Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by L. Unger, published by Legend Press, is a full-length, stand-alone novel. A thriller of its finest, twisty and full of unexpected turns that have the reader guessing til the last page.
Told in multiple povs its a story of secrets, lies, a layered story that had me reading the book in one sitting, I simply couldn't put it down. A fantastic 5 star read.

A big thanks to Netgalley, Legend Press, and Park Row for my gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had such high expectations for this book! Unfortunately, it just ended up being meh. I listened to most of it on audio because I was in serious danger of DNF. The premise was original and once something finally happened, there was adequate action. However, the characters were almost all terrible people in one way or another and there were entirely too many of them. I was finding it difficult to keep everyone straight. To make it worse, just when I thought I had a hold on everyone, we’re introduced to two new characters and another POV that could have been excluded from the novel altogether.

Overall, I wanted to love this one, but just didn’t.

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger is a mysterious and creepy family drama that will make you question how well you really know your loved ones. Unger’s latest novel follows a wealthy, self-centered, tech company owner when he invites his closest family and friends on a very expensive vacation at a secluded cabin…that sleeps six. ;) We follow his yogi wife, his devoted sister, his code savvy brother-in-law, and his childhood ex-girlfriend/secret f*ck buddy/sister’s best friend, along with said ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend. They all (some of them reluctantly) accept the invitation to this secluded cabin. We quickly learn that they all have something to hide…we’re just not sure what it is yet.

Meanwhile, we also follow a couple additional characters and their own, seemingly separate, storylines. For a while, I was frustrated that I couldn’t figure out how the various paths and characters would intersect. But Unger did eventually weave them together nicely in the end.

At times, I felt like there were too many characters and not enough connection between them. So that distracted from my reading enjoyment. I also didn’t really “like” any of the characters, but maybe that was intentional. I found the twist and ending to be pretty far fetched, but then again, it’s fiction. So enjoy the ride.
Over all, it was mostly a fun read that I enjoyed picking up each evening. Three stars for me.

Special thanks to Legend Press for the digital ARC via NetGalley. My apologies for what might be a delayed review on this one. NetGalley lists the pub date as Feb 16, 2023 (so I thought I had plenty of time!), but according to GoodReads, the book was published by Park Row several months earlier, on November 8, 2022. Not sure what happened there, but glad I had the opportunity to read and review it either way.

Sadly I DNFd this one 14% in.

I need more action, more seclusion, and less insecure people who complained a lot.

I had been so excited for this one because I loved locked room mysteries, but I think after trying this one I realized that I like locked room mysteries that quickly get everyone to the location. That didn’t happen here. I needed less family drama and insecurities and more settling into the setting.

This is my first book by this author. I was told not to judge her other books by this one because her backlist is fantastic.

The story is primarily told by Hannah. Hannah and her husband, Bruce are new parents. Hannah's brother Micheal aka Mickey aka Mako, is making a killing as a technology giant with a videogame currently in development that will make he wealthy beyond belief. Bruce works for Mako and he and Hannah live in Mako's former home. Hannah notices that jer relationship with Bruce is becoming strained as he becomes irritable and distant. When Mako offers the couple a getaway with him and his wife Liza, and Hannah's best friend, Cricket and her new boyfriend, they jump at the opportunity. When the three couples arrive at a glamorous cabin in the woods, it seems like the perfect place for a little R & R. But a creepy groundskeeper and weird chef and lurking shadows make it difficult to unwind. With a storm bearing down on the isolates cabin and members of their party going missing, it's only a matter of time until all of their secrets are revealed.

It felt like the author was trying to do too much. The nature vs. nurture argument was beaten to death in this book. The good vs. bad qualities of each character felt very black and white. It was too simple and somehow also incredibly compliment but not in a good way.

There are multiple viewpoints - like, a lot of them. It was difficult to keep the story straight. There were some POVs that were compelling and others, like Cricket's, that were unnecessary and didn't really serve a purpose in the story.

All told, this book felt messy and underdeveloped. It was a good idea but needed a few more edits before it was worth reading.
⭐⭐.5 stars rounded up.

***Spoiler """
I think having Trina, Josh, and Henry reveal the backstory for some of the "good" siblings instead of just focusing on the dirtbags may have made the story more interesting. Trina seems aware of her "bad" genes but goes along with their influence even though she is trying to destroy the bad genes.

This book was deep, messy, and felt a little unfinished for me.

It is a story of six people in a cabin, but the title doesn’t match the novel. It is a story of family and nature versus nurture which I did not love, but it did keep me engaged. Keeping me hooked is my number one priority, so I give 3 stars just for that. I wanted to know what happened.

There are creepy parts and characters that feel undeveloped for me, and I didn’t love the characters either. This left a lot of loose ends and not the good kind.

Ultimately, I read for a discussion group, and there was a lot to discuss. So, I will give Lisa Unger another try since this was my first read by her.

Read this if you love a messy family story, sperm donor story, evil versus good DNA
Don’t read if you think this is a locked in mystery or something close to what the title makes you think of because it is not.

Thank you @netgalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

#secludedcabinsleepssix #lisaunger

I love a spooky setting, and a country house in the woods during a severe storm certainly fits the bill. I liked a lot of this book, particularly the messier, more mysterious elements, but all in all the plot was fairly predictable and ended just about exactly the way I suspected. This doesn't mean there aren't some surprises--there are-- but they lacked real excitement. Paced quickly and expertly, but lacking depth.

An interesting book, this hooks you from the start and keeps you turning the lakes u til the end. It delves into nature v nurture and whether evil can be inherited. Thanks to the publisher for the advance copy

I absolutely loved the setting of this book! Secluded location, loss of power, & dysfunctional relationships are definitely a recipe for a great thriller. The ancestry DNA potion also offered a unique spin on things. However, I didn’t feel that I connected to any of the characters though; they were all very unlikeable. The plot was very convoluted and I felt that some of the subplots left me with more questions. Overall, it was a fun thriller and I would read more by this author! Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC!

This book definitely took me a minute to get into. The whole "someone is watching us" plot doesn't come until much later — the book was split into two parts, but I could have done without the whole first part. It really wasn't necessary at all. That was a big theme of this book: unnecessary character and backstories. The Bracken character didn't add anything and Henry's story was too played out for me. There were a few twists that we good and the premise could have made for a great story, I just don't think it was written very well or correctly. The whole story took place in one night and I think if you're going to do that, we need timestamps — especially because the timing jumped around so much and made it confusing. The final "battle," if you will, in the cabin was good and fast-paced (like I wish the whole book was), but truthfully I didn't care about the characters enough to worry about what happened to them — so I basically skimmed everything after that night because I really didn't need their long resolutions. Overall, a 3.5-star read.

Three couples are on what they hope will be a quiet relaxing weekend in a secluded cabin in the woods. Even with the threat of a storm, they figure they’ll be fine since the cabin is stocked with provisions enough and, if worse comes to worst, there’s a back-up generator. However, someone else seems to have other plans and, as the storm rages, one of the women disappears.

When I started Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger, I expected to like it much more than I did. Don’t get me wrong - I didn’t hate it, I just didn’t really like any of the characters enough to care what happened to them and there were a whole lot of characters not to care about. I also found the story a bit convoluted. Still, I enjoyed it enough to finish it so I there’s that.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Legend Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review<i/>

This book... what was this book? It didn't seem cohesive at all. What was the point of the perspective of the cabin owner? There were multiple stories going, not all of them connected, and at least two weren't at all necessary. The story dragged on for ages, I was generally bored not thrilled, and to say I'm disappointed in this one would be an understatement.

Thank you to NetGalley and Park Row for the opportunity to review this book ahead of publication. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Book: Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six
Author: Lisa Unger
Publisher: Legend Press
Pub Date: February 16, 2023

Way too many characters. It was confusing between present day and past and not really knowing how the past was going to intertwine with the present. I just had a hard time keeping up with everyone. This is not my favorite Lisa Unger book but it was still a very good read. Once I figured it out I sped through the ending.

Thank you Legend Press and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is February 16, 2023.

Great premise. Atmospheric and creepy. But ultimately this was a flop for me. I enjoy books with multiple povs and storylines but this one dragged. I couldn’t get into it until I was 82% through it. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

This book had a lot A LOT of stuff happening at the same time and I have to say that it impacted my enjoyment of the main plot line.
I’ll start by saying that “Secluded cabin sleeps 6” is not about a cabin sleeping six people. The cabin is just a place, and what happens inside the cabin could happen anywhere without any impact on the plot. In fact, the important things that happen in the story aren’t even linked to the cabin. Bracken, the cabin owner, is also just an accessory that adds word count instead of plot, nothing else. I was expecting him to be involved in some way, but he was just in the way…
The actual plot of the book was very interesting though, and this I really enjoyed, even if it was not clear in the blurb. The story was well constructed and the convergence of the dual lines was very well done.
The characters weren’t all likable, which was great. The emphasis on their flaws made the book interesting and highlighted the main plot. One thing I didn’t enjoy in the first half of the book was the physical descriptions of the characters - they sounded too focused on beauty standards and the need for prettiness for the female characters, as if being pretty and thin (or the opposite) was the defining part of their personalities.
Overall this book was a 3.5 stars - interesting after you go through the context for the characters and if you disregard the noise in the plot that tries to distract you. This was my first book by this author and I’d read their work again.
Thanks Netgalley and Legend Press for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Hannah and Bruce recently had a baby, but are invited by Hannah''s brother Mako to join them for a weekend at a beautiful enormous cabin in the middle of nowhere. They are joined by Mako's wife Liza, Hannah's best friend Cricket, and her new boyfriend Joshua. All of them come with baggage and secrets to Bracken's cabin. However, the weekend becomes chaos as their past and secrets confront them. Alongside this story, the reader is introduced to Henry, a boy travelling around the country with the single mother, and we follow the next two decades of his life.
I enjoyed this book overall. The Henry plotline slowed the momentum of the book at times, even though it was interesting and strong on its own, it was just so separate until the end. There was almost too much going on at times, and the central themes and ideas the book was exploring got lost in the more generic thriller elements of the book. There were a few things happening in the final act that I felt like I was not properly prepared for because they were lost among the other details going on. The beginning was slow since there were so many elements to lay down, but if you keep going there are a lot of interesting ideas and compelling characters in the cabin.
I was provided an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a book I couldn't put down.

Mako, who likes to show his worth, wants to treat those closest to him to a weekend in a lavish cabin. His sister Hannah, her husband Bruce, a family friend, Cricket with her mysterious friend Joshua, and Liza who is Mako's wife, all meet at the cabin. Unbeknownst to them the owner Bracken likes to "watch" his guests.

The book tells another story of Henry who found out he has a sperm donor as a father and after his mother was killed the Detective West helped locate his mothers sister for him. His Aunt is into family Origins and shows Henry how she has been locating family members. Henry meets Catrina, his half sister and finds out she has a very dark side. This all works into those at the cabin and when it collides, secrets, lies, and so much more gets exposed.

With a large storm hitting the cabin the events will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I recommend this book for those that like a psychological thriller.

Thank you NetGalley for this digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Talk about the edge of your seat! From the first chapter Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six held my attention & the creepy kept coming! 4 stars!

#SecludedCabinSleepsSix #NetGalley Grab a blanket and a hot toddy. It's a perfect snow daybook. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out!

This was a 3.5 star read. I had to let the story marinate after finishing. This story addresses family, its definition, and how DNA ties into a family legacy.

This was on my most anticipated 5-star 2022 read list. It was a good read and I would recommend it. Unfortunately, the ending prevented me from giving it a 5-star read. Isolated tropes, secrets, and hidden identity are some of my favorite tropes. You had a group of ppl, with a bunch of secrets, at an Isolated location. What happens when those secrets are slowly exposed? The story started strong and had an easy flow. Around the last third of the book, the story kinda started to go in a different direction. I got what the author was trying to do, it just didn't come together. The ending felt like I was reading two different stories. If a separate story was written based on the ending, it would have been a fascinating read.

#secludedcabinsleepssix #thriller #lisaunger