This wasn’t for me. I guess it’s my fault; I was expecting a kind of “Lord of the Flies” set in an opulent hotel where two newlyweds are honeymooning fish-out-of-waters who become trapped in the hotel when wildfires and riots rage outside. There wasn’t enough going on plot-wise for me.

I was not a huge fan of this book. It was like the author was trying to mimic a Taylor Jenkins Reid type of storytelling and it was unsuccessful for me. There was too much going on in this book. I felt like I was just reading useless descriptive language that I just started skipping. I would not recommend

The Pink Hotel was an interesting read and something different from what I would typically pick up and read. While I enjoyed the exciting peek inside the lives of the rich and famous — I felt like there was no actual plot here. I was also pretty bummed out by the ending. I guess I'm just more used to an actual resolution and for at least some loose ends to get tied up, but that wasn't the case here.

Liska Jacobs' writing is fabulous and the way she used words to describe everything from the people to the plants was so lovely and I devoured it. She created several characters you simply love to hate and hate to love. There was definitely not a single one I could relate to or that I would've cheered for, but that was also a little difficult as the protagonist changed what felt like every 30 seconds. You'd be reading a paragraph from the point of view of Kit Collins, but boom, out of nowhere you're reading from the point of view of her husband, Keith. But maybe the author's entire point of this book was to create a bunch of unlikeable characters because this book is a look at classism.

Overall, the book started a little slow but it quickly picked up for me, and I got through the last third of the book pretty fast. I kept trying to guess what decisions each of the characters would make or wouldn't make (mostly based on what I'd wish for them to do!) but the author had some crazy plans of her own. I liked this book, but not in an overwhelming way.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

A fantastic cover for a disappointing novel, unfortunately. This is my third novel from Liska Jacobs, and while I adored her debut CATALINA, her most recent two (THE PINK HOTEL included) have fallen short. There is not much to grasp on to in this one, leaving me cold and confused as I put the book down. It starts great, with some THE WHITE LOTUS vibes as Keith and Kit, a newly married couple arrive at a swanky Californian oasis known as the Pink Hotel. They are young and slightly clueless, and secrets come to light as Kit slowly realizes Keith chose this hotel for their honeymoon as a job opportunity without telling her.

The story gets a bit muddled though, and I was not crazy about Jacobs writing style - the POV can change from paragraph to paragraph which often made me feel lost. The plot meanders among the staff and guests of the hotel, and while I believe Jacobs set to write a social satire, the biting wit that comes with a book like that nowadays is nowhere to be found. I kept waiting for it to pick up into something whole and thoughtful but instead, I just don't really know what to say about it in general. The vibes were off, unfortunately.

I was really looking forward to this one but somehow it just missed the mark. the fallout of a lot of events wasn’t explored and i think a lot of effort went into writing the completely wrong parts of the book.

You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave" ("Hotel California" by The Eagles)

That haunting song is all I can think of after reading The Pink Hotel.

Thanks Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Okay, wow. This satirical novel about class division in the USA will have you thinking for days. Think of the grotesquely rich people you know of. Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, the Kardashian/Jenners... Then think about the rest of us. The ones who aren't them. This is a tale about these two sets of lives.

Think about people who lose their homes because they can't pay for medical care. Then think about people like Kylie Jenner who throw obscenely extravagant birthday parties for babies who won't even remember them. This gap is the focus of this novel.

The Pink Hotel reminds me of that short story, "The Most Dangerous Game", where General Zaroff begins hunting people for sport because he has no other way to achieve any type of thrill or excitement. The guests at the hotel are so completely tone deaf to the world around them and will do anything to cure their ennui. Even though it takes more and more to quench that desire to actually feel something.


This book is a criticism of our culture, and I am here for it.

A dystopian tale set amidst a thinly veiled Beverly Hills Hotel. Bit of a Daisy Jones and the Six vibe. #NetGalleyARC

I would describe this as "White Lotus" meets LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND - this was such a well-constructed, compulsive narrative, and the characters were so well developed. THE PINK HOTEL is darkly comic and thought-provoking on issues of wealth disparity and climate change.

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for this arc.

When I saw the front cover I was immediately drawn into what was the story about? With a Beverly Hills Hotel backdrop setting I wanted this to be full of gossip, dark, rich people drama.
I wanted to love this, however for me it fell a bit flat, I didn’t get on with the characters, I know sometimes the point of the story is to not like certain characters but I didn’t even feel a tad bit sorry for Kit. The plot didn’t catch my attention (I didn’t think there was much of one to follow) I found my self largely skim reading paragraphs and I felt like I didn’t miss any of the story by the time I got to the end.

While the premise of pink hotel appealed to me the execution didn’t quite hit the mark. I’m a big fan of Liska Jacobs particularly her last book. This book for me dragged out a little bit too long. I did enjoy the relationship between the main character and his wife and the ultimate demise when exposed to a higher class of lifestyle. The pink hotel reminds me of the chateau marmont. As I work in a hotel, that side of things was interesting and enough to keep me reading.

The world building in this book was incredible - I felt like I was there, experiencing the extravagance and absurdity of the Pink Hotel right along the guests and the staff. I could feel the tension build in the pages right alongside the environmental crisis unfolding right outside the hotel but by the time things started to unravel for our characters, I realized I just didn't care about any of them.

Thank you for this ARC! I love hotels, and I love chamber-pieces, so to speak, a confined space for the narrative - and this novel combines the two elements expertly. It is a breezy, entertaining read.

Initially I felt like Liska Jacobs's THE PINK HOTEL was a variation on THE WHITE LOTUS, a group of people staying at a luxury hotel who cross paths and was quite excited by the prospect. However, I never latched onto any of the characters and found the meandering storyline hard to pay attention to. Jacobs clearly has a talent for writing, and I cannot fault her craft, but ultimately I didn't care about anyone in the novel. It was a struggle to finish for sure.

Thanks to NetGalley, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and Liska Jacobs for an ARC in exchange for an honest review,

The author did a nice job of describing the setting, but plot development was weak. I kept waiting for something to happen. I never really got into the book. The characters were not relatable or interesting.

I *wanted* this for be the saucy, gossipy, dark look into the wealthy behaving badly that it purported to be… but it just never got there for me. The characters were underdeveloped, the plot never really went anywhere - bummer. My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read an arc!

DNF at 25%

I had a hard time connecting with the story and with the characters, which is weird for me cause I love this type of gossipy and call out on society type of novel.

I got the ARC thanks to NetGalley.

The Beverly Hills backdrop with a glamorous hotel and even more impressive guests kept this book interesting, but it wasn’t my favorite. I would recommend it for a beach read but it wasn’t one I’d always remember.

3.5 ⭐️. If you like books about self indulgent wealthy people, look no further. The Pink Hotel, based on the Beverly Hills Hotel, has a “Below Deck” show vibe where you follow both the rich guests and the staff who meet their demands. The book has some beautiful writing and critique on class, but feels very “MFA” book where it can be a bit slow and indulgent at times. However, the book was fun to think about the inner workings of a luxury hotel. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

I was super excited to pick this up, cause the blurb sounded so promising, but unfortunately it just really wasn’t my cup of tea …

This book sounded like it’d be so much fun, but pretty much nothing happened in it. While a lot of things go on at the hotel, there is no plot to speak of, and all the action is driven by a cast of characters who all act without any apparent rhyme or reason.

The novel is essentially a character study of rich people who are completely detached from reality, but to me they all fell flat. Some of them do have understandable motives and well-rounded personalities, but I couldn’t connect to any of them, as they’re all quite unlikeable.

Something about the story also just felt off, but I can’t quite put a finger on it. One part of it was definitely the way two women kissing happened as another “scandalous” thing the rich people do, which didn’t sit right with me, as a queer reader.

The one good thing I will say about this novel, is that the writing style matches the story perfectly! It’s quite atmospheric, and really captures the hot and luxurious hotel. Jacobs’ writing also feels somewhat detached from the characters, which really compliments the feeling that Kit and Keith are outsider amongst the rich.

I don’t exactly recommend this, but if the blurb sounds interesting, and you enjoy somewhat ridiculous, slower-paced, character-focused stories, you might like it!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a very disturbing, and eye opening look into how easy it is to get drunk on being in power and become a jerk!. I really enjoyed readying this and found myself reading from start to finish in a day because I could not stop wondering what would happen next.