A solid debut! The aesthetic of the book is impeccable and definitely transports you to that time and place. It mixes glamour and horror perfectly and lives up to the description given on netgalley. You get exactly what you came in for! I do also love a mysterious hotel setting, so that worked great for me, although I . Mabel is a very engaging, ambitious MC I had no problem rooting for. The pace was a little too slow at times but I feel like it suited the overall vibe pretty well and created a scarier, more suspenseful atmosphere. I only wish I'd read this on a spooky autumn day for an even immersive experience!

Great setting and characters in this sparkling debut. I loved the character of Mabel and her ambitious, no-nonsense demeanor. Interesting, infernal monsters and a mysterious hotel add texture and suspense to a wonderfully polished story. I raced through this book and would love to read more from Cat in the future!

Although it's described as being The Great Gatsby meets Hellraiser, Below the Grand Hotel has me neither thrilled nor disappointed.

The comparisons are pretty accurate though which I'm pleased with. The Great Gatsby is one of my all-time favorite classic books and I felt like Cat Scully captured the essence of that story and flipped it into the horror that Hellraiser embodies.

Now, that being said why didn't I rate this higher? Although it starts off pretty straightforward with a goal for our FMC Mabel and her cohorts, it does seem to go off the rails a little. It suffers from too many locations. The Grand Hotel is supposed to be this labyrinth of unnatural proportions, but I felt that at times there was so much time spent on describing these elaborate rooms that you lose the point of the story.

There are plot twists I saw coming and some that I didn't which was quite refreshing.

Overall, it's a fine story. I'm glad I read it and I'm super happy that it did live up to the comparisons.

The Glamour of the 20s meets a red shoes. Mabel was an interesting ambitious character who climbs into a hell for what she thinks she wants. I enjoyed the writing and the progression of the story.

Below the Grand Hotel mixes elements of a heist novel, a redemption story, a 1920s flapper-with-moxie tale, and a discussion of what is evil and where is hell in New York City during prohibition.

Mabel Rose Dixon runs from the rules, religion and expectations of rural Georgia, to NYC, using sass and petty theft to get an audition for Ziegfeld’s Follies. Misplaced pride and overzealous desperation leads her to following a potential mark into the infamous and decadent Grand Hotel.

Demons run amok in the Grand, and Mabel is forced to sell her soul in a horrific scene of gore and violence. She is filled with immediate regret and endeavors to get her soul back and escape the Grand.

Mabel is likable, and I enjoyed how Scully revealed her backstory and motivations. I loved Mabel and Will’s adventure through the bowels of the hotel as they try to save themselves and others trapped in hell.

Scully successfully maintains momentum and tension, as Mabel tries to preserve her humanity. The pages practically turned themselves.

There were some inconsistencies that sometimes took me out of the story and the book seems to need one more go over to fix places where characters are misnamed or paragraphs are out of order.

In all, I enjoyed my time being terrified at the Grand Hotel.

3.5 ⭐️

First of all, thank you Netgalley and Clashbooks for the opportunity of reading this book prior to the release in return for a review. This is still a honest review that is solely my opinion.

This book was literally everything it promised to be and I would definitely agree with the Netgalley description which describes this as a combination of Great Gatsby and Hellraiser.

This book has horror, demons, but also glamour and culture. The vibes that this books are just 👌🏼

Mabel is a struggling artist in 1920 New York who wishes to become one of the Zieglergirls. However, due to the struggles she experiences she steals to keep her self floating. Until… she steals from the wrong people. She follows this wealthy looking couple into the grand hotel, but they end up being demons. And desperation and a deal with a demon is not a good combination.

This premise was so unique and immediately sucked me in. Unfortunately, it sometimes went a bit fast and I got lost in everything that was going on. And the ending definitely gave me whiplash the plottwists were plottwisting in this one!

Overall, a very enjoyable read if you love gothic horror, mixed into a glamorous great gatsby style hotel and a touch of romance.

Below the Grand Hotel by Cat Scully will be released May 6th 2025.

Below the Grand Hotel by Cat Scully is a Gatsby-inspired horror novel that weaves glitz, glamour, and the grotesque into a tale of demons running a hotel designed to ensnare souls for their dark agenda. The setting is richly atmospheric, capturing the decadence of a bygone era while layering it with an unsettling undercurrent of dread. However, the slow-burn pacing, while deliberate, sometimes drags, making it difficult to stay fully invested in the characters and their fates. While the concept is unique and the blend of opulence and horror is intriguing, it didn’t quite captivate me, leaving it as an okay read rather than a standout.

Selling my soul to the devil?
In an art deco world with flapper style?
HELLO? Say less.
I'm so glad I got to read this story and found in insanely unique and well organized. I was hooked from the beginning and will be passing this along to anyone who will listen!

A delightfully dark gothic feeling thriller. I really enjoyed the characters development throughout this story, definitely one to recommend!

Oooh this was a scary good one! Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!
Mabel is a struggling performer in 1920s New York City who usually steals from the rich until one day she steals from the wrong crowd: Demons! I wont say more but if you like horror with an historical atmosphere I definitely recommend it!
4 stars

ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, it will be brutal.

So many typos and editing errors, including spelling the lead’s name wrong twice within the span of two pages. And I know some of that can be adjusted still, but there was one part where a paragraph didn’t make sense and clearly the paragraph before it had been edited in such a way to remove the context for the next one. And I love a good fragmented sentence, but some areas felt like a chopping room floor with viscera left everywhere and no clean up crew.

Speaking of viscera, I actually did enjoy how gory and bloody this book was. It couldn’t decide on Christian or Greek religious imagery, but that’s a different problem.

I feel like I walked in expecting a heist book with some supernatural elements, and about 40% of the book was heist that… didn’t end up mattering? Basically at all?

I walked into this book excited for historical fiction with supernatural elements and a heist and was left with a lackluster cast of characters, plot convenience thrown in at every turn, and actually a really banger ending if we’d cut out kind of the entire middle of the book, tbh.

Kinda just every element that could’ve worked for me flopped HARD. What did pull through nicely is how much emphasis is on artists/creators and their souls and how their work is so intricately tied to their humanity, and I think if that had been stronger throughout, I would’ve really resonated with Mabel more.

I think this would’ve been much cooler as a graphic novel.

Mabel accidentally loses her soul to a demon after a pick pocketing gone wrong
Frank offers her a chance to get it back if she preforms in his Grand Hotel, collecting 100 souls for hers, the catch: she slowly becomes a demon the longer it takes to collect
With other workers warning her of the future horrors that the hotel holds for her
Mabel uses her stealthy skills to uncover the gothic horrors
Cat Scully thrusts you back in time with this seat gripping story!

The setting and premise were really unique and interesting. The setting, both in terms of the era and the grand hotel itself, felt lush and very fleshed out. I found the ending fairly satisfying, but I felt like there was a bit of a time skip towards the end of the book that maybe needed a bit more attention. Mabel's motives seem to flip between wanting to be a "good person" and desiring the fame and luxury the hotel could offer a bit too easily. As well as her affections fluctuating between the two main male characters she interacts with.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and will handsell it to folks interested in that time period or looking for something a bit different, but I wouldn't consider it a favourite myself.

Firstly, thank you, NetGalley and Clash books, for the e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Secondly, I'm sorry I didn't like this more...

So here's the thing: as someone else said here, it's fine. The book had an interesting premise, but the execution made the book feel rushed, while the story's pacing felt a little sluggish. It kind of felt like I was having whiplash. Though to the book's credit, the ending had a nice little payoff.

It wasn't super neat and tidy, but that would have felt disjointed with the rest of the tone of the book. So, ultimately, if you have to catch a flight or need something to read on the beach, this is a cute little book to pick up *if* you finish it.

I do think the book was also starting on an uphill battle when the author played their hand before chapter 3. We were all in on the secret, the suspense felt more or less gone, and then it was kind of a struggle to hang in there. Personally, I didn't really connect with the characters, but it looks like many other people did, so that may just be a me thing.

Overall, I'm selecting the 3-star rating to round up because, genuinely, I think the ending did a lot of heavy lifting, but really, this is a 2.75 from me...

I do think the story is a cute idea, but I think the book needed a little more time to bake.

The Great Gatsby meets Hellraiser in Below the Grand Hotel, where ambition and darkness collide in a world run by demons. Mabel Rose Dixon dreams of stardom as a Ziegfeld girl, but when she picks the wrong pocket, she’s trapped in the twisted world of The Grand Hotel.

In the hotel, Mabel’s wish is granted—she becomes the star of the show every night, surrounded by adoring patrons. But her newfound fame comes at a terrifying cost: her soul. Now, she must steal it back before the hotel's May Eve Ball or risk becoming a demon forever.

This atmospheric debut, with gorgeous art deco illustrations by the author, is a darkly beautiful tale of desire, betrayal, and horror. If you love gothic horror with a touch of glamour, Below the Grand Hotel is your next obsession.

I thought the premise was great and couldn’t wait to read the book, but this is rough. The first 10-15 percent is running at a clip, throwing 1920s references and slang out as fast as possible without actually making it feel like the twenties. There’s no time to build the tension this story needs to pull off the horror of a demonic hotel. There’s some very distracting continuity issues and some discrepancies. I know this is an uncorrected copy and I don’t generally worry too much about smaller issues but this feels more like a draft than an ARC. It’s a hugely promising draft, though, so I’m going to wait until I’ve gotten a final edit copy to share reviews elsewhere.

I will start off by saying, I really loved the premise of this book. I thought it was super unique and the time period the author used was perfect for this particular story line.

Our FMC is relatable, witty, and lovable. If you aren’t cheering Mabel on, may be yer a demon. The other cast of characters are equally entertaining and there is a personality in this group for every one.

The hotel itself was a character and a complex one. I love a novel that includes the atmosphere and setting in its line up. It went beyond just setting the mood.

I do think this book could have use another edit. It seemed to ramble on in the middle, there were a couple inconsistencies with the timeline and character details. Nothing glaringly obvious, but something to look into.

This book was a DNF for me. I sadly just couldn’t get into the story. I enjoyed the thought behind the premise though. It sounded up my alley. I will try recommending and see what other people thought. Thank you for the opportunity to read.

Thank you NetGalley and Cat Scully for the chance to read and review this book.

I honestly really enjoyed this book. It gave me Great Gatsby crossed with Supernatural vibes which was awesome. The selling your soul to the devil plotline is always a fun time to watch how the characters navigate out of the situation they put themselves in. It really shows how inherently selfish human nature is while at the same time can be beautifully self sacrificing.

The negatives: Can use more editing. There is some incomplete sentences, grammar issues and time period inconsistencies. Other than that I highly recommend the read.

This book was a perfectly fine, gruesome horror story filled with demons, blood lust, glitz and glam, and adventure. The Grand Hotel was very reminiscent of the hotel season of AHS. While I did get some of the Gatsby vibes, it really didn’t feel Gatsby to me except for the 20s type of elements thrown in. I thought the overall plot was interesting, but it slowly started to drag as we got closer to the end. For a short book, it should’ve flown by with the task that Mabel and Will had to free all the lost souls. There were some elements of the story that kind of came out of left field and it took me out of the story quite a bit. The characters also felt a little one dimensional and I couldn’t bring myself to root for them in the end. It was mostly an enjoyable read, but wasn’t a favorite of mine.

Thank you NetGalley and Clash books for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.