Book Review: The Heartbreak Hotel by Ellen O'Clover

Official Synopsis: Louisa Walsh emerged from a tumultuous childhood with a degree in counseling, a wealthy boyfriend, and her sunny outlook on life mostly intact. But that optimism is tested when she’s dumped and left unable to afford rent on their gorgeous house in the mountains of Colorado. Even with her life in disarray, Lou knows losing the one stable place she’s ever called home is not an option.

She asks her reclusive landlord, Henry Rhodes, to let her stay for free in exchange for renting out the house’s many rooms as a bed-and-breakfast. She’s shocked when he agrees to her terms, and even more surprised to discover Henry is a handsome thirtysomething veterinarian with silver at his temples and sadness in his eyes. One who does not take it well when Lou starts marketing her B and B as a retreat for the recently heartbroken.

But as the Comeback Inn opens its doors to its weary, hopeful guests, Lou and Henry find themselves dancing around both their undeniable connection and the closely held secrets that threaten to topple this fragile new start. A chance at love, here, could be too close to home…or it could be exactly where their hearts finally heal.

The Heartbreak Hotel is the adult romance debut for Ellen O'Clover, who has written two young adult novels. The book follows Lou, who has recently learned that her rockstar boyfriend was cheating on her...for months. Now Lou is left with an oversized rental house that she definitely can't afford but she is determined not to lose. It's the only place that has ever felt like hers, and she refuses to like Nate take it from her. Lou was meant to be a therapist, but after failing the licensing exam she isn't sure how to move on, or to get the money she needs to keep the house.

After crashing out with her best friend, who is also broken up with, they come up with the idea of the Inn. (Which is while watching Treasure Planet, which is a great movie and you should all go watch it immediately.) Mei is a really great best friend to Lou and I enjoyed how even Mei was able to heal and figure out what she wanted throughout the story and because of the Inn as well.

When she goes to the house's owner, Henry, with plans to open it up as a bed and breakfast, where she will run everything if he lets her stay, he seems unsure, but allows it. What he isn't ready for is the B&B to be called the "Comeback Inn" aka a place for those with a broken hearts to try to heal and move on. Henry insists he doesn't want to be involved, but now Lou sees him all the time at the house, helping with chores, joining the group on hikes and listening as the patrons tell him about how great the Inn is.

Now Lou and Henry find themselves gravitating towards each other, but they both have complicated pasts with things they need to work through. But what if they start to wonder if they can help each other through their past traumas? Or will some secrets be too much for their chemistry to fight through.

This book had a lot of moments that really surprised me, especially when it came to Henry. I didn't expect such a deep backstory to his character, about him living in the house with his then-wife and daughter, who ended up passing away very young. Plus, some plot twists about who the ex-wife may be. Henry has a hard time staying in the home, and Lou has to work through some of it with him, especially when in comes to 'sleepovers'. There is definitely a deep, emotional backstory playing a big role in Henry's character and I really enjoyed it.

Lou has also had a turbulent childhood with some of it even leaking into her adult life. Her mother has borderline personality disorder, which has impacted how her and her sister were treated and how much they moved growing up. Her sister expects a lot from her to the point of pushing too hard sometimes. When Lou tells her sister, Goldie, about the inn, she feels like she's failed at some dream. I like that we get to see how the relationship between Lou and Goldie, and her mom, plays out in the pages, and how that impacts how Lou and Goldie have been living their own adult lives. Also Goldie has a son and he's adorable and I love his parts of the story.

One of my other favorite parts of this book are all of the guests within in the inn. We have Nan, who has recently lost her husband and is looking for adventure, some girls from Denver who need to learn to trust themselves and each other, and of course an anti-bachelorette party after a wedding is called off. Through the guests, Lou is able to see how she can help people and use that as a push to re-take her licensing exams. I really enjoyed having both consistent and random side characters in the guests who were at the Inn, and how those people impacted the story between Lou and Henry.

Though this book is an adult romance, it would fall at like a 1.5 / 5 on the spicy scale, there are some scenes that would lead into something more, but those are mostly closed door. The story definitely focuses more on finding where you belong and moving on together into something better. There is a semi-third act breakup, but it didn't feel 'wrong' or like a fluke.

Overall, I really liked Ellen's writing style and how the story flowed. I really enjoyed how all the characters worked with each other, and how each had their own things going on. I really enjoyed the journey Lou had to take to find where she belonged and what she wanted, especially after having someone who could support her without her having to figure those things out. I found the characters complex and flawed, because of what they had been through. I also liked the backdrop of Colorado and the mountains and the idea of how healing it can be to be within nature.

I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars!

The Heartbreak Hotel is out now!

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