Thank you, NetGalley and Saga Press for the eARC!!

"Ordinarily, you read the words. But these pages? They read you, too."

This is the story of Blanca and Carmen, a couple who are mostly ordinary in their daily lives and into kink play in their personal life but have recently fallen into a sex rut. In a relatable sense, Carmen can't get out of her own head enough to enjoy herself during sex or get off like she used to. Blanca tries all manner of kink but nothing works - until Blanca introduces Carmen to a woman named Smoke. Smoke asks Carmen to read a passage of the play, The King in Yellow, which to Blanca's delight, stirs Carmen into a sexual frenzy. However, as Smoke becomes a more stable figure in their relationship, Carmen begins to obsess over the play and descend into madness.

This book starts out full speed and does NOT stop the entire time. From the outset, it looks like a story of sapphic love full of sex and an exploration of kinks (safely!) and it is - in part - which is fun on its own, but I was quickly endeared to the story once it became clear that it was also so much more. It's also about trust, the longing for connection, LGBTQ+ love, trauma, found family, identity, order, and madness. It also took a deep dive into exploration of kinks like bondage and breath play and made me reconsider who is really in charge during submissive/dominate kink play - so that was a fun learning experience, tbh ("there was a contradiction between freedom and captivity, a control in yielding control. Carmen set the boundaries. Blanca facilitated them, and she was careful beyond measure, observant of limitations").

I've seen this book described as cosmic horror and I wholeheartedly agree. It's hard to tell what is real and what is delusion in Carmen's mind and you are left wading through what feels like a semi-fugue state. The story is punctuated with actual passages from the play in which Carmen is inserted as a character. The reader quickly discovers that Carmen is loosing her hold on reality with disastrous results - and not just within her relationship. I have mixed feelings books that follow a character in a dream/fugue state, which is why I oped for 4 stars, because this results in certain aspects of the book remaining open-ended by default (i.e., Natasha's existence/disappearance?). This book was written well so I was okay accepting the state Carmen was in 95% of the time because the book was not loaded with unanswered questions, just one or two (besides the main overall WTF how does this book exist - which is clearly not meant to be answered).

The ending absolutely blew me away. I was not expecting it and I was STUNNED but honestly, it was perfect. One of my top 10 favorite horror book endings.

I've also added the original The King in Yellow and Short Stories by Robert W. Chambers to my TBR - hopefully my reading will result in less chaos. :)

Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy! An erotic horror sapphic fever dream that asks the question, how far are you willing to go to bring the spice back? A play that you can only read in portions, lest it take hold of you and corrupt your mind. Read a little bit though, and you'll be hooked. The danger though, that the main character finds out all too quickly, is you'll be chasing that high the whole time you're not reading.

Alright, so here’s the deal—we’ve got Carmen, stuck in the soul-crushing grind of office life and struggling to, uh, get there. Her partner Blanca is doing everything she can to help, which leads them to a mysterious underground scene where kinks run wild. Enter Smoke, a mysterious figure who introduces Carmen to The King in Yellow—something that promises euphoria but also a healthy dose of madness. Naturally, chaos follows.

This book was a ride. Between Carmen’s dull office job and her desperate attempts to keep her relationship afloat, there’s a surprising amount of heart. Then, we dive headfirst into a world of doms, subs, and all kinds of kink—definitely not a light read if that’s out of your comfort zone, but it is interesting. Personally, I wasn’t totally sold on the back-and-forth between Carmen’s reality and the dreamlike “play” world, but that ending? That’s where the horror really kicked in, and that’s what made me love it.

And honestly? Major Hellraiser vibes, especially toward the end. The blend of pain and pleasure, the eerie, otherworldly figures pulling the strings, and that creeping sense of doom all felt like something straight out of Clive Barker’s nightmares. It starts as a story about desire and control, but by the final act, it’s a full descent into madness—otherworldly, grotesque, and impossible to look away from.

Honestly, A Game in Yellow probably wasn’t the book for me, but I can absolutely see why others might love it. I tend to struggle with magical realism, especially when the lines between reality and fantasy get super blurry, and this book leans all the way into that disorienting, dreamlike space. Hailey Piper definitely knows how to craft an unsettling, atmospheric story, but I often found myself confused about what was real and what wasn’t—which I know is kind of the point, but it left me feeling more lost than intrigued. That said, Piper’s writing is sharp and visceral, and if you’re into horror with a surreal, erotic edge, this might be right up your alley. The premise—a mysterious play that drives people to madness—is undeniably cool and gave me House of Leaves meets Black Mirror vibes. And the relationship between Carmen and Blanca is messy, intense, and complex in a way that felt raw and very human, even when everything around them spiraled into chaos. So, while this book didn’t fully click for me, I can appreciate the craft and boldness behind it. If you're the type of reader who enjoys dark, experimental stories that push boundaries and make you question what’s real, A Game in Yellow might just be your kind of strange.

This was different than anything I've read and it was refreshing to read something where I couldn't guess where it was going. It speaks a lot about life and the masks we wear and the trauma we hide that still affects us every day.

When I read the description on NetGalley I thought this would be interesting, but sadly I just wasn’t into it. I’m not sure if it was just me, but the play parts were so boring, and hard to get through, they could have added more to the story and it just didn’t (in my opinion.)

The couple themselves (Blanca and Carmen) just seem like curious roommates… not like an actual couple. I get that they’re struggling sexually and that’s why they’re looking for more dangerous options, but they just lacked that relationship connection. Then we get introduced to Smoke who flips everything upside down. She introduces Carmen to this play, it alters your mind when you read it. It’s essentially like a drug, you want to consume more, but if you consume too much then you are basically driven into madness.

Overall, it fell flat. Too many characters (between real life and the play,) and not much was happening that made me want to read more.

"A Game in Yellow" is a book of messy queers, Carmen and Blanca, who are trying to revive their kink-fixated lifestyle by reading small passages from "The King in Yellow," a mysterious play with dangerous powers.

Once Carmen experiences a brief glimpse of the ecstasy that the lines can bring, she becomes obsessed with the play, stealing pages from their third kink player, Smoke. Soon enough, Carmen's world begins to slip into that of the play, in day dreams and nightmares and seemingly everyday, ordinary encounters. Both Carmen and Blanca carry childhood trauma caused by poor parenting, and The King in Yellow seemingly reads their past to twist their present.

The story is told from Carmen's perspective, and her unreliability as a narrator serves to make the hallucinatory encounters with the play more surreal. As the book's narrative inevitably unfolds, the true powers of the play are slowly and gruesomely revealed, leading to an epic ending. An epic ending in my book, at least.

On another note, my enjoyment of this book was enhanced by my prior knowledge of Robert W. Chambers' [book:The King in Yellow|32277642], which I've read at least twice. So as Carmen begins to succumb to the powers of the play, the references were much easier to grasp. My enjoyment of this book was made available by the fine folks at Netgalley and the publishers at Saga, and of course, the delightfully twisted mind of author Hailey Piper. Kudos on a fine story!

Thank you net galley for the arc. This book was crazy, but the good kind. It follows a couple, Carmen and Blanca who want to spice up their sex life and find a way through a strange play. If they read too much they fall into madness and if they read too little, it gives the adrenaline of survivor's euphoria. This story was a wild ride, I really enjoyed it.

This was absolutely fucking amazing.

I have been drooling waiting on this book, and somehow lucked into getting it as an ARC on Netgalley, so thank you !

I finished this a little while back but wanted to wait till closer to time release time before I posted about it, release should be August 12, 2025.

I'm still a little early, but I cant keep it to myself anymore, its been haunting me from my Goodreads To Be Reviewed section.

Carmen and Blanca meet someone in a drug den, who has mysterious pages to play called The King in Yellow.

The play comes with a small little side effect, nothing too crazy, if you read too much of it, you will loose your freaking mind, but, if you can edge yourself, and read just enough, you can hit a high unlike anything you have ever experienced.

Cool right, totally manageable, but in reality not so much.

All good things come with a price, what comes back with you, what do you trade for that time spent in that magical world of the play?

I felt so hard for Carmen, you feel like you loose everything, your sex drive, and then maybe your partner, and that piled on whether real, or imagined, makes it an ugly cycle you cant escape.

Trapped like what, what would you give to be able to feel again, when you feel like you're loosing everything, including your mind.

This was trippy and fantastic, the freaking atmosphere, I knew something was wrong, something was off, but couldn't put my finger on it, and that was amazing for me as a reader.

I will be getting a hard copy of this when it releases, thank you again.

Gross and loud as only Hailey Piper can give us. A fun spin on a storied genre. Hailey makes all of her work her own and is one of those authors who you can identify without seeing the name. This is no exception. Not to compare works but it is going to be a toss up between this and Queen of Teeth for my most recommended piece of hers.

A WILD melding of on an old story with a progressive, contemporary one. Very queer!! Very kinky!! Oh my god... some of these fetish scenes made me flush.

This story is about Carmen and Blanca’s complex dom/sub relationship and the challenges of keeping the flame alive. Blanca then leads them to a possible solution for their relationship struggles (avoiding hard discussions, therapy, or processing personal trauma) and it involves a woman named Smoke and her play titled The King In Yellow.

This book sent me down a rabbit hole of reading the source material, The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers and The Inhabitant of Carcosa by Ambrose Bierce. I do think The Game in Yellow makes more sense and feels like a richer story if the reader is familiar with King in Yellow lore. Piper sometimes uses scenes verbatim from these stories, which have a very different feel (since they were written in the late 1800’s) from the kinky romance storyline. Other times, she’ll reference, adapt, or expand on source material in very creative ways. Impressively, Piper uses her magic story telling powers to weave parallels between Carmen’s romantic relationship and her relationship with The King in Yellow.

Overall, really enjoyed this story and I LOVED the characters! They were flawed and complex to the point that they felt real, but that their personal lives extended beyond the pages of this book, and that I'll never get a know those parts. It was also refreshing to see a non-traditional relationship structure portrayed in a loving, consensual way. It was clear that the relationship structure was not "the problem" in this story, but rather how individuals avoidied processing personal traumas and discussing hard topics.

Thank you Netgalley and Saga Press for this ARC of the Game in Yellow by Hailey Piper.

“The King in Yellow” is a sort of literary urban legend that I had heard of before. It’s a play that supposedly drives you insane if you read it. Well, what if people micro-dosed that play by reading just a little bit of it at a time? That’s the brilliantly creative premise of this story.

I had minimal experience with Hailey Piper's writing before this. There was a short story called “The Vermin Moon” that I really enjoyed in a Winter story collection called “The Darkest Night,” and I also liked her novel “Queen of Teeth.” I'm really glad that I was able to read an early copy of this one!

Main character Carmen is losing her sex drive, worrying that her girlfriend Blanca will leave her if she can’t get her desire back in line. She loves Blanca but nothing seems to excite her anymore. Carmen is completely convinced that she is the problem and struggles with her self-esteem. Blanca suggests meeting up with a mysterious new figure who has access to something that may help put the spice back in their bedroom. But it will come at a cost.

This book is a trippy experience. You become a participant, reading excerpts of the play yourself. I admittedly had some trouble following those short sections, but I loved the way they were incorporated into the larger story. It all felt very cinematic. There were moments that absolutely had a “Black Swan” feel to them. Piper is skilled at creating an atmosphere in which something isn’t right, but you can’t put your finger on what it is. The air is thick with paranoia and you’re not sure what’s real and what isn’t. And you're watching Carmen unravel in real time.

I don't want to give too much away, because part of the fun of reading this was discovering where the plot was going.

I will say that I didn’t completely understand the game that Carmen and Blanca were playing within their relationship. I know that it was fully consensual and about surrendering control, and that there were clear rules established, but it seemed as if neither of them were really that happy. The dynamics between those two were confusing to me.The further into the story I got, the more I started to feel like a Reddit commenter typing, “You should just break up.” But I also can't question what I don't understand.

This is a good recommendation for anyone who likes strange, art-themed horror and plots that are twisty and surreal.

I caught all of those Tori Amos references, BTW… ;)

Thank you to Netgalley and to the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

Biggest TW: Body shaming, Self-Harm

I feel like saying "It's not you, it's me" to this book. I do not know enough about the niche world of horror this book sits in to have enjoyed the story properly. None of the story was poorly written, but I felt confused, lost, and struggled to get through it. Normally, I blame that on the author. This time, I blame me. Readers who are familiar with the genre, familiar with the references, and have more personal experience like the characters in the book would probably love this. Unfortunately not for me.

The premise was interesting and I do love the cover, so rating 2/5.

I think the premise of this book was interesting. A that kid come to life and integrate itself into your life. However, I struggled to be interested in this book and to finish it. I was confused through most of it with the characters and the characters in the play. And I didn’t really have any feelings for the characters. There was not one that I really liked, but there was no one that I really disliked either. Overall, I did not enjoy this book.
2.5⭐️/c-

A Game in Yellow is a seductive novel demonstrating the loss of control, autonomy, and speech of Carmen, the main character, or just of the illusion of it in the first place. Power is a strong theme throughout the novel, and its control seems to bounce among the characters. As soon as the reader is able to grasp who controls it, it moves again. The narrator remains unreliable throughout the novel, which leaves a sense of unease.

This book has quotes that took my breath away and which I will be thinking about for weeks, if not forever. The novel draws parallels to the particles that created our world, how they are still part of our human makeup, and how we are not so different than our reptilian ancestors. The themes are so strong throughout this book that I have written an entire review and barely touched the actual plot. That’s how good they are.

I loved everything about this book and devoured it in three days, except the parts of the play. I did not feel the same draw to the writing as Carmen and the other characters (perhaps that is a good thing). I suppose it’s not too big of a genre jump, given how hand-in-hand fantasy and horror can be, but it was just too historical fantasy for my taste.

Overall, I loved this read, and thank you to Hailey Piper, Saga Press, and NetGalley for the ARC read!

A Game in Yellow is an original take on the older play The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers. It takes place in modern society where the play is still being passed around in the shadows and having the same crippling psychological effects you would expect. However, Hailey Piper introduces the prospect of using the play as a form of sexual enhancement, like a drug. The story is full of psychosexual and BDSM themes, which is definitely appropriate for the type of horror this entails. There is a quote from the book that explains this interconnection well:

“Somewhere between terror and madness lies ecstasy. Or is it that somewhere between terror and ecstasy lies madness.”

This concept is very reminiscent of Clive Barker and his cenobites from Hellraiser, which is also a type of cosmic/existential horror. I enjoyed this story because I am a fan of cosmic, Lovecraftian, psychological horror. The descent into madness was slow and steady, albeit maybe a little confusing and the ending was perfect for this story. Hailey Piper knows that these forces are not, if at all, easily escapable and the final scenes were beautifully grotesque. I gave this 3 stars because even though I was familiar with The King in Yellow, I had to stop and research it again to be comfortable with the story as it has been several years since I read it. After re-reading some things I was able to follow along a little easier. I think that it is a great introduction to cosmic/existential horror for people and will contribute to some of them seeking out other stories like it. Unfortunately, I feel the majority of readers will end up confused and lost. It’s a very complex story and if you go in with zero or little knowledge of Chambers, Bierce, Lovecraft, etc. you are going to have a hard time keeping up, especially with the parts of the book that are written as a play. Overall, it’s a great read for fans of this niche type of horror, but will almost appropriately, consume others to the point of no return.

This is truly one for the freaks, and I don't think I'm quite freak enough for it. I can see a lot of this working very well for someone else, but for me it just didn't click in a way that I feel like was more down to my own personal tastes than it was anything to do with the book itself.

ARC for review thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster. To be published August 12, 2025.

Carmen and Blanca are stagnant in their relationship, needing extremes to spice things up. When Blanca meets a girl named Smoke at a bar, she has just what Carmen needs- "The King of Yellow", a play that promises thrills for the reader. But when is too far determined?

This book was absolutely amazing. The writing was descriptive and clean and I was enthralled the entire time, devouring it in a day. Swap the Lament Configuration puzzle from Hellraiser for a play, "The King of Yellow", and you've got a recipe for disaster. Bonus points for the fact that the story revolves around a lesbian couple and with the exception of two pages featuring a man does not mention them at all, truly refreshing. I look forward to reading more from the author.

Carmen and Blanca are a loving, trusting couple, whose past joy and current struggles are centered upon their Dom/Sub roles in their sexual relationship. But lately, Carmen is feeling apathetic and uninspired and worries she will lose the love of her life because of her loss of sexual interest.

This novel is an ingenious combination of lush and lustful BDSM queer sex scenes and a King in Yellow cosmic horror thru line. It is twisty, intelligent and oh so cleverly written, but base and hot and damp with sexuality.

But there were times, especially while reading the play that I was utterly lost. I seriously considered putting this book down to do some research on the King in Yellow, which I have never read. I am also not very versed in the cosmic horror trope, so I felt a little like an outsider who is not quite able to get the inside jokes and subtle nods to the works that inspired this novel. But Piper’s writing style has such a hook, so mesmerizing that I just kept reading.

I loved this book. I mean what more can you ask for The King in Yellow a bit of S&M and a solid story. Great characters and character development. I was in it from page one and I mean sentence one. I am a Hailey Piper fan now. I ready a NetGalley copy of this. And will be getting any other book she has written.