Oh my god I LOVE this book!!!!! The characters are all so unique and hilarious. Curtis really knows how to create a diverse cast that are so entertaining you don't even mind that there's 20 different characters to keep track of. Set on a hotel-spaceship during a corporate conference, there are mysterious anonymous love letters being sent to staff, imperial spies on a mission, all while the hotel staff are just trying to do their jobs. I adored this.

La verdad, lo de cozy science fiction fue lo que me atrajo en primer lugar de Floating Hotel, porque sentía mucha curiosidad sobre cómo se iban a articular dos tendencias que parecen dispares (luego descubrí que también hay obras de cozy horror, lo que convierte las acrobacias mentales de la cozy science fiction en un paseo por el parque).


Floating Hotel es una novela coral, es un slice of life pero situado en una nave espacial que navega en una ruta circular por el sistema solar y ese es el componente de ciencia ficción. Por lo demás, se podría situar perfectamente en un crucero de lujo y la historia se podría mantener (más o menos) igual. Por lo tanto, cuando nos adentramos en esta novela, partimos de la base de que ciencia ficción tiene más bien poca, lo que no quita que sea una lectura agradable y simpática.

La plétora de personajes que habitan el Grand Abeona Hotel son el principal interés de la obra. Desde el manager que gestiona de manera impecable el hotel, habiendo aprendido el oficio desde pequeño pasando por los científicos que están allí de simposio, llegando a los espías que parecen medrar en sus habitaciones. Como novela con múltiples puntos de vista que es, al principio cuesta un poco seguir el hilo de lo que Grace Curtis nos tiene preparado, pero una vez que llegamos a la velocidad de crucero, no hay grandes escollos en nuestra ruta.

Como trasfondo, un malvado Imperio Galáctico (¿habrá alguna vez un Imperio Galáctico benevolente?) que nos acaba importando poco porque lo mejor son las historias de cada personaje. Es cierto que hay tantos que a veces algunos están mejor posicionados que otros, con una exposición más atractiva o simplemente un pasado mejor explicado, pero en general para tratarse de una novela de personajes, el equilibrio entre todos está bastante bien llevado. ¿Se podrían haber quitado algunos? Seguramente sí y hubiera habido un poco más de espacio para que los demás personajes pudieran dejarnos más huella.


En definitiva se trata de una novela muy en la línea de las últimas publicaciones de Becky Chambers, como The Galaxy, and the Ground Within .

I unfortunately really struggled to get into this one, although I LOVE cosy low stakes plots, I felt this wasn't really what this was at all! I felt very disconnected from the characters and the pacing just seemed really off. For a short book it felt MUCH longer (and not in a good way!)

I think the authors writing is very good, just this came across a little on the clunky side and disjointed. I do really think it would have benefited for maybe having more focussed stories on less characters!

Thanks as always for the ARC, sorry it wasn't really for me

I didn't go into this book with the clearest expectations, so that is on me. I didn't realise that each chapter was from a different perspective or that it was classified as cosy. It did have a charm about it, with good writing and cute stories. However, there wasn't anything there to really grip me. I could put down this book at any point and not think to pick it back up for days (which is why it took so long to finish it). If cosy sci-fi is your thing, I do think you'll enjoy it. It has this very nostalgic quality to it, which I didn't think was a mark of cosy, as it made me sad (I thought cosy was about cheer!).

It made me realise that this type of cosy is not my thing, at least at this point of my reading journey.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Cosy Sci-Fi, found family vibes, multiple POV

I tried to gel with this book, but it didn't work. Due to each chapter being from a different character's POV, it was hard to follow the underlying plot of the story. The many POV were supposed to give the story a found family vibe, but I was never convinced of it. All in all, it seemed more like a collection of short stories that are interconnected than a novel with a thriller-ish plot and fully fleshed-out characters.

Well, this was just lovely, and everything I was hoping for from it! Cosy sci-fi is just something I need more of in my life, clearly. I will say that it took me a second to get into the way the story covered so many people, but I ended up loving how it still made a cohesive story.

I also loved that it stayed true to it's sci-fi roots while bringing in a mystery and also more literary elements. The ship itself almost felt like a character throughout, which is honestly just SO well done. The whole thing just exudes charm, and a sense of whimsy, even through the darker parts.

I definitely recommend it, if you're looking for something to meet your found family on a spaceship cravings. 4 stars.

This is a multiple POV story following a crew of space hotel and it is so cozy with a great mystery plot! I didn't love the constant past and present tense changes but overall I really enjoyed this

The surface level feel of this is cozy - there are a lot of lovable characters, many with fairly low-stakes interests and motivations (especially at the beginning), in a setting that has a bubble-bath level of luxury & comfiness. Though images in the book get more sinister as the stakes get higher, it never quite looses the initial tone of warmth. So while I wouldn't count this among the true cozy books (whose stakes are rarely higher than the success of a coffee shop), it manages to capture what I like about those books and still handle some hefty themes.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC!

Not really a sci fi person, and I think this cemented that. Nothing wrong with this book per say, I just don’t think I’m the correct audience

DNF at page 108. It's strange to give three stars to a book I gave up on, but this really was a case of mismatch of intended audience rather than a bad book. I don't know that I can agree with Kate Dylan's review that this book is high stakes, or if so those stakes were still unapparent by a third of the way through, but it's certainly slice-of-life.

And that was the problem for me. I picked this up looking for a sci fi novel with an intriguing premise, and I got a slice-of-life story wearing sci fi pyjamas. It would take very little amendment of the text to shed the sci fi conceit of this book altogether, and if that's the case then it just isn't sci fi. Personally I prefer genre books to be immersed in their genres, not just wearing the look, so while the writing is strong and the characters have their charms, this one just wasn't for me.

For readers looking for character focused slice-of-life with a slightly unusual background, this is well worth a go. For sci fi fans looking for plot, this may be one to skip.

*Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

Set aboard an enormous high class space hotel, this book follows the various members of staff working at the Hotel Abeona and their back stories as to why they've ended up working on a ship travelling around the universe. This is a cosy slice of life sci-fi story which is slow-paced but I enjoyed being in the world iof Carl and his crew.

This seemed like a lovely story and I did try my best to engage with it - but for some reason, it didn't stick with me. I kept putting it down and finding it hard to return to. Sadly a DNF; I'll be trying again one day, no doubt.

"Floating Hotel" is one of the first books by Grace Curtis and is a good start into her ideas and what she likes to experiment with in her novels.

The namesake of this novel is a big spaceship that travels a programmed route and harbours not only interesting hotel guests but also a really extraordinary constellation of ship crew. And the strongest part of this book are the characters we follow even if not every single one is equally interesting for everyone. But in the handful of persons we get to know better there is somebody that feels special for everybody.

With this concept there is a strong correlation with Becky Chambers Wayfarer series. And even as I was able to see parallels Grace Curtis couldn't quite make it there. But that isn't something negative in my opinion. A second Chambers would be boring and Curtis has her own strength in writing.

Interesting was the mystery that expanded over the chapters and the single characters. How Curtis approached the mystery of the Lamplighter and who killed someone (and is there even a dead body?) was intriguing! I really liked how this got the same pacing as the story itself and inserted itself snuggly into the route of the Floating Hotel.

But even as I liked a lot of elements it couldn't grab me as a story totally. One point that pulled me out of the story at several points was the (self)description of certain characters. Especially Reggie who seems to be autistic had some very nasty thoughts about his past self. But there were some other descriptions had me cringe a little bit because they were not handled well.
As this is Curtis first book I think this can only improve over time as she learns to nuance stuff like that better. As there were so many fantastic nuances in this book I'm perfectly optimistic.

I think I will gladly check the other book by Grace Curtis out and am really grateful for the chance of reading "Floating Hotel"

I loved how each chapter in this book followed a different character within a story linking them all together. I also loved the idea of the wonderful floating hotel, and the gentle (although at times dark) story. I haven't yet read Frontier, but am keen to do so now, along with any other book written by Grace Curtis.

The found family elements and cosiness (which is what this book promises!) definitely delivered. I thought that each of the characters were interesting in their own unique way, however I did think there was too much perspective shifting. I would have loved to hear more about each character over a series of novels or novellas, as I felt like I never got to know any of them as much as I'd like. I really loved the diversity in the cast and the best part of this novel were their interactions with each other, that felt very real and natural.

I'd like to visit more of Grace Curtis' worlds in the future :)

In the beginning, I wasn't quite sure what I thought of the format, with each chapter taking up the story of a different character. So it took some time to get into the book, as you start to get a picture of the different personalities at play, and how they make the floating hotel the marvel it is. Must say, though I found the idea of the hotel itself, and the worldbuilding around it fascinating.

(Review copy from NetGalley)

"Cozy" scifi and fantasty is relatively popular right now thanks to Becky Chambers and Travis Baldree, and certainly when you describe a book as "The Grand Budapest Hotel in space" my interest is piqued. And this story does what it says on the tin: delivering a low-stakes enjoyable romp through the stars with a cast of quirky, amusing, lovable (and not so lovable) characters.

I enjoyed the "country manor" setting in the aging, creaking hulk of a genteel aging spaceliner, and certainly it made it obvious why our little hotel family bond together in that way that only people in customer service who spend more hours with their workmates than their families can. With a diverse and large cast of characters, it was an easy read flipping between their various perspectives and gently exploring their lives.

Recommended if you want a stress-free read about space and the people that float around in it without the burden of too much action or galaxy-saving heroics.

I got a couple of chapters into this book and realised that it was not for me, I am quite new to 'cosy' reads, and didn't feel invested in the story due to the focus on different characters rather than 1 or 2 main characters.

I am rating this 4 stars as I enjoyed the writing style and the idea is great, it just wasn't for me personally.

I didn't realise this was a cosy sci-fi when I requested it and that's on me I guess - I don't like cosy fantasy/sci-fi so I don't feel like I can properly rate and review this.

The writing and characterisation (up until I put it down) were good, though. No problems with the writing at all, it was descriptive and nice to read. The characters and all of their backstories were fun, and the worldbuilding was well thought out and interesting. Just 100% not my subgenre.

I think this was a case of wrong time, right book. I wanted to enjoy this, having loved the author's previous book, but it didn't gel with me. It was beautifully written but a little too slow paced for me.