Title: Hotel Ruby
Author: Suzanne Young
Genre: YA, Mystery, Horror
First published: November 3rd 2015
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Finished reading: August 20th 2016
Pages: 288
“It’s funny how seeing another person hurt can break you down faster than your own emotions.”
When Hotel Ruby was first published last year, I saw quite a few mixed reviews and ended up taking this book off my priority list. But somehow I never completely forgot about the story… So as soon as I saw it was one of the Riveted reads in August, I knew I had to grab the chance to read it for free. Thanks again Riveted! Now I’ve finally read this story by Suzanne Young myself, I can see why there are so many mixed reviews out there. I mean, the idea behind this book is essencially great, but I felt like something was missing. I loved the mystery and creepiness of the hotel and those descriptions were excellent. That said, I figured out quite early on what was exactly going on in the hotel, which was a minor disappointment. To make things even worse, the dreaded insta-love romance made its appearance and basically almost ruined the story for me. It distracted from the plot and didn’t really add anything substantial to the story either. I suppose romance fans will most likely not be bothered that much by it though and enjoy Hotel Ruby a lot better than I did. Just don’t expect a story filled with plot twists and high dose of creepiness, since romance seems to be the main focus in this novel.
When Audrey has to make an unplanned stop at the grand Hotel Ruby, she seems almost happy with the detour. Especially since her father is about to send Audrey and her brother Daniel to live with their grandmother who is practically a stranger. Why? Their mother died a few months ago and he seems to be drowning in his grief. Audrey and her family only plan to stay the night, but life in the Ruby can be both unpredictable and addicting. The family ends up extending their stay over and over again. But while her father and brother seem to be completely happy with their new life in the Ruby, Audrey is starting to suspect something is a bit off about the beautiful hotel. Especially since she seems to be the only guest on the thirteenth floor and the only one without an invite to the ballroom party… Will she find out enough about the hotel’s dark past before it’s too late?
Hotel Ruby is one of those stories that has a lot of potential and an intriguing setting, but ends up being ruined by the appearance of cheesy/insta-love romance scenes. I know I’m not a romance fan in the first place, but I was really disappointed by the way the whole creepiness and intrigue around the hotel was pushed back into the background. I mean, I know a lot of people probably love the romance and all, but it just wasn’t what I was expecting after reading the blurb. Such a shame!
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