The Tryst

by Monique Roffey

London, midsummer night. Jane and Bill meet the mysterious Lilah in a bar. She entrances the couple with half-true, mixed up tales about her life. At closing time, Jane makes an impulsive decision to invite Lilah back to their home. But Jane has made a catastrophic error of judgement, for Lilah is a skilled and ruthless predator, the likes of which few encounter in a lifetime. Isolated and cursed, Jane and Bill are forced to fight for each other, and, in doing so, discover their covert desires.

Part psychological thriller, part contemporary magical realism, The Tryst revisits the tale of Adam s first wife, Lilith, to examine the secrets of an everyday marriage.

What makes The Tryst an unexploded virus isn't just the quality and brightness of Roffey's writing on sex, even as it uncovers inner glades between flesh and fantasy where sex resides - but the taunting clarity of why those glades stay covered. A throbbing homewrecker of a tale, too late to call Fifty Shades of Red. DBC Pierre, Booker Prize winner, 2013

Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, Audiobook, Novella, Novels

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 6, 2017

About the author

Monique Roffey, FRSL, is an award winning British-Trinidadian writer. Her most recent novel, Passiontide, (Harvill, 2024), a crime thriller and protest novel, was a finalist for the prestigious US Caricon Award.

The Mermaid of Black Conch (Peepal Tree Press/Vintage) won the Costa Book of the Year Award, 2020 and was shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize, 2020, the Rathbones/Folio Award 2021, and the Republic of Consciousness Award. Her other novels have been shortlisted for The Orange Prize, Costa Novel Award, Encore and Orion Awards. In 2013, Archipelago won the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature. She is Professor of Contemporary Fiction at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Reviews

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

An urgent, erotic fable, this novel is propelled forward by such an irresistible force that it's difficult to imagine how it would work if you didn't read it all the way through, breathlessly, in one long swig. If you're going to read this, do it in a single sitting, alone.

Jane and Bill are in their forties and have been married for a few years. They're very much in love, but Jane feels no desire towards Bill, and their relationship is mostly chaste. Enter Lilah, an erotic whirlwind, a petite squirming bright-red-haired nymphet/whore of a woman (well, actually she's not a woman, at least not a human one) who crowbars her way into a quiet night at the pub and gets herself an invitation to the couple's home. What happens next? A smörgåsbord of sex, emotional drama, and – most intriguingly – scenes that slip into something not quite reality.

The Tryst is extremely sexual (open it at any page and you have about a 65% chance of seeing the words 'cock' or 'cunt' – or both), but not in a transgressive way: in fact the sex is very conventional in the sense that it's primal, like Lilah's influence makes everyone regress to their essential natures, their basest animal instincts. Each of the three main characters takes their turn narrating, with Lilah's story – foul-mouthed, funny and littered with anecdotes from her long, long existence – naturally the most compelling.

I received an advance review copy of The Tryst from the publisher, Dodo Ink.

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[Eric Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s always fascinating when an author writes about wildly different subjects from book to book. The last novel by Monique Roffey I read was “House of Ashes” which was a devastatingly intense and complex account of a coup which takes place on a fictional Caribbean island. Her new novel “The Tryst” focuses on a short, all-consuming affair between a married couple and a mysterious woman. The result is a dynamic look at the dangerously hazy borderline between the erotic imagination and real-life sexual exploits. In particular, it prompts us to wonder about the role sexual fantasy plays in long-term relationships. Should such impulses be voiced or acted upon? If so, will our partner be repulsed, offended, intrigued or titillated? Or, if these impulses are kept private or repressed what are the consequences? It’s a tricky and delicate subject matter as many couples privately struggle with issues of sex. Roffey offers fascinating insights with this outrageously imaginative tale of untamed lust and a fantasy that quickly turns into a nightmare.

Read my full review of The Tryst by Monique Roffey on LonesomeReader

[Rebecca Gransden · Rating 2 out of 5]

One night a couple meet up with a friend in bar. The evening progresses in a familiar fashion until a stranger joins them. Confident and brash, the American woman proceeds to dominate the conversation, possessing a strange allure. Observing her husband’s attraction to their guest, Jane decides to invite the curious woman home. With their marriage lacking any real erotic connection, Jane impulsively views the woman’s arrival as a way to combat that. Her husband, Bill, puts up little resistance.

I thought I’d give this a try as the cover is very striking, reminding me of the imagery of Brian Yuzna’s Society. The allusion to the myth of Lilith is also an intriguing angle for a novel dealing with erotism. Unfortunately, it’s not very good. I think the problem might be that it is aimed at a mainstream audience, and hence the sex is filtered through what that idea of transgressive erotism is. I have also discovered that I am prejudiced, and it takes the form of intolerance towards middle class wine drinkers. The central figures of the wife and husband are just too uninteresting. There is some spark to the interloping Lilah and her sprite-like ways, but even she, supposedly an elemental imbued with the spiritual lineage of Lilith herself, is underwhelming.

The novel is also frustratingly repetitive at times. Overall, I wish this had’ve lived up to its themes, and I suspect my own disinterest in the average central couple also played a part in my disengagement, but this was a real letdown.

[Rachel Louise Atkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically a porno tbh, not quite sure what the point of this book was but it was definitely an intriguing idea, just wish it did more with the Lillith idea.

[Kez · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Tryst is a story about a married couple, Bill and Jane, who meet a sexy and mysterious stranger called Lilah at a bar and invite her back to their house. Things get a bit weird as Bill and Jane's sex life and ultimately their marriage is held under a microscope as they welcome Lilah into their lives.

So let's get into it then... I didn't like so much about this book and I feel as though I need to justify my one star rating, so here goes.

- Repetitive: do we seriously need three different POV's of pretty much every chapter immediately after one another? There was not enough of a difference in the POV's to justify giving us the same scene so many times.

- Sex scenes: VERY graphic and ecessive. I understand the animalistic nature of Lilah and Bill's relationship, but did they need to be so frequent? What feels like half of the book is taken up by sex scenes which were often pretty reminiscent of one another. Side note, but if I never see or hear the word 'squelching' used in a sexual way again I will die happy.

- Lilah's dialogue: constantly referring to Jane as 'Wifeykins', 'Janey-wife', and probably worst of all 'Little Miss Polo Neck' (wtf?) made me wretch every time. The cringeworthy dialogue made it hard for me to see Lilah as the femme fatale that she's intended to be.

- Unnecessary character traits: was there any significance of Lilah being a mythical creature? I'm pretty sure the story could have been exactly the same if she was just a human woman (I still would have hated it just as much though)

- A horrible SA scene told from 2 different POV's (because 1 wasn't traumatic enough) that is just brushed over and given no significance or importance. I thought this part was really horrible and upsetting and it almost made me give up on the book completely, which I never do.

- Lack of plot: nothing really happens, which isn't always a negative thing and I'm definitely a fan of character driven narratives, however when the characters are also lacking, it makes it difficult to engage with the story.

This is my first time giving a one star review so it's a big day for me! Clearly some people liked this book so hats off to them for seeing what I could not, but my advice would be to read at your own peril.

[Shivanee Ramlochan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We were eye-to-eye, she and me, I loved her then, almost called her sister-whore."

Roffey goes for the jugular, and other, more interesting, sources of blood. She can tell a story, which we've always known. Now we're reminded she can make a good tale come.

[Anna Tan]

I don't think I will rate this because it was... weird.
It has a couple in a loveless relationship and a... demon? succubus? pixie?... who comes to break it up.

And there is sex. Kinky sex. And weird things.

I'll probably think of more things to say later, but this is just... weird.

---

Wanted to update some notes after class discussion and before I return the book.

I felt there was a slight overuse of symbolism, in a way that may have obscured meaning from the readers. I mean, symbolism is great. It's clever. But it's also sometimes obscure.

There's the egg that Jane gives Bill every anniversary. Eggs are a symbol of fertility--great within a marriage--but the eggs are also made of dead things: an unfertilised ostrich egg, wood, metal. (Thanks, Jack, for that note.) Their marriage is more of a mother/father substitution thing, so whilst Jane is sort of "giving" her fertility to him (sounds like some weird cult ritual), their relationship is sterile and dead. There is no love, no sex, and Jane fantasises about other faceless men who will give her what she wants and needs. Bill... Bill acts as if he needs nothing, and then suddenly discovers this raging libido when the Other Woman comes.

There's the Lilith mythology as well--Lilah as the Other Woman, the First Wife, the Scorned Wife, the wild creature (demon? pixie? fey?--I don't recall the exact word Roffey uses, but one of those, with the fear of iron). She comes to prey on Bill, stays for far too long because of what--because of some primal thing in Bill that recognises her? (I've had to assert a few times that the Lilith myth isn't Biblical; it's Jewish mythology at best, or extra-Biblical at the least. It's not canon). Lilah's motivations are the clearest of the three. She wants sex, she doesn't mind destroying this marriage (it's her purpose, almost, home-wrecking), and then she moves on. Except this time she doesn't move on fast enough.

I felt as if Roffey was silently saying how Bill was powerless, emasculated. Here was this man of the woods, with the wild in him (which Lilah recognises) and he's stuck in this loveless, sexless marriage. Bill is domesticated. Declawed. Jane is more mother-figure than wife. Lilah comes along and seduces him, gives him what he wants and sets up a hex, to his full knowledge, to wreck his marriage and his home. He does nothing. His cat is more powerful than him--Choo Choo, at least, attempts to fight back. He distracts himself with more sex. He refuses to do anything about the hex or about his marriage until weeks later, until his life has fallen apart around him. Even then, Jane just walks back in and they have sex. Nothing is dealt with.

Distorted Adam and Eve archetypes come into play. Roffey builds up the idea of a holy family, holy love--it's more agape than eros; sex, after all, defiles, and Jane cannot do that to this wonderful love of theirs. Eve (Jane) takes the blame for the fall--after all, she was the one who invited the homewrecker in, who listened to the serpent. Adam (Bill) stood by and... did nothing. He who has the power to stop it... doesn't. He lets them manipulate him, fully aware of the situation. Later on, he blames both women for playing games.

Jane is complicated. She has this idea of a great holy love for Bill which makes her unable to have sex with him as her husband, though it's implied she's had sex with other men before her marriage. She invites Lilah in because she's drunk and she sees this as a way out of her marriage. If Bill is unfaithful, she can leave without remorse. When she sobers up, she changes her mind but it's too late. Bill has proven unfaithful, but now she cannot leave. She doesn't want to. She now wants to fight for the marriage she set on the path to destruction.

The ending is explained away by black magic, everything that happened was because of Lilah, cleared away by the breaking of the hex, by the use of chalk and sage to cleanse the room. And once that is done, suddenly Bill and Jane are restored. It's a cheap ending, without personal responsibility or moral culpability. Everything is Lilah's fault, like everything is the devil's fault.

There is no redemption in this story. (Situ complains about this, says that they should change, they should grow. That's not the point of fiction, though. Sometimes fiction is there to tell you that redemption and growth doesn't happen.)

[Lisabet Sarai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane and Bill love one another deeply. At the same time, their four year marriage suffers from a lack of physical passion. Though Jane has lurid fantasies about other men, somehow she has no desire for her sturdy, dependable husband. She tries to pretend this is normal, but guilt weighs on her almost as heavily as if she’d actually been unfaithful.

Bill has his skeletons, too. After a crushing divorce and a severe bout of depression, he’s grateful for Jane’s devotion, platonic though it might be. Remembering his bleak life before they met, he tells himself that the sex doesn’t really matter.

Visiting a pub with a male friend one Friday night, the couple encounter a diminutive, seductive woman named Lilah. Curvaceous, uninhibited to the point of being lewd, Lilah is the embodiment of sex. Both Bill and their pal Sebastian are captivated by the vivacious stranger. Jane finds herself both intrigued and angry. In a moment of madness, she invites the mysterious redhead back to their house. Her rash impulse frees Lilah to enter their world and destroy their lives.

Lilah sees through the lies Bill and Jane tell themselves. Lilah is not completely human. She is a force of nature, with hidden powers and deep secrets—a creature mischievous, even malevolent. She drags Bill down into a tempest of lust that soon threatens to swallow them both. Jane—the “Unfucked”—is expelled from her home and from her husband’s thoughts. It seems that Lilah will triumph in her quest to punish Jane and Bill for their sexless marriage, until Jane digs deep enough to liberate her own carnality, the only thing that can vanquish the immortal imp.

The Tryst is one of the most original and arousing erotica books I’ve encountered in a long time. Monique Roffey’s luscious prose brings Lilah and her enchantments to vivid life. The sex is intense, even violent, to the point of being terrifying, yet at the heart of it the characters find a sort of peace and healing.

Bill is a fantastic character, gifted with his own unconscious magic. Lilah becomes more than a villain as she falls under his sensual spell. Meanwhile Jane finally claims her identity as an embodiment of the Feminine, a transformation that allows her to banish the interloper back to the shadow realm where she was spawned.

To give you some inkling of the deliciousness of this book, here’s one of my favorite passages:

Bill slid me onto a long wooden table, laid me on my back, like a feast – and feast he did – kissing the half-moon of my diaphragm, his beard like moss on my skin, a great oak whispering his secrets. His tongue glided over me, his hands tracked the meridians under my skin – oh – he knew about them, delicate ancient tracks. These are the songlines of the skin, designed by angels to release intense ecstasy; they are a map under the flesh. Touch them lightly and the body secretes the sacred chemicals, serotonin, oxytocin, endorphin, the pheromones of lust. He knew these lines and ran his fingertips along them, making the patterns of a river stream all over me, meandering his velvety cock along these tracks – he smiled. Oh, he was a better lover than I could have possibly judged, this man of the woods. Had one of his ancestors been one of us, was there a sprite in his lineage? I writhed under his touch.

Our eyes locked. This was a man with tantric skills; he gazed deep into me and I gazed back, whispering love charms and mantras to Priapus, the God of Cock.

I encouraged him to slide his fingers into me and guided him to my spot, deep inside, where he would find a warm sweet reservoir. Already it threatened to burst. A rivulet sprang from me, tiny, indiscreet, betraying me, dripping from between my legs. Bill held me in his hand, the butt of his palm jammed to my pubic bone, the fingers slowly circling the silky flesh inside me. He stroked me perfectly and I was opening. And no, I wasn’t concerned then, that I had found a human match. I had no inkling of any danger that could ensue. I’d forgotten the iron wagon wheels on the wall, the hooks and nails in the baskets on the floor. I had met a man who knew how to make love.

If you’re tired of billionaire Doms and secret babies; if you enjoy intelligent, thought-provoking erotica; if you believe that there is magic in the flesh; get yourself a copy of this book!

[Jonathan Norton · Rating 1 out of 5]

An imp of the perverse invades the lives of a North London couple of Guardian readers and has rumpo action in the toolshed and the airing cupboard. This pulsating piffle is problematic in many ways, and also has a deep streak of underlying prurience (as is usual with "erotica" that fancies itself above honest unpretentious porn). Quite apart from the bit where the cat gets killed, I'm concerned about pg 68: "Bill groaned. His pupils were dilated." How could Lilah tell, from her position? Is she a contortionist along with her other evil powers?

[Tom O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the structure of this heated story of a tryst that goes spectacularly off the rails for everyone involved. The focus is on sex but the insight is on relationships and emotions. We get each of the three main character's point of view on a series of events, but each moves the story forward a little too, in time before handing back to one of the others. The device works well, above and beyond giving a new psychological slant to the same incident.

[Zeynep · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pride 2023

TW/ bol bol seks

Sam Levinson bu kitabı okuyup diziye çevirmezse ben hiçbir şey bilmiyorum… hafif fantastik/korkunçlu ve bol seksli bi’ novella arıyorsanız look no further. orijinal konsept ve akıcı bir kalemin birleşimiyle gayet yerinde bir kitap ortaya çıkmış xx

[Sarah Kay · Rating 1 out of 5]

I guess I won’t waste my time reviewing this book 🤷🏽‍♀️

[Paris Chadwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was certainly interesting and extremely unique

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raunchy, uncompromising and quite graphic, this take on the Lilith myth is quite memorable although the characters aren't the most likeable.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of a couple who love each other but don't appear to be attracted to each other physically and have repressed that side of themselves until the wifey invites a mischievous woodland imp into their relationship for one night to satisfy her husband. As a result, the imp decides she is in love with said husband and begins to take over the relationship, ousting wifey from the scene. What ensues is a showdown with the wife as she tries to fight to reclaim her husband.
The premise was intriguing, then 30% of the book in I skipped large chunks of repetition with the hardening of this and erect nipple that. This is supposed to be erotic literature and what I found interesting was the writing in of Nature, rituals and fertility gods. 60% of the book in, I just found myself wanting to get to the end and skip ahead. I didn't and as a result felt that the book was okay, because of the different take on erotic literature that has an alpha male portrayed in a different way to the usual multi-millionaire protector kind.

[Angela Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I've been this disapointed in a novel. I had read and enjoyed The White Woman on the Green Bicycle some years ago and I cannot believe that this is the same author.

I can't fault the quality of the writing but there is no story, literally none. A strange erotic imp meets a couple in a bar, they go home together and the husband and imp spend the next couple of days having creative sex. I'm no prude so it's not the copious sex scenes which put me off this book (although the beetroot incident came close) it just seemed weird.

Had it been a human temptress, I could maybe have got on board with the story. I really don't understand why it had to be a supernatural being; like I said, weird. All the 'Janey-Wife' and 'Wifey-Poo' nonsense really grated on me and I cannot comprehend this is the same Roffey who entertained me with The White Woman...

Mercifully, this novel is short and Goodreads sent me a copy so I didn't waste my money.

[Ava · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this was gonna b a sexy weird love triangle thing with dreamy poetic imagery like nightwood or the cement garden. It's just soft porn, bad soft porn, disguised as literature lol. Annoying baby-woman language and baby-woman characters. Repetitive at every opportunity, at every opportunity it is repetitive. But good happy ending: evil whore character is ousted, good pious woman finds her whoredom but is like, classy about it lol. A heavy handed attempt at feminist porn....not good.

[Jossie Solheim · Rating 1 out of 5]

First things first, the cover of this book completely freaked me out, it was like some dodgy 70's porn video cassette cover and what was inside was no better, really couldn't get into this one and would not recommend to others.

[Faye · Rating 1 out of 5]

a weird attempt to make pornographic writing an art form (blurb was not consistently with the text!)

[Beyza Çalışkan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this would be a fun spin on the story of Lilith but it was just boring with boring characters and an uninteresting overuse of sexual descriptions

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to start this off by saying this is not normally a book that I would have picked up. But lately, I have been trying to push my comfit zone and not write things off before I've ever turned the first page. To say this book contains a whole lot of sex I think would be an understatement. But this author has managed to pull it off without descending into a cringe worth fan fic. It is through this that she explores the line between someones deep fantasy life and when those thoughts become reality. How do we match up those thoughts with actually going through with the act? Can they live up to what we hope and desire or in fact will they rip apart what we have and take for granted.



This book walks the line between reality and fantasy in more than one way as the story slips out of our own reality and into something beyond. It is at times hard to feel any sympathy for this couple after all they did invite someone else into there bed even if they didn't fully understand what this would lead to. Lilah on the other hand never lets the reader think anything else of her than what or who she is, she is the ultimate temptress. Knowing full well every twist of her hair and sly smile is given to seducing anyone who happens to come across her path. This is a book the will no doubt get you hot under the collar, but at the same time, there is a real darkness that runs underneath. The more you get to see these people interact the more you know that this is all going to end very badly. It is within this mix that the author finds her stride. I firmly believe she gave us exactly what she set out to do. A dark sexual psychological thriller that looks at our primal if not animal side, something most keep way down deep in a whole. What happens when we let it out and the destruction that follows in its wake?



This is a beautiful blending of genres that delivers a story that felt like it was over in a single breath. The book itself is not long and I would highly recommend setting aside a few hours to read it in one sitting. It left my mind racing as to what exactly I had just read and after a long while of consideration, I still don't think I'm any the wiser but it was an enjoyable ride. And after all what more could you ask for.

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of my first forays as a reader into the world of erotic fiction, and it’s one I’m unlikely to forget for a long, long time. ‘The Tryst’ revolves around a sexually unfulfilled couple, Jane and Bill, who one night invite a strange yet magnetic girl called Lilah back to their home on a whim. But as the drinks flow and passions stir, the couple come to realise that their guest wants something more than just a ‘casual encounter’...

Sex comes thick and fast in this novel: at times dreamlike and transcendent, at others outrageous, disturbing, even downright ridiculous. It has all the sleaze of a 70s sex shop, yet all the magick and mysticism of an Ovidian myth. It’s told from the three perspectives of this trio of lovers, a bit like Julian Barnes’s ‘Talking It Over’ only not as vanilla. As a result, we get scenes repeated from the different viewpoints, and occasionally this can be interesting. But when it’s merely another overwrought description of the sex scene we’ve just witnessed, I have to admit it gets a little tiresome.

Still, I have to say, this is an immensely original (and fucking weird) book, unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I devoured it like a dirty dog in 24 hours. As well as being gratuitous and bizarre, it’s breathless, consuming and highly addictive.

And I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat beetroot in the same way again.

[Libre Paley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A contemporary fable that is richly erotic and has something to say about modern relationships, Monique Roffey’s Tryst is a gripping read.
An incarnation of the wanton mythical Lilith, and a little reminiscent of Atwood’s Zenia in The Robber Bride, Lilah charms and schemes her ruthless way in, bent on seduction and destruction. The main couple, Bill and Jane, watch themselves enter - will their hidden selves to enter - into her honey trap.
The sex is lushly detailed at generous length. The prose is spare, particularly the voice of the buttoned-up Jane, until it comes to the carnal scenes. It is arousing, at times yes, though perhaps a little… Eldritch for my tastes. Not being a fantasy fiction fan, the faerie-folk type references became a little tiresome for me personally.
Still, between four and five stars, I am plumping for five. Because we need more of this: well written, intelligent, grown-up erotica that relate to real relationships.

[Gill Jackman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would have made a great graphic novel. Pointy teeth, elfin ears, wild sex. It does have some wonderful writing, particularly in the first third but it's also full of the technicalities of sex and I'm sorry, but I just don't think really great sex transcribes well onto paper. I haven't seen it done well. On film, yes. In graphic comics, yes. I think the problem is that this story is again (like the previous one) muddled in with Ms Roffey's personal journey. The Tryst also has a contrived fantasy ending. A wish-fulfillment ending and it repeats itself too much. She said it took 13 years to write so I get that she was working something out for her own psychological development. I'm very much hoping the wonderful writing wins out and am slowly working through her work towards the latest one about the mermaid. I hope it leaves her personal past behind

[Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a shorter book, the story was definitely well developed and captured you from the start. It's definitely a unique story with a mix of genres, fantasy, and erotica. It's not for the faint-hearted. It's definitely a book that you won't be able to put down. I had to read it in one sitting. I actually listened to the audiobook and really liked the narrators. The way the book was from the point of view of all 3 characters. I definitely recommend reading this book if you're over 18, of course. Many thanks to the author for creating a great story.

[Paul Bk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would say this isn't my usual read but then nothing about this tale of menagé is ordinary or usual. It's a beguiling and explicit story of a relationship invaded by a mysterious and dangerous third person. A cypher for feelings that the husband and wife cannot open up for themselves. After the mayhem what will be left. Make no mistake this is a literary novel not erotica despite the topic. Fascinating in a kind of watching a train wreck fashion. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Becky Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really excellent sinister magical realism in it. Heck of a lot of sex though. Shades of Under The Skin by Michael Faber. A well told story for sure, let down slightly by the fact that it was being told from 3 different points of view and yet they all used the same vernacular, despite the fact they came from very different places. Seems unlikely they'd all talk about Eros when thinking of lust or use the word frig...4 stars...just.

[miss c e rees · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book and a bit of a rarity in the erotic genre, I feel. The sex scenes are much more imaginative and less 'cringe-worthy' than is typical, and woven between them is a fairly rich story, a touch of magic, some deep and believable characters - and an interesting central message about the human experience of love and passion - and how each can often work to contradict the other.

[Nikki Marmery · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH, so when I found out Roffey had written a fable inspired by the mythic demoness Lilith, I was all over this. Propulsive and compelling - I read it in one sitting - funny, erotic and extremely unsettling, THE TRYST is a mediation on love in marriage and an exploration of the dark, animalistic passions that abide in us all.

[anahiddeninbooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

why did I shelved this book in my "want to read" list ?
-the perfect cis, heterosexual man's view of women ; disgusting
- how sex, lust and jealousy (between two women *obviously* for a shitty man) can turn one crazy
- how hatred is very close to love and obsession
no, I didn't like my experience reading it