⚠️ CW: kidnapping, domestic abuse, animal abuse, misogyny, addiction, miscarriage, stillbirth, violence, homophobia, racism, rape, suicide, murder and brief mentions of child abuse ⚠️ If you like the movies Taken and Saw, and you want a dark, tense and twisty read then this one is for you! Across the globe five strangers receive a horrifying message from an unknown number. The people they love the most are in danger and to save them they must play The Game. A sinister contest that only has a single rule, there can only be one winner. If you lose then your loved one will die. But what is The Game, and why have they been chosen? There's only one thing each of them knows for sure - they'll do anything to win. This book had me so incredibly gripped that I didn't want it to end. It kept me guessing until the very last page and the huge twist left me gobsmacked. I absolutely loved the alternating pov's between all of the characters that gave you small breadcrumbs of their individual stories to follow and piece together throughout, and their flawed personalities and back stories made it all the more riveting! The only reason I dropped it down a star is because I felt that the climax of the story was a bit rushed and I wanted a bit more from the 'post game' part. Overall, I highly recommend this book but please check the content warnings before going into it because it is quite a bit more graphic than your standard thriller in my opinion.

Pretty good - but kinda dark. Just be ready for that. Some interesting twists at the end. Not the BEST in the “play or die” genre but far from the worst. 

1.5⭐️

Going to be quite harsh with this review. Absolutely loved the concept of this book but the execution is just so bad and disappointing.

- Too many characters to follow and also you don’t feel truly invested in any of them. And for some irrelevant characters too.
- Narrative jumps around all over the place, present and past.
- Confusing storyline, again not helped by the above points.
- The first half of the book you’re just building up waiting for the game to start and when it does it’s so anticlimactic. I would’ve liked more of the game elements.
- The plot twist legit came out of no where, which was good to be unexpected, but also so off for me it wasn’t believable at all. I also felt there wasn’t enough explanation or background given to Benishek and how this illegal porn empire started.
- Its so unbelievable that Linda has been able to orchestrate this? With what money, connections, and within a few weeks of her daughter’s death? I just think it’s so far fetched it really took me out of it. I know she’s ex police, but still. 
- Ending was so lacking, didn’t explain what happened to Noah or Brett’s gf?
- I found the comments on the internet, porn, consent and paying for online content interesting and wish this had been a heavier focus.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this to review.