This book has an interesting premise, but the execution was lacking.

The pacing was off and modern setting didn't seem to work.

DNF @25%

I was looking forward to this one since the idea of a magic hotel is so interesting, but so far, I'm underwhelmed. I'm really struggling with the writing style, which feels very middle grade, and the plot doesn't feel very original. Unfortunately, I'm not invested enough to continue reading, but I'm sure others, especially fans of books like Caraval, will enjoy this one.

Midnight at the Houdini was such a mysterious, sometimes spooky, but also romantic read!

Anna and Max were great protagonists, and while Anna had her flaws (that were the premise of all of her character development), she wasn't annoying or unrealistic. Her need for control was based in something that was well established, so while I got frustrated at her need for logic sometimes, it was also really understandable. I would want logic, too, if I were trapped in a magical hotel. Max was absolutely precious and eager to learn about the outside world, and I loved him so much! I wanted to protect both of them so much throughout the whole book.

Overall, this book was so whimsical, a little dark, and right up my alley! I loved it so much!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Delilah S. Dawson for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Midnight at the Houdini coming out September 5, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Life has gone pretty much according to plan for Anna. She chooses to stay in the background and her sister Emily, shine in the spotlight. But on Emily’s wedding night, Anna learns that her sister is moving away. She feels abandoned. Devastated, Anna leaves the reception in the middle of a raging storm, taking shelter in a hotel she’s never seen before: the Houdini.

The Houdini is no ordinary hotel, with its old time velvet couches, marble tiled floors, secret restaurants, winding passageways, and an undercurrent of magic in the air. And when Anna meets Max, who has lived his entire life inside its walls, she’s mesmerized. For the first time in her life, Anna is the main character, in an enchanting place that knows her every desire, with a boy who only sees her.

But there’s a horrifying secret hidden in the Houdini. When the grand clock strikes midnight, Anna will be trapped there forever unless she can escape from its dreamlike magic. But will she be able to, even if it means leaving Max?

I’ve read a couple stories about magical hotels stuck in time. I really enjoy the genre. This is my second book by this author and I really enjoy her writing. I thought the plot was really fascinating. I loved the idea of being trapped in a magical place and deciding whether to try and get out or stay. The romance was a little too instant for me, but I guess it’s part of being caught up in the magical world. The backstory with the parents was a little confusing and dark, but I really loved the plot with the magic hotel.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys time warp hotels!

Magical hotels-- have such promise at the beginning but I always find the execution of them lackluster. I mean, a death hotel a la HH Holmes, sure, I'm behind that but magical hotels haven't worked. In this one a jilted sister flees and ends up at the awkward midnight hotel, greeted by a rabbit in a cage and is sucked down into the hotel where disingenuous things have been happening controlled by a sinister woman who happens to be related to the boy she just befriended at the hotel.

There's a lot of narrative that doesn't paint a vivid portrait of this Houdini hotel to give me the atmospheric ambience that I was hoping for because I waited since the opening chapters of the story didn't quite pull me in either.

Conceptually, it worked but the execution didn't for me.

Less American Horror Story for YA and more Are You Afraid of The Dark for Middle Grade.

This was a fun read and I really loved the concept of the book especially from an imagination standpoint. If you were a child that loved the lands of Narnia, Wonderland and Oz (or are an adult who still does), I think you would find this to be a quick and enjoyable read.
I felt like the world building was well done, but I do wish the characters were a little more fleshed out. Other minor criticisms would be the lack of tension/conflict (or conflict being too easily resolved).

Great book! A little Alice and a littler modern too. I love it when there are twists!!! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me access to this title.

I absolutely LOVED this book!
It's like Ready Player One and The Shining had a literary love child born with a sprinkle of magic.
The romantic elements weren't sickly sweet, but heartwarming, the villains were unexpected and absolutely awful, and the twists and turns kept me reading all through the night.
People of all ages will love this one, as it hits the mark on so many levels.

Midnight at the Houdini filled a void I have been chasing since Caraval! The world building and setting was phenomenal and the main characters were intriguing as well. A very cute romance mixed in makes it a must read.

Wow, what a fun read! This had a zippy mystery that kept me on my toes, gorgeous descriptions that made me wish I could visit, and a super cute little love story.

This book was so good! It definitely gave Caraval vibes and I loved that the magic of the Houdini allowed Anna to open herself back up to the possibility of magic in the real world. Max was so sweet and wholesome and I loved everything about him.
The Houdini was so cool and magical and I loved wondering what it would do next.
The ending made me so happy and hopeful!
Overall, an amazing read.

I'm a bit torn on how to rate this one. I think the premise of this book was really fun and enjoyable. I just wasn't a fan of the execution of it. This is supposed to be a YA book but it ended up feeling like a middle grade read. The main character is 16 years old but I feel the way she acts doesn't reflect that. I also just felt like there was too much going on in the story. We kept getting a bunch of POVs. I always say I love a book with multiple POVs. However I just was struggling to follow along with them. Also some of them just felt unnecessary. It really is a shame because I wanted to like this. It just didn't do it for me like I thought it would. I probably will end up checking out another book from Delilah at some point. I always like giving authors second chances.

This really pulled me in! The setting was spectacular - it was almost like the hotel was it's own character. That said, the main characters were intriguing, and the romance was very sweet! I can see appeal to younger teens, as well, so it will be added to my reader's advisory list.

The writing style felt a bit impersonal and flat. I couldn't connect with the main character. However I did enjoy the premise of the story. The idea of a magic world so near to ours is intriguing. The ending chapter felt like a recap of information we as readers should already know. It seemed unnecessary.

Thank you NetGalley and Publishers for allowing me to read and review this title.

This was a fun, fast paced read that allows you to take a trip into the magic and mystery of Houdini! I would put this at a younger YA novel and felt the interactions between the characters were appropriate. I think the author did a good job creating the world and it made it easy to imagine I was there following along.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Midnight at the Houdini drew my attention thanks to the intrigue and promise of the title, although I still didn’t entirely know what I was getting into, even after reading the blurb. But upon picking it up, I was drawn in by this unique take on portal fantasy. The setting of the Houdini itself is particularly well-rendered, being rather dark and eerie, and I love how each of the doors in the hotel takes the characters on a different sort of adventure. There’s also high stakes to this adventure, because the Houdini’s magic is truly enchanting…and entrapping, keeping any “guests” trapped there after midnight.
I loved how this adventure served as a vehicle for Anna to work out some of her real-world issues, like her complex relationship with her sister, Emily, and having her want to return to work things out once she understands how dire her fate could be within the Houdini and parted from her loved ones forever.
Anna also finds an ally and love interest in the Houdini’s other permanent “guest,” Max, and I thought they had a great dynamic. I liked that Max helped her, even though he did want her to stay in the Houdini with him.
The characters aren’t super deep, but given there’s a lot going on in the environs of the Houdini, and there’s the question of whether they’ll achieve the goals of their quest, there’s plenty of excitement and tension.
I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to YA fantasy fans, especially if you enjoy books in the vein of Caraval or Erin Morgenstern.

Overall I would give this a 3.5 but I enjoyed it so I rounded up. I thought the world building of the hotel was really interested. I enjoyed the story in the characters. It’s definitely a younger YA. The romance was sweet, although it was not the main focus. It was kinda similar to Hotel Magnifique. But if you’re looking for an interesting standalone with magic and mystery, this is a good choice.

The daughter of a wealthy hotel owner finds herself talking shelter in the mysterious Hotel Houdini... that will trap her in it forever if she doesn't find a way out before midnight, and she'll have to get the help of a mysterious boy out of time and find the key to free the trapped magical being in the basement, can she make it out in time? Anna has a plan, she's been meticulous about what her life is going to be but when her father usurps those plans in the middle of her sister's wedding, Anna decides to leave only to find herself in the middle of a raging storm and decides to take shelter in a hotel she's never seen before, the Houdini. The Houdini is nothing like she ever expected, especially since Anna is discovering from the mysterious boy named Max who most definitely is not from her time, that if she doesn't make it out by midnight she'll be trapped here forever like he is. Can they both work together to solve the mystery and escape the Houdini? This read very much more like a young young adult novel, it definitely could be middle-grade I think. It felt so much younger than other young adult novels. I didn't really feel the connection/romance between Max and Anna, and honestly the constant back and forth POVs between Max, Anna, Phoebe, Daniel, and etc was just a lot. The story was simple but just didn't really feel that magical or fun. The premise was intriguing and then it kind of just didn't really entice me as much as I had hoped it would. Overall, if you like simple mystery/quest stories then definitely give this a go!

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

MIDNIGHT AT THE HOUDINI by Delilah S. Dawson comes out September 4, and is a YA book perfect for spooky season. Especially if you are a fellow wimp who likes vibes, but not actually scary stuff.

There's a hotel, there is magic, a race to solve the mystery by midnight. There's a romantic subplot but it's not the main story. It's lots of fun.

There are two questions raised by the female main character that, are questions I also had, which I do feel were left a little too unanswered for my taste. I am able to buy in to the magic! I'm totally game for the hotels powers! I just don't understand how or why those two things happened *within the scope of the hotel's magic*. (I need everything tied up with a bow, please don't give me space to decide for myself!!) They're small things, really; I'm just dying to know!

Anyway! If you or someone you know is looking for a fun Halloween read that will still allow you to sleep with the lights off, this is a great pick!

I received this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

Anna likes plans, next steps, structure. She has since the age of 10 after a disaster of a princess party that left her vowing to never be caught unawares again, so her sister's wedding is no different. However, when her sister blindsides her with betrayal, Anna flees into the night and the storm raging over Las Vegas forcing her to take shelter in the one place that opposes all her rules and plans, the Houdini.

Once I picked this up to read, I could not put it down. I really enjoyed the novelty of the premise (new to me but perhaps not new overall?) A girl finds her way into a magical hotel that follows it's own rules, think Hotel California. She meets Max, a boy whose been waiting for a friend his whole life, and begins to learn the secrets of the Houdini. Max leads Anna through a world she could never imagine and certainly cannot explain as she works to find her father, a dry set of clothing and maybe even a bit to eat. What she winds up finding is a tragedy and crime let go too long without justice and it's up to her to save not only herself, but everyone else in the Houdini.

Trying to articulate why this was 4 stars rather than 5 is proving rather difficult for me. We're introduced to perhaps 5-10 characters throughout the book that stay fairly relevant throughout, however for the majority of them, if not perhaps all, they remain fairly 2-dimensional. The characters that are villains ARE villains and the characters we're intended to like, remain likeable. The only odd semi-exception to this is Anna's father, who from the opening chapters is seen to be a hyper focused business man who likes showing off his wealth and power to the world with little regard to his family's needs or interests. Yet with only the storm as a catalyst for change, he suddenly becomes very focused on Anna's safety and continues that thread as he enters the hotel, with his constant refrain being "I need to find my daughter." It was such a hard pivot for me without any previous examples of his emotional connection or concern for his daughter, perhaps in flashbacks or other moments, that it took me out of the story. Is it completely believable that a father would want to see to his daughter's wellbeing during a dangerous weather event? Absolutely. Did I expect it here as he sits amongst his business cronies smoking cigars and sipping champagne? Never.

I would absolutely recommend this book to any YA fantasy lovers out there who enjoy a little magic, a little romance and a little mystery in their stories.