Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor was pitched as a meeting between The Night Circus and Caraval. I’d say that it lived up to that premise and could see the similarities between the novels quite noticeably. The appeal of Hotel Magnifique, in my opinion, lies within the magic system. The story is quite literally about a magical hotel that *poofs* into existence for a single day every ten years and whisks its guests off to “Elsewhere”. But don’t get it twisted. This is not a light hearted story. It's almost deceptive in it’s premise, because I went in expecting a Caraval-ian light heartedness to the magic system, and instead found something darker and much more sinister. I won’t spoil what happens in the story, but much of the meat of the novel is about the elder sister, Jani’s determination to save her sister and understand the magic of the hotel. There is a romantic plotline, that is decent, but I honestly could have taken or left it. And while I’m sure a great deal of time went in to planning the story’s world building and magic system, it still didn’t feel as flushed out or unique as it could have been. I did like the characters and their story arc, but sometimes I found myself confused right along with Jani. I received an Advanced Copy from the publisher and Bookish First, but all opinions are my own.