Absolutely could not put it down. This book has everything I want in a thriller and the clever worldbuilding inside the videogame aspect was an added bonus as a fantasy lover! I've never actually played a video game but that didn't hamper my enjoyment in the slightest. Really wonderful read and I can't wait to see what this author does next!

Thank you Bloomsbury and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. An exciting read! Mariana has been running from her past, no one knows who she really is. Not even the three friends she met playing Darkitect, who’ve not only been her teammates but are her closest friends, apart from her dog Slate. Now she’s meeting Dread, Rock, and Sly for the first time in person. They get to take a tour of Apocalypta Games the company that owns Darkitect. Everything is amazing, that is until their tour guide ends up dead. To make matters worse they are forced into playing 4 rounds of Darkitect, with Cixi, a private citizen creator of the game. They have to pass each round or Cixi will destroy the lives of people they love. And worst of all if they don’t pass them within a certain time, Cixi, will frame them for murder. Now they’re in a race against time to save themselves and their families, all while also trying to figure out who Cixi is. But for Mariana, Cixi, seems to be taking a special interest in her, could their predicament have something to do with her past? Can they solve the rounds in time? Will her friends still be her friends when they find out she’s been lying to them? Told both through the present and in flashes of Mariana’s past this book was a thrill ride that I couldn’t put down! I was worried the game references might make it a little hard to understand but Kelsea Yu does an excellent job writing the information in a way that non-gamers will have no trouble following! But also if you’re a gamer it’ll add to the excitement! Mariana is an extremely likable mc that you will root for! And as you discover more of her past get angrier and angrier for! A queer thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat! Highly recommend!