The Hotel gives off Blair Witch vibes but done a whole lot better, and they don’t all die. I notoriously hate The Blair Witch Project, but I loved this book.

10 years ago, Bex travelled to an abandoned castle on the Welsh coast with 3 of her friends in the summer before they were set to start university, but only 3 of them returned home. They had set out to make a film about the abandoned hotel, Ravencliffe, but that night was only filled with unexplained accident after accident, including the disappearance of Bex’s best friend, Leo. 10 years on, the little film that was eventually cut together gained a mass amount of fans, naming themselves the Ravens, after the hotel.

The company that bought the rights to the film have organised a 10-year reunion, and while Bex is hesitant to agree to it at first, she eventually joins Richard and Oscar in setting foot back into Ravencliffe for the first time in a decade.

This is a book that had me hooked from the get-go, and I 100% thought that I’d end up giving it 5 stars, but there must have been something that stopped me from doing so. I think it might have been the last 10 or so per cent. I wasn’t the biggest fan of how things wrapped up, but as for the rest of the book; fabulous, and a read I think will be on my list that I always recommend to people.

After reading this one, I think that Louise Mumford (she/her) might be an author I’ll look into again in the future. I rather enjoyed her writing style and how she kept me interested throughout; never knowing what to expect next.

Thank you to HQ Digital and NetGalley for the ARC!

Ten years ago, 18-year-old students Bex, Leo Oscar and Richard decide to go to and old abandoned hotel in the Welsh hills called Ravencliffe and film it for a student project. The Victorian hotel was abandoned by its owner when he killed himself in the library after going bankrupt. Due to the cancellation of a railway line being built nearby. So, when the four go and visit the hotel, things happen. Which leads the disappearance of Leo. Further searching for him by the local authorities failed to find him. But when they release the film, the three become famous and the disappearance gets cult status. Ten years later the hotel is now owned by a film company that was to go over the incidents that happened ten years ago and they have invited the three remaining members to go back to the hotel to see if they can find out what happened to Leo as his was never found.
Thank you, HQ, for a copy of ‘The Hotel’. I was really looking forward to this as the premise caught my attention. What is not a love about an abandoned hotel and some spooky goings on while they are filming and residing there. The story is told mostly of Bex, and we do get a small picture of what goes on and the hotel in past and present day but the story us made up of mostly the relationships between them. The characters are not likeable especially Bex who thought she was the only one suffering between the three of them and did think the story was a bit too much drawn out at times. The ending wasn’t what I am expecting. 3.5 stars from me.

Ten years ago, teenagers Bex, Richard, Leo and Oscar decide to explore and film a trip to the long abandoned Ravencliffe Hotel on the Welsh rocky costal edge. Unexplained events lead to only three of them surviving that night and the footage taken that night has become cult viewing and there is a huge Ravencliffe following. Ten years on, now recluse Bex is coerced into a reunion back at Ravencliffe with the ulterior motive of finding out what really happened to Leo that night. Strange and deadly events take place, it seems the hotel wants revenge.
The Blairwitch meets The Shining influenced storyline is very compelling, and the eerie background to the hotels origin helps build up suspense and intrigue in a very clever plot. Plenty of tension and twists, an enjoyable read and well recommended.

Thank you so much for an ARC for my review.

Unfortunately, this was too slow of a burn for me. The author writes beautifully, however it isn't for me. I like more action, less description. I became very bored, very fast.

Intriguing, clever, exciting and oh so hard to put down! The Hotel is a fabulous and fast read that I can see would convert really well to a short TV series.

I loved the aspect of the conventions and the fanbase, and how the different students each dealt with the aftermath of the original incident in different ways.

Louise Mumford cleverly reveals the story layer by layer and I was utterly hooked - this was one I finished off in the wee small hours as I got to a point where I just couldn't put it down.

A great read, thoroughly enjoyable and I am sure it will be much loved. Could work well for a Young Adult audience too I would have thought.

Four students visit Ravencliffe, a hotel abandoned after the owner mysteriously takes his own life. Once they arrive a series of accidents occur and only three of them escape, leaving the fourth to never be seen again. Struggling to cope with the loss of their friend Leo, their lives are forever changed by what happened on that fateful day. They each cope differently, one taking on the spotlight by making public appearances, hungry for fame. A decade later they all agree to return and find out what really happened to their friend Leo.. But when history starts to repeat itself, they learn that someone has been keeping secrets.
Mumford's writing style is engaging and the pacing of the story is good; the tension builds slowly but steadily throughout the book until the explosive finale. The atmosphere is claustrophobic and oppressive, which adds to the sense of unease that permeates throughout the narrative. The Hotel is a gripping and suspenseful read that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. Highly recommended for fans of psychological thrillers.

THE HOTEL

Thank you #Netgalley and #HQstories for my e-arc copy of Louise Mumfords’ #TheHotel in exchange for my honest review.

I was very disappointed. The premise sounded so promising and so I was expecting so much more.

I found the majority of the story lacking and it took me two weeks to finish.

This novel was very atmospheric and the prose so vivid, however I struggled to engage at all.

It was such a slow burn, I didn’t find anything to happen until over halfway through. By this time I was considering not finishing. And well this boost in pace didn’t last and I felt the last chapter to be pointless hence my two stars. This mainly being due to the vivid and atmospheric descriptions.

This is my first book by this author & I thought it was pretty good. I wouldn’t have predicted the ending! I would highly recommend the read.

A group of four friends and classmates decide to travel to an abandoned hotel on the Welsh coast. Ravencliffe has a haunting past and there are many tales of ‘bad happenings’ associated with the hotel. Filming the trip just adds to the hype!

Three set out for the hotel-Richard, Bex & Leo. Oscar stays with the boat. They never dream that one wouldn’t return home. A freak accident and Leo is gone but his body is never found!

Ten years have passed & Bex still doesn’t know what happened to her friend Leo. She’s secluded herself and just wants to live a normal life. Richard turned to substance abuse. Oscar has milked the fame that came from releasing their film.

Now a reunion is being planned and they want the three to return to Ravencliffe. Will the truth finally be uncovered?

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was absolutely not what I was expecting, at all, but I loved it. It’s a great read, well paced, and with a good twist at the end. It hinges on 4 friends who decide to go to a ‘haunted’ derelict hotel in the summer after they finish school. One of them doesn’t make it back, and the footage becomes a viral cult film, spawning its own convention. But the three remaining people are forever changed. When a film company wants to make an anniversary documentary, strange things start happening to them, forcing them to come together and confront the past.

Though this novel is atmospheric and the descriptions of the hotel are vivid it lacked something for me. It is definitely a slow burn, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however I felt in this case the promise was never fulfilled.

An ok book for me. The plot took a while to get going and the writing got a bit repetitive at times. I was really looking forward to reading because the premise of the book held a lot of promise but I feel it fell a bit flat. Bex was instantly dislikable for me unfortunately and that left me feeling a bit ambivalent about what happened to her and her friends.

Thanks to Netgalley and HQ Publishing for the ARC.

If you enjoyed House of Leaves, add this to your list immediately. A gothic thriller, set in a creepy hotel in Wales, and centered around a viral film that was created in the hotel. There's an old unsolved mystery, and loads of uncertainty throughout. Good tension and buildup and great reveal.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

3.5☆out of 5.

The Hotel by Louise Mumford is centred around an abandoned hotel named Ravencliffe, which was built in the Victorian era. 10 years ago, Bex, Richard, Oscar, and Leo visit Ravencliffe to make a horror movie. After a series of creepy events, Leo disappears, never to be seen again. In the present day, the movie has a following with an annual convention named RavenCon. It is here that it is announced that there will be a reunion film at the hotel for the anniversary. Bex, desperate for answers on what happened 10 years ago, decides to return, which she vowed never to do.

I did enjoy this book. However, I did find that there were parts that went on for longer than necessary and a few parts added nothing to the story. Whilst I did like and sympathise with Bex, I feel she acted as though she was the only one traumatised by that night and is the only one who has suffered for the last 10 years.

I would recommend this book as it is definitely worth the read for anyone who likes a creepy thriller that will keep you guessing.

Thanks to Netgalley and HQ Stories for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A good read. I enjoyed the backstory about The Hotel. I was curious to find out what happened to Leo. It felt exciting & thrilling in parts, but definitely creepy on the whole.

Plot:

Ravencliffe is a supposedly haunted hotel with mysterious deaths & suicides in it's history. It's built on a cliff of the Welsh coast with offering Victorian luxury in mind but ends up being abandoned. Four friends who are film students decide to go explore and find out about the mystery of this hotel but only three of them return. No body is found and neither are any belongings. Each of them try to deal with this disaster in their own way. Then. there is a reunion planned after 10 years & an occasion to find out what exactly happened to the one who didn't return.

This is a gripping book with an amazing & atmospheric setting. Thrilling twists & not-thought of reveals.

Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to review this book.
Unfortunately this just wasn't for me and I did end up adding it to my DNF shelf.
I completely disliked the first character, Bex. The repetitiveness just got to me and the start was very slow.
For me, I have to be gripped instantly whereas I just didn't get that with this book.
I thought the plot sounded amazing but that's where it stopped.
Sorry I couldn't finish this. It's such a shame but I'm sure many will still enjoy it

What a fabulous read !! A Gothic Thriller set in a creepy derelict Hotel in Wales ,full of suspense in a dark atmospheric setting .The story crosses two time lines has great characters ,I especially liked Bex ,an enjoyable creepy thriller .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

I was disappointed by this book as I really liked the description.

Unfortunately, I found it very slow going with a lot of repetition. I also thought it was clear from early on who it was who knew more than they were saying about the events of 10 years previously although admittedly what they knew was not entirely what I expected.

Also, not to be picky but a building near the coast, abandoned for many, many years would be at least ankle deep in cobwebs, seagull and pigeon nesting materials, feathers and guano (to say nothing of rats and their droppings) and would smell terrible so I think the 4 intrepid film makers would have had a hard time gallivanting about the place. I know this because our council recently reopened such a building and they had to get specialist cleaners in because the bird residue was a health hazard and that building hadn't been empty for as long as the hotel in this book. Later in the book it says that for the reunion episode, the film crew had the place cleaned and that was only after ten years of debris.

I skimmed most of the middle part until it picked up a bit towards the end. I was confused about the various tunnels but I couldn't be bothered going back through the book to see exactly what was where and to be honest, I don't think it mattered much - the important fact was that there was a tunnel.

I have marked it for 3 stars but really, it is not as good as other books I have read to which I have given 3 stars so I will say 2.5. I don't like to give 2 stars, it seems mean spirited.

Ten years ago, Bex and her college friends Leo, Richard and Oscar dare themselves to do some filming at the abandoned, and apparently haunted, Ravencliffe Hotel for the ultimate project to help them get into film schools.

From the flashbacks at the start, we know that they experienced some terrible things which led to Leo going missing – and they still have no more answers as to what happened ten years later.
In this time, the film has become a cult smash hit, with fans attending meet-ups every year dressed as the friends and delving into the footage to try and work out what happened to Leo. Now, on the ten year anniversary, a film crew wants to get the remaining friends back together and back to the hotel.

Arg, I hate to leave a negative review but this just fell so flat for me. The premise sounded really good and promising, but for me there was absolutely no tension and creepy build-up to what happened that night ten years ago. I found myself just not even caring about what happened. And then when we finally got to what did happen, it was so ‘meh is that all?’ that I felt a new level of disappointment! Just not for me!

After reading the advance information regarding this book I was looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately I felt that it did not live up to the recommendations. The story was slow to get going and the plot a little to obvious. Not for me I am afraid.
Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for the advance copy of this book.

I enjoyed this mystery very much. It had just the right amount of spookyness. The storyline was well-written and I enjoyed the dual timelines. My only complaint is the story moved very slowly. It was still an enjoyable read and I am looking forward to reading more by this author. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.