A great premise with the delightfully creepy setting of an abandoned hotel/former asylum, but the protagonist fell a little flat for me. I liked the supporting characters, and I liked the story, but the dialogue frequently felt a little heavy handed.

All in all, I would recommend it- it’s another a solid stand alone novel by Juliet Blackwell, who I like a lot.

3.5 stars, rounded up to four.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a great story! Very suspenseful and interesting. I really enjoyed reading it! I would definitely recommend.

Asylum Hotel is a unique blend of mystery, history, and the supernatural. The world building was very well done, making it easy to picture the eerie charm of the old hotel.

I did feel that several of the chapters and side stories didn’t lead anywhere, leaving me with several unanswered questions. Other than that, the story was engaging and fast-paced.

If you love gothic mysteries with a richly woven history and a few well-placed chills, Asylum Hotel is a must-read.

While photographing the abandoned Seabrink Hotel, Aubrey meets Dimitri Petroff, a YouTube star who films abandoned sites for his channel. As they tour the old hotel grounds, they quickly hit it off with their love of old buildings. When he is found dead the next morning, the police are quick to rule his death as a suicide, but Aubrey believes his death might be related to the Hotel. As Aubrey digs further into the Hotel's dark past, she discovers information on another murder several decades before Dimitri's death. Aubrey is determined to find the truth about both murders, but someone will stop at nothing to keep Aubrey from discovering the truth.

When it comes to the world building of the Seabrink Hotel, this book is beautifully done. I loved the history that went into this story and the description of the abandoned hotel makes me want to visit the hotel myself. Aubrey's investigation into Dimitri's death brings the dark history of the hotel to life and makes you question if someone murdered Dimitri or if a paranormal force is responsible for Dimitri's death. My only disappointment with this book was the ending. The conclusion seemed rushed and the explanation unconvincing. Overall, I enjoyed reading Asylum Hotel and even with my disappointment in the ending, I truly enjoyed the mystery of the Seabrink Hotel.

Asylum Hotel comes out July 29th.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to review Asylum Hotel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Creepy, emotional, and totally gripping—Asylum Hotel pulls you into a decaying old hotel with a dark past (it used to be an asylum, of course), and doesn’t let go. Sarah, the main character, comes back to confront her past and ends up uncovering way more than she bargained for.

The vibes are gothic and eerie, with just enough supernatural weirdness to keep you guessing. But it’s not just about ghosts—it’s also about trauma, mental health, and how the past sticks with us. Juliet Blackwell writes with a lot of heart, and the twists near the end are worth the slow burn.

Rating: 4 ⭐️
Perfect if you’re into moody mysteries with a psychological edge and a touch of the paranormal.

Thank you to #netgalley, #julietblackwell and #berkleynewyork for this ARC

The story was fast paced, intriguing, beautifully descriptive, and a had spook spook element. While it did feel a bit slow in the middle with a bunch of running around, it tied in pretty well. The cover caught my eye and I’m glad I was able to read these. I will definitely be checking out some of the authors other work

The world building is done with so much care that I felt like I had checked into the hotel. The woods, the Gatsby era decaying building and various shops were alive with sound and scenery descriptions. The story itself was lacking in the same complexity. I could not keep the supporting characters straight without multiple instances of backtracking. The clues leading the reader to the climax of the story were so sparse that I barely remembered reading them. I would have preferred this book without the supernatural elements, but the concept had potential if executed differently.

This book surprised me. It’s incredibly descriptive—at times even bordering on overly flowery (I mean, “elegiac”? Bold choice)—but once I settled into the rhythm, I found it easy to read and genuinely hard to put down.

The characters felt grounded and real, especially in how they interacted. Conversations felt natural, and Aubrey, our protagonist, was refreshingly sharp and relatable. That said, it did get a little confusing when she was referred to as “Spencer” in third-person—it took me a beat to realize we were still talking about the same person.

One unexpected bonus? I now know what a “poor house” is. There’s a lot of hidden history here, and the family secrets woven throughout the plot are wild. Think tangled family trees, illicit relationships, and the kind of generational mess you just know is going to unravel poorly. And it does—in the best way.

Some standout characters (especially “the quiet girl”) helped add depth, while others (cough Ty) had me visibly scowling. I was genuinely invested in figuring out how all the timelines, ghosts, and mysteries would come together.

The vibe is very much haunted-house-meets-historical-mystery, and while not groundbreaking, it’s definitely entertaining. If you’re into gothic-tinged thrillers that don’t require too much mental heavy lifting, this one’s a fast, twisty, satisfying read.

I loved the historical fiction component to this book along with the paranormal element. I enjoyed the characters and the strong female lead. This book was intriguing from the beginning and kept my interest and wanting to find out what happened next.

Aubrey takes what should have been a relaxing vacation after a difficult loss. While doing one of her favorite things, exploring & photographing an abandoned hotel, she encounters a person with whom she finds a connection but a tragic event sends her down a rabbit hole that results in her vacation being anything but relaxing as she fights to unravel many a mystery about this person and this hotel’s sordid past.

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

In Asylum Hotel, Juliet Blackwell delivers a masterclass in atmospheric storytelling, deftly weaving together mystery, history, and the supernatural within the hauntingly beautiful ruins of a once-grand Art Deco seaside hotel. Set against the rugged Northern California coastline, the narrative unfurls with the elegance and intrigue of old Hollywood, as whispers of curses and ghostly presences echo through cobwebbed corridors and overgrown grounds. Blackwell’s meticulous attention to detail breathes life into the decaying glamour of the setting, rendering it as much a character in the story as the people who inhabit it.

At the heart of the novel is Aubrey, a photographer tasked with documenting the Seabrink Hotel ahead of its restoration. Her arrival marks the beginning of a journey that deftly straddles the boundary between past and present, reality and myth. The narrative takes a sharp turn when she encounters the enigmatic Dimitri—an apparent kindred spirit—only to discover his lifeless body the following day. From this moment, Blackwell propels the reader into a gripping mystery marked by eerie coincidences and unsettling revelations.

Blackwell’s talent lies not only in constructing an engaging plot but in her ability to sustain a tone of suspense that is both intellectually compelling and emotionally resonant. Her prose is richly descriptive, imbuing each scene with a cinematic quality that invites the reader to inhabit the novel’s eerie, shadowed world. Characters are drawn with psychological depth and nuance, particularly Aubrey, whose inner conflict mirrors the novel’s central tension: the pull between rationality and the inexplicable.

With a narrative that continuously teases the line between logical deduction and supernatural possibility, The Asylum Hotel challenges readers to question the nature of truth and perception. It is a story that rewards careful reading, rich in folklore and layered with meaning, all while maintaining a taut pace and a sense of unease that lingers long after the final page. In this work, Blackwell proves herself a masterful storyteller whose command of tone, setting, and character elevates the novel beyond mere genre fiction into something truly memorable.

The premise is fantastic. A glamorous old hotel mired in mysterious deaths, ghost sightings and curses. Add in potential illegitimate heirs, missing jewels, and rich land developers and it's like a modern day Scooby Doo episode!

The world building and setting descriptions are beautifully done. The little towns sound so charming you'll want to visit. The hotel is described in loving detail, creating a creepy, atmospheric backdrop.

Unfortunately the execution got mired in far too many side plots, most of which ultimately didn't matter. Chapters are devoted to leads that never go anywhere, and serve no purpose in furthering the story. Several aspects are barely explained or wrapped up. The villain reveal comes out of nowhere, souring the ending. And the clunky dialogue didn't help any of these matters. There were a lot of very unnatural and unrealistic conversations that took me out of the action.

Ultimately this book is like the Seabrink Hotel itself...great bones, intricately detailed, but with grand ambitions that didn't quite pan out.

I really wanted to love this book but it felt so slow, there were too many characters, the plot twists were boring, and I wasn’t a fan of the writing.

characters weren't super great but the plot was great and the ominous intensity was pretty good. 3.5 stars. tysm for the arc.

It was just ok to me! Not a big fan of ghost stories!!! Thanks to NetGalley for letting me try this!

Blackwell is one of my favorite mystery writers, and I was thrilled to see she’s started a new series set in a small town in northern California. Aubry Spencer is an architect and a photographer of abandoned building. When she learns about the Seabrink Hotel, the former grand resort and spa for the glittering stars of Hollywood in the 1930s, she has to take a peek. Without giving too much away, let’s just say she picks up a lover, a few ghosts and killers, a lot of enemies, and some misplaced jewels along the way. Plus, we get to enjoy the wonderful scenery of the Pacific coast. Blackwell’s books are always original, with entertaining, well-developed characters, and a mystery with more than enough clues to keep the puzzle lively.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The beginning starts out wild. Aubrey finds out about the Seabrink from a book. Aubrey visits Seabrink Hotel to take pictures which is abandoned and it’s a difficult place to even finding, You have to get directions from a local and information is just wiped out online about Seabrink. As she’s taking pictures she meets Dimitri who’s taking videos and pictures of Seabrink Hotel for a possible YouTube episode. The idea to see abandoned hotels and make a YouTube video about its historical history was intriguing. Have to look up it up some day. They join up in exploring the hotel together and the hotel gets creepy. They get spooked but still decide to.spend the rest of the day and night together. Aubrey then wakes up Dimitri isn’t there and is found at the base of the cliff dead. Of Aubrey is stunned and wants to find out what happened. Her friend Nikki comes to the hotel to accompany her with investigating. Nikki was my favorite character her dark humor had me laughing a few times. As the book progresses it’s filled with rich even dark history of Seabrink Hotel, beautiful scenery of coastal California, and town people. You start to wonder is the curse at the hotel real? Is there really a ghost at hotel? Is the hotel dangerous? The reason it go a three star from me is the ending becuase I didn’t like who the bad guy was. It felt anticlimactic at the end for me with who the bad guy was.

Asylum Hotel was atmospheric. My favorite scenes took place on the grounds of The Hotel Seabrink. I felt fully immersed with the vivid descriptions. The author did a good job at making you fall for Dimitri immediately and making you go through the same heartache as Aubrey. However, I didn’t think it was very suspenseful except for a few moments and the overall murder plot was anticlimactic. Some characters and conversations felt unnecessary. Also, “I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding” was used at least five times, which is too many.

I have to say whoever did the research for this book deserves an A It is loaded with history and scenic descriptions that seriously got me to the finish line. What happens in the beginning was a little shocking. Dimitri was here and gone, poof, just like that. BUT then wait.. he isnt' who is said he was, there is a ghost in a picture and for a deserted hotel, there are a few people who show up there. It was creepy, a little scary and gothic I guess.

Overall a decent read with a lot to offer.

my hi-lights
"Everything that would scare you has in fact happened! The Dimitri thing right around 29% was sort of shocking even though we just met him"
April 3, 2025 –
0% "Had to look up Dadaists And the anti establishment anti art movement Weird"
April 3, 2025 –
0% "Rookery is a group of rocks breeds of bird breed in WTH am I reading now Thus turned weird and disjointed real fast"
April 3, 2025 – Finished Reading

I really enjoyed this spooky book, and I honestly couldn’t read it fast enough. It’s atmospheric and immersive – and the tension is palpable.

I love it when the story makes me question what’s real and what’s supernatural – and this one has that in spades. So much fun.

If you love an eerie read that keeps you guessing, this is the one.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Aubrey Spencer is a former architect that has taken to photographing interesting things, including old buildings. The crumbling remains of Seabrink hotel, in the north most part of California fit the bill and Aubrey sets off to capture the beautiful edifices and interesting interior when she runs into Dmitri Petroff, a YouTuber famous for roaming old buildings. The two hit it off.

After spending the night together, Dmitiri is found dead leading to a host of questions. Who did it and why is there a mysterious note in his backpack warning him to stay away? Aubrey is quickly joined by her friend Nikki and the two roam the area trying to figure out why Dmitiri was murdered and what questions still live in the Sebrink and have popped up around its renovation. Is Aubrey's life in danger too?

Asylum Hotel was one of those books that I just couldn't put down--I absolutely inhaled it. With plenty of twists and turns that aren't easy to guess and a stellar cast of well depicted characters that are immensely believable, Asulum Hotel is the perfect blend of entertaining, exciting and fun that you want your thrillers to embody. 5 well deserved stars.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.