Taylor, E: Hotel Magnifique

Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor is a magical and enthralling ya fantasy that gives some vibes similar to the Caraval series. Jani is our protagonist and she cares for her sister Zosa and they barely make ends meet. Hotel Magnifique is a place that is legendary and everyone knows of and wishes to see it for themselves. When the hotel actually visits their town, Jani does everything to ensure they can stay in the hotel and her dedication for this was extraordinary. Jani in general is a force of nature character and this made it difficult for me to sympathize with her. You see the hotel from different perspectives in this book and that made it a unique experience to learn about it. For one you hear the tales about and then you actually see it from a guest, but also a worker’s perspective. Especially the latest gave a behind the scenes look and that was sometimes even very dangerous. My favorite part of the book was the atmosphere. It was so glamorous, whimsical and enchanting and you wish to visit the Hotel Magnifique yourself. At the same time it also harbors secrets and mystery and during the book some of those get uncovered. While these parts of the book were amazing, it also had a downside as it overshadowed the characters for me. They can quickly get lost in the hotel and I always need some characters I can feel for that guide through the book. And in this one this only happened sometimes and that is probably my main point about this book. Overall, Hotel Magnifique is the perfect place and book to get lost in and I just wish I could have connected more to the characters. 3 stars. (ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)