Scan barcode
sirensaria's review against another edition
1.0
Ugh... Where do I begin? I had such high hopes for this going into it, and nothing panned out. The premise was intriguing, but that's about the only good thing about this. Everything fell flat, the plot, the characters, the writing.
To start with, this book is based off of the unsolved case of Elisa Lam case from the Cecil Hotel. A very thinly, horribly, and frankly rather insulting copy of the case. We have Eileen, aka Elisa, who was found dead in the Hearst Hotel. Her death was slightly different from Elisa's, but not by much. Of course, the ONLY mention of Elisa Lam at ALL is the dedication. But literally they only mention Elisa Lam. Her name only. Nothing else. There is no other place she is found in the entire book. NO FUCKING WHERE. How is it that you write a book that is pretty much a copy and paste of Elisa's case, and yet she only gets a name mention? As you can probably tell, this bit pissed me off, and still pisses me off. There is absolutely no excuse for this. None.
That aside, things aren't looking any better. The book encompasses a whole night at the Hearst Hotel. So things will feel rushed no matter what, but there was no back story at all. Not only that, but it seems like because it was only one night, the writers felt like they didn't need to get into any detail with anything. The plot made very little sense. Things just happened, no rhyme or reason for it. I knew who the murderer was when we first met them. It was so frickin' obvious it was just ridiculous. And the motive behind the murders, um, what?! Not even entirely sure there was one. If there really was one, it was pointless and stupid. It didn't make sense.
The characters? Holy hell! Do people like that actually exist? People who are that vapid and have a clear lack of brains?! One was thinking about his AP Physics right after finding a body. And seriously. Who the fuck doesn't call the police after finding a body?! I mean, besides the killer. All because they don't want to get caught by their parents being somewhere they shouldn't be. I just can't believe these people. And the whole romance thing? Didn't make any sense, like it was added at the last minute because. Literally. It seemed like it was added because they could. There was very little build up, and it just seemed way to forced. And extremely unnecessary.
In all honesty, I have no clue why I didn't DNF it right around the half way point. I guess I love torturing myself or something. Or maybe I lost my mind reading this. I tried finding something to like in the book, but I just can't. Others may like it, and more power to them, but I just couldn't stand this.
To start with, this book is based off of the unsolved case of Elisa Lam case from the Cecil Hotel. A very thinly, horribly, and frankly rather insulting copy of the case. We have Eileen, aka Elisa, who was found dead in the Hearst Hotel. Her death was slightly different from Elisa's, but not by much. Of course, the ONLY mention of Elisa Lam at ALL is the dedication. But literally they only mention Elisa Lam. Her name only. Nothing else. There is no other place she is found in the entire book. NO FUCKING WHERE. How is it that you write a book that is pretty much a copy and paste of Elisa's case, and yet she only gets a name mention? As you can probably tell, this bit pissed me off, and still pisses me off. There is absolutely no excuse for this. None.
That aside, things aren't looking any better. The book encompasses a whole night at the Hearst Hotel. So things will feel rushed no matter what, but there was no back story at all. Not only that, but it seems like because it was only one night, the writers felt like they didn't need to get into any detail with anything. The plot made very little sense. Things just happened, no rhyme or reason for it. I knew who the murderer was when we first met them. It was so frickin' obvious it was just ridiculous. And the motive behind the murders, um, what?! Not even entirely sure there was one. If there really was one, it was pointless and stupid. It didn't make sense.
The characters? Holy hell! Do people like that actually exist? People who are that vapid and have a clear lack of brains?! One was thinking about his AP Physics right after finding a body. And seriously. Who the fuck doesn't call the police after finding a body?! I mean, besides the killer. All because they don't want to get caught by their parents being somewhere they shouldn't be. I just can't believe these people. And the whole romance thing? Didn't make any sense, like it was added at the last minute because. Literally. It seemed like it was added because they could. There was very little build up, and it just seemed way to forced. And extremely unnecessary.
In all honesty, I have no clue why I didn't DNF it right around the half way point. I guess I love torturing myself or something. Or maybe I lost my mind reading this. I tried finding something to like in the book, but I just can't. Others may like it, and more power to them, but I just couldn't stand this.
allivenger's review against another edition
1.0
I'm all for fictional writing that takes from real world events. But for some reason having the authors take from the real world death and disappearance of Elisa Lam felt dirty here. Especially given that the authors were trying to make a book with the most commercial and consumable proposals using this story. Meaning it was written to be easy to sell as a YA horror book. Using the real loss of someone's life at the Cecil Hotel.
That being said the story surrounds the POVs of the Ghost Gang. A social media forward group of kids trying to make it big with their videos on Youtube. To do this they decide that the path to that gold play button is to visit a haunted LA hotel in a bad neighborhood where a mysterious death occurred (sound familiar?). But when they stumble on a real life crime they realize something more sinister is as play. And they now have to make it out of the hotel alive, or become one of it's permanent guests.
The story is lacking in depth overall. Not a lot is explained except in the most general terms to get the story moving along. The kids are stupid teenagers and make numerous mistakes as kids do. But seriously, there seemed to be no repercussions for their behavior in light of everything they found. And then they just reap the benefits later on. It's also not explained how the psychic girl's powers work but only when her head isn't covered. which also was a very weird plot point. But whatever, overall I read it but I would not read another book by the authors. Especially one involving these characters.
That being said the story surrounds the POVs of the Ghost Gang. A social media forward group of kids trying to make it big with their videos on Youtube. To do this they decide that the path to that gold play button is to visit a haunted LA hotel in a bad neighborhood where a mysterious death occurred (sound familiar?). But when they stumble on a real life crime they realize something more sinister is as play. And they now have to make it out of the hotel alive, or become one of it's permanent guests.
The story is lacking in depth overall. Not a lot is explained except in the most general terms to get the story moving along. The kids are stupid teenagers and make numerous mistakes as kids do. But seriously, there seemed to be no repercussions for their behavior in light of everything they found. And then they just reap the benefits later on. It's also not explained how the psychic girl's powers work but only when her head isn't covered. which also was a very weird plot point. But whatever, overall I read it but I would not read another book by the authors. Especially one involving these characters.
paolalovesbookstx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mehsi's review against another edition
4.0
“It’s shimmering,” she says, her voice low. “Like the hotel itself isn’t all here at once, all at the same time.” + “Blood drips down the elevator doors and pools over the tile floor of the lobby. The doors open, and it’s raining blood, staining the carpet and mirrored walls inside the elevator car.”
I have been eyeing this book for a while, it even was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022, and now I finally had time to get to it! And boy, I am glad I did. This was a spooky ride. It was awesome!
I have been eyeing this book for a while, it even was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022, and now I finally had time to get to it! And boy, I am glad I did. This was a spooky ride. It was awesome!
mainereading's review against another edition
5.0
This was a really fun and quick read! I believe it's based on the Cecil Hotel, located in Los Angeles. Horror Hotel follows a group of kid ghost hunters who have a YouTube channel where they go to haunted places and film. They decide to go stay at a hotel in LA said to be one of the world's most haunted locations and end up getting more than they bargained for.
This book reminded me of a few things like:
This book reminded me of a few things like:
hollyxbear's review against another edition
5.0
What a fun read! The suspense, the ghosts, the murders, every part was amazing. I especially loved that they added in some pop culture references as well.
smthuriot's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75