Floating Hotel
This is really much more of a “mood piece” than a novel. We meet a lot of interesting characters, we see them interact in interesting and heart-warming ways and over the course of the story we learn almost all of their various backstories. This is all held together by the setting of this luxurious but slightly run-down starship hotel. There is a plot of sorts and hints at a much larger universe and political scene but Grace is clearly more interested in her characters than the setting. The final resolution of the story is very low-key, almost to the point of being barely noticeable. There was no resolution of any of the political stories, nor any convincing background on technology, economics or who even owns the hotel. This is isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the hints at a much larger universe can make a story more convincing and give it depth and weight but I’m not convinced that the balance was right here.
I did enjoy meeting the characters but for me there just wasn’t enough actual story arc for me to get really invested in, sorry.
Kudos however to Waterstones for the beautiful exclusive hardback edition with beautiful purple gradients on the page edges and a clear signature from Grace.
Despite my reservations here I have her previous book “Frontiers” in my reading pile and have moved it nearer the top, we’ll see how that one goes!