The word that comes to mind about this book is poignant. The author creates a wonderful cast of characters and reading how Tilly interpreted or misunderstood words was hilarious. She was a bright fun child despite losing her father at a young age and not getting along with her mother. The chapters are written with Tilda as an adult and then flashbacks to Tilly growing up.
It is a fun, sad, refreshing story about growing up. Very enjoyable reading!

QUEENIE MALONE'S PARADISE HOTEL
BY: RUTH HOGAN

Her eyes they shone like
the diamonds,
You'd think she was the queen
of the land,
And her hair hung over
her shoulders
Tied up with a black
velvet band.

Mothers and daughter's sometimes have tumultuous relationships. Daughter's love their father's and father's love their daughter's right back. Sometimes when a very young girl is at her most impressionable and she believes her mother had something to do with the father leaving the home and not coming back, a rift can form between mother and daughter. This is the case with Tilly/Tilda.
But as is often in life things are not always as they appear.

My mother killed my father when I was seven years old. Now thirty-nine years later, she is dead
too, and I am an orphan.

When I initially requested this title and I am so glad that I did because I love Ruth Hogan's lyrical writing style. It wasn't until the book was on my Net Galley shelf that I had realized that I had never before read any of Ruth Hogan's novels. She has definitely made a fan out of me. Now I look forward to being able to read her two former books already published. I had mistakenly mixed up the name Ruth Hogan with Nancy Horan's novel called, "Loving Frank." I loved that book of historical fiction about the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The two Author's names are similar but distinct enough for me to make such an embarassing blunder. It turned out for the best for me because I never would have discovered how lovely and charming Ruth Hogan's prose and storytelling are. This book meant so much to me for personal reasons.

This wonderful narrative is told in two alternating voices and timelines as far as ages go. We begin with Tilda going to her mother's seaside flat to sort through her mother's things after her mother has died. Tilda's memory of her mother is that for some inexplicable reason her mother sent her away to boarding school while she was just beginning to love her life again after losing her father when she experienced her most profound grief.

Tilly's story mostly takes place when she is a young child around six years old. Tilly loves her daddy. Tilly loves going for iced cream cones. Tilly loves her Aunt Wendy and her cousin, Karen. Tilly loves going to church with Mrs. O'Flaherty whether it be watching her say her prayers with her rosary beads or participating in Christmas Eve Mass celebrating the birth of Baby Jesus. Everything in this neighborhood is bucolic and a scene out of the 1950's or 1960's. A simpler, gentler time than today. Ruth Hogan paints us a vivid scenery bursting with vibrant color schemes. Tilly also gets uprooted when one day a taxi cab drives her and her mother to the seaside town of Brighton where Tilly thinks she is going on holiday.

Tilly and her mother stay at Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel. There she finds in Queenie Malone the soap suds commercial happy version of what the mother she has always dreamed of having. Mother and daughter settle in and live there after Grace tells Tilly that they can stay on and live in the grand hotel because Queenie has offered Grace a job. The only difference is that instead of sitting and eating meals in the grand dining room for guest's, they are to instead have their meals with the cook and the rest of the band of lovable misfits that also work there to keep the hotel running smooth. They live in bliss for two years until Tilly is again uprooted and sent off to boarding school leaving the second home she loves.

This causes a life long estrangement between Tilly/Tilda and her mother. When she goes to her mother's home to sort out what inherited items she wishes to keep she eventually finds her mother's diaries. This book explores many themes such as family bonds, mental illness, and whether telling lies are ever right or wrong. Personally, I don't think lying can ever be justified when dealing with family issues. It really can complicate matters in a family and if Tilly was told the truth in the first place then this would be an entirely different novel. Brighton is brought alive by the fabulous Ruth Hogan. It is a beautifully, touching, sad but ultimately uplifting story. This is another all time favorite for me and I am so grateful for discovering the superbly talented Ruth Hogan.

Thank you to Net Galley, Ruth Hogan and HarperCollins Publishing for generously providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. The pleasure was all mine.

Publication Date: April 14, 2020

#QueenieMalone'sParadiseHotel #RuthHogan #HarperCollinsPublishing #NetGalley
QUEENIE MALONE'S PARADISE HOTEL
BY: RUTH HOGAN

Her eyes they shone like
the diamonds,
You'd think she was the queen
of the land,
And her hair hung over
her shoulders
Tied up with a black
velvet band.

Mothers and daughter's sometimes have tumultuous relationships. Daughter's love their father's and father's love their daughter's right back. Sometimes when a very young girl is at her most impressionable and she believes her mother had something to do with the father leaving the home and not coming back, a rift can form between mother and daughter. This is the case with Tilly/Tilda.
But as is often in life things are not always as they appear.

My mother killed my father when I was seven years old. Now thirty-nine years later, she is dead
too, and I am an orphan.

When I initially requested this title and I am so glad that I did because I love Ruth Hogan's lyrical writing style. It wasn't until the book was on my Net Galley shelf that I had realized that I had never before read any of Ruth Hogan's novels. She has definitely made a fan out of me. Now I look forward to being able to read her two former books already published. I had mistakenly mixed up the name Ruth Hogan with Nancy Horan's novel called, "Loving Frank." I loved that book of historical fiction about the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The two Author's names are similar but distinct enough for me to make such an embarassing blunder. It turned out for the best for me because I never would have discovered how lovely and charming Ruth Hogan's prose and storytelling are. This book meant so much to me for personal reasons.

This wonderful narrative is told in two alternating voices and timelines as far as ages go. We begin with Tilda going to her mother's seaside flat to sort through her mother's things after her mother has died. Tilda's memory of her mother is that for some inexplicable reason her mother sent her away to boarding school while she was just beginning to love her life again after losing her father when she experienced her most profound grief.

Tilly's story mostly takes place when she is a young child around six years old. Tilly loves her daddy. Tilly loves going for iced cream cones. Tilly loves her Aunt Wendy and her cousin, Karen. Tilly loves going to church with Mrs. O'Flaherty whether it be watching her say her prayers with her rosary beads or participating in Christmas Eve Mass celebrating the birth of Baby Jesus. Everything in this neighborhood is bucolic and a scene out of the 1950's or 1960's. A simpler, gentler time than today. Ruth Hogan paints us a vivid scenery bursting with vibrant color schemes. Tilly also gets uprooted when one day a taxi cab drives her and her mother to the seaside town of Brighton where Tilly thinks she is going on holiday.

Tilly and her mother stay at Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel. There she finds in Queenie Malone the soap suds commercial happy version of what the mother she has always dreamed of having. Mother and daughter settle in and live there after Grace tells Tilly that they can stay on and live in the grand hotel because Queenie has offered Grace a job. The only difference is that instead of sitting and eating meals in the grand dining room for guest's, they are to instead have their meals with the cook and the rest of the band of lovable misfits that also work there to keep the hotel running smooth. They live in bliss for two years until Tilly is again uprooted and sent off to boarding school leaving the second home she loves.

This causes a life long estrangement between Tilly/Tilda and her mother. When she goes to her mother's home to sort out what inherited items she wishes to keep she eventually finds her mother's diaries. This book explores many themes such as family bonds, mental illness, and whether telling lies are ever right or wrong. Personally, I don't think lying can ever be justified when dealing with family issues. It really can complicate matters in a family and if Tilly was told the truth in the first place then this would be an entirely different novel. Brighton is brought alive by the fabulous Ruth Hogan. It is a beautifully, touching, sad but ultimately uplifting story. This is another all time favorite for me and I am so grateful for discovering the superbly talented Ruth Hogan.

Thank you to Net Galley, Ruth Hogan and HarperCollins Publishing for generously providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. The pleasure was all mine.

Publication Date: April 14, 2020

#QueenieMalone'sParadiseHotel #RuthHogan #HarperCollinsPublishing #NetGalley
QUEENIE MALONE'S PARADISE HOTEL
BY: RUTH HOGAN

Her eyes they shone like
the diamonds,
You'd think she was the queen
of the land,
And her hair hung over
her shoulders
Tied up with a black
velvet band.

Mothers and daughter's sometimes have tumultuous relationships. Daughter's love their father's and father's love their daughter's right back. Sometimes when a very young girl is at her most impressionable and she believes her mother had something to do with the father leaving the home and not coming back, a rift can form between mother and daughter. This is the case with Tilly/Tilda.
But as is often in life things are not always as they appear.

My mother killed my father when I was seven years old. Now thirty-nine years later, she is dead
too, and I am an orphan.

When I initially requested this title and I am so glad that I did because I love Ruth Hogan's lyrical writing style. It wasn't until the book was on my Net Galley shelf that I had realized that I had never before read any of Ruth Hogan's novels. She has definitely made a fan out of me. Now I look forward to being able to read her two former books already published. I had mistakenly mixed up the name Ruth Hogan with Nancy Horan's novel called, "Loving Frank." I loved that book of historical fiction about the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The two Author's names are similar but distinct enough for me to make such an embarassing blunder. It turned out for the best for me because I never would have discovered how lovely and charming Ruth Hogan's prose and storytelling are. This book meant so much to me for personal reasons.

This wonderful narrative is told in two alternating voices and timelines as far as ages go. We begin with Tilda going to her mother's seaside flat to sort through her mother's things after her mother has died. Tilda's memory of her mother is that for some inexplicable reason her mother sent her away to boarding school while she was just beginning to love her life again after losing her father when she experienced her most profound grief.

Tilly's story mostly takes place when she is a young child around six years old. Tilly loves her daddy. Tilly loves going for iced cream cones. Tilly loves her Aunt Wendy and her cousin, Karen. Tilly loves going to church with Mrs. O'Flaherty whether it be watching her say her prayers with her rosary beads or participating in Christmas Eve Mass celebrating the birth of Baby Jesus. Everything in this neighborhood is bucolic and a scene out of the 1950's or 1960's. A simpler, gentler time than today. Ruth Hogan paints us a vivid scenery bursting with vibrant color schemes. Tilly also gets uprooted when one day a taxi cab drives her and her mother to the seaside town of Brighton where Tilly thinks she is going on holiday.

Tilly and her mother stay at Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel. There she finds in Queenie Malone the soap suds commercial happy version of what the mother she has always dreamed of having. Mother and daughter settle in and live there after Grace tells Tilly that they can stay on and live in the grand hotel because Queenie has offered Grace a job. The only difference is that instead of sitting and eating meals in the grand dining room for guest's, they are to instead have their meals with the cook and the rest of the band of lovable misfits that also work there to keep the hotel running smooth. They live in bliss for two years until Tilly is again uprooted and sent off to boarding school leaving the second home she loves.

This causes a life long estrangement between Tilly/Tilda and her mother. When she goes to her mother's home to sort out what inherited items she wishes to keep she eventually finds her mother's diaries. This book explores many themes such as family bonds, mental illness, and whether telling lies are ever right or wrong. Personally, I don't think lying can ever be justified when dealing with family issues. It really can complicate matters in a family and if Tilly was told the truth in the first place then this would be an entirely different novel. Brighton is brought alive by the fabulous Ruth Hogan. It is a beautifully, touching, sad but ultimately uplifting story. This is another all time favorite for me and I am so grateful for discovering the superbly talented Ruth Hogan.

Thank you to Net Galley, Ruth Hogan and HarperCollins Publishing for generously providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. The pleasure was all mine.

Publication Date: April 14, 2020

#QueenieMalone'sParadiseHotel #RuthHogan #HarperCollinsPublishing #NetGalley

First off I want to let you know that the dog in this story is perfectly fine. I don't know about you but I can not stand when animals are hurt. The cover to this story is so gorgeous. The mother and daughter relationship felt so real and I was turning the pages until I got to the end. I loved this stories flow and the story was just so beautiful.


Go Into This One Knowing: Dog is fine though entire story!

Told in a unique way of alternating perspectives of Tilda and her younger self Tilly (the same person, at two points of life), this book is a gentle reminder that what we perceive as the truth is only a part of the truth and that everyone’s perceptions are different. It also showcases the importance of mental health care, family and the power of open communication.

Tilly grew up thinking her mother was strict and was much closer to her father. She had quirks and rituals she had to follow in her daily routines. When her dad disappears, and her mother sends her to a boarding school, her childlike perspective is one of abandonment.

Tilda goes to her mother’s home to sort through her belongings after her mother passes away. She discovers her mother’s diaries and reads through them. The things she discovers will change her entire perspective of everything she thought she knew about her family and upbringing.

I was completely engrossed in this book! It has many similarities to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, which I also loved.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins Publishing, and Ruth Hogan for the advanced copy of Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel in exchange for my honest review.

I’m screaming at top of my lungs friends: Please read this book to feel good, completed, joyful, for melting your heart and refreshing your soul!

I didn’t expect to enjoy this so much but I loved the authors’ previous works so this is not a big surprise for me to like the writing style by separating the POVS with a person’s childhood self and adult self. Because as soon as you start to learn about Tilly (younger version) and Tilda (exhausted and broken adult version, 39, just lost her mother) you realize they are not the same person. The compelling years, traumatic relationship with her mother and working on with the hand life dealt her changed Tilda completely.

Young Tilda a.k.a Tilly is still hopeful, innocent, energetic, funny, smart ( her comments about the people around her and descriptions about her life are so witty, enjoyable, I wanted to give her so many virtual hugs, the kid version of character is amazing!) But a mother is real enigma, keeping so many secrets, reserved and cold.

After Tilly lost her father, she moved to Queenie’s Hotel with her mother and these parts are the happiest times of her life. She met new people, eccentric, interesting characters, formed so many friendships. But her happiness doesn’t last because her mother dearest decided to send her to the boarding school without any explanation that shatters her heart in pieces.

But now she is 39, orphaned, visiting mother’s house to gather her things, looking reserved, unhappy and asocial woman. Till she meets with Daniel and connecting with his friends which change her completely and help her face the truth behind her past and her unhealthy relationship with her mother by reading the diaries she left behind.

I confess I loved Tilly’s parts most but finally seeing Tilly’s childhood joy and innocence gather with adult Tilda’s lifetime experiences and chasing her second chances by making peace with her past and her relationship with her mother to move on her life was the best resolution of the story.

This is heartfelt, emotional, witty, feel-good reading that we need these days!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers/William Morrow Paperback for sharing this emotional ARC in exchange my honest review

I just never clicked with grownup Tilda or even young Tilly. You know how when the voices alternate and its jarring and youre like ugh, now Tilda again. Ugh, now Tilly again. Given those were the only two voices, that was certainly problematic. There are lots of descriptive passages that go on forever but very little character development or even enough plot, for that matter. Disappointing because I really wanted to like this one based on the description.

One woman goes back to settle her mother's estate, and finds that there is a whole world of secrets she is about to become privy to. Tilly's life started out bright and exciting, but as time moved on things changed, and her life slowly began to close in on her. Her mother's actions played a big role in this, and she is about to learn the reasons behind those changes. Plenty of quirky characters, and a few ahead of their time stories that pop in to this one.

This is my first book by Ruth Hogan but I think I may have found a new favorite author.

Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel is where Tilly felt happiest when she was a child. Listening to the author's prose about her I felt like I was sitting there hearing what she heard. Unfortunately there is also some aspects that made me feel bad for Tilly as she was kept out of the loop because of her age and misunderstood some of what was going on around her.

As an adult she is awkward and sees dead people. She decides it is time to find out what exactly happened to her father and if she can make herself someone that can be loved by others.

I loved this book.

I'm going with 3.5.
While enjoyable I definitely had some issues with this novel. It's called Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel and yet, aside from mentioning Queenie in passing a couple of times, the character of Queenie Malone and her hotel do not show up until halfway through the book. So an odd choice of title, I believe. The story is a split narrative between Tilly, a seven year old girl, and Tilda, who is Tilly all grown up (I am not sure if her age was ever mentioned so I felt at a loss trying to decipher time periods here). I enjoyed both of their stories and I thought they both had unique, interesting voices with separate stories to tell. The writing was a little flowery but definitely created some beautiful imagery and I could almost see the pier and the galloping horses ride and the waves on the shore.

Tilly and Tilda are separated by an event, a before and after, when Tilly was sent away to boarding school and we don't know why and neither does she. Her mom passes away and as Tilda reads her mother's diaries she begins to learn more about her, discover the love her mom had for her that she never felt, and piece together her childhood.

Some of the characters were not well developed and some downright confusing and where the author decides to spend time and energy and what she leaves to passing also left me a bit confused.

<spoiler> The fact that Queenie was a drag queen was an odd detail that arrived at the very end of the book and didn't contribute really anything to the plot. I'm not sure why the author didn't just mention it during the book while Tilly and her mother were living at Queenie's or leave it out altogether. </spoiler>

Recommended for people who like some family drama and a tough of magical realism with a beautiful English seaside as setting.

I really enjoyed this magical gem of a book. I have several patrons that love books with magical realism and they will very much enjoy this book.

Mothers and daughters, ghosts, and chosen family... When Tilda comes home to her mother’s flat after her funeral the secrets of their strained relationship start to come out. The quiet assurances of a neighbor throw her of balance but not nearly the way the box of journals and letters half hidden under a bed do. What was really happening in her childhood? This uplifting and quirky read comes from the bestselling author of The Keeper of Lost Things. Fans of Phaedra Patrick, Nina George, Gabrielle Zevin and Fredrick Backman should all give this a try.

Ruth Hogan took us on a journey through the perspective of both child and adult to ultimately come full circle. Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel was a unique place to stay.

As someone who loves alternating timeline novels, I knew I had to read this book as soon as I stumbled upon it. I absolutely adored the title (I must say, I spent the first half of the book confused as to where the Paradise Hotel was and wondering if I was reading the right book, no worries, Queenie appears at just the right time.)

My favorite books are like this one- full of lovely, whimsical characters, enjoying each other and living their lives. While this book definitely had instances of heartbreak and seriousness, the last half was more optimistic and lovely. There were a few plot twists that I really enjoyed, and trying to figure out the mystery along with Tilda was a fun journey. I’ll definitely be reading more of Hogan’s novels in the future.

I adored Ruth Hogan's Keeper of Lost Things so was excited to crack open this new story. The description promised colorful, unconventional characters and plenty of past heartbreak and adult angst. I was not disappointed.

Hogan does a masterful job of communicating how differently people perceive the same actions and situations. The different memories of the past experienced by Tilly and her mother paint a picture of two people so far apart in how they perceive things that they essentially ruin each others lives. The reconciliation that Tilly experiences through her mother's diaries after her death is heartbreaking, real, and ultimately beautiful.

And there has never been a better ending sentence. Loved this.

This book was full of magic and unexpected twists and turns as Tilda looks for more of her own history.

A charming tale of family, love, and mental illness, with a smidge of magical realism and a dash of romance. After her mother's death, Tildy (Tilly in her youth) returns to the hotel she lived in. Tilda had also lived in the hotel, loving it desperately, until her mother inexplicably sent her away to school with no explanation. As Tilda cleans out her mother's belongings, she will finally learn all the truths her mother kept hidden from her. Ruth Hogan's third book is lyrical and beautifully written. It is fairly easy to follow, despite it's time hops and unreliable narrators. I felt a little detached from the romance, because I was so much more interested in the family, and the side angle of magical realism. Still highly recommended.

This is Ruth Hogan’s third book and I hope my words in this review can do it justice. Her writing is simply beautiful, poetic and lyrical, her storylines so original and compelling. . Characters so well written, human flaws and all, and I’m swept into their lives, invested in their fates. I’m reviewing this book, but please, read them all.
The story starts with her mother’s death and Tilda going to her flat to clear it out. They weren't particularly close and Tilda has never quite known why. When she was 7 her beloved father died and her mother soon after moved them to the sea, to an old friends hotel where they would live. The hotel was Queenie’s who took them in with unconditional love and became the mother they both needed.
As Tilda’s cleaning she discovers her mother’s diaries, and as she starts to read she realizes the past and her memories are not the way she always thought.
I can’t recommend this book enough. Five stars don't do it justice.