The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart

So, I’ve always been a fan of science fiction and time travel, throw in a bit of mystery, fantasy, and good old detective work, and I said yes, yes I will read it! What this story promised me was, first and foremost, TIME TRAVEL, secondly crime(s) being committed, and thirdly a female detective trying to find the killer(s) while suffering from being “UNSTUCK” due to many years’ close proximity to a timeport. Said detective’s name is January Cole, which I love, by the way, ends up being more Security for the Paradox Hotel rather than an actual detective. She is responsible for the safety of all staff and guests. The Hotel guests are extremely wealthy tourists who can pay to travel to the past, an experience of a lifetime that not everyone can have. Being so close to the timeport can cause clocks to run backward, or ghosts can be seen roaming the halls or sometimes even being seen lying murdered in room 526, which only January can see. The Hotel is in the process of being sold to the highest bidder, and “accidents” start happening to those bidders, not to mention baby dinosaurs being smuggled back from the past. Now January has a mission, to find out who the “future” murderer is, who the murdered man was/is, and stop the murder from happening, all while she is losing her mind being unstuck.

I went into this story excited to read mostly about the time travel. I wanted to see it for myself, experience that flight into the past, see live dinosaurs in their habitat, experience the fall of Rome, see the Egyptian pyramids being built, and find out why Stonehenge was built, and how. So many things I could have experienced from the time travel perspective, with some detective work included. Instead, I got a wannabe detective who spends most of the book being a smart ass to everyone, when she is not having inner monologues with herself and her dead lover. I am all for relationships, learning about yourself, and how to improve, but I can only handle so much of the “past” experiences with her lover, who died in the hotel kitchen, for which January blames herself. I am going to guess that only about 5% of the book, if that, speaks to actual time travel. The remaining involves unraveling the mystery of the murder, maybe 25%, and talking to the dead lover 70%.

I do think this was a decent storyline, it had its moments where I did not want to stop reading until I figured something out, but most of the time it was difficult for me to stay attentive to what was going on. I will be honest, I started reading this on January 3, 2022, and did not finish until May 16, 2022. I love to read and will often not stop until I finish the book, usually in record time. This book just did not keep my interest and I had to force myself to finish it the last few days. Overall, it is not a bad story, it’s just not my cup of tea. I would give 2.5 stars if I could, but alas, 2 it is.

*I was provided a free copy of this e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

I thought I would love this but I found it extremely confusing which made it a bit of a slog to get through for me

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review! All opinions contained in this review are my own.

When the publisher sent me an email asking if I would like to read The Paradox Hotel, I read the synopsis and was instantly hooked. A murder mystery set in a hotel with a body that only our main character, January Cole, can see. And, oh yeah, there’s time travel. Like, yes, please! Sign me up!

As i mentioned, this story follows an ex-time detective named January Cole who is now in charge of security at the Paradox Hotel. This hotel caters to the richest of the rich but there is something else unique about the clientele. Everyone staying there have also booked trips to the past. That’s right, time travel is a very real thing in this story and it’s January’s job to make sure these entitled time hoppers are safe inside the Paradox, among other things. Then a huge summit of trillionaires who are bidding to buy the time travelling technology and the hotel along with it descend on her domain way earlier than expected. And, to top it all off, she finds a body in one of the guest rooms that only she can see.

This book was an absolutely wild ride! I picked this up, intrigued but not sure what to expect, and found myself flying through the pages. The plot was well-structured, with no spots that seemed to lag or move too fast. I will say there are time jumps in this, which totally make sense with what is going on in the plot, but can be a little confusing. There’s a certain way the author signals that a jump is about to occur but, before I figured it out, I will admit I was lost 😂 Once I realized what was happening, though, I was completely re-invested in the story.

I know that this is going to make me sound like a bad sci-fi fan, but I’m kind of glad that this book didn’t focus on the ins and outs of how the time travel works in this world. There were a few moments where brief descriptions were given and I’m not 100% if they were scientifically sound, but that was okay with me. That was because I was far more interested in the stories of the characters populating this hotel and less so in the timey-wimey stuff. Rob Hart has created an incredible cast of diverse characters that were a pleasure to read! I will warn you right now: January Cole is an asshole. She’s sarcastic, emotionally unavailable, and sometimes just downright cruel to people who simply want to help her. She frustrated me to no end… but I loved her character. She was vivid and interesting and felt so real! It was incredible watching her journey through grief and pain throughout this novel. I also really enjoyed the secondary characters we meet along the way. No one felt one dimensional or like a caricature, which can be hard when there is such a large cast!

Final thoughts: I now need more books that mix science fiction and murder mystery because I loved this one! The plot is engaging and kept me interested throughout, though I will admit to getting lost a little bit at the beginning. If you’re looking for a sci-fi that focuses more on the science, this might not be for you. But if you’re looking for one that focuses on complex characters, struggles with grief and illness, and a mystery that will keep you guessing, I think this might be a good pick for you!

I guess I'll land on 3.5 stars... This is such a hard one to rate, because for premise, writing quality, and characters, I could happily give this something in the B+ to A range. But for plot execution, this is more like a C+, because there are so many threads that don't really come together as successfully as I hoped. By the end, it felt kind of jumbled but still somewhat satisfying, which creates a headscratcher in terms of how to review! In general, I appreciate an ambitious project even if it is not wholly successful, so I would still encourage people interested in this to give it a try. I really liked what it was trying to do with respect to a time travel story that actually takes the moral implications seriously and how fast moving the story was as a whole.

Not what I expected. Instead of a time travel story, The Paradox Hotel is more a story of the disasters of time travel centered around January Cole, Security Director during the privatization of the US time travel program at the Paradox Hotel and the Einstein Facilities. January and Ruby; her wise-cracking drone sidekick are nicely developed, authentic characters. The problem is the confusing and complicated plot, number of characters and hard to follow story lines. The character of January kept me reading. The idea of the story is inventive, just too scattered.

A wild, weird, and wonderful murder mystery that is unlike anything else I've read. It's a mix of romance, mystery, suspense, and science fiction--all with a time traveling and action-packed adventures. The MC, January, is flawed as heck, but we can't help connecting with her and feeling for her experiences. There *is* a bit of a political lean, which I didn't care for, but overall, I came away loving this and recommending it to half the people I know.

I've read Rob Hart's previous books and really like his style of writing. It's very unique! The character development is strong which is always a winner in my book. I'm normally a huge fan of time travel in books, but this one was a bit more complicated than I wanted it to be. Lots of characters, lots of scene changes, not the best transitions.

The Paradox Hotel has a creative mind-mending sci-fi mystery plot. I had some trouble staying with it. I wish I had kept a character list to refer back to. I appreciate the ambitiousness of the author. For me, it was a little too much, but I'm sure many readers will love it. Give it a try.

I am a library associate and received an advance copy from #NetGalley. Opinions are my own.

The Paradox Hotel sits near the Timeport. Hotel guests arrive dressed for their foray into time, so one never knows what might be seen or experienced at The Paradox. January Cole is a detective. She spends her days jumping back and forth in time to stop people from changing the past. There's a cost though...she experiences time skips and other bizarre side effects. And it's starting to have an effect on her mental health.

Things are getting a bit dicey at the hotel. The government is preparing to privatize time travel tech, and all sorts of people are showing up to get their piece of the pie. Powerful people. Dangerous people. As January slowly loses her grip on reality, she struggles to investigate a dead body only she can see and the dangerous situation building at the hotel.

I loved the plot and suspense of this story. There's nothing like a great time-travel tale! The story moves at a perfect pace, and January Cole is a great main character.

This is the second book by Rob Hart that I've read. I also enjoyed The Warehouse. Can't wait to read more! Very enjoyable story!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Random House Publishing/Ballentine. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

THE PARADOX HOTEL • Rob Hart • ⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed Hart's last novel, THE WAREHOUSE, so when I saw this book I knew I'd be snatching it up. I was not disappointed - this book is just as unique/cool as his last. So why a two star rating? For me, this book is a shining example of a great idea with an execution that I ultimately did not connect with.

SUMMARY: January Cole runs security at the Paradox Hotel - a hotel for ultra-wealthy tourists costumed for a dozen different time periods, all eagerly waiting to catch their “flights” to the past. It's not an easy job (rumor has it, the place is haunted...), but it is nothing compared to her previous role as a time-traveling detective. The effects of such frequent time travel have resulted in moments of the past and future blurring with Cole's present. Not only does this make her day-to-day difficult, but it could also kill her.

Speaking of, Cole keeps seeing some dead guy in one of the hotel rooms. Sure, only she can see him, but that can't be good, especially when the U.S. government is about to privatize time-travel technology—and the world’s most powerful people are on hand at the hotel to stake their claims. Cole is sure the timing isn’t a coincidence. Neither are those “accidents” that keep arising at the hotel. It's her job to get to the bottom of it, but as Cole's grip on reality continues to deteriorate, she finds herself confronting not just the hotel’s dark secrets but also her own.

THE PLOT: Sounds cool, huh? It is, My issue is that it can be hard to merge past, present, and future through writing. Hart does a stellar job, but I'd still have to double-back to figure out what I was actually reading. This is one of those stories that I think would translate even better in a movie.

THE CHARACTERS: The diversity in this book was great. My connection to the characters was not. Cole is not supposed to be a likable MC, but eh. I can't put my finger on why, but I was not invested in anyone.

TL;DR: Read if you like sci-fi/time travel with a dash of murder mystery. Definitely look out for the movie because if this book is adapted for the screen, that'll be a must-watch.

The Paradox Hotel had me very confused at the beginning. It’s the type of book where you are thrown into a situation you know nothing about and are supposed to learn as it goes along. I wish there had been some sort of intro into the world because I feel like I missed a lot of what happened at the beginning, simply because I didn’t know what was important at the time. Once the premise kicks in, I thought it was very interesting. Still not sure what all the logistics are but I enjoyed piecing together the time slips. The main character, January, can be somewhat annoying since her whole persona is that she’s damaged and apparently can’t accept help from anyone. Hence all of her issues. For me, this was a 3/5.

If you like time travel, dinosaurs, or work families, this is the one for you.

I received a digital copy of this book free from Ballantine Books and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved how this book used time travel and the dangers of the commercialization of time travel. January Cole is the kind of narrator that you love to have in this kind of book. She knows more than those around her but is in the dark about the central mysteries, she is funny and sarcastic, but also deeply traumatized in ways the book slowly makes clear. I thought the book was very inventive and even if the ending fell a little flat I had a lot of fun reading the book.

4.5 This unique fast paced thriller kept me on the edge of my seat.It had everything I wanted in it from time travel, dinosaurs, and a murder mystery I could not put this book down. This book follows January a retired time enforcement agent who took. A security job at the attached hotel when she became unstuck. Wing unstuck happens during time travel it means that time starts slipping for the patient so she will sometimes slip into a past memory or even the future. When the time travel port starts losing money the government decides to privatize so a summit is being held by the bidders to see who the new owner will be. Due to threats of riots the summit is moved up as a blizzard hits the hotel causing it to be overbooked. Strange things start happening at the hotel and people keep almost getting assassinated. January works to find out who is behind these attempts and how to fix the issues at the hotel.
I really enjoyed this story the plot was fast paced and fun with many memorable action scenes that kept you on the edge of your seat. I really enjoyed the science in this book and the theories on multiple timelines and what happens if something is changed in the past. My only issue with the story was character development. Some of the characters like January were really fleshed out and really enjoyable to learn about while others such as some of the builders were barley part of the story. I wish I could have had more information on them there were parts where I was having issues keeping track of which character was which. Overall though I really enjoyed this book and would recommend for fans of Michael Creighton. I would like to thank the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review

Give this book a read! It was good and very well written. I do not normally read sci-fi fiction but I gave this one a go. The idea behind the book gives the reader many ideas to think about. The book was intriguing as well as a thought provoking book. Once you begin reading, you want to finish so that you can find out the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.
Overall I liked this book. The sci-fi and different dimensions of time were really thought provoking. And add the overall element of "Who done it?" making this a murder mystery really pulled it out for me.
The MC was bitter and angry, yet likable. And the other characters were well developed. The writing of this book was well done and I didn't feel there were any open holes in the story , for that I give it 4 stars.
In summary I gave this book 3 stars because it got a little boring for me. But it was probably the crime murder mystery and Fantasy/sci-fi blend that lost me.
If you're a fan of time paradox/travel stories , I would recommend you check this one out. If not, move along....

The Paradox Hotel is the latest novel to come from the mind of Rob Hart, though admittedly, it's the first novel I've read by him. Science fiction meets mystery in this paradoxical tale – as the title proves to be more literal than not.

The Paradox Hotel is a place where the ultra-wealthy come to party – in a different time. This is where they take flights into a distant (or not-so-distant) past. All of that time traveling wrecks havoc on the hotel, causing clocks to run backward, anomalies to pop up, the works.

It makes January Cole's job difficult, to say the least. And that was before the body turned up. Again, thanks to the duality of time travel, this is a corpse that is there and not there, creating all sorts of issues that need to be cleaned up and investigated.

Huh. If you're looking for an undoubtedly original twisting and convoluted tale, consider checking out The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart. Oh! Did I mention the time travel elements? Yeah, it gets real wibbly-wobbly. This has got to be the most unique novel I've ever read – and I mean that in the best of ways.

Essentially, The Paradox Hotel is a thriller that meets classic science fiction time travel. There are a few twists, of course. But that's the bare bones of this tale, and it makes for a strong foundation to build upon.

I'll admit that I didn't like the main character, January, as much as I would have liked. And trust me, I wanted to like them. But if that is my biggest complaint about this book, then we're doing pretty good.

Overall, I'd say that The Paradox Hotel is perfect for those Doctor Who fans in the audience. It gives off those vibes, but with a few twists to make it something both different and surprising.

Thanks to Ballantine Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Paradox Hotel is the latest novel to come from the mind of Rob Hart, though admittedly, it's the first novel I've read by him. Science fiction meets mystery in this paradoxical tale – as the title proves to be more literal than not.
The Paradox Hotel is a place where the ultra-wealthy come to party – in a different time. This is where they take flights into a distant (or not-so-distant) past. All of that time traveling wrecks havoc on the hotel, causing clocks to run backward, anomalies to pop up, the works.
It makes January Cole's job difficult, to say the least. And that was before the body turned up. Again, thanks to the duality of time travel, this is a corpse that is there and not there, creating all sorts of issues that need to be cleaned up and investigated.

Huh. If you're looking for an undoubtedly original twisting and convoluted tale, consider checking out The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart. Oh! Did I mention the time travel elements? Yeah, it gets real wibbly-wobbly. This has got to be the most unique novel I've ever read – and I mean that in the best of ways.
Essentially, The Paradox Hotel is a thriller that meets classic science fiction time travel. There are a few twists, of course. But that's the bare bones of this tale, and it makes for a strong foundation to build upon.
I'll admit that I didn't like the main character, January, as much as I would have liked. And trust me, I wanted to like them. But if that is my biggest complaint about this book, then we're doing pretty good.
Overall, I'd say that The Paradox Hotel is perfect for those Doctor Who fans in the audience. It gives off those vibes, but with a few twists to make it something both different and surprising.

3.5 stars!

I think this book had a very interesting concept with the time aspect, but it dragged for so long. Throughout it I remained completely confused and overall it took me so long to finish the last 30% or so

Read if you like: Recursion?

Thank you so much to net galley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book. I feel in love with this world and the characters and I hope that there ends up being more books in this world

I've been a bit delinquent in submitting my review of this book. I read it back in January and simply forgot to put down my thoughts until now... However, I still remember how much I enjoyed this book and look forward to more from this author. Finding out that this is the person responsible for The Warehouse explains a lot as I am a huge fan of that show.

Anyway, The Paradox Hotel is a time-traveling, detective story with well developed characters with tons of personality and a plot line that twists it way through reality and the mind of the lead investigator, January Cole. There is quite a lot going on, so it's not something you can expect to read lightly and still keep up, but I loved every moment of it and wasn't ready for it to end.

I love books set in creepy hotels or buildings so when I found out about this book I knew I had to read it. This was more sci if then horror which is usually hit or miss for me, but I really ended up enjoying this one! Going into this one I had heard their were dinosaurs in this one so I also needed to find out what that was all about. I was surprised to find out how character driven this one was. I also really enjoyed the main character.

If you like sci fi and character driven novels I think you would enjoy this one!

Thank you to @penguinrandomhouse for my gifted copy! This one is available now!