Reviews - The Vacancy in Room 10

818 reviews for:

The Vacancy in Room 10

Seraphina Nova Glass

3.67 AVERAGE

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Finished reading: July 9th 2025

“The only thing I could see on the dusty horizon was the word HELL lit up in orange and yellow, which seems appropriate once you get to know the area.”

I usually enjoy whatever Seraphina Nova Glass writes, and I've been working my way through the last pending titles on her backlist (except for one book I won't read as it mentions active cheating in the blurb). The Vacancy In Room 10 is the final of her more recent books I wanted to read, and I loved the sound of the premise with that motel setting. And this turned out to be such a successful popcorn thriller for me! Sure, you will definitely have to suspend your disbelief as some of the twists are pretty out there, but I personally didn't mind as the story worked on an entertainment level. I do have to say that The Vacancy In Room 10 started out slower than expected, and it took me a little while to get used to all the characters and get a proper feel of what is going on. Once I did though, I was hooked. The story is told switching between the POV of Anna and Cass, and it was interesting to watch the story unfold through the eyes of both women. The star of the show is without doubt the motel setting though, and while the majority of the side characters were definitely caricatures, they did add a little something extra. My favorite of the bunch is little Sinatra of course! As for the plot itself: there are multiple angles in play, meaning plenty of twists, secrets and moments of suspense... Especially the second half can get pretty over the top, but as a popcorn thriller The Vacancy In Room 10 is still very satisfying. I can't deny that I could have done without the cheating element in both POVs, and the fact that the majority of the male characters are terrible is a bit cliche, but those are just minor blips in what was otherwise a very entertaining ride despite the slower start.

Content Warnings

teneke's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

mrsprincess13's review

5.0

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

pamela_jo_1970's review

3.5

funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

After reading “On a Quiet Street” I wanted to read more from Seraphina Nova Glass. Although this book did not have the laugh out loud lines, there was still a lot of humor from the secondary characters. Cass gets dumped after 6 years of being in a relationship where she didn’t feel ‘marriage’ and ‘preparing for her future financially’ were needed because they were always going to be together; not … Cass ends up as a handy ma’am for a run down motel turned apartment building. Pretty mundane and sad; just hoping to get a leg up and move on. Then some pretty shady stuff happens; an artist using a room as a studio dies, his wife moves in to try and figure out what happened; Cass gets caught up in that! As much as she tries to avoid the residents, she gets pulled in to their lives, fixing things, listening to lonely people, laughing with the group of ladies and their kids at the pool and the weekly BBQ. Cass, the wife, and the other residents dents get caught up in some danger, drama, and an event that could impact all of their lives; unless they stick together. Quick read, I liked it.