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A review by michbrito
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
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.
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.