A great quick read for some of my lower level readers who still want a great story! Since it's more middle than high school equipped I find that it's a much easier entry point for my kids

I quite liked this middle grades book, though it feels a little like The Mysterious Benedict Society Lite, which may just be an unfortunate publishing coincidence. Still, if you resist the urge to compare it to the adventures of Reynie et al and read this book on its own merits, it’s fun read with an engaging central mystery and lots of likable characters.

Orphan Elizabeth Somers hasn’t had a happy Christmas for as long as she can remember, and this one promises to be the worst yet: Her awful aunt and uncle are shipping her off to a hotel in the middle of wintry nowhere with no suitable cold weather gear and no spending money for food or anything else. Winterhouse Hotel, a warm, welcoming place full of friendly faces, delicious meals, and a generous staff, turns out to be a delightful surprise, and Elizabeth can’t decide if she’s happier about the hotel’s marvelous library (she loves to read) or her new friend Freddy, who’s also spending Christmas alone and who shares Elizabeth’s love of word games. Everything would be perfect if it weren’t for the creepy couple who seem to be paying a little too much attention to Elizabeth and the book she shouldn’t have stolen from the library’s restricted section.

The big-picture mystery is a little unpolished and some of the more obvious plot twists feel like they drag out forever, but the strength of this book is in its quotidian charm. Elizabeth’s bookish inner monologue is a pleasure to follow, and the daily rhythms of Winterhouse come to life so that you, too, feel like a guest at this charmingly over-the-top holiday hotel. I loved the little scenes, exploring the hallways or visiting the kitchen, and the little moments, like Elizabeth and Freddy’s scavenger hunt, much more than the big reveals or adventure. And kudos to this book, which is already showing up on Goodreads as Winterhouse #1, for ending on a solid resolution — sure, it’s clear that more adventures could follow, but it definitely does not indulge in my middle grades lit pet peeve of ending the first book on a giant cliffhanger. I’d recommend this to bookish kids who enjoyed The Greenglass House or Pseudonymous Bosch.

Winterhouse delighted me from the first page! It's a fabulous book for middle grade readers that explores family and loneliness within the confines of a mysterious adventure. There are no situations in this book that make it seem "too mature" for younger readers. Illustrations added to the story and that cover is fantastic.
One thing I really appreciated was a satisfying ending that definitely left room for a sequel - and left me hoping for one.

I loved this book so much that I bought a physical copy to have in my personal library.

"A charming, atmospheric mystery with some fantasy elements, for fans of Kate Milford’s Greenglass House and Trenton Lee Stewart’s The MysteriousBenedict Society. . . Bristol’s art is whimsical and enhances the spirit of the story."

**4.5-stars!!!**

Elizabeth Somers is an orphan being raised by her miserable Aunt and Uncle in the equally miserable town of Drere. Just when Elizabeth thinks things can't get any worse, her Aunt and Uncle ((...like these people could give the Dursleys a run for their money)) tell her they are shipping her off to the ominous Winterhouse Hotel for three weeks over Christmas Holiday. Are they going with her? No, of course not. They are taking their own, much more glamorous holiday, abroad.

Thus, Elizabeth embarks on the holiday that will change her life forever. Strange events begin occurring to poor Elizabeth before she even sets foot on the Winterhouse property. On the train enroute to the hotel you can tell something is amiss. This book has a wonderful blend of mystery, intrigue, fun and adventure throughout. You follow Elizabeth as she makes new friends, including her new constant companion Freddy who is also spending his holiday sans parental figures, and as she explores the hotel and the many mysteries held within its walls.

The cast of characters in this was one of my favorite elements. You have the two kids, Elizabeth and Freddy, both major word nerds, who develop a very strong friendship rather quickly. You have Norbridge Falls, the eccentric owner of the hotel who spews forth droplets of wisdom onto the children with every turn. ((e.g. "The moment we start feeling better than other people because of our capabilities is the moment we start to lose ourselves.") And of course, as every good Middle Grade novel should, this story also has a very malevolent set of baddies, the Hiemses, a husband and wife pair that seem to pop up at the most inconvenient times and in the most inconvenient places.

For all of us booknerds, there's more! There is a library! A library with a very special book hidden on its shelves. The Book. It is when Elizabeth comes across this book that things start to really heat up for her. There is so much here to enjoy: messages hidden in paintings, skeleton keys, codes, orbs of red light, coffins hidden in back bedrooms, long-held family secrets and so much more.

As mentioned before, this story occurs during the Christmas holiday season and I would highly recommend picking up a copy for yourself, or that Middle Grade reader in your life that will be haunting your halls this holiday season looking for something to do because he or she is bored!! This entertaining little book could be the perfect cure for that! Additionally, the next book in the series is releasing at the end of December so they won't have long to wait for the sequel! Thank you so much to Henry Holt and Co., and NetGalley, for providing me with opportunity to read this book and give my opinion. I appreciate the opportunity!

Winterhouse is delightfully weird and is so incredibly well written. I couldn't put this book down when I was reading it, and it made it onto my New in 2018 reading list at the library.

This book would be perfect for fans of Greenglass House or Nooks and Crannies. Just the right amount of mystery and intrigue!

Elizabeth Somers is sent away to Winterhouse by her aunt and uncle. She has lived with them for many years due to the death of her parents. She is not sure how her aunt and uncle can afford the trip they are going on and to send her to Winterhouse. They are very poor and should not be able to afford a three week Christmas holiday. At Winterhouse, Elizbeth meets Freddy. She finally has a friend who is very much like her. They both love to read and they both love puzzles. She also meets many intriguing adults at Winterhouse. Some scarier than others. Elizabeth has often had "premonitions" that something is going to happen. She is not sure why she has them or how to control them, but she will learn more about them at Winterhouse. She will also learn more about the mysterious Winterhouse and the family that has owned it for a very long time. This was such a fun book to read and I highly recommend this book for middle-grade students. Actually, anyone can enjoy this fun mystery. It appears this is the first in a series and I will definitely be looking for book 2. A solid 4-star rating for Winterhouse.

"An enchanting urban fantasy middle-grade debut―the first book in a trilogy―set in a magical hotel full of secrets.

Orphan Elizabeth Somers’s malevolent aunt and uncle ship her off to the ominous Winterhouse Hotel, owned by the peculiar Norbridge Falls. Upon arrival, Elizabeth quickly discovers that Winterhouse has many charms―most notably its massive library. It’s not long before she locates a magical book of puzzles that will unlock a mystery involving Norbridge and his sinister family. But the deeper she delves into the hotel’s secrets, the more Elizabeth starts to realize that she is somehow connected to Winterhouse. As fate would have it, Elizabeth is the only person who can break the hotel’s curse and solve the mystery. But will it be at the cost of losing the people she has come to car for, and even Winterhouse itself?

Mystery, adventure, and beautiful writing combine in this exciting debut richly set in a hotel full of secrets."

Middle School me demands I buy this book. The cover, the concept, all of it, sold!

I LOVED this book! The setting of Winterhouse was absolutely magical, I loved the writing, the characters, the mystery, everything. Who says middle grade books aren’t for adults?

I really wanted to like this book. The descriptions of the hotel and the rooms it contains are wonderful. I really enjoyed the illustrations. The synopsis sounded fascinating. It portrayed a fast paced story that you would leave you waiting for the next installment with bated breath.
Unfortunately, I couldn't even get all the way through this story. I found the main mystery really intriguing, but the book gets hung up on so many other odd tangents that I found it distracting and made me lose the rest of the story. It is great that she wants to help the old guys with the puzzle, but we don't need to spend pages and pages talking about it. I love that they want to solve clues and puzzles, but instead of focusing on the mystery in the hotel, they create puzzles and games for each other. Interesting, but slows the plot again. All of her odd lists that she makes flesh out the character, not in a likeable way, but again have no point in the plot. I like the magic angle, but if you are going to add magic it should be all the way through. Not just a "funny feeling" she gets every so often or letters appearing in a book once in a while, but a consistent theme woven in.
I may try this book again after a while, but it was just too slow to hold my interest.

A charming cover will deceive younger readers that this is just their sort of read, but it is better suited to older readers based on the length, complexity of plot, and puzzle loving protagonists. It is well written but is an unnecessarily long tale (and only the first in an announced series) of a young girl's quest to solve her relationship to the mansion where she is exiled, in an uneasy mix of gothic, humourous and familial misadventures. The house is delightfully described, the library is a reader's fantasy, and the heroine Elizabeth is very appealing, but Winterhouse has a formulaic feel of being too carefully calculated for a certain type of bookish child that makes the overall story feel a bit precious and stiflling and won't grab other readers' interests. It simply tries to hard with an orphaned heroine up against evil family members, mysterious ghosts, plot twists and weird hotel guests. The illustrations are fantastic and add much of the story's charm - but beward of too much charm, a little anarchy makes for the best books sometimes.

Great for fans of middle-grade puzzle mysteries like "The Westing Game" or "Book Scavenger."

Some of the clues and word anagrams might be a bit hard for kids - it took me awhile to figure out how they worked! But the overall story was good. Give to kids who liked Greenglass House. The additional illustrations are a nice touch.

I really liked this story about Elizabeth, an orphan who lives with a miserable aunt and uncle. She loves puzzles of all kinds and is suddenly and unexpectedly sent to a swanky resort where she is surrounded by kind people who also love books and puzzles. There is a mystery afoot and the whole unraveling of that mystery is what makes this story great. The characters are interesting, the mystery compelling and the puzzles are so much fun. I think the kids are going to like this one a lot.

This is a cute book for budding bookworms. A brainy young reader is sent to a mysterious hotel where she meets a quirky cast of characters including booksellers and a young boy with a love of riddles and anagrams. This higher-brow middle school literature is certainly niche, but it will no doubt appeal to fans of Lemony Snickett.

A big thank you to NetGalley and McMillan for an ARC of this book. I found many things I liked about the book: the word ladders and other word games, the library at Winterhouse, Elizabeth's passion for books, the concept of Winterhouse and the unexpected goodfortune it was to visit for a poor orphan girl in a home without love.
What I did not love was the paranormal aspect. Gracella was a way too creepy and took away from the holiday celebrations going on in the book. Although that part of the plot does allow us to see Elizabeth having to make choices between good and evil and modelling that struggle for middle grade kids.
Definitely interested in reading the rest of the trilogy. Fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society may find this series of interest.

I had the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this middle grade novel from NetGalley in exchange for this review. For middle grade students (grades 5 and up) who enjoy mysteries and puzzles, this would be a fun and entertaining read. Elizabeth Somers’ guardian aunt and uncle are taking a winter vacation and have sent her to spend Christmas break at the Winterhouse hotel. When she arrives at this extravagant resort, she is blown away by how wonderful it is. She makes fast friends with another young guest, Freddy, and the two of them explore all of the hotel together. As time passes, she starts encountering all sorts of weird secrets and mysteries, including an old book that seems to have magical powers itself. The plot twists and turns take readers through an adventure to determine what message this book is trying to share with Elizabeth and what it all means for the fate of Winterhouse and everyone in it.

I believe that mystery lovers will enjoy this book. Young readers that like reading about resort hotels and solving puzzles will have some fun with it. I do think that the plot development drags in several spots. My attention started to wander through the descriptions of the time spent solving the big jigsaw puzzle in the lobby, Freddy’s work to develop his invention of the Wonder Log, and the exclusive Winterhouse-made candy, Flurschen. Through these extra details that aren’t as important to the actual mystery of the story, young readers might lose interest.

Fun mix of puzzles, codes and magic. Plenty of mysteries to keep you turning pages. Some loose ends left for future stories. Loved the illustrations