of the game leading up to the start of the game, instead of the game itself, which was interesting. I thought it was a good representation of how social media and/or gaming tend to be a big focus in our lives and how some feel like they have to post everything they do, the good, the bad and the ugly, hoping to go viral usually for views and fame. I will say, I giggled at the names given in replace of real life social media names.

A lot of POVs and a lot of secrets but pretty predictable. I really enjoyed the story and was completely immersed but I kept waiting for a twist or reveal that never really came. There were so many ways it could have gone but I felt like it went the most predictable way. And of course, like in most remote island thrillers, before the game actually gets started, a tropical storm hits the island…but I felt like the story was missing the dark and stormy atmospheric vibes.

The narrator did a great job with giving the characters their own distinct voices making it easy to follow and giving an entertaining performance from start to finish.

This book was filled with twists and turns that will keep you guessing what will happen next. I liked the closeness that this contest held to reality shows like Fear Factor or Survivor, and the relevant influencer/social media aspects included in the story.

I was so intrigued by the premise of this book: an extreme hide-and-seek reality show. Unfortunately, this book failed to keep my attention. I made it 30% in and they still hadn't officially started the game yet. It seemed strange that all the participants were able to meet and keep their phones. I just wasn't convinced so I had to give up. I would consider trying again if this gets released as an audiobook.

I received a digital ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

This is my first Lisa Unger book and unfortunately I wasn’t a fan. I ended up DNFing around the 40% mark. It was such a slow loving story that I lost interest really quickly.

Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 is a slow burn thriller. There are multiple POV's and a vast array of problems. Our FMC, Adele is currently a single mother because her husband was caught embezzling money and ran off. Adele is trying to move on and has become a social media influencer. Her son Blake, encourages her to go on a reality game show called Extreme Hide and Seek. The show is set on an island that is basically falling apart and a massive storm is headed its way.

The founders of Extreme Hide and Seek are a mess. On the verge of going bankrupt due to their last challenge ending with a missing person and other various issues, they need this challenge to be successful.

As the story progresse, we learn about each character and a bit of background information and finally how the story all ties together.

While, I enjoyed this, I definitely felt like it could have been a bit shorter and a few less POVs to keep up with.

The story ended up being not what I was expecting, and some things were predictable but overall I enjoyed it. The characters were well thought out and I liked the different POVs.

I thought this one was fine, but once again, it was one that I liked the concept more than I liked the book.

The is about a game of extreme hide and seek for a bunch of influencers, put on by an influencer and the winner gets $1 million dollars. Of course, things go wrong.

I thought this was such a fun idea, and it starts out following one of the participants. I thought it was going to be more about the challenge and the game. Instead, the book ended up being more about the influencers who were hosting the game and the corruption surrounding them. I found this to be far less interesting and ended up not really caring what was going on with them.

At times, we would get a little bit of a look at what the contestants were up to, but it was hard to follow. I kept thinking that the game had started because they would be at a hiding spot and talking about it, but then they would be meeting with the hosts of the contest again, or they would be in tents with the others, so I couldn't keep up with where that timeline was. It is unclear to me if they ever even started the game of hide and seek.

There were also too many extreme side plots and things going on for it to flow coherently. It felt more like the author had ideas for several different books that were all kind of crammed in. By the time we got to the plot twist and the direction it was going, there were so many ways it could have gone that I didn't even really care anymore.

Overall, the book was fine. I was just letdown because it was not what I expected it to be. And I still would rather have read about the participants and their game of extreme hide and seek.

This book has such an intriguing premise—an extreme game of hide-and-seek that turns into a deadly survival thriller. The concept hooked me right away, especially with its commentary on influencer culture and the dangers of chasing viral fame. I really liked Adele as a main character; her determination and fierce love for her kids made her easy to root for.

That said, the execution felt a bit choppy. The pacing was uneven, with scenes jumping around in a way that made it hard to stay fully immersed in the tension. There were some solid twists, but a lot of them felt predictable or didn’t land with the impact I was hoping for. The atmosphere was there, but the suspense didn’t always hit as hard as it could have.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an eARC of this book!

I really liked the idea of the book, especially the whole "hide and seek" vibe on the island. It’s a great setting that could’ve created a lot of tension. The plot with contestants trying to escape while someone is out to harm them sounded great, but it felt way too busy. Every character had some secret, and it seemed like there was just too much going on all at once. If they’d focused on fewer plot points, it could’ve been way more engaging. Also, I get that it’s in the final stages of editing, but the online chat part felt kind of distracting the way it was written. Overall, it seemed like it could’ve been a really good thriller based on the description and cover, but it just got a bit too messy.

Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 by Lisa Unger ⭐️⭐️💫

Surprisingly, I struggled with this one. I loved the premise. I loved the setting - abandoned, creepy vacation resort. It really set the stage for a perfect game of spooky hide and seek.

However, this book didn’t pick up for me until about 60-70%, which was a long time. The beginning 2/3 had so much background, so I was a bit bored.

Also, there were many characters and many different POVs, which I typically don’t mind but here it felt like too much. I didn’t love any of the characters; they all read young even if they weren’t. And they all had a ton going on which didn’t really fit well into the story. It almost felt like two different storylines playing out together. The threads never tied in for me.

Readers who enjoy many POVs, social media and podcast tie ins, and atmospheric settings will enjoy this one.

Received an ARC of this book and am a fan of Lisa Unger. I must admit that I wasnt a fan of the book at first. I am not into influencing and games BUT I decided to give it a chance. And while it really took off as I got into it I did find myself turning the page to find out what happens next. As a kid I always loved a good game of Hide & Seek (do kids even play that anymore?) and this was certainly an adult version of it. Loved how Unger added in video games and of course a little romance.

I would definitely recommend this book and look forward to more of her writings.

This thriller had a fantastic premise—a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek on a remote island that quickly turns deadly. The suspense builds slowly, and while it took a while to hook me, the final stretch was intense and hard to put down. Adele was my favorite character—a strong, determined mother trying to do what’s best for her kids. Maverick, the social media-obsessed game leader, was frustrating but realistically written. The multiple POVs worked well, though some felt unnecessary and slowed the pacing. The story tackled the dangers of social media in an interesting way, and I appreciated the twists, even if some were predictable. Despite some slow moments, it was still an engaging read, and the last part kept me up late to finish.
If you enjoy slow-burn thrillers with reality TV-style suspense, this is worth a read!
Very grateful to the publisher for my copy through NetGalley, opinions are my own

I was drawn to this book because I read a couple other reality TV game show thrillers and really enjoyed them. I also liked the last two books I read by Lisa Unger, so this seemed like a perfect choice. There are several point of views which I thought was great. I thought the setting was great too, and the author did a fantastic job describing it. I loved the premise and thought it had a lot of potential. Unfortunately, this was a major slow burn that didn’t hook me until close to the end. A few of the characters were unlikable as well and I couldn’t connect with them. While I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I hoped, I do recommend it to those who enjoy slow burns.

This book felt very similar to a short story that I’ve read, which made it tough to feel really invested. The way that the chapters jumped around in time felt a little disjointed. I think you’d enjoy this book if you enjoy extreme reality shows or spend a lot of time in virtual worlds and want to read a thriller related to these things.

This will easily be the worst book I will read in 2025. I hate read it. It was god awful. Truly so bad. I have never written a review this mean but who let this be published.

This story is told in multiple POVS, my fav.
We have Adele. Single mother of two whose husband is on the run after embezzling from his company and leaving his family high and dry. Her son talks her into this competition for a chance to win money they desperately need.
We have Maverick. What a mess he is. He is the leader of the “game” and all about his “views”. It is sad when you think about how messed up his life is because of this- but how accurate all of the social media is in this book. Hopefully it could be some kind of warning to people who are so sucked into the “likes” and “views”.
Angeline. Maverick’s lady. She’s dumb and should have left him, honestly. Everyone around him needed an intervention years prior. It felt like children trying to run a business and it wasn’t working for me. Where were the people with brains here?!

It was a good story though. Hard to put down. I was not surprised who the main culprit was, however, I was surprised with the “minor” ones. Overall, I would suggest it!

When a seemingly innocent game of hide-and-seek goes wrong, secrets, twists, abduction, and murder ensue.

There were a plethora of characters and their perspectives in this book, but I never had issues in keeping track of any of them. I appreciate this writing skill. Most characters were well-developed and there were some that were definitely likable. I enjoyed Adele’s character the most. A resilient mother of two teenagers whose husband is on the run from the authorities. All she wants is the best for her kids and recognizes when she needs goes to therapy to help her through certain points in her life.

However, were many moments that the plot moved slowly. This mostly happened when some characters’ backgrounds were given. Some were important to know, but others given seemed a bit much. There were also several character POVs that seemed unnecessary.

Unfortunately, there were numerous errors throughout the book. Mostly word spacing issues. I also felt the online chatting could have been formatted better. It seemed to run into the regular text, which can be confusing. Hopefully, this is because of the fact of the book being an arc versus a final edited version.

The ending was especially exciting and the author does a nice job in closing any loose ends, except for maybe one. This is one of those books that I wasn’t sure how I’d feel, especially during those dragging points, but couldn’t stop reading the last twenty percent and stayed up late to finish!

Considering everything, I rate “Close Your eyes and Count to 10” a 3 out of 5 stars.

My opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher (Harlequin Trade Publishing) for giving me the opportunity to read “Close Your eyes and Count to 10”.

A group of influencers is brought to a remote island to play the ultimate game of hide and seek for a cash prize. But what starts as a thrilling competition quickly turns into a fight for survival as a brewing storm rolls in. And it’s not just the weather creating tension—an angry storm of social media viewers is also watching, fueled by the mystery of a young girl who disappeared during the last game and was never found.

While the story is packed with suspense, it felt like a slow burn to me. The numerous side stories were a bit distracting and, at times, predictable. With so many directions this plot could have taken, the ending felt a little too clean-cut for my taste.

That being said, it definitely kept me on my toes—I couldn’t wait to see how it would all unfold. Lisa Unger came up with such a great premise!

Confession time: I watch and love bad reality competition shows. Did I hate Beast Games? Yes. Did I watch it with popcorn, soda, and jeering at the TV? Yes, I did. (See same for everything from House of Villains to The Mole to The Summit and more.)

And I was so disappointed.

If, like me, you picked this up because of the game, please know that the game is seriously underutilized and barely even happens in the book.

It is suspenseful and I did find myself a bit surprised at the who and the why of everything, but I wanted the game.

Had it been described differently and, therefore, my expectations different, I might have enjoyed this one more.

Thank you @htpbooks @parkrowbooks for the free digital arc and alc!

A single mom whose husband went missing after a financial scandal travels to an isolated island for a social media driven competition. With a disastrous storm looming and a girl that disappeared from the last competition, what could go wrong?

This thriller was very atmospheric with the crumbling ruins, isolated island and impending storm. The missing person aspect was also intriguing. However, I felt the plot was pretty predictable and I didn’t care for a lot of the characters and their annoying bro talk. I would recommend this one for the atmosphere/entertainment, but don’t expect any shocking plot twists.

Rating 3⭐️