We all wish we could go back and re-live or revisit some moment in our lives, even the unpleasant ones.

The Hotel was a good book overall. In the world of thrillers, there was nothing groundbreaking, but I don't think you'll be upset to read it.

‘You Swore You’d Never Come Back … Now You Might Never Leave’ - cover tag line.

My thanks to HQ Digital for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Hotel’ by Louise Mumford.

Ten years ago four students, Oscar, Leo, Richard, and Bex, traveled to Ravencliffe, an eerie abandoned hotel perched on steep cliffs on the Welsh coast. It is rumoured to be haunted. They are there to create a ‘found footage’ horror film. After a series of unexplained accidents, only three of them leave. Leo had disappeared and despite an extensive search was never seen again.

In the present day, the friends are no longer in contact though their film, ‘Ravencliffe’, has become a cult classic complete with an active fan base that call themselves ‘Ravens’. Oscar is hungry for fame and continues to make public appearances at the various RavenCon events. Meanwhile, Richard has been struggling with alcoholism and Bex just wants to forget.

At RavenCon10 Oscar announces to the attendees that there is going to be a special 10 year anniversary event and that the three of them, accompanied by a film crew, will be returning to Ravencliffe to film a documentary.

Bex is shocked by this idea and at first has no intention of going. Then she receives a mysterious package that indicates that someone close to her knows what had happened to Leo that night. Once they arrive at the hotel things start going wrong again. No further details to avoid spoilers.

As a fan of horror films, I was quite drawn to the premise of this novel. It moves fluidly between the past and present day slowly building up a picture of events at Ravencliffe on both occasions.

Bex proved an engaging protagonist with a strong sense of loyalty for her lost friend. I also felt that Louise Mumford captured the atmosphere of fandom events and how obsessed some fans can become.

Overall, I found ‘The Hotel’ an engaging thriller. It was spooky in places and captured the Gothic ambiance of the abandoned hotel.

I struggled with this one. There were too many cliches - particularly relating to blood - none of which really even tied to the events which occurred. A confused first half with too much description of the scenery and not enough bringing the characters to life for the reader. A more engaging second half but felt the whole book could have been improved by better editing.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advance copy to read.

The story follows Bex ten years after a tragic event where her and three friends go to explore Ravencliffe Hotel but one of them never comes back. The hotel is said to be haunted.

The premise of this book was really exciting but I found it to be a very slow burn. The first half was a struggle to read through. The second half picked up the pace as the plot thickened and the truth came out.

The writing was great but sadly it was just a bit too slow for me.

This was brilliant, I could not wait to get to the end but then was sad that I had read it all. The story kept you gripped all the time like something was always going to happen. Twists and surprises so I was always surprised about what was happening so had to read more. This author is going to be big as so far she has been amazing.

If you judge this book by its first few chapters and give up; as I nearly did, you will miss out on a really well told and enticing story. Potentially, simply a story about four teenagers and an abandoned hotel with story to tell. Oh but this book is about so much more and I will share just one ersatz spoiler and that is that the hotel almost wins!

If you want to learn more (and it is worth the effort) you will need to treat yourself to a copy to discover what a great job Louise Mumford makes of The Hotel.

Told over 2 time lines 10 years apart it tells a story that could be explained or a horror story! Four students go to an abandoned hotel looking for thrills and to make a film for their studies. Only 3 return - Leo disappears! Bex hides herself away as a recluse; Richard gets on with his life and Oscar spends his life profiting from the story.
The start is rather slow with repeated replays of the edited film taken at the time but the descriptions of Ravencliffe are atmospheric and well described. The story picks up speed and is interesting and better paced.
I loved the humour which peppered the story in the sections with Bex and Holly,
Three and a half stars for me.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Louise Mumford/HQ Digital for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Hotel had an interesting premise - ten years ago, four teenagers head out to a deserted building to film an amateur horror documentary, but one of them ends up disappearing. Now, back in the present day ten years later, the group are back together for a televised reunion…

I really enjoyed the creepy atmospheric setting but the pace felt too slow - I kept waiting for something to happen but it took a long time to get going. I don’t mind slower books at all but I didn’t feel like this one had much to keep me wanting to read on other than the mystery in the background, which I did like - I wanted to know what had happened all those years ago.

I didn’t hugely engage with the characters who felt a bit one dimensional for me, and I felt that the reveals were a bit too far fetched. Overall, although I did enjoy parts of it, I ended up feeling underwhelmed.

Creepy, dark and at times very slow. It took me awhile to get into this book but, once I did I enjoyed it. Sometimes books don’t get my attention right away and that happened here but by the third chapter, I didn’t stop!

10-years ago, Bex and her best friend, Leo, were set to explore the remote and abandoned hotel, Ravencliffe, as a way to celebrate the end of school. Bex's new boyfriend, Richard and his best friend, Oscar, end up weaseling their way into the trip as well. Four went there, but only three returned. Leo was lost that day, from a high cliffside, never to be seen again.

Richard, an aspiring filmmaker, recorded their entire doomed exploration of the old property. The footage of that day has become a Horror Cult Classic; think The Blair Witch Project had it been real.

A decade later, the trio of survivors have drifted apart, living very different lives and each coping with the events of that fateful night in their own way. As the ten-year anniversary approaches a documentary project is proposed wherein Richard, Oscar and Bex will meet up and return to the property, to face the demons of their past once and for all.

Our main character, Bex, has lived in isolation in London for many years. She's cut herself off from everyone, haunted by the past. Leo was her best friend. She has so many unresolved feelings stemming from that night.
Even though she's against it initially, Bex ultimately decides that returning to Ravencliffe may provide her with the opportunity to get answers about what happened to Leo. So, begrudgingly she agrees to take part in the project.

Bex, Richard and Oscar are reunited just prior to filming and return to the property from whence all their nightmares stem; along with a whole host of crew members for the documentary, of course. The property seems just a malevolent as ever and incidents aplenty occur as they begin to film. Will Ravencliffe end up taking more lives?

While I did see one of the reveals coming a mile away, there was quite a bit about this book that I found compelling. I loved how Mumford told this story mostly using just Bex as the narrative voice, but providing both present and past perspectives. I really enjoyed the present perspective, but was equally as interested in the past, which followed the characters from the time they planned the fateful trip, up through Leo's disappearance.

It was a slow build initially, but I didn't mind it. I loved Bex as a main character, even though I understand she probably won't be every Readers cup of tea. Personally, I love a main character who is flawed in some way, maybe haunted by their past and deals with it by isolation, self-sabotage, or self-medicating. I also always enjoy when these same characters decide they finally need answers and go back to their hometowns, or some other remote location, to investigate the past.

In this way, The Hotel was made for me.

I would say this continued the slow build until about the halfway mark and then events began to escalate more quickly. Regardless of the slow burn, I was never bored and disengaged from the narrative. The atmosphere was incredible. I loved the remote, stark setting of the hotel, as well as its dark history. It had a solid is it supernatural, is it not supernatural-feel, which I enjoy. Give me all the dark, spooky things.

Overall, I thought this was a super-entertaining read. The plot elements kept me engaged and I loved the overriding tone and feel of the story. Even though it was slightly predictable in places, it was still a great time nevertheless. Well done by Mumford!

Thank you so much to the publisher, HQ, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to picking up more from this author!

I struggled a bit with this book, it started off well but i found it leveled out halfway through and didnt really pick back up again. The characters were ok but the storyline i felt a bit weak.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was creepy and atmospheric with a few unexpected twists and revelations that tied things up nicely, albeit a little sadly. It goes to show, on the one hand, you really do need to think before you act on impulse. The hotel itself was wonderfully portrayed, a sinister and shadowy character all its own.

4 stars.

Ten Years previously, Bex, Leo, Richard and Oscar choose to film a homemade horror-style documentary about an abandoned hotel; where one worker died falling from the cliff and the owner committed suicide.
But while the four play 'blair witch project' there seem to be real ghosts lurking and they aren't happy that there are trespassers.

By the end of the night, one of them will be missing and one will be badly hurt.

But ten years later there is a reunion to what happened and untold truths will soon be told.

Mumford writes an atmospheric narrative that had me unable to read this novel at night. Switching from the past to the present in a dual timeline, told through the main character of Bex we see both sides of what has happened.

I enjoyed the main character of Bex and how she shows a bit of growth at the end. I did guess one part of the novel, however, was completely thrown with the end. I slightly overthought one section and wanted more of a complicated situation but this did not take away from the narrative. This was a great read and my first by this author; I had heard so many amazing things before and I look forward to continuing reading them again.

A solid four stars for a mystery steeped in intrigue, tension and creepiness.
As someone who lost a friend very young, I really felt for the remaining three friends and sympathised with how grief affected the next ten years of their lives. I couldn't imagine going back to the scene to make a movie and I agreed with Bex on that score. However, the possibility of finding out what really happened to Leo was a pull too difficult to ignore.
I loved the descriptions of the hotel. It had quite a dark history. The grounds and the building itself were creepy and had a haunted feeling made more so as the tragic story of past inhabitants was revealed. It was a complete mystery as to what had really happened to Leo and I didn't have a clue until the big reveal.
The story is told in dual timelines where the narration jumps between the group exploring the house in the present day mirroring the group's activities ten years previously. This added to the haunted feel of the story.
The conclusion to the mystery was riveting, emotional, tense and fraught with danger. There were a few surprises and twists but with the mystery solved I was happy that the future seemed that little bit brighter for my favourite characters.

This was such a creepy story, slow to begin with but, it built up and really grabbed me. At times it sent shivers down my spine. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I voluntary read and reviewed an Advanced Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As always I will start with what I liked about this book. I absolutely loved the whole idea of what is happening in the story and I can totally see the chaos and the cult it would create such a sensation in modern times with all the cameras and our phones always recording so this being in such a setting made it better.

I enjoyed the story being set now and seeing what happened ten years ago because it gets us more into what happened that night. Also the Ravencliff story and its mysteries are a delight.

The only thing I didn't like was the pace of the story. Sometimes it felt like some scenes even if they weren't in the book it wouldn't make a difference.

Overall, I did enjoy it a lot. The paranormal side of it and the closure it gave us.

Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and the author for providing me with the copy.

This is a story which ticks all the boxes fir a creepy murder mystery thriller, and does so convincingly. I loved the location which set the scene for a touch of mild creepy horror. Isolated, stark and you just knew things weren’t going to go well. The characters are great. Relatable, interesting and as the secrets are exposed and layers peeled away, it provides an unpredictable but carefully plotted storyline which I totally bought into.

There’s a dual timeline which works well and is easy to follow. Plenty of twists and a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Four friends go to a haunted house. Three go back. Ten years later they return. Sounded intriguing enough. The characters were described well enough and there was a good atmosphere in the setting but I found the story a bit clunky and predictable. A good twist at the end though.

The promise of creepy hotel vibes with a gripping psychological thriller are what drew me to this book, but overall I was sadly disappointed. There was quite a bit of repetition and the slow build meant it took a while to get into and by that time I wasn’t as invested as I was hoping to be in the plot or the characters. However, the creepy atmosphere of the abandoned hotel Ravencliffe was enjoyable.

Four students travel to Ravencliffe, an eerie abandoned hotel perched on steep cliffs on the Welsh coast. After a series of unexplained accidents, only three of them leave. The fourth, Leo, disappears, and is never seen again. A huge unexplained mystery - but with the events of much of that night recorded on film the remaining three students find themselves famous ... and rich ... and followed by a whole horde of Ravens, who want to know all about that night at Ravencliffe.

A decade on, Bex, Richard and Oscar have lost contact. Oscar is fame-hungry, making public appearances and selling his story. Richard sank into alcoholism and is only just recovering. Bex is searching for answers to Leo's disappearance, repeatedly watching and rewatching the video taken of that last night the four were together - but otherwise disengaged from the outer world. A reunion at Ravencliffe ultimately reveals just what happened that night ... but not before a good deal of intrigue and angst.

Ultimately a great story, just a shame that none of the main characters were particularly appealing, otherwise this might well have been a 5* for me.