I’m submitting this review to Netgalley, but an abridged version to Goodreads, because I feel like it could impact people reading it down the road. There’s a couple of things I think the author should consider changing that I specified here, though if it doesn’t I’ll upload my full version to Goodreads after the pub day.

My first impression after reading blurbs and the synopsis was that Hotel Magnifique was essentially The Night Circus, but make it ~hotel~. And for the first third or so it was pretty much exactly that. Two sisters, Jani and Zosa, are trying to escape their difficult lives in the town of Durc, and finally get the opportunity to when the famous, magical Hotel Magnifique makes an appearance. They each take jobs in the hotel, which is as bizarre as it is enchanting, and can hardly believe they could be so lucky.

I’d read The Night Circus years ago and while I enjoyed it I wasn’t super interested in reading a re-hash of it. As a result the beginning of this story was kind of boring for me. Eventually, though, the book took a darker turn, with everything that glittered before starting to look a little more nefarious under a different light. For the next two-thirds of the novel the author relished prying off the story’s shiny paneling to reveal the rot hiding beneath. And at first I really loved this too, but after a while even that started to take on a repetitive quality.

I don’t want to get too into the specifics of what went on, but for the most part we followed Jani and her attempts to uncover secrets of the hotel and its employees. I liked a lot of pieces of the story, but some of how it was fitted together didn’t quite make a complete whole for me. The magic veered into vague and there wasn’t much in the way of explanations on how it all worked—it felt like a lot of hand-waving ~magic~ instead of a tangible system. The story just wasn’t as dazzling or dreamy as I think it wishes it was.

Another thing I noticed in the way that characters were written, literally every single one had their skin color described in detail. Like immediately, the first thing the author does is say the exact skin tone of every person encountered, even characters we see in passing. Sometimes the only thing we’re told about a person is the precise shade of their skin, and it just came off really weird. I’m assuming the intent to show that the hotel and world around it was diverse, but it was also mentioned multiple times that “every body shape and skin color imaginable” was present, so it felt like more of a fixation by the author than necessary details. A search on my kindle shows 121 instances of the word “skin”, with the majority being used in this way. I don’t know, I’ve never encountered something like this while reading, but it was distracting enough where I felt like I had to make note of it.

I kind of wish I had more to say on my experience with Hotel Magnifique. The ending wrapped up a little quickly, given how long it took us to get to the interesting parts in the beginning. But other than that, I’ve got nothing else! It didn’t leave as much of an impression as I was hoping it would, especially since there was plenty of good material to work with. For a fantasy that’s a bit off the beaten path it does its job, though I doubt I’ll be excitedly recommending it come Spring 2022.

I won a copy of Hotel Magnifique. I grabbed it because it seemed to be a stronger, better version of Carnivale.
(I'm one of few who did not like that book jsyk.) So I wanted to give this book a chance because it seemed to have a darker, more serious plot.

1.) What hurts this book is that it is written for YA. But you know like some books that are written for YA that it is aware of the tone and doesn't talk down to people? Yeah, this book is one of those that talks down a bit to their readers. Which is upsetting because the characters feel really juvenile as do their experiences.
2.) The tone of this book, which could be linked with the audience and how it was written, is just... all over the place. I thought it would be a bit creepy and there was a mystery a-foot. No. No creepy and no real mystery happening.
3.) When books have a love interest and instead of going for a natural 'getting to know you before falling in love' goes for a instant attraction and we have to sit through this crappy done love/hate romance? Yep. Knocking that down a star or two.
4.) The plot is not very strong, and it relies on you understanding the magic and or not understanding the magic to be looped into understanding the magic until.... 60% into the book. WHAT. How is that possible. It's called 'getting off on withholding'.
5.) When people have characters with French accents but slap them into fantasy settings that do not correlate with the worlds around them? That pisses me off because it is a poor excuse of doing research on the place that you are setting your characters in.

... But will anybody care? No. This is for those people who liked Caravale. Who liked failed attempts at strong heroines who have lame will they / won't they relationships with their love interest.

I was interested only for the sister. The poor sister that was here and there through the plot that the lead is trying to save.

I absolutely LOVED THIS BOOK! Everything about it was amazing. It hooked me in, had great slow burn romance, a unique and fun plot, and it was fast paced. My only feedback would be to add more to the ending. I loved it but I wanted to see a 5 years later sort of thing, or more of a romantic scene at the end with Jani and Bel. This is a new favorite, I feel like people are going to love this book so much, just like I did. It was a perfect magical book, reminding me of Caraval, but having a unique aspect with the hotel and darker magic.

Howl's Moving Castle meets Caraval. I loved the magic and the quirky characters. A magical hotel that appears without warning, and the guests who stay don't have any recollection of their visit? The characters at the hotel create a family of sorts, and I loved everything about this story!

I am so obsessed with this story. When the description said similar to Caraval but with a magical hotel that traveled somewhere new everyday I was immediately hooked. Emily has created such a magical heartwarming story about family and where/who you call home. I fell in love with Jani and Bel immediately and enjoyed their allies to lovers story. It isn't the main focus of the story which was fine with me because I was too swept up in the magic of the hotel and rooting for Jani to save all of the employees. All of the secrets of the hotel were so fun to uncover and I am desperate for more books from this world.

Hotel Magnifique is full of magic and bursting with wonder, with enough mystery to make readers devour the pages right up until the very end.

*Spoiler free, 4.5 stars*

I will admit, I was drawn in by the flashiness of this book. Plus, I had seen a whole lot of love and excitement for it online, so that just peaked my interest even more. And it sounded like the kind of flashy that I would enjoy; magic, a mysterious hotel with more to that what is on the surface, a hate-to-love sounding romance.

I enjoyed this book a whole lot more than I thought I was going to. I really ended up loving it. It is just as flashy as it seems, but it also leans into more than just the elaborate magic and striking displays of the hotel.

The secrets behind the hotel, and the hotel itself honestly, was one of my favorite parts of the book. It's a lot darker than I thought it was going to be. It surprises you, with just how horrific certain actions are. It happens so quickly, and things move so fast, that it seems like a quick sting, only to find dripping blood later. It's a sneaky kind of dark, and it works really, really well. And the lore behind the hotel and the world only supplement it. They feel so full, so vast, even though most of the book takes place inside the hotel. There is so much to discover, and so many intricates in the characters and the magic system. It's completely wonderful.

I also ended up loving the characters a whole lot more than I thought I was going to. I will be honest in the fact that I didn't really love Jani at the beginning. I thought her emotional development felt a bit frazzled and I didn't quite know where it was going. But, things evened out and I ended up really, really liking where it went. Puzzle pieces starting slotting into place, and more details were uncovered, and Jani began to really dig into what was really going on. And Bel is just adorable. I love him and want to give him a hug. I also love Zosa and everybody else. And I really, really want a [redacted] book. I know this is a standalone, but I want more of some of the side characters, and I think there is so much of this world to still explore.

I will say, that at the beginning, there seems to be a lot thrown out at the same time. There is lots of magic, and lots of dazzling scenery and events. It's the flashy that this book promised to be. I think that was the point, but it just wasn't my favorite. But, I can appreciate what Emily did, because she completely nailed the lavish and elaborate magical event that the hotel is.

There's also a lot more birds in this book than I was expecting! But that's alright because the birds were awesome.

I adored the ending. It fit so well. It's not super big or elaborate, but it fits Jani and what she wants. I really, really loved it.

Overall, I loved this book a lot more than I thought it was going to. It's flashy, but it also a darkness to it that makes it so much more than it seems. It has such a fascinating world and magic system, and I adored the characters. It's an amazing book.

Emily J. Taylor has created something magical. And no, I don't mean the extravagant, traveling hotel residing in the pages of this novel with all its many, many secrets. I mean the novel itself.
Fairytale like in tone and content, but grounded in sentiment and multi-faceted characters, Hotel Magnifique is an exploration of sisterhood, growing up, and what it means to discover that perhaps home is something that's defined by people, rather than place.
Fans of V.E. Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic and Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows will be swept away by this magical debut.