Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel is a poignant exploration of grief and the complicated emotions that come with it

Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel by Ruth Hogan is a poignant exploration of grief that delves into all the complicated emotions that accompany the loss of a loved one.

Losing someone you love can be a complicated affair, particularly if your relationship with that person wasn’t always sunshine and butterflies. And that’s the type of loss Ruth Hogan explores in her newest release, Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel, which sees its main character returning to her childhood home following her mother’s death.

The novel moves back and forth between past and present, showing a young Tilly growing up with a mother who was never quite what she wanted, and an adult Tilda coming to terms with the person her mother was — and the reasons behind it. Readers get to experience these two versions of Tilda and her life, and Hogan does an impressive job of capturing both with believability and charm. The shift between past and present never feels unnatural, and there’s always some connection to make between the alternating chapters.

In the past narrative, Tilly is a clever girl whose father disappears one day, leaving her with too many questions and not enough explanations. Her mother, who seems to be struggling with mental illness and alcohol addiction, has never held her daugther’s affections in quite the same way — but she tries to start a new life for the two of them, packing them up and moving them to Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel, where a cast of eccentric characters awaits.

Tilly grows up amongst the hotel staff, and it’s the happiest she’s ever been — at least, until her mother sends her away to boarding school with little explanation as to why. It’s one of the defining moments of their relationship, and it leads Tilly to more or less cut contact with her mother.

The future narrative introduces readers to a very different Tilly — Tilda now — one who’s far more reserved than the girl we see in the past chapters. Tilda’s memories of her mother are mostly full of pain and resentment, and that’s part of the reason losing the woman is so hard on her.

When she discovers letters from her mother revealing the “truth” behind the events of her childhood — including her father’s disappearance — her emotions become even more complex. It’s clear her mother did love her, but her actions have caused Tilda years of sorrow. And then there’s the fact that Tilda needs to sort her own view of her mother and her actions from a more objective recollection of what happened.

Through Tilda’s journey, Hogan delves into an experience that’s all too common when it comes to families. How do you move beyond past hurts, especially when the person you need to forgive is no longer around? That’s what Tilda needs to figure out in this novel, and thankfully, the friends she makes during the adult portion of the novel are there to help her do it.

Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel is a gorgeously written piece of fiction that tackles big-picture topics when it comes to family dynamics. Add on its fascinating and unique cast of characters, and it’s a book that’s difficult to put down. Readers will find themselves eagerly flipping through this to get the same answers that Tilda is looking for — and when it comes down to it, those answers don’t necessarily fix anything in Tilda’s life. But they do give her a better notion of who she is and how she got there. And they prove a happy ending is possible even after a road full of hardship.

Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel is now available in print, ebook, and audiobook formats.