Thursday, March 2, 2023

Hotel Magnifique by Emily J Taylor - OPTIONAL

Hotel Magnifique
by Emily J Taylor,
391 pages. Razorbill. 2022. $16 

Language: PG13 (49 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: PG13 (One kissing scene) Violence: PG-13 (Torture, murder) 

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL - AVERAGE 

Since the death of their mother and 17yo Jani's promise to take care of her younger sister 13yo Zosa, the girls have scraped by living in the slums of Durc. So when the Hotel Magnifique, a magical hotel where guests enter and return two weeks later just to forget their time of magic and mystique, appears with a flyer for employment, Jani sees it as a way out of their dismal lives. Shortly into her employment, however, she will begin to question the benevolence of the nature of the hotel and its maitre. Aside from herself, maybe the only person she can trust is the handsome and mysterious Bel. 

The book was a whirlwind. It wanted to have the same enchanting qualities as Caraval or The Night Circus but completely missed. Aside from intriguing world-building, I found little else to compliment this novel on. The characters were flat and made rash decisions that ended up creating more problems for themselves. Overall, it was fine, but it is not one I plan on ever rereading, and it would definitely not be on my go-to recommendation list. There are mixed ethnicities and sexualities. 

Sierra Finlinson 

No comments: