The White Octopus Hotel by Alexandra Bell (Oct 28, 2025) Thank you, @delreybooks and @prhaudio for the advanced listening copy of this STUNNING and moving debut. #prhaudioinfluencer
In 2015 London, art appraiser Eve Shaw is visited by a mysterious old man. The man bears a striking resemblance to her favorite composer, Max Every, although Everly was born over 116 years prior. The man gifts her a small white porcelain octopus with the very tip of one tentacle painted black. There was no reason this stranger should know her love of the octopus and the gifted one is almost identical to the one which she has tattooed on her leg. Later, she discovers a tentative connection between Everly and an old, now abandoned hotel called The White Octopus. What follows is a sweeping, time-bending story of love, loss, grief, regret, and forgiveness told both across time and outside of it as Eve works to unlock the secrets of The White Octopus Hotel.
I don’t want to talk too much about the plot of this one, as I was so moved by how the story unfolded. It gave Midnight Library and The Unmaking of June Farrow vibes with a heavy trippy dose of Alice in Wonderland through mysterious objects and shifting realities. There are weighty topics in the backstories of our main characters, both carrying guilt, regret and loss through this poignant story of discovery. Just read it.
🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: (11h 16m) Mei Mei MacLeod does a beautiful narration. I did find that she, to my enjoyment, had a slightly faster pace to her narration, so my normal 2x was a little fast and I dialed it back to 1.7x for my optimal listening experience.
Book: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🎧 Audio performance: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🔥 Spice: Closed Door
Book Smart Kate 