A Castle in the Clouds
Author: Kerstin Gier
Publication Date: 28 January 2020
Genre: YA Contemporary
Pages: 336
Publisher: Henry Holt
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.
Set in the dreamy winter wonderland of the Swiss Alps during the holiday season, A Castle in the Clouds is the perfect winter read. Don’t let the dreamy backdrop fool you, this book is full of mystery and intrigue with a character driven plot that is reminiscent of The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Sophie Sparks is a seventeen year old high school dropout lands an internship at a luxury hotel. While everyone else around her seems to have their lives figured out, Sophie is trying to still figure out what she wants to do. During her internship, she moves between roles as assigned: housekeeping, laundry attendant, spa attendant, babysitter, etc. Sophie is quirky and has a pretty witty sense of humor. She’s constantly taunted by a nine year old who I honestly wanted to throw down a hill at several points.
Ben Monfort is the son of one of the hotel owners. He has only ever known a life that includes the hotel. If there are holidays from school, it is expected that he will spend his time working in the hotel wherever he is needed without any pay, of course. Ben and Sophie must work together over the winter holiday, but neither is sure whether to trust the other.
This story was so much more than what I was anticipating. What I thought would be a story with a grand romance also turned into a mysterious and action packed book featuring kidnappings, money laundering, and jewel heists. This book offers a host of interesting characters that really moves the plot along as you try to figure out what exactly is going on at this hotel.
Thank you to Macmillan for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
The Reading Chemist 