I read this as an ARC through NetGalley. The beginning of the book REALLY hooked me in, but the middle to the end of the books seemed to drag on for me personally. I am not used to the reading plays, which could attribute to these thoughts. If you love queer, horror, open door romance, plays, this is the book for you. I will be recommending this to others with these interests.

I wouldn't necessarily say it's heavy on the horror, more leaning towards drama that might leave you twisted around. Spent half of the book either confused, dying for more about the game/play, or crying and angry over the characters. I'd say the last two-three chapters are when it gets really weird but weird in a really good way.

I enjoyed Carmen but she also drove me absolutely crazy. I would say none of the other characters are worth rooting for but it's hard to say because Carmen is definitely an unreliable narrator.

Overall I really enjoyed it for what it was. A short and quick read that grabs your attention.

I am super pumped about this book. I was so excited to get selected for this ARC, as I was planning on preordering it any way. I love Hailey Piper, she is so weird and wonderful, her books are absolutely delightful in the most disturbed way.

Carmen and her girlfriend Blanca are desperately trying to find a way for Carmen to be sexually charged once again. They’ve tried everything, including kink and auto erotic asphyxiation, but nothing is working. Blanca meets a mysterious stranger, Smoke, in a bar. Blanca takes Carmen to her and Smoke allows them to read from A King in Yellow, a mysterious and impossible to find play. It does the trick.

Smoke only allows Carmen to read a little at a time, because reading more may make her lose her mind, but reading just enough gets her juices flowing. But Carmen isn’t satisfied with a little bit at a time, she wants more.

As Carmen embarks on her quest to get as much King in Yellow as she can, reality blurs until she’s not sure what is fiction and what is real. Her traumatic past comes back to haunt her, along with the sentient play, and as her life devolves into a surreal nightmare she’s not sure if she’ll,once again, make her way back to the real world.

I really liked this book. I had to sit with it for a couple days after I finished it, it’s a complete mind fuck, and I mean that as a compliment. My brain felt scrambled after I read it. This is something I love and expect from Hailey Piper books, she takes my imagination to the brink and then blows it up. If you know me, you are aware of my quest for more and more and more of these types of books. The weirder the better. A Game in Yellow delivers this punch. It will be released August 12, 2025, so preorder now!

This blew my mind. I haven’t been able to read anything else after finishing this book. I wasn’t sure I completely understood what was going on a lot of the time, but the end sat heavy on me. This was my first Hailey Piper and it will not be my last.

I could write an entire book report on A Game in Yellow, I enjoyed it so much. I can see myself reading it again and again, and finding new hints and details that I might have missed. I want to know EVERYTHING about the world Hailey Piper has created, both the real one, and the one within the play. Seeing the real impact of emotions in a relationship getting involved with kink, experimenting with polyamory, battling insecurities, obsession, paranoia, etc. Once I started this book, it felt painful to put it down. I would go to sleep thinking about it, and wake up thinking of what could possibly happen next. (As you can imagine, sitting through a workday and not being able to devour it was frustrating.) This was the first time I had read anything by Piper, and now that I have had a taste, I'm SO excited to dive into her other work. HIGHLY recommend!!

Spinning wonderfully out of Chambers' classic, A Game in Yellow unravels, unmasks, and undoes. My feelings towards the characters changed throughout the book, and at its close I felt unsure that any of them were really who they said they were. A part or two could have been tightened or trimmed, but a enjoyable novella.

Oh wow I really did not like this book. It was trying waaaaaayyyyyyyyy too hard. It was cringey and so uncomfortable to read. Nope no thank you


Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

I’m not usually a horror reader—but the description noted that this book was part thriller, which sold me from the get-go. A Game in Yellow was difficult to read at first—there are noticeably few characters in this piece and there’s a hollowness that feels intentional and reflective of Carmen, who’s perspective is our lens into the story. However, as the novel progresses this perhaps draws the reader in further, as Carmen disconnects from the few people in her life in favor of subsuming herself with the play that she reads—and that also reads her. While it toys with her emotions and her mental state, the author captures this in such a way that feels both magical and terrifying. Such a literary work of horror—and one that will be remembered this year!

Hailey Piper's A Game in Yellow is an intriguing and thought-provoking read that blends psychological tension with intense relationship dynamics. The novel follows a character caught in a high-stakes game, where the lines between reality and performance begin to blur. The pacing is gripping, keeping you hooked as the plot unfolds with both subtle and shocking twists.
One of the standout features of the book is the dynamic relationship at its core. The chemistry between the characters is electric, with a mix of tenderness and tension that evolves throughout the story. Piper doesn’t shy away from exploring complex emotional and sexual dynamics, and some explicit scenes add another layer of intensity to the narrative. These moments feel integral, not gratuitous, to the development of the characters and their growing entanglement in the game.
What truly sets A Game in Yellow apart is its exploration of identity and reality. The play, central to the plot, acts as a catalyst that forces the protagonist to confront who they are and what they’re willing to sacrifice in pursuit of something more. It's a thrilling ride, leaving readers questioning what’s real and what’s performance long after the final page.
Overall, A Game in Yellow is a compelling, multi-layered read that fans of dark psychological thrillers and complex relationships will definitely enjoy. Piper’s writing is both engaging and provocative, making this a book hard to put down.

A Game in Yellow by Hailey Piper

Hailey Piper's A Game in Yellow is a haunting descent into the shadowy intersections of horror, erotica, and psychological thriller. At its core, it’s a tale about Carmen and Blanca, a couple caught in the monotony of a faltering relationship. But when Blanca introduces Carmen to the enigmatic Smoke and the fragmented pages of The King in Yellow, their world spirals into chaos.

The concept of The King in Yellow—a cursed play that induces madness if read in its entirety—is masterfully reimagined. Piper’s deft prose lures readers into this sinister game, where every word feels like a tightrope walk between ecstasy and terror. Carmen’s growing obsession with the play’s alternate world, no matter the horrors it leaves in its wake, mirrors a deeper exploration of human longing and the boundaries of desire.

What sets A Game in Yellow apart is its chilling yet intimate portrayal of relationships. Beyond its visceral horror, the novel delves into the fears we often avoid: the dread of being alone, of not being enough, and of facing truths about ourselves we’d rather leave buried. Piper lays bare the codependent dynamics of Carmen and Blanca’s relationship, crafting characters that feel raw and uncomfortably real.

The book’s darkness isn’t limited to its plot; it’s infused into every interaction and thought, creating a pervasive atmosphere of unease. Yet, the smooth, engaging prose keeps you glued, even as you cringe at what might come next. This isn’t a book for the faint-hearted—it’s a disquieting journey into the recesses of human vulnerability, where fear and desire are indistinguishable.

For readers who appreciate horror with psychological depth, A Game in Yellow will linger in your mind long after you’ve turned the final page. Just be warned: like the cursed play it centers on, this story demands to be read in cautious doses. Too much, and you might find yourself lost in its sinister grip.

4 stars.

Carmen and Blanca are a couple into kink, but suddenly Carmen isn’t feeling it anymore. She is desperate to bring back her libido and she and Blanca try many, many things, but nothing is working. Then Blanca, who is a bartender, meets Smoke at her bar and takes Carmen to see her because she thinks she can help. Smoke promises that if Carmen reads a small portion of a secret play Smoke has called “The King in Yellow” she’ll get better. She does, and she does. Much better. But it doesn’t last. And now Carmen is chasing the high that only the play can give, but Smoke warms that too much of it will destroy the reader. Guess what? Carmen doesn’t listen.

This book is incredibly dark and when reading it I found parts quite scary, which doesn’t often happen with me. It’s a bit like a fever dream in parts. Piper does an excellent job here and I’ll be looking for more from her in the future.

A Game In Yellow seems a lot like Robert W. Chambers erotic fanfic to me- though I'll admit I haven't read the source material, which made it tricky to tell what's creative reimagining and what's original lore. At the center of the story are Carmen and Blanca, a young couple caught in that intense, everything-feels-life-or-death phase of a relationship. Carmen becomes fixated on what she sees as their sexual problems - though I was never sure if these issues were real or just in her head.

The setup has potential - an underground drug den where they meet the enigmatic Smoke, who deals out passages from a cursed play. Read just enough without going mad, and apparently you get this survivor's euphoria that gets you super horny. But while these elements hint at cosmic dread, they never quite coalesce into something truly unsettling. I found myself more drawn to the supernatural elements - the reality-warping effects of the play, the mysterious Smoke, the hints of something larger lurking at the edges of reality - but even these took too long to really manifest.

I found myself disconnected from pretty much everything about Carmen and Blanca's relationship. Carmen's desperate pursuit of... something... left me baffled - I couldn't grasp what was driving her or why everything felt so urgent. Maybe it's that particular brand of twenty-something relationship intensity that I just can't relate to anymore. And while I have no judgment about how other people choose to explore intimacy and power dynamics, the sexual content here felt needlessly complicated and fraught. It didn't help that Blanca remains this oddly distant figure throughout the story, making it even harder to understand what exactly Carmen was so worked up about.

The ending finally delivers the cosmic horror I was waiting for, but getting there means wading through relationship drama and sexual tension that I never cared about. I wanted more weird horror and less of everything else.

The Game in Yellow is a story about a codependent, dysfunctional lesbian couple, Carmen and Blanca, who partake in BDSM and are looking for ways to help Carmen feel connected to Blanca again when they do so, thus encountering a strange source of ecstasy that comes from reading a play titled: The King in Yellow.

This book unfortunately didn’t live up to my expectations. The synopsis says “Euphoria meets Thing’s Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke” and I didn’t get either of those from this. I went in with high expectations and left being disappointed. I felt bored when reading and getting to know this story and these characters and I felt a detachment from the whole thing. I think the concept is strong but not executed very well. The writing is not bad but it’s also not good. Some parts made me cringe and in others I felt like the author was trying really really hard to put you there with Carmen and it ultimately failed.

Thank you Netgally for letting me read this story in exchange for an honest review.

This wasn't at all what I expected, not usually my kind of read but I enjoyed it. The characters were really well developed and I absolutely loved the use of King on Yellow as a device for sexual exploration and, eventually, full-on insanity.

I liked this up until the second act started. it was a singular written book about 2 dimensional characters that seemed to get worse before it got better. i understood what piper was going for and this was definitely weird girl lit, but i just stopped enjoying myself. towards the end, it was giving more literary than anything and i was just over the abstractedness of the novel. so i skimmed. i left the book satisfied though; the body horror at the end was very satisfying.

A Game in Yellow is disturbing. But don’t take that the wrong way. It’s disturbing in the way a work of horror fiction should be — filled with eerie creeping dread that oozes into your brain, and provoking uncomfortable thoughts and feelings, as you interact with the prose. This novel will, like its protagonist, push you to the brink and leave you transformed.
In Piper’s A Game in Yellow, we meet Carmen and Blanca, a kinky couple whose relationship is cracking because of Carmen’s increasing emotional distance. To help her lover, Blanca finds a “third”, Smoke, to bring into their sexual play and lives. Smoke introduces Carmen to the cursed play, The King in Yellow. Reading this work will lead to insanity and death — but if one reads but a little and stops, the reader experiences a rush of drug-like euphoria. Desperate to feel again and be with Blanca, Carmen reads from the play, and soon becomes obsessed. The result is a walk through loneliness and longing, regret, and addiction and an inexorable spiral into the void.
A Game in Yellow pulled me in and gripped me in a yellow taloned hand. I felt in equal measures turned on and profoundly discomfited - to where, twice while reading chapters before sleeping, nightmares jolted me awake, terrified while I fumbled for the light and peered into the corners of the room for shadow cloaked figures. (To be fair, I have an overactive imagination, and am prone to weird, unsettling dreams.).
The pace of the book was relentless, and I lost myself, immersed in Piper’s prose. Though not into “kink” myself, I applaud the author’s ability to bring me into this world and make me see through the character’s eyes to appreciate all their different shades of humanity — the sexy parts, the ugly parts, the painful parts.
I cannot recommend this book enough. A Game in Yellow is unflinching, glorious, and casts a dark glamour over you that you won’t soon forget as the twin suns sink behind the lake, and the shadows lengthen in Carcosa.

3.5 stars

This queer, erotic horror novel left my head spinning. The book is very hard to pin down as far as genre. There are elements of a psychological thriller, a dark romance, and horror, but none of these really comes to the forefront for me.

The story revolves around a queer couple, Carmen and Blanca, looking for something to spice up their intimate life. There is heavy kink here, so be aware. Blanca takes Carmen to see Smoke, a person who has a book, the King in Yellow, which supposedly can drive a reader to erotic heights or drive them insane. After Carmen’s first experience with the book, things go off the rails.

This book is nor for everyone. I would not recommend it widely, however for those readers that it is for, I say give it a chance. This one was not for me as I struggled to find a consistent narrative and some of the jumps from the mundane to the extreme were jarring and made it difficult for me to follow. The sections of the book where we are reading from the “play” were confusing, but your experience may be different.

There were elements of this story that were truly horrific, including some scenes involving Carmen’s co-workers. The storytelling style was sometimes dreamlike, sometimes brutal, and if this author is a favorite, I can see how this book would draw you in.

Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for the eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Special thanks to @netgalley and @sagapressbooks for the eARC!

The strange and unsettling story of “The King in Yellow” has been a favorite of mine since first discovering Robert W. Chambers short stories as well as a setting in a favorite tabletop game of mine. When I saw @haileypiperfights upcoming novel #AGameInYellow, I was instantly sold.

Carmen finds herself striving to feel something again, and with the help of her girlfriend Blanca, explores the world of kink and BDSM in hopes of reigniting that fire. When that doesn’t do the job, Blanca and Carmen look to a mysterious stranger named Smoke to help, and Carmen is introduced to the power of an incomplete play called “The King in Yellow.” With Smoke’s assistance, Carmen is pushed to the edge when she reads the play, and finds the fire within her again. But as Carmen’s curiosity grows, the mysteries of the play begin to permeate all aspects of her life. Pushed closer and closer to the center of the play, Carmen inexplicably pushes those around her away.

There’s so much about this book to enjoy as a horror novel, but most importantly is the authors handling of the kink aspect. Piper’s novel is a celebration of kink and everything that it can be, with realities about trust and boundaries laid out expertly. She does a fantastic job of not making kink a joke or perversion, taking what could be an easy fetishization trope and giving it depth and nuance.

That said, I wasn’t overly in love with the story, despite knowing enough about the source material. I couldn’t imagine coming into the story with no background on Chamber’s short stories. The interspersed play script sections are well written, but something about them just felt out of place within the context of the story (that said, the script scenes at the end of the book were 🤌🏼) The play functions in a way that will be familiar to people who have seen “Smile” or “Talk to Me,” creating this alternate and just off-kilter reality. The danger of what the play is and can do is more important, in my opinion, than how the play unfolds to the reader. We get a taste of the destruction potential, and I wish there had been more of that external chaos manifesting itself as opposed to the internal world Carmen finds herself in. Entirely a personal preference and none of that to take away from Piper’s excellent character writing, particularly in Carmen’s reflection/inner monologue moments.

Piper’s novel is both a challenging and dark look at relationships and the lengths we go to save them, whether they should be saved or not.

Carmen and Blanca are exploring new kinks, and Blanca introduces Carmen to “Smoke” and a mysterious book called The King in Yellow. Carmen gets totally hooked on the eerie play, which mixes erotica and suspense in a way that’s both unsettling and intriguing. I gave it three stars—felt a little too intense at times—but someone else might love it! If you’re into plays, historical nonfiction, or just like your kinks with a side of creepy, this one's for you. Hailey Piper’s modern twist on the classic is definitely wild!

(4.25)

This is the first book by Piper that I’ve read and it was a disorienting (in a good way), spellbinding journey. Piper’s writing is impeccable. The pacing was quite slower than I expected and there was a lot of abstract moments that sometimes made it feel like you’re floating in space lost, BUT the last 25% (or so) of this book is masterful, cosmic horror at its finest! One of those rare books where I think the ending was the best and only way for this story to end. Bravo. If you’re a fan of atmospheric, slow burns, I highly recommend. I look forward to reading more of Piper’s work!

Thank you SagaPress and NetGalley for the ARC.