I really wanted to like this and I’m really disappointed that I didn’t. I thought the 1920s time period was really cool and I wish we got to see a bit more of it outside of the hotel and I thought the concept of a 1920s girl trying to make it big as a performer, but losing her soul and needing to steal it back was really intriguing.

Where it fell flat for me was mainly the writing for the characters. I thought Mabel was very unlikeable and it made it very difficult for me to get invested in the story. She had little to no survival instinct from what I saw and had a serious lack of ability to read a room.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I recently began my spooky season reading this fascinating book. It revolves around a young woman on a quest to pursue her dreams, only to have her soul ensnared by demons in a hotel. The book presents a strange and highly original story, set in the glitz of the 1920s, but intertwined with grotesque elements that serve as a metaphor for the hellish nature of fame and success. Definitely a great read for me

What would you sacrifice to make your dreams come true? In Cat Scully’s Below the Grand Hotel, Mable Rose Dixon’s dream of becoming a vaudevillian is complicated when she stumbles into a hotel from hell. Literally.

Set in 1920s Manhattan, Below the Grand Hotel takes readers on an opulent ride into the dark heart of decadence. Mable is a scrappy wanna-be stage star who has taken to thievery to make ends meet while she waits for her big break. When she sees a beautiful woman sporting a massive diamond necklace entering a midtown hotel, Mable thinks she’s found her meal ticket. Unfortunately, nothing is what it seems in the Grand, and soon the aspiring starlet discovers she’s become trapped in the demon-filled building, body and soul.

Below the Grand Hotel is a wonderfully creative story that combines classic horror themes with a unique setting to create a fresh and entertaining tale. Scully’s power of description delivers endlessly breathtaking scenery—from marbled ballrooms lined with Greek statues to feather-and-ruffle filled dressing rooms—while her nightmarish narrative continuously builds tension that threatens to boil over into demonic violence at any moment. Horror authors have long understood there is something captivating about juxtaposing the beautiful and the terrible, and Below the Grand Hotel does just that. Demonic dancers move in a “flurry of silk and blood,” handsome men reveal fanged and hungry second mouths, and cleaning away sticky clumps of gore becomes second nature for the inhabitants of this satanic site.

And yet, there is an undefinable distance between Below the Grand Hotel’s violent imagery and its impact on the reader. While there are plenty of blood-drenched scenes of demons feasting on flesh, innocents succumbing to supernatural afflictions, and painful transformations, the story never allows the reader to fully step inside the shoes of the tormented. Below the Grand Hotel has been compared to both The Great Gatsby and Hellraiser, but those stories take great pains to physically place the reader inside the experiences of its protagonists. In this novel, we watch as Mable struggles to survive but we rarely feel her do it. This lack of viscerality is not a problem, per say, but it is a marked difference from many novels exploring the same themes.

Under the Grand Hotel is a deliciously demonic period drama that is sure to delight horror fans of all stripes. Don’t wait to add this one to your TBR.

4.25 This story is exactly as it is described, The Great Gatsby meets Hellraiser. So good and finds a way to be spooky without being overly scary. I recommend this for people that are looking for something stronger than "cozy" but not King-esque in it's fear level. Great world building and you really feel like to are apart of that era.

I’m very torn on Below the Grand Hotel. I felt like the storyline had great possibility, but for some reason it just didn’t hit home to me. Normally demon novels leave me feeling quite uneasy, but this fell short.

The plot of this book is really interesting, a young woman searching for her dreams has her soul captured by demons of the Grand Hotel. But, halfway through the book I felt like there were two storylines mashed into one and the plot didn’t flow and had lost meaning on me as a reader. I feel like the first half of the book could have been one whole novel and the second half could have been a completely different novel or even a sequel. By the second half of the book I’d lost interest which is sad as I loved the first half. The plot felt rushed and like the author had so many ideas they wanted to fulfil in this book but didn’t need to include them all.

I enjoyed this one! The setting was immaculate and I thought the way of speaking was perfect for the time period. Mabel's character was a bit annoying at times though and her internal dialogue felt very repetitive. Other than that, the story was a fast paced and twisty horror filled ride!

What a read!!!! Such a good story. I recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic. I rated this book 5 stars.

Mabel is willing to sell her soul to the devil in order to become a Ziegfeld girl.

Her dream is to be the headline act and what she doesn't know is what she's going to have to do to save her life.

This fantastical horror is creepy, twisty and omg such a good read.

I loved the cover and the setting of the 1920's was the best ever. I loved every line, page and chapter of this book..

I want more.

Loved this like great gatsby if it took place in hell. Mabel will do anything to become a Ziegfeld girl what she doesn’t realize is she’s about to sell her soul to save her life and become a headliner at the hotel from hell. So now it’s a race against time to try and steal her soul back Witty and well written the book was one hell of a ride 5⭐️

I haven't delved into YA horror yet, though I love middle grades horror. (Adult horror is too scary for me!) Below the Grand Hotel was everything I wanted it to be, with scary, gruesome demons, a young ingenue for the main character, and an underworld of excess and gluttony. This would make a great movie, with amazing scenes and a daring attempt to rescue the bellhop's little sister who lost her soul. This was almost 5 stars--I definitely would rate it 4 1/2 stars. The only parts I wish were strengthened were Mabel, the main character. She was difficult to root for, and not because she was written that way. She just wasn't that interesting to me. I truly would have loved to hear more about Lucky and her backstory, and possibly a redemption arc for her. I did love that the ending was not as neatly packaged as I expected,. I found myself checking my own hands to make sure I wasn't turning into a demon as I read! Overall, this was a great read. I'm going to round up to 5 for the purposes of Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this book, it uses the horror element perfectly in the 1920s. It uses the concept perfectly and it had what I wanted in the 20s and had that demon element that I was looking for. The characters were everything that I was expecting in this type of book and uses that concept well. I enjoyed how strong Cat Scully wrote this and had that historical feel that I was looking for. It had that Gothic feel that I was looking for and glad I went on this journey.