Hotel Magnifique - Emily J. Taylor

Author: Emily J. Taylor

Genre: YA Fantasy

Rating: 3.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: This could have been outstanding. It ends up above average. But as it is a debut work and aimed at the Teen/YA crowd, I’ll cut it some slack.

Story:

17 year old Jani is doing all she can to take care of her 13 year old sister Zosa after the death of her mother a few years ago. But even her best efforts lead to a minimally fulfilling existence. When she hears that the legendary Hotel Magnifique is going to be in town and hiring new staff, Jani decides that she will secure a job for them both there, no matter how. After all, the hotel appears just for one night in a decade and she can’t miss this chance.

Luck works in her favour and she somehow finds herself on the staff of the hotel. But while the hotel is as opulent as outsiders claimed, there seems to be something sinister and dangerous underlying its magic. What has Jani got herself and Zosa into? What’s the secret behind the mystical maître who runs the hotel?

The story is written in the first person perspective of Jani.

First things first. The blurb proudly declares: “perfect for fans of Caraval and The Night Circus.” I have read neither of these books yet, so don’t expect any comparisons in this review. My thoughts are of this book on its own merit as a YA Dark Fantasy.

One of the main qualities that a fantasy book ought to have is extraordinary world-building. And this book fulfils the criterion really well. The magical details of the hotel and its various rooms, the info about how the magic is used/contained, the various magicians and their techniques – I enjoyed all of these embellishments. The use of French words/names enhanced the mystical feel of the hotel. The story is set in a fictional country named “Verdanne” and moves across Verdanne and other made-up locations. Each of the places is well-carved and distinct, adding to the fantastical feel of the book.

The characters were either striking or insipid. The maître of the hotel is an intriguing character and serves his purpose in the story well. Unfortunately, most of the remaining striking characters are secondary in the story, getting only a few pages of focus. I would have loved to learn more about Beatrice the gear-spinning ‘mechanique’, Issig the ice blaster, and even Jani’s sister Zosa, whose few appearances livened up the story. Jani’s love interest is a character named Bel, who is appealing but unvarying. He generates a vibe that makes you want to know more about him but the book leaves him as a somewhat flatly-developed character, coming in only when the plot needs him. He is severely underutilised in the narrative, though he gets the most page space next to Jani.

This leaves me with Jani. Now what do I say about her?! Jani’s character is the most fleshed out in the story. Unfortunately, this doesn’t necessarily translate to making her likeable or relatable. Jani is irritating, naïve and impulsive. She doesn’t use her head before jumping into a situation and loves jumping to conclusions without understanding all the facts. She also demands that things go as per her wishes, even if circumstances demand a more restrained approach. In other words, Jani reminded me of many teenagers I know in real life. You see my conundrum here? The author nailed Jani’s character as per her age, but this didn’t lead to an enjoyable reading experience for me because for a major chunk of the book, all I wanted to do was give Jani a whack out of frustration. I simply couldn’t see how Bel tolerated her uneven personality. Well, they don’t say ‘love is blind’ for nothing! That said, the romance part of the book is cute and doesn’t overwhelm the main story. Plus, Jani redeems herself and saves everyone in the end, like all main characters are supposed to do.

The writing style is where the author’s inexperience clearly shows. The prologue and the epilogue (and the last few chapters of the climax) are outstanding. If the entire book had maintained this level of engagement on my attention, this would have been a 4.5 star book at the minimum. Sadly, it doesn’t. The initial chapters after the girls’ entry into the hotel follow a similar pattern. Jani has this insatiable curiosity that leads her to new places/rooms in the hotel, then there’s a description of what she finds there, and/or how she escapes when she isn't supposed to do what she did or be where she was. This starts dragging the story down as there was a constant feeling of déjà vu. The second half turns the tables and incorporates a lot more action and mystique into the narrative. The pace is also much faster in the latter half. There are a few plot holes but nothing major.

All in all, I found the first half of the book (except for the prologue) slow and repetitive and enjoyed only the details of the Hotel Magnifique. This half rates at 3 stars for me. The second half was much more delightful and I liked it to a great extent. This portion gets 4 stars.

Thus, 3.5 stars for the book, rounding up though I feel there was a lot of potential here that went to waste.

Recommended to readers who want a dash of light romance, an outstanding fantastical world, and are indifferent about a slow start or the lack of a loveable main character.

Trigger note: There are a few gruesome scenes in the story. If you are squeamish about such content, stay away.

My thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the DRC of “Hotel Magnifique”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.