The White Octopus Hotel
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By Alexandra Bell
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1 review
Journey to a magical hotel in the Swiss Alps in this spellbinding historical romance blending mystery, art, romance and time travel._________________________________
‘A captivating tapestry of love, tragedy, and time.’ Cassandra Clare, bestselling author of Swordcatcher
‘An exquisite, fantastical puzzle box of a novel.’ Kelly Link, bestselling author of The Book of Love
‘Beautiful and bittersweet time travel fantasy’ Publishers’ Weekly
BEHIND EVERY DOOR, A SECOND CHANCE
‘Have you travelled a long way?’ she asked carefully.
A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. ‘Well, yes,” he said slowly. ‘Yes, you could say that. But it was worth the wait.’
London, 2015
When reclusive art appraiser Eve Shaw shakes the hand of a silver-haired gentleman in her London office, the warmth of his palm sends a spark through her.
His name is Max Everly – curiously, the same name as Eve’s favourite composer, born one hundred sixteen years prior. And she can’t shake the feeling that she’s held his hand before . . . but where, and when?
The White Octopus Hotel, 1935
Decades earlier, high in the snowy Swiss Alps, Eve and a young Max Everly wander the winding halls of the grand belle epoque White Octopus Hotel, lost in time.
Each of them has been through the trenches – Eve in a family accident and Max on the battlefields of the Great War – but for an impossible moment, love and healing are just a room away . . . if only they have the courage to step through the door.
READERS LOVE THE WHITE OCTOPUS HOTEL
‘Five gloriously mind-bending, time-traveling stars from me!’
‘Gorgeous GORGEOUS book. I’m in love’
‘I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time.’
‘An exciting, touching, and hopeful magical love story’
‘Alexandra Bell owns a slice of my heart.’
TweetReviews
Carrie⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️7
This Is Why We Lied was a tense, fast-paced read that kept me guessing the whole time. I loved the remote lodge setting and the closed-off feeling — it really amped up the suspense. The twists were well done, the secrets unfolded at a steady pace, and Will Trent and Sara Linton remain compelling characters. Dark, gripping, and hard to put down — I really enjoyed it.
Eve
I found this rather a slow burner, mainly because of the large cast of characters, quite a few of whom had two names. There were plenty of characters to dislike and to suspect of the murder. The family of Mercy were toxic and any one of them could easily have been the murderer. The family with their hatred for one another was probably the reason why Dave felt so much at home there. In fact he seemed so obviously the murderer that it could not have been him.The venue of the mountain retreat was well described I thought. The end of the book came very quickly when the truth was revealed . I liked this book but perhaps not as much as I thought I was going to I would give it a 7
Kirsty
I have read several of Karin's previous books including several from the Will Trent series so I was looking forward to reading this. Although it is a much larger book than I usually read it was worth every minute reading it. I absolutely loved the storyline which I found to be very fast paced. I was expecting it to be more of a slow burn considering the size but Karin has packed so much in there is constantly something going on. I love her writing style and that each chapter leaves you needing more. I was shocked when I eventually learned who the killer was and loved how Karin leads the reader down so many twists and turns so you think you have worked it out and that it was obvious just to be taken on another rollercoaster ride again. I absolutely love Will and Sara's characters as well as Faith. They work brilliantly together and I cannot wait to go back to reading more books in this series. The storyline was incredibly multi-layered with several crimes happening but it was written in a way that I didn't get confused. I love a locked room mystery, just like Faith, and I thought the secluded setting was perfect as well. I really did love everything about the book! I have to give this a 10/10!!
Carolyn
This was an easy book to get into and I read it quickly. There were alot of plot twists and a lot of characters, mostly horrible or very flawed. Almost any of them could have murdered Mercy.I hadn't read any other books in this series but it didn't seem to matter. This one could be read alone. A decent enough read. 7/10
Chris
In the main I enjoyed reading this book. It was easy to get into and the characters were well described although it did take me a while for me to work out who was who. There were plenty of twists in the plot but I did find the ending rather unbelievable. I will give it an 8.
Helen
I enjoyed this book and found it very easy to read. The plot is dark and fast‑paced, and the writing brought the holiday camp vividly to life, I could picture myself there. The inevitable journey toward Mercy’s fate was genuinely sad, and the characters were well developed, even if the family themselves and lots of the holiday makers were unlikeable. I did have an inkling of whodunnit, but it was not too predictable, and certainly the reasons why, although hard to imagine were a surprise. I think I would have benefited from reading the earlier books in the series, but this hasn’t put me off at all; I’ll definitely be reading more from this author. I'd give it an 8
Sonia This was a well written enjoyable book which is what you would expect from this author. Although part of a series it was not necessary to have read the preceding books to enjoy this one. The plot was complex but reasonably easy to follow although a family or relationship tree would have made it easier. The characters were well written and developed although few of them were likeable! The middle of the book flagged a little but on the whole the pace was good. The ending when it came was shocking and surprising. Altogether a good read and thankfully less gory than Karin Slaughter's earlier work. Overall I enjoyed it and would give it a 7 out of 10.
Average score : 7.5 out of 10
