Book Review: Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor

 Hi everyone! 

I'm so happy I finally read something from my fall TBR list! Most of the books I read lately were not even on my radar/tbr-soon until I picked them up. 😂

Goodreads / Amazon 

3.5 stars

About the book:

For fans of Caraval and The Night Circus, this decadent and darkly enchanting YA fantasy, set against the backdrop of a Belle Époque-inspired hotel, follows seventeen-year-old Jani as she uncovers the deeply disturbing secrets of the legendary Hotel Magnifique. 

All her life, Jani has dreamed of Elsewhere. Just barely scraping by with her job at a tannery, she’s resigned to a dreary life in the port town of Durc, caring for her younger sister Zosa. That is, until the Hotel Magnifique comes to town.

The hotel is legendary not only for its whimsical enchantments, but also for its ability to travel—appearing in a different destination every morning. While Jani and Zosa can’t afford the exorbitant costs of a guest’s stay, they can interview to join the staff, and are soon whisked away on the greatest adventure of their lives. But once inside, Jani quickly discovers their contracts are unbreakable and that beneath the marvelous glamour, the hotel is hiding dangerous secrets.

With the vexingly handsome doorman Bel as her only ally, Jani embarks on a mission to unravel the mystery of the magic at the heart of the hotel and free Zosa—and the other staff—from the cruelty of the ruthless maître d’hôtel. To succeed, she’ll have to risk everything she loves, but failure would mean a fate far worse than never returning home.

Now, about this book - while it was a quick, easy read and had that whimsical, enchanting feeling, I wish I loved it more. :(

Overall, it is a great Fantasy YA book and the world building definitely stands out. Once you get past the Caraval comparisons, it's actually interesting and magical.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦: 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘉𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦!

But. I struggled with the characters, I couldn't quite relate to them. While Bel was book boyfriend material and had all this mysterious, caring, soulful feel about him, the heroine was a bit rash and too immature for my liking. She kept running headlong into situations without thinking of the consequences, which led to dangerous, hurtful and predictable situations. The way she was kept in the dark didn't help and made her almost understandable, but it was still irritating to see. 

The writing was easy and engaging and I loved the Hotel, its magic and all the places they visited, also the scary and mysterious parts were a nice touch for the plot. 

So if you like that magical vibe similar to Caraval and Beauty and the Beast, where the Hotel, characters and random objects seem to have a life and a story of their own, give this a try. Just don't have high expectations regarding the characters and their story, it could have been done better. 

Xoxo

~ Deea