The Hotel Witch

by Jessica Miller

Sometimes the simplest spells are the most powerful.

Sibyl is the apprentice hotel witch at the splendid Grand Mirror Hotel.

She is busy each day drawing useful spell patterns to keep the hotel guests happy: spells to shine shoes, spells to remove dust and spells to return lost belongings like hats and gloves to their owners.

But Sibyl dreams of other possibilities – wonderful possibilities like her mother returning from the Black Mountains, and like Grandma letting her draw spell patterns from the Book of Advanced and Dangerous Magic.

When Grandma gets stuck in last Tuesday, somewhere on the hotel’s thirteenth floor, Sibyl is left to take charge of all the hotel magic – and to solve a mysterious and perplexing problem.

Can she find a way to open the Book of Advanced and Dangerous Magic?

And will it contain the spell she needs?

The Hotel Witch is a magical tale of courage, love and the power of imagining possibilities.

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Phrynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful, middle grade book about Sibyl, the apprentice witch at the Grand Mirror Hotel. Her big problem is that her grandmother does not feel Sibyl is ready yet for any major spells so she spends her days using her magic to polish shoes and clean mirrors. However problems occur when Grandma inadvertently disappears into last Tuesday and a Shadowmancer begins making its presence felt in the hotel. Sibyl does not know enough magic to solve the problem - or does she?

I enjoyed this book nearly as much as my eleven year old self would have loved it years ago! The characters are whimsical and include a talking cat. Sibyl is well meaning but makes some delightful mistakes one of which leads to eclairs and profiteroles floating around the hotel. Yum! Nothing terrible really happens but there is a constant feeling it may - certainly enough to keep a young reader on the edge of their seat.

A great book to give to a middle grader who enjoys magic and witches.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Text Publishing]

The following book reviews have been shared by Text Publishing – publisher of The Hotel Witch

‘This story crackles with clever magic and page-turning escapades, but it also contains an artful wisdom about self-belief and a giant heart. Book yourself a room in the Grand Mirror Hotel as soon as possible.’
Emily Gale

‘With a cast of larger-than-life characters that almost pop off the page, The Hotel Witch is the wonderfully imaginative new adventure from Jessica Miller…delivering a charming lesson in self-belief and independence… [A] tremendously fun and funny tale.’
Books+Publishing

‘This magical novel for primary years students will no doubt become a favourite.’
Ruth Woolven, CBCA VIC

‘[The Hotel Witch] is a magical, fun tale with exciting imagery that allows the story to come alive.’
Readings

‘Filled with an exotic array of magical characters and an intriguing, well-paced plot…[The Hotel Witch] bubbles with mystery and humour…[and] Sibyl is completely relatable to young readers.’
Magpies

‘A fun and fast-moving novel, The Hotel Witch is a light-hearted and whimsical tale for everyone that has ever found themselves lost in daydreams and possibilities…A lovely, magical book about overcoming obstacles and accepting yourself for who you truly are…Must read.’
Storylinks

‘Imaginative [and] entertaining…Jessica Miller has created a range of quirky characters and vividly depicted the ornate grand hotel setting…Readers who enjoy fantasy will find something appealing upon every page.’
Magpies

‘A delicious magical tale of young witches, old witches, enchanted spells and friendship, The Hotel Witch will leave readers totally bewitched…Beautifully written with a magical adventure on every page.’
GenWest, West Australian

‘[A] clever magical mystery with great worldbuilding and an intriguing cast of characters…A fun, whimsical tale about love, family, determination, and the power of imagination.’
CBCA Reading Time

‘Jessica Miller has given readers a magical narrative full of wonderful characters.’
One More Page Podcast

‘A charming, heartwarming tale of courage and patience.’
Better Read Than Dead

‘A beautiful story about adventure, mystery and determination. Filled with spells, magic and strong family connections, this story is one to capture your attention and fill you with joy…Jessica Miller has written a wonderful story that will keep the audience captivated and enchanted.’
ReadPlus

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Sibyl wants to do is learn spells from The Book of Advanced and Dangerous Magic, but Grandma won’t let her. She’s locked the book up tight, in a lockflower pattern, and refuses to let Sibyl look inside. She says Sibyl isn’t ready yet. But Sibyl is ready, if only she could concentrate long enough to prove it.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading this book. It is whimsical, and sweet with just a hint of danger and darkness at its core. We follow our main character, Sibyl, who lives in a fantastical alternate Europe where magic is commonplace and witches work as hotel witches, polishing shoes, finding lost items, and generally keeping things running.

I loved the main character, Sibyl. I thought she was wonderfully written, a precocious 11 year old who I found to be thoroughly believable. I really enjoyed the magic system, I found it different and interesting.

This is a middle grade book, aimed at 8-12 year olds, and I think it hits the plot points, story arcs and character beats perfectly for a middle grade child. I can see many children in this age bracket thoroughly enjoying this book, and coming back to it time and again as a favourite.

I gave this book a 4 star rating because it was aimed at a younger audience, and as such some of the intrigue of the story, and the reveals throughout were obvious to me, which meant that I could not give it a 5 star rating. However, this book was not written for me, and I do think the intrigue of the story will hit perfectly for those for whom it was written.

I highly recommend this book as a fun, whimsical read, and if you are a parent of the target age group, I would highly recommend this book as a great read for your children.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have such mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed the witchcraft, the shadowmancer, the talking cat, and the Queen in Exile and how she thrives in misery! But Sibyl… Concentrate! Perhaps it's because I am adult, I am firmly in camp of getting the basics right before tackling the advanced stuff. In the end though, it worked out for her, mind-wandering did help her strengthen her spell but she was thinking about the right thing instead of the daydreaming she was doing earlier in the book (even though her buttons (which hold the different spell patterns) alerted her to the solution mid book which she ignored). Love Jessica's books will always read them! My annoyance at Sibyl is why I have gone 3 instead of 4 stars, otherwise it is a good read.

[Smitchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is something strange going on at the Grand Mirror Hotel and we are not talking about the girl who keeps a storm in a teacup, the flying cakes, or the guest that has a tiny, identically dressed man living on his head under his hat. No, there is something much more sinister going on. Sibyl is the apprentice Hotel Witch, being trained by her grandmother, the official Hotel Witch of the Grand Mirror Hotel. Being a hotel witch is an important and demanding job and Sibyl is more than ready for her Grandma to teacher her more complex magic from the Book of Advanced and Dangerous Magic but Grandma thinks that Sibyl needs to practice more and above all she needs to concentrate!
Sibyl only day dreams a little... well, all the time, but she wouldn't if Grandma would just let her do something exciting!
The arrival of a very famous guest throws the hotel into a flutter when Sibyl notices that something rather odd has happened: The clock in the lobby has lost it's shadow. Sibyl is confident her Grandma will be able to fix it easily, right up until her Grandma accidentally gets stuck in last Tuesday! Suddenly Sibyl needs to solve this puzzle before anymore shadows disappear. Will she be able to find the spell she needs? Will she be able to save the Hotel and get her Grandma back to the right time?
This is a story of magic, imagination, bravery and self-belief, perfect for 8-14 year old readers who love a bit of magic mixed with mystery. I hope Jessica Miller follows up with more stories in this world because there is so much to explore here with Sybil and her family!

[Rebecca Fung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and gentle little story about an apprentice witch in a hotel who has to step up when her grandma goes missing. This has a lot of magical ingredients that I think will delight kids. On the other hand, it was fun but Sybil (kept making me think of Fawlty Towers) and her adventures did not seem to get to that "next level" - not unusual or soul-searching or different or the stakes weren't raised enough. Kind of good if you want something ... gentle. You never feel too worried that Sybil isn't going to make it and the characters are all pretty cute and things feel pretty familiar.

I also felt that the story took a while to get going and that I was halfway though the book before there were any real problems for Sybil.

A nice, easy read, amusing but didn't grab me by the throat and make me have to keep at it.

[Julia ☀️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really sweet and gentle story about magic and learning and growing. My only criticism is that some of the story felt like it could have been slightly tightened in some places. It started to bother me just how much the main character was told to "concentrate" and to not daydream, to the point where the young girl scolded herself when no one was around. Maybe this is because I was a kid that was told off for daydreaming, even though there's nothing wrong with that. This was one of the story threads I thought could have been tighter.

[Julia Tulloh Harper]

This was a delightful story about a magical hotel… featuring cleaning spells that I wish I could conjure (!), a talking cat, and an endearing protagonist. The actual plot is somewhat slow-paced but the world building is thoroughly enjoyable and whimsical, really well rendered. I think middle Primary would enjoy this one, and you could even read it to younger kids - i think even my 5 year old daughter would love it!

[Claude · Rating 4 out of 5]

*actual rating 3.75 rounded up

saw this while i was browsing at the library and i'm glad i did bc it was a fun, sweet middle grade... and i'm a sucker for books set in hotels! i loved the description used, especially about strawberries and summer, and the resolution. a perfect holiday read to escape.

[Summer Neeham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A super sweet and magical Halloween read! I really enjoyed The Hotel Witch — it was cosy, whimsical, and full of that fun spooky-season atmosphere without being scary. I loved the magical hotel setting and the charming characters. It was exactly the kind of light, feel-good witchy story I wanted before moving into my Christmas reads! 🎃✨🧙‍♀️

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet middle-grade read. I really enjoyed the magic of the hotel, the visiting guests and the vibe of the world. I’d be more inclined to read a series with these characters if the main girl was a bit less dense though lol. I felt like she had the potential to be a clever proactive character, but was missing very obvious clues just to delay the plot and flesh out the book. It got quite repetitive in places, hammering home the need for our main girl to concentrate. She kept banging on about wanting to learn more complex spells, but not demonstrating any practical aptitude other than the basics when her gran was standing over the top of her. I did like the talking cat :) This book was nominated for Best Children's Fiction in the 2023 Aurealis Awards.

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[Jayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightfully charming story about Sibyl, an apprentice witch at the Grand Mirror Hotel. As you can imagine, there are plenty of intriguing guests and a magical problem for Sibyl to resolve. Perfect for younger middle grade readers.