This was a book about what happens when fertility clinics are not regulated. A dishonest doctor causes a lot of pain and suffering because of his ego. What can couple do when they find out devastating news? You must read this book to find out what happens in this non-stop read.

This book definitely did not go the direction I anticipated, and I loved it!
I don't want to spoil a single thing for the reader, but just when you think you've got it all figured out there's that sharp twist and *gasp* yet another turn!

A decent mysterious novel with lots of secrets revealed. This was quite an original plot and kept me interested. It took me nearly half the book to get used to the writing style though.

💭💭My Thoughts:
⭐️⭐️⭐️3/5

Have you ever wanted to just run away and hide from the world following a bad breakup or losing a job? That is exactly what the MC, Jan, does in this book.

Jan picks up and rents an isolated, quiet cottage near the woods in hopes of a fresh start. Soon Jan starts to hear things, such as a tap on the window and strange eerie noises. She knows that it is not all in her head because the dog that she is sitting for at the cottage hears it too, but what exactly is it???

Did Jan escape to seclusion, or is someone, or something here with her? Whatever it is-it is here to stay.

This book has two stories intertwined together. Aside from Jan’s story, there is also Ian & Emma’s as well. The couple have lost two children during childbirth. There is something strange going on as it is not your typical stillbirth. What exactly was wrong with their children? Ian is determined to find out.

Although both of these stories do intertwine, they both felt like two completely different stories. I’m not sure that I enjoyed this aspect of it.

I enjoyed this one, I was not blown away by it, but it was an okay read & one that I was invested in finishing. Once I started I didn’t want to stop. This is definitely a thriller-with creepy & eerie vibes, and at times reminded me of a horror movie.

I will say that I was able to figure most things out early on in the book. The author did a great job of painting a haunting atmosphere for the reader. This was my first read by the author and I enjoyed her writing style and the setting of the story. I will be looking forward to reading more from Lisa Stone in the future.

Very interesting story from a new to me author. Did not know anything about atavism and found it fascinating. Very well done. Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

I went into this story very excited from the synopsis. What I read felt like a completely different book to me. The story is written well and had interesting characters, but I was not expecting where the story ended up leading.

It's very predictable, and the writing is so simplistic that you can probably skim past entire pages without missing a thing. Major warning for those who have experienced traumatic births, miscarriage, infertility, and those types of situations. In that respect, it's a very sad story (apparently based on real events, which makes me shudder.)

A small village of Merryless keeps many secrets. The residents of the quiet town are all look alike due to their genes being messed up by a power station chemical waste that got into the village's water. Baby cries and screams are heard in the Coleshaw Woods. Families lose their babies in multiple miscarriages. A coincidence or simply bad luck?

I was sickened by the end of the novel. Person's obsessive need to continue his family line has brought an atavism and genetic throwback to many shattered young families. And that's not counting the reason for their heartbreak.

The reader has to come to this read with an open mind. It's a shocking story of a hideous experiment that was brought on a small village of Merryless and its surrounded towns. I did enjoy the characters and their gripping storylines. I would give this book five stars if it was not for the ending. That last twist was unnecessary, it was over the top and in my opinion, just ruined the whole story. Nevertheless, the novel is worth reading. Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins publisher for a free and advanced copy of the novel.

Lisa Stone -- What is you doin, Girl!?!? I mean, what??? I'm sitting here, just finished with The Cottage and flabbergasted.
First, I honestly am just shocked and disgusted part of this story was inspired by true events. I will never understand the audacity of some people.

For the synopsis: Jan rents an isolated cottage in the middle of nowhere after losing her job and being unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend. It seems like a great deal...sublet the place and take care of the owner's dog while they're abroad for work and Jan will get her mind right and work on her book. Win, win. That is...until the creepiness starts to happen. Sounds, things moving, fence repairs UN-repaired, tapping on windows...general weirdness abounds.

There are two storylines in this book that eventually merge and to be honest, it wasn't difficult to figure out. The most suspenseful part was Jan trying to discover what was happening while she was alone in the cottage and that ended up getting to be a bit tedious and repetitive, in my opinion.

As far as the whole Moller Clinic aspect of the story (doing my best not to have ANY spoilers), what the hell?!?! Mind.Blown. I could not even imagine. I have no words for the hell I would unleash on someone.

And that is all I can say at this moment because my brain has been melted into a fiery storm of "what if" scenarios should I have been one of these unfortunate people.

Thank you, THANK YOU NetGalley, and Lisa Stone for this ARC.

Loved this thriller! The characters were all developed well and consistent and the author built the suspense perfectly so that the more I read, the more I wanted to read and couldn't put it down! It sort of started abruptly, but quickly cleared up and clarified the story and I didn't really mind this - it avoided any unnecessary filler / fluff. I was also surprised as things started to come together - I kept trying to figure out the mystery (I don't want to say too much and spoil it), but couldn't quite get it right. Just when I'd think I had it, something would twist and it would slip out of my reach. I'm a fan of twisty, slippery thrillers like this! I'll be looking for more books by Lisa Stone!! I recommend this for anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers!
TW: miscarriage, pregnancy loss

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free eBook in exchange for an honest review!

Wow I'm not sure how to rate this one. I genuinely liked the suspense/horror vibe and I was a little creeped out for the MC Jan. However, the plot/plot twist was very predictable and I was a little perturbed by it. I was intrigued that this is a viable plot for a book when I read the comment at the end of the book since this has sort of happened in real life. Otherwise, it felt very far fetched and awkward.

I struggled with the repetitive storyline and it felt a little slow. Then the end of the book felt like a summary since it was so fast.

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Jan has recently lost her job and her boyfriend at the same time. He decided he wanted to live alone and now she has no place to stay. So, she has agreed to live in a cottage for a woman currently living abroad and caring for the woman’s little dog, Tinder. The cottage is located in a remote area on the edge of a dense forrest. During the day, it’s a nice place with a large garden. However, at night, it gets very dark, quiet, and spooky.

One night, Jan and Tinder are watching television when they hear a noise outside that gets Tinder very excited. It sounds like someone tapping on the window. This happens often and Jan is becoming more and more frightened.

The story switches to a midwife named Anne Long. She is well known in the neighborhood and helps many women with their home births. But, there seems to be too many stillbirths and people don’t understand why.

I can’t take my review any further without giving away a number of spoilers. Oh my goodness. This book was so good and it exposed a situation that has evidently been in the news in the past. How sad for so many people, but what an enlightening story.

Copy provided by the NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Cottage basically is two separate stories that merge into one later in the book. The story is not unfamiliar having seen it before.

The Cottage by Lisa Stone is an intriguing story that, once you start, you will not want to put down. A well-written, fast-paced storyline full of many twists and turns that lead to an unexpected conclusion.

I loved how atmospheric this book was! It starts out so creepy and even throughout the book, I had moments where I was still pretty creeped out. I loved that, as it’s not really easy to do for me. I would give the book 5 stars just for the overall creepy but not scary or gross (horror) balance that the author was able to keep me in. Very suspensful!

The challenges with this story for me were:

I sort of figured out what was going on somewhat early but there were still good twists along the way that I hadn’t counted on

The characters themselves were a bit one-dimensional. I could have done with more development

The detective was an idiot. (insert major eye-rolling)

Can Jan not put that dog on a leash? For god’s sake!!

Some of the ‘science’ had some MAJOR liberties taken with it. I can’t say anymore without adding spoilers so I’ll leave it and you can judge for yourself. But I’m not even too bothered by this one because suspension of belief is totally doable on my part.

But can we circle back around to Jan knowing how to use a leash and that stupid detective! argh!!

This story probably is a 3.5 for me but because I was so entertained, I’m rounding it up to a 4!

I'm no stranger to the dual narrative, but this was odd in that those two tales were completely unrelated until the final quarter of the book. Which begs the question was this good or bad for me as the reader? I really don't know. I liked the book. I would recommend this book but it truly felt as though I was reading two different books almost the entire time. When the storylines did come together it was fine. Not compelling by any means. It was just fine. I'm grateful for the advanced copy from HarperCollins/Netgalley. I do recommend it mostly to see what others think of it.

The book was good, but it really wasn't much of a thriller. While the first few pages made me wonder if this was mislabeled and should actually be a horror book, I discovered that wasn't true in short order. Because of the second story line, with the young couple, I picked up on what was happening fairly quickly.

The author would have been better off leaving out the couple until later in the book to make it more suspenseful . Some of the conversations came across as rather stilted--that definitely could have been handled better. Some of the characterization was great--Jan, Ian Emma and the detectives. Others fell rather flat. Ruby's reaction to a sound at the door was odd, and the unreliable temperament of Chris made him unlikable to me.

Overall I thought the idea behind the book was a good one, but it could have been so much better.

This ended up being a very different book than what I was initially expecting. It wasn't terrible, but it just was not that thrilling/gripping/scary. The writing was fine, but the story was a little weird. Just an okay read for me.

This book opens up with a young woman, Jan who is renting a cottage in the middle of nowhere and starts to hear creepy noises outside. Without giving a lot of the book away - this book switches between different storylines that seem unrelated but come together at the end.

I really wanted to like this book - the atmosphere of the creepy cottage and the tense feelings - this all seemed like something I enjoyed. However, as I've read quite a few thriller and mystery books I felt like I could guess the plot twist and the ending really went off the rails - not something I enjoy in a book. There was also an odd element of almost sci-fi, medical plot which I didn't really think worked for this book.

This is a first time author for me and I felt like I just couldn't get into the story. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for this advance reader copy.

I love books with creepy, atmospheric, gothic houses and this has that in spades. Right from the beginning Jan is spooked by something in the woods. Is it animal, vegetable or human? Well you'll have to read the book to find out. There are two plotlines going on here and the second one was kind of disturbing but in a good way, it reminded me of the old V.C. Andrews books back in the day and I loved those. The only problem I had with this book was the fact that I had basically figured everything out pretty early on. I enjoyed the story and the writing and I kept on reading to see if I was right, it was entertaining enough to make me want to finish it, so that's saying something. I would read more from this author, this is my first by Lisa Stone but I'd check out her other books for sure. This was perfect for a fall evening read, right before Halloween. I would like to take a moment to appreciate the beautiful cover as well. It fits perfect with the story inside and I just love that.