The Tryst by L. Marie Wood
Mocha Memoir Press (February 14, 2026)
Reviewed by Elizabeth Broadbent
L. Marie Wood’s new novel, The Tryst is the first book in her five-installment Red Thread Saga, and it’s not horror, but slipstream. For those unfamiliar (and I counted myself among them), slipstream is a catch-all term for works that blend elements of different genres to create something new. When I asked Wood about it, she told me that The Tryst blends elements of “romance, horror, sci-fi, action, mystery, thriller, and suspense.” The blend creates a novel that defies expectations — it’s romance, but with a sci-fi bent; it’s horror, but with thriller and mystery thrown in. But slipstream also uses elements of those genres to defy and remix their typical conventions.
If you’re craving romance with a horror and sci-fi bent, one without the canned plot and easy-peasy HEA — if you want realistic characters, great prose, and elements you never expected — you needed this book yesterday.
The novel begins at a funeral. A woman and a man visit the wake of a Mark Lewis. They clearly both loved him — illicitly, without the knowledge of his wife and children. They speak to no one; they know his wife is wondering who they are, why they’ve come. Then the novel cuts to Ryan, who’s engineered this incident as part of a project for the Galactic Collective. Whomever they are, they’re living in a simulation he’s created.
Then Wood jumps back in virtual time.
Nicole is traveling for an out-of-town conference. Sent to buy more pens, she takes a moment to stop in a coffee shop. There, she’s immediately and hopelessly entranced with a man named Mark. As they sit together, they can’t help but gape at a man named Eric. The moment feels important, somehow fated. The three strangers are helplessly drawn to one another. Their attraction to one another is almost helpless; they feel like they’ve known one another for years.
Nicole and Mark are married, with children. They don’t intend for this to happen. In fact, they don’t want it to happen. Neither has a desire to cheat on their spouses. But all three can’t help falling for one another. As their stolen weekend progresses, they find more and more in common; their bond grows into the unimagined and unimaginable. They can’t let one another go.
Romance readers will note the use of both the fated meeting and instalove tropes. Mainstream romance makes them unrealistic and often trite — that kind of heady love is for teenage dreams, and when it pops up in romance, it feels inauthentic and try-hard. Not here. Wood intentionally both uses and subverts romantic tropes in a horror/scifi framework.
The love these people share feels real; moreover, so do their reactions. Nicole doesn’t want to throw away her husband and children for a relationship she never expected. Neither she nor Mark can afford to recreate their entire lives, no matter what bond they share with these two strangers. That grappling adds a deep dimension of character and realism. So do the characters’ reactions to their attraction — Eric has always considered himself gay, and he’s never been with a woman; Mark has always considered himself straight, and he’s never been with a man. Their reactions to this attraction rings true, and so do their partners’ worries about it.
Wood is subverting romance tropes, so the novel doesn’t cut to blowing curtains. The sex is well-done, integral to the plot, and used for character development. It doesn’t go overboard, either. Well-done sex scenes are hard to write, and Wood deserves real applause for walking that delicate balance between too much and not enough.
The plot moves fast, and the prose shines. You’ll finish The Tryst wanting more, like Wood planned, and The Red Thread Saga has four more books. I look forward to seeing how the speculative nature of the series develops; we have the framework, and The Tryst leaves us wanting more.
If you want romance with a horror and sci-fi, thriller and action — in other words, if you want literary romance — this is the book you’ve been looking for. It hits the sweet spot. Wood never disappoints, and The Tryst is one stellar entry in her catalogue. Mocha Memoirs values work that does something different, and this is a perfect addition to their roster. The series is releasing fast, with a slated end this year, so no worries about waiting forever for the next one. Pick this one up now.
