Tag: Books

The Safe Room by Sarah A. Denzil

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What would you do if you were fifteen and being stalked by a creep? What if that creep was someone you knew… or thought you knew? This is exactly the premise of the newest psychological thriller, The Safe Room by Sarah A. Denzil.

I was surprised to be accepted for an advance reader copy of this book, because on paper this thriller was exactly what I needed to get me through this week, and I was not wrong. I devoured it in 2 days, which is quite impressive, as I wanted to make sure I finished the book before its release (it releases on the 10th of September 2026, in case you want to snag a copy). Thank you so much to Sarah A. Denzil and the team for accepting my request and sending me an ARC of The Safe Room.

If you enjoy thrillers that are fast-paced and make your heart flutter in your chest, The Safe Room is the read for you.

I thoroughly enjoyed every single aspect of this book. It enveloped me from the first page, held me in a choke hold until the last page, and then spit me out. It was honest, it was scary, and it caused me heart palpitations (no joke, my Apple Watch has sent me twice… TWICE… a notification asking me if I was working out while reading this book).

We follow the story of Amber in a dual POV, Now and Then. The narrative is polished to perfection. There is not a single word that stands weirdly on the page. Every single letter seemed to have intention in this story, and I, as a thriller reader and review writer, found it a lesson in how every book should be written.

Without giving away too much of the plot, Amber is dealing with a stalker who has haunted her life for over two decades. The tone of the book is set straight away, and I don’t think there was a lull in the pace at all. The characterisation, and I will give here an honourable mention to the piece of s*** Peter, because I wanted to throw my brand new e-reader at a wall so many times, specifically in the second act, is simply perfection, and whilst I have never been to Leeds, I feel like I’ve been there now. Not only is the characterisation fleshed out to perfection, but it is also twisted and intertwined with greatly layered motivations and flaws that shine in a psychological thriller setting.

I can continue to gush about the characters, and probably will on Instagram and X, but I want to also talk about the pace. This book felt snappy. It was like I blinked and was already reading another chapter, and another, and after my first sit-down with this book I was already 40% through it because I couldn’t put it down. I think the pace is greatly helped by the Then and Now POVs, which worked in tandem to give us nuggets into how we got to where we are in the story, while also cleverly planting a cliffhanger in the last sentence or paragraph of each, making me want to know what happens next in both. Whilst this is happening, not even once did I feel that this was a crutch; and that is the brilliance of Denzil’s writing.

All in all, this is a 100/10 psychological thriller. If you do pick up The Safe Room, my only advice to you is: close the door and make sure it’s locked, and do not read this book at night, especially alone in your house. You will start to doubt every single noise you hear and feel like someone is watching you…

The Safe Room by Sarah A. Denzil is out on the 10th of September 2026, and you can pre-order it now or get it when it releases. At the time of writing this review, it’s still 99p on Kindle (unfortunately I have not found it in the Kobo library, but I’m sure it will be made available there too).

What She Did by Lauren Dykovitz

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Thank you to Inkubator Books Team for sending me an advance readers copy. All views are my own

“What she did” is an easy and enjoyable read, with a decent ending — a lesson in understanding that “love thy neighbour” comes with boundaries, that people often cross out of desperation to avoid dealing with their own misery. If you are a fan of “Desperate Housewives” then this book is for you if you are willing to accept that this book has some flaws.

As if ripped from the Desperate Housewives universe, What She Did by Lauren Dykovitz portrays what happens when you take “love thy neighbour” to a whole different level.

The book shines in its strong structure and quick pace. Where this book fails is also derived, I believe from the quick pace. Striving to maintain pace over story development, more often than not, it leads into a repetition of the same events across the two POVs. It quickly became confusing, as the characters’ words and opinions on events started to blur together, making me wonder more than once whether I’d already read a given chapter. This is most noticeable in the second act, where the necessary setup for the third act made the repetition especially apparent.

One thing I’d have loved to see developed further is the characters’ motivation. A reveal that was saved for the third act could have worked better as a first-act motivator for the obsession’s development, delivering a stronger payoff later. Alternatively, cutting this reveal entirely from the third act could have made the epilogue more believable. As it stands, it reads more like a statement of fact the reader is simply expected to accept, rather than something the reader has a feeling might be the case from the get-go and getting the confirmation in the end.

I read this book in two days, and if I’d been poolside with a margarita, I might’ve knocked it out cover-to-cover in one. If you’re willing to accept its flaws the same way you’re willing to accept a character’s flaws, this is a great way to spend your weekend. It delivers exactly (nothing more, nothing less) what it sets out to do: a story between two neighbours whose worlds are more intertwined than you might think.

The Family Tree by Sairish Hussain

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Rating: 5 out of 5.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Family-Tree-Sairish-Hussain/dp/0008297452/

There were so many moments in this book that I stopped and considered what I was reading. Although it isn’t what I normally would read, The Family Tree, tells the story of Amjad’s family and the events that it made fall apart.

I started reading the book as of the WellReadNarative’s Book of The Month over on Instagram. The promise of WellReadNarative is to bring to the forefront books written by POC and LGBTQIA+ authors that would normally wouldn’t get the audience they deserve.

The Family Tree by Sairish Hussain is a beautiful story about being an outsider family in the UK. The heartfelt story of this family is told out of mainly three perspectives: Amjad the father of the family that deals with loss; Saahil the son that struggles to cope with traumatic events and addiction and Zahra the younger daughter of Amjad who is left to pick up the pieces after their family breaks apart.

Crafted to perfection. Sairish Hussain is definitely an author worth keeping your eye on.

I found myself realising after a few pages that there were similarities between the family I was reading and my own. Although I’m not from an Asian family the way the elders try to stuff you with food every time you visit, the way the family pressures the younger generation to excel for the sake of excelling just to name a few, hit home with me.

The Family Tree is a beautiful story that deserves to be read. If not because of the marvellous characters constructed in detail like a sculptor would his work, the at least it should be read for perspective. Hussain manages to bring to the forefront a muslim family, their rituals, their day to day life in a way that makes me wonder why there aren’t this many stories on bestsellers list? It isn’t because the books aren’t good or that they aren’t written well. This book proves that.