The Black Mirror fan in me ateeeeee this book up. The world was eerily realistic and scary (aka why it reminded me of Black Mirror...like hello why aren't we seeing our own red flags) but for once I felt like I cared more about the world itself than the characters. I am not sure if that makes sense... I also wanted a little bit more from the ending. I did really enjoy how thrilling this story was and was captivated by the fast paced plot.

The premise of this book was so promising. Peoples’ dreams are being scanned and algorithm makes predictions on whether a crime will be committed based on at least 200 datapoints. It gave me vibes of Minority Report and Person of Interest.

Unfortunately it didn’t pan out as I had hoped. So much of the book was spent between flashbacks and her time in prison that it was hard to tie them to the plot itself.
Eventually it came together, but I came away more relieved that it was over and that at least for now I don’t have to worry about anyone else knowing the content of my dreams.

Thanks to Pantheon and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami is based in a world where scores dictate your fate and where your dreams are subject to interpretation. This book follows Sara Hussein as she is detained for committing a possible future crime and shows how resilient one woman can be to prove her innocence.
Laila Lalami created complex characters and a dystopian society that I would never want to find myself in. I look forward to reading more from this author.
Thank you to Pantheon and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
4 out of 5 stars.

A thought-provoking dystopian thriller that’s chillingly relevant—though a few areas could have been stronger.

Laila Lalami’s The Dream Hotel imagines a near-future world (2039) where technology invades even the most private sanctum—our dreams. When Sara Hussein, a historian and mother of twins, returns to L.A., she’s detained by the Risk Assessment Administration based not on actions, but on data from her implant about her potential for violent thoughts. She’s taken to a retention center disguised as a “women’s facility,” where she’s held indefinitely under the guise of risk management

I had mixed feelings on this story. It felt so confusing at times but at other times it seemed I was reading a different story. Overall I did enjoy it but it was slow in some places and a bit confusing in others. Overall I enjoyed reading it despite the ending feeling a bit rushed. I will reread it and see if clicks with me more the second time around.

I enjoyed reading The Dream Hotel i did start to get tired of Sara’s personal rage, and was wondering if the drama was just going to keep going on. Kind of a different world where your action, thoughts and dreams could deem you to be a danger to others. I was starting to give up on Sara. Then a chapter where erson named Julia confused me for a while- it was like reading a different book midway.

The Dream Hotel is set shortly where the lines between technology, security, and liberty are blurred.
Supposed to be scientific and futuristic, some of the technology is available today, which makes this storyline a bit eerie. What happened in this book could possibly happen in the not-so-distant future with the current development of AI technology. If you like thrillers, this is the book you need to read.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book to read.

This is one of those books that impresses with it’s ideas, and this dystopian book has a whole lot of ideas and what feels like predictions.

This wasn’t something that I loved for the characters, as much as the ideas, & the world. It felt unique, as an art form that can’t help but be derivative, so that scores major points for me. It was an above average reading experience, I was interested from start to finish. I enjoyed all the subtle (& not so subtle) points & hints being made, & while I’d def say this was an all together positive experience, it’s still a 4 star book bc it never stepped into amazing territory unfortunately. Still worth the read, I know many will enjoy it even more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pantheon for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!!

Imagine a not-so-distant future where everything you say, do, and even dream is held against you. Sara was returning from her annual work trip when she is flagged at TSA as a “imminent threat” to her husband. Sara is ripped from her family and sent to Madison, a retention center that holds other dreamers. Sara is put on a 21 day hold but as the days tick by she is given extension after extension. She comes to realize the goal was never to rehabilitate her and return her home, but to hold her hostage until she breaks. How much of her life can she hold together as a new breed of prison system sucks everything away from her?

This book is actually insane!! It’s THOUGHT PROVOKING!! It really makes you think about how much technology is encroaching on our lives. It’s speak about corporate greed and how big tech will do ANYTHING for a buck. Sara’s character is put through the wringer and watching her devolve is strikingly uncomfortable. How much can an average person go through before they snap?! I can’t describe the feeling I had throughout this book but I can say I could not put it down. I ripped through it in a day and if that doesn’t speak volumes, I don’t know what does. This is the type of dystopian books this new generation needs to read because it’s scary how close it could be a reality. 5/5 stars. Bravo Lalami. I want to read more of her work!

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami is a wonderful book. The story is interesting and full of imagination. I liked the main character and how she faces challenges in a world with new technology. The writing is clear and easy to follow. This book made me think about the future and what is important in life. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys good stories.

This futuristic feeling sci-fi story was so unexpected and so surprising that I'll be thinking of it for years to come.

Laila Lalami is able to capture Sara's experience in a dream facility to well and so organically that the entire story felt like a lived in experience. I found myself going through so many different emotions as I read the story, fearing what could potentially become reality.

There were moments when the story felt a little disjointed, which made my reading flow slow down a bit, but overall, I enjoyed the story.

The premise of this book caught my attention immediately. Unfortunately for me, it didn’t quite deliver what I was hoping for. Some parts were overexplained while others didn’t provide enough details. The characters felt a bit flat and under developed. There’s so much potential here but the execution wasn’t quite there.

Oh my goodness, The Dream Hotel is a beautiful, disturbing, unnerving novel. I can see this novel being studied like The Handmaid's Tale or 1984 is.

I really enjoyed this riveting novel! Thank you so, so much to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this title!

Blurb:
Sara has just landed at LAX, returning home from a conference abroad, when agents from the Risk Assessment Administration pull her aside and inform her that she will soon commit a crime. Using data from her dreams, the RAA’s algorithm has determined that she is at imminent risk of harming the person she loves most: her husband. For his safety, she must be kept under observation for twenty-one days.

The agents transfer Sara to a retention center, where she is held with other dreamers, all of them women trying to prove their innocence from different crimes. With every deviation from the strict and ever-shifting rules of the facility, their stay is extended. Months pass and Sara seems no closer to release. Then one day, a new resident arrives, disrupting the order of the facility and leading Sara on a collision course with the very companies that have deprived her of her freedom.

Eerie, urgent, and ceaselessly clear-eyed, The Dream Hotel artfully explores the seductive nature of technology, which puts us in shackles even as it makes our lives easier. Lalami asks how much of ourselves must remain private if we are to remain free, and whether even the most invasive forms of surveillance can ever capture who we really are.

The Dream Hotel is a masterfully written exploration of the surveillance state. The story has an eerie quality because while we might feel far away from the realities of its characters, we are closer than we think. The attention paid towards profiling was painfully spot on. I think that’s what makes the story so scary. We already live in a world of horrifying bias that could become even more so as technology advances. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Many thanks to Netgalley for this Arc

I loved this book. The future set forth feels very possible and very real. I loved the inclusion of not only the narrative but also emails/ letters throughout the book. I have already started recommending this as one of my favorite dystopian novels.

I really loved this book. I'm a sucker for futuristic fiction that doubles as social commentary, and this was no exception! I thought Lalami's writing was excellent, and the story kept me reading. More review to come once i've gathered my thoughts!

Thank you to netgalley and the author/publisher for the ARC!

Sara is arrested and taken to Madison, a Forensic Observation Facility. The Risk Assessment Administration used her dreams to claim that she is going to harm her husband. Initially, she is to stay for 21 days, but the time keeps getting extended. She is concerned that her dreams are presenting evil thoughts and when the RAA examines them, they use the info against her.
This is a terrifying look at how government overreach and technology can be used to manipulate and imprison people for no valid reason.

What a bleak and heartbreakingly beautiful story. It was deeply troubling, and yet completely plausible. Terrifying. This could have been even better had the end come together more. It felt rushed, and not as impactful as the rest of the book. The ending didn't fit in tone or pacing. I didn't hate the actual ending of the plot, necessarily, but it didn't work for me as well as it could have. A solid 4 stars.

This book reminded me of an article I briefly looked at online- “The New Literalism Plaguing Today’s Biggest Movies” from The New Yorker. Literal, “dumbed-down”, and “redundant” as the New Yorker article described some modern films, is how I felt about this book. The Dream Hotel had some poignant messages to explore about systemic oppression in prison systems and privacy in the digital age. A third of the way through the book however, I feel that I had already gotten the message it would continue to rehash. And there is a lot to explore with these themes, but it stayed pretty surface-level. For example, I would have liked to hear more about how the MC’s race and religion factored into her being singled out as a potential criminal. Additionally, the MC is in a women’s retention center, but we learn that there is also a men’s center. There is no discussion about how the women might be selected for the centers differently, or treated differently than the men. Then the end of the book was fairly anti-climactic.

Also, I felt that all the characters were pretty flat. And there is a random chapter from the POV of a different character, but she is not given much development after that. I would have liked more closure there.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC