Book Review: "The Heartbreak Hotel" by Ellen O'Clover

This book seriously gave me all the feels. I had high hopes for this and it definitely delivered!

Lou isn’t surprised when her famous musician boyfriend breaks up with her. They’ve been together since college but they’ve been drifting apart for a while. She’s sad, obviously, but her biggest worry is that she’ll have to move out of the house they’ve been sharing in Estes Park, Colorado. She will not lose that.

The challenge is, she doesn’t have a job, so how can she afford the rent? But then she comes up with an idea: turning the house into a bed and breakfast where people can recover from their own heartbreak. Her landlord, Henry (whom she is surprised to find is a handsome veterinarian, not an old man) isn’t thrilled with the idea, but he reluctantly agrees to let Lou run with it.

It’s not long before the inn is a success. And while Lou is helping her guests, her own life is a mess, left over from her tumultuous childhood. The good news is that Henry keeps coming around, and they find themselves drawing closer. But Henry is keeping his own heartbreak hidden from view.

“I started the Comeback Inn to care for people—because the part of me that knows how to nurture others has always felt like the best and truest part. But as I breathe into the cross-stitched pillow cover, as my eyes burn with tears, I wonder if that’s all I’ll ever get to be, all I’m capable of. If the power I thought I held by being needed is just a weakness; if I’ve sought out sadness in others so I don’t have to confront my own.”

There’s a lot of emotion in this book—grief, sadness, laughter, anger, and happiness to name a few. And while pieces of the story hit a little close to home, I couldn’t get enough.

The book will publish 9/23.

Book Review: "Hot Saltwater Kisses" by Zarah Detand

Boy, this book has me craving a vacation trip to an oceanfront resort somewhere! I love a good, steamy, M/M romance, and when there’s some good emotional growth for the characters as well, I’m all in. And Zarah Detand delivered for sure!

Milo is a dive instructor at a fancy resort on the island of Dominica. Dealing with wealthy guests isn’t always the easiest thing to do, but he gets to work with his friend Nia, spend time on the water, and take underwater photographs, so it’s a pretty sweet deal.

The one rule he tries to be mindful of is no fraternization with the guests. While there certainly has been temptation in the past, it’s not until Logan arrives at the dive shop that Milo’s willpower wavers. Logan is wealthy, incredibly handsome, a bit cocky, and he’s staying at the resort for a month while working on his master’s thesis in hospitality management.

The chemistry between the two of them is intense from their very first meeting, but Milo is nervous about getting caught with a guest. It’s not long, however, before they can’t keep their hands off of each other, and not long after that when they both realize their feelings run deeper than just a quick vacation fling.

Milo’s last relationship—and really his first serious one—scarred him emotionally and turned his life upside down. He really wants to let down his guard for Logan, and those feelings are reciprocated—but Logan isn’t quite who he says he is.

This is the second book by Detand I’ve read in the last few weeks. I’m so glad to have found her—she knows how to create real characters you care about, with enough steam to keep you blushing.

Book Review: "When Stars Align" by Melissa de la Cruz

Meh. I wanted to like this book but it was just sooo melodramatic!

Sicily, Germaine, and Miranda met as teenagers while performing on a hit television show, and quickly became best friends. Even after the show ended, each found fame, and together they were darlings of the paparazzi, turning every appearance into a party. But nothing lasts forever.

Miranda, who became a movie star, was tempted by the preponderance of alcohol and drugs. Each time she would mount a comeback, she would get derailed by addiction and impulsivity until it seemed like she had hit rock bottom. Germaine was the daughter of billionaire hotel moguls who never approved of anything their daughter did, leading her to question her ambitions. And Sicily, a successful pop singer, fell in love a little too quickly and found herself under the thumb of her greedy and controlling family.

The book follows each of the women over a 20-year period, as they try to deal with the struggles of their lives. Each of them tries to take control but finds themselves fighting an uphill battle. Yet they will learn they can’t do it alone, and it’s nice to know you have friends in your corner.

I love books that deal with the seedier side of fame and the crises that come from being in the public eye. But my problem with this book is that these characters never learned from their mistakes. The plot essentially watched each do the same things over and over again. I can experience that in real life.

This was an Amazon First Read for April and another book from Mindy Kaling’s imprint. It definitely didn’t work for me, but maybe it will for you?

The book releases 5/1/2025.

Book Review: "Pomona Afton Can SO Solve a Murder" by Bellamy Rose

Imagine a cozy mystery with Paris Hilton as the main character, and you’ll get this fun, bighearted book.

Pomona Afton is an heiress to the Afton Hotels fortune, currently ruled with an iron claw by her grandmother. As cruel as her grandmother is, the last thing Pomona would’ve expected was to find her murdered body. But there it was.

When her family discovers that her grandmother put a clause in her will that freezes all assets in the event of a mysterious death, Pomona finds herself out on the street. She has no apartment, no money (except for what she makes as an influencer), and everyone else in her family seems to be making do.

She quickly realizes that her friends have abandoned her since she has no money. She moves in with Gabe, the (handsome) son of her former nanny, but it’s not a doorman building—it doesn’t even have an elevator! And even worse than that, she has to get a job at the coffee shop Gabe manages. This is a big shock for her, as she never paid attention to how her coffees were made or who served her.

When Pomona learns that her family’s fortune will never be released unless her grandmother’s murder is resolved, her only choice is to try and solve the crime. With Gabe as her sidekick/partner (because his mother was owed money as well for working for Pomona’s family), she embarks on an unlikely investigation. But if she gets her fortune back, will she lose any chance she might have with Gabe?

This was a quick and fun read. It’s always fascinating when “ordinary” people turn into detectives in books, but there’s nothing ordinary about Pomona. She and Gabe are both such fun, and bring a sweetness to the story.

Book Review: "The Hitchcock Hotel" by Stephanie Wrobel

In college, the six of them—Alfred, Zoe, TJ, Julius, Samira, and Grace—were members of a film club as well as close friends—until it all fell apart. They haven’t all been together since something happened 16 years ago.

Alfred was devastated by what happened, but he’s always wanted to prove himself to his old friends. And now he’s ready, as the owner of a hotel dedicated to his most favorite movie director—Alfred Hitchcock. The hotel is filled with authentic memorabilia, offers movie screenings around the clock, and even has an aviary with 50 crows.

He’s truly proud of his creation, and arranges for a reunion of the group over a weekend. Every single one of them has secrets as well as some unpleasant memories from college. Alfred is ready to pull out all the stops in the hopes that his work will lead to notoriety and more guests at The Hitchcock Hotel.

This really was a great concept I was excited about. The book is full of trivia and references from various Hitchcock movies, although you don’t need to have seen them to appreciate what Stephanie Wrobel was doing with the plot. And who among us hasn’t wanted to show former friends that you’ve made something big of yourself?

My biggest issue with the book is that none of the characters were likable or even sympathetic, so I stopped caring what actually happened to them. While some had serious secrets, some had more mundane things they were hiding. And sadly, I guessed the twist in advance, which for me, didn’t require much detective work.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for my advance reservation for The Hitchcock Hotel!

Book Review: "We Are Experiencing a Slight Delay" by Gary Janetti

Do you enjoy traveling? Not just being in new places, but do you like the actual process of travel? Gary Janetti’s new book is a funny and thought-provoking look at some of the high and low points of travel, and it seriously made me laugh out loud more than a few times.

“To me, a vacation is doing exactly what I would do at home, only with better weather and room service. I don’t want a list of activities designed to push me beyond any mental or physical limits I may have. I like my mental and physical limits where they are.”

Gary Janetti is a television writer and producer, and seriously, one of the funniest people I’ve ever read. His first collection of essays, Do You Mind If I Cancel? (Things That Still Annoy Me), had me laughing so hard I cried. He’s a bit crankier and more particular than I am, but we’re definitely on similar wavelengths!

In this book, he shares his philosophies on packing (don’t check a bag), eating alone in a restaurant if you’re traveling by yourself, and staying in a hotel rather than with family or friends. He also shares some hysterically funny anecdotes of cruises he has taken with family; trips to Mykonos, where he met his husband; an experience with a pop-up version of Noma, once the highest-rated restaurant ever, and other travel highlights.

What made this book work for me was that it never felt too outrageous to be true, and some of his thoughts definitely mirrored my own. It's a bit less zany than David Sedaris, but I laughed like I usually do when I read his books. This was a tremendously enjoyable read, with moments of poignancy which balanced the humor.

Book Review: "Summers at the Saint" by Mary Kay Andrews

Pack your bags and join Mary Kay Andrews at the St. Cecelia (better known as “The Saint”), a famous resort on the Georgia coast. The Saint has been a haven and a playground for wealthy travelers for decades, and its exclusivity rankles those who can’t afford to stay there.

When Traci first saw the pink building that looked like a fairytale castle, she wanted to go there, but as a local “ain’t,” her kind wasn’t welcome. She was able to land a summer job there for several years, which led to her meeting and marrying one of the heirs to the resort. Now, a widow in her 40s, she’s determined to return The Saint to its glory days, before the pandemic took its toll.

Faced with unprecedented staff shortages, she increases salaries, provides housing for employees, and recruits new staff, including the daughter of her former best friend, who worked with Traci years ago before ending their friendship. Traci even convinces her niece to abandon her study-abroad plans and work at The Saint for the summer.

What Traci doesn’t fully grasp is how the deck is stacked against her. She has to deal with the machinations of her brother-in-law, who wants nothing more than to wrest The Saint from her hands. And it turns out there’s a lot of nefarious goings-on behind the scenes, which threaten to take the resort down for good. When a member of the staff is killed, and someone comes looking for answers about an incident at the hotel years ago, Traci realizes she can only depend on herself—and maybe one or two others.

There’s no shortage of family dysfunction, drama, people behaving badly, even murder and violence. Who’s responsible for the chaos that has broken out, and why? Can Traci turn things around at The Saint before she winds up in danger—and/or loses a place that reminds her of her late husband?

Andrews knows how to tell a story and paint an evocative scene, and this hooked me from start to finish. It's definitely a little darker than many of her books. There’s suspense, romance, intrigue, grief, even rehashing old memories. I definitely enjoyed my time at The Saint!

Book Review: "The Hotel Nantucket" by Elin Hilderbrand

The Hotel Nantucket has romance, second chances, even a ghost story!

I’ve never been to Nantucket but every time I read one of Elin Hilderbrand’s books I want to go there even more.

When a London business magnate decides to purchase the Hotel Nantucket, a once-grand hotel fallen on hard times, it energizes the community. Lizbet, fresh off the breakup of a long-term relationship, hopes becoming the hotel’s general manager will be the fresh start she needs. And Grace, the ghost of a young chambermaid killed in a fire at the hotel nearly 100 years earlier, hopes the hotel’s resurgence may lead to the truth about her death coming to light.

The hotel becomes a sought-after paradise with a restaurant/bar run by a celebrity chef. The owner—who communicates only via email from London—has one mission: the hotel must be awarded 5 keys by famed reviewer Shelly Carpenter, a feat that has never happened before. But chaos always seems to strike when those guests who could be Shelly arrive.

As Lizbet takes tentative steps toward a new romance, the hotel staff has their own secrets, and Grace the ghost has to decide when to cause trouble and when to lay low. Will the hotel succeed? Will they get their 5-key rating? Will the mystery of Grace’s death be solved?

As with all of Hilderbrand’s books, the setting is so incredibly vivid. While I enjoyed many of the characters individually (and there are a lot of them), I didn’t feel the story gelled quite the way some of her others have. There was almost too much going on to be completely immersed. But I still have some of her backlist to dive into!!

Book Review: "The Suite Spot" by Trish Doller

In Trish Doller's newest rom-com, The Suite Spot, sometimes you find what you need most where you least expect it.

Rachel is a night concierge at one of the most exclusive hotels in Miami Beach. She’s been a hard-working, loyal employee for years, until she’s unjustly fired for standing up for herself. A single mom to four-year-old Maisie, she knows she needs a new job fairly quickly, but it’s tough to find an opportunity like the one she had and loved.

When a friend tells her about a job managing a boutique hotel at a brewery in Ohio, it sounds like a dream. It is on Kelleys Island, a remote island in Lake Erie. So despite the grumpiness of her new boss over the phone, she packs up Maisie and moves to Ohio.

What she finds when she arrives is not what she’s been led to believe. The brewery is starting to run but the hotel isn’t built yet, although the owner, Mason, will give Rachel carte blanche to design and run the hotel the way she wants, which has been a dream of hers. It’s a difficult decision given the work ahead, but she decides to give it a try.

Rachel soon finds that Mason is a beer expert but running a hotel was never really his dream. And it’s not long before the two discover a fondness for one another, but both need to rebuild their lives. Can the hotel give them the chance they need for a fresh start, or will obstacles stand in their way?

I loved this book so much! Rachel is the sister of Anna, the protagonist from Doller’s last book, Float Plan (which I loved, too), but this book isn’t as sad. It’s just a sweet, romantic story of getting a second chance at happiness in an idyllic setting. I devoured it!!

Book Review: "Hotel Portofino" by J.P. O'Connell

In Hotel Portofino, drama abounds for an English family running a hotel in post-WWI Italy.

Bella fell in love with the Italian Riviera on her honeymoon and always hoped they’d get back there. She finally convinced her husband Cecil that they should buy a hotel there, for English tourists summering in Italy. She knows that running a hotel will be a great deal of work, but she’s hoping that it may distract her adult children, both of whom were drastically affected by the war.

She’s also hoping that the hotel might save her crumbling marriage. But right now she can only concentrate on the chaos around her—a wealthy, old ladyfriend of Cecil’s is bringing her daughter to the hotel as a possible love match for their son. There’s a new nanny on her way, and the Italian housekeeper is acting suspicious. And Bella is not prepared for the theft of a painting or a local acolyte of Mussolini looking to make a name for himself by targeting the hotel.

I read this with a friend and we both agreed that while there was a lot of potential with this book, it really fell flat. The plot was mostly melodramatic and very typical of the Downton Abbey-type programs I think this wanted to be like. I found most of the characters unlikeable (and honestly, couldn’t tell them apart at times) and wanted something unexpected to happen to shake things up, but to no avail.

This is going to be a PBS series later this year so it’s possible the book was written after the show was filmed, and that might explain the hollow feel of the story, almost like it was the novelization of a performance. Still, I had a good conversation about the book with a good friend, so not all was bad!

Book Review: "Last Summer at the Golden Hotel" by Elyssa Friedland

Can family and longtime friends save a Catskills hotel before it’s too late? That's the key question at the core of Elyssa Friedland's upcoming novel, Last Summer at the Golden Hotel.

Back in the day, The Golden Hotel was the jewel of the Catskills. Benny Goldman and Amos Weingold, childhood best friends, owned the hotel and each summer their families presided over the jubilant crowds of Jewish families escaping the heat of NYC for time in this mountain oasis. The best entertainers would perform, the meals would be bountiful.

But over time, the appeal of the Catskills started to dwindle and families began vacationing elsewhere. Many of the leading resorts fell into disrepair and were converted into other things, from casinos to yoga retreats. Only The Golden has survived—and it’s barely hanging on.

When an offer is made to buy the property, three generations of the Weingolds and Goldens must come together to decide what to do. Do they find ways to make the hotel appeal to a new generation, or do they sell something that has been such a significant part of their lives for so long?

Of course, when families and longtime friends and business partners get together, there’s bound to be drama. What secrets will be revealed? What old wounds will be reopened? Can the relationships survive?

Family drama (when it’s not mine) is so appealing to read about, so I was sold on Last Summer at the Golden Hotel the moment I heard about it. But having grown up Jewish in the NJ/NY area in the 1970s, we made many trips to the Catskills so this book felt so familiar to me. It’s a world that was so hard to explain to other people.

I really enjoyed this book so much, and there was even a little bit of a Dirty Dancing vibe in the resort's similarity to Kellerman's. (No Patrick Swayze, though.) There was drama, family dynamics, and a sense of nostalgia that pervades the book. Such a fun read.⁣ Bravo to Elyssa Friedland!

Get Red PR and Berkley provided me with an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. I also had the opportunity to participate in a great group chat about the book on Bookstagram, and may participate in a Zoom chat with Friedland, so thanks to all who made this possible!

Last Summer at the Golden Hotel publishes 5/18!

Book Review: "Jingle Wars" by R. Holmes and Veronica Eden

Jingle Wars, by R. Holmes and Veronica Eden, is a steamy but poignant rom-com to put you in the holiday spirit!

Finn was raised by his grandparents, and their Montana inn, The Mayberry Inn, has been a part of his life for a long time. With his grandparents getting older and the inn needing more attention, he moves back to the inn and starts working on the improvements it so desperately needs, and tries to keep his grandparents from worrying.

Freya (amazingly, this is the third book I’ve read in 2020 with a character named Freya) is a daughter of privilege, but she can never get her hotelier father’s attention. She finally gets a chance to run their newest property, The Alpine Mountain Resort, and she wants to prove herself to her father.

Finn and Freya meet cute when Freya, a California girl unused to Montana winters, literally falls into him. Their chemistry is utterly intense—and then Finn discovers that Freya is the competition, and could harm his grandparents’ inn. Even though they can’t take their eyes or their minds off one another, Finn would rather keep her from succeeding.

Of course, this is a rom-com, so you know what will happen. Throw in a donkey dressed up for Christmas, a reality show competition to get people in the holiday spirit, a beautiful Montana winter, and lots of emotion, and you’ll have a great story, full of fun and sexual tension.

Jingle Wars was a fun, romantic, and sexy story. There’s also more emotion than I would have expected, as well as some serious steam. Freya says at one point, “From thirsty bitches everywhere, thank god for sweatpants season.” (Same, girl, same.) Also, I've never heard of the term WSE (wall-sex energy) but I am totally using it now!

You can always count on an enemies-to-lovers story to give you a smile and maybe wipe away a tear, too!

Book Review: "Dream Big, Stella!" by Ashley Farley

I read Dream Big, Stella! in one sitting and enjoyed every minute!

Stella’s dream of a hotel management career isn’t off to an illustrious start: she’s lost three jobs in a year. One night after losing job #3, she gets an unexpected visitor, an attorney, who tells her that her biological father, rock musician Billy Jameson, has died and left her an historic inn in the small town of Hope Springs, Virginia.

Stella had always been told that her father was simply a nameless sperm donor, so all of this news is pretty shocking. But with nothing keeping her in NYC, she decides to check out the inn.

What she finds is gorgeous possibility, left in a dilapidated state. She’s scared she’s in over her head, but apparently Billy trusted her, so since the estate will pay to renovate and rebuild everything, she embraces this amazing chance.

But amidst the excitement of restoring and expanding the inn, Stella has lots of questions. If her father trusted her to run the inn, why did he never make an effort to meet her before he died? Why didn’t her mother ever tell her about him? Why does everyone keep telling her she has to discover answers to her questions herself instead of sharing the truth?

This is a fantastic, warm, compelling story about self-belief, love, friendship, ambition, and LOTS of family drama. I wish Hope Springs existed because it sounded like such a great place to visit!

Ashley Farley is an amazing writer I’ve been introduced to by Kate Rock Book Tours, and this is the third of her books I’ve read in the last year. I’ve loved every one of her books so far, and can’t wait to read the second book in her three-book Hope Springs series!

I was honored to be part of the blog tour for this book. Kate Rock Book Tours and Ashley Farley provided me with a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

The book publishes 9/1.

Book Review: "Hotels of North America" by Rick Moody

As a society, we're kind of obsessed with giving our opinions about everything—restaurants, movies, businesses, products, etc. (No, the irony is not lost on me that I'm making this comment in a book review I'm writing.)

While many of these reviews you find on sites like Yelp or Amazon (or Goodreads) can be useful, have you ever stopped to wonder what possesses people to share stream-of-consciousness ramblings that have very little relevancy to what is being reviewed? And while we're at it, have you ever been so interested in these people that you find yourself reading a lot of their reviews?

This is the concept behind Rick Moody's Hotels of North America. Presented as a compendium-of-sorts of the reviews of Reginald Edward Morse, which he posted on a fictional website called RateYourLodging.com, the book is both a commentary about one person's opinions on the declining state of many of the country's (and the world's) hotels, as well as the portrait of a man whose life is spiraling out of control, and how he chooses to handle it.

Morse started his career as an investment banker and erstwhile day trader, only to suddenly pursue a (not particularly) successful career as a motivational speaker. As his reviews unfold, we learn that he has been as unlucky in love as he has been in his career—his marriage has ended, and his short-lived affair with a "certain professor of language arts" didn't last, although he admitted to sporadic "bouts of recidivism" where she was concerned. In some of his reviews he mentions K., his companion (who also likes to be referred to by various bird names), with whom he experiences some of the worst hotel experiences, and with whom he practices a number of different cons to try and avoid paying for said hotel stays.

Hotels of North America is similar to Julie Schumacher's Dear Committee Members in that the reviews that comprise this book are much less about the hotels than about Morse's state of mind, although the latter book is more humorous in tone than this one is. Morse comments on everything from front desk clerks at cut-rate hotels ("The young man at the front desk looked like there was no sorrow he had not experienced") to cheese grits ("...it is not possible to consider a serving of cheese grits as falling under the rubric of grits") and Waffle House ("...it was presumed at Waffle House that you were on your last nickel, that you had squandered opportunities, that all was illusion"). He also takes the time to criticize those on RateYourLodging.com who call his veracity into question, or simply criticize his writing or make assumptions about his personal habits.

One of my favorite pieces of Morse's commentary is his thoughts on bed-and-breakfasts: "To summarize, these are the three main problems of bed-and-breakfast establishments: throw pillows, potpourri, and breakfast conversation, and the fourth problem is gazebos. And the fifth problem is water features. And the sixth problem is themed rooms, and the seventh problem is provenance (who owned the inn before and who owned the inn before that, and who owned it before that, and what year the bed-and-breakfast was built, and how old the timber is in the main hall), and the eighth problem is pride of ownership, because why can't it just be a place you stay, why does it always have to be an ideological crusade?"

The reviews are interesting, at times funny, at times poignant, but the book seems to drag on longer than it needs to. And then Moody throws himself into the story, under the guise that he had been asked to write an afterword for the compilation of Morse's reviews, only to find Morse had vanished. I felt this was an unnecessary gimmick that, while it provided some interesting commentary, didn't advance the book in any way.

This is only the second book of Moody's I've ever read, the first being The Ice Storm a number of years ago. As with that book, Hotels of North America proves his storytelling ability and his talent at satirizing suburban America and its denizens. I just wish the book was longer on substance and shorter on gimmickry.