infinite stars!

♾️✨

The Heartbreak Hotel is a tender and heart-warming slow burn romance that had me by the heartstrings. Ellen O’Clover wrote such a beautiful story that centers grief, friendship and the kind of love I could only dream about.

The writing was impeccable! I felt like this book wrapped me in a bear hug and didn’t let go. O’Clover filled this book to the brim with heart.

Louisa is feeling lost after a break up and wanting to cling to her safe place, the house she has been renting for years, but sadly it isn’t within her means. Henry is the owner of said house, and he agrees to let Louisa run the house as an inn for 6 months in exchange for allowing her to live there. From there, these two slowly fall for each other and it was everything. Everything!

Louisa & Henry’s story unfolds in such a soft way. I genuinely don’t have a better word to describe it. Their love is gentle and it’s comforting. They took such care with each other that they made my heart ache. Every moment spent with them was overflowing with intimacy and longing. They orbited each other, fighting their feelings, until they just couldn’t anymore. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife! This book mainly focused on their emotional journey, but the steam (!!!) was exquisite. It was slow, sensual and romantic.

There was also so much more to the story than the romance which made the characters feel much more real.

This review is wholly inadequate to truly express how much I loved this book. The Heartbreak Hotel is a new all-time favourite that I foresee re-reading and annotating to within an inch of its life.

what a stunning debut! this was an achingly beautiful story about heartbreak and hope! i loved Henry, the MMC, SO much! the side characters were really wonderful too! Lou, is such a strong and resilient person who is so selfless! I loved her personal growth! this one was so good!
rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
spice: 24; end of chapter 27!

This was lovely. I really enjoyed this romance about two flawed people - both of whom have their own issues but can work together to overcome them. An emotional book (made me cry! but in a good way!) with a totally sweet romance. Plus, as a Colorado lover, it was super fun to spend some time up in the mountains.

Incredibly soft and cozy, Ellen O'Clover has released a heartfelt novel about love, heartbreak and making room for yourself. The best word I can think of for this book is soft, from the cozy house with a view of the mountains, to the moments between Lou and Henry, it is all bathed in a soft glow in my head.

The Heartbreak Hotel starts with Lou being dumped by her rockstar boyfriend. After he cheats on her. Its a moment that immediately feels like a bruise, and Lou struggles to sit in it. Without his income, she can't afford the home that she loves, a big house full of themed bedrooms that she has poured her love into while her ex was touring. When she presents her moody landlord, Henry, with the idea of turning the house into a B&B in exchange for her still living there, he reluctantly agrees. When she then uses her therapy degree to create the idea of a heartbreak retreat, it becomes more reluctant but he's already said yes.

What follows is a cast of characters each feeling their own hurt. From Lou's best friend Mei who also gets dumped, to the widow Nan, to a bachelorette esque group of girls that rally for their friend who gets broken up with right before the wedding. Its messy and full of emotions in all their forms, with the space to feel. And of course there is Henry.

Henry is a vet with his own heartbreaking past. But he is also so soft and stable around the edges. A delectable brownie man. As Lou uncovers his hurts you end up on a bit of a rollercoaster, but I ended up loving it at the same time - despite the tears that followed.

The other big theme with an Ellen O'Clover book is mother-daughter relationships. Lou and her sister, Goldie, have spent their lives reacting to having an absentee mother with a borderline personality disorder. While Goldie has strived for a life of independence - no men allowed - Lou became the peacemaker who craves affection and looking out for others. These relationships always hit me the hardest because of my own experiences, and Ellen really knows how to drag out those ugly emotions.

oh this was gorgeous. so cozy. so sweet, so lovely 🥹 this is a women’s fiction-esque book about heartbreak, yes, but also love in so many forms and these two kids are so incredibly tender to each other, it kills me to fathom. she’s an auto-buy author for sure now, i’d love to read anything she’s written

"The Heartbreak Hotel" by Ellen O’Clover is the kind of book that sneaks up on you—what starts as a sweet, slow-burn romance turns into something deeper, a story about healing, second chances, and the messy beauty of human connection.

Louisa Walsh is still picking up the pieces after a bad breakup when she gets the chance to stay in the one place that’s ever felt like home—but there’s a catch. Her gruff, emotionally closed-off landlord, Henry Rhodes (who also happens to be a veterinarian with his own scars), agrees to let her live there only if she helps turn the house into a bed-and-breakfast. As they work side by side, their walls start to come down, and what unfolds is a romance that feels real—full of quiet longing, sharp banter, and those small, vulnerable moments that change everything.

What I loved most was how the story balanced romance with deeper themes. Yes, the chemistry between Louisa and Henry is fantastic (slow burns forever!), but the book also shines when it explores grief, self-doubt, and the way life can surprise you when you least expect it. The supporting cast—guests at the B&B, friends, and even a delightfully meddling neighbor—add warmth and humor, making the cozy Colorado mountain setting feel even more alive.

If I had one tiny critique, it’s that the story leans a bit more toward women’s fiction than pure romance (Henry’s POV is limited, and the emotional journey sometimes outweighs the swoon). But that’s also what makes it stand out—it’s a love story, yes, but also a story about finding yourself after loss.

Final thoughts? Heartfelt, immersive, and full of quiet magic. I’d give it a solid 3.5, rounded up to 4 for the way it stuck with me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the early copy! All opinions are my own.

Something to note when reading this review, I do not typically enjoy Romance novels, but fell in love with this book. Ellen O’Clover is a masterful writer in pulling you into this world, and writing characters you’d expect to bump into on the street. Whether you’ve gone through a recent breakup, or not, treat yourself to this book.

This was a really delightful and tender premise for a contemporary novel. The Heartbreak Hotel, so to speak led to lots of interesting side characters and conversations, even if the introvert in me was anxious at the idea of the social energy Lou was capable of investing.
The romance with Henry is sweet, and you can definitely see how they are well suited and good for each other.
I think for me there was just something small missing that prevented me from deeply emotionally connecting with this. Objectively I appreciated the heartbreak and healing, but I never felt it deep in my gut enough to get emotionally invested. I truly couldn’t put my finger on why though, and it may have just been my own headspace while reading.
Ellen is clearly a talented writer though and I’d definitely recommend this to others and read more of her books.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Romance for the ARC.

This book is so tragically beautiful and romantic!
An Absolute must read.

The Heartbreak Hotel is exactly what I need in a romance. Trauma in all the right places, emotional depth for days, breathtakingly beautiful prose, so much TENSION, and YEARNING! OH MY!

I have not read Ellen O’Clover before, but now I need to devour everything she’s written. If her other books are even a fraction as good as this one I will be OBSESSED.

This book does lean a little more women’s fiction than romance, however I find that I enjoy books where the FMC is able to explore their self-identity in greater depth without everything being about the MMC.

This definitely achieves that.

We get so much to love with this book…
- found family
- family dynamics + family forward story
- emotional maturity
- characters with depth for DAYS
- swoony romance
- stunning prose
- stoic MMC
- THE TENSION
- THE YEARNING
- THE HURT
- age gap (26/34)
- Colorado Mountain setting

What’s not to love…
- NOTHING THIS BOOK IS SO PHENOMENAL!
- GO READ IT NOW!

Please note: Check your trigger warning with this one - there are some heavy topics within

🌶️ - Peeked door, ambiguous and something I’d be ok with my teen niece reading.

I love the basic plot, the main characters, Lou and Henry, and the slow burn of their relationship. Mei and Joss are good backup characters. I like the authors style of writing very much. What I could have done without, completely, are the therapy sessions. It reduces the book to a slog, and honestly detracts from the rest of the story.