What do you think?
Rate this book
31 Overlook Hotel
The Hotel is not what she seems...
She is a complicated structure, catering to the needs of each patron. Some of those needs, shall we say, are specialized. Step inside, enjoy the glorious beauty of the Hotel, and perhaps accept an exclusive invitation.
Dear Honored Guest,
Enclosed you will find an exclusive invitation to the 31 Overlook Hotel Masquerade Ball. Due to the nature of the ultimate outcome of the festivities, the hotel has requested the explicit details of the event, and what will culminate afterwards, will not be revealed until Midnight at the ball. We promise to delight and not disappoint.
Please understand that if you are holding this invitation then you are among a small group of selected, very important individuals for attendance.
We do not expect an RSVP. Please arrive with your invitation and present it at the front desk during check-in. If you have not spent time at our resort prior, please note that we do have tailored menus available for our guests with refined, specialized tastes. This can be addressed upon arrival.
As always, I am here to serve.
Sincerely,
The Night Manager
A collaboration by:
JA Stone J.C. Seal L.L. Hunter Charlotte Brice Tina Morlock Kyra Quinn L.P. Dillon Evi Star
Leann Ryans Louise Dawn Luna Sela Jessica Mandella Karen Black Darcee VanMullekom T. A. Moorman T.M. Haught DL James C J Bahr Lorelai Watson Scarlett Holloway Sandra Daniels Paula Acton Andreea Pryde Lennie Grace MJ Vieira Ron Stelle Ripley Archer Stephen Goss S.K. Yule Kira Burns -with Hargrove Perth as the Night Manager.
She is a complicated structure, catering to the needs of each patron. Some of those needs, shall we say, are specialized. Step inside, enjoy the glorious beauty of the Hotel, and perhaps accept an exclusive invitation.
Dear Honored Guest,
Enclosed you will find an exclusive invitation to the 31 Overlook Hotel Masquerade Ball. Due to the nature of the ultimate outcome of the festivities, the hotel has requested the explicit details of the event, and what will culminate afterwards, will not be revealed until Midnight at the ball. We promise to delight and not disappoint.
Please understand that if you are holding this invitation then you are among a small group of selected, very important individuals for attendance.
We do not expect an RSVP. Please arrive with your invitation and present it at the front desk during check-in. If you have not spent time at our resort prior, please note that we do have tailored menus available for our guests with refined, specialized tastes. This can be addressed upon arrival.
As always, I am here to serve.
Sincerely,
The Night Manager
A collaboration by:
JA Stone J.C. Seal L.L. Hunter Charlotte Brice Tina Morlock Kyra Quinn L.P. Dillon Evi Star
Leann Ryans Louise Dawn Luna Sela Jessica Mandella Karen Black Darcee VanMullekom T. A. Moorman T.M. Haught DL James C J Bahr Lorelai Watson Scarlett Holloway Sandra Daniels Paula Acton Andreea Pryde Lennie Grace MJ Vieira Ron Stelle Ripley Archer Stephen Goss S.K. Yule Kira Burns -with Hargrove Perth as the Night Manager.
420 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 30, 2019
449 people are currently reading
361 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
August 19, 2020
Mix and Match
Take a handful of authors, add a bit of common ground, mix well until is nice and fluffy, then bake one or two chapters at a time.
Bound to satisfy a variety of tastes 🙂
Take a handful of authors, add a bit of common ground, mix well until is nice and fluffy, then bake one or two chapters at a time.
Bound to satisfy a variety of tastes 🙂
June 25, 2020
Great Work by Multiple Authors!
I got confused occasionally by so many characters in this story, but I thought the Authors did an excellent job of writing them all into one story!
I got confused occasionally by so many characters in this story, but I thought the Authors did an excellent job of writing them all into one story!
Want to read
December 23, 2019🎁 FREE on Amazon today (12/23/2019)! 🎁
April 21, 2020
This is the first time I have read one story written by so many authors. I was a little sceptical to start with as to whether this would work. But after reading 31 Overlook Hotel I can say I was pleasantly surprised.
The mix of authors and their writing styles does work, they compliment each other. And the use of one author as the hotel’s Night Manager keeps everyone tied together.
31 Overlook Hotel has many different characters; it can get a little confusing every now and then. There are many different smaller stories contained within its overall story. There is never a dull moment!
Most authors have done a fantastic job and written their parts extremely well with plenty of detail. I felt there were a few that could have added more detail to their chapters just to help set the mental image better.
Overall, I enjoyed reading 31 Overlook Hotel. After reading chapters by so many different authors I will be looking at picking up some of their individual works to see what they are like.
The mix of authors and their writing styles does work, they compliment each other. And the use of one author as the hotel’s Night Manager keeps everyone tied together.
31 Overlook Hotel has many different characters; it can get a little confusing every now and then. There are many different smaller stories contained within its overall story. There is never a dull moment!
Most authors have done a fantastic job and written their parts extremely well with plenty of detail. I felt there were a few that could have added more detail to their chapters just to help set the mental image better.
Overall, I enjoyed reading 31 Overlook Hotel. After reading chapters by so many different authors I will be looking at picking up some of their individual works to see what they are like.
May 4, 2020
What initially drew me to this book was seeing "Overlook Hotel" in the title. I thought it would be somehow connected to "The Shining". Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. It is about a hotel, with A LOT of guests which makes it very confusing for the reader to keep all the characters straight. A diagram in the front of the book with names and rooms may have been beneficial. Bringing thirty one authors together is a feat in itself! There must have been some kind of magical powers involved to pull it all off!
July 17, 2020
This was a very interesting collection of stories. It's not horror but some horrific things do happen.
The good:
- for the most part a seamless transition between the stories which was amazing considering all the different writers
- the different characters and world building was immersive
- the writing was very good for the most part and made me want to look into some of the authors' other work
The not so good:
- It was sometimes confusing to follow so many different characters, especially some who appeared in the beginning of the book and then reappeared in later chapters. Having a kindle was a godsend to just search the name and re-read to refresh my memory but this would have been horrific with a traditional book.
- there were a few characters who were made to seem important in their intro stories, even crucial to the final outcome and then they just disappeared.
- the individual stories were interesting but some were supposed to serve the larger purpose of the overall story and in that case they were lacking or rushed. The pace of the overall arc was meandering, which was fine but then at the end we are hit with a lot of information at once and it just felt rushed.
- speaking of rushed, the climactic scene -- there wasn't one. Well not really, we read about it after it happened. Never really got to see it so there wasn't much suspense or tension.
- some of the stories seemed to have no point to the overall arc of the Night Manager's and Hotel's story, except maybe to show how weird the hotel is, but still frustrating that these stories just kind of ended.
If you can forget some of the loose ends - even some of the major ones (this is why I rated a 4), the storylines are still unique and interesting and the book is still worth a read. If you like this kind of thing, I'd highly recommend Limbus, Inc. (in this case the overall arc is the Limbus corporation and individual stories within it; the nice thing with Limbus is the stories are more self-contained so not as confusing). Limbus has more sci-fi and some horror.
The good:
- for the most part a seamless transition between the stories which was amazing considering all the different writers
- the different characters and world building was immersive
- the writing was very good for the most part and made me want to look into some of the authors' other work
The not so good:
- It was sometimes confusing to follow so many different characters, especially some who appeared in the beginning of the book and then reappeared in later chapters. Having a kindle was a godsend to just search the name and re-read to refresh my memory but this would have been horrific with a traditional book.
- there were a few characters who were made to seem important in their intro stories, even crucial to the final outcome and then they just disappeared.
- the individual stories were interesting but some were supposed to serve the larger purpose of the overall story and in that case they were lacking or rushed. The pace of the overall arc was meandering, which was fine but then at the end we are hit with a lot of information at once and it just felt rushed.
- speaking of rushed, the climactic scene -- there wasn't one. Well not really, we read about it after it happened. Never really got to see it so there wasn't much suspense or tension.
- some of the stories seemed to have no point to the overall arc of the Night Manager's and Hotel's story, except maybe to show how weird the hotel is, but still frustrating that these stories just kind of ended.
If you can forget some of the loose ends - even some of the major ones (this is why I rated a 4), the storylines are still unique and interesting and the book is still worth a read. If you like this kind of thing, I'd highly recommend Limbus, Inc. (in this case the overall arc is the Limbus corporation and individual stories within it; the nice thing with Limbus is the stories are more self-contained so not as confusing). Limbus has more sci-fi and some horror.
February 24, 2020
The best of short stories pulled together
This book of short stories, pulled together by the concept of the “Night Manager”, brought a cohesiveness to a larger and longer theme. I enjoyed the characters of myth and legend brought together in a single place. I wanted more of some of the stories, and less of others; together they made for a great read. Over the years I’ve tired of collections of short stories; but this one trumped all others. You’ve made a great choice if you move to acquire this unique collection of works.
This book of short stories, pulled together by the concept of the “Night Manager”, brought a cohesiveness to a larger and longer theme. I enjoyed the characters of myth and legend brought together in a single place. I wanted more of some of the stories, and less of others; together they made for a great read. Over the years I’ve tired of collections of short stories; but this one trumped all others. You’ve made a great choice if you move to acquire this unique collection of works.
March 6, 2020
For a book literally written by THIRTY ONE people it wasn't bad. Some parts I wanted more. Some I wanted less. But so many different styles despite working well together and the amount of characters got really confusing. The story got really interesting at the end but a lot was left to the imagination, which I found a bit disappointing after the amount of detail given from the begining. It's a decent story it just has a lot going on. I enjoyed it for what it was but I don't believe it's something I'd read a second time.
June 17, 2020
It's well written, good pace. Fun charterers. Would have preferred for it to be written by Hargrove Perth the writer of the chapters for "The Night Manager". All the characters were well thought out for each author. I felt that some of the authors were a bit ahead of others (IE) having the masquerade ball happen during their chapters. I would have preferred that part of the book to be given to the
author at the time that the Ball was supped to take place. All in all it was a fun read.
author at the time that the Ball was supped to take place. All in all it was a fun read.
January 12, 2020
Astounding
Take several and and have them write in a collaborative group and you get the above novel. Each author's piece flowed together with the others, producing a wonderful journey for the reader. I spent the whole time wondering what the outcome would be, what was the true reason for the invitations the characters received.
Take several and and have them write in a collaborative group and you get the above novel. Each author's piece flowed together with the others, producing a wonderful journey for the reader. I spent the whole time wondering what the outcome would be, what was the true reason for the invitations the characters received.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 29, 2020
Entertaining read
This book has everything I love within its pages .werewolves, vampires , far , demons , angels ...and more . I enjoyed every chapter and hope that there might be a hotel overlook book two in the not too distant future . If totally recommend it
This book has everything I love within its pages .werewolves, vampires , far , demons , angels ...and more . I enjoyed every chapter and hope that there might be a hotel overlook book two in the not too distant future . If totally recommend it
January 30, 2020
What a surprise
I was expecting a normal short story book. Well, this one was written by a different authors but the same subject. It was about a hotel with strange rooms and visitors and staff.
My favorite character was amy, the pink fire breathing dragon.
I was expecting a normal short story book. Well, this one was written by a different authors but the same subject. It was about a hotel with strange rooms and visitors and staff.
My favorite character was amy, the pink fire breathing dragon.
December 17, 2019
Great story, occasionally difficult to keep all the characters straight but wheel done, entertaining and fresh.
January 10, 2020
Very well put together group of stories about the Overlook Hotel. Witches,Angels,Vampires, Gargoyles- this book has it all. I really enjoyed it.
February 24, 2020
I expected a book of short stories loosely tied together... what I got was a full novel that flowed surprisingly well. How I would love to be the Night Manager!
April 27, 2020
I bought this book by mistake as I am not a great fan of fantasy/horror genre but I was pleasantly surprised. Congratulation on great editorial effort!
May 21, 2025
Not bad
The story itself is good.. but confusing. You are introduced to an array of characters, some end up being important while others seem to not really have a reason for anything but to make the book longer.
It was an interesting read but hard to follow normally I could read this in about 2-3 days but the amount of information, characters and what feels like time hopping made the book hard to read.
The ending is also odd. The whole book you are leading up to some crazy event that will explain all the characters you are introduced to but then nothing. It just ends with a very short its finished type of deal. It was too easy.
If you ever watched game of thrones, the ending reminded me of the last season.. rushed and well just not what you hoped for. I dont understand the characters introduced and I also dont understand why the character who causes chaos really didn't cause anything. It just seemed idk like it fell flat.
There were of course some typos and possibly plot holes where characters had different names. Well maybe idk it was a crazy book to read.
The story itself is good.. but confusing. You are introduced to an array of characters, some end up being important while others seem to not really have a reason for anything but to make the book longer.
It was an interesting read but hard to follow normally I could read this in about 2-3 days but the amount of information, characters and what feels like time hopping made the book hard to read.
The ending is also odd. The whole book you are leading up to some crazy event that will explain all the characters you are introduced to but then nothing. It just ends with a very short its finished type of deal. It was too easy.
If you ever watched game of thrones, the ending reminded me of the last season.. rushed and well just not what you hoped for. I dont understand the characters introduced and I also dont understand why the character who causes chaos really didn't cause anything. It just seemed idk like it fell flat.
There were of course some typos and possibly plot holes where characters had different names. Well maybe idk it was a crazy book to read.
August 25, 2023
At first it was a moving fast and fun read. However, the addition of so many new characters became quite confusing. Trying to keep up with who was who made reading less fun, and more of a chore. With so many authors, adding so much more, it became "too many cooks spoiled the broth".
November 10, 2020
Very interesting. Best to be treated like an anthology with comon ground rather a whole, but I liked it nonetheless.
There are a few chapters that stand out Act 7, Act 11 and Act 24 where my absolute favourite.
No spoilers for you, but the authors have a certain way to draw one in.
There are a few chapters that stand out Act 7, Act 11 and Act 24 where my absolute favourite.
No spoilers for you, but the authors have a certain way to draw one in.
June 22, 2020
Boring and lots of ideas swiped from mainstream books. Too many characters that didn't further the story.
September 23, 2020
There are good points and bad here.
On the plus side, I can’t begin to imagine how much work it takes to get thirty-one different authors to each contribute a chapter to an anthology about a hotel which hosts a masquerade ball for the paranormal, fictional and dead. A logistical challenge and I admire the organiser for undertaking it.
However, many of these stories read like first drafts. There are tense changes all over the place, sometimes, within sentences, and shockingly some pretty basic spelling errors, for example ‘gie’ for ‘give’, ‘overhead’ for ‘overheard’, ’dower’ for ‘dour’ and the one that stopped me in my tracks: “The majority of our guests have arrived, for the most part, right on que…”
As in the previous quotation, there’s so much repetition - I don’t mean story-wise, but it’s as if some of the authors have hit upon a word they particularly like, and then they can’t stop themselves from using it. There are a few instances of ‘off of’ as well as a great number of sentences ending in prepositions. It’s a very large book and sadly, being big, has almost as many errors as it has pages.
There were, however, a couple of genuinely good stories - Act Fourteen - Ivelshe by Karen Black and Act Twenty - Daemonium Venator by Lorrelai Watson - stand out as particularly well-written, but the collection is poorly edited and overlong.
On the plus side, I can’t begin to imagine how much work it takes to get thirty-one different authors to each contribute a chapter to an anthology about a hotel which hosts a masquerade ball for the paranormal, fictional and dead. A logistical challenge and I admire the organiser for undertaking it.
However, many of these stories read like first drafts. There are tense changes all over the place, sometimes, within sentences, and shockingly some pretty basic spelling errors, for example ‘gie’ for ‘give’, ‘overhead’ for ‘overheard’, ’dower’ for ‘dour’ and the one that stopped me in my tracks: “The majority of our guests have arrived, for the most part, right on que…”
As in the previous quotation, there’s so much repetition - I don’t mean story-wise, but it’s as if some of the authors have hit upon a word they particularly like, and then they can’t stop themselves from using it. There are a few instances of ‘off of’ as well as a great number of sentences ending in prepositions. It’s a very large book and sadly, being big, has almost as many errors as it has pages.
There were, however, a couple of genuinely good stories - Act Fourteen - Ivelshe by Karen Black and Act Twenty - Daemonium Venator by Lorrelai Watson - stand out as particularly well-written, but the collection is poorly edited and overlong.
September 30, 2020
A brave and bold book. 31 tales all slipped to sit nicely after a brief interlude type narrative from the Hotel's night manager to keep it as linked as possible.
Maybe a little bit too big an idea but with a fair few anthologis it is hit and miss to most. Even King and the like have weaker tales written.
I would love to give this 4 stars just for its brave approach. Each story is supernatural and is about the likes of vampires, werewolves, angels, all sorts really that guest at said hotel.
But this is the night where each guest has been invited to attend the masquerade ball.
There is intrigue with nearly all, but with so many you forget any that are of importance or if some as good as they are, were just filler?
Entertaining but could have been tighter given that they are interlinked.
Maybe a little bit too big an idea but with a fair few anthologis it is hit and miss to most. Even King and the like have weaker tales written.
I would love to give this 4 stars just for its brave approach. Each story is supernatural and is about the likes of vampires, werewolves, angels, all sorts really that guest at said hotel.
But this is the night where each guest has been invited to attend the masquerade ball.
There is intrigue with nearly all, but with so many you forget any that are of importance or if some as good as they are, were just filler?
Entertaining but could have been tighter given that they are interlinked.
December 19, 2020
This was so cool! I was a bit apprehensive about how this would work, having so many authors involved but they were all equally talented and the overseer author put it together well. There is a 'main' story that you find out the purpose of by the end, but there is also stories within it. Don't stress about trying to keep track of all the characters. Most are confined to their own chapters, the ones that matter, their stories are made sure to intersect and interact with each other. I've read short story compilations before but nothing like this. This is a compilation of short stories interwoven to make a whole novel. Vampires, demons, witches, sirens, normal humans, all manner of things are specifically invited by the hotel for this masquerade ball. Not all check out. I'd say definitely give it a go
August 14, 2025
Overdone and Yet, Underdone
This was way too ambitious of a project. Thirty-one writers made for thirty some disjointed story lines that never coalesce. Far too many characters to keep track of and a long, boring book that is tough to slog through. This should have been kept to five or six authors and been tightened up more. Much more. The story lines of thirty of the main characters just end. No explanation, no follow-up. The thirty-first ends in the most anticlimactic four page denouement ever. You read that right. Four pages. And nothing exciting really happens in those four pages, either. Let me tell you, after slogging through something like 450 pages expecting an epic ending, this is the most disappointing climax I've ever read. Anywhere. Ever. Bottom line: Don't waste your time on this book like I did.
This was way too ambitious of a project. Thirty-one writers made for thirty some disjointed story lines that never coalesce. Far too many characters to keep track of and a long, boring book that is tough to slog through. This should have been kept to five or six authors and been tightened up more. Much more. The story lines of thirty of the main characters just end. No explanation, no follow-up. The thirty-first ends in the most anticlimactic four page denouement ever. You read that right. Four pages. And nothing exciting really happens in those four pages, either. Let me tell you, after slogging through something like 450 pages expecting an epic ending, this is the most disappointing climax I've ever read. Anywhere. Ever. Bottom line: Don't waste your time on this book like I did.
April 17, 2022
I don’t even know where to start. Um, first off, each participating author provided an amazing piece to the storyline working in perfect harmony with the night manager’s words. I absolutely loved how the stories revolves around the hotel itself. There are so many characters to remember but it helped that the night manager introduced most of them. Some of the characters (unnatural beings) were intriguing and some I wasn’t too interested in. I liked the siren, and the vampire parts. I wasn’t too fond of angels but that’s just me. It didn’t deter from the writing style. Every author penned their words exquisitely. I didn’t truly know what to expect when starting this anthology. I’ve read some of the authors before, and the others are new to me. Overall, this was a great story.
January 17, 2023
DNF. I couldn't justify reading this title past 11 percent. Almost every chapter introduces new characters, but there's barely any connecting thread among them. Everyone keeps talking about a ball and they are all checking in to the hotel, but that's it. Too many characters are being introduced and nothing much is actually happening to propel the overall story forward. There's been some horror, but it reads like a collection of individual short stories at this point. I don't know if it gets better, but the first 11 percent isn't good enough to motivate me to stick with it to see. Skimming the other reviews, it appears it doesn't get much better.
June 8, 2024
Strange and compelling fantasy.
I found this a compelling collection of stories centered around a hotel that exists in an intersection of different realities. The plot is loosely based on a Halloween Masquerade with many strange characters from fantasy as invited guests. Somewhat reminiscent, to me, of Ray Bradbury and similar writers. There were, however, a few spelling and grammar errors that I picked up. But as this was written by a collection of writers this may have been the reason. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it and the aura of pervading gloom that it created. Very Gothic, which I enjoyed.
I found this a compelling collection of stories centered around a hotel that exists in an intersection of different realities. The plot is loosely based on a Halloween Masquerade with many strange characters from fantasy as invited guests. Somewhat reminiscent, to me, of Ray Bradbury and similar writers. There were, however, a few spelling and grammar errors that I picked up. But as this was written by a collection of writers this may have been the reason. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it and the aura of pervading gloom that it created. Very Gothic, which I enjoyed.
September 29, 2022
Summary
The Night Manager of the Hotel was a gracious and courteous hostess to the variety of monsters and night crawlers, who were invited by the Hotel. Some were more angelic, but others were horrific creatures in their true form.
Why were they invited? Why were there humans in this fantastic and horrifying hotel?
Conclusion
This novel was written by many authors. At first, it was very intriguing and interesting. Near the end, I was a bit confused about why everyone was invited to resolve the issue. I would like to know more about the history of the hotel though.
The Night Manager of the Hotel was a gracious and courteous hostess to the variety of monsters and night crawlers, who were invited by the Hotel. Some were more angelic, but others were horrific creatures in their true form.
Why were they invited? Why were there humans in this fantastic and horrifying hotel?
Conclusion
This novel was written by many authors. At first, it was very intriguing and interesting. Near the end, I was a bit confused about why everyone was invited to resolve the issue. I would like to know more about the history of the hotel though.
January 14, 2021
An Invitation is Required to Stay Here
A good collaboration of like minded authors writing about various mortals, immortals, angels and demi-gods who have all received a mysterious invitation to spend some time at a very unique hotel. My one complaint, is that while the stories all fit, I was left wanting to know more about some of the guests. A good reason to look for the authors who created these guests in the Amazon bookstore!
A good collaboration of like minded authors writing about various mortals, immortals, angels and demi-gods who have all received a mysterious invitation to spend some time at a very unique hotel. My one complaint, is that while the stories all fit, I was left wanting to know more about some of the guests. A good reason to look for the authors who created these guests in the Amazon bookstore!
July 13, 2025
Not quite sure how to categorize this one
Unique compilation of vignettes skillfully sewn together. The transitions seem virtually seamless. I'm not going to go in depth in explaining the plot. Basically, an intelligent hotel and its night manager are holding an All Hallows Ball. Complete with all sorts of supernatural entities invited. There is only one story that I was unhappy with. There us a death I don't think should have happened, and it wasn't avenged.
Unique compilation of vignettes skillfully sewn together. The transitions seem virtually seamless. I'm not going to go in depth in explaining the plot. Basically, an intelligent hotel and its night manager are holding an All Hallows Ball. Complete with all sorts of supernatural entities invited. There is only one story that I was unhappy with. There us a death I don't think should have happened, and it wasn't avenged.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews