I think might be my first official dnf. Sorry but it felt like a caraval copy but with an even less likeable main character.

The Hotel Magnifique never spends more than one day at a time in any location. It's the only safe place in the world for Suminaries, magicians who struggle to control their magic safely outside of the hotel. The wealthy and lucky few who manage to score invitations for the hotel don't remember anything from their time, except the fact that they were ridiculously happy.

Jani and her sister, Zosa, manage to obtain jobs working in the hotel, but things quickly start going wrong. With the help of Bel, the "vexingly handsome doorman," Jani begins to uncover the dark past of the hotel and the secrets hidden within.

Emily Taylor masterfully describes this magical hotel, with it's shifting features and dazzling magic, reminiscent of The Night Circus and Caraval, with hints of Spirited Away. Despite not being able to picture much of anything in my head, I still got a very clear visual of the Hotel and the changing landscape.

I know it's an important part of driving the story along, but Jani could not keep her hands off of literally anything. Like she breaks something accidentally, gets told off for it, and then immediately starts messing with something else. This nearly drove me insane, even though it completely fit her character.

The characterization and development in this book is wonderfully consistent and believable- Jani isn't a perfect main character, she has to grow out of her jealousy and listen to what other's want. And, Jani is not the only one with characterization, all the other char. have motives and individual personalities.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves the magical buildings trope, contract law, and grudging allies to lovers arcs.

I really enjoy romantic fantasies and this book did not disappoint! At first I felt like Jani and Zosa’s relationship was a little too good to be true but then we got to see that big sister/little sister dynamic where Jani felt responsible for Zosa and even the lengths she would go to just to stay close to her was so heartwarming!

Without giving away any spoilers, the teacup scene, the scene with Red, and the door scene will be permanently engraved in my mind because oh my were they such a quick turn of events that I had to re-read those parts just to make sure I’d actually read it right because wow.

Honestly, I enjoyed this book a lot more than I originally thought that I would! I would love if there was a sequel and I feel like the ending set things up that there potentially could be or that could be it for the story. And of course I can’t talk about this book without talking about Bel. The more I learned about him, it felt like the less I actually knew about him and I did find myself at times questioning if I trusted him but the way he had a soft spot for Jani, so cute!