I love the thrill of high-stakes "game" plots, where the game is a life or death situation. However, The Game did not feel thrilling. The pacing was off and the characters were unlikable, so my mind was wandering and I found myself thinking about my next read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Harper 360 for the chance to read this early in exchange for an honest review.

Hooky, fast-paced, and entertaining, this will be a great beach thriller. A recommended purchase for collections where the genre is popular.

love these kinds of plots, where people have to do terrible things to save the person they love, because I know that all of the players have some kind of connection to the game master.

The thing is, The Game was hard to suspend disbelief for.

First off let's start this with a round of applause for Scott Kershaw. What a debut novel. Just brilliant.

This story features different players being forced into playing "The Game". We learn of each person's involvement from chapters from their own POV. Sometimes books with too many differing POV can get messy or make you want to get back to a specific chartacter. Not with this book; every POV could have been it's own novel because equal of how GREAT each POV was. I truly enjoyed each character's time being the narrator.

The uniqueness to each person's story was a big draw with this book. They were all experiencing the same thing but in drastically different ways. The character development and their individual histories being unraveled was fantastic.

It is a twisty mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Side note: don't be fooled by the summery of the book giving Saw or Squid Game vibes; it is truly a unique story.

A big thanks to Harper360 and NetGalley for the chance to read this one early. Make sure to get this one added to your TBR list asap!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Game.

I love these kinds of plots, where people have to do terrible things to save the person they love, because I know that all of the players have some kind of connection to the game master.

The thing is, The Game was hard to suspend disbelief for.

First, for a game, there are a lot of rules but there's very little game playing involved.

The first half of the book is from the five players' perspectives and how they discover the person they love is missing, then the creepy text messages and the rules they have to follow, and how they will get from Point A to Point B to Point C.

Seriously, the majority of the book is about the players trying to figure out what's going on and traveling to their destination.

Second, the author purposely misleads the reader by not including the dates and years of several events, so the reader assumes everything is happening in real time.

I'm not a fan of this literary device; I find it deceitful because I like to guess or see if I can figure out whodunit by the clues and events occurring amongst the players/characters.

Third, the identity of the mastermind is hard to believe, though I have to say no one was a good candidate as the Big Bad.

Then, there's that scene where the drug dealer suddenly springs to life...okay, I actually saw that coming.

The writing was good, and the characters a diverse mix, but I didn't connect with anyone, the suspense was lacking, and I couldn't suspend disbelief.

This just wasn't for me.

Someone takes Maggie's son and she is shocked as she lives in Minnesota things like this don't happen here. She gets a text telling her if she contacts police or tells anyone he will die. As a parent this pulls at your heart strings as you would do anything for your child. She is player 1. She is given a certain amount of time to get to secret destination and if she fails she is out of the game. There can be only one winner.

This scenaria happened to four other people. Each fearing for their loved ones lives. Then they must all work together to find player six. Then all things come to a head as who is behind the game and why? The big reveal that I didn't predict.

I liked how it portrayed Maggie as Minnesota nice. I liked how I had no clue who was behind the game or why. The fear you felt for each person as they wanted to save their loved ones and panic along the way. The ending that I didn't predict made this one gripping read.

This book reminded me of the Saw movies, and was delightfully horrific and thrilling! I could barely put it down.

ARC book provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“The Game” opens up with the gathering of five strangers whose lives are turned upside down when the person they each love the most disappears. The strangers receive a message on their phones revealing their loved ones have been abducted. With that, the game has begun.

Each person is assigned a title ranging from “Player One” to “Player Five.” Instructions are given and are clear on one point: call the police or otherwise ask for help and you’ll never see your loved one again. As the players are drawn together and given explicit instructions on what to do next, questions arise. What is “The Game?” Who is behind it? Why have the players been chosen? How is “The Game” going to end? After all, there can only be one winner.

I greatly enjoyed this book. I ripped through the story in less than a day, drawn into the thrilling intensity. The writer’s style was easy to read, sucking me right in and taking me along for the ride. The characters are believable and their reactions to the situation, albeit all different, are also believable. I wasn’t sure if I’d like this novel as the book’s description sounds like many stories I’ve heard before, but this book was original and engaging. Best of all, I never saw the end coming. I’m usually pretty good and figuring it all out, but this book caught me by surprise. Kudos to the author for an original storyline with a truly surprising twist of an ending.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. It’s a great story for any fans of thrillers who love a good twisty ending. This is a fast-paced enjoyable book with an original storyline that will please most readers. The book is not your standard formulaic novel about a game amongst strangers under duress. This book was original enough and entertaining enough to earn a five-star review from me, which I was honestly not expecting from the book’s simple description. Pick up a copy of this book and enjoy the ride!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper 360 for this ARC of The Game by Scott Kershaw.

This book was an intense one. I honestly almost gave this one less star after finishing until I went back to reread some earlier chapters to try to verify remembering what I thought I read. I was upset that yet another author basically lied earlier on to try to instill the shock factor better. But, I was wrong. This author so meticulously worded this one in a way that I was second guessing myself and what I thought I remembered. Which made this so much better and honestly, genius. The plot was original and the intensity was unreal. Brilliant writing and I definitely recommend this to my fellow thriller readers.

I haven't been this hooked to a book in awhile.
The Game is the type of story I've been waiting for!

The book is centered around five strangers who each receive a terrifying message from someone unknown. Someone they love the most is terrible danger.
And the only way to save them is they each much play THE GAME.
A ominous unknown that has one single rule: there will only be one winner!
If you lose, yYOUR LOVED ONE is dead!
Why are these five the chosen ones? And what the hell is THE GAME?
One thing is for sure they each will do anything to win....
So welcome to The Game. You've also started playing!

Wow. I picked this up and could not put it down that I read in a day.
His brilliant plot and well-written characters take you on roller coaster of twists and turns that keep you riveted from page one.
Kershaw's writing is so descriptive.
A captivating psychological suspense that plays a game unlike anything I've ever read.
Join the game to finish this wild ending!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Harper 360|HQ,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.

2/5 stars

This Review is Spoiler Free!

The Game feels like a Black Mirror episode meets Taken meets The Amazing Race...and I'm not really sure it worked. While the writing style itself was very cinematic and engaging, and there were five very unique voices throughout, the plot really didn't hold up.

While I don't always mind books that require me to suspend my disbelief, this one was just too much. And even after the big reveal of the twist at the end, it was very hard to see this as plausible. For a novel called "The Game" that revolves around rules, there really was a lack of clarity and it caused confusion.

The pacing and writing style were well done, but the plot just didn't work for me.

*I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and views in this review are my own.

OMG!! You have to read this book! The Game was an explosive, knock your socks off, intense, non-stop action helluva thrill ride! I still can't believe that it's a debut!! So well written! Well, I just added another author to my "must read" list! -Where have you been hiding Scott Kershaw?!- I absolutely loved every minute of it and couldn't put it down! Screw dinner and chores....I had to finish this tonight! I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up becoming a movie. It's that good folks!!

THE GAME

Five players from around the world find themselves immersed in a twisted game. The rules are simple; play the game or your loved one will die. Do not call the police. Do not tell anyone. If you lose, your loved one dies. Only one can be the winner. Your time starts now!

The story proceeds alternating between the POVs of the five players with some added segues here and there. I liked all of the characters except for one, but that's ok. There's always a d-head! My heart was literally pounding out of my chest as these players raced against time to complete the obstacles. None of them could be trusted, so I had no clue how this would end. Until it did! Great job, Scott Kershaw! Can't wait to get my hands on your next novel!

Thank you to the author, Harper 360, and NetGalley for allowing me to preview this eARC in exchange for my honest review!