A haunted hotel story that feels more like a paranormal romance, the real draw here is the relationship between heroine Olivia and the ghost of her sister.

On my first listen of The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth, I became consumed by the story, finished in two sittings and then it was over. No notes. I liked how the haunted items related to Native American heritage. I enjoyed the narration by Ina Barrón. ALC was provided by Macmillan Audio via NetGalley. I received an advance listening copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I thought the premise of this book was great but didn’t enjoy the execution. I loved the mix of horror and paranormal. I also enjoyed the inclusion of indigenous culture. My issue was that the plot didn’t flow nicely. There are many different subplots and it made it difficult to stay focused on the audiobook.

Olivia inherited her late sister Naiche's ability. She now can communicate with the dead. Olivia is now regularly contacted to help with hauntings. She’s becomes a popular paranormal investigator.

The hotel where her sister Naiche died contacts her to help with the mysterious deaths that occur every 5 years in the same room Naiche died in.

This book kept me listening. I would highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys paranormal horror mysteries.

4.5 stars
Published March 18, 2025

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this audio ARC copy for an honest review.

Audiobook review:
This was a great paranormal book which follows the Olivia who is a paranormal investigator. It starts with Olivia and her colleague, Alejo, who are investigating a job about a mysterious box that that the owner believes is possessed. Throughout the book there are a few paranormal jobs in which certain items have a possession attached to them. As they uncover what is going on we learn the origins of the entity that is tied to these items.
The main job that Olivia gets hired to investigate is at the Brown Palace Hotel in which room 904 is rumored to be haunted. This also happens to be the room in which Olivia's sister was found deceased after taking her own life.
This is tough for Olivia but she decides to investigate to put an end to the curse of that room.
Overall I really enjoyed this story. The narrator did a great job at capturing the different charactors throughout the book. There were some parts that were creepy since there was an entity that spoke. This is also something that I enjoyed about the book because it was clear that this was paranormal and there truly is something haunting that hotel.

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillon Audio for this ALC. All opinions are my own.

Premise:
Olivia Becente was never supposed to have the gift. Talking to the dead was her sister Naiche’s thing. But when Naiche dies suddenly—and under eerie circumstances—Olivia starts seeing and hearing spirits everywhere.

Fast forward a few years, and Olivia is Denver’s most sought-after paranormal investigator. She’s good at what she does, but she can’t shake the loss of her sister. Then, the Brown Palace Hotel calls with a chilling case: every few years, a young woman dies in Room 904, no matter which room she originally checked into. As Olivia digs deeper, she finds herself entangled in a web of cults, betrayals, dangerous secrets, and shocking truths about Naiche’s hidden life.



~My Thoughts~
I keep bouncing between 3, 3.5, and 4 stars—I genuinely don’t know where I land on this one. It was one of my most anticipated reads for 2025, and I’d seen it described with all my favorite buzzwords: *Horror. Paranormal. Cults. Murder. Emotionally Devastating.* That’s my kind of book! And while it had moments of brilliance, it didn’t fully deliver the way I hoped.

The opening chapters had serious Conjuring vibes—so much so that the Warrens even get a mention. But as the story progressed, it reminded me even more of Archive 81 (a podcast and Netflix show I loved). The parts where Olivia works on various paranormal cases? *Chef’s kiss.* They gave me strong Ed & Lorraine Warren energy, and I was all in.




**SPOILER TERRITORY**
And then... things got messy.

The book tries to juggle a lot—Olivia’s sister’s death, the haunted hotel room, the repeated murders, the cult, the Indigenous battle history, a stalker, a potential traitor best friend, a tangled web of romantic drama (exes, current love interests, secret crushes), and oh yeah, Olivia’s mom is cursed to die next. It’s a lot—and not in a good way.

By the end, the story felt completely overloaded, like the author and editor were racing to tie everything up before a deadline. Instead of a satisfying conclusion, it just felt... confusing.

And speaking of confusion—the final line of the book.
“He who’s light is reflected back.”

Was this a major twist I totally missed? WHO IS HE?? I’ve been staring at this line like it’s a riddle from the Da Vinci Code. If anyone figures it out, please let me know.


~Final Thoughts~
There’s a great book buried in here, but it gets lost under too many subplots. If it had been a little tighter and more focused, I think it could have been amazing. That said, if you love paranormal thrillers, it’s still a fun ride—just be ready for a lot of moving parts.

I really really wanted to love this book. The description really grabbed me. I love a good spooky paranormal story. Sadly this was not that. So much potential but it just didn’t come together as well as it could have. Honestly it was rough to keep reading/ listening to the end.

I did receive an advanced e-pub and audiobook from NetGalley Flatiron Book and MacMillian Audio.

I would say as per the part that lost me was the sibling dynamics of it all. I really appreciate what the author was going for but I don’t know if this is the story for me, despite the bangin premise. That said I have yet to check out the author’s other popular release White Horse and I’m very excited to do so.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this eAudioARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited to read this book because the premise sounded awesome, but it ended up being a little disappointing.

Olivia’s sister dies mysteriously, and soon after her sister’s death, Olivia starts seeing and hearing the dead. Olivia becomes a paranormal investigator and eventually she investigates her sister’s death.

While I loved the premise of this book, the story seemed a little disjointed and became hard to follow at times. There was a lot going on. There’s the mysterious deaths in this hotel, a cult, a curse, ghosts, and a little romance.

Olivia made some questionable decisions, especially her decision to get romantically involved with one of the characters. It felt very strange to me.

I listened to this on audiobook and I did enjoy the narration. I thought the narrator did a good job bringing the characters to life.

Overall, I liked the paranormal elements and the main theme of this book, but the storyline was hard to follow at times. You might enjoy this book if you like paranormal mysteries.

The book had a great concept. I thought it would have had more to do with ghosts then it did. It was more of a mystery with a little bit about ghost. Overall it was a good book. I would recommend it.

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
Pub Date: 3/18
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I really wanted to love this one but unfortunately this was just not for me. In the beginning I was hooked, the idea of a paranormal investigator trying to figure out what happened to her sister had me thinking this was going to be extra dope.
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Unfortunately, this one felt a little too all over the place. There were too many plots and subplots that made this one become convoluted and I found my mind wandering most of the time and then id get reeled back in with something then wander off again. I also never really connected with any of the characters, which also had me not enjoying it as much as I hoped.
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This had a slow to stead pace. There were parts that were slower than others but for the most part I would say that it was steady.
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I listened to this one via audiobook and Ina Barron did a great job with the story at hand. I am grateful for her narration because without it, I cant say that I would have finished this one.
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Overall, this was not for me, but I know that people are going to love this one, so be sure to check it out! Huge thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio and Erika T. Wurth for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth is a gripping and suspenseful novel.
The compelling narrative and well-drawn characters had me up so late.
The way she creates her characters is seriously the best. They are intriguing and entertaining.
Erika T. Wurth's ability to build and maintain suspense makes this novel a captivating read for fans of psychological thrillers.

Rating 4.25 ⭐️

Set in Denver, The Haunting of Room 904 follows Olivia, a top paranormal investigator who inherited powerful medium abilities from her sister Naiche, who tragically took her own life at the Brown Palace Hotel in room 904. Throughout the book, Olivia is called in to solve various paranormal cases, all while trying to uncover the truth behind her sister’s death and break the curse haunting room 904. The mystery-solving element reminded me of Scooby-Doo and the gang, which made it even more fun!

The book also brings awareness to the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864, weaving flashbacks of the event into the paranormal storyline. I appreciated how Erika included educational resources at the end to further explore this part of history.

As a Mexican American, I felt a deep connection to the characters, and I loved how the book mentioned Mexican folklore, like La Llorona. The story also touches on serious issues such as wealth privilege, racial bias, immigration, substance abuse, domestic violence, and toxic relationships.

Overall, I loved the paranormal horror aspect, and I can easily see this story translating into a gripping movie. It was an engaging read with a perfect mix of supernatural suspense and real-world social commentary.

🎧 Audiobook Review:
The eerie intro and outro music were the perfect touch, setting the ideal mood for the book. I mostly listened to it at night before bed, and Ina Barrón’s narration was simply phenomenal. It kept me hooked and added the perfect spooky atmosphere!! 👻

I highly recommend anyone that is interested in the novel to listening to the audiobook. For those who gave it a low rating, I encourage you to give it another shot with the audiobook—it really enhances the experience, especially with the pronunciations and the spooky vibes.

Thank You Flat Iron Books, Erika T. Wurth, & Macmillan Audio for allowing me to review the ebook Arc and Audiobook of The Haunting of Room 904!! ❤️

The Haunting of Room 904 is a paranormal thriller for fans of spooky possession stories. If you loved The Ring, The Haunting of Hill House and The Conjuring, then this is a must read. It was giving the vibes of all three. Thank you to Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advanced audio!

Full transparency, I do see why this book has such an array of mixed reviews. There definitely was a lot going on (we’ll circle back to that) and there were moments that drug on a bit, but overall this was VERY intriguing to me and I had a incredibly good time with this story.

This cast of characters (while not perfect overall but perfect for this story) brought to life a story of drama, grief, and paranormal craziness and I ate up every minute. Yes there was a lot going on but I personally never felt like I didn’t see the relevance to every moment and how it all fit together. And, much like I did with Erika’s White Horse novel, I loved the Native American culture aspects of the story with the added bonus of the Latinx culture; I will always love a book that gives beautiful insight to the other people we share this country with.

Overall this was a real treat and I’ll definitely be recommending this!

Unfortunately I wasn’t a big fan of this story. The I-see-dead-people trope isn’t really my jam. Dean Koontz’ ODD THOMAS works for me, but just barely, I also didn’t cl lick with the characters. I guess I can’t win ‘em all.. The narrator did do a great job however. She nailed the multiple voices and the creepy tone.

Wow! This was not what I was expecting, but it WAS really good!

Olivia is a young woman who has begun interacting with 'spirits' and the supernatural ever since she lost her sister to an apparent suicide, in a hotel room...
Guess which one?? You got it!! 904! 😮😮😮

She and her friend, Alessandro, have been delving into this to try to find out what really happened that dreadful night. BUT, the more they seem to find, the more that also seems to elude them!

And, they have a journalist who follows their every move, and gives them a whole lot of hell...and gets everyone in the neighborhood stirred up! And, not in a good way!

As Olivia's skillset is getting better, there is more and more of a demand for her services...so much so, that the hotel where her sister died reaches out to her for her help!

Although I felt that it was a bit long, I totally enjoyed this one!

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!!

#TheHauntingOfRoom904 by #ErikaTWurth and narrated by #InaBarron.

Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for an ARC of the audiobook, in exchange for an honest review.
*** Release date is in about a week, on 3/18/25, so look 👀 for it on shelves soon!! ***

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I had really high hopes for this novel! The premise is right up my alley, and I love a horror/thriller audiobook under 10 hours. And overall, it was a fine book. But as the story moved forward, I found myself losing track of (and interest in) all the many plot threads, and I was letting the audio wash over me instead of listening carefully. Still, I don't feel that my time with this novel was wasted at all! A few notes and observations:
-great narration
-enjoyable characters (mostly)
-native history and culture are included with care
-romance was not very interesting and could've been cut, imo
-there are haunted dolls!!
-really fun ads for paranormal investigation equipment as chapter breaks
-plot threads began to tangle for me in the middle
-not very scary for a horror

Ghost Hunters, absolutely! Also Olivia, the FMC, is complex and is dealing with loss and moving through her grief. I loved the premise and the storyline. There was times that I felt the story had too much going on and became confusing. But it has heart and is definitely creepy. I overall enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The plot of this one was really interesting, but for some reason, the characters felt a bit off. I don’t really know how it could be fixed in the writing process, but it essentially felt as though this was the second book in a series. In a way, I guess that means that the characters are well developed so that’s a bonus, but it felt like I was joining the story late.