Something about the writing style of this novel was off-putting and it didn't feel very readable. Our main character, Kate, doesn't come off as very likable - in fact, she seemed like a bit of a pill. Also, was anyone else annoyed with her calling her father-in-law "Dad", or was that just me? For some reason, I cringed every time.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book sucked me in and I found myself thinking about it and looking forward to climbing into bed at night to read it. Great characters who were both real and likable, combined with an original plot that captured interest.

This is a great read. I honestly couldn't put it down until my eyes were blurry and I needed to rest a few hours. This was surprising to me considering an hour into my reading I was 100% sure who was doing the terrorizing.

Poor Kate has lost her husband just two years prior to the start of a new terror attacking her house and her family. She feels the sensation of being watched as her home is attacked with malicious vandalism. She experiences a sensation of being watched. Why is someone terrorizing the widow of a police officer? Why is someone waging a vendetta against her? Estranged from her sister since childhood, a stranger living in her cottage, a preteen daughter with attitude, Kate has enough going on already.

Want the answers? Read the book.

Now that we've covered those bits let's talk about the pros and cons of actually reading the book. I did enjoy the author's use of seldom used words such as "antithetical". I enjoyed the grammar lesson on nauseous opposed to nauseated since people are seldom aware of the difference. Some people truly are nauseous but most are just nauseated. However, as this was an uncorrected proof, I was left wondering how the author manages to get a book finished and whether or not his computer had grammar/spellcheck. My heart goes out to the person who must proofread and edit this book. Aside from typos, which are expected when one is typing quickly and for long stretches of time, there were glaring errors that made me cringe. In some cases, the wrong name was given to another character, a couple of times location was incorrect, many times the word most needed to make a sentence make sense was missing, and often extra words were just there and had no relevance to the sentence at all. There was also a sentence ender that was repeated far too much in my opinion. Again, I do not envy the person correcting all of this.

I wasn't thrilled to know the who through the entire book. Every time a new clue came up it was glaringly obvious what was going on or at least by whom. There was no chance I was going to get to the end and find I was wrong, and I wasn't. There were some detailed conversations with this character that went far beyond what anyone would consider "normal" conversation. There was one interaction with this character that went into so much detail that it also revealed much of the why, also the details were long and boring. I scanned through most of it as I realized that while it gave much away it also wasn't the true root of why. Sadly, I figured out the true why by the middle of the book.

None of these cons made the book any less fun to read as it is written quite well. As I stated in the beginning, I didn't want to put it down until I was forced to by exhaustion. The pros are worth the read. The characters are rich with personality and connecting to them was effortless. I felt for Kate at every turn, enough so that I wanted to catch the scumbag and take them down myself. I was disappointed at the dissolving of a friendship at the end. Apparently, the author isn't up on "girl code". No woman who truly cares for her best friend is going to drop a bombshell like that when her friend has suffered a tragic loss. As for the few days before, Kate was a little wrapped up in someone trying to kill her to worry about something so insignificant in contrast considering she had no reason to think it was connected in any way.

Overall, this is a book I would recommend. I will likely try another title by the author to see if it compares to this experience. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to read this advance copy.

I can’t decide whether or not I liked this book, so I guess I’ll give it three stars? I’ll be straightforward and say that I did NOT vibe with this author’s writing style - I found it clunky and it had the tendency to drone on and on without actually saying anything. Because of that, this book was a chore to get through at times; it had the feel of a diamond in the rough that just didn’t get polished enough. On the other hand, I loved the premise and the author did a solid job building up the suspense and the creep-factor to the point where I got a little nervous and paranoid because I read this book home alone and at night.

It looks like this book will be available via Kindle Unlimited upon its release, so ultimately I’d say that it’s worth checking out if you’re on the fence.

Thank you, NetGalley, for a free ebook of The Cottage by Daniel Judson, in exchange for an honest review.

I see what some reviewers mean when they say it seems like he wrote this book with the intention of making it into a movie. Judson has a very straightforward writing style. And I did feel like this story would have made a little more sense if it were written in first person, but after a while I got used to it.

I was a little put off by how many times Kate said the word “Dad” (62! Yes, I looked it up.) I also got a little confused with the male characters- especially because sometimes they were addressed by their first names, and other times by their last names. I had trouble keeping them straight. But otherwise, it’s easily readable and very bingeable.

You may not want to read this while you’re home alone. I did and every little normal house noise unnerved me. But even though I made that mistake, I still didn’t want to put it down. I had to know what was going to happen. Judson does a good job of making you feel Kate’s overwhelming helplessness and fear. And he makes you question the motives of every character.

If you’re looking for something suspenseful, a little mysterious and very disturbing, this is the book for you!

I kind of went back and forth on this one?! The storyline was really good there was intrigue, suspense, action and lots of plot twists! But there was also a lot of just droning on and on about nothing important?! I did like the story but almost half the book was just sort of useless talking I guess?? But like I said it was a very goid story but could have Bern shorter I suppose. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Right now the book reads like a screen plan. "She walks into the room and..." This doesn't allow for a good flow. I'm waiting for the author to give stage directions. It gives the feel of "And then, and then, and then" I want to be in the main characters head, not an audience member. The story is great, there's a lot of potential here but the writing style needs a better flow

This is one of the creepiest books I’ve ever read. Part mystery part thriller part horror I couldn’t wait to find out what happened at the end. One of the best told stories I’ve read all year.

Ok so I couldn't wait. I wanted to wait till October to start it, but yeah well I couldn't!.
No self control here! At all!

The Cottage was fabulous. This is my first Daniel Judson book..... And he hit all feels with this book.
I mean its just fantastic. What else can I say.
His writing is superb, wild, suspenseful, intriguing!
I couldn't pull my eyes away from my Kindle.
The setting was so interesting I felt like I literally there.
Kate Burke was a great character. A widow who has PTSD and when she hears stuff outside her her house it triggers all these emotions inside her! Her husband was killed during a home invasion.
She wakes up and her home has been vandalized. Someone is watching her! She knows it!.
So finally Kate decides to go and rent her estranged sister’s cottage that is on her property.... Just for the summer! To clear her head and get away! To feel safe! Or so she thinks.
Nope!!!! Things keep happening to her at the cottage and they are getting worse! Phone call, the texts, the sounds!

This book was beyond fabulous and I wished it wouldn't have ended!
In could dream right?

I can't thank NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and author for this crazy ebook!

It’s been two years since her husband was killed during a home invasion, but Kate is still suffering from nightmares and an all consuming phobia that she might be attacked again. After discovering that her property has been vandalized the morning after she hears a commotion outside, Kate decides to move into her sister’s vacant cottage. But instead of feeling safer, she becomes even more terrified, as the vandalism seems to have followed her, indeed, it’s getting worse. Add in anonymous calls and texts and Kate is terrified, and begins to wonder if her husband’s death was the result of a random attack at all