I loved this book! I'm a big fan of magic and magic school type settings, so this was already earning stars before I had it in my hands. The characters are quirky and fun and the world is interesting...a bit of a Hunger Games flavor added to the magic school trope. AND a good chunk of it takes place in a hotel, which is just another checkbox on the "things I like in my books" list.

Yes, this is going to get compared to Harry Potter. Because apparently any fantasy book published after the 90s with middle grade or YA appropriate characters that involves magic, magical training, or a school gets compared to Harry Potter. But this book totally stands on its own. In fact, for those not wanting to support J.K. Rowling due to her commentary on personal opinions over the past few years, would be well served by jumping into this series instead. And if you have read HP and loved it, then you also should read this.

The characters are a lot of fun and the trials are great both in creativity and suspense. There are a lot of fun little twists and turns that kept the plot moving super fast and I did not want to put the book down. In fact, this was a late night binge read and I'd do it all over again despite the loss of sleep. I'm ready to grab the next in the series and read more.