☆☆☆ 1|2 stars

The Hotel Maid is a 𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗞 twisted psychological mystery about June, a maid at a luxury hotel, and Mia, a 10 year old abused little girl, and how their lives slowly intertwine. Also,it's about how childhood trauma can affect your entire life.

⚠️
There are unsettling subjects that could trigger some readers, such as self-harm, mental abuse, suicidal tendencies. There is nothing graphic, but a trigger warning should be included.

The story starts off slowly for about the first 20%
but does pick up once Mia's character is introduced.
There are a lot of sinister characters with dark secrets, and mostly all are unlikeable.

I loved the daunting, atmospheric feeling of the hotel, which could be a character itself.

The author did a fantastic job with the twists, although I did figure out one of them early on. But I loved how it all came together in the end. It's a solid mystery that I think most thriller/mystery readers will enjoy.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Storm Publishing for my early copy. My review was voluntary, and my opinions are my own.

I really wanted to love this one but it just wasn’t for me. I found the plot intriguing, but when reading, I wasn’t that invested in the plot. The main character was a bit too much for me and couldn’t stand her, so that also made the reading a little bit harder. Besides, I was so confused at the end and there were some things that didn’t make sense to me -or that I didn’t understood. The writing felt a little bit confusing for me, ant that’s why I ended enjoy it.

Somehow I never get tired of following devious maids ( get it) as they made their rounds on the hotel, and this definitely was no exception. This story was wicked good!

I received an advance copy of The Hotel Maid by Michelle Dunne from NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this novel!

The Hotel Maid is told from the perspective of June, a maid in a high end boutique hotel. She keeps to herself and seems to enjoy her job immensely, June takes pride in her work and knows the ins and outs of the hotel like the back of her hand. One particularly rude guest only allows June to clean her room, and treats her like a live in therapist.

June has an unsavory past that we start catching snippets of as she finds threatening notes left for her in the hotel…

I feel like Michelle Dunne did an amazing job giving the reader juuuuust enough to tease them with thinking they knew where this story was going to go. I definitely caught on to the twist part of the way through, but there were still several elements that shocked me! I had a hard time putting this one down.

Michelle Dunne’s “The Hotel Maid” is a complex, dark, and twisty tale of intrigue that leaves the reader questioning how far they would go to hurt the ones who have hurt us, second guessing their loyalties, and paying close attention to those in society who are too often deemed invisible.

Cleverly written with an intricate plot and compelling story line, this is a psychological thriller that will have you thoroughly immersed from page one. It’s hard to write anything about this book that won’t contain some sort of spoiler, so this review is going to be short and sweet. And, as I think this book is best enjoyed without knowing anything about it before you start, trust me when I say this one will keep you guessing and shaking your head until the end.

Thank you @stormbooks_co and NetGalley and for the advance ebook. #thehotelmaid will be on shelves everywhere August 23, 2024!

#stormpublishing #psychologicalthriller #mysterybooks #thriller #fiction #thrillerbooks #suspensebooks #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookgeek #booknerd #femaleauthor #femalewriter #michelledunne

Thank you Storm Publishing for a copy on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Hotel Maid is a quick read that is packed with a slap to keep the reader on its toes.
Cedarwood Manor, a luxury hotel with mysterious staff.
June is quiet, stealth and the hotel maid she sees everything but no one notices her.
June also has a secret past.
While the luxurious guests think she’s not listening, June takes it all in.
Then one day her past catches up with her, beginning with cryptic notes.
Will the truth come out and June be unmasked?
As the plot progresses, all is slowly revealed.
I read this one in just over 24 hours, it kept me intrigued.
It’s really good how it all comes together and while I did have my guesses all was not correct.
My first book with Michelle and it had my attention and entertained me.

the suspense!! so thick you could cut it with a knife. im not a big thriller reader so i dont have the highest of expectations. all i care about is if the story grips my attention and i dont guess the plot twist. this one did just that! could not put this down

⭐⭐⭐
The Hotel Maid by Michelle Dunne is a dark mystery psychological thriller that shows how childhood traumas can affect your life in the long run. This thriller is partly a heavy and heart-breaking, partly revenge-driven story.
Something was missing for me to jump on 4 or 5 stars... It was a good story but it struggled to keep my attention. But not every book will be exciting for everyone.
I loved the twist, I think it was cute and well-deserved. I loved how secrets were unwrapped step by step.

This story is told in the dual timeline and mainly from June's and Mia's point of view. It was easy to follow and there weren't a lot of characters so no confusion.

Mia, little Mia... pure soul that was treated horribly by her adoptive parents. All Mia wanted was love and recognition but all she got was more home chores!

June is a maid at the Cedarwood luxury hotel. She loves what she does and has been there for years. But then things go wrong and someone is there to open a Pandora's box full of secrets!

I would list some trigger warnings: su!cide, self-harm harm and child abuse.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this copy!

The Hotel Maid sucks you in from the start. As the story progresses, the layers create depth. In the middle of the story, the reader starts to make connections to the other characters and their relationships. June Calloway is a maid at a well known manor. She lives her life simply with an older woman. After some secrets have been told and some ominous notes received, the reader learns June is not as simple as cast off to be. I enjoyed reading this book!

The Hotel Maid is a fast paced thriller that had me asking so many questions as I was reading. It has got all the right features to make this a solid thriller as it was an easy read with short chapters which allowed me to keep turning those pages.

There was a dual narrative from the perspectives of two characters; June and Mia, and as the story unfolded the pieces began to connect together. The ending was fairly satisfying however something did feel like it was missing from it. I can't put my finger on it though. Regardless, I liked the book enough and would definitely read another by the author.

Read this because you:
· Ask a million questions
· Enjoy not being able to put a book down because you JUST need to know what's going on
· Have a thing for books with unlikeable characters
· Love short chapters

Check content warnings if you are sensitive to particular themes.

Oh dear, I’m sorry but the plot in this book was too over the top for me. It deals with child neglect and self harm, neither in a believable way. I have experienced both, and I can tell you now that some of the things described in this book would never, ever, happen. Anyone who can suspend belief and enjoys inconceivable scenarios, for example when someone nearly dies but is at work the following day, or when the personality of a character does a 360 degree turn, or the timeline just doesn’t fit, will probably enjoy this book. Sadly, I didn’t. Thanks to Storm and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review, and I’m sorry that I won’t be recommending this to anyone I know.

First I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this incorrect proof.

This book is amazing. I was hooked from the beginning. I mean it starts with a dead body in a hotel room. Who wouldn’t be hooked?

This was real thriller. There are sections that deal with self harm and the book should probably have a warning to this effect. There were many twists and turns. I was confused about some of the timings in the book, but it was a different type of story and quite original.

The Hotel Maid checked a lot of boxes for me—unreliable narrator, Irish Catholic shame, and murder to list a few. While I enjoyed reading this book, certain things felt like a stretch to me and the repetition of names got very confusing at points. I would recommend reading a paper copy or a Kindle copy so that you can go back and check things if/when you get confused.

Probably needs a trigger warning for readers tbh as very dark,sensitive subjects covered,although the author did not over dramatise them and it was in context they are there
A dark very dark at times story that is set from many perspectives
Not a light read and nit all readers will enjoy

This was the first time I have ever read anything by this author- and it will not be the last!!!

June Calloway has been working as a maid at the Cedarwood Manor Hotel, a super luxury manor. We do not know much about June's past. She likes working in the background as a maid and prefers to keep to herself. The hotel is managed by Liz, with Marcus (total creep) as the security supervisor and grandson to the owners, Tess, Erica Kelley and her adopted daughter Mia. It opens with June discovering Erica's dead body and the knowledge that Mia has gone missing. They all have secrets!

I would like to warn you that this is a dark story, with many disturbing elements: cutting, mental abuse, suicidal tendencies, grooming. Although these are not graphic, except some descriptions of cutting, they are present and essential to the unfolding of the story.

The story is told between the POV's of June and Mia. It starts slowly, giving the reader an opportunity to observe the characters. I loved how June was dismissed by all, yet seemed to have the best understanding of everyone because she observed and listened. The characters simply talked to her, yet treated her as if she was a piece of furniture. But this is what drove the story in such a great way.

While reading the story from Mia's perspective, I felt really angry and wanted to jump in the story and rescue her. The way Erica, Erica's husband, and the son treat this girl is truly horrific. They use mental abuse and even imprisonment to keep Mia confined in the home, using her as an indentured servant. However, Mia- like June- observes and listens. This is to her advantage.

Tess is an older woman who is the roommate of June. She comes across as a motherly figure, but we do not know how these two really met. And she has so many secrets.

There are 3 strands to this story, with so many twists. I thought I had it figured out at about 60%, but then WHAM! I had the gist of it- but not the connections and details correct! And there are details! Michelle Dunne wrote this so well. She took all this and wound it so tightly, like a python when it captures a victim, wrapping around it and leaving no space between the coils for escape. Every detail and occurrence makes sense to the spectacular conclusion!

And the ending! I feel that the author had a great understanding and connection to the characters she wrote, that this ending was perfect!

This is not a cozy mystery or action packed thriller. It is a slow burn ride, with the driving force being the psychological elements! I highly recommend this book if you enjoy these types of reads!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I think my favourite thing about this book was the setting. The author described the hotel beautifully and I liked the range of characters that this setting gave us.

The book itself was just too far fetched for me. I couldn’t get on board with some of the themes explored and I didn’t really like any of the characters enough to care about their story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

June works as a maid at the luxurious Cedarwood Manor Hotel. She enjoys the anonymity of the role. But she soon starts receiving notes from someone who knows about her past. Who is sending her these notes? And what did June do?

The good:
Quick and easy read
I enjoyed the multiple POVs as it kept things moving along
The characters are fairly complex and character development is pretty on point as well

The bad:
I did see the "main twist" coming from a mile away.
There is not a lot of suspense or thrills for a thriller. I kept waiting for something more to happen. Probably my main issue with this book
There is a fair amount of filler
A bit messy and far-fetched

Thank you Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Maids should be seen, not heard, and June is good at fading in to the background. Quiet and unassuming, she is good at her job. It’s always the quiet ones you have to watch though…

This thriller is DARK. Some scenes may be upsetting for some and I’d probably have preferred some trigger warnings with this one. Namely suicide, self harm and child abuse.

I liked June, and my heart ached for little Mia. The rest of the cast were very unlikeable, which added to the emotion this book pulls from the reader. I felt the pace was fast enough to keep me turning the pages and I finished the book pretty quickly.

A solid 4 stars from me, but I couldn’t understand how some might not be able to finish if they’ve gone in blind.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my advanced copy.

well this book had me gripped! i couldn’t put it down. so many twists you have to concentrate to find out who is who!
a really strong read full of evil individuals!
trigger warning - self harm and touches on rape