Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Hailey Piper is so hit or miss for me and unfortunately this was a miss. Reading through this I was just happy that I never have to worry about things like this.

This is one of those books where I didn’t connect to anyone. I didn’t like the ways that Blanca and Smoke were treating Carmen. You could say it was the kink in the beginning maybe but after a while and Blanca was upset with Carmen it just seemed mean. And Carmen is just annoying. Also Smoke knew what the book would do and just let random people read it and die? The “consent” barely felt like consent so her little speech felt wrong to me. The whole threesome was just toxic. And not fun toxic infuriating toxic.

The play aspect was so dry. I just didn’t see anything as frightening and it didn’t feel like there was any stakes. I didn’t feel the urgency. The sexual aspects also didn’t feel like there was anything in it either. While this wasn’t my favorite book by Hailey Piper, they are an auto read author for me at this point and I’ll read more for sure.

WOW! I really cannot even begin to describe this book, It was such an intense and emotional read. It was mesmerizing and honestly difficult to put down.

Carmen and Blanca are in a rut in the bedroom. Being a kink forward couple, they’ve tried all sorts of things. but nothing feels right for Carmen. She feels “broken:”. There enter’s Smoke, a mysterious woman who is in possession of “TheKing In Yellow” a story known for luring readers in and driving them crazy. Smoke allows Carmen to read a few lines and in an instant, Carmen feels fixed. A few more lines, and now the three all are dating. In a time where Carmen should be relishing in the joys of a happier relationship, she is obsessing over “The. King in Yellow”. Obsession leads to stealing a few pages, which leads to stabbing holes in your walls, which leads to other small blackouts, and it builds and builds and builds.

I felt dedicated to seeing this book through. and boy does it really drive it home with such an astonishing ending!

This was strange, and confusing. But, also sexy and intriguing. I have more questions than I do answers. Idk what the heck was going on in this book, but it was cool? The concept was incredibly original and honestly fascinating, but it was all so ambiguous that I just don’t even have a clue. 😅 I don’t feel like I know anything about any of the characters, or the play, or anything at all. Maybe I’m just an idiot, who knows. It was fun though! 😆

I actually found elements of this novel very scary! I found the concept of a reading or a book that was so enticing, so dangerous, and so irresistible that it could drive you to insanity to really get under my skin and give me the willies. I wished for a little more in characterization of our couple, and I did struggle with the format a bit towards the end but ultimately I think it worked in terms of meshing concept with content. I would recommend this to any reader who likes a "what the hell is going on" scare!

The story of a Carmen and Blanca, a couple who set out to spice up their relationship. They get involved with a mysterious figure in hopes to improve their sex life. Things get trippy and surreal. The less you know going in, the better. Just let the eerie prose carry you along in the story. Some of the story is even told in play format and I thought that was kind of cool. I was unfamiliar with the story of The King in Yellow, which a lot of the story is based on, but I felt like the book gave me enough information.

I’m not a horror connoisseur but I did enjoy this one. I felt the erotica elements were well written as well. I also enjoyed the chapter titles. It’s a little thing, but it did enhance the reading experience. I’d recommended this to anyone who likes horror and/or erotica.

As a big fan of cosmic horror and queer lit, I was super excited to get the e-arc for this novel! Unfortunately it wasn't really my cup of tea.

I did like the exploration of the fine line between pleasure and pain and the queer/kink/poly representation. But I was lukewarm on the characters and the play sections were so hard to follow I might as well have skipped them. Even as things started to come together towards the end it just didn't feel worth the slog for me.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this book. Something I've found I really like in horror is when there is a heady, dream-like quality to the reading experience, which I found here. Because of that, it could be frustrating at times to feel like the book was holding me at a distance, but I think it mostly worked and was intentional. I also found the depictions of kink really fascinating; it came across as being written by someone who either is very experienced or spent a lot of time researching to get it right. It was great to have well rounded queer, trans, and plus size representation. It's exciting to see more and more horror/speculative fiction with diverse characters and stories written by diverse authors. I will say I would've enjoyed if the book was a bit longer just to get more time with the characters, especially to see more of Carmen and Blanca's dynamic. Overall I would recommend this book to fans of horror and those looking for great queer representation. 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4).

A sexy sapphic romp in which a BDSM game goes wrong in a world where The Yellow King runs rampant. Kicks romantasy in the teeth.

Inspired by a fever dream of a literary urban legend pertaining to a poem that drives you mad once you read it, A Game In Yellow is nestled inside of a fabulously creative premise. I mean- the description of this one alone is probably reason enough to sell it to any sort of reader. Segments of this almost felt like a screen play, especially when it came to the inclusions of the poem itself. I found them hard to follow in a reading setting, but again- I love how it looks on paper. This gave me the same feeling as a Black Mirror episode, honestly- most of the time, I didn't know WHAT to feel, but I knew logically there were many options available to me. While I have the utmost respect for the intention approached with this one, I also found it really wasn't for me. Bits were overly complex, and the relationship felt somewhat like a caricature at times. I didn't necessarily connect to anyone included, so it made this one a slog for me at times. Thanks so much to the publisher and author for the chance to read the eARC!

Hailey Piper's A Game in Yellow is a haunting blend of cosmic horror, eroticism, and psychological suspense. The narrative follows Carmen and Blanca, a couple seeking to rekindle their passion, who stumble upon fragments of the forbidden play The King in Yellow. As Carmen delves deeper, the boundaries between reality and madness blur, leading to a descent into obsession and altered perception. Piper's prose is both lyrical and unsettling, drawing readers into a world where desire and dread intertwine. The novel's exploration of codependency, identity, and the allure of the unknown offers a fresh take on Lovecraftian themes, making it a standout in contemporary horror fiction.

I can’t wait to get this book physically. I liked it, I didn’t love it. The magical realism part lost me and my brain sadly but I love how unhinged both the female characters were. I love the cover and the plot was there.

There is much that readers will go for in this book, although, it couldn't really decide what kind of book it wanted to be. I chose it for the horror elements, which eventually appeared toward the end. These were great and there needed to be more of them and much sooner in the book.

The mixing of genres (narrative with the screenplay) was a good move and worked much better toward the end of the book (when real-life characters started to appear). Is the play already written or are the characters writing it as they go? This is a great question and is very Oscar Wilde-ish.

The characters weren't developed enough for me to care that much about. Blanca is curvy and sexy, which is revealed early on, but I didn't even know what Carmen looked like until Rico's, which is much later in the book.

The writing seemed a little disjointed at times -- perhaps because the book was trying to do too much in such few pages. Loved the BDSM, although it wasn't varied enough. There is much to enjoy with the book, however!

A beautifully weird story of a mind unraveling set against Robert Chambers' The King in Yellow. A must read for fans of weird fiction.

The premise of this book is interesting as heck, and I love the idea of the book plunging Carmen and Blanca into a false reality due to the contents of the play.

Unfortunately for me, I think the mix of their sexual fantasies with horror was just not hitting the mark personally. I don't love the suffocating while being aroused aspect and it makes me feel slightly Un comfy.

For this I have to give it a 3 star

Lesbians microdosing a literary urban legend in order to rebuild sex drive?? Creative!

A Game in Yellow centers on Carmen and her girlfriend Bianca, and an unfortunate ultimatum: if she isn't able to get her sexual desire back on track, her partner will leave her. Desperate to find a solution, they turn to a mysterious play: The King in Yellow. Reading the book in short spurts, Carmen undergoes an intense psychosis, leaving the reader wondering what's real and what's hallucinated...

This book is psychodelic. It has this atmospheric pressure throughout—something definitely feels "off" but it's difficult to say exactly what. The mode of storytelling is pretty nebulous, giving the sense that one is venturing into a fever dream. Scenes melt together and it eventually becomes difficult to parse through what exactly is going on.

This at times felt confusing and unclear—and I definitely did not "get" all of the excerpts from the play and how they fit into the narrative. Would give this a 3.5 for that reason!

WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST READ <3

Piper!!! You did it!!! Let's start off with the important part! An erotic sapphic couple, into kink play (safety first <3) are starting to lose their sexual connection with each other. Blanca is trying everything she can to help satisfy Carmen as they venture into more dangerous kinks but it seems that connection is dwindling down faster than Blanca can fix. For those who are cringing or are feeling awkward with what Im mentioning above please venture out of our comfort zone and take a stab :) at this. I promise you, you won't regret it! We all need some gay love stories in our TBR lists <3

After several attempts of kindling this fire we are introduced to Smoke..... a mysterious character with a new sex toy for Carmen. A portion of a well known cursed play "The King in Yellow". Smoke slowly introduces Carmen to this play and edges her into madness and sparks an addiction Carmen can not let go. A true cosmic horror as we try to decipher Carmen's mental state throughout the novel (what is real and what is left to Carmens imagination). This also gave me SMILE vibes as you continue throughout the novel you will notice the similarities as the entity and plague are starting to be spread through other characters.

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS!!!!! PIPER YOU ARE MY NEW BFFFFFF <3

DNF @ 36% -- I think this book has an audience, but sadly I am not it. Great concept, but the execution leaves much to be desired. In general, in-universe documents are very hard to pull off convincingly/interestingly, and for a book like this where the in-universe document is supposed to be irresistibly addicting, giving readers the actual text feels... well, it sure was a choice.

I think if you're really hungry for D/s-flavored horror featuring queer characters, and/or if you've enjoyed Piper's previous work, you'll dig this one.

A Game in Yellow was a wild ride from chapter one. The dynamic and struggles between Carmen and Blanca were really interesting to get a glimpse into and added a vulnerability to the story. This book felt like a fever dream, readers jumping around with Carmen’s brain, and spiralling more out of control as the story progresses. It was a really unique concept and execution, and the literary writing style really helped to amp up the twisting narrative.

Hailey Piper can’t help herself: she’s gonna write her some cosmic horror. A weird western? Cosmic horror. A vampire novel? Just kidding. Also cosmic horror. Almost all of her work navigates that line along the thin and thinning edges of this world and what lies beyond, often plunging us through and downward, into dark places where the rules no longer apply.

And it’s always a wild ride.

In her upcoming novel, A Game in Yellow, Piper cuts to the chase and uses Robert W. Chambers The King in Yellow as its central device. Chambers’ book came out in 1895, and its loosely connected stories revolve around a cursed play that drives its readers mad. It also introduces a supernatural entity (the eponymous villain), the mysterious land of Carcosa, as well as “the yellow sign.” Over the years, all of this has been synthesized and subsumed into the cosmic horror universe and folded into the Lovecraft Mythos, and its influences can be found everywhere, from role playing games to the first season of True Detective.

Perhaps it’s needless to say, but Piper is up to something a little different here.

In A Game in Yellow, Carmen is a woman sleepwalking through her workaday life. Her only respite is at home, engaging in ever-more-complex dominant/submissive sex play with her longterm partner, Blanca. There’s a lot done here with the seemingly counter-intuitive politics of Blanca’s submissiveness and the ways it allows her complete control over her otherwise spiraling life.

Trouble is, even that isn’t quite doing it anymore. Carmen and Blanca’s “play” (and yes, this is a deliberate double entendre) is getting more and more extreme, Carmen needing more and more danger to achieve her particular pleasures. It doesn’t help that she sees this as emblematic of the relationship’s failure in general. And she might not be wrong.

When Blanca introduces her to Smoke, it’s intended to be a way to take their play to that next level, theoretically healing what’s ailing in their relationship. Smoke is a mysterious figure who has a new toy: a portion of the cursed play, The King in Yellow. Smoke portions out small passages of the play to Carmen, walking her up to the edge of madness before pulling her back.

The trouble, of course, is that what this relationship really needs is an honest conversation (and maybe some therapy), and soon Carmen is jonesing for another glimpse into Carcosa, a kind of mirror world where her own history is mixed up in Chambers’ mythology, and soon, the promised madness is near at hand.

There are certainly erotic passages in The Game in Yellow, but I’m not sure they necessarily “work” in any prurient way. Piper instead walks the razor-thin line between Eros and Thanatos, mixing BDSM with possibly world-ending cosmic calamity, and there’s absolutely no promise that things will turn out well for anyone.

All of this is so wild and wildly compelling, that it would be easy to overlook the little glimpses of these characters’ back-stories, all of them buried under layers of traumatic scar tissue, and these passages are poignantly heart-rending.

In the end, A Game in Yellow, is a strange and particularly dark ride, but Piper’s storytelling chops guide us through the darkness holding out hope of redemption even as she snatches it away.

From the very first page, A Game in Yellow had me hooked and never let go. This sapphic horror novel masterfully combines eerie suspense with a gripping emotional depth and some kink, making it a truly unforgettable read.