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chiquita203's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
kaeleaxrose24's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The plot for this book was so promising. A hotel in the Swiss Alps that used to be a Women’s TB Sanitarium? That gives me all the creepy vibes. The fact that we learned what happened within the walls to the women who were sent there really grabbed my attention, however, the plot overall was a bit all over the place.
The main FMC is a police officer on a leave of absence from work to deal with her PTSD. She had a lot of childhood trauma she never worked through and felt as though going and dealing with that would help her get back to her job and her life. Her overall character was very closed off, there was no way of connecting with her, so I didn’t really engage with her at all.
The plot twists were a bit unbelievable as well. I feel like the way people went missing and were found unalived was too hard to be done by who ended up being the killer. I get that there were many ways of getting around in the hotel, I just couldn’t agree that it was possible.
Overall, there were things that really caught my interest and things I didn’t really vibe with. I feel as though this book would be better suited for people who love an unreliable narrator and a crazy plot twist.
The main FMC is a police officer on a leave of absence from work to deal with her PTSD. She had a lot of childhood trauma she never worked through and felt as though going and dealing with that would help her get back to her job and her life. Her overall character was very closed off, there was no way of connecting with her, so I didn’t really engage with her at all.
The plot twists were a bit unbelievable as well. I feel like the way people went missing and were found unalived was too hard to be done by who ended up being the killer. I get that there were many ways of getting around in the hotel, I just couldn’t agree that it was possible.
Overall, there were things that really caught my interest and things I didn’t really vibe with. I feel as though this book would be better suited for people who love an unreliable narrator and a crazy plot twist.
jenfantoni's review against another edition
2.0
The concept was good but the book was overall poorly executed. The plot is convoluted and the epilogue is nonsensical. There was a lot of potential here but it didn’t pan out.
kristyloves2read's review against another edition
4.0
Wow!!
This book had this eerily creepy feel about it the whole time I was listening to it. The chill, the fear, the horror were palatable in both the writers writing and the narrator's voice. It was great. The book got four stars from me instead of five for two reasons. The first reason and bigger reason was the main character, Elin. I struggled to like her and struggled to not like her in equal parts. I don't know how to explain it better. Just as she did something I wanted to throttle her for, she would redeem herself, and just as I thought she had some character maturing she would make me want to scream with something she did. Overall I ended up liking her and I prefer to like my main characters. The second reason is the ending....no spoilers here......but something about the ending left me feeling incomplete, a feeling I don't like in my books. In the end, it missed the five-star mark by a hair.
For those who wanted the spoiler and it's not a very big one.....
The ending has a cliffhanger that maybe indicates a second book could be forthcoming. Since this is not billed as a series it's not my favorite way to end things.
This book had this eerily creepy feel about it the whole time I was listening to it. The chill, the fear, the horror were palatable in both the writers writing and the narrator's voice. It was great. The book got four stars from me instead of five for two reasons. The first reason and bigger reason was the main character, Elin. I struggled to like her and struggled to not like her in equal parts. I don't know how to explain it better. Just as she did something I wanted to throttle her for, she would redeem herself, and just as I thought she had some character maturing she would make me want to scream with something she did. Overall I ended up liking her and I prefer to like my main characters. The second reason is the ending....no spoilers here......but something about the ending left me feeling incomplete, a feeling I don't like in my books. In the end, it missed the five-star mark by a hair.
For those who wanted the spoiler and it's not a very big one.....
The ending has a cliffhanger that maybe indicates a second book could be forthcoming. Since this is not billed as a series it's not my favorite way to end things.
jmbreslin's review against another edition
5.0
Despite the amount of low reviews, I totally enjoyed this book. I love the writing style of short chapters which left off like a mini cliff hanger pushing me to continue on for "just one more" chapter. Without writing a spoiler - I will admit there was a spot where my first reaction was "ah yeah that's a little silly" but I am with Reese on this one!!! Very descriptive and atmospheric- just what I was looking for.
duffjam's review against another edition
5.0
Such a good book, so many twists and turns. It really left you guessing the whole time wondering what was gonna happen next.
quills_and_typewriters's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
3.5
mrsbooknerd's review against another edition
I have read loads of new releases that are very similar in style to this book in the last couple of months. It seems to be a trend for authors to have made the books highly character driven with 'slow burn' plots. Unfortunately these plots are often so slow burn that I lose interest.
Essentially these books have a lead with a complex past who is usually battling some sort of perosnal demon and this becomes the main plot, despite the fact that the blurb tells you the main plot is something else entirely which is more interesting.
In this case, the main plot is supposed to be the missing people but the whole section that I have read is just Elin having panic attacks over random shit and her passive aggressive partner getting grumpy about it. Ooh I can't trust my brother. Okay, don't spend time with him then. Sorted. Now let's find a murdered person please.
I can't understand Elin as a character at all and I don't like her brother or partner either so even though it is character driven, I don't like the journey.
I found the chapters from the POV of the victims lacking in tension and though they're supposed to be frightening or creepy, something about the writing style makes them seem cliche of the horror genre and a bit clunky.
I love how the author has written the hotel and the setting is actually creepy but I can't maintain interest in that alone. Every time I pick the book up I read a couple of pages and then find myself thinking about something else or putting it down.
Maybe if I stuck with it I would get to the good stuff but personally I don't get the hype with this one.
Essentially these books have a lead with a complex past who is usually battling some sort of perosnal demon and this becomes the main plot, despite the fact that the blurb tells you the main plot is something else entirely which is more interesting.
In this case, the main plot is supposed to be the missing people but the whole section that I have read is just Elin having panic attacks over random shit and her passive aggressive partner getting grumpy about it. Ooh I can't trust my brother. Okay, don't spend time with him then. Sorted. Now let's find a murdered person please.
I can't understand Elin as a character at all and I don't like her brother or partner either so even though it is character driven, I don't like the journey.
I found the chapters from the POV of the victims lacking in tension and though they're supposed to be frightening or creepy, something about the writing style makes them seem cliche of the horror genre and a bit clunky.
I love how the author has written the hotel and the setting is actually creepy but I can't maintain interest in that alone. Every time I pick the book up I read a couple of pages and then find myself thinking about something else or putting it down.
Maybe if I stuck with it I would get to the good stuff but personally I don't get the hype with this one.
a_chickletz's review against another edition
2.0
Horror / Thriller books are a difficult subject for me. As much as I enjoy reading them, I have to finish a book and truly have a moment I can recall where I was nervous / scared.
For this book? I didn't have one. At all. I found it too blah and the characters were just too bland for me. The killings were interesting but even still, I found the characters just not worth being scared for and the killings too.. random.
The killer I never saw coming, and looking back over everything, I wouldn't have suspected.
I was hoping to get something more deranged or gore-y from this giving the setting/location/the history of the building, but nope.
For this book? I didn't have one. At all. I found it too blah and the characters were just too bland for me. The killings were interesting but even still, I found the characters just not worth being scared for and the killings too.. random.
The killer I never saw coming, and looking back over everything, I wouldn't have suspected.
I was hoping to get something more deranged or gore-y from this giving the setting/location/the history of the building, but nope.
shh_mariaisreading's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0