I think this book did a great job at highlighting issues with social media and how easily it is to get wrapped up in other people's lives and ongoing events that aren't always exactly as what we are led to believe. Social media can be very deceptive, as is evident in this narrative.

I hate to say it, but I was disappointed in this one. It was not a bad book by any means. However, it was overall very average and didn't have many points that stood out to me.

I struggled mainly with two things in this book:
1. I didn't like any of the characters. The majority of them were just truly awful people, and the ones that weren't terrible, we honestly kind of boring.
2. The multiple character POV. This is shocking coming from me because I am typically a sucker for a story told from multiple characters. In this book, however, there were some POVs that I didn't feel added much to the story, which made me struggle with the pacing.

Another issue I had is that I feel like the title is misleading. I was so excited for the setting of this with the epic game of hide and seek, but the game actually never happen. That was disappointing and anti-climatic.

I did enjoy the setting of this story and the creepy vibes. Overall, this was very average for me. The twists were not surprising, and I just did not like most of the characters.

I had really high expectations from one of my top authors, but this just didn’t deliver. The atmospheric setting was perfect and the characters were diverse and relatable, but the suspense and excitement were lacking and it just wasn’t memorable like her other books.

Lisa Unger has really honed her craft as a psychological thriller author! This extreme hide and seek, locked room thriller caught my attention from the beginning and kept me on my toes the entire time! I will admit: the ending did seem a bit rushed, but Lisa Unger managed a larger cast of characters well and balanced intrigue and suspense beautifully! Thank you, NetGalley!

Filled with so many secrets and lies and I absolutely love it!!! I loved all the twists and turns, action pack read!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

𝐶𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝐸𝑦𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 10 is a psychological thriller that captures the tension and intrigue of today’s reality TV adventure shows, which I love to watch. I listened to this one solely on audiobook and hearing it made me wonder if some of the shows I watch are truly like this. It definitely has me questioning some things about some shows.

Ava, a strong yet deeply scarred FMC, finds herself wrapped up in a high-stakes reality TV game, while Nolan, a podcast host with hidden motivations as they navigate their way through this game with added suspense and mystery. The story weaves in themes of trust, manipulation, and the weight of buried secrets, creating a narrative that keeps you guessing and hooked from start to finish. Unger’s ability to dive into the mind while exploring the influence of media was done well.

After having the privilege of attending her last two book signings, I’ve quickly become a dedicated fan. Hearing her speak has been amazing and fun, and I’m committed to diving into her backlist.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this if you like: Cat and mouse, plenty of drama

This book was all over the place. There were a lot of secrets and lies.The pacing was inconsistent. It was a bit hard to keep up with. For the most part, I enjoyed this high stakes and tense read.

I really wanted to love this book. The cover drew me in and the description of the rundown hotel and setting set the scene for a creepy game of hide and seek. The influencers competing for the cash prize are a mismatch of personalities and the team running the game have so much drama it completely took away from the creepy/thriller tale I was looking for. The timelines and multiple POVs seemed to make the story less coherent. I couldn’t tell when the actual game and purpose of the plot began and how it was going to work. I think the cheesy online comments made the story seem more melodramatic than suspenseful. I was hoping for more.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"Charismatic daredevil and extreme adventurer Maverick Dillan invites you to the ultimate game of hide-and-seek. But as the players gather on Falcao Island, the event quickly spirals into a chilling test of survival. A storm rages as a deadly threat stalks the contestants, turning the challenge into something far more sinister than the social media stunt it was intended to be."

As usual, Lisa Unger 's storytelling sucked me right in! Unger brings action, suspense, and well-developed characters. This time, she explores the world of social media influencers and extreme gaming in a way that’s both honest and fun to read. While Adele stands out as the main character for me, there’s also a whole group of men and women who help turn this thriller from a game with a million-dollar prize into a fight for survival.

What I loved about this book is how the true nature of each character unfolds slowly as the action is quick! There’s depth and complexity to characters like Adele, Maverick, Angeline, Cody, Malinka, Tavo, and Hector. As their secrets are revealed, the story becomes even more gripping. And then there’s Adele’s kids, Violet and Blake, back home. They help ground the chaos on Falco Island and add even more tension and emotion to the already intense situation.

I was attracted to the concept of this novel and although it had great potential I was left feeling a bit underwhelmed and bored! The multiple POV’s were thought out well in the early development of this story only to be made insignificant as the games progressed. At around 40% the entire player POV became filler even though the story was centred around this extreme version of hide and seek!

I was hoping we would get more resolution surrounding the disappearance of Adele’s husband, did I just miss something here?? Where did he go?? Why?? What happened to him after??

The one aspect that I did enjoy was the commentary on social media and how it impacts the ways in which we perceive others! Things can look completely different on the other side of the screen. 👀

This novel was one that I was excited to read from an author I had not yet experienced. It seemed intriguing from the beginning, posing a plot revolving around adult hide and seek with extremely high stakes. For the protagonist Adele, it was an op opportunity to win a large sum of money to make up for the position her family was left in when her husband embezzled money from his company, leaving her and her two children, Violet and Blake, in shambles as well as all of the families who worked for him. Ultimately, their family was living in somewhat exiled due to his selfish behaviors. When she embarks on this journey, there are three other competitors meant to join the game, all known competitors and bloggers meant to spark viewers for the host channel’s game. Meanwhile, the people who run the event are finding themselves in sticky situations, revolving around their own drama and rumors that have been harmful to their reputation and funding. This game is an opportunity for their company to bounce back as long as all goes well, but when a girl who previously disappeared in an earlier challenge keeps popping up and people keep looking for more information about what happened to her, it becomes increasingly clear that there is some type of darkness lurking that can only come back to bite them all. Ultimately every person involved has a choice to make: should they stay and try to wait for the money or should they leave and go home where they know they’ll be safe? At the end of the day, all they can do is close their eyes count to 10 and hide.

This novel was a fun read overall. It was full of tension and depth as the characters’ backstories became revealed, and the reader becomes more aware of the past that each character has through a limited perspective, giving an opportunity to build up and develop an interesting and intense story with moments of clues for the reader to build upon and realize what is happening and what is to come. While I could figure out some of the twists and turns, there were others I couldn’t. In reading an advanced reader copy, I will say I’m not sure if some of the discrepancies were carried over in the final, however, there were a few confusing pieces of information along the ride. Overall, it did not detract from my enjoyment of the story overall and I would say this is a story that most muster or thriller readers could enjoy.

I like the concept but not really the book I think the game could have started off better. Z z z z. Z z. Z z z z

Maverick Dillan invites contestants to a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek on Falcao Island, which quickly turns deadly as a storm and sinister threats emerge. Adele, a single mother struggling financially, joins the game in hopes of winning the million-dollar prize, but soon realizes the island is cursed, and survival becomes her primary goal. This gripping thriller blends survival horror with social media commentary, offering a tense and action-packed narrative about a mother’s determination to protect her children amidst escalating danger.

I loved this suspenseful thriller! I thought the setting was very timely as well as believable. I also loved the premise of reality tv and the influencers. I did see that ending coming!! What a great book - it would make a great tv/movie adaptation!!

I normally love Lisa Unger's books, and I really wanted to love this one, but I didn't. Maybe I went in having too high expectations because I love this author. I felt the premise was decent, but there wasn’t much suspense or mystery, and it was predictable. The chapters are also long. This unfortunately was another book that took me too long to read.

I love a Lisa Unger novel, and I couldn't wait to find out what I was in store for with Close Your Eyes and Count to 10. I didn’t read the synopsis and just picked it up and let the story take me where it wanted. I was immediately drawn in by the drama as well as Adele’s viewpoint. She was probably one of the few characters I actually liked in this book, and her situation gave me Nate family vibes from Gossip Girl. I loved that this wasn’t only about the game itself, but her story as well, and there are a lot of characters to keep track of and a lot of things going on. We have a podcast element, reality TV, adventure (and not exactly safe) game, and much more packed into this 376-page book.

The audiobook is narrated by one of my favorite narrators, Vivienne Leheny, and I am really glad I went the audio route. Since there are a lot of viewpoints, I would say it would have greatly benefited from a full cast, but Leheny did such a wonderful job all by her lonesome that it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. There are quite a few twists packed into Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 and while I saw a couple of them coming, most were quite the surprise. A lot of readers might not like all of the characters and side stories mixed into the plot for this one, but I loved every minute of it. The last quarter of the story is especially action packed, and I thought the last chapter was the perfect ending.

Read this if you enjoy high stakes games, isolated location settings with storm elements, and lots of viewpoints/storylines.

Book Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Audiobook Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I actually really enjoyed this book! It got me hooked from the very beginning. I loved the locked door mystery style trying to figure out who was good and who was bad. Who could be trusted and who couldn’t. I think the ending felt a little rushed and it wasn’t my favorite but up until then I enjoyed it so much!

This story has a great premise, but the execution was a little weaker than what I've come to expect with Unger. Still enjoyed!

Oooh this one was twisty! The ultimate game of hide & seek with influencers on a remote island - what could go wrong?! I’m a reality tv girlie so this book was right up my alley and I definitely enjoyed it! It was full of twists and high stakes tension, keeping me on my toes throughout the story. Quite a few characters so be sure to pay attention!

This book was a ride from start to finish!

This psychological thriller follows Adele—a single mom of two, whose husband disappeared years ago, leaving their lives (and reputation) in shambles. Adele’s son is a huge fan of the “WeWatch” channel (YouTube) and online extreme thrill chaser, Maverick Dillan. He signs his mom up for Maverick’s very live and very dangerous game of extreme hide-and-seek on Falcao Island in an abandoned hotel and if it weren’t for the one-million-dollar prize money, she would have passed it by. But taking up boxing since her husband left her, and starting her own “WeWatch” channel of her own, she wanted to prove to her kids, and her followers, that she can be an overcomer of fear and take on challenges.

Adele finds herself in situations wondering if she’ll make it out alive while making unlikely friendships, and realizing she may not know her kids as well as she thought 👀
 
This book follows Adele, Maverick, and others on the Island and part of the game, providing a multiple POV that kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved how Lisa interwove the characters, and unraveled each one’s story piece by piece as we read. This book took dark twists and surprising turns that I didn’t see coming PLUS an ending that truly satisfied.
 
Overall, I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
 
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Books for the advance copy of this thrilling read!

This author is truly becoming the most hit or miss author for me. I have both loved and hated some of her books. This one falls somewhere in the middle. It had a fantastic concept that could have made the plot shine but the pacing was off. I also didn't connect with the characters enough. It was just okay for me.