Review: Hotel Ruby by Suzanne Young

Hotel Ruby by Suzanne Young

Published November 3rd 2015

When Audrey Casella arrives for an unplanned stay at the grand Hotel Ruby, she’s grateful for the detour. Just months after their mother’s death, Audrey and her brother, Daniel, are on their way to live with their grandmother, dumped on the doorstep of a DNA-matched stranger because their father is drowning in his grief.

Audrey and her family only plan to stay the night, but life in the Ruby can be intoxicating, extending their stay as it provides endless distractions—including handsome guest Elias Lange, who sends Audrey’s pulse racing. However, the hotel proves to be as strange as it is beautiful. Nightly fancy affairs in the ballroom are invitation only, and Audrey seems to be the one guest who doesn’t have an invite. Instead, she joins the hotel staff on the rooftop, catching whispers about the hotel’s dark past.

The more Audrey learns about the new people she’s met, the more her curiosity grows. She’s torn in different directions—the pull of her past with its overwhelming loss, the promise of a future that holds little joy, and an in-between life in a place that is so much more than it seems…

I was very curious about this book because the synopsis sounded exactly like Hotel California by the Eagles.
And it pretty much is just like the song. However, I ended up wishing I could just read a book about Hotel California instead of Hotel Ruby.
I wasn’t into the characters. More often than not, I was annoyed with Audrey. She could have been a lot nicer and more supportive for Daniel and Daniel was just a messy character so at the end of the day, I didn’t really care how Audrey treated him. I wanted to be blown away by the characters, I really did. But they weren’t different from dozens of other YA characters. I wasn’t expecting them to be great but I really hoped.
I wasn’t into the romance. If you could call it that. It was just teenage puppy love, which I’m personally not a fan of.
I didn’t find this book to be creepy or scary. I didn’t think it was a thriller or horror. I can see why this book is put into those genres but if you want to call Hotel Ruby a horror novel, it’s the weakest horror book I’ve ever read. It was kinda spooky but not really.
It was predictable in every way possible. I personally found it dull and only somewhat entertaining. Maybe because I’ve heard Hotel California so many times and I’ve become immune to what actually would make Hotel Ruby interesting. When a book follows a song so closely, the book loses its power.
Overall, I thought this book was okay. I didn’t like it a whole lot but I didn’t hate it. I think a lot
of it could have been better written and maybe if it had been a little bit more to be dark and full of horror, I would have liked it. I guess I was just wanting more from this book. I didn’t have really high expectations but I still expected a little bit more. However, I think if you’re not a very critical
reader, I think this book would be really great.