The hotel itself was really cool. I loved reading the descriptions of the different guest rooms and the entertainment that was put on for the guests. Life seems to be really great at Hotel Magnifique though Jani seems to find out pretty quickly that not all is lovely as the orange trees that litter the lobby. I think I would have enjoyed the story more of Jani wasn't so stubborn and making rash decisions all the time, despite getting advice to the contrary. It does fit the age of this character but I wouldn't have minded a little more maturity, especially since she has been raising her sister for a few years after their mom died.
Yes, there is excitement and some of the summinaires were really cool, like Beatrice or Issig or scary like Ysra and those would have been fun to get to know better but it never really fleshes them out. You do get an info dump near the end from a character that is conveniently shown and then snuffed out which was jarring and could have been done differently.
This was not bad for a debut book and if it had stuck with the Hotel and its magics plus the more interesting of the summinaires, it would have been most excellent. I did enjoy most of it though.
Yes, there is excitement and some of the summinaires were really cool, like Beatrice or Issig or scary like Ysra and those would have been fun to get to know better but it never really fleshes them out. You do get an info dump near the end from a character that is conveniently shown and then snuffed out which was jarring and could have been done differently.
This was not bad for a debut book and if it had stuck with the Hotel and its magics plus the more interesting of the summinaires, it would have been most excellent. I did enjoy most of it though.