The Hotel Between#1 by Sean Easley

My name is Cam, and Nico allowed me to enter a hotel that can transport me anywhere in the world. My father worked at the Hotel before he disappeared when I was little. I just want to bring him home, so he can help care for my younger sister's spina bifada. However, Nico says I can't trust anyone else at the Hotel, except for Sev, and I can't let anyone know why I'm here, especially the Old Man. I've agreed to become an employee, so I can do some searching during my ten-day probation. I've learned magic from the Vesima tree has been powering the Hotel, but the Greenhouse's disappearance has caused the bindings to weaken. I'm dreaming memories from my father, and he went missing around the same time as the Vesima tree. Could there be a connection?

I won't try to fully explain the whole scenario of the Hotel. It's like a living entity, but its motivations aren't clearly known. The Maids, the Hotel's security, collect children from around the world, but it's unclear why. A man at the Museum wants to stop the Hotel, and Cam gets caught in the middle of the conflict. Consequently, the book presents a creative plot that will require some imagination from readers. Matters are complicated with misdirection, as Cam isn't sure which characters can be trusted. His impressions swing back and forth, even with his "blood brother" Nico, and this continues all the way until the plot's climax. The uncertainty of character honesty adds to the tension, since their future behavior can't be predicted. This causes Cam to regret some of his own decisions based on false information. The secrets surrounding Cam's parents are at the core of the battle between the Hotel and the Museum, and Cam finds some answers he didn't want to know. The wording of contracts is also an important factor in the story's events. Overall, I enjoyed this first book in the series, and I'm waiting to get my hands on its sequel, The Key of Lost Things. Give it a shot.