Sweetside Motel

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Sweetside Motel

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Overview

ENGLISH

Promotional Details

Overall rating: 2.0 / 5 from 2 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

Summary topics

Review topics: [events, thriller, writing, volatility, accommodations, sarah, woman, story].

Review highlights

Reviews

A dark romantic thriller

"“A dark romantic thriller” As a diehard horror fan, my interest was piqued by the description of this novella. The story, which takes place during the COVID-19 pandemic, is narrated by Sarah, a Chinese-Canadian woman who fled from her home in Toronto after an incident that has her fearing for her safety. Unfortunately, her car breaks down near a rural town called Sweetside during a snow storm. Sarah is able to get some assistance in getting her car towed, but a police officer informs her that she must self-isolate for two weeks in case she has been exposed to the virus. The only accommodation available is a motel that has been shut down temporarily due to pandemic restrictions: The Sweetside Motel, which is ominously called "The Suicide Hotel" by the locals. The owner of the motel allows her to stay in one of the rooms (since she will be the only guest and therefore would not be potentially exposing other people to COVID). Sarah wants to leave, but agrees to these arrangements. For the first few chapters, the plot and writing style held my attention. The event that caused Sarah to leave Toronto in a hurry was not fully explained at first, and I wanted to know the details. The suspense was building! However, I was hoping that the story would be in the same vein as other horror stories that take place in motels or hotels, such as the movies Pyscho and The Innkeepers and Stephen King's short story, 1408. It eventually became clear that the plot was not headed in that kind of direction, and I found myself waiting for the "horror" to begin. At the same time, I was confused by the characters' behaviour and emotional reactions, which made less and less sense as the story went on. Unfortunately, I think that this novella was misclassified on NetGalley; it isn't a Horror or Sci Fi & Fantasy story at all. It's actually a dark, romantic thriller. This type of book is not my cup of tea at all. As I don't read romance novels of any kind (they just don't interest me), I'm not sure if the seeming emotional volatility and implausible (per my own judgment) decisions made by the characters are typical of this genre. Being a horror fan, I am very familiar with characters making poor (often fatal) choices, but there ended up being so many incomprehensible thoughts/feelings/actions (especially from Sarah) that I was unable to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the story. I think that readers who enjoy romantic thrillers that are light on paranormal/supernatural elements and lean more toward mystery might enjoy this novella. The writing is clear and descriptive and there were a few surprises along the way, including the ending, which I think a lot of thriller fans would love. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review."

Alicia T. (2/5)

A dark romantic thriller

"Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. As a diehard horror fan, my interest was piqued by the description of this novella. The story, which takes place during the COVID-19 pandemic, is narrated by Sarah, a Chinese-Canadian woman who fled from her home in Toronto after an incident that has her fearing for her safety. Unfortunately, her car breaks down near a rural town called Sweetside during a snow storm. Sarah is able to get some assistance in getting her car towed, but a police officer informs her that she must self-isolate for two weeks in case she has been exposed to the virus. The only accommodation available is a motel that has been shut down temporarily due to pandemic restrictions: The Sweetside Motel, which is ominously called ""The Suicide Hotel"" by the locals. The owner of the motel allows her to stay in one of the rooms (since she will be the only guest and therefore would not be potentially exposing other people to COVID). Sarah wants to leave, but agrees to these arrangements. For the first few chapters, the plot and writing style held my attention. The event that caused Sarah to leave Toronto in a hurry was not fully explained at first, and I wanted to know the details. The suspense was building! However, I was hoping that the story would be in the same vein as other horror stories that take place in motels or hotels, such as the movies Pyscho and The Innkeepers and Stephen King's short story, 1408. It eventually became clear that the plot was not headed in that kind of direction, and I found myself waiting for the ""horror"" to begin. At the same time, I was confused by the characters' behaviour and emotional reactions, which made less and less sense as the story went on. Unfortunately, I think that this novella was misclassified on Goodreads; it isn't a Horror story at all. It's actually a dark, romantic thriller. This type of book is not my cup of tea at all. As I don't read romance novels of any kind (they just don't interest me), I'm not sure if the seeming emotional volatility and implausible (per my own judgment) decisions made by the characters are typical of this genre. Being a horror fan, I am very familiar with characters making poor (often fatal) choices, but there ended up being so many incomprehensible thoughts/feelings/actions (especially from Sarah) that I was unable to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the story. I think that readers who enjoy romantic thrillers that are light on paranormal/supernatural elements and lean more toward mystery might enjoy this novella. The writing is clear and descriptive and there were a few surprises along the way, including the ending, which I think a lot of thriller fans would love."

Alicia T. (2/5)

Q&A

  • Published date: Mar 02, 2026
  • Language: English
  • Publisher: ​Interstellar Flight Press
  • ISBN: 9781953736529

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