Hotel Magnifique
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“Hotel Magnifique opened the door to a sumptuous and glittering world of magic and mysteries and left me enchanted. Perfect for fans of Caraval and The Night Circus.” –Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows and Small Favors
For fans of Caraval and The Night Circus, this decadent and darkly enchanting YA fantasy, set against the backdrop of a Belle Époque-inspired hotel, follows seventeen-year-old Jani as she uncovers the deeply disturbing secrets of the legendary Hotel Magnifique.
All her life, Jani has dreamed of Elsewhere. Just barely scraping by with her job at a tannery, she’s resigned to a dreary life in the port town of Durc, caring for her younger sister, Zosa. That is, until the Hotel Magnifique comes to town.
The hotel is legendary not only for its whimsical enchantments, but also for its ability to travel—appearing in a different destination every morning. While Jani and Zosa can’t afford the exorbitant costs of a guest’s stay, they can interview to join the staff, and are soon whisked away on the greatest adventure of their lives. But once inside, Jani quickly discovers their contracts are unbreakable and that beneath the marvelous glamour, the hotel is hiding dangerous secrets.
With the vexingly handsome doorman, Bel, as her only ally, Jani embarks on a mission to unravel the mystery of the magic at the heart of the hotel and free Zosa—and the other staff—from the cruelty of the ruthless maître d’hôtel. To succeed, she’ll have to risk everything she loves, but failure would mean a fate far worse than never returning home.
“Hotel Magnifique opened the door to a sumptuous and glittering world of magic and mysteries and left me enchanted. Perfect for fans of Caraval and The Night Circus.” –Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows and Small Favors
For fans of Caraval and The Night Circus, this decadent and darkly enchanting YA fantasy, set against the backdrop of a Belle Époque-inspired hotel, follows seventeen-year-old Jani as she uncovers the deeply disturbing secrets of the legendary Hotel Magnifique.
All her life, Jani has dreamed of Elsewhere. Just barely scraping by with her job at a tannery, she’s resigned to a dreary life in the port town of Durc, caring for her younger sister, Zosa. That is, until the Hotel Magnifique comes to town.
The hotel is legendary not only for its whimsical enchantments, but also for its ability to travel—appearing in a different destination every morning. While Jani and Zosa can’t afford the exorbitant costs of a guest’s stay, they can interview to join the staff, and are soon whisked away on the greatest adventure of their lives. But once inside, Jani quickly discovers their contracts are unbreakable and that beneath the marvelous glamour, the hotel is hiding dangerous secrets.
With the vexingly handsome doorman, Bel, as her only ally, Jani embarks on a mission to unravel the mystery of the magic at the heart of the hotel and free Zosa—and the other staff—from the cruelty of the ruthless maître d’hôtel. To succeed, she’ll have to risk everything she loves, but failure would mean a fate far worse than never returning home.
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Community Reviews
Originally reviewed on Cyn's Workshop
While the magic of Hotel Magnifique is enough to tantalize the senses, the story falls flat with poor characterization and a lackluster pace.
Poor Characterization
Hotel Magnifique was very much a character-driven story. Still, unfortunately, these were not the characters that drew me into the story.
Jani is stubborn. She is relentless, demanding, and reckless. And not in a charming way.
When her sister gets a position to sing at the acclaimed Hotel Magnifique, it seems to be a dream come true. Until Jani is denied a job and an invitation to keep her sister safe. She forces Bel to take her in, and together they try to keep Jani’s sisters safe.
Usually, I would say this kind of love and devotion to her sister is charismatic. However, she does nothing else. She knows she must play by the rules to stay even as a servant in the Hotel. Instead, she shirks all responsibilities instead of listening to Bel to keep her head down to keep her sister safe. In fact, her actions end up hurting her sister.
There was nothing in the Hotel early on to earn her suspicions. She knows it runs on magic. She knows magic controls almost every facet of it. And yet she sticks her nose into places simply to move the plot around.
She was, quite simply, annoying.
Then there was Bel.
Bel could have easily been an interesting character. However, there is very little character development given to his character. He seems stagnant, the same old Bel from beginning to end. There could have been so much more done with this character who wants to end the tyranny of the evil maître d’hôtel. But with his memory being wiped, there is little backstory for the reader to pull at.
Wanting More
There was so much that I wanted out of Hotel Magnifique.
What story there is here is interesting to read. However, again, there is little devotion to it.
We have an evil maître d’hôtel and other nefarious characters in the Hotel that abuse their power. Still, there is little to no devotion to them. They simply exist. When the story begins to get exciting, and the plot thickens, the story wraps up too quickly.
The last few chapters are where the story is given more backstory and development, but it was thought it was all cut off too soon. I wanted more of the magic system that was barely flushed out, leaving me with more questions and confusion than anything else.
Following Jani through the same motions repeatedly, the story becomes repetitive and forgettable rather than engaging.
Final Thoughts
Hotel Magnifique wasn’t a bad novel; it was just dull. A character-driven story that fails to develop the characters, using them instead as plot devices to push the plot forward, the story is, unfortunately, forgettable.
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Hotel Magnifique is a dark and enchanting tale that follows Jani into the darker side of the magical estate for the rich and powerful.
While the magic of Hotel Magnifique is enough to tantalize the senses, the story falls flat with poor characterization and a lackluster pace.
Poor Characterization
Hotel Magnifique was very much a character-driven story. Still, unfortunately, these were not the characters that drew me into the story.
Jani is stubborn. She is relentless, demanding, and reckless. And not in a charming way.
When her sister gets a position to sing at the acclaimed Hotel Magnifique, it seems to be a dream come true. Until Jani is denied a job and an invitation to keep her sister safe. She forces Bel to take her in, and together they try to keep Jani’s sisters safe.
Usually, I would say this kind of love and devotion to her sister is charismatic. However, she does nothing else. She knows she must play by the rules to stay even as a servant in the Hotel. Instead, she shirks all responsibilities instead of listening to Bel to keep her head down to keep her sister safe. In fact, her actions end up hurting her sister.
There was nothing in the Hotel early on to earn her suspicions. She knows it runs on magic. She knows magic controls almost every facet of it. And yet she sticks her nose into places simply to move the plot around.
She was, quite simply, annoying.
Then there was Bel.
Bel could have easily been an interesting character. However, there is very little character development given to his character. He seems stagnant, the same old Bel from beginning to end. There could have been so much more done with this character who wants to end the tyranny of the evil maître d’hôtel. But with his memory being wiped, there is little backstory for the reader to pull at.
Wanting More
There was so much that I wanted out of Hotel Magnifique.
What story there is here is interesting to read. However, again, there is little devotion to it.
We have an evil maître d’hôtel and other nefarious characters in the Hotel that abuse their power. Still, there is little to no devotion to them. They simply exist. When the story begins to get exciting, and the plot thickens, the story wraps up too quickly.
The last few chapters are where the story is given more backstory and development, but it was thought it was all cut off too soon. I wanted more of the magic system that was barely flushed out, leaving me with more questions and confusion than anything else.
Following Jani through the same motions repeatedly, the story becomes repetitive and forgettable rather than engaging.
Final Thoughts
Hotel Magnifique wasn’t a bad novel; it was just dull. A character-driven story that fails to develop the characters, using them instead as plot devices to push the plot forward, the story is, unfortunately, forgettable.
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Tumblr | Spotify Podcast | YouTube | BookBub | Goodreads+ | LinkedIn
I think I held this book up in my mind as something it wasn’t, and went into reading this only to be disappointed.
I wanted more intrigue.
I was left eating bland cereal.
I want to have loved this one so bad but I found it really slow to start. Once you figure out what's going on its really interesting
I would give this 4.5 stars.
Hotel Magnifique gave me The Night Circus and Howl's Moving Castle vibes the minute I opened the novel, but unfortunately the world building and magic wasn't quite as fleshed out and fantastical as was perhaps aspired to. Descriptions grew dull and uninspiring, and it was a shame because I really wanted to fall in love with the L'Hotel Magnifique. I also had no clear understanding of magic levels and could not properly gauge anyones besides perhaps Hellas' because he flaunted it.
I greatly enjoyed the darker elements in the narrative - this was well executed and I was very intrigued by the main antagonist.
On that note, there were many character I wanted to know more about besides Jani, our main character who, honestly, was a little irritating at times with her foolhardiness. For example Hellas and Issig, and Yrsa and the twins - all powerful suminaires (magicians) that were sadly just sidenotes in Jani's quest to leap headstrong into everything and have everything go her way.
Overall, I think this had the makings of an outstanding novel, but it fell just a little short of 5 stars for me.
Hotel Magnifique gave me The Night Circus and Howl's Moving Castle vibes the minute I opened the novel, but unfortunately the world building and magic wasn't quite as fleshed out and fantastical as was perhaps aspired to. Descriptions grew dull and uninspiring, and it was a shame because I really wanted to fall in love with the L'Hotel Magnifique. I also had no clear understanding of magic levels and could not properly gauge anyones besides perhaps Hellas' because he flaunted it.
I greatly enjoyed the darker elements in the narrative - this was well executed and I was very intrigued by the main antagonist.
On that note, there were many character I wanted to know more about besides Jani, our main character who, honestly, was a little irritating at times with her foolhardiness. For example Hellas and Issig, and Yrsa and the twins - all powerful suminaires (magicians) that were sadly just sidenotes in Jani's quest to leap headstrong into everything and have everything go her way.
Overall, I think this had the makings of an outstanding novel, but it fell just a little short of 5 stars for me.
I LOVED this book. I didn’t read the blurb so I didn’t know what to expect. Obviously I knew the book was going to be about a hotel but I wasn’t prepared for the mystical perilous world that the author brings you into. The main character was very likable. While there is zero smut and no real romance element, there is a whisper of sexual tension and a deep fondness between two of the main characters. The subtly of their desire for each other is relatable & keeps you waiting and wishing that they would allow themselves to have each other. Aside from that, there is so much magic and imagination within the pages of Hotel Magnifique. Every time I thought I had the direction of the book pegged, I’d find out more information that would shift the story in another direction. There is a serious amount of detail that went into each character, the hotel and their backgrounds. I will miss the characters. Ten out of ten, recommend.
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