This is a great debut, bound to get people talking. Kate and James have met in London for a hook up, something they do every few months. Both are married to other people. Kate is married to Vic and has 2 young children. Getting ready to leave the hotel after sex, they find that the hotel is under siege from terrorists and are trapped.
The book isn’t about what happens in the siege, but about Kate thinking back to all the things which have happened in her life and what she truly values. It’s interesting to think about why she’s made the choices she has, and to consider the conclusions she reaches at the end.
This book made me think about what I’d leave for people if my life was under threat biti had time and WiFi. Kate trying to remember the ingredients for her signature cake was very poignant, but emailing the grocery password and all the factual things about domestic minutiae struck a chord too.
I think this will be a smash hit.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This book was worth so much more than 3 stars however the ending just let it down for me. James and Kate are locked in a hotel room when it is taken over by terrorists. Kate and James are both married but have had an affair over a number of years meeting regularly to continue their affair. The story takes on different timelines, present day and at varying times in the past looking at Kate’s life from the time she met her husband Vic. I’m not sure how I wanted the story to end but, the ending was not what I was expecting, I was hoping to have an element of finality even if not complete closure.

Kate is a 30-something mum of two that has been cheating on her husband for 6 years only to find herself in a hostage situation with her lover.
We read from 3 different time lines. The first being the current day, in the hotel room with James and dealing with the siege of the hotel. The second is 16 years ago when she met and fell in love with her husband Vic in Italy. And the third is from 6 years ago when she first started her affair.
Having 3 different points of view from different points in Kate’s life was really fun to read and almost made it difficult to justify the affair when also reading about how she fell in love with her now husband.
This was a really fun and easy read that I will be recommending to friends.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Thank-you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book.
I adored the love story between Vic and Kate and their family. Along comes James who Kate has, in her words, not an affair, but just sex with. It's when they get stuck in the middle of a terrorist attack that Kate starts to look back on her life.
There could of been more drama in the book regarding the attack. Also the ending was a bit of a let down for me. Apart from that I really enjoyed reading this to see what James & Kates fate would be.
I'd give this book a solid 4/5, only because of the ending or it would of been a 5
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I’m going to start by saying I loved the premise of this book, and the love story between Kate and Vic was deftly drawn and great to read. However, there were some major letdowns for me within the story. Firstly, the dialogue is clunky throughout - I don’t think the author uses a single contraction in the entire book, and it continuously jarred me out of the story because real people just don’t speak like that! It needs a final pass to tighten the dialogue simply by adding in some contractions. Secondly, the book felt like a wasted opportunity. The entire setup has the potential for action and yet not a single bit of action which directly affects the two characters occurs, until the very end, when you don’t have any idea what actually happens. The ending was absolutely not for me, and so much more could have been done with it! This entire book is introspection about choices Kate made, and the what ifs of whether or not Vic will discover the affair, and then you get no payoff at the end. Does he discover it? Who knows! Is there any fallout in her life from being trapped in the room? No idea! Does she have to question the morality of her choices? No, everyone’s just pretending it’s all fine (or actually thinks it’s all fine) because she’s in a hostage situation and it’s not really the time or the place. Is she guilty enough to end the affair and then needs to talk to someone who’s been through it so meets James anyway, and the fall out from that? Not explored.

The combination of the ending and the clunky dialogue meant this just did not work for me at all, and it’s a shame because the author is obviously a talented writer!

Room 706 by Ellie Levenson ⭐️⭐️
The first 70% of this book gripped me. Kate and James are both married but meet regularly for sex, they are in a hotel room when a hostage siege takes place. The book flips between current day and their past/back story.
It was a long way into the book that I kept thinking ‘this is going to twist or turn unexpectedly’ …. And the ending just made me think I hadn’t received the whole book! There are some good reviews and some, like mine, not so good. I think this will be a marmite book. Publication Date 15 January 2026. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

I think this book is beautifully written and the characterisation is great. I have to admit however I skipped a lot of the past sections but then made myself go back and read them which lost propulsion. I just felt the present timeline was more suspenseful and I wasn’t sure going back and forth to other timelines worked. However not a lot happened in the present timeline.

However this is a great concept and there are some beautiful themes that are so well handled. I like the fact that genre wise it was a mash up between a book club read and a psychological suspense.

However in saying all that- and thoroughly enjoying the book - the ending felt extremely unsatisfying for me and after investing all that time i was pretty cross by it and it felt like an afterthought - and a not well executed one- sorry!

However this is a great debut and I would recommend it but I think it could be misconstrued as a thriller which I don’t think will deliver for that readership because really this isn’t about the present timeline at all - that’s merely a mirror to hold up to the past. I think a rethink around the genre is needed so the book gets the credit it deserves for the right readership. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the arc.

From the very first paragraph, this book had me utterly hooked. The premise is as tense as it is intriguing – a woman trapped in a hotel under siege, with a man she doesn’t love, and a life outside that she’s desperate to protect. The layers of mystery are woven so cleverly that every chapter leaves you needing to know more.

The writing is sharp, atmospheric, and full of emotional depth. I found myself completely immersed in Kate’s inner turmoil, torn between fear, guilt, and survival. The shifting timelines and tantalising glimpses of her past kept me racing through the pages, needing answers.

It’s rare to find a story that delivers suspense, emotional complexity, and such a gripping moral dilemma all in one – but this novel manages it effortlessly. If you’re looking for a read that will keep you awake into the small hours, heart pounding and mind whirring, this is it.

A brilliantly original debut. I couldn’t put it down.

What a debut! This gripping novel kicks off with Kate and James—both married to other people—meeting for a secret rendezvous at a hotel. But after their fling, the news breaks: gunmen have taken over the hotel. Now trapped inside, they must hide and hope for survival.

Told from Kate’s perspective, the story shifts between the tense present, her past with her husband Vic, and how her affair with James began. The structure is seamless, and the tension is constant—part psychological drama, part pulse-pounding thriller.

It’s not just suspenseful; it’s emotionally rich and deeply human. It explores love, regret, and the choices that define us. The ending? Absolutely spot-on.

Ellie Levenson’s writing blew me away. A stunning debut I’ll be thinking about for a long time. Preorder it—you won’t regret it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline Review for the ARC!

This one wasn't really for me. I wanted to love it as I'd seen some fab reviews, but there was just something about it. Something felt off about the two relationships in the book & I spent all my time waiting to find out what the sinister thing was, what it was that was making me feel off & the big reveal never came.

This is pitched as a thriller, but it felt more like a slightly disturbing saga reflecting on Kate's two relationships. Kate & James aren't particularly likeable & Vic is just a bit limp. I wanted the threat & terror expected from two people caught up in a hostage situation. And don't get me started on that ending.

A marmite book that you'll have to try yourself.

Such an interesting and different premise to 5he usual thriller.

This book takes the idea that mothers just want some time on their own and expands on it to encompass taking a lover, to feel something other than being a wife too, then throws in a hostage situation for good measure.
According to AI, psychological thrillers often explore themes of morality and this is definitely the case here. The morality of cheating on your husband, the morality of a siege situation, even the morality of how far your instinct for survival, to return to your family, outweighs your inherent impulse to help others in need. Add onto this the guilt of mothers generally, and the specific guilt of coming face to face with the fact that your selfishness could mean your family loses you forever, and you have an excellent thriller.
My only complaint, and I’m sure others will feel the same, is the ending. Yes, I can see why the author chose this but it’s still a disappointment, though in fairness I’m not sure how else it could have ended without being a letdown.

Review of ‘Room 706’ by Ellie Levenson, due to be published on 15 January 2026 by Headline.

Kate is married to Vic with two young children, Lenny and Annie. She loves her life as a wife and mother, enjoys her job but also enjoys her secret dalliances with James, a much older married man.

It’s at one of their clandestine meetings that Kate and James find themselves in Room 706 of a London hotel - that they learn from a news report is under attack from terrorists. Unable to leave and fearing for the outcome, Kate looks back on her life and how events have shaped who she is today.

A real rollercoaster of emotions of grief, love and what you need to say, if the worst happens. It’s a really thought provoking storyline, interlaced with the very real prospect of not making it out alive.

The ending left me wanting more, but overall this was an excellent debut by Ellie Levenson, and a recommended read.

Thank you for giving the opportunity of this ARC, I heard about it on Radio 2 and was excited to read it. I think the blurb on the back when this releases needs to really position this as a story of relationships, family and moral dilemmas. When I heard about the book, I was expecting a drama/thriller but really there is not a lot of this. It is well written and keeps interest by flipping between the past and present, building more of a picture on the relationship between the characters.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. It was a very good read, it certainly makes you think and the ending although not what I was expecting was actually the correct ending.

Kate is married to Vic and has two children. She is also having an affair with James, and they get trapped together by a terrorist attack in the hotel where they are meeting. They are hiding together in their hotel room waiting to be rescued or maybe killed.
The book tells Kate's life story, and how she got to this point, with other chapters set in the present time, still waiting for something to happen.
I liked the writing and couldn't put it down. I was disappointed by the abrupt ending,

I honestly thought there was an error at the end of this book… that that was the ending just didn’t make sense to me! Let me rewind…. Kate and Vic have been married for 10 or so years and parents to two young children. Kate is also having an affair with James. And whilst hooking up in a central London hotel one day the hotel is taken by a terrorist group. Kate is trapped in the hotel room with James. How on earth does she explain why she is there. As the hours pass Kate reminisces about her life and life decisions leading to this point.

A mix of a suspense…. Will the gunmen find her and James hiding out in their room, and if so what will happen to them. But actually it’s more a look into the life of a young woman who has experienced profound loss in her life, and her affair with James is more about escaping the life if just wife and mother.

It was definitely a pacey read, felt really original, but I’m just not sure I ever really gelled with the characters. And I did feel let down by the ending.

I received a free copy of, Room 706, by Ellie Levenson, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I did not care for this book or its characters at all. The ending sucked too. Im sick of books with people with no morals at all.

I loved this book. A thriller and a love story in one. I enjoyed getting to know Kate through her memories - as well as her mum and Eve. Kate's mum is amazing - so well drawn, and that's so hard to do with flashbacks!

I didn't need to know more about James. Kate didn't need to know, so why should I?

At first I was 'like, what?' with the ending. Then a few minutes later, I realised it was perfect.

Such a good book. It deserves to fly! Highly recommended.

Now, where is their place in Italy so I can go visit?

Room 706
Ellie Levenson
Read and Reviewed: June 2025
Publication Date: 20th January 2026

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Thanks a mil to Netgalley and the author Ellie Levenson for an advanced readers copy of this debut novel Room 706 due to be released next year, January 2026.

I'm delighted to have been gifted an early copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book combines a 'thriller' (in the loosest sense of the word) with a more emotionally in depth read delving into topics such as infidelity and identitiy and the meaning of life and looks at how the choices we make may or may not define our lives in the longer term.

It was set against the backdrop of a hotel under attack from an unknown terrorist organsiation. (A hotel taken over by terrorists and anyone inside is now in a hostage situation) I expected this to be fast paced and thrilling based off this premise but it actually took a completely different route. The plot follows Kate, a married mother of 2, wife to Vic who is trapped in Room 706 of the Hostage Hotel with her older lover, James (51).

It wasnt a book full of thrill or suspense - it was actually quite a slow burn and we follow Kate as she reflects on her life, contemplates dying and leaving her husband and two children behind. The whole book follows them, both Kate and James, though mainly Kate - while they are locked in Room 706 (so theres no real thrill or excitement from the hostage situation point of view). Defo a very thought provoking read though, it does make you think and it was gripping in its own slower paced way - I still wanted to read on to find out the outcome. So for those above reasons I found it to be a really well written debut novel. I like the writing style and it was well thought out overall just a bit slow for my own personal tastes.

I'm giving it a solid 3 stars. It lost a star from me as I found the pacing to be a little slow but mainly the star was lost because I hated that ending!!!! It was so abrupt 😭 I know some readers may love an open ending like that where they can speculate themselves on what the outcome was but no, It let it down for me! I was disappointed with the ending.

But all in all, it was an enjoyable read and I wish Ellie the very best of luck with it! I hope you consider writing a book two Ellie to continue on the story so I can get a more acceptable conclusion LOL 😂

3 Stars
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A woman has been embarking on an affair for some time and when she's holed up in a hotel with her lover, the hotel is sieged by terrorists. It's big news that the hotel is on lockdown and she has to navigate telling her husband why she won't be able to pick the kids up from school. It's a good concept for a novel but its not as gripping as it feels like it should be.