Hotel Queens by Lee Winter
- Publisher: Ylva Publishing, December 2nd 2020
- Genre: Romance, LGBTQ+
- Format: Ebook (eARC)
- Page Count: 319 pages
- My Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.
Content warnings: blackmailing, homophobia/homomisia, misogyny, abuse, manipulation, mention of drugs
This is my second Winter’s book and I am so thrilled to continue with my recent streak of wonderful reads.
VP of the Europe division of Hotel Duxton International Amelia Duxton (46, lesbian) has been sent stateside to deliver a speech at a conference in place of her brother Oliver, VP of Duxton USA. At the conference at Duxton Vegas, VP of Grand Millennium Hotels Kai Fisher (43), The Closer, arrives from New York in an attempt to negotiate a deal on Mayfair Palace, which the Duxtons are also after. Both VPs are in Vegas for work-related projects; neither expects to find the other, one fire, one ice, in steamy encounters.
Having a balanced storyline of both romance and intrigue is not easy, yet Hotel Queens delivers it all. In a broader scope, it is an intense story of business politics with an enemies-to-lovers relationship development between Amelia and Kai.
The attraction between the mains is somewhat insta-lust, but their chemistry is so palpable since their first scene together I was rooting for them hard. I love their banters and conversations as well as the attempted denials of their own feelings. All their vulnerabilities and uncertainties left me breathless, and I was worried if either woman would make horrible decisions for the sake of creating conflicts, but I was happily relieved to find everything perfectly logical and completely in-character.
There were absolutely no dull times, and in each chapter, we are met with new things, new information, and new developments. I read the whole book in one huge sitting and by the end it felt like I had been running for hours—energized and unable to stop. The plot was carefully orchestrated and calculated, each character indispensable pieces in this rapt game of chess. While business politics calls for truly devious and screwed-up characters, there are many lovely secondary ones, too, including Amelia’s adorable second-in-command Quinn Hartman (36, gay, Black), Kai’s godsend of a personal assistant Milly Valentine (late-20s), who is definitely too pure for the world, and CEO-sex-fantasy business owner Monique Carson.
Even though many dreadful things happened throughout the book, there were a lot of fun occasions and playful dialogues that had me laughing. I love Amelia’s no nonsense attitude and being completely straightforward and upfront, her whizzy math skills and righteousness of standing up for what she knows. I love Kai’s perceptiveness and warmth, how she both consciously and unconsciously play into people’s desires and being caring of people. Both ice and fire queens are career women in their forties with strong personalities and personal beliefs. There is also a very sweet secondary romance that I am glad to see.
Hotel Queens has an amazing mix of romance and intrigue with a fully fleshed-out supporting cast. The book not only closes on a happy note of the relationship between Amelia and Kai but also comes as full a circle in terms of all other matters. It would certainly make a great TV series as well.
I received an e-ARC from Ylva Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
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