HOTEL MAGNIFIQUE

Every decade or so, Hotel Magnifique appears in the port city of Durc, and a few lucky people get tickets to enter; the rest must find other ways inside.

Seventeen-year-old Jani, olive-skinned with brown hair like others in the south of Verdanniere, dreams of a better life for herself and her sister, Zosa. A magnificent newspaper ad printed in bright purple ink announces that Hotel Magnifique—which transports itself to Elsewhere each midnight—is hiring. Zosa’s singing voice is sure to get them in the door—why not apply? Upon entering, the sisters quickly realize that the hotel, its owner, and the mysterious doorman, Bel, handsome with his copper skin and brown eyes, have many secrets—and not all of them are good. This is a story brimming with magic, from the suminaires, with their unique magical gifts and infinite lives, to the themed guest rooms that can grow entire forests and orange juice that has you experience your favorite meal all over again. Taylor eloquently builds an immersive, believable world of magic, heavily influenced by French culture and brimming with interesting characters readers will grow to love and care about as they solve the mysteries of the hotel and free themselves from their gilded cage. The complex characters who evolve throughout the story are diverse in skin color, body type, sexual orientation, and financial means. Even those well read in the genre will enjoy some genuine surprises.

A wondrous read for anyone searching for a bit of magic.