DNF

I couldn't take to this book. I just felt I'd seen it all before, and done better. So, I checked out early.

The premise of people charged with future crimes is basically the same as Minority Report. So what does The Dream Hotel bring to the party in addition?

Well, not much. To me it felt like the book was more focused on themes than on story. Yes, racist profiling is bad, yes, big tech is scary... and if I'd kept reading to the end I'm sure there would have been lots of other worthy takes.

But I simply wasn't interested in the story or characters - it all felt a bit dull.

As I read, I was reminded of The Future by Naomi Alderman which had similar themes, but which wrapped those themes into an interesting, intriguing and exciting story. The Dream Hotel does none of that - instead it settles for attempting to be thought-provoking, but fails there too because most of us have long since been provoked into thought by the menacing powers of tech. And that provocation came from the huge amount of other books and movies that have already covered this ground.

I'm sure critics will see The Dream Hotel as "a timely warning" or something, but for me it felt like a retelling of a tale that's already pretty tired.

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami is a compelling exploration of surveillance, technology, and human resilience, set in a near future where even dreams are under scrutiny.

Sara Hussein, a scientist returning home to LAX, is suddenly detained by agents from the Risk Assessment Administration, who inform her that she will soon commit a crime. Using an algorithm that monitors her dreams, the RAA has determined she poses an imminent threat to her husband. For his safety, she is to be held under observation for twenty-one days.

Transferred to a retention centre, Sara is joined by other women whose dreams have flagged them as threats, each struggling to prove their innocence. As Sara faces months of uncertainty and harsh rules, a new arrival disrupts the order of the facility, setting her on a collision course with the powerful corporations that control her fate.

Lalami creates a disturbingly believable world where technology turns personal thoughts into evidence of criminal intent. This novel is a sharp critique of systemic injustice, focusing on how surveillance disproportionately impacts marginalized communities. Sara’s fight to maintain her identity amidst the dehumanising system is a timely reflection on privacy, racial profiling, and the dangers of algorithmic judgment.

Lalami’s writing is evocative, capturing the psychological tension of detention while exploring broader societal issues. Though the middle sections slow down, this pacing effectively mirrors the oppressive nature of the system. The novel builds tension gradually, forcing readers to reflect on the human cost of surveillance and the erosion of personal autonomy in an algorithm-driven world.

The Dream Hotel is more than a dystopian thriller; it’s a thought-provoking meditation on the boundaries between personal freedom and technological control. Lalami challenges readers to consider the price of a world where privacy is a commodity, creating a narrative that is intellectually engaging and emotionally resonant.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

A gripping dystopian novel which doesn't feel too far from the reality of the modern world.

The premise is truly unique yet believable and I could imagine it happening in the future - which made it all the more scary!

The world building and the accomplished prose made the reading experience an immersive journey and Sara was a wonderful protagonist. Brave, intelligent and vulnerable.

Such a fascinating read - with slight tones of The Handmaids Tale - I never wanted it to end.

'The Dream Hotel' is a superb dystopian novel exploring capitalism, the surveillance state and the prison-industrial complex.

Sara Hussein is 'retained' at Los Angeles Airport after her return from London because her 'risk' score (which determines the likelihood of her committing future crimes) has become too high. This is partly owing to the content of her dreams which the government can now monitor after she had a Dreamsaver sleep aid implanted. She is initially held for 21 days in a retention centre while her score is monitored, but like most retainees, she finds that her stay keeps being extended due to minor infractions.

This is a gripping novel which combines Sara's story with other documents which help to flesh out the world in which this novel is set. Like the best dystopia, it feels eerily plausible in the way that it is described, extrapolating from current anxieties in our society - the way that certain demographics are policed more aggressively than others, the ease with which prisoners can be exploited for profit, our increasing willingness to be governed by algorithm. Sara's sense of injustice and powerlessness is palpable throughout this novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review.

Absolutely love this book. Took me a while to get into it but when I did I was gripped and couldn’t stop reading till I got to the end. Hope it wins the award it has been longlisted for.

4.5

I thought this was such an interesting and unique subject just by reading the synopsis and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. It fed into fears of increasing surveillance and AI, the dangers of not reading T&C's in full and the risks of companies having a data breach. It shows what can happen if technology goes too far (IMO). Imagine your own subconscious mind having you labelled as a future criminal? Imagine having a risk score for committing crime and even the littlest thing can increase it? Such as a dream, a conversation or being related to a criminal. This book was so well written that I actually had a dream I was being carted off to Madison as my risk score shot up. I loved the character of Sara and I found the interactions between the women detained so fascinating. I saw a review talk about this being our generations 1984 and I wholeheartedly agree.
A great read and I can see why it's been longlisted for Women's Prize for Fiction 2025.

This book is terrifyingly unnerving as it gives a glimpse into a possible future for humanity. I couldn’t put it down!

I'm sorry but try as I may I can't get into this book at all. Disappointing as I really liked the cover description.

Thanks Netgalley for letting me have a read but not for me.

The Dream Hotel is a literary sci-fi novel covering the real horror behind technology. It feels very Black Mirror meets Orange is the New Black

Although not a new concept of AI/tech being the villain of the story as we all blinding follow, I found this a really compelling read.

The novel touches on a lot of different topics varying from AI, race, identity, freedom, and I thought they all worked well within the story

I really liked the way the narrative flowed as we got a mix of time periods, it didn’t feel like you were being dragged from past to present.

I would say the ending was my least favourite part as the set up did feel like something bigger was to come but overall I massively enjoyed this

This was an interesting read, though the ending felt somewhat rushed and unresolved.

The idea that the American government would respond to a mass shooting of historic proportions by increasing surveillance and implementing "crime predictions" before considering gun control is incredibly real and chilling. This future seems all too plausible, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about this setting and the implications of the DreamSaver technology.

I enjoyed the characters, especially Sara and Emily. I would have liked to have seen what happened to Emily, but Sara wouldn't be likely to have found this out, so it did make sense that the reader didn't either.

I felt that the inclusion of Julie/Eisley was a very intriguing idea but ultimately didn't seem to go anywhere; they decided she was testing something on them, yet this character seemed a little inconsequential.

I was happy for Sara finally getting out, though it seemed strange that she and Toya were suddenly released: while I assumed this was so the officers could put a swift end to the strike, its suddenness rang a bit hollow to me.

Still, overall I enjoyed this book, and felt it to be depressingly real.

A line that particularly resonated with me was: "To be a woman was to watch yourself not just through your own eyes, but the eyes of others."

I loved the characters in this book, it showed elements that could worryingly become our future and this made it more immersive.

In a world where life has become inextricably enmeshed with AI and algorithms and where the mere risk of an individual committing a crime can lead to their detainment, Sara finds herself arrested at the airport after returning from a work conference, as the data recorded from a dream suggests she poses a threat to her husband; from there, she is sent to a retention centre for the mandatory twenty-one day holding period, supposedly to lower her ‘risk score’. However, as is the case with so many of the other women being held at the facility, those twenty-one days are only the beginning. With her every action being interpreted to fit a preconceived narrative and with her risk score reflecting less her behaviour than the whims of the unsympathetic attendants, release feels increasingly impossible. Only when a new resident arrives does Sara start to question the companies and systems who are denying her freedom and see that compliance with their rules may not be her way out.

Firstly, I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Bloomsbury Circus, for providing me with an ARC. ‘The Dream Hotel’ was a joy to read—easily one of my favourite books of the last couple of years. I will be buying myself a copy, as well as extras to give as gifts, and I’m sure I will be returning to it again and again. This is a book that deserves to be reread, with one’s enjoyment and appreciation of it only deepening each time.

There are so many things to love about ‘The Dream Hotel’: the writing is fantastic; the world-building is intricate and immersive, giving the feel that the author has thought deeply about all aspects of the world, creating something vast, of which we only see necessary glimpses; the main character, Sara, is relatable (I especially appreciated her perspective on being a woman, an immigrant and a mother); the issues discussed are relevant to society today, from the possible implications of increased surveillance, to cancel culture in a world where one’s entire history is just a few clicks away, to the threat posed not so much by the technology we have available to use but by the people who wield it; the pacing is perfect, with the story hooking you from the first page and then being delivered like a drip feed that keeps you going right up to the very end. I’m also a sucker for the use of multimedia in a text.

Overall, this is a book that will appeal to readers who like their fiction on the more literary side—though, it is relevant to everyone in current times, and the issues it deals with are certainly worth contemplating. I thoroughly recommend it!

(My review will be posted on Instagram, Amazon UK, GoodReads and The StoryGraph.)

The Dream Hotel is a novel set within a dystopian future which is eerily similar to our own reality, lingering just outside of our reach in its plausibility. The idea that the government would use AI to analyse our lives as seen through the lenses of our internet history; CCTV appearances; financial records etc is something that does not seem unlikely at all - so when we add the surveillance of our brains through the recording of our dreams, we question even further: where is the line?

We follow a new mum of twins who has been detained in a centre for people who have been deemed unsafe in society due to their actions and dreams suggesting to the algorithm that they are on the pathway to becoming a criminal. The women in this “dream hotel” have had their lives and dreams analysed and have “scores” over the alleged safe level. A Handmaid’s Tale-esque sense of camaraderie, frustration, and quiet rage amongst the detainees made me really feel for the characters.

In this modern world, what does privacy mean, and who does or does not deserve it?

3⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury for an e-arc of The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami. Out 4th March 2025!

We're following Sara who upon returning from a work trip, is pulled over by RAA (Risk Assessment Administration) and accused of soon to be committing a crime. In this dystopian, the RAA has developed a "holistic" algorithm that can predict individuals who are likely to commit a crime and if flagged, are taken to a retention centre for monitoring.. this is supposed to be a 3 week assessment period but the majority stay for longer. Part of the data taken into consideration is dream data which the RAA can access via a wellness company which offers brain implants to customers to promote better and efficient sleep. Essentially Sara has been flagged mainly for her dreams and the story kicks off from there.

Overall, I found the premise of the story super intriguing, especially the exploration of questionable AI within the justice system. The story was told from differing perspectives and I enjoyed the use of multi-media such as including meeting notes, emails and transcripts. However, I did find the story slow in places and whilst I can accept a loose story ending- the conclusion felt very rushed.

3 stars- a solid dystopian read that has an interesting premise!

Sara has recently landed at the airport when she gets pulled aside by the Risk Assessment Administration. They say that she needs to be detained at a retention centre as her dreams say she is at risk of killing her husband. She ends up there with other women with no signs of release until a new resident arrives.

I loved the concept of this one. It sounded like it would be a really intriguing read and ended up being scarily imaginable. This was a well written story which makes you think, however I found that the story dragged a lot. The pacing was very slow which meant I couldn’t keep myself fully interested in the story and I found that the characters lacked a certain depth which made it hard to connect with them. Even though this was a good story, this wasn’t fully for me and this is likely because this isn’t my usual genre. For those that enjoy dystopian, science fiction novels with a great concept, this is worth a read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

This was such a weird and compelling read. I was horrified by the concept and knew I had to read it so was really glad that I was able to get an advanced e-book of this so close to publication (4th March). The central theme revolves around a dystopian surveillance state near future, in which the protagonist is sent to a “not a prison” holding camp for being at risk of committing a crime against her husband. Kafka meets George Orwell in this novel, as her “risk score” is heightened by resentment towards her husband after the birth of her twins, leading her to dream about him being in harm’s way. Her post-birth insomnia treatment documents these dreams which lead to her detention, and the kafkaesque conditions prevent her from release (paperwork, lawyer changes, over zealous guards, digging into her past). I really enjoyed this one.

The premise of the list book really intrigued me and I enjoyed a lot of it, but there were some parts that really dragged. Overall a good read.

3.75⭐️

The Dream Hotel follows Sara Hussein, a new mother of twins who’s on her way home from a work conference abroad. At the airport, Sara is detained, even though she has committed no crime, and immediately moved to a secure facility away from her husband and children. The reason? An algorithm used to study her dreams has deemed her an imminent risk to her husband’s safety.

Set in a near-future dystopian society, the Dream Hotel explores themes of surveillance, racism, and our society’s growing reliance on technology. I really enjoyed the nuanced way the author spoke about technology and algorithms, showing them to just as fallible and prone to bias as the humans who develop them. It really speaks to the way that technology can and has been used to disproportionately target and dehumanise marginalised people. Although I did have to suspend my disbelief a little while reading, the world Lalami created was just plausible enough to be frightening.

I really enjoyed the interactions between the women at Madison, although I do wish some of them had been more fleshed out and their backstories explored more. At times I found it a little difficult to remember who was who. The ways in which they bonded and came together to support each other were some of my favourites moments of the book, and reminded me a little of how I felt watching Orange is the New Black back when that came out.

Plot-wise, as I said, I did find myself having to suspend my disbelief a fair amount, and at times the beats were a little repetitive. There was a particular literary device used several times throughout the book that I always saw coming and found a little cheesy. There were a few plot points that weren’t really explained super well and went counter to the idea that the world - and this organisation in particular - was extremely technologically advanced. I also found the ending quite abrupt and a little unsatisfying, which is something that doesn’t usually bother me, but in this instance left me wanting a little more closure.

Overall I really enjoyed the premise of the book and the overall messaging, as well as the ways in which the women banded together within the facility. I think I would have enjoyed it slightly more if some of the side characters had been more developed and the world building had been more consistent.

A mystery novel that was an easier read than I thought it was going to be. I liked this one but do wish it was written more compactly.

The premise of this book was promising, but the execution fell flat. There were moments when I almost DNFed it—some sections dragged, while others felt unnecessary to the overall story. The characters lacked depth, making it hard to connect with them, and I wished they had been more relatable. The sudden POV change—for just one chapter—felt random and didn’t add much to the narrative.