This book was alright. I love games and reality tv in my books but I haven’t found the perfect one yet.

The download date was unfortunately missed, I would be happy to re-review if it became available again. I have awarded stars for the book cover and description as they both appeal to me. I would be more than happy to re-read and review if a download becomes available. If you would like me to re-review please feel free to contact me at thesecretbookreview@gmail.com or via social media The_secret_bookreview (Instagram) or Secret_bookblog (Twitter). Thank you.

I started this a while ago and, for some reason it didn't work for me at the time. But I picked it up again after seeing lots of positive reviews, and I'm so glad I did.. I loved the idea of this and it had me reading late into the night to find out how it ended.

The Escape Room by L. D. Smithson

I loved the concept of this but I didn't like the conceit concerning identity at the beginning, which I found unbelievable and threw me out of the novel. I therefore couldn't finish. But a great idea.

Well I’m a little bit speechless. What an absolutely brilliant book from the beginning, right up to the end!

I was so excited to be a part of this blog tour for this book. It has delivered on every level. What a brilliant and unique book

The Escape Room is a book that is full of tension and suspense. I have adored everything about this one. I loved the characters and how unique this has been to previous books that I’ve read.

The mystery and tension throughout this keeps you on edge. There are plenty of twists and turns in this book which really keep you guessing as a reader. This is definitely a trip to the dark side and an addictive read.

I have devoured this book in one sitting. Once I was pulled in, I couldn’t put it down. I was desperate to find out what was going on. Also, I didn’t want this books to end.

Everything about this book has been brilliant. I absolutely loved getting between the covers of this. This was everything I hoped for and so much more. This is a book which should be on everyone’s radar.

I absolutely recommend this book to other readers.

This was a pacy, gripping, tense + captivating thriller that I flew through. The twists kept me engrossed and the writing style was brilliant. It kept me guessing till the end! Very big brother vibes!

Thank you Netgalley + the publisher for my ARC!

OMG I'M LITERALLY OBSESSED!!! I raced through this and literally couldn't put it down omg WHAT A READ! It was so clever and I was so gripped!

Wow.. claustrophobic...atmospheric...addictive...exhilarating...wow

Those are currently a few of the words going around in my head having just finished reading The Escape Room.

Other thoughts include - "I didn't see that coming", "I'd have never have guessed that ending", "reality TV in a psychological thriller is always a great mix for me, and one set on a remote fort in the Solent, and just wow".

Easily one of the best books I've read for a while, this was totally amazing. I loved the amount of thought and detail that had gone into creating the setting, and all of the various riddles, ciphers and puzzles. I think had I been taking part, that there is no way I would have ever survived.

It was so cleverly crafted, by what I believe to be an incredibly twisted but intelligent mind. I found myself constantly reaching for the book to read more and more.

I was hooked and I needed to know how it would all turn out.

If you only read one psychological thriller this year, make it this one. It's stupendous.

Thank you to Transworld and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I loved the concept of this reality TV show escape room with eight contestants. What starts as fun puzzling soon becomes deadly and this was definitely a bit darker and more twisted than I expected or would normally read. That said I was totally gripped throughout until the ending which disappointingly didn't quite pan out how I would have liked particularly as it was also one of those non-endings, deliberately left open.

I loved the concept of this book and thought it was so cleverly done. The puzzles had me STUMPED. It got a little too unhinged and dragged a little in the middle. A great debut though!

A compelling novel that kept me turning the pages long after I should have gone to sleep. I genuinely couldn’t put this novel down! Original and intriguing.

The concept was just my kind of story and I wasn’t disappointed. A well thought out plot with a frustratingly clever ending. There were a couple of elements that could probably have been improved on as I did sometimes find it difficult to imagine the layout of the rooms but nevertheless a great read.

The Escape Room was a good solid read. I liked the unusual remote setting and it had some very interesting characters. There were plenty of twists and turns that kept me reading and guessing right to the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

After her sister sustains a broken leg at the most inopportune moment, Bonnie agrees to take her place on a mysterious reality TV show: The Fortress - where eight contestants will compete to win the prize money by solving an elaborate escape room. The contestants are taken to a remote sea fort off the coast of the UK where their phones don't work & they have no other way of contacting anyone. They seem to have been left completely alone, & after the first challenge, it becomes clear that solving the puzzles literally means life or death for each of them.

This seems to be the first book by the author & they've hit a home run with their first swing. It has killer pace, devious twists, & one heck of an ending. The narrative is mainly from Bonnie's point of view, with an occasional chapter from a mysterious figure 'The Director'. I found myself investing in Bonnie's story & I couldn't wait to find out what/who was behind it all. The author does a great job with ratcheting up the tensions between the members of the group as their loyalties shift with each challenge. Overall I found it a gripping read & recommend it to anyone who likes entertaining thrillers. 4.5 stars (rounded up)

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Random House UK/Transworld Publishers/Bantam, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

A clever idea of an escape room reality show on a sea fort in the middle of the sea. It quickly becomes sinister as it’s clear the contestants have let themselves in for much more than they realised. For me it was a bit slow in parts but it was a good read and the many threads were sewn up nicely at the end.
Thanks to Netgalley for the copy in return for a review.

Many of us have tried Escape Rooms as a form of entertainment but this is one with a fatal difference. 8 people have won through an audition to take part in what is described as the ultimate escape room. They find themselves on one of the fortresses in the Solent outside Portsmouth Harbour but very quickly they discover, to their horror, that only one of them will be leaving. Told almost exclusively from Bonnie’s POV and via a Podcast this is a shocking reality TV show where the winner takes it all.

Briefly, Bonnie has taken the place of her sister Clara who broke her leg so couldn’t attend. They desperately need the prize money as their Mum has died and left them in danger of losing their house. As the show starts the contestants are faced with psychological puzzles, riddles and games with one aim in mind, to survive!

Superb read with twists and turns all the way through the book, I enjoyed the puzzles but I won’t be volunteering for the next series! This is a fast paced and exciting book, real edge of the seat stuff, with some interesting characters; all very different in their motivation, personality and with secrets they don’t want to share. A thrilling read.

This is a gripping, edge of your seat, kind of read and I absolutely loved it!

Set on one of the island forts in the Solent, which, by the way, are well worth a visit, eight contestants battle an escape room challenge for a new reality TV show. But then they are told only one will make it out alive!

The characters are written superbly well, with the mix of likeable, irritating, vulnerable and down right nasty that we have come to expect from reality TV. Excellent descriptive writing made me feel like I was there with them, a fly on the wall watching everything unfold.

A must read for thriller fans.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, L. D. Smithson and Random House for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Fast paced with lots of clever twists, this has absolutely put me off escape rooms - at least for the next little while!

The puzzles are so clever and well thought out, I would have been in terrible trouble - although I do know a tiny bit of Morse code! I found it difficult to tell the characters apart at first, but that's typical for me, and they were different enough to tell apart once I got a bit further in.

There is some violence and gore, so be aware of that as you're reading. It's not too graphically described, but it is there. Also (and I'm reading a proof so it's probably fixed in the final version) there is a point where the main character is addressed by the wrong name.

This is a great, heart pounding, quick read that you won't want to put down until the very last twist on the very last page.

‘The Escape Room’ by L.D. Smithson is an unsettling, fast-paced and gripping thriller set on a remote fortress in the middle of the sea with an intriguing cast and mind-bending puzzles.

Bonnie, our main character, wasn’t even supposed to be a contestant on ‘The Fortress’ - a mysterious new reality TV show commissioned by Channel 5 - but after her sister Clara got injured after winning a place, the opportunity to compete for a £100k prize was too appealing to pass up. She is joined by seven other people, all desperate for the money or for TV exposure (or both!) and thrust into problem solving challenges. But nothing is as it seems… suddenly the stakes become much higher and teamwork turns into a fight for survival!

I liked the diversity of the characters and their different skill sets… and secrets. I also really enjoyed trying to figure out some of the riddles and word games myself and learning about the fortification. The podcast scenes interspersed across the narrative were a fantastic way to tie the story together and reflect on the horrors faced by the participants.

As twist after twist hit towards the end, I did feel quite overwhelmed and think the ending should have been fleshed out a bit more rather than being so sudden. Some characters’ motivations could have been explored more to make the final pages more satisfying.

This was a four star book for me - not quite the perfect thriller, but a nightmarish and captivating read that you’ll find difficult to put down and which might make you reflect on how far reality TV should go in its quest to entertain… If you enjoy escape rooms and were addicted to ‘The Traitors’ this book is definitely for you!

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Random House, Transworld via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Really engaging book with lots of surprises. Read it in one sitting.