Stay Tonight. Stay Forever.
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…
Welcome to the Ruby. – Goodreads
I LOVE Suzanne Young‘s Program series but hadn’t read any of her other books, so I was really anxious to dig into this… and I HATED it. It was extremely disappointing and overall just… underwhelming. There was a solid foundation for a really good story – but it got muddled and there was way too much going on that the reader has to keep straight.
The basis for this book is actually very interesting – a hotel that you can never leave and all the mystery surrounding it. That has so much potential! I think where it got bogged down, was the back story… what lead up to them being there. It felt like she was trying too hard to make it make sense and it really just… didn’t. At least not for me. The characters were also allover the place… it’s hard to explain but it made the story take more effort to get into than I’d like.
Overall, I gave Hotel Ruby 1/5 stars on Goodreads. I had such high hopes for it and I think that was it’s downfall. I will say that my favorite part of the entire thing was the ending – when Audrey finds out the truth. That was definitely a good twist!
lifebetweenreads.com 