When I read the synopsis of The Hotel, I felt this was the type of thriller I would enjoy. The plot was well-developed, with twists and unexpected reveals. The location was Ravencliff, an old abandoned hotel on steep cliffs overlooking the Welsh coast. The hotel was never opened as money ran out, and a rail line that would carry prospective tourists to this desolate part of the country was never built. There were several deaths, and ghosts were said to haunt the dark halls of the deserted building.
Ravencliff was described as creepy and eerie, but I wasn't feeling the tension.

Ten years ago, four 18-year-old friends, Bex, Richard, Oscar, and Leo, visited the abandoned property to make an amateur film. There was a lot of tension in the group, caused mainly by Bex. Frightening events occurred while in Ravencliff. A candle was burning in a deserted room, objects disappeared and appeared again, a door was mysteriously locked from the outside, and an apparition appeared lurking in the shadows outside. Oscar was afraid of heights and remained in the boat. The situation worsened. There was a terrible accident, and then Leo vanished, never to be seen again.

The film created a cult sensation, and a devoted fan base developed. These fans met each year to discuss the mystery of Leo vanishing and the haunted hotel. Their attention was focused on the three remaining young people, and they were curious about their fears and emotions after the loss of Leo.

Bex spent the next ten years as a recluse trying to forget what might have happened to her friend Leo. Richard married and had a child but became a heavy drinker and accumulated a large debt. Oscar enjoyed the new attention and fame and became publicity hungry.

The story was very slow and tedious until a frantic conclusion and solution. I didn't care for the writing style. I felt the story was overwritten and melodramatic. Some too many odd comparisons and analogies detracted from the story's flow and suspense. I tried to engage with the characters but ultimately failed to care for them or what happened to them. The narration abruptly goes back and forth between two time periods but leaves a lot of questions about what happened earlier until its conclusion.

There is to be a 10th anniversary for Ravencliff fans held at the old crumbling hotel, and a professional film will be shot. The producers are anxious to have the three survivors involved in their movie. Oscar and Richard have been informed that Bex will not return. She changes her mind after receiving a mysterious package indicating that some unknown person knows Leo's fate. She knows she must attend the reunion to search for answers. Once there, she changes from introverted with nervous mannerisms to bold and reckless. Bex has never made friends easily, rudely confronting people and living solitary for years. She is now becoming friends with an excitable, young, adoring Goth fan who is thrilled to help her discover what happened to Leo.

Bex now shows she can be very brave in a death-defying situation. Unfortunately, the reunion and photo shoot ends in disaster with another death and destruction. In the aftermath, Bex appears more stable on her return home, and the mystery of Leo's disappearance has been solved.

I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the early digital copy in return for an honest review. I feel this is a book that many admire and are enjoying, so prospective readers should not be deterred by my personal misgivings. The publication date is set for June 22.

Sorry I really tried to finish this book but it was so dragged out and boring I couldn’t finish it. Unlikeable characters and to much filling with unnecessary content. #TheHotel #NetGalley.

Bit of a slow start and too many unnecessary or irrelevant details. A book I felt I should have enjoyed but wasn't enough to hold my interest.

The idea seemed good, but wasn't enough to really keep me interested as the plot took ages to really move on. Ten years ago Bex and her 3 friends went to the derelict Ravencliffe Hotel to shoot a horror film, but one disappears, Now they go back and try to seek some answers.

A big thanks to HQ, HQ Digital and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review. Might be better as a movie though if the pace is upped somewhat.

At the age of 18, Bex, Richard, Oscar and Leo decide to film the local abandoned hotel called Ravencliffe, to see if there are ghosts and strange goings on. Leo doesn’t return with the other three, he disappears.

Ten years on and Bex has lived a life of isolation ever since that fateful night. Richard is an alcoholic and Oscar is all about the fame.

When Bex realises that someone knows more about Leo’s disappearance, she decides to join the other two and a film crew to recreate that awful night.

This is an intriguing tale, which at times, I found to be creepy and dark.

Interesting characters, some more annoying than others! Just how haunted is Ravencliffe?

My thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

The premise drew me in yet it was a slow burn throughout. If you like slowly escalating thrilling books, this is for you!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I had not read any books by the author before but will certainly look out for more of her books now. The story keeps you gripped to it and the book is so hard to put down, only feeling very hungry made me stop reading.

Another outstanding novel by Louise Mumford.

Four friends went to a derelict hotel, only three left. Such a clever, unique storyline, it had me hooked the whole way through. Bex, Richard and Oscar, and the lovable Leo. Ten years on, the three survivors return to unravel the mystery of the missing Leo.

Really clever, full of twists, a great page turner. The perfect thriller.

My thanks to NetGalley and HQ for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy in return for an honest review.

I didn't particularly like this. I found it very slow and hard work.
Sorry, not for me.
Thanks to Netgalley and HQ for the ARC in return for an honest review.

This is the first book I have read by this author, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I got was an eerie and incredibly atmospheric read (I could picture the hotel and its setting perfectly!), a host of well-defined characters and a good smattering of red herrings. I really liked the switch between past and present – for me, it kept the tension high and the pace flowing nicely. All in all, this is a well written, interesting - and creepy thriller.

The Hotel by Louise Mumford was a great read. The gothic atmosphere sucked me into the story. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, especially the hotel. The dual timeline adds tension to the journey. While a bit slow in places, the wrap up is nice.

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my honest review. *****

Dual timeline (which works well) mystery, with three old friends trying to recreate how a fourth friend died so many years ago at this abandoned, unused, cliffside Welsh hotel they all visited in what can only be described as a mad venture.

The plot is good and I enjoyed the descriptive writing, but that is all I'm afraid.

The characters needed some more back story, especially Bex, and as for a reality type film of their whole visit this was a little unbelievable for me.

Thanks to Net Galley and HQ Digital for he chance to read and review. Possible 3.5 stars but the quality of the writing leads me to four.

Loved the concept, but unfortunately not for me.
Very slow paced, I did not feel anything at all for the characters not even dislike.
A creepy setting, story was finished up well with no loose ends but it was hard graft to finish.
This is my own personal opinion.

10 years ago, between leaving 6th form and going to university, four friends, Bex, Oscar, Richard and Leo, sailed over to the forbidding and creepy Ravencliffe Hotel. It’s described as ‘a bad luck place’ as a carpenter fell to his death while the hotel was being built which only added to its reputation. The hotel’s builder, Reginald Morwood had gambled on a train line being built nearby which would bring his clientele to the hotel. However, his plans went wrong and, mired in debt, he shot himself in his study in the hotel. He is rumoured to have become a ghost in his half finished creation.
The four friends want to make a horror film in the hotel and have a handheld video camera with them. Richard breaks in through a ballroom window and they begin to explore the overgrown gardens and maze as well as the hotel itself which is falling apart. But Bex is uneasy. She glimpses a dark figure watching them before vanishing. And then there were three as Leo vanishes and is never seen again.
10 years later, Bex is sitting in her half finished house rewatching the film from that night in which Leo abruptly disappears. No trace of him was ever found and the dark legend of Ravencliffe has grown and grown. There’s quite a cult about it with a thriving Ravencon but Bex shuns the attention and attends them in disguise. Oscar has made a career out of appearing at them while Richard is a recovering alcoholic. Their lives were changed forever by their experiences at Ravencliffe.
Then a box is delivered to Bex at her home. Inside is one of Leo’s possessions and it throws her into turmoil. Is it a message from Leo at long last saying that he’s still alive or from a stranger who knows more?
But a film company, Echelon Pictures, bought the hotel after their ill fated exploration and want to film the three of them there as it’s the 10th anniversary. A TV chat show host, Jasper St Clare, is also taking part who they’ve met before. Ravencliffe affected all of their lives and in some ways they’ve never been able to move on from it. Leo’s father keeps his bedroom untouched as a shrine and Bex remembers the lit candle in an empty room in an abandoned building, the creepy statues in the overgrown maze and the door with bolts on the outside to keep someone in. They think they know all the hotel’s history but there were surprises to come.
So, the three of them meet again at the place which changed their lives with Bex determined to finally solve the mystery of Leo’s disappearance. But someone or something doesn’t want them there and accidents begin to happen. And Bex begins to wonder if they were ever really friends at all and if, this time, one of the three may not make it out alive.
As an ex urban explorer and lover of mazes, I was more than intrigued by this book. I could see definite influences: The Blair Witch Project, The Shining and Edgar Allan Poe with the reference to two carved ravens and the name of the hotel. It’s a dual narrative which switches between the present day and 10 years earlier. The author built up their terror at breaking into the hotel and getting more than they bargained for as the building begins to give up its secrets. I also liked the way in which the cult of Ravencliffe was explored as I know how these places can exert a powerful fascination on people. The three have a notoriety which wasn’t of their choosing and are reluctant celebrities except from Oscar. I also enjoyed the scenes within the maze.
But the pace did feel slow during the first part of the book and it suffered by being similar to other books in this genre. There’s been quite a few of them in the last couple of years with similar titles and covers; The Sanatorium, The Retreat and The Institution amongst others and all with very comparable covers that feature a forbidding looking building and The Hotel may get lost in them.
The climax fell a little flat but there was a really good atmosphere and the unfolding of the hotel’s story was well done. I am giving it 4 stars because of the atmosphere.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

DNF @ 53%

Honestly, I started this a month ago but didn't feel interested enough to finish it. What I did read was quite slow and I didn't really like nor care about the characters.

Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Four eighteen year old friends decide to head to an abandoned, unused, hotel with a chequered history.
Leo, Bex, Oscar and Rich. Only three return home.
This is an unfolding mystery, one that captured my interest. I found myself guessing and re guessing the plot.
I did actually work it out myself before the end, but that did not spoil the end for me by any means. I thought the ending worked.
Very descriptive writing, I could imagine the setting and hotel perfectly.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

This is my second read by author Louise Mumford and I thoroughly enjoyed The Hotel.

We meet main character Bex, basically living as a recluse, we learn why Bex is like this and the story is opened up. 10 Years ago Bex and friends Leo, boyfriend Richard and Oscar all went to an abandoned hotel Ravencliffe to film their adventure and learn about the owners suicide, and only three of them returned.

Leo died the night when they went exploring and his body was never found. When we meet Bex she is going to a RavenCon - a convention as their video from many years ago has been watched by millions and hundreds of super fans.

A film company is now making a reunion of sorts at the hotel and Bex decides to go along and try and figure out what happened to Leo.

When they arrive, along with the film crew etc, some strange things start to happen and Bex feels that the hotel is up to its evil old tricks and that there is something supernatural at play.

This book kept me up for hours as I really wanted to find out myself what had happened to Leo. Full of thrills and excellent backdrop it really feels like you are on set with these people. This would make for a really good movie. I loved it. The Hotel is eerie and the way Louise Mumford writes is excellent.

Thanks to NetGalley, Louise Mumford and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel.

What a fun page turner!
Haunted hotel on a cliff edge, cult film, fan conventions, hidden secrets, oh and the occasional murder. I did guess a couple of the twists but enjoyed racing through and losing myself in the company of Bex and "friends" for a few hours.
Thank you to netgalley and HQ for an advance copy of this book

DNF @26%
I was bored the entire time and I didn't like or care about the characters. It didn't feel like there was any build up or suspense so I didn't care about the plot.

A fascinating concept with a setting to die for, The Hotel was a spooky and delightful read.

In the end, I did feel the book dragged a bit in the middle. While I wasn’t surprised at what happened to Leo, that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book. The setting was very cool and added to suspense, and I liked Bex as a main character.

Thank you to the publisher and to NwtGalley for this book in exchange for an honest review.

Four go to the hotel but only three come back. Ten years ago four 18 year olds set out to film their tour of abandoned Ravencliffe Hotel, Blair Witch style. While there they realize that this cursed hotel is more than they expected.
I really wanted to love this but it was very slow paced and often I feel like the writing got sidetracked from the story., such a good story idea though.