Author: Elin Hilderbrand
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Release Date: June 14, 2022

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy. When her life-long boyfriend screws up their relationship, Lizbet takes on the challenge of running an old abandoned hotel that has been recently renovated by a billionaire. This is no ordinary hotel though; as legend has it, it’s haunted! The hotel owner, Xavier, tasks Lizbet with fully staffing the hotel, training, and everything else that comes with hotel management. As we get to know the many different staff, we learn about their drama as they struggle not only personally but also with trying to get along with their teammates. Overall, I liked it. This is a book with many storylines and many characters, but not much plot focus. It’s very much a character-driven story, but with so many of them, I’d almost venture to call it character soup. Some of the staff I really liked, others not so much. I found myself questioning why some stories were there as they added unnecessary bulk. As a result of so much bouncing back and forth, it took me a good chunk of the book to care about anyone, other than Grace, the 100-year-old relentless ghost who is determined to have the world discover how she died. She, I connected with the most and immediately. I kept wanting to learn more about the others from her eyes. She made the overall plot interesting. I had hoped the story contained a bit more ghostly encounters than it did. But that’s okay. My bad for expecting that. As I read, I wondered who the main character really was. I thought it was Lizbet, the GM, then Grace, the ghost, but I figured out, in the end, I was wrong. The real star and main character here is the hotel! While a location, the hotel is a character in itself, brought to life before the pages with its homelike decor, secrets, and extravagance! I have loved the author’s other books. I was excited to read this one. While this one was good, my favourites are still: 28 Summers, Summer of 69, and, Blue Bistro. Those were amazing! But this is still an interesting read if you don’t mind a book that jumps from story to story and character to character. Just give it time, and by the end, you’ll be rooting for most of them! The ending was a nice surprise. Although left me with some unanswered questions; for the sake of keeping this review spoiler-free, I won’t list them. The added bonus of the ‘Blue Book’ at the novel’s end was a nice addition. I’ve never been to Nantucket (I’m well familiar with Martha’s Vineyard though) but if I ever plan a trip to Nantucket, I’ll definitely reference the ‘Blue Book’. |