Hailey Piper’s A Game in Yellow is a haunting and hypnotic blend of horror, erotica, and psychological thriller. Following a kink-fixated couple, Carmen and Blanca, the novel explores Carmen’s descent into madness after discovering The King in Yellow, a play that promises both thrill and terror. As Carmen becomes obsessed with the play, the boundaries between reality and nightmare blur, leading her down a dangerous path of desire and obsession.

Piper’s prose is smooth and engaging, drawing readers into Carmen’s spiraling psyche. The story deftly explores the complexities of codependent relationships, fear of abandonment, and the terror of losing yourself. It’s a chilling and intimate exploration of desire, control, and identity, with a perfect balance of erotic tension and psychological horror.

A truly captivating and unsettling read, A Game in Yellow will linger with you long after the last page.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for this early eARC.

I wanted this book to work for me but I think due to the writing style, I just could not get into it. There are definitely portions in the beginning and at the end that had me completely sucked in and thinking "what?!" but the majority of this book I was trying to understand what was happening. I think this book is meant to give trippy vibes, but for me it made it really hard to understand the book itself. I will totally still recommend this book to horror lovers, as my taste in horror is a little bit niche and specific. The cover for this book is absolutely gorgeous!!

The newest intimate cosmic masterpiece from Hailey Piper, A Game in Yellow is so many things. An exploration of a codependent relationship. But also that feeling when you finally find someone that truly and fiercely loves you. It’s also explores so many other aspects of relationship, mental health, fear, not just from the horror aspects but fear of who you are, being alone, not being loved, like there’s something fundamentally wrong with you that you can’t fix. It’s just brilliant. And yes, the horror and the strangeness are all there and they are absolutely wonderful and scary, too. Well done.