Rating: 4.25 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel

The SOS Hotel books are an ongoing series that should be read from the beginning. This review will then naturally reveal plot points for the series.

Tom Collins, the bartender at the SOS Hotel, is not himself. He’s acting nice. This would make most hotel owners pleased, but Adam Vex is no ordinary hotel owner, and Tom Collins is no ordinary bartender. The group misses Tom’s barbs and his customized advice and drinks. There is no time to figure out what is going on with Tom before Tom tries to kill Adam and Tom is put on an indefinite hiatus. With no bartender, there can be no bar, along with the small profits the hotel was bringing in.

This all makes Zee’s demon self incredibly unhappy, as he survives off of the adulation he finds from the bar’s patrons. But Adam is determined to fix Tom and, along with Reynard, they find themselves in yet another fraught situation. But no worries, Adam is just your typical human and he most certainly has this under control. As Adam says, “Oh dear.”

This series is just fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it takes itself seriously enough to provide all the elements of a good story. With this being the fourth book in the series, those that are closest to Adam know that he is not exactly the human he claims to be. Every book, every day, brings Adam closer to his secret getting out and wanting to reveal himself to Reynard and Zee, but he has lots of reasons to be afraid. If he hadn’t ripped out that section of the Wilson’s Guide, I might know all of his reasons.

Adam cannot catch a break in any direction. He thought he could just fly under everyone’s radar, but that’s not who Adam is. This book centers around the AI bartender, Tom Collins, and what is going on with his programming. The crew now consider Tom family and they will go to great and dangerous lengths to figure out the issue. Which brings Adam in front of more enemies than he knew he had.

The book is told from Adam’s point of view and I just like the combination of all of his traits. He knows he can throw down and overpower any situation, yet he is trying to keep his cover and his “oh dear” persona is well…endearing. The resolution of the Tom Collins issue wasn’t as clear as I would have liked which made the end of the story less impactful. The relationship between the men is slower and, by this point, I would have liked for there to be a little more time for them to sort themselves out. Demons and vampires are natural enemies, so feelings between Zee and Reynard are problematic and, while I do realize only a few weeks have transpired since the hotel has opened, a lot has happened. Reynard’s vampire persona is also different than I have read in basic vampire lore and when things don’t work for him like I expect things to work for a vampire, I did wish there was more explanation to that.

Every time I open one of these books and step back into the SOS Hotel, I know I am in for a zany time. I look forward to more adventures with Adam, Reynard, and Zee as they reveal what’s listed on the D sections of the Wilson’s Guide.