by Emily J. Taylor
A magical, travelling hotel and two sisters who both yearn for more seem like a winning combination. But the Hotel Magnifique holds more than fanciful wonders and an adventure to Elsewhere, beneath the surface lurks dangerous and mysterious magic. What will happen to the sisters after signing their contracts? Let’s find out.
Read if you like: YA fantasy, dark fantasy, fantasy romance, slow burn, interesting magic systems, enchanted buildings, magical mysteries, ‘dark whimsy,’ mysterious love interests, and a leading lady who would do whatever it takes to save her family.
Jani has tried to make a good life for her and Zosa, her sister, after their mother died. No matter how hard she works, they are stuck in a small town with a small life. But when Hotel Magnifique returns to the village Jani is hopeful that the sisters can get job contracts and begin a life full of wonder and adventure. Jani finds that getting in, even with the help of the Bel the doorman, is difficult. And that’s nothing compared to how hard it will be to leave. She quickly realizes that all the magic feels less like an enchantment and more like a curse.
A 3.5 star read. Bumped up because it was fun. Really.
Hotel Magnifique has all the makings of a great YA fantasy. It has magic, mystery, love, and nothing can be trusted or taken at face value. But it just didn’t quite take off the way I had hoped. The setting is a fun mix of popular YA fantasies but it just seems like you never feel like you are on solid ground. The main characters are dynamic, I could have used more from Bel, but there was literally always so much happening and he’s a busy guy. There are a lot of fun side characters, but several go by both names and performer titles and it was confusing more times than not. Then end though… was so good. I did not see that twist. And I wanted to love the whole book, I tried so hard. I want to gush, but I can’t.
Certain things with the writing just bugged me. There’s a lot of French that isn’t referred to as French… is that supposed to make up for the word for word translations that don’t actually happen in French? Also, breaks in the stylistic dialogue and split phrases and verb agreements where I had to figure out what and who were being referred to and grouped together. People show up and start talking without being announced. Jani knows who they are but I don’t so I had to skim a bit to catch up so I could go back. And one phrase almost killed me (I was exhausted from life already), but the morning after meeting Bel she’s looking for him and says to herself “knowing him…” I’m not sure why it was this line, but I was like… um, no you don’t. Girl, you don’t know anything about this boy or place or anything… AH!
I took a break from it and when I came back to it, I enjoyed the book. But what this book needed more than anything was a better editor. Being that I’ve never written or published a book maybe I have expectations that are too high, but when you get a debut author with a great story… help a lady out. Help the readers out! This book could have been amazing. The magic was there it just needed a stronger focus.
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