2026 ARC Reviews

The Safe Room missed the mark for me. The story is around sixty pages, yet it lacks any chapter breaks. That stylistic choice frustrated me because I need those natural pausing points to digest what I am reading. Without them, the narrative felt like one continuous stretch, which amplified my struggle to stay engaged.
The main character, Rae, is genuinely well-developed. I had a firm grasp of who she was and what drove her. Despite that strong foundation, I could not pull myself into the actual story. The plot dragged, leaving me feeling bored rather than hooked. A novella of this length should be punchy, but this one felt oddly sluggish.
When the conclusion finally arrived, it did not offer a satisfying payoff. Instead of a natural resolution, the ending played out as a mild information dump. It hurriedly explained the lingering mysteries in a dense rush rather than letting the reveals unfold organically. While the character work with Rae is commendable, the slow pacing, lack of structural breaks, and clunky finale made this a tedious reading experience.