"A Game in Yellow" explores the intimacy of a kinky lesbian couple, Blanca and Carmen. Carmen no longer feels sexually fulfilled in their relationship, which leads Blanca to find Smoke, a mysterious woman in possession of a mystical play, the King in Yellow. Carmen becomes obsessed with the play, leading to disastrous consequences to the women around her.

'Yellow' is a wonderful blend of psychological horror and erotica. It's creepy and disturbing. Full of relationship drama and intimacy issues. It's a fantastic addition to the horror genre and would make an excellent read for sapphic and gay book clubs thanks to the presence of the play itself, as well as the relationship drama that unfolds between Blanca, Carmen and Smoke.

This was an interesting concept that I really wanted to like, but didn’t grab my interest. For all of the talk of kink and S&M, there wasn’t any in during first half of the book. I wanted it to be as sexy as the subjects it discussed. In the end, it wasn’t for me but someone else will enjoy it.

Content Warnings: Unhealthy BDSM (Plot relevant), Body Horror, Cosmic Horror, Existentialism

Piper’s work is, as usual, visceral and captivating in equal measure. The body horror used here is interesting enough, but the cosmic horror is also well done. Anyone unfamiliar with Chambers’s original story may find the play excerpts confusing and the overall power of the King in Yellow hard to understand. However, as someone familiar with both, I enjoyed the way Piper wove it into her own work. I felt it really captured the questioning and blending of realities, of masking and seeking one’s identity, and the mixture of, thrill, horror, obsession, and darkness that can come from such existentialist thought.

I love an unreliable narrator and following their worldview, and Carmen offers that in spades. Bianca, whose care is shown in her concern with safety in their intimate relationship, and Smoke, who gives Carmen the call out she so justly deserves towards the end of the narrative, were also strong, unique voices. The pacing of the work ramped up in time with Carmen’s obsession and the power of the play, ending at a sharp, satisfying point.

I would recommend this book for its characters, pacing, and satisfying blend of horror, but acknowledge that it may not be to everyone’s taste.

Rating: ⭐⭐
📅 Pub Date: August 12, 2025

Sadly, this one didn’t work for me. I found myself dreading picking it up again because it just felt like a drag. The writing was overly complex, and I kept having to stop to look up words, which really broke the flow for me.

I also felt like the intimate/BDSM scenes between Carmen and Blanca were a bit repetitive. Their relationship struggles were central to the story, but I couldn’t connect with them. We get a little bit of background on their pasts, but not enough to really care about their dynamic. Carmen’s decreasing sex drive is a key conflict, but outside of that, I felt like their personalities were underdeveloped.

The horror parts, though, those were great. The book really picks up towards the end when the tension rises and things start to spiral. The final moments were the strongest, and I loved how chaotic everything got. However, I found the sections where the reading took on a play format to be confusing. Maybe if I were more familiar with the King in Yellow lore, it would have made more sense to me, but as it was, it just added another layer of disorientation.

All in all, A Game in Yellow wasn’t what I hoped for. The pacing, dense writing, and lack of character depth made it hard to enjoy, even though the horror moments were definitely a highlight.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This is a really unique story, but I’m not sure I was the target audience. A Game in Yellow has some psychological horror aspects with a wild twist at the end.

When Carmen turns to alternative methods of spicing up her relationship she ends up stumbling upon a play that changes her life. I spent a large part of the story struggling to determine what was and wasn’t real. While this was appealing and exciting at times, I also felt I wanted more of an explanation for the strange events that were going on throughout the story.

This comes out in August if you’re interested!

#netgalley #agameinyellow #arcreader #arcreview #bookrecommendations

'The King in Yellow' has long been whispered about. It's said that anyone who reads those stories may eventually lose their sanity. With every page turned, readers seem to lose more and more of themselves. 'A Game in Yellow' takes that concept and creates something unique. Are you ready to transform your life?

I went into this book without knowing much about it. I had heard it was compared to the work of Eric LaRocca, so that was enough to draw me in before I even turned the first page.

This book was a bit confusing at first. There was a particular 'Queen' song that kept playing in my mind on repeat, and then I finally understood what it was all about. It’s wild, but it works so well in this context.

Once things started to fall into place, that’s when the book truly hit me. I was hooked from that moment on. The characters were unpredictable, and you never knew what they were up to until it was all revealed. Sometimes you can guess what’s coming, but not here. There’s no way to anticipate it, and I was amazed. I find myself shaking my head at how uniquely bizarre it was, yet it never detracted from the reading experience.

'A Game in Yellow' was a truly bizarre read and one that I really enjoyed.

Don’t forget your safeword….

"Is this shroud the garment of the King in Yellow? Has it always been, every time the stage darkened, every time CARMEN’S vision dimmed? Perhaps this shroud has loomed over CARMEN her entire life, every moment part of one erratic performance, now coming to its curtain call."

Carmen struggles with intimacy in her relationship with Bianca. Kink has always been a part of their relationship, but they push things even further in desperation to bring Carmen back. Then, they meet Smoke, who introduces them to a play called The King in Yellow and tells Carmen she'll get better just by reading a small portion. And, for a while, it works. As Smoke becomes their third, Carmen's obsession with the play grows as her boundaries between reality and nightmare blur.

The writing and imagery are well done, and the cosmic horror elements shine in the book's latter half.

However, I struggled with this one — primarily because I never fully connected with the characters. I didn't understand what was driving Carmen and hadn't seen enough of her relationship before this to merit such intensity. It lacks that positive encounter with Bianca that would justify Carmen's continued craving. I would think we would have one “transcendent” scene to account for the constant need. Instead, Blanca remains hard and distant.

The entire storyline is based on their intimacy — both physical and non — and it hinges on the BDSM/kink aspect. The book itself is even billed that however. But, for all that, it's actually pretty vanilla and sanitized? It’s odd because this book is inherently about sex without ever becoming too graphic. Everything is somewhat vague but intentional.

Also, the repeated mentions of Blanca’s “fatness” are interesting. I like the inclusion, but it's conveyed in a way where Carmen almost defends or tries to justify Bianca's body. She'll talk about some element of Bianca's body to only then curb it with a disclaimer that "others won't understand." It's as though she's explaining some kind of weird, guilty pleasure instead of her partner.

"A Game in Yellow" has a strong concept but lacks some necessary elements to make it work.

✨2.5 — Rounded to three for review purposes.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and Saga Press for the advance copy in exchange for my review.

This book is a unique twist on desire, codependency, and the need to feel wanted. There were times that I was flipping through the pages quickly for more and there were times that I was completely confused, but the ending tied it together nicely. The main character Carmen was a little insufferable at times, but the representation of LGBTQ+ and kink was wonderful, body horror on point, and overall I think it’s a great example of how extreme desire and codependency can make you crazy. Thank you for the opportunity to read this eARC.

I don't know where to start. A complicated look at women, love and sense of self. This is like the adult version of self harm, cutting and desperation to feel connection.
Trauma from family carried into adulthood, seeping into the joy and support of what could be a healthy relationship. Yet both Blanca and Carmen struggle with their self worth and queer identities- Blanca always in control, Carmen known as pet.
Add in a creepy play consuming lives and you have an amazing plot.

“Somewhere in the dark of her mind, she wondered if love was a flavor of oblivion.”

“A Game in Yellow” is a captivating read that follows a couple, Carmen and Blanca, who are in a rut — and their normal BDSM games aren’t helping them get out of it. Enter Smoke, a woman in possession of a mysterious play known as The King in Yellow. To read too much of the play is to fall into madness, but to read just enough is to experience a euphoric high that can’t be found anywhere else. Carmen reads some of The King and Yellow in the hope that the experience will bring back her spark with Blanca. But Carmen quickly becomes obsessed with the play, leading her down a rabbit hole of desire that blurs the lines between fiction and reality.

For the most part, I enjoyed my reading experience of this book. It was a fascinating blend of erotica, drama, and horror, which I’ve never seen combined in a novel before. I loved the premise and I loved watching Carmen’s descent into madness.

However, I wish the story had been longer and explored more of the dynamics between Carmen, Blanca, and Smoke. We got a hint of conflict between the three but the friction wasn’t played up as much as it could’ve been in my opinion. I also think it would’ve been more satisfying as a reader to learn more about each woman’s past throughout the story, because it would’ve made the ending more impactful for me.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review posted to goodreads on 2/5/24.

Brief review will be to my Instagram at the end of February for my monthly reading wrap up. Full review will be posted closer to release date.

As a fan of both Hailey Piper and The King in Yellow, I was thrilled to get an ARC of A Game in Yellow to review.
It was everything it promised and more. I loved Piper's take on Carcosa and the ending was sublime on so many levels. I would spoil it if I shared the details that enraptured but those details will stay with me for a very long time in deliciously horrible ways.
The only thing about the book that made it hard to get into initially for me and the only think keeping me from being as in love with A Game in Yellow as I am with Piper's Worm and His Kings trilogy is the characters. Carmen, Blanca, and Smoke aren't meant to be likable but they're not likable in ways that aren't particularly intriguing. Carmen's depression, Blanca's mask of control, and the lack of information about Smoke in general forced me to trudge through the first act of this story. I eventually got into it but it took a while.

I’m not the kind of reader who typically goes for stories with smut or about kink, but I thought this was a very clever retelling/sequel to the classic horror novel The King in Yellow. I loved the queer lens that this retelling took on, and I thought it was very creative. I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending, as I felt it was a bit unclear, but overall a fun read.

I really enjoyed reading about the relationship dynamic of the three women in this novel, and the critiques on the workplace were interesting, but I’m sad to say that this was not a winner for me. I think the play sections were poorly done & the pacing was off. The first half of the book moves so slow & the second half seems to spiral too quick —leaving me with feelings of disappointment. A book with this page count should feel snappy and fun, but it started to feel like a chore.

I do appreciate the advanced copy. Thank you to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley.

3.5
Thank you Saga Press and Hailey Piper for the Advanced Copy of this book in return for my honest review.
I had so much fun reading this and could see this being a great movie. I am not familiar with the source material of The King In Yellow, so I did not pick up on the imagery at times, but the characters well fully-developed and felt real. I would have loved for it to be a bit longer to go more into the relationship dynamics of the 3 women as a group. This book is graphic, but not necessarily "scary", more so unsettling. I think the comparison to "Things Have Gotten Worse..." is apt.

This fast-paced novel kept me engaged, though I’m not sure I’d classify it as true horror—it's more of a twisty drama with eerie undertones. Despite the comparisons to Euphoria, I didn’t quite see the connection. The highlight for me was following an unreliable protagonist, but beyond that, the other characters felt underdeveloped and lacked the depth needed to make them truly compelling. I craved more—more clarity, more from the game or play at the center of the story, and especially more world-building to ground me in what was happening. While I enjoyed the ride, the book ultimately left me feeling a bit lost, and I don’t see it lingering in my thoughts for long.

Wow!!! Thank you NetGalley and publisher for ARC of this book! A game in yellow is disturbing but in a way work of horror fiction should be. Filled with eerie creeping that oozes its way into your your brain and makes you think! Vere much like fever dream which I love! Personally I think it way super creative and fun read!

Sexy, scary, and queer. Love Hailey Piper's short fiction and I'm excited for A Game in Yellow to release.

Robert H. Chambers’ The King in Yellow was a cult hit brought into wider pop culture fame when it got name-checked in the first and fourth seasons of HBO’s True Detective. Piper, the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth, has crafted a new descent into Carcosa, but makes it very horny and very queer. Carmen and Blanca are in a loving but sexually dull marriage. They rediscover their spark by reading strange passages from the play The King in Yellow. Addicted to this escape from the mundane, the boundaries between Carmen’s world and the plays blur and bleed with kink, cosmic horror and the grotesque – often all at once.

Diving into this book without prior knowledge left me a bit lost at times, given my unfamiliarity with The King in Yellow lore. The story is unsettling, exploring deep insecurities, relationship trauma, kink exploration, and self-discovery. While dread permeates, it's more about relationship drama than horror. The character development is lacking; the relationships among the women felt choppy, with many missing pieces. As the book progressed, these gaps became more prominent, making the storyline feel incomplete, like an actual play. Despite this, the overall storyline was enjoyable. A solid 3/5 for me.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: August 12, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

I was not personally a fan of this book but there were things about this book that many will enjoy. The book is very vivid, fast paced and easy to read and follow. The writing is surely captivating and each page will keep your attention. This is a book you definitely want to read in one sitting or in a weekend without any breaks between if possible. I love that this is an LGBTQIA+ genre as well, I love seeing the representation done in an amazing was. Hailey Piper did such amazing work with this one and has a talent for writing in the drama/horror genre. I will be recommending this book to my book friends who would enjoy this one!!

Large thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well as Saga Press , S&S/Saga Press

𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: Fast paced, LGBTQIA+, Horror, Psychological Thri

Oof, okay, I’m torn on this one. The concept is 10/10 and the writing is pretty good here (in the parts where it’s good?) and the subtlety and commonality in which queer and kink relationships are presented is greatly appreciated. As a horror girly, I actually enjoyed the non-horror aspect of this story, the relationship dynamics (eww I know) and

The thing is, this story is flat and void. Everything from the characters to the mystical sequences, to the reasoning, and to the climax of this book is sorely underdeveloped. It feels relatively vapid and shallow, so much so that my hypercritical brain was left confused at several ends. Especially within the first 70-80% of the book.

I think this would do better as a screenplay in all honesty. I hope Hailey shops it for the big (or lil) screen!