The Game She Plays starts as a romance that morphs into a mystery.
Nicola is an American on an international flight - she is trying to heal her broken heart. She meets James, a wealthy Englishman. A romance blossoms. He takes her through the English countryside and all seems to be perfection.
His friends are all wealthy and snobbish. They speak the language of the privileged and Nicola does her very best to fit in. Then Juliet, James' ex-girlfriend, appears. She quickly becomes the focus of everyone, seemingly dangling them from her little finger.
Nicola is the only one who sees the malice in Juliet. Things grow dark once a murder occurs. This is when the novel becomes truly intriguing.

It took a long time for this book to get going - and was hard to read long enough to get to the payoff. The payoff is fun, but patience is required.

This was a fun “locked room” type thriller. Nicola meets the rich and dashing James on a cross country flight and finds herself thrown into his orbit where he and his group of friends stay at fancy mansions with servants and go pheasant hunting. This is all very new to her but she likes him enough to try to fit in, until his ex-girlfriend Juliet shows up- everyone seems to love her and only Nicola can see that there is something dangerous under the surface.

Most of the book is a slow burn, where not much happens but the stage gets set for things that will happen later. I was never bored. When it all comes together, it’s very satisfying, though there were times when I wanted to smack Nicola for acting like such a big baby instead of taking a step back and better planning her next move. The ending had a twist that I didn’t see coming, though it actually made me kind of sad. Loose ends were deliberately not tied up so I can only hope it all turned out ok.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I’d recommend to those who like mysteries and psychological thrillers. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A locked-door thriller that checked all my boxes. I flew through this thriller!

Nicola boards a plane following separation of her long-term boyfriend and the loss of her job with the intention to get away and see the world for a few weeks. Once she meets her seatmate, James, her life is completely turned around. She is swept away to the English countryside for a whirlwind romance, and everything is perfect, for a few weeks.

In walks James' ex-girlfriend, who hasn't been seen in over 8 years. Nicola quickly realizes that Juliet has more up her sleeve than a friendly reunion. Sadly, James does not see it the same way.

Highly recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

Review posted on Goodreads- will post additional reviews once published

Thank you to #NetGalley, William Morrow and Siera Sterling for the opportunity to read an advance copy of THE GAME SHE PLAYS, to be published 6 June 23. This thriller was sometimes difficult to follow because almost every one of the characters had a name and a nickname, so it was challenging to keep up with who was doing what. It was a strong relationship novel that really didn’t get going until about halfway through. The characters were believable and some you loved to hate. Readers who enjoy Siera Sterling will likely find this a great read.

It is true that Karma will always catch up to you one way or another and reveal your true colors. This was a fun easy to read thriller with a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. I found myself internally yelling at the characters to open their eyes to the truth. Excited for more books by this author! Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow & Custom House for the ARC!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It’s hard to put down, wanting to know what is going to happen next. Some of the dialogue was hard to follow, knowing who was saying what. Nonetheless, The Game She Plays is a great read!

I love this intense, climactic thriller. I was incredibly invested in the characters and plot. Readers are going to love this incredible novel.

This twisty little story will suck you right in! Nicola meets the very wealthy James Shuttleworth on a flight to Europe. She has planned to fly to Paris solo to nurse her broken heart and take stock of her life after a recent job loss. Thus starts a fabulous love affair. The only problem is Nicola wants to fit in with James' wealthy snobbish friend. As she tries to acclimate to the British humor and culture shock a death occurs at their weekend getaway - is Nicola next? If you love vacation gone wrong, and love stories with twist, you have to get The Game She Plays
#WilliamMorrow

I love locked-room mysteries and thrillers involving old friends, so The Game She Plays sounded like it would be exactly the kind of book I devour. Unfortunately, I couldn't get into it. The beginning of the narrative was split between Nicola's internal dialogue and the conversation between the friends, which was hard to follow at times. By the time the perspective switched, I wasn't invested enough to keep reading.

The Game She Plays by Siena Sterling is a great thriller!
The writing in this novel drew me in from the start.
And the characters were all fleshed out in ways that brought them to life.
The scenery was described so vividly that you almost felt like you were there.
I enjoyed this book, finding it a well written and very entertaining, enjoyable thriller demonstrating just how far people are willing to go to fit in and keep deep dark secrets buried.
Insecurity, jealousy and betrayal become deadly in this game they all end up playing!
Compelling and very intriguing, Sterling is an exciting new voice and definitely one to watch for!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

William Morrow,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!
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WoW! I knew just by reading the synopsis that TGSP was going to be a wild/crazy ride!
But I wasn't expecting it to be 3:35am and I'm nose deep inside it!
Can't stop, won't stop!
I'm very thankful for the opportunity to open this up!!

_more to come_

Very excited to be reading this locked-room mystery set in the high society world! The characters and the setting are over the top, as well as the stakes! A toxic relationship between two female leads is at the center of this enticing mystery.