This book was good but not spectacular. I figured out several of the big twists early-on but I did think that everything wrapped up nicely and I appreciate that there were no loose ends left hanging. Other than the title. The title really did not tie in to the content of the book at all in my opinion and I wish the book was named differently.

The Vacancy in Room 10 by Seraphina Nova Glass is a great popcorn thriller set around a derelict motel-turned-apartment complex called the Sycamores and the mystery surrounding some of the occupants that reside there. This was my first novel by Glass and I immediately put the rest of her books on my "want to read" list on Goodreads.

This book is told from two POVs: Anna, whose husband recently took his own life after making a confusing confession to her on the phone, and Cass, the building manager of the Sycamores who has recently been dumped and then ostracized from her well-to-do friends and life.

While this was a quick read and a good thriller, the reader does need to throw reality out the window. I loved the discriptions of the Sycamores and I really enjoyed the cast of side characters that Anna met and interacted with after moving to the Sycamores to go through her husbands belongings and try to figure out what had really happened to him.

The story was a little over the top, but that's what made it a quick and fun read.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book was a total miss for me. I think the cover is beautiful and captivating, but I did not enjoy the slow rolling plot as I have with other authors. I quickly lost interest and did not finish.

Finally picked this book up again. Still didn't know why. It was very slow. I think it has potential but it just wasn't for me.

I saw this book everywhere when it was released and I was so excited to read it. But I think it fell a little flat for me. It was definitely a slow burn and there were so many characters. Two POVs is what I usually enjoy but the storyline was a bit hard to follow. We have everything from domestic abuse and infidelity to a drug cartel and fake suicide. It was a wild ride. But I will say I love a found family trope so that was enjoyable and the ending was surprising for sure. I definitely didn’t see it coming. I would say this is a solid thriller.

An ok read. It wasn’t what I thought it would be.
I really couldn’t bring myself to like Cass and that sort of ruined the book for me.

I am now down to only one Seraphina Nova Glass book to read, and she has been an auto-buy author for me ever since I discovered her through Such a Good Wife in 2022. I felt like she got to the action pretty early on in The Vacancy in Room 10 whereas her other novels have been more of a slow burn. I'm definitely not complaining though, and I was immediately captured by Anna and Cass's stories. Cass has a very interesting secret that she is hiding, and it was very salacious but also a little sad. Actually, there were parts in this book that were very emotional and while I wasn't expecting it, I loved the depth that added.

I listened to the audiobook because I HAD to, and I loved it! Brittany Pressley voices Cass while Stacey Glemboski voices Anna and they were everything I could have hoped for and more. I already love Pressley and I ended up being super impressed with how well Glemboski fit Anna's character and the way her narration jived with the book as a whole. You can't go wrong with the audiobook, and it is a 10/10 recommend from me. I was also quite happy with the strong dose of female friendship and comradery in The Vacancy in Room 10, and it is refreshing to have a thriller where women are helping each other instead of tearing each other down. The twists and ending were perfection, and I loved every minute of this book.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC. Absolutely love this cover. 5 stars for DNF as I cannot comment on the overall quality of this book.

Secrets and murder at the Sycamores

This psychological thriller is told from the viewpoints of two very different women, both basically at the dead-end run-down motel turned apartment complex because of events over which they had no control.

Cass is the motel manager, dumped by a rich boyfriend who refused to marry her and then took up with a much younger woman. She happens to be very handy and so has the very depressing job of fixing up the dilapidated units for low wages and the place she gets to live in. She knows almost everything going on in those apartments behind closed doors.

Anna was married to Henry, an artist who had a unit at the Sycamores to use as a studio. She comes to clear out the place he'd used and to get answers after he kills himself following a phone call to her when he confessed to some terrible crime.

Daily life at the Sycamores is no treat, but there are the pool women, the kids, the other odd tenants, and one very bad man. Someone there, however, knows what happened to Henry and soon Anna finds evidence that she had no idea what Henry had actually been doing in this place.

I was fully invested and really absorbed in this story until everything suddenly shifted and went off the rails. The revelations, the climax, and the resolution took this down several notches. Basically, this was a female empowerment trope with a bunch of bad men all around. It didn't ring true, and I found it all wildly unlikely. Also, the characters just did not feel believable, and I didn't like them, what they did, or how it all ended.

I listened to the audiobook with its two different narrators and preferred the voice of the woman who performed Cass to the one who did Anna. I always feel that listening while following along in the e-book ARC (provided by the publisher) gives me much more entertainment. I was just disappointed in the last third of the story.

Room 10 by Seraphina Nova Glass is a haunting and atmospheric read that will draw you in from the very first page. The story follows a young woman who moves into a new apartment and discovers that the room next door has been mysteriously vacant for years. As she delves deeper into the history of the room, she uncovers dark secrets and a connection to her own past.

The writing in Room 10 is beautifully crafted, with vivid descriptions that bring the setting to life and a sense of foreboding that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The characters are well-developed and complex, adding layers of depth to the story.

Overall, Room 10 is a gripping and immersive read that will appeal to fans of psychological thrillers and supernatural mysteries. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a chilling and thought-provoking read.

Seraphina Nova Glass has created a community where people look out for each other and creating characters that you simply fall in love with. The two POVs worked really well, especially with their hardships described that made me feel their pain and believe in their choices. The pace really picked up at the end, like a good thriller should.

I loved this engaging thriller! I felt that I was immersed in the different settings thanks to the atmospheric writing. There are a myriad of interesting characters that kept me guessing as to what their motives were. I don’t want to give away many details since it is a thriller but be prepared for some interesting twists and turns. I liked the fast pace that kept me anxiously turning the pages. Overall an interesting suspenseful plot. This is my first book by this author and now I have to check out her previous books.

The Vacancy in Room 10 follows Cass, a handy woman at The Sycamores where she resides after her ex kicked her out, and Anna, who ends up there after receiving a phone call from her husband right before he died, confessing something unimaginable. He had his studio at The Sycamores, so she heads there to see if she begins to unravel what happened to him.

This colorful cast of characters really brought the story to life. Anna's plan is to speak with everyone that resides at The Sycamores to try to figure out what Henry's confession meant, and why he was now dead. Meanwhile, as Anna is on the hunt for answers, more horrible secrets begin coming to light and Cass plans to keep Anna in the dark.

Initially, I felt like the story was very much a slow burn. Once it kicked into high gear, it was a fast-paced book that I couldn't put down. This is absolutely one to add to your reading list.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

okay, this was SOOOO GOOOD!!!

I loved the plot, the pacing and it had great character development!

Seraphina is ONE HUNRED PERCENT an auto buy another for me now!!

I loved the parallel storylines and how invested I was while reading!!

It was fast paced, chalked full to suspense and had me on the edge of my seat!

i HIGHLY recommend this one, friends!!√

Solid 3 star thriller. While I enjoyed this one I didn't love it. I found myself confused between the two POVS, Anna and Cass. There were some random subplots that werent fleshed out enough. There also weren't enough twists. When we finally hit the climax i felt like everything just came together too conveniently.

I liked this one! Great mystery and good twists! I would definitely recommend for others to read if they like suspense books!

I was really excited to read this and ended up just thinking it was ok. It seemed a little chaotic at times and for a good chunk of the book I didn’t know what was going on. I did enjoy the ending.

2.5⭐️ rounded up

Some parts were hard to put down, others were too much of a slow burn. Overall I thought a lot of it was pretty unbelievable.

I did like the setting and getting to know the different characters in the motel. Really enjoyed Cass too.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Dual narration by two women whose paths intersect at a rundown motel
Slow suspense set-up for the first 40%
Kicks into high-stakes thriller territory after that point
Clever connections between the storylines
Two reveals, one of which I guessed!
Great pick for readers who can be patient for a good payoff

This was such a fun, fast paced, and suspenseful ride! Told in two different POV's you really get to know these two characters Cass and Anna. The secrets that. one out of the Sycamore were jaw dropping and I did not see coming whatsoever! I really loved seeing how the characters evolved. This is a fun pop corn thriller and if you can get past the " not so realness" of the story and just go with the flow this will be a good time for you.

This is the first book for me by this author and I cannot wait to read more stuff by her!