*I was given a copy of Dark Room Etiquette in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to HarperCollins and Robin Roe*
Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Sayers Wayte has everything—until he’s kidnapped by a man who tells him the privileged life he’s been living is based on a lie.
Trapped in a windowless room, without knowing why he’s been taken or how long the man plans to keep him shut away, Sayers faces a terrifying new reality. To survive, he must forget the world he once knew, and play the part his abductor has created for him.
But as time passes, the line between fact and fiction starts to blur, and Sayers begins to wonder if he can escape . . . before he loses himself.
Review:
This book is one hell of a journey. I’ve quite literally never read anything like it.
From the get-go, I was on edge and the creepiness kept building. Sayers would often make comments that foreshadowed what was about to happen to him. Obviously, he wasn’t aware, but as the reader, you have more knowledge about his future and it really gets your spine-tingling.
I could not put Dark Room Etiquette down. Within my first sitting, I was around 35% through and I only stopped because it got really late. The fact that this has such short chapters really plays in its favour. It also mirrors the frantic pace at which the character’s thoughts and feelings changed.
Without giving too much away, the change you see in Sayers the deeper into the story you get was really quite something. I really did not like him to begin with. I thought he was a spoilt brat, but as you spend more time you spend inside his head you can’t help but pity him. He devolves into a younger version of himself before your very eyes and although the changes are subtle, once you realise it hits you like a truck. It seems for the most part that he is aware of his surroundings and he’s searching for a way out, but like with most victims of kidnappings, it starts to get in his head.
Dark Room Etiquette is the type of book where it’s difficult to explain why it’s so special. It’s about how it makes you think and feel and that’s only something I think you can experience if you read it for yourself. There was never a moment of reading Dark Room Etiquette where I didn’t think or feeling anything. It really is the type of book that ensnares you and won’t let go until the very end.
Then again I’m not convinced that it has fully let me go yet. Trust me when I say you need to check this out. Do take a look at the trigger warnings though, there isn’t anything majorly graphic most moments are just passing comments or are talked about in small detail, but just to be safe.
Dark Room Etiquette is available on October 11th!
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: ARC Review: Princess of Souls by Alexandra Christo
[…] Like this post? Why not read this one too: ARC Review: Dark Room Etiquette by Robin Roe […]
[…] It feels like forever ago I read this. Honestly what a way to kick off the month. I haven’t had many five star reads this year and Dark Room Etiquette really was something else. I’ve banged on about this book too much so if you want to read my full review you can do so here. […]