A game of Hide and Seek on an island in some crazy place (Otherwise known as an abandoned hotel). Adele has an embezzling husband on the run and wants to win a million dollars playing a game of hide and seek. The money will help her provide for her two children. So she leaves them at home.
There was a lot of action, too many POVs, and a LOT of slow burn when the action was not happening. Which made it really confusing reading the story of so many people. There was a lot of unanswered questions and way to many POVs. It was an okay read.

What would you risk to participate in a game of hide and seek worth a million dollars? Well, Adele is a single mother who really needs the money so she is willing to take a chance on it. When she gets trapped in a web of deception can she maneuver a web of deception and make it home to her kids alive? This book is full of twists. You never know who you can trust to have your back. I really enjoyed this book. Thanks @NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #HarlequinTradePublishing for the book #CloseYourEyesAndCountTo10 by #LisaUnger. Adele, now a single mom of two, has entered an extreme competition in hopes of winning money to help her family survive. The competition is on an island and severe weather and other circumstances have made things way more difficult than they should be. Can she survive this and hopefully win the money so her family can get past what her husband has out them through?

4 stars
This fast-paced psychological thriller throws readers straight into a world of deception, secrets, and a high-stakes battle for survival. From the very first page, I was hooked—and Lisa Unger kept me on edge the entire time.

Adele, a struggling single mom haunted by trauma from her ex-husband, joins an extreme game of hide-and-seek hosted by a social media celebrity, hoping to win the million-dollar prize. But the secluded island where the game takes place is anything but a safe playground. The locals are hostile, a massive storm looms, and behind the scenes, something about the game itself feels dangerously off.

The atmosphere in this book is stunning—the setting feels like its own character. I could vividly picture the eerie, abandoned hotel where the game unfolds. The integration of social media into the plot was especially interesting, the way it was included made me reflect on just how much we share online.

Told through multiple POVs and a nonlinear timeline, the story unravels in a way that kept me intrigued while allowing me to connect with the characters. However, at times, there seemed to be a few too many subplots, which occasionally made the narrative feel a bit crowded. Despite this, it’s a gripping, immersive read from start to finish!

Thank you to NetGalley and HTP Hive (Harlequin Trade Publishing) for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 by Lisa Unger is a fast-paced psychological thriller that plunges readers into a high-stakes game of survival, deception, and dark secrets. When Maverick Dillan, a charismatic adventurer, invites contestants to play a game of hide-and-seek on Falcao Island, what starts as a social media stunt quickly turns into a life-or-death contest. As a storm brews, a deadly threat emerges, and the island becomes a treacherous battleground.

Adele, a determined single mother, is drawn into the chaos, unknowingly stepping into a web of danger as she strives to protect her family. As the game spirals out of control, she must navigate not only the brutal competition but also the blurred lines between reality and the virtual world. With trust becoming increasingly scarce, Adele's survival instincts are put to the ultimate test.

Unger skillfully builds tension with each page, creating a gripping narrative that explores the psychological complexities of the game and the lengths people will go to for survival. The novel keeps readers on edge, questioning who can be trusted and how far one will go when survival is the only priority. Perfect for fans of high-intensity thrillers, Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 is a suspenseful, heart-pounding ride that keeps you guessing until the very end.

Thank you for providing me an advanced copy of the book!

This book embodies everything about a three star book to me - didn't love it, didn't hate it. It was truly just "eh." I think my main issue is that I think the idea of a reality show gone wrong thriller is getting a bit stale. Just in the past year, I've read two others - One Perfect Couple/Ruth Ware and People to Follow/Olivia Worley.

I just wasn't that connected to the characters, and the twists didn't knock my socks off.

Bottom line: Average popcorn thriller.

Unger's newest novel promises 'deception' and 'twists' and it certainly delivers. The novel follows a myriad of characters (who all have a large variety of motives and backgrounds) as they compete for a million dollars (for some) and company stability (for others). As someone new to Unger's prose, I knew that their style is enjoyed by many and was excited to try the novel out. However, the plot was unfortunately a bit of a miss for me; it was a little predictable and repetitive at times. Originally, I was drawn in by the concept of extreme hide-and-seek, but it wasn't the main focus of the novel. Overall, the novel was quick and enjoyable and anyone who likes thrillers, suspense, and interpersonal drama will surely like Unger's recent work.

For Fans Of: Ruth Ware, Peter Swanson
Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕
Genre: 🔪 Thriller
Violence: 🪓🪓

Premise: Single mom Adele—struggling to make ends meet with an MIA, embezzler ex-husband—enters extreme hide & seek game to win $1M. But with severe weather, locals attempting to block play, & conflict among the gamemakers, surviving may require more the besting her competitors.

Thoughts: I love the premise: taking a childhood game & establishing very adult stakes. The book is incredibly atmospheric. Unger paints vivid images of a once-luxurious hotel being reclaimed by nature. Then she turns up the volume with a foreboding band of locals & an epic mid-Atlantic storm. Though each character gets limited page time, Unger engages us through backstory & emotional state. This book has more POVs than most thrillers, as well as non-linear storytelling. But Unger keeps the action flowing without losing the reader in the details, making this a fast-paced read. That being said, there may be 1 or 2 sub-plots too many. Adele needs high stakes to leave her kids, & I loved the teens’ POV, but I’m not sure the storyline involving Adele’s family is fully realized. I’m still undecided if the novel’s ultimate resolution satisfies me, but it left me thinking, which I think is any author’s goal. I enjoy how the novel examines the role our online presence plays in our offline lives: is it possible to achieve balance when our sense of self is molded by strangers’ perceptions? Ultimately, a thought-provoking & entertaining read.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row Books, & NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated thrillers, but unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me.

Adele, a struggling single mom, whose husband disappears, joins a viral challenge hosted by a questionable influencer, lured in by the promise of a million-dollar prize. The setting—an isolated island and a decaying hotel—sets the stage for a suspenseful game where past secrets and social media obsession collide. With a missing contestant from a previous challenge and an influencer who thrives on manipulation, the question isn’t just who will win, but who will make it out.

Told through multiple POVs, the book explores the dark side of social media addiction and the lengths people will go for fame and money. While I loved the eerie atmosphere and the overall concept, the pacing was uneven—the first half dragged, though things picked up in the last 30%. Some twists felt predictable, and with so many elements and sub plots packed into one book, it occasionally felt overcrowded. That said, I did enjoy the ending, even if the journey there wasn’t as thrilling as I had hoped.

While this one didn’t quite live up to my expectations, it still offers an interesting take on influencer culture and reality TV style suspense. If that’s your thing, it might be worth a read!

The alternating narrators make it hard to trust in this suspenseful story. I sometimes had a hard time with it since there are time jumps along with the perspective switches, but the story was good and you will have trouble figuring it out before the characters themselves do. While I might not recommend this as a light read it is a clever mystery and for those who like action this is a good one.

I love Lisa Unger! I've read a ton of her books and love her writing. However, this book fell flat for me A super intriguing plot with lots of complex characters and a really great setting. The first half or so of the book, I raced through, but then it started to drag a bit and nothing was really happening. Then the ending. It was extremely convoluted, multiple questions were left unanswered, and it was just a confusing mess. Super disappointing.

Also, lots of spacing issues with this book. Anytime the was an "fl" in the book, there was a space between the f and l. Very distracting. Random page numbers were interspersed throughout the book.

Thank you Netgalley for an early arc of this book. I also got the audio arc and I did an immersive read which I really enjoyed the story more that way. This is my first book by this author. I thought it was really good. I gave it 3.5 stars.

This is my 3rd Lisa Unger and I think she’s just not for me. This one had such an interesting premise, as did The New Couple in 5B, and I was excited to dive into both, but just like her previous books, I just couldn’t get past the unlikeable characters and overall it just fell kind of flat for me. The audiobook didn’t really work for me either - the narrator was great but I don’t think it was the right fit for this book. I know so many enjoy this author, so you may still want to give this one a chance! 3⭐️

I’m a big fan of Lisa Unger and was so excited to read this book when I first heard about it. The idea of extreme hide and seek is exciting and when you throw in a remote island with a dilapidated old hotel during a storm, you get a winning combination! The multiple POV kept things interesting and fast paced. Overall this was a really suspenseful and intense read!

I loved the premise of a hide and seek game show gone terribly wrong. The prize to the winner is a million dollars. What lengths will people go to for money, fame and revenge. This is my second Lisa Unger book and it didn’t disappoint.

Extreme adventurer Maverick and his crew are hosting a show where contestants hide and the last one to be found wins the money. The setting is a spooky deserted hotel on an island in Portugal that is in ill repair and falling down. Adele a single mom is chosen as one of the contestants on the show. She was a likeable character and showed many admirable traits. Things don’t go as planned and the contestants are now fighting for their lives. Each of them learns so much about themselves, their strengths and weaknesses. Also the lure of wealth isn’t all that it is cracked up to be and that relationships are far more important.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada Doubleday Canada for this copy. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it especially to readers of mystery.

I was super excited for this book. Super excited. So excited that when I received the arc for it, I squealed with joy. Who wouldn't be about an extreme game of hide and seek on a remote island??

I should have known this would be my demise.

I was quite disappointed with this book. The summary was exactly what I was looking for, only for the book to let me down.

The beginning was great if not slow at times. And the "flashes" of the game going on were also fantastic because it got you excited for what was about to come. I was pumped. And then it slowed way down once we continued to get everyone's backstory over halfway through the book and during the game itself (which didn't really start until about 2/3 into the book?) Really compared to the rest of the book, the game itself seemed like a small portion of it. The ending even felt anticlimatic and somewhat far fetched. I felt I had to push myself through numerous parts of the story, hoping the end would be this great reveal, only for it to be a let down.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

A high stakes game of hide and seek on a remote island?! What’s not to love! This million dollar prize will make a huge difference in the lives of the contestants and they are all there to win. This book is a fun blend of reality show and survival horror elements. I loved Adele and the lengths that she would go to for her children! I did struggle a bit with the pacing, but overall this was a fun ride. Thank you so much to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC!

With an exciting synopsis, I went into this one with high hopes. It started out well and I was fully invested until the games began. Things then started to become a bit confusing with multiple stories and many POVs. I found the pacing a bit off as well and found that the story dragged in certain areas. I was hoping for more from the ending too. This wasn't my favourite by this author but I will still read what she writes next.

This book kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen next! A heartpumoing, anxiety filled wild ride. Really enjoyed this!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I have enjoyed a few of Lisa Unger’s books but sadly this one was a miss for me. I was not connected to any of the characters and there were so many side plots and backstory details that didn’t add to the Hide and Seek concept. This one took me almost a month to finish because I had to stop reading it for a couple weeks and come back to it to finish it. I think there was just too much going on that took away from the main plot. I loved the idea of this book but the game wasn’t even the main focus? Overall this wasn’t for me but I will continue to read books from this author!