A Castle in the Clouds by Kerstin Gier

Summary from Goodreads:

A Castle in the Clouds follows a girl as she navigates secrets, romance, and danger in an aging grand hotel.

Way up in the Swiss mountains, there's an old grand hotel steeped in tradition and faded splendor. Once a year, when the famous New Year's Eve Ball takes place and guests from all over the world arrive, excitement returns to the vast hallways.

Sophie, who works at the hotel as an intern, is busy making sure that everything goes according to plan. But unexpected problems keep arising, and some of the guests are not who they pretend to be. Very soon, Sophie finds herself right in the middle of a perilous adventure--and at risk of losing not only her job, but also her heart.

Review:

This book was a delight! Mix in a full cast of a quirky Stars Hollow type community, a Grand Budapest Hotel-type setting, a witty main character, a forbidden cat, a love triangle, diamonds, and mayhem, and you only partially get the magic of this book.

There was a little bit of a slow beginning to this novel, but it didn’t matter. I was so in love with the crazy setting and characters that literally nothing could happen for ages and I wouldn’t have put the book down. There’s a definite quirky Gilmore Girls vibe to this weird hotel. There are strange characters make this hotel come alive. And if you are not into weird people and their stories, this might not be the book for you

That being said, eventually the plot leads to a crazy heist/kidnapping/mystery and it left me going “how did we end up here?” but in a really good way. This book had a lot of unexpected twists and turns, both literally and figuratively. The hotel had secret passages and plenty of hiding spots….

I loved Sophie. I loved how she got along with the rest of the staff. I loved her rocky relationship with some of the other maids. I love how she made friends with animals and learned the ins and outs of the hotel. I found the whole book to be fascinating, and I was so sad when it was over.

I found the romance to be fun too. It wasn’t my favorite element, but I like that was there. I’d watch this movie. I really enjoyed other books by this author, and I’m so glad she continues to write for a YA audience. I hope she does more. I give this one a 10/10. I highly recommend it, especially if you’re looking for something light to escape into.