"Upstairs, Downstairs" meets "Howl's Moving Castle"

Hotel Magnifique begins exactly how I like my fantasy novels to begin -- with whispers of outlawed magic and hints that our MC is our ticket into its folds. Taylor's writing is inviting, and her rendering of the relationship between Jani and Zosa is believable and will make for a humanizing lens through which to experience this fantasyland. I am loving this "Upstairs, Downstairs" meets "Howl's Moving Castle" vibe that the novel is striking and can't wait to read more!