Ladybug Books | The White Octopus Hotel

The White Octopus Hotel

Author: Alexandra Bell
Save to Your Books: Bookshop | Amazon

Journey to a magical hotel in the Swiss Alps, where two lost souls living in different centuries meet and discover if a second chance awaits them behind its doors.

“Have you travelled a long way?” she asked carefully. A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. “Well, yes,” he said slowly. “Yes, you could say that. But it was worth the wait.”

London, 2015. When reclusive art appraiser Eve Shaw shakes the hand of a silver-haired gentleman in her office, the warmth of his palm sends a spark through her. His name is Max Everly—curiously, the same name as Eve’s favorite composer, born one hundred sixteen years prior. And she has the sudden feeling that she’s held his hand before . . . but where, and when?

The White Octopus Hotel, 1935. In this belle époque building high in the snowy mountains, Eve and a young Max wander the winding halls, lost in time. Each of them has been through the trenches—Eve through a family accident and Max on the battlefields of the Great War—but for an impossible moment, love and healing are just a room away . . . if only they have the courage to step through the door.

Reading Updates

Audiobook | DNF: What the River Knows
DNFed at: 41%
Thoughts: There were parts of this story that interested me. I really liked the setting and I was intrigued by the mystery, magic, and banter between Inez and Whit. Unfortunately, the main character was so insufferable that I couldn't enjoy the story and had to stop reading. The audiobook narrator definitely made it worse, but I would have struggled regardless.

Paperback | Currently Reading: To Bargain with Mortals
Progress: 61%
Thoughts: I'm really enjoying To Bargain with Mortals! I really love the way this book is challenging Poppy's character and forcing her to confront her bias and privilege. I am excited (and STRESSED) to see how the characters face the impossible tasks in their future.

Ebook (ARC) | Finished: The Fake Divination Offense
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Release Date: May 19, 2026
Thoughts: Apparently I only read my ARCs really early or really late lol. Bramble blessed me with very early access to The Fake Divination Offense, the follow-up to An Entanglement of Rival Wizards. This was exactly what I wanted it to be: a fun, sweet, sexy fantasy rom-com. I really love the way that Sara Raasch balances spicy romance plots with emotional character arcs and relationships. I do feel like the story started to feel a little bit too over the top towards the end.

Audiobook + Ebook | Finished: The White Octopus Hotel
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thoughts: I absolutely loved The White Octopus Hotel. I was immediately captivated by this time-bending spiral of a story. It is a quiet, almost melancholy story about grief, love, hope, and healing. There is a subtle sense of surrealism and magic woven throughout this story that keeps you guessing. I loved uncovering each new layer of the story. Bell really captures the haunting nature of grief and guilt.

Book Recommendations

Dark Rise: I am not so patiently waiting for news of the third book in this series. This book also plays with reincarnation and fate.

Book of Night: The second book in this duology recently came out so I found myself rereading the first book to prepare for the sequel's release.

The Serpent and the Wolf: A romantic fantasy that I really enjoyed! Vaasa is forced into an arranged marriage and tasked by her brother to use her marriage to infiltrate the rival kingdom.

If you have any specific book recommendations that you've been looking for, let me know and I'd be happy to include them in the next newsletter. Happy reading!

Samantha (ladybug.books)