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hannahnwalding's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Infertility, Child death, and Miscarriage
lolamuy's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
I must say, when I picked up this book, I didn't expect what I was going to read. But I thought it was really good, a good page-turner with good suspense and some disturbing elements. I thought the ending was a bit superfluous though.
Nonetheless I would recommend this story.
Nonetheless I would recommend this story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Miscarriage, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Child death
Moderate: Ableism
terrie_412's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infertility
Minor: Child death, Pregnancy, Abortion, and Miscarriage
xabbeylongx's review
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Spoilers Ahead:
I'm not going to lie, I didn't think I'd enjoy this book as much as I did. In a literary sense, it's not normally my type of book, but I actually think the concept was very interesting, and I'm intrigued about Lisa Stone as an author now.
We follow Jan as she's just been made redundant, and her boyfriend has broken up with her. She's needing a break, and someone places an advert for someone to look after their house and their dog for six months, whilst they're away working. The rent is low, and Jan needs to escape, so she accepts. So far, the house is alright, and she's enjoying the peace and quiet. After a bit of time, she realises that the house really isn't as peaceful as she thought. Tinder - excellent name for a dog, I might hasten to add - starts to growl in the evening, when it's dark. Originally, Jan thinks it must be an animal, and Tinder normally growls and chases after it. However, the tracks are unlike anything animal or human ever seen, and these start to get braver. They start to peer through the door, scaring her. Camille (who she's house-sitting for) has a friend called Chris, and they used to have a thing, but they broke it off, though Jan neve pried as to why. Chris calls in a lot of the time, but whenever Jan brings it up, he becomes defensive, and moody, and changes the subject. He disbelieves her sightings, and even though they go on one evening out, she doesn't think it will happen again.
Meanwhile, Ian and Emma are trying for their second baby. Their first baby ended in a TW miscarriage, and so they're worried. Very worried. As soon as the baby is born, Anne, their midwife, told them that their baby wasn't alive, and whisked it away without them seeing. She didn't want them to see the sight, and said it was better off for them. Later on, the police get a call from their neighbour, reporting a cry from the baby. Although there was no marked birth or death certificate, it wasn't deemed necessary, because it was a miscarriage before twenty-four weeks, and legally it's not necessary. The neighbour is adamant something is going on, but the police stop digging, as everything seems to be in order.
Back with Jan, these things are toying with her now, targeting her. It peers in through the doors, and although she tries to catch evidence of them, she never seems to be able to. Chris isn't believing a single word of what she says. When, one day, she catches evidence of them at the door, she shows Chris, and she knows he can't disregard her now, but he deletes the video. She now doesn't feel safe at all with him, knowing that he must somehow be involved. She swears she can hear a woman shouting for help behind her house, but, again, it's disproven. She's at her wits end, and then she begs Camille to come back, just so she can leave, as she doesn't want to be there anymore. Her friend, Ruby, comes down to stay with her, but leaves the next day, as it's also too much for her to take.
To get to the bottom of their TW miscarriage problem, Ian wants to do a DNA test, to see whether it's their genetics, and they can't have kids together. Emma is reluctant, because she wants to put everything behind them and mourn her baby, but Ian also wants to have a child with her. He does the DNA tests, and they come back that they're 99% compatible, meaning they have the exact same father. Upon looking into it further, he finds out that his wife, Emma, was created with a sperm donor, and that he, crazily enough, was also made with a sperm donor, from the exact same centre. He confronts the sperm donor company, but they offer him no insight into who his donor is, for confidentiality reasons. He is part an IT company, and so he hacks into the information, and finds out Anne, the midwife, is somehow linked into the situation, so he follows her.
At night, he follows her into the woods in her van. Her neighbours said that she had dangerous dogs, and they had to be walked at night to avoid seeing anyone. He finds out she's not walking dogs; she's walking children. But not 'normal' children, children that look as if they have a primitive gene in them. He falls and is unconscious, and he wakes up at Anne's house. She tells him all about the children, about how they're all a product of incest. That the sperm donor company haven't been using donations, they've been using the owner's sperm for all couples. Anne looks after the children, although they don't have long to live most of the times. She keeps them happy and healthy for their short lives, and his son, David, is alive. Only for a few more months, though. These beings grow faster than 'normal', and so he was already growing rapidly, with a lot of fur on him. Ian decides not to tell Emma, as it would break her. They go separate ways, and Ian emails everyone affected by the sperm donor company, and the owner is finally arrested, and everyone can go back to their lives - as much as they possibly can.
When Camille returns, the creatures return to the window, and she can no longer deny their existence to Jan. Camille tells them how her and Chris are actually related, and that's how they know the creatures, and that they won't hurt her. They lost their own child, and Jan is sad for them. Years later, her and Chris finally get together, and they're having a child of their own. In the scans, their child is known to have a club foot, which also happens to people that are immorally bred. He's scared, and he hopes that Jan and him aren't related. Jan has an email saying they are, but it's actually for her brother, and so they're not related, and their baby boy is born healthy.
Well, I can say this book is heavy. To think it's based on a true case is actually wild. I thought the sinister side of things was very apt, and it kept me on my toes. I like the different POVs, and I like how both of their stories were intertwined. Honestly, there's not much I can say about this book. Even though there wasn't much humour in the book, I still devoured it in a day, and I can definitely say it's one of my faves. The only thing that was missing was the ending was a bit lacklustre for me. I, personally, despised Chris, and I don't think he had a worthy redemption arc to warrant marrying Jan. I think she could have done a whole lot better, and the ending was just a little rushed, for me. We already had a lot of plot twists, with Ian and Emma being related, and Chris and Camille, and the book could have ended a few chapters back, without the scare of Chris and Jan too. It didn't really add much for the story, and for that reason alone, I didn't give it five stars. However, it's a very, very good book, and I would definitely recommend.
I'm not going to lie, I didn't think I'd enjoy this book as much as I did. In a literary sense, it's not normally my type of book, but I actually think the concept was very interesting, and I'm intrigued about Lisa Stone as an author now.
We follow Jan as she's just been made redundant, and her boyfriend has broken up with her. She's needing a break, and someone places an advert for someone to look after their house and their dog for six months, whilst they're away working. The rent is low, and Jan needs to escape, so she accepts. So far, the house is alright, and she's enjoying the peace and quiet. After a bit of time, she realises that the house really isn't as peaceful as she thought. Tinder - excellent name for a dog, I might hasten to add - starts to growl in the evening, when it's dark. Originally, Jan thinks it must be an animal, and Tinder normally growls and chases after it. However, the tracks are unlike anything animal or human ever seen, and these start to get braver. They start to peer through the door, scaring her. Camille (who she's house-sitting for) has a friend called Chris, and they used to have a thing, but they broke it off, though Jan neve pried as to why. Chris calls in a lot of the time, but whenever Jan brings it up, he becomes defensive, and moody, and changes the subject. He disbelieves her sightings, and even though they go on one evening out, she doesn't think it will happen again.
Meanwhile, Ian and Emma are trying for their second baby. Their first baby ended in a TW miscarriage, and so they're worried. Very worried. As soon as the baby is born, Anne, their midwife, told them that their baby wasn't alive, and whisked it away without them seeing. She didn't want them to see the sight, and said it was better off for them. Later on, the police get a call from their neighbour, reporting a cry from the baby. Although there was no marked birth or death certificate, it wasn't deemed necessary, because it was a miscarriage before twenty-four weeks, and legally it's not necessary. The neighbour is adamant something is going on, but the police stop digging, as everything seems to be in order.
Back with Jan, these things are toying with her now, targeting her. It peers in through the doors, and although she tries to catch evidence of them, she never seems to be able to. Chris isn't believing a single word of what she says. When, one day, she catches evidence of them at the door, she shows Chris, and she knows he can't disregard her now, but he deletes the video. She now doesn't feel safe at all with him, knowing that he must somehow be involved. She swears she can hear a woman shouting for help behind her house, but, again, it's disproven. She's at her wits end, and then she begs Camille to come back, just so she can leave, as she doesn't want to be there anymore. Her friend, Ruby, comes down to stay with her, but leaves the next day, as it's also too much for her to take.
To get to the bottom of their TW miscarriage problem, Ian wants to do a DNA test, to see whether it's their genetics, and they can't have kids together. Emma is reluctant, because she wants to put everything behind them and mourn her baby, but Ian also wants to have a child with her. He does the DNA tests, and they come back that they're 99% compatible, meaning they have the exact same father. Upon looking into it further, he finds out that his wife, Emma, was created with a sperm donor, and that he, crazily enough, was also made with a sperm donor, from the exact same centre. He confronts the sperm donor company, but they offer him no insight into who his donor is, for confidentiality reasons. He is part an IT company, and so he hacks into the information, and finds out Anne, the midwife, is somehow linked into the situation, so he follows her.
At night, he follows her into the woods in her van. Her neighbours said that she had dangerous dogs, and they had to be walked at night to avoid seeing anyone. He finds out she's not walking dogs; she's walking children. But not 'normal' children, children that look as if they have a primitive gene in them. He falls and is unconscious, and he wakes up at Anne's house. She tells him all about the children, about how they're all a product of incest. That the sperm donor company haven't been using donations, they've been using the owner's sperm for all couples. Anne looks after the children, although they don't have long to live most of the times. She keeps them happy and healthy for their short lives, and his son, David, is alive. Only for a few more months, though. These beings grow faster than 'normal', and so he was already growing rapidly, with a lot of fur on him. Ian decides not to tell Emma, as it would break her. They go separate ways, and Ian emails everyone affected by the sperm donor company, and the owner is finally arrested, and everyone can go back to their lives - as much as they possibly can.
When Camille returns, the creatures return to the window, and she can no longer deny their existence to Jan. Camille tells them how her and Chris are actually related, and that's how they know the creatures, and that they won't hurt her. They lost their own child, and Jan is sad for them. Years later, her and Chris finally get together, and they're having a child of their own. In the scans, their child is known to have a club foot, which also happens to people that are immorally bred. He's scared, and he hopes that Jan and him aren't related. Jan has an email saying they are, but it's actually for her brother, and so they're not related, and their baby boy is born healthy.
Well, I can say this book is heavy. To think it's based on a true case is actually wild. I thought the sinister side of things was very apt, and it kept me on my toes. I like the different POVs, and I like how both of their stories were intertwined. Honestly, there's not much I can say about this book. Even though there wasn't much humour in the book, I still devoured it in a day, and I can definitely say it's one of my faves. The only thing that was missing was the ending was a bit lacklustre for me. I, personally, despised Chris, and I don't think he had a worthy redemption arc to warrant marrying Jan. I think she could have done a whole lot better, and the ending was just a little rushed, for me. We already had a lot of plot twists, with Ian and Emma being related, and Chris and Camille, and the book could have ended a few chapters back, without the scare of Chris and Jan too. It didn't really add much for the story, and for that reason alone, I didn't give it five stars. However, it's a very, very good book, and I would definitely recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Incest
taliatalksbooks's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The Cottage by Lisa Stone wasn’t at all what I expected, and I was definitely disappointed in how it turned out. While I think the premise is an important topic to talk about, I think the different POVs really took away from the underlying horror of this book. This didn’t need to be a what’s outside the window in the dark mystery, and I think it would have actually been a lot better without this added element. The story seemed disjointed, and I often wondered to myself what Jan’s purpose actually was other than to be scared. Again, I think this took away from the overall messaging, and I think the story could have really benefited from leaving out this POV entirely. Ultimately, it was underwhelming and cringy, but did make some important points about what can happen when medical practices are family operated and not properly licensed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Miscarriage, Incest, Pregnancy, and Medical content
sooz_767's review
DNF @ 60%
Possibly one of the worst concepts for a book ever and I can't believe I listened to 60% of it. I have so many reasons why this is just terrible but I can't be bothered to spend the energy typing them out so let's just say it's garbage and I do not recommend.
Also, it's really not about a cottage.
Possibly one of the worst concepts for a book ever and I can't believe I listened to 60% of it. I have so many reasons why this is just terrible but I can't be bothered to spend the energy typing them out so let's just say it's garbage and I do not recommend.
Also, it's really not about a cottage.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Medical trauma
a_julyanna12's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Cursing
memydogandbooks's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I've never written a book, Lisa Stone has so at least 1 star ⭐️ for that.
SYNOPSIS:
"An isolated cottage…
After losing her job and boyfriend, Jan Hamlin is in desperate need of a fresh start. So she jumps at the chance to rent a secluded cottage on the edge of Coleshaw Woods.
A tap at the window…
Very quickly though, things take a dark turn. At night, Jan hears strange noises, and faint taps at the window. Something, or someone, is out there.
A forest that hides many secrets…
Jan refuses to be scared off. But whoever is outside isn’t going away, and it soon becomes clear that the nightmare is only just beginning…" Goodreads synopsis
MY THOUGHTS
🤦🏼♀️ The title and cover of this book are misleading.
🤦🏼♀️ Two stories are being told from the outset and you spend a lot of time wondering how the heck they are connected, but this does soon become clear.
🤦🏼♀️ The plot of this thriller is utterly ridiculous - I can take an out-there story and go with this but this was just utterly unbelievable. Where I shouted out loud "oh c'mon" a few times when reading.
🤦🏼♀️ TRIGGER WARNING for anyone with fertility issues or pregnant - DO NOT READ.
🤦🏼♀️ The concept of **SPOILER AHEAD** of "normal babies" and their opposite being "creatures" or "monster children" "defected in some way" is utterly abhorrent and made me so angry the negativity this does to disability rep is mindblowing.
🤦🏼♀️ **SPOILER AHEAD** The likelihood of a fertility doctor creating so many related children (I KNOW THIS HAS HAPPENED IRL but bear with me...) that then go on to all be in relationships with each and have children that are "genetic throwbacks" if just so ridiculous it makes me wonder how this passed the editing process!?
🤦🏼♀️ The only reason I finished this was that I was reading it with friends and thought maybe it will have a more believable plot twist/ending. NOPE, IT DID NOT.
I rarely write reviews that are this negative, but too many plotlines in this book angered me not to. So yeah decided for yourself if you wish to read it - this was my opinion only (well and that of all my friends I read it with!)
SYNOPSIS:
"An isolated cottage…
After losing her job and boyfriend, Jan Hamlin is in desperate need of a fresh start. So she jumps at the chance to rent a secluded cottage on the edge of Coleshaw Woods.
A tap at the window…
Very quickly though, things take a dark turn. At night, Jan hears strange noises, and faint taps at the window. Something, or someone, is out there.
A forest that hides many secrets…
Jan refuses to be scared off. But whoever is outside isn’t going away, and it soon becomes clear that the nightmare is only just beginning…" Goodreads synopsis
MY THOUGHTS
🤦🏼♀️ The title and cover of this book are misleading.
🤦🏼♀️ Two stories are being told from the outset and you spend a lot of time wondering how the heck they are connected, but this does soon become clear.
🤦🏼♀️ The plot of this thriller is utterly ridiculous - I can take an out-there story and go with this but this was just utterly unbelievable. Where I shouted out loud "oh c'mon" a few times when reading.
🤦🏼♀️ TRIGGER WARNING for anyone with fertility issues or pregnant - DO NOT READ.
🤦🏼♀️ The concept of **SPOILER AHEAD** of "normal babies" and their opposite being "creatures" or "monster children" "defected in some way" is utterly abhorrent and made me so angry the negativity this does to disability rep is mindblowing.
🤦🏼♀️ **SPOILER AHEAD** The likelihood of a fertility doctor creating so many related children (I KNOW THIS HAS HAPPENED IRL but bear with me...) that then go on to all be in relationships with each and have children that are "genetic throwbacks" if just so ridiculous it makes me wonder how this passed the editing process!?
🤦🏼♀️ The only reason I finished this was that I was reading it with friends and thought maybe it will have a more believable plot twist/ending. NOPE, IT DID NOT.
I rarely write reviews that are this negative, but too many plotlines in this book angered me not to. So yeah decided for yourself if you wish to read it - this was my opinion only (well and that of all my friends I read it with!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Miscarriage
emlousbooks's review
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility and Miscarriage
echosong's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Incest, and Miscarriage
Minor: Pregnancy