Hotel Ruby by Suzanne Young Published by Simon Pulse on November 3, 2015
Pages: 288
Format: Hardcover
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Stay Tonight. Stay Forever.
When Audrey Casella arrives for an unplanned stay at the grand Hotel Ruby, she’s grateful for the detour. Just months after their mother’s death, Audrey and her brother, Daniel, are on their way to live with their grandmother, dumped on the doorstep of a DNA-matched stranger because their father is drowning in his grief.
Audrey and her family only plan to stay the night, but life in the Ruby can be intoxicating, extending their stay as it provides endless distractions—including handsome guest Elias Lange, who sends Audrey’s pulse racing. However, the hotel proves to be as strange as it is beautiful. Nightly fancy affairs in the ballroom are invitation only, and Audrey seems to be the one guest who doesn't have an invite. Instead, she joins the hotel staff on the rooftop, catching whispers about the hotel’s dark past.
The more Audrey learns about the new people she's met, the more her curiosity grows. She’s torn in different directions—the pull of her past with its overwhelming loss, the promise of a future that holds little joy, and an in-between life in a place that is so much more than it seems…
Welcome to the Ruby.
This book was an explosion of epic! I had so many weird, intriguing theories, my head was positively spinning with them! The characters were amazing, Suzanne Young was on top of her writing game and the plot itself was deliciously fun and twisty!
Usually when I review a book, I get very detailed in my descriptions of the characters, explaining what I did and didn’t like. But the thing is, I loved these characters so much and I got so lost in their stories that I didn’t write down detailed notes about each of them. So this time, I’ll keep it short!
I loved Audrey – she was the perfect horror heroine. She was enthralled by the Ruby and its guests, yet still skeptical of the too good to be true-ness of it all. Her determination throughout the novel was admirable. I did NOT expect her story to end the way it did, though! I had a love/hate relationship with her brother, Daniel. He was a typical pain-in-the-butt brother, but I think his overall intentions were good. I wanted to see him fighting side-by-side with Audrey more, though. As for their dad.. I didn’t like him nor did I trust him. But I didn’t expect things to end the way they did.
Elias was such a douchey gentleman. It should have been annoying, but he was completely adorable. I really liked Lourdes and Joshua. Mostly, I wanted to slap Catherine, yet she had her moments, oddly enough! Kenneth just completely creeped me out!! Young did an epic job of making me love/hate all of these characters, while still ensuring that, either way, I didn’t trust a single one of them! I was always questioning them and their motives, trying to figure out who was working to help Audrey and who was working to harm her.
For a stand-alone horror/psychological thriller, the pacing was exceptional! It kept me on my toes and allowed things to unfold in a creepy yet realistic way. It was a super quick read, too, mostly because I refused to put it down unless absolutely necessary! I just HAD to find out what was going on – all my theories were swimming around in my head and driving me nuts! But.. In a good way! In an, “I want to devour this book and never let it go!” way! Or an “I need to know what’s going on but I never want the precious to end!” way! You get the picture, right?
Finally, that ending.. Holy crap, holy crap, HOLY CRAP! The ending was not at all what I expected! Some of my theories were correct or partially correct; however, some of the revelations still caught me completely off guard! One character in particular.. The ending of their story? MIND-BLOWN! I still can’t wrap my head around how their story ended. It was insane and I WANT MORE! I know this is a stand-alone but I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!
Overall, if you couldn’t tell from my fangirly review (I mean, if you read it, you can tell!), I ADORED and LOVED this book to pieces!!! It was insane and wonderful and brilliant! There are many things this book has been compared to and described as, from The Shining meets The Great Gatsby to The Shining meets Hotel California by the Eagles (a song/band). I agree with all of the above! I also got major Shadowlands feels and major Ghost Ship feels! So if you like any or all of the above, I HIGHLY recommend this book!!!