Genre: Paranormal

It would’ve been nice to end 2023 on a high note with my last read for 2023, but unfortunately it was not meant to be with The Sun Down Motel. At a first glance and for the majority of the book, there was nothing inherently wrong with the story. A murder mystery told via a split narrative perspective switching between Viv Delaney in 1982 and her niece Carley Kirk in 2017. Feeling listless after the recent death of her mother, she goes on a spur of the moment trip to Fell, New York. Looking into the great family mystery, Carley retraces Viv’s movements 35 years later in an effort to uncover what led to Viv’s sudden disappearance. Carley finds herself eventually working the night shift at the rundown and empty Sun Down Motel, the same job Viv occupied and happens upon some rather unusual and supernatural entities. Sounds interesting right? Unfortunately, the execution and contents are better suited and were probably written for a Book Club type of genre read. On the plus side, the Sun Down Motel itself (as in the actual building) is described well and is a great setting. I don’t know why the book cover design…

I am obviously far from the target reader demographics this book is intended for but I still found it to be an pleasant, if not predictable read. It’s a comforting feel-good romance novel ironically focusing on a protag who believes love is dead after being betrayed and taken advantage of by a insensitive ex/aspiring author. I’m not a typical fan of the romance novel genre so take my opinions with a grain of salt, but I picked this up based on intriguing synopsis and the extended pun on “romance is dead.” Also the concept of a ghostwriter having to write a novel while in the presence of a ghost of her editor, genius. Despite my initial excitement for the book’s concept and plot, majority of the time I wished the novel dug a little deeper (get it-) into the themes of coping with loss, healing from betrayal (both romantically and socially) and returning to one’s roots. I acknowledge the primary purpose of this book is the romance, but during some of the quieter moments it often showed signs of being something more profound and touching making it all the more frustrating when it settles for skimming the surface of these…

Note: The following original review for this book is old and does not meet current review standards. A fully rewritten review is planned. On paper this book wasn’t going to be my cup of tea as I am generally uninterested and detached from stories focusing on familial drama. While I struggled to stay invested for majority of the first 2/3 of the book, my patience was rewarded by the last 70 or so pages that surprisingly connect all the loose threads in such an explosive and exciting manner (rewarding endings seem to be a trend for me and Matt Haig novels). I was almost taken aback at how much action happens in such a short number of pages vs the rest of the novel that spent so much time setting the characters and pieces into place. As other reviews that covered, the vampire elements and lore take a back seat to the drama and relationships between the Radley family members and suspicious neighbors in the quiet village of Bisthopthorpe, though they do have key moments that are integral to the plot. Would’ve rated the first 2/3 of the book 2 stars and the last 1/3 4 stars so we’ll go with…