Genre: Chick-lit
Published: May 16, 2023
Pages: 308
Noelle is an efficient, friendly hotel cleaner—a model employee. Or so she’d have you think . . . trouble is, she can’t help but take little “souvenirs” from the rooms she cleans. Nothing of value—a lipstick, a hair clip, some tweezers. By the time the guest has noticed, she’s long gone. As Noelle begins work at her twenty-first hotel, she’s determined to last longer than her record of one month in the job. But then she meets her new colleagues. These women are real: they live lives full of happiness and worry, pain and joy. They make her wonder what it might be like to have true friends, people to stick round for—and someone to love. . . . Will they give her the courage to claim the life she deserves, or will her old habits come back to haunt her?
I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.
At the beginning of this book, I didn't know what kind of story I was getting into. On the surface it seemed to be a story about a younger millennial who tends to job hop and not put up with a toxic work environment. Instead Noelle is a serial thief. And I say that rather than kleptomaniac because her compulsion to steal seems more in line with what I know about serial killer motives.
I was drawn into the hotel world and intrigued by the way Noelle judges which rooms to take from, and the way she keeps her bosses on her side before she splits. Then comes Hotel 21 throwing a giant wrench in all her plans. The crew she cleans with wants to be her friends, and she has to engage in the behavior just to keep them on her side.
The flashbacks to notable rooms from past hotels were enlightening. The scenes from her childhood with her mother were heartbreaking. I imagine the turmoil of her childhood probably contributes greatly to her desire to steal, but I can't say for sure.
Overall I give Hotel 21 4.3572 out of 5 stars. - Katie
Senta Rich began her career as an advertising copywriter. During this time, she also wrote radio plays and magazine articles, before moving into the world of screenwriting. She now writes regularly for film and TV. Rich lives in Dublin with her husband and son.
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