Reviews

3.5 - i saw one review say "it didn't blow me away but I had a good time with it" and i'm genuinely struggling to find a better way to describe my experience with the sun down motel. it did also fall victim to the fact that I read it off the back of finishing my year of rest and relaxation (ottessa moshfegh) and the invisible life of addie larue (v.e. schwab), two books which did in fact blow me away, but this was a fun read nonetheless

keepingupwithkordis's review against another edition

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4.0

Not often does a book make my heart race in fear but this one did more than once. I really enjoyed this story and the intersection of Viv and Carly. My biggest complaint would probably be a few two many character that made the story a little hard to track at times. Overall, great ghost story and mystery. Very very good

agrinczel's review against another edition

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4.0

3.75 stars; parts of this were really good, the whole ghost story aspect was a bit out there for me but the great characters made up for it.

slowpoke's review against another edition

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4.0

Honestly pretty good. I was expecting this to go south like most thriller type books (I can be a pit particular when it comes to thriller endings lol) but it surprised me! Some parts of the book I was like...ehh that was kinda "unrealistic" but the book does have ghosts in it so well, it's not a very realistic book in general lol

Definitely an enjoyable read! Would recommend it for sure.

michbrito's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The Haunting of Hill House/Blythe Manor meets The Lovely Bones in this story about a girl trying to piece together the disappearance of her aunt 35 years ago.

The Sun Down Motel is a dual-POV story about Carly, 20, who goes back to Fell, NY to try and figure out what happened to her aunt Viv 35 years ago. Carly grew up never knowing about Vivian due to her mother refusing to speak about it. When her mother passes away, she grows tired of not having answers and arrives in Fell, applying for the night shift position at the Sun Down motel, the same shift Viv worked when she was 20 years old.

This was a ghost story that also felt realistic. The ghosts weren't caricatures were they were over the top and in our faces. The were used as a way to move the story and give background in terms of the motel's history. The on-going mystery in Viv's POV in 1982 was well-paced enough to have me keep reading.

Viv and Carly, while years apart, were similar at the age of 20. They were both persistent and just in their actions and stopped at nothing at discovering the truth. Viv dedicated her all to these cases and that allowed for her actions and thought-process to differentiate between the two. Heather was such a sweet character to have as Carly's roommate and 'side-kick' and I'm hoping she's doing well after going home to her parents. Nick was an unexpected MMC that had a dark past and is very nonchalant but we slowly see him, while minimal, start caring for Carly.

I'm giving this a 4/5 stars because at the second half I was able to figure out the ending before getting there but overall it was such a good read and the cover is so aesthetically pleasing. I'm not a fan of time-jumping chapters/POVs but this one was done so well.

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