I really enjoyed this. The story grabbed me from the beginning and never let me go. The magic was unexpected and magical and legendary, the characters were sympathetic (mostly) and likeable, even though Jani couldn't fully trust most of them.

Jani spent a lot of time being told to definitely not do things and to stay away from certain people and places for her own safety and then bumbling right into them (mostly) without even meaning to. It eventually began to be ridiculous and did bring me out of the story a bit. Like, no one is that clumsy and unlucky, no matter how desperate they are to find their sister.

The villain(s) were hidden quite effectively at first and once they were revealed kept becoming slowly more and more sinister as the story went on and Jani discovered more of the history of the Hotel Magnifique.

The love story was perfect, in my opinion. He had just enough of the bad boy aura while being a cinnamon role inside, and just enough not-sure-I-can-trust-you. There was just enough attraction to add tension to the story without overwhelming the plot. Things didn't go beyond kisses (and an uncooperative disappearing bed) which suits me perfectly.

I really love how the story progressed and how it was all wrapped up. I especially love all the people involved and the way Jani drew everyone to her (even if she annoyed them with her persistence.) It was a very satisfactory standalone that didn't feel overly short. Everything and everyone felt fleshed out and fully there.

I would recommend this to those who loved the Caraval series. It reminded me of that a lot in style and the overall magic-that-is-kid-of-sinister and love-interest-you-can't-quite-trust. It reminded me a little of the Night Circus as well, so fans of that might find a lot to love here, although the writing style is different.

The audiobook narrator was greast and really brought the story and characters to life. I would definitely recommend listening to it.

I would definitely add a trigger warning for memory loss/removal by another person because that was a very large plot point.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Pushkin Children's Books for providing an early copy for review.

Received an ARC via Netgalley


I was so excited to read this book, the description was what first caught my eye - a magical hotel that moves to different locations everyday !

However I was disappointed with book as for me, it failed to deliver on many aspects.

It had so much potential , but I feel the characters were lacking and just one dimensional and the plot wasn't as strong as it could be.

Caraval you say?
A secret hotel that can travel the world?
A dark truth?

I should have loved it but just could gel with this book. I just couldn't get my head around the plot and just lost enthusiasm for it.

Hotel magnifique is a magical hotel that travels all over the world and is now in town.
For Jani and her sister, a chance of a lifetime is imminent. They need to give their all to be a part of this magic and restrict world with an incredible young and intriguing maitre that seduces everyone in the crowd.
All town wishes to work at this hotel or be one of their lucky guests!
But ...all that are seduced into this wonder world seem to not know who they are anymore...isn't it strange that the hotel is always recruiting???
This is a book with a strong magical component, full of surprise and incredible descriptions.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for my review copy.

An interesting premise lacking substance. The mystical backdrop of a hotel that can travel over midnight is well founded in a grand world and through a magic system that is easy to understand. The romantic subplot held its ground and didn't sabotage the main plot —in fact impressing through the mysterious love interest and a dash of wits. Sisterhood and the fantastical, darker bits of illusions and conjuring were a delight. Sadly, the main character was a little too bland, often repetitive in her decisions, and unnecessarily mediocre.

Nothing about this book stood out to me. Nothing good, at least: I vividly remember the characters' only descriptions being that of their skin color (to tick off the "Would you say the cast of characters is diverse?" question on The StoryGraph), and how the main character had few personality traits of her own, being led solely by the desire to keep her sister safe. Granted, the plot picked up near the end, but for the most part it reminded me too much of other young adult fiction I've read. It brought nothing new to the table.

This scratched an itch that was left behind by caraval. The mystique of world building is really strong in this book and lends well to foreshadowing what is to come. The hotel aspect provides a cool setting as opposed to having to create this sprawling universe and makes it easy to follow

Perfect for fans of The Night Circus, an atmospheric and magic book that will keep you wandering in the Hotel Magnifique while you discover its secrets. I loved this book so much fun the world is amazing the story i love that has a mystery plot to it but only the atmosphere is enough to make me want more from the author since it was so magical and so different

An enchantingly dark and disturbing tale of the secrets of Hotel Magnifique. With strong vibes of Caraval and The Night Circus (two sister escaping to a new life), I often found myself a little “over” the almost samey feeling while reading.
I do wish the magic system had been explained better and wasn’t so vague with a very quick ending coming round before I felt the story really got into it.
However it was a good read. Perhaps more so for hose who haven’t already read similar books.

I have not read Night Circus or Caraval but this book’s blurb was interesting so I requested it immediately but it has taken me so long to give a review 😐
I enjoyed it, loved the world building and the magic system. Although the pace is slow at the beginning it gets better throughout.

This was an intriguing and unique read which kept me captivated from the start, I loved the premise and the plot line and would recommend

Actual rating 2.5/5 stars.

Sisters, Jani and Zosa, long to escape from their impoverished surroundings and venture to far-flung destinations. Hotel Magnifique may be able to make these dreams a reality, but only for those who are employed inside of it. Never could they become wealthy patrons, but they are determined to take on any role inside its walls and venture to all the destinations the hotel appears in. Their first wish is granted but the magic they anticipated also comes with a healthy dose of mischief.

I'm unsure why this novel did not work for me better when it had all the bones of being a whimsical, magical, and atmospheric read. It definitely achieved the former two, although the gothic eeriness I hoped to feel emanating from the pages, judging from the dark palette of the book cover and the spookiness hinted at in the synopsis, failed to appear. The mysteries were also abundant and littered ceaselessly throughout, meaning I remained engaged and intrigued through the entire course.

However, despite all this, I never felt a huge amount of investment and the stakes felt low, for some unknown reason. I can't explain what it is that caused this disconnect but it remained throughout, despite finding no obvious flaws with the structure or fault with the contents. I can imagine this being adapted into an animated film I would love to view but, unfortunately, this book isn't one I'd return to in the future.

Interesting characters set in the backdrop of Hotel Magnifique. A book that both my daughter and I enjoyed. A little escape from the norm.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to see an ARC

I've thought long and hard about how to explain myself on this one, but it all comes back to one thing: this book was simply trying way too hard to create a cool hotel, and that came at the expense of the story and character development. It's overwrought and oversaturated with whimsical details, which, instead of creating an atmospheric wonder-scape in which the story is set, constantly pulls the reader out of said world and actually detracts from the wonder it's trying to instill.

I felt like the main character and others were written for the sole purpose of being directed from one place in the hotel to another, just so that the reader could be shown exactly what the author's imagination has to offer. What that translates to here is character actions that have little to no plot-based reasoning, which is just weird. It's basically having a character take a bath just because you've thought up a really cool bathroom. Nothing else gained from the scene - no meaningful dialogue, no inner contemplation - just the setting, and then having the character rush off to another cool place for no apparent reason. Basically a realtor moving through a space simply to show off the fancy features.

I was totally ready for this to blow my socks off, but I don't think chucking your imagination at every inch of a page necessarily constitutes a well-crafted story.

Hotel Magnifique appealed to me the moment I saw the cover and read the blurb.
For fans of Caraval? Sign me up!
Sadly, the book didn’t live up to the hype I’d placed on it.

What I loved: the setting, the magic, the idea of a world where we could wake up in a new destination daily - for a price.

What I didn’t love: Jani

For me, the main character ruined the reading experience, which is never a good thing when that was who you were meant to be rooting for. She was stubborn and constantly made questionable decisions. I understand that an author needs to create conflict, and drive the plot along, but there should be a limit to how many wrong decisions a character can make in each chapter.
All I learned about her really was that she loved her sister - something we were told often, but never really shown. So many books of a similar nature are about saving a loved one, but at least they were better executed.

The romance for me was decent enough, and I really loved Bel from the moment he was introduced, but because I didn’t like Jani, it fell flat still.

Overall, this book was a middle of the road read for me. I won’t be shouting about it from the rooftops, but I still would suggest giving it a go if you love all things magical.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy.

This book is perfect for fans of the carnival, dark and sinister.... what's not to love! I know they say not to judge a book by its cover but wow, the artwork is beautiful and what drew me in to the book in the first place! All the characters are likeable and I was able to fall in love with the villains at the same time. The idea for this book is fantastic and so unique I've never read something like this before and I was not disappointed in the slightest, get your hands on this book!!!

i was really excited to read this book, but it archieved and now i cant download it im now planning on buying the book.

When Jani and her sister land a job in an exclusive and secretive world-famous hotel known for its magical ability to travel the world, she thinks she's hit the jackpot.
After all, who doesn't want a good paying job which promises all sorts of globe-trotting adventures.
But when her tenure at the hotel begins, wonder quickly turns to horror as she realises that all is not as rose coloured as it seems, and - for its staff - a darker truth lies beyond the glitz and glam put on for its guests.
Taylor deliver a solid if somewhat familiar young adult adventure here that is perfect for fans of Caraval and The Night Circus.
For me, the hotel and its inhabitants had shades of the Nevermoor series, but never seems to hit the same heights as that series.
It's a book that straddles itself between adventure fantasy and horror genres but ends up never really committing to either camp in a way that allows it to stand out from the crowd.
The mystery of a darker truth is well teased out early, but the story loses momentum around half-way through when many of the major twists are revealed. Pacing issues aside, there is still a lot of fun to be had even if many of these twists will be very familiar for those who read in the genre.
As it stands Hotel Magnifique is a solid but perhaps too-familiar entry into a crowded genre.
Still, I'm keen to see what Taylor delivers next.

I was drawn to this book because of the cover initially but the story was fantastic. I loved the beauty and magic of the hotel with the sinister backdrop.

I loved all of the characters as even the not so nice ones were written brilliantly. I would definitely recommend this book and will pick up more from this author in the future.

I was not a fan of this one by any means, but I think if yoy are a fan of Caraval then you would like this one a lot! I didn't really care for Caraval so it makes sense that I disliked this.

I'm being a bit harsh with my 1 Star as I was somewhat invested at the beginning for the first 20%, and it did read very quickly so I thought I would fly through it. However this did end up taking me 5 days because I hated it from that point onwards and had to stop myself from DNFing every 5%.

I don't know what it is exactly that made me hate the book so much, I simply found the main character to be an incessant whiner and someone who couldn't seem to make a decision by herself for the life of her or anyone else for that matter.

I didn't care for the love interest, or the plot, and I'm not really sure what the whole point of the bad guy and his motives were.

Overall a very disappointing let down and I think I need to stop ever reading books about circuses or magicians in general because I am never not let down by them!