What a masterpiece of a novel, this is one that will stay with me for a long time. The emotional nuance in this book is masterful writing, a story which looks at the complex layers of life unflinchingly.

Told across one harrowing day and woven with memories that span decades, this novel explores the fault lines of love, identity, and longing. Kate is not a caricature of infidelity or discontent, she’s a woman who adores her family, yet aches for something more. Her predicament of being trapped in a hotel room during a siege, with the man she's been having an affair with forces a kind of clarity that is both brutal and liberating.

What struck me most was how unflinchingly the novel examines the inner lives we lead parallel to the ones others see. The tension is sharp, but it’s the emotional excavation that truly makes this novel unforgettable. The writing is taut and intimate, yet never overwrought, it trusts the reader to sit with ambiguity, to feel the discomfort, the yearning, the contradictions.

This is not a book about blame or morality. It’s a book about what it means to be human, to wrestle with choices that don’t fit neatly into right and wrong. It asks insistently: What happens when the life you chose begins to feel like a life you inherited?

Room 706is an emotional reckoning. I closed the final page feeling grateful for the story, for the honesty, and for a main character who will stay with me for a long, long time.

What a story! Enter Kate, secretly meeting up with her lover in a London hotel that is quickly held hostage. While she waits to be rescued, we hear her story in three, alternating POVs - current day, varying time throughout her relationship with her husband, and 3-5 years ago when she met James, her lover who she is now in the hotel with.

I was certainly not expecting this to be as emotional and deep as it was. While the depth drew me into the story, the background made me like Kate less and less due to the betrayal of her relationship and family, even though she was in a life-or-death situation. Levenson has a beautiful writing style, tugging on my heart strings, especially as a new parent.

One of my only qualms with this was the pacing. The modern day and James chapters flew by while the ones with Vic kind of dragged on. I know they were needed for the development of the story, but they felt much longer and made for an uneven-feeling timeline. And don't get me started on the ending. I'm not going to go there.

Overall, this was a powerful and emotional story, especially for a debut. Thanks so much for the ARC!

Room 706 was everything I hoped for—intense, emotional, and full of depth. The story jumps between three time periods: Katie being held hostage in a hotel room with the man she’s having an affair with, memories of how she met her husband Vic, and the early days of her relationship with James.

I couldn’t stop reading. I was totally wrapped up in Katie’s thoughts. It felt like I was inside the head of someone who genuinely loves the life she built, but is seeking a way for herself to feel free. It was raw and real in a way that stuck with me.

And the ending? Perfect. A total emotional rollercoaster from the very first page. I just loved these characters so much, and I was trying to savor every moment as I got closer to the end. Even though this doesn’t come out until 2026, I already know it’s going to be one of my favorite reads of 2025. I can’t wait for others to discover these characters. Such an impressive debut.

Room 706 by Ellie Levenson is a thought-provoking novel that explores the complexities of human relationships and identity. The story follows two women who meet in a hotel room, leading to unexpected connections and revelations.

*

Room 706 is a taut, emotionally charged novel that takes place over the course of a single, life-altering day—but it contains the depth and complexity of a lifetime. Kate, a woman who seemingly has it all—a loving husband, children, a bustling career—is caught in the quiet chaos of domestic perfection. But beneath the polished surface simmers a longing for something else: space, desire, escape.

When a casual affair turns into a crisis—trapped in a hotel under siege with a man who is not her husband—Kate is forced into a brutal reckoning. What unfolds is not just a hostage situation but a psychological unraveling and a reckoning with the compromises and contradictions of modern womanhood.

The brilliance of Room 706 lies in its unflinching honesty. It doesn’t ask the reader to judge Kate, only to understand her—her exhaustion, hunger for freedom, guilt, and fierce love for her family. The writing is intimate and immediate, balancing tension with introspection in a way that feels both propulsive and profound.

This novel is about the stories women tell themselves to keep going and what happens when those stories begin to crack.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I want crazy about the ending, but aside from that, it was absolutely amazing. I my author did an amazing job ant showing the different emotions and changes that Kate went through. Vic is absolutely amazing.

I would classify this book as women's fiction. Ellie Levenson's debut novel centers on Kate, picking up her story when she's 23 and studying in Rome. It's only been a few months since her mother's sudden death and Kate feels lonely for the first time in her life. When she meets Vic, ten years her senior and emotionally damaged, she recognizes a safe harbor for her heart and her life. They will marry and have two children together.

The story switches back and forth in Kate's life. We see the life she has built with Vic and their children, then she meets Jack. Kate's life has become a routine where she feels she has lost herself. Jack adds spice to her life, even though he's older than Vic. They meet every few months for an afternoon, then she returns to her real life. Then comes the day the hotel where Kate and Jack are trysting is taken over by terrorists, holding everyone in the hotel hostage on national television. This will cause Kate to review what she has and what she stands to lose.

It's easy to become lost in the details of a marriage. Kate's story will remind many partners what is important in their lives.

Room 706 is a gripping, introspective debut that uses a hotel siege as the backdrop for a raw exploration of identity, desire, and marital discontent. Through Kate’s reflections while trapped with her lover, Levenson delves deep into the emotional complexities of motherhood, infidelity, and the compromises of adult life. The confined setting amplifies the tension, both external and internal, while the prose is emotionally charged and thought-provoking. Readers are left to question what truly defines fulfillment. It’s not an easy read—but it’s an unforgettable one. A powerful novel that lingers well after the final page.

Ellie Levenson's Room 706 masterfully uses an extreme, high-stakes scenario—a hotel siege—not just for external tension, but as a powerful crucible for internal examination. The physical confinement mirrors the protagonist Kate's entrapment within the conflicting facets of her own identity: the devoted wife and mother versus the woman seeking clandestine escape. The narrative promises an unflinching look at the compromises and hidden desires simmering beneath the surface of conventional family life. By forcing Kate to confront her choices and potential future (or lack thereof) in such a stark, life-threatening context, the novel probes deeply into the complexities of female identity, marital dissatisfaction, and the often-unspoken costs of pursuing personal fulfillment alongside familial responsibility. It sets the stage for a profound exploration of what truly defines us when the routines and pretenses of everyday life are violently stripped away.

As other reviewers have mentioned, it’s hard to believe this is a debut novel! It follows the life and loves of Kate, we see her life married to her husband Vic and their two children, her friendships and her affair with James.

I was completely drawn in to Kate’s story just from the description. The writing style was immersive and the depictions and explorations of love and grief were incredibly relatable.

Levenson has created a very real, thought provoking novel that was a pleasure to read (even if the final page left me with my jaw hanging open and slightly frustrated). I will definitely be recommending this one in 2026!

(Rated 4.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounding up to 5 stars here)

First of all, this wasn’t a book for me. Why? Because I initially thought it was going to be an action thriller book given out the premise of the book. But after a few chapters and rereading the synopsis again, I finally realize it is a whole different genre. If I was to give a short summary, woman had an affair with another married man. Woman thought it was okay as long as there’s no feeling attached and kept quiet from her husband. Woman got caught in a terrorist attack at the hotel they fucking at. Woman rethinking about her whole life and relationship before her death door. Me, assuming wrongly of the genre is not the point. I, as someone who still believes in innocent love, felt betrayed by those married people in this book. Maybe the way people perceive the value of love differs and I was left shocked by the situation of fucking (with people that is not your partner) is like having a hobby that you enjoy. Even though I was mad because of her decision, I do understand why she was in her current situation. And I could see people in marriage could deeply understand her reasoning. I will just console my heart that everything is just a work of fiction. Even if it may or not may not be true is something I wish to avoid knowing if I could.

I am mad because where else could you find a literally shining green flag of a man but you ended up cheating on him. You know what, I was so ready this story to be fucked up kind of story and then you had to give Vic and you cannot stop fumming at Kate for her loyalty. Their conversation is real, their love story is everything you want to read in any romance book. Their chemistry is really good to the point you feel ashamed to hear Kate’s affairs without Vic might know or not know. Anyhow, I feel a bit overwhelmed with emotion to think that even in the situation you might have to face your own death, a mother and a wife still thinks a lot of her family and in fact if I am a mother as well, I would probably do the same.

The whole story made me think of Stephanie Soo’s Podcast about a polyamory open marriage book she read, except this one the chances of the partner knowing about this is thin. Those who haven't heard it yet let me tell you it was a total mess. However this one wasn’t that bad as the podcast. I do feel like people in their late twenties and above, people in marriage would be interested in this book. Although it’s a bit slow in pace, it is a good book. It makes you think about a lot of things that you might experience and be daunting in your relationship. You get to delve into the deep thought of a person reminiscing her whole relationship and marriage. And when I said deep thought, it is deep enough that it is not advisable to read this book in one sitting. Not a cozy book and not your good morning read either. Alas it is a good book even if I do not completely agree with our main character, Kate.

Kate is waiting for her lover to leave their hotel room so she can unwind on her own when she turns on the TV and discovers their hotel is under attack. Now, stuck in the room with her thoughts and with James, she reflects on her choices and tries to prepare for the possibility of not making it out alive.

This is an enjoyable read and the author makes interesting choices in how she portrays Kate’s and James’s relationship. The storyline reminded me of Lucky Night—two people stuck in hotel room because of a fire—which I also loved. If you are looking for a gripping story (about relationships, freedom, and the life-altering choices we make), give this a read!

Thank you very much to Zando SJP Lit and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

It was hard to believe this novel was the writer's debut! The story is so entertaining and well written. I was captivated by the characters and setting—one room in a hotel! The story explores doom, hope, reflection, motherhood, and marriage. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Room 706 introduces us to Kate, a woman who loves her husband and two children, enjoys her work and generally loves her life. But the daily challenges and the mental load of working full time and organising a family are a strain. She finds herself checking in to a hotel every few months to have an affair with another man in an attempt to feel alive. On one such meeting, Kate turns on the television in the room to find that the hotel is under siege. What follows is an introspective view on her life and the choices that led her to this room, on this day, with a man who isn’t her husband.

As Kate sits in her hotel room, she contemplates her life, the choices she has made and what defines her. Ellie Levenson cleverly navigates us through Kate’s life in memories, as a child with her beloved mother, a teenager and young adult with her best friend, upon meeting her husband and in becoming a mother. She also finds a way to show us her hopes and dreams for her life at different ages, and how love and grief have shaped her in to the woman currently sitting in Room 706 with a man who is not her husband. How we identify ourselves amidst our relationships with others, of who we are in our marriage, as a friend, as a mother and in being a woman.

It is a thoughtful, suspenseful, gripping and thrilling story of what it is to be human, and how when confronted with death, we just want to let others know how much we have loved them and how much their love has meant to us.

I’m a new mother myself and I read this book while I probably should have been sleeping, which goes to show how much I enjoyed it.

My rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley for this Advanced Copy. Room 706 is due to be published January 20th 2026.

FIVE STARS This was an absolute whirlwind following an affair where the individuals involved meet up weekly after having met many years ago. During this meetup danger forces them into extremely uncomfortable self revelations and conversations about how their actions are hurting not only themselves but others. It was anxiety inducing, reflective and smartly written. There were times where I thought these characters were severely unlikeable, but then very relatable. It was absolutely a journey and I look forward to reading more from Ellie Levenson.

Twenty-eight-year-old married mother, Kate continues to meet her lover, James (51) in the same hotel every week. They'd met in Italy 16 years earlier and although both are married, they cant stay away from each other. But this day, unknown gunmen take over the hotel and no one is sure what the motive is or whether anyone will survive. Lots of introspection on both their parts and it tossed my emotions all over the place!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!