The Hotel is a complete keep you on the edge of your seat, page turner of a story. There were so many twists and turns, many shocking, that I did not know what to believe and just when I thought I had the story worked out another one came along and totally blew my theory out the water. I absolutely loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

This started out very promising but the book quickly became quite confusing and muddled. It appears that everyone knew what was going on but they all thought they were keeping a secret from one another.

Quite read and couldn't put it down but the characters had much to be desired in this one. The only person I didn't hate was Henry the toddler son.

Spectacular!! When your dream is to run a B&B but reality is different than you planned, it harder. Then you run an amazing special and get an answered prayer. When the Rowe’s arrive with their teenage daughter things take a twist. Things are tense and unpredictable. Through many twists and turns you get many revelations and each one builds the tension. This book is impossible to put down and hard to guess the next twist.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley, Emily Shiner and Bookouture for hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

I’m writing this from my caravan, parked on the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales. Farm buildings dominate the view in one direction but the other three consist only of fields, mountains and a little-used railway. And, whilst I can’t actually see the beach from my current location, I know – because I’ve already been there several times over the last 2 days – that it’s only a 10-minute walk away.

The most recent visit to said beach was this morning, when a friend and I swam in the sea before drying off in the warm sunshine and driving a short distance to another beach. But this one had a pub behind it and meant that we could suitably refresh ourselves after a walk along the sand. And tonight, we have a table booked for dinner – and, most likely, quite a lot of wine – in a local restaurant.

If this sounds like a perfect bit of relaxation, then that’s good. Because it is.

What I’m not going to do here, however, is talk about the week, and indeed the following weekend, that led up to this holiday. Because they weren’t relaxing at all. Suffice to say that reading, even a book as addictive as an Emily Shiner novel and when I had promised to write a review for a stop on a blog tour, had to be put on hold. Sadly, and frustratingly, but truthfully, there just wasn’t the time.

It does mean though, two things. Firstly, that when this holiday started, I could appreciate it all the more because I NEEDED it so much. Secondly, that I have – belatedly, but thankfully – now devoured the book in question: The Hotel.

Perhaps it’s unfair of me to add a third thing and suggest that it was my desperate need for a holiday that had me instantly hooked on the book’s opening chapters, which set the scene of a newly established B&B in the rugged mountains of Maine, USA. Unfair because I’ve read several other books by Emily Shiner, and I know for sure by now that she’s very, very good at hooking me in from the first chapter in any case. This time, though, the hook was particularly large and sharp. As soon as I read about Abby and Mark and their plan to bring more guests to their B&B, The Saltside Inn, I wanted to make a reservation for myself there and then. When I found out that they had a sick child, I wanted to help in any way I could. And when I read that they had received a reservation of their entire B&B for three weeks, I felt delighted for them. But only briefly. Because even without the admittedly fairly blatant, but nonetheless enticing piece of foreshadowing, I already knew that this book is a psychological thriller. Which means it’s not so much a case of ‘is this going to go wrong?’ as ‘what is going to go wrong here, and how badly?’

I hope it’s not too much of a spoiler to say that ‘quite a lot’ and ‘very’ are the answers. What essentially follows is a story of how far people are capable of going to exact revenge. I continued to race through the pages in a sort of delightfully horrible fascination. Surely they won’t do that, will they? … they couldn’t … they have! It also helps that the book – in coincidentally the same way as my previous read by Shannon Hollinger – uses the weather to great effect by having a winter storm isolating the characters from their surroundings.

The trouble is that this same subject gives the book its only real problem. For me, some of the best psychological thrillers are ones that allow me to relate to a main character in some way – if not to like them, then at least to be able to empathise. I couldn’t do that here. By the end, I had come to dislike all of the characters so much that I wholeheartedly hope to never meet any of them again. I’d still like to stay in the Saltside Inn, but only if I could be confident that none of these people were anywhere near it at the time.

The Hotel still gets a solid four stars for sheer entertainment. But my over-riding thought after having finished was: if only they had all sat down over a beer and had a conversation like the adults they’re supposed to be, this whole thing could have been avoided.

My only problem now is that, being in a caravan in the middle of nowhere, I have no internet connection to be able to share this review. Which means that I can only apologise again for it being late, and hope that it was worth the wait …

My thanks to the author and Bookouture for my inclusion on the blog tour, and to Netgalley for the digital ARC. I will post my review on Goodreads, Amazon, my blog and my social media pages.

The story basically follows two families, one who owns the bed and breakfast that the other family is staying at. Weird things start to happen after the family arrives and there are secrets to be revealed. It is a mystery at the heart of the story as each chapter is told from the point of view of all the characters involved, except for Henry. Henry is the son of Mark and Addy, who own the B&B.
I love a good thriller/mystery, but this one did not work for me as the only character I had sympathy for was Henry. The secrets and lies between the two families plus the plotting against each other, wasn't for me. I don't mind a flawed character as it makes for an interesting story, but the deceit and how they treat each other in the end, just left me with no one to root for but Henry.

The Hotel USA well written thriller that I enjoyed from the first chapter.
Abby and Mark run a bed and breakfast in their clifftop hotel that is in the middle of nowhere, great if you want peace and quiet not so great if your stuck in a snowstorm and have no way of getting out of there and no electric. The Rowe family arrive after Abby comes up with a plan to get more money in to the B&B by offering discounts. As soon as the Rowes and their teenage daughter arrive there is a tension. Things start to happen like Abby being locked in her bedroom and whispering on her baby monitor she carries around to listen to her young son. They are trapped in the house bu the snowstorm but Abby is surprisingly more than two steps ahead of them all and knows exactly the situation she is in and knows exactly how to get out of it.
This was a well written book that I enjoyed. I didn’t catch on to what was going to happen so that was great and I thought the characters were well developed making it more believable.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

My first compliant was this book was called The Hotel and it was about a B&B. This book absolutely dragged on for me. I didn't like any of the characters. It was just boring and slow paced. The ending was a let down as well. I feel like it was just a plain jane thriller that has been done before.

The Hotel
By: Emily Shiner
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Imagine owning a hotel on top of the cliffs of Maine and hoping to keep it booked. The Rowe family books the entire hotel for their vacation, so your money worries are solved!

As the family shows up clearly something is amiss. The daughter looks at your husband in a flirtatious manor. This novel is so full of secrets and twists in which everyone seems know something. When secrets are revealed who will come out unscathed?

The owners have a baby and the mother hears something on the baby monitor! Let the games begin. Non-stop action until the haunting conclusion.

Thank you Bookouture, Netgalley and Author Emily Shiner for this advanced copy. I am a little late posting as I was on vacation.

#thehotel, #emilyshiner, #bookouture, #bookreview, #booksconnectus, #bookstagram, #stamperlady50

A very suspenseful read!
The Hotel tells the story of Abby, her husband Mark and their son Henry who live in an idyllic sounding B and B. When Abby excitedly accepts a booking from the Rowes family, it soon becomes apparent things are not as they seem and there are ulterior motives at play....
Clever writing keeps you guessing all the way through as the plot thickens and twists again at the end. I kept changing my mind over who I was routing for, making this an enjoyable read I found hard to put down.

This was my first Emily Shiner book, & it did not disappoint. The setting of being secluded in snowy, Maine during a horrible blizzard really set the atmosphere for me. I absolutely loved this book from the setting to the characters, storyline and all the twists! I second guessed myself many times. Abby was such a badass!!!

This was such a fun & fast paced read. I love a revenge filled book full of twists & turns.

4 stars

A real thriller with unexpected twists.
Nothing is what you think, as the story slowly gets darker.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy of The Hotel for an honest review.

"The Hotel" by Emily Shiner is a riveting psychological thriller set in the remote town of Oyster, Maine. The Hardy family runs the Saltside Inn B&B, but with no bookings, Abby takes a chance and offers a deal to rent out the entire place for three weeks. As the snowstorm hits, both the Hardy and Rowe families become trapped inside, leading to a series of secrets and plot twists. Emily Shiner's mastery of suspenseful storytelling is evident in this gripping novel, making it a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers. Prepare to be captivated until the mind-bending final plot twist!

This book was full of shocking twists! Emily Shiner is fast becoming one of my favorite suspense/ thriller authors! The characters were well thought out and the twists and turns were unpredictable even for someone whose main go-to books are thrillers. Well written!

Snowed in & stuck with strangers and very weird things keep happening. Are the B&B guests dangerous to Abby & her family, or are the guests in danger themselves?

A great multiple POV thriller that keeps you questioning everybody and what their ulterior motives may be.

The unreliable/questionable characters, the stressful scenery (snowed in in a secluded cliff side B&B), and the spooky things that keep happening around the house will keep you at the edge of your seat wondering when the shoe is going to drop and everything hit the fan.

Some of the details of this story are a little far fetched (like renting out an entire B&B for 3 weeks in the middle of winter when you only live an hour away), but that didn’t make the story any less enjoyable honestly.

Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

We just love reading books about secrets and are addicted to trying to guess the false narrative surrounded by a plausible notion and characters. Throughout this rousing read, there is an undercurrent of tension that grips the reader the moment the Rowe’s arrive at the secluded hotel. It never lets up, building towards the true intentions of the hidden plot. As the real motives are revealed, the drama becomes frantic and demands our attention.

You won't see the ending coming!

Set in a secluded B&B overlooking a cliff in Maine, The Hotel is one of suspense and intrigue. A winter storm, and a family of guests lead Abbey and Mark to face their problems from the past and their marriage.

I enjoyed reading this, and loved the thought of a beautiful inn, but wasn’t sure about the realistic approach of a family booking for 3 weeks in the dead of winter.
I also was able to figure out what the big issue was about half way through.
That being said, I did not see that final twist!
3.5 ⭐️ rounded to 4 for that ending!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Pub date: 7 September 2023

The Hotel was my second Emily Shiner book this weekend and was another fantastic dark, twisty thriller with ulterior motives and lies at its core.

I'm a huge lover of locked room mysteries, so this was right up my street. A blizzard, two families holed up in an isolated hotel, what could possibly go wrong? Turns out everything can, rather quickly too!

Full of questionable characters, a great plot that's full of suspense and atmosphere. I raced through The Hotel, it was compelling and very hard to put down.

Such a gripping read! At first I was a bit frustrated because it seemed to drag on. It was predictable in the sense that I knew there www going to be some kind of twist. I had a feeling as to what was going on, but the full twist surprised me! I love a book that makes me react in real life!
From the middle onwards, I could not put this down! I had to see what happened! I went from being annoyed with Abby, to rooting for her! I also couldn't believe how I hated Chelsea! All the characters made me feel something.
This was definitely a book I would reccomend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a really great thriller and I really enjoyed it. I loved the short chapters and the multiple perspectives throughout the book. It was a little obvious what some of characters intentions were, but it was as still a good read and was enjoyable and quick read.

What a cat and mouse game that for most of the book, I didn’t know who was the cat, who was the mouse and what the game was. There were multiple POVs all set in the present, and everyone had a secret that I did not know what the secrets were. Of course the book is set in a snowstorm in the mountains of Maine, where one couple desperately needs some money to keep their B&B afloat and the other has rented out the entire B&B to try and work on things.

It started out so nice, with a couple and their infant son that were likable. Then things just progressed into an action packed adrenaline filled frenzy fraught with danger. I suspected a few of the twists and had no idea what had happened with a few more. And the twists started about a a quarter of the way from the end and just kept twisting and turning.

Emily Shiner writes books that remind me of Frieda McFadden and Daniel Hurst. The popcorn thriller you can see playing out in your head that keeps you on your toes. This one definitely fit that bill. It was an easy quick read that had me waiting to see what would happen next. Another great read for fall.