Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor

Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor (400 Pages)

Summary: All her life, Jani has dreamed of Elsewhere. Just barely scraping by with her job at a tannery, she’s resigned to a dreary life in the port town of Durc, caring for her younger sister Zosa. That is, until the Hotel Magnifique comes to town.The hotel is legendary not only for its whimsical enchantments, but also for its ability to travel—appearing in a different destination every morning. While Jani and Zosa can’t afford the exorbitant costs of a guest’s stay, they can interview to join the staff, and are soon whisked away on the greatest adventure of their lives. But once inside, Jani quickly discovers their contracts are unbreakable and that beneath the marvelous glamour, the hotel is hiding dangerous secrets. With the vexingly handsome doorman Bel as her only ally, Jani embarks on a mission to unravel the mystery of the magic at the heart of the hotel and free Zosa—and the other staff—from the cruelty of the ruthless maître d’hôtel. To succeed, she’ll have to risk everything she loves, but failure would mean a fate far worse than never returning home.

Opinion: This book is a Gateway Award Nominee for 2024-2025. I think this book is like a mixture of Shadow and Bone and The Night Circus. The start was a bit slow and the ending perhaps slightly rushed, but I had fun reading this book. I specifically enjoyed the twist in the middle with the main character and getting to know the magic system of this world. 

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

 I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys (336 Pages)

Synopsis: Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force. Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe. Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom? 

Opinion: This is a Gateway Award Nominee. I'd give this book a solid 3/5 stars. I read this book in one sitting. I appreciated the intricacy of the side characters. I specifically, really enjoyed the epilogue as it confirmed my suspicions from the beginning of the book. However, I didn't always appreciate Cristian's voice as a character. This may just be a me thing, but he was just annoying. Also justice for the side character I can't talk about because I don't want to spoil the book. Overall, I liked learning more about the history of Romania and getting to know the side characters, but the main character and his arc did bring down the book for me a bit.