I admit I went into this one with alittle apprehension. After being a bit disappointed with the last installment of the Girls with sharp sticks trilogy....the first book was amazing, only to slowly merge into a feminist rant in the next two books.....I wasn't sure what to expect.

It was a tad slow going, and took me several chapters to really get into this story.

Young seems to have a penchant for creating very entitled, and somewhat obnoxious characters....the main characters here....Audrey and her brother Daniel .....seem to think their Father owes them something for checking out of reality for awhile after the death of their Mother 3 months ago....the fact that he lost his wife, his life partner, seems lost on his two incredibly selfish children. Fortunately, the story contains a full cast of other characters.....many that are both interesting and likable. Elias being my personal favorite.

The storyline was fairly easy to figure out, it was obvious where it was all going, but was still very interesting....by the last 1/4 of the book I simply could not put it down. I loved the ending.
Although, more background on hotel Ruby would have been appreciated.

I could totally see this becoming a series......with new residents arriving and guests coming and going....there would be plenty of places to go with this.

This is definitely a book I will recommend to others, and this certainly has me more excited to read the other Suzanne Young books I have. ( )

This was my first read after Hurricane Michael destroyed our home and my insurance placed us...in a hotel. I saw this come up as a "free ready" with Simon Riveted, and when I finally felt up to it, I couldn't resist.

I felt an odd kinship with Audrey, having been through my own life changing event recently, and really felt her and her family's pain. Losing things and memories is one thing, people another. They're all reeling from the changes, so the unexpected vacation time on their road trip to a new life is most welcome. Initially, it seems to be just the tonic they need...but soon the hotel's tagline becomes more sinister than comforting. Suddenly, the odd flashes, strange pains, eerie feelings all make sense...and before this stay is over, lives will be changed.

It's got its creepy factor, but also the glitz, glam, and pizazz ...and a whole lot of heart...that breathe life into a story that will remind you of some predecessors, but with it own twist. A great read for the season or any time. ( )

The Shining meets Ghost Ship meets Rose Red

This was a great Halloween read. I thought it was well written and my love for Audrey is eternal. (kidding.)

But really I loved how spunky and sassy she was when she was mad. Lol. She was such a sweet character until she was rubbed the wrong way.

I loved all the diversity of characters. Though we can all agree we hate that one fella.

I'll say this. It was very predictable. From midway you can see the end coming from a mile away. Yet it keeps you reading because it's just that good and you want to know if you were right or not.

I did like the ending. Though the few chapters leading up to it were a bit slow and boring.

I wish we knew more about Hotel Ruby. We learn what happened there but we aren't really told how the hotel became a living thing.

The only problem I had were the chapter jumps. Each chapter seems to pick up a few hours after the last one ended so it making you have to guess/figure out what happened between.

Other than that it was good. Nor scary or creepy yet still a great Halloween read. ( )