This was a reasonably satisfying cozy fantasy that didn’t quite live up to its promise. Pax is the manager of a traveling sentient hotel that picks up and deposits guests throughout various magical worlds. When the hotel ends up on earth (we’re not told how that happens) and out of fuel, Pax determines that the best way to fix the hotel is to “reboot” it by pretending it’s an apartment and bringing in a tenant. Enter Josie, struggling single mom of the adorable 4-year-old Amos.
Not all of the hotel guests are on board with this plan. Thus we begin a story of Josie trying to get by as a parent and Pax trying to keep her from figuring out that the apartment is actually a magic hotel while keeping the less happy guests at bay. Pax and Josie are instantly attracted to each other, but the story fortunately avoids an insta-love connection and slowly develops the relationship between the two.
That relationship was the best part of the novel. Pax is incredibly supportive and also a big proponent of asking for consent, which was refreshing. Josie is guarded and anxious, but she’s a good mom who appreciates Pax for who he is and how he interacts with Amos. The setting of the book is also a big plus. I’ve always liked books with sentient buildings (sentient anything, really), and the author skillfully developed the guests residing within the hotel. The novel is front-loaded with arch humor that occasionally veers cartoonish but then settles down as the book progresses.
There were a couple of things lacking in the book. First, the author missed a great opportunity to develop a found family element. There were hints that it could happen a couple of times in the book but nothing came of it. Progress towards fixing the hotel was nearly stagnant, and when the solution was discovered towards the end of the book, it was somewhat hokey. I wish the author had done more with it, especially given a comment that the former hotel manager had made and that Pax later reflected on. It made it seem like that was the key to solving the problem, and it was disappointing that Everett didn’t follow through on that because it would have made for a more satisfying ending.
In spite of my issues with it, I more or less enjoyed my time with the novel. It has some flaws that kept it from being what I would have hoped for or expected, but it serves its purpose as a solid cozy fantasy. 3.5 stars (rounded down).
Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
