Book Review: Hotel for the Lost by Suzanne Young

Hotel for the Lost
Author: Suzanne Young
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Pages: 281 pages
R.R.P: $17.99


Audrey and her family only plan to stay one night at the grand Hotel Ruby. But life in the Ruby can be intoxicating, extending their stay as it provides endless distractions- including handsome guest Elias Lange, who sends Audrey's pulse racing. However, the note, proves to be as strange as it is beautiful. Nightly fancy affairs in the ballroom are invitation only, and Audrey seems to be the one guest who doesn't have an invite. Instead, she joins the hotel staff on the rooftop, catching whispers about the hotel's dark past.

The more Audrey learns about the new people she's met, the more her curiosity grows. She's torn in different directions- the pull of her past with his overwhelming loss, the promise of a future that holds little joy, and an in-between life in a place that is so much more than it seems...

Welcome to the Ruby.

My review
Thoughts on the book: Hotel for the Lost tells the story Audrey and how on the way to their grandmother's house (where she and her brother are being shipped of to live due to her bad behaviour after their mother's sudden death) her father pulls up at a place called the Hotel Ruby for a night. Upon arriving Audrey is placed on the 13th floor and her dad and brother are placed on completely different levels. Although she makes friends with the hotel staff, falls in love with Elias, she seems to get on the bad side of the hotel Concierge, Kenneth, seems to see a lot of things that aren't really there, ends up with some weird aches and pains that suddenly disappear and never seems to get an invite to the nightly party held behind the doors in the foyer. After their one night suddenly turns into two and then three Audrey is left wondering if they will ever leave.  

Having never read one of Suzanne Young's books I didn't quite no what to expect with Hotel for The Lost. I had read a lot of reviews previously to reading it and many people didn't seem to really like Audrey, saying she was quite rude and fell in love too quickly, which I'll admit I agree with her falling in love with Elias too quick. One second they are meeting and the next they are hit and heavy and she never wants to leave him. However I found her to be a really well rounded character. I believe that the anger and hurt she was portraying would be exactly how someone who has just lost their mother recently and in all purposes lost their father as well, would act. I'm sorry but if she hadn't had these qualities I don't believe she would have been as strong as a character. In a way she blames herself for her mothers death and also holds a little grudge against her mum because she was going to break up with Ryan that morning and because her mother was home she couldn't do it and therefore never got another chance. So in Hotel for Ruby she is trying to work out all her issues and I believe in the end she does and she can finally let her mother go. Audrey grows so much throughout the book and is a much better person at the end especially doing what she does in the last couple of chapters (no spoilers here). I found the mystery that we were presented with in Hotel for the Lost was a little easy to guess in the end but still held my attention. I guessed about half way through when she started seeing things what may have been the mystery but it was a lot more complex than I could have guessed.

I am looking forward to reading more by Suzanne Young.

Rating: 4/5






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