The Paradox Hotel

It took me a bit to figure out what was going on and it reminded me of something I've read before, especially January. I didn't quite know where the story was going and I'm not entirely sure I liked that ending, but it was quite the ride.

The time jumps were just not clear and the Mina storyline was boring.

This was very cheesy and I don't think I'd recommend it. 3 stars because the premise was interesting and there was great representation.

Honestly, I am so behind on reviewing, its embarrassing.
Vaguely remember liking the intricately woven plot and the careful use of time.

Ergens halverwege verloor ik mijn interesse in het verhaal en las ik zo maar eventjes twee andere boeken tussendoor. Nochtans was de premisse uitermate intrigerend – een hotel waar ultra-rijke toeristen gekostumeerd arriveren voor hun “vlucht” naar het verleden, waar de tijd plots niet meer loopt zoals het hoort en waar de hoofd van tijdbeveiliging dingen begint te zien die er niet zijn.
Op zich had gans dit boek dus tonnen interessante ideeën, maar zo las het boek helaas ook, als een hoop losstaande ideeën die nooit echt een geheel vormen. De schrijfstijl is bovendien ook verwarrend en onnodig onduidelijk. Ondanks het feit dat er op een bepaald moment dinosaurussen rondlopen in het hotel, verveelde ik me vooral tijdens het lezen en betrapte ik mezelf meermaals op het diagonaal lezen. Ik heb mezelf echt gedwongen het boek uit te lezen, omdat ik toch nog hoopte op een bevredigend einde, maar helaas.

This was an attempt to scratch a mystery itch and it's doing exactly what I wanted it to do. It's not a perfect book, but I enjoyed my experience with it and the futuristic world with time travel.

Time travel is not normally my thing, so I was skeptical about this book. The time travel is a part of the mystery, so it is more of a detective novel with time travel instead of a science fiction book with a detective. There are a range of characters that are well rounded. There is a lot of emotional work being done while the mystery is being investigated. I liked the details about time travel and the varying amounts of information that characters understand about time travel. The setting of this special hotel made it feel like a locked room mystery as well.
There was a part of the conclusion that I didn't completely understand, so that did take away from my enjoyment. So this is probably more like 4.5 stars.
Overall this was a great mystery in a special setting with some deep emotions involved.

After reading and enjoying The Warehouse a couple years ago, I really enjoyed Hart???s take on the culture and future that we???re digging ourselves into. With The Paradox Hotel, a bit more suspension of disbelief is required of the reader.

The story takes place in the year ???twenty-goddamn-seventy-two??? following the hotel ???security??? guard January Cole. January has been around the hotel for quite a while and seen some shit. She embodies the no-nonsense, jaded, zero-F???s-gven, kind of attitude that results in hilarious exchanges with her all-knowing AI drone Ruby that floats over her shoulder. Also including a wide cast of characters from the rest of the hotel staff to the big-wigs and foreign diplomats wanting to put in their bid for ownership.

“He has wild hair and thick plastic-framed glasses, his paisley button-down tucked into a pair of mustard khakis. He???s the kind of person i would have taken seriously if not for the fact that he???s also wearing a bow tie. Some things are hard to forgive.”

The Paradox Hotel mixes up a stew of delicious concepts from time-travel, closed-room murder-mystery, spiraling psychosis, mistrust, raptors running-amok, and lost love. It then sprinkles on top some great humor and perspective from January which makes it go down smooth. The story was intriguing and engaging and there was constant question of the ???who??? and ???why???. The concept of January being ???unstuck??? in time, the flashbacks, and flash-forward really spun a solid web of intrigue and curiosity.

“This is a jigsaw puzzle someone dumped on the floor and then kicked a handful of he pieces under the couch. And they won???t show me the box, but they still want me to put it together. Quickly and in the dark.”


The complexity of this incredibly enjoyable story leaves readers guessing until the end, chuckling all the way through. I really enjoyed January???s character and the wit and humor throughout. I would recommend this for a light sci-fi fan who also enjoys a rich game of Clue.

I received a digital ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley. The Paradox Hotel is the second book I've read by Rob Hart, author of The Warehouse, and based on how much I enjoyed Hart's last book I was thrilled to receive an uncorrected ebook proof to read in advance of publication. The Paradox Hotel is a hotel located near the Einstein Intercentury Timeport, a federally run time travel hub. January is an agent with the TEA, working at the Paradox to ensure no one violates the strict laws prohibiting changing the past. But on the eve of a summit to sell the hotel and timeport to a private owner a lot of weird stuff starts happening. Part science fiction, part mystery, and part thriller this book is unlike any else I've read. I really enjoyed how Hart explored the concept of time travel and how American consumers might interact with such technology. I also found the book heartwarming and beautiful at times. With the said, there were times when I found the book to be confusing as different times collided and Hart abruptly transitioned from one to another, just as January experienced, without a lot of explanation. Additionally, as with The Warehouse, I thought the ending felt a bit rushed and lacked sufficient detail and information for me to feel like I fully understood what happened. Finally the chapters felt a bit long to me. I read an ARC and there may be changes in the final published version, but I found myself attempting to read “one more chapter” and running out of steam because of how long they were. Despite these criticisms I enjoyed The Paradox Hotel. I think fans of time travel sci-fi and thrillers may like this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Time travel is weird.”

This book felt like one of those novelty meals you get at touristy places, where you get some giant, oversized, delicious-but-way-too-much version of a burger or a pizza or something guilty pleasure-like. There's so much going on here, but in a fun way that I can't put my finger on. Like you've just walked into someplace with lots of really neat things going on, but you don't know which way to look first.

January is head of security at the Paradox Hotel, a waystop for rich people on their way to experience time travel excursions. The hotel is allegedly hemorrhaging money though, and a conference involving the richest four people in the world has been convened to potentially privatize the hotel's existence. A man turns up dead, January starts to investigate, and gets caught up in something incredibly complex, while also battling the complications from being a stage-2 Unstuck–someone who has experienced way too much time travel and is unraveling medically as a result. Things get wonky, as any storyline involving time travel does, but oddly philosophical as well as January works through the meaning of death and loss.

The author could probably have pared down all of these great ideas a bit and still had a great story at the end. It feels muddy, confusing in some places the way time travel books can be, and there's a large cast of characters that's periodically referred to by either their first or last names. Despite all that, I had a lot of fun reading this book, and I can't point to why. Some of the ideas feel like they could have been explored in their own separate books, and I felt like the entire layer of the conference wasn't necessary to tell the story (but did a great job of highlighting January's asshole protagonist nature), but I don't care. It was great fun to read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.