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novellearts 's review for:
Asylum Hotel
by Juliet Blackwell
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was my first book that I've read by Juliet Blackwell and I liked it enough that I'm curious about what else she has released.
This book had everything that I like to read about in it. Our FMC, Aubrey is a photographer who likes to visit and photograph old, abandoned buildings. (Sounds like me) Aubrey visits Hotel Seabrink which is infamous for being haunted by two women who died on the premises. She soon meets Dimitri and kicks it off with him until discovering his "suicide" the next morning. Everything about this blurb immediately caught my attention.
The book started off pretty strong and fast. We immediately got some backstory but also quickly got into the first death with Dimitri. I was hooked once the investigation started and they were speaking about how his wounds weren't consistent with suicide wounds. I love a good sleuthing and I'm all for ghost books so this worked well for me. I thought it was a pretty balanced mix between the two elements. Sometimes when books have a more realistic background (such as a murder investigation), the paranormal will feel out of place. I thought this made sense for the story. Neither side was overbearing.
I really liked both Aubrey and Nikki. I enjoyed their characters and the dynamic that they had together. The male characters weren't as compelling to me but I don't think it took too much away from the story.
Overall, I liked the mystery and the reveal. I thought some spots within this book were maybe a bit overdone. I felt like some of the "extra" could've been trimmed out a little bit more just to make the flow more enjoyable but it was pretty minimal. The plot was easy to follow and the writing was pretty straightforward. I thought this was a solid read and I think a lot of people should enjoy this.
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own!
Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7459419175
Fable Review: https://fable.co/review/08bce82d-e81e-4900-af3d-e2c118f4d8cd/share
This book had everything that I like to read about in it. Our FMC, Aubrey is a photographer who likes to visit and photograph old, abandoned buildings. (Sounds like me) Aubrey visits Hotel Seabrink which is infamous for being haunted by two women who died on the premises. She soon meets Dimitri and kicks it off with him until discovering his "suicide" the next morning. Everything about this blurb immediately caught my attention.
The book started off pretty strong and fast. We immediately got some backstory but also quickly got into the first death with Dimitri. I was hooked once the investigation started and they were speaking about how his wounds weren't consistent with suicide wounds. I love a good sleuthing and I'm all for ghost books so this worked well for me. I thought it was a pretty balanced mix between the two elements. Sometimes when books have a more realistic background (such as a murder investigation), the paranormal will feel out of place. I thought this made sense for the story. Neither side was overbearing.
I really liked both Aubrey and Nikki. I enjoyed their characters and the dynamic that they had together. The male characters weren't as compelling to me but I don't think it took too much away from the story.
Overall, I liked the mystery and the reveal. I thought some spots within this book were maybe a bit overdone. I felt like some of the "extra" could've been trimmed out a little bit more just to make the flow more enjoyable but it was pretty minimal. The plot was easy to follow and the writing was pretty straightforward. I thought this was a solid read and I think a lot of people should enjoy this.
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own!
Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7459419175
Fable Review: https://fable.co/review/08bce82d-e81e-4900-af3d-e2c118f4d8cd/share