#The Sun Down Motel

[bookaddict24-7]

RECO OF THE WEEK!

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

Synopsis:

"Something hasn't been right at the roadside Sun Down Motel for a very long time, and Carly Kirk is about to find out why in this chilling new novel from the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.

Upstate New York, 1982. Viv Delaney wants to move to New York City, and to help pay for it she takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel in Fell, New York. But something isnʼt right at the motel, something haunting and scary.

Upstate New York, 2017. Carly Kirk has never been able to let go of the story of her aunt Viv, who mysteriously disappeared from the Sun Down before she was born. She decides to move to Fell and visit the motel, where she quickly learns that nothing has changed since 1982. And she soon finds herself ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed her aunt."

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Check out my mini review on Goodreads here.

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Have you read this book? Would you recommend it?

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Happy reading!

[fiction-quotes]

“You'd be amazed how many people do that – disappear as if into thin air. They leave doors open behind them, food on the counter, their shoes by the door. It doesn't seem possible, but it is.”

  —  The Sun Down Motel (Simone St. James)

[ahaura]

Simone St. James The Sun Down Motel

[vynpop]

The Sun Down Motel

By Simone St. James

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

"Upstate New York, 1982. Viv Delaney wants to move to New York City, and to help pay for it she takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel in Fell, New York. But something isn't right at the motel, something haunting and scary.

Upstate New York, 2017. Carly Kirk has never been able to let go of the story of her aunt Viv, who mysteriously disappeared from the Sun Down before she was born. Carly decides to move to Fell and visit the motel, where she quickly learns that nothing has changed since 1982. And she soon finds herself ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed her aunt."

Review

Simone St. James has been and continues to be one of my favorite authors. She has this way of captivating her readers and trapping them in the worlds she creates. The Sun Down Motel consumed me and had me holding my breath to the very end. My body physically relaxed at the end of this book, that is the BEST feeling by far. Everything is played out beautifully and leaves you wanting more. I was up till 1 a.m. determined to finish this book.

At the beginning of reading The Sun Down Motel, I was annotating and enjoying it until I wasn't. It had begun to feel like an assignment rather than for fun so it hindered my reading progress for this book. I need to figure out a way to properly annotate so I don't fall into another reading slump.

Any tips would be appreciated!

Anyways, back to the book review.

Simone St. James speaks of the reality of what it means to be a woman in society. How the world perceives and treats us. How predators are lingering in the shadows, waiting for the right opportunity. How women's voices go unheard and our lives so easily discarded. Simone doesn't sugarcoat our reality, she airs it out for all her readers. Her books hold powerful messages if you are willing to pay attention to them.

Viv and Carly are amazing in their own ways and have a special place in my heart. There was a part or two I didn't enjoy, but it wasn't bad enough for this book to lose a star over.

All around a great read!

Simone St. James started my reading journey with The Book of Cold Cases and continues to push me forward with The Sun Down Motel. I owe Simone St. James a lot.

Favorite Quotes

"I know you from somewhere. Where? There are so many. I know all of their faces. But I can't see you. Which one are you?

I'm the one you didn't kill."

[bookswithsav]

The Sun Down Motel

Book Information 

Title : The Sun Down Motel 

Author : Simone St. James

Rating 

Was the story engaging? 

The story that Simone St. James creates within The Sun Down Motel was incredibly engaging, pulling the audience in with a murder mystery and keeping them ensnared with twists, deliberately hidden information, and the entanglement of two stories decades apart. The Sun Down Motel is a brilliant story that works to push readers to the edge with anticipation, leading to a story that is difficult to put down. 

Rating: 5/5 

Were the characters enjoyable/developed well? 

Due to the method of storytelling used in The Sun Down Motel - two separate but connected narratives - there were a lot of characters that were introduced. That being said, many of them seemed only to serve a purpose in moving the story along rather than being their own individual characters. In a story like The Sun Down Motel, this is almost needed to tell the story in full without simply adding too much extra to get distracted by, as there was a lot happening within the plot. However, it does need to be considered that many of the characters that were important in one of the narrator’s success were given either hollow backstories or their past did not impact them in a way that was truthfully meaningful to them as a character. 

Rating: 4/5 

Was the plot developed well? 

The plot of The Sun Down Motel was not only brilliant, but brilliantly executed. The interweaving of two different stories that are incredibly closely connected across decades worked to further amplify the overall plot that was already being told. Throughout the story, small details worked into the bigger picture, creating a horrible twisted mystery that both narrators have to solve in order to achieve their goals. Towards the end of the book, however, many of the ends seemed to have been quickly tied off, causing the end to feel rushed and not as well pieced together as the rest of the story. 

Rating: 4/5 

Was the audience kept in mind? 

The audience was kept in mind throughout The Sun Down Motel. Simone St. James does a stunning job at interweaving the two narratives to create a complete picture for the audience, leaving no stone unturned (or unexplained) when building up and eventually solving the mysteries that plague the narrators. Truthfully, the story of The Sun Down Motel was wonderfully told through the use of these entangled narratives, helping the audience to not only stay locked in, but to fully follow what was happening. 

Rating: 5/5

Would I recommend the book? 

I would absolutely recommend The Sun Down Motel. While reading the book, I found myself entranced with the story that was being woven together, constantly wanting to know the similarities and differences between the two narrators and desperately looking for an answer. As I mentioned before, the interweaving of different narrators in different decades creates a beautiful storytelling experience and further deepens the plot itself while creating a wonderfully intriguing experience for the audience. That being said, The Sun Down Motel is a bit of a spooky read, so if you’re not into that be cautious - although I would still recommend it. 

Rating: 5/5

Overall Rating: 4.6/5

Review 

Warning: Spoilers! 

This book truthfully had me locked in from start to finish. The Sun Down Motel contains a brilliantly told story that is also just… a brilliant story. The Sun Down Motel tells the story of Carly as she looks for answers surrounding her Aunt Viv’s mysterious disappearance 35 years ago, as well as the story of Aunt Viv herself as she falls into a mystery of her own. What connects them is the local motel, The Sun Down, which is just as creepy 35 years ago as it is presently, and shows them secrets that have been hidden from the rest of the world for years. 

Firstly, I want to talk about the way in which the story of The Sun Down Motel is told. I’ve read many books that have interlocking but separate narratives before (in fact, many of the books that I’ve read recently have this structure), but I have to say that this is one of the best executions of this that I’ve seen. Viv’s point of view lends the answers to the past that Carly so desperately is looking to find, and the similarities in their experiences adds an additionally eerie (but wonderful) element to the story. Each narrator is facing their own individual risks, and the knowledge of the past and present lend their hands in creating a complicated story that is still easy to consume as a reader. St. James truthfully does a stunning job at lending only the needed information to the audience throughout both narratives, pulling readers through two mysteries simultaneously while keeping them separated as their own. It’s truthfully a beautifully executed story. 

Now, I do have to note that I did find some faults within The Sun Down Hotel, and I could honestly also understand why others would not hold these same thoughts.

Let’s talk about the characters that are introduced to the audience throughout the story. As there are two different narratives taking place within The Sun Down Hotel, there are a lot of characters that we as the audience have to keep track of as the story continues. Carly and Viv are characterized very well, as they both serve as narrators for the overarching story being old. While they are similar to each other, this is done on purpose - they’re supposed to be similar, with their similarities in personality leading both of them to dip into the mysteries of Fell and identifying potential murders. That being said, they’re still their own person in their characterization, creating a divide between their characterizations. But we also have to consider all of the other characters, which is a lot. 

There are a couple of characters that are present in both narratives, such as Alma, Marine, and of course the ghosts of the discussed motel itself. These characters are also developed decently well, with each of them holding their own values and remaining important additions to the overarching plot in both narratives. For Carly, they hold the key to figuring out what happened to her Aunt Viv. For Viv, they are part of her support system in her adventures (Alma and Marine) and hold the key to figure out who the murder of the female victims is (the ghosts of Sun Down). Because of their importance to both plots, their characterizations are stable and we as the audience see more of them. 

Then there are the characters that are individual to a specific narrative. Before I continue, I have to recognize that Simon Hess does not fit in any of these categories. This is due to the nature of his character and the role that he serves within the story. I think that Hess was characterized incredibly well (although, ew, you know?) despite only truthfully seeing him in Viv’s point of view. The mentions of him - and his grandson, if we’re being honest - in Carly’s narrative only further place the characterizations assigned to him in Viv’s narrative, creating a well characterized character (although, again, ew). 

Back to it. Within both narratives, there are characters that are specific to a certain narrative. These are characters like Heather, Nick, and Callum. Notice that these characters are solely specific to Carly, and the reason for that is the separation of her and Viv’s characterization. Viv tended to stay to herself throughout the story, looking for answers more than companionship. Often, she became so locked in on solving the mysteries of the murdered women and girls that she turned others away. Carly on the other hand tends to lean into the different compansionships that she developed through her search for her Aunt, and consequently her own investigation into the murders. This leads to more characters that are important within Carly’s investigation and the support in which she has access to, but these characters seem to have less depth than the others. 

While Heather and Nick are given a decent amount of backstory, with Heather having experienced mental problems (which were partially influenced by her own investigation into the murders), and Nick almost being a victim of his father, in which his brother was the unfortunate casualty. We see hints of these previous events influencing these characters, such as Heather stepping back from helping Carly’s investigation to better preserve her mental health, but overall, they’re hardly addressed. Both of these characters have had previous events happen to them that had seriously impacted them mentally, but this is hardly addressed except for on a few occasions. When it is addressed, it’s often used as a means of explaining something - Nick, for example, is staying at the Sun Down due to his issues sleeping after the murder of his brother. This situation leads these characters to almost feel like an accessory to the plot instead of their own characters. Callum also falls into this situation, due to the lack of building his characterization experiences throughout The Sun Down Motel. With a story like the one being told in The Sun Down Motel, characters that assist in moving the plot along are bound to appear, as there’s too much going on to avoid it while also creating a well rounded plot. What’s strange about these characters is the fact that they do serve a purpose within Carly’s narrative, but they are developed like they’re just a means in pushing the story along. 

The ending of The Sun Down Motel is complex in a very strange way, and I’m going to be doing my best to explain. Towards the end of The Sun Down Motel, stress and anticipation are high within the audience as the answers to questions are beginning to come to light and danger is moving to become one of the forefront concerns. Because of these emotions, the ending reads appropriately quick, with everything happening at once. But once all of the questions have been answered and everyone is placed within their closing stances, the story begins to fall short. In the chaos of the ghosts truthfully being awoken in Carly’s narrative, Carly allows Hess to sign into a room out of fear of what he’s done and general stress about the events that are happening to her. This causes the ghosts, specifically Betty, to become enraged, and when Carly returns to the motel she finds that it has literally rotted. Betty has destroyed the motel due to her anger, but she’s also gone. All of the ghosts have left the Sun Down after this event, leaving behind nothing but rot and destruction. But why? Why did they leave after Hess’s ghost was allowed a room and after so long? They’ve been haunting the property since the beginning of its time there, fueled by Betty’s rage. By allowing Hess back into the motel, it doesn’t make sense that the ghosts would fade away with his presence. And it also can’t be soundly argued that they left due to the eventual demolition of the Sun Down, because Betty had been haunting the property since before the motel itself was built, due to it being where her body had been dumped. The ghosts themselves had such an impact on both Carly and Viv’s narratives and experiences with their individual investigations, and yet they disappear after a situation that has previously caused them to be even more present. Their disappearance from the Sun Down doesn’t fit the rest of the story and their involvement in it, leading the ending of The Sun Down Motel to stray from it’s smooth storytelling and cause a sense of displacement in the audience. 

Overall, The Sun Down Motel was an incredible read, and I would definitely recommend it. There were multiple times where I found my heartbeat beginning to pick up its pace with the intertwining of narratives, as well as the living and the ghost world, creating a suspenseful but enjoyable story. 

[freshlybrewedbookreviews]

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

I really enjoyed this book. It was well-written and well paced, and it had both a mystery AND ghosts. This book was a good reminder to me that stories that skip between time periods can actually be good and not give too much away, which is a feeling I've had a lot this year when reading books with multiple storylines in different times. Here, it's used with great effect.

I'm not sure if I'd classify this as a thriller or a mystery, because it's both, but I'm a fan of both of those genres, and it excels in both ways.

I was excited that I enjoyed this book as much as I did, because St. James has quite a few titles, and this was only the first one I read by her, so I have a lot ahead of me to look forward to.

[vole-mon-amour]

Almost finished rereading The Sun Down Motel and the book is just as good as when I read it for the first time. If not better. Absolutely love it.

[2manyflannels]

What’s wild is that Type: Null (at the time) was the only one of its kind so the fact that it COULD evolve was a concept Gladion did not know about. Was Type: Null a Pokémon created to evolve? Because the Aether Foundation created Type: Null to “fight” Ultra Beasts. Or did Gladion love and care for this Pokémon so much (and of course type: null loved and cared for him just as strong) that it broke free if not only it’s mask but also it’s genetics. It genetically grew stronger with Gladion to protect/continue to fight with him. I can only imagine Gladion’s surprise! The Dex even says

“Although its name was Type: Null at first, the boy who evolved it into this form gave it the name by which it is now known.” (-Moon Dex Entry)

[whitneydaniell]

by: Simone St. James Published: Feb 18, 2020 Genre: Mystery, Horror, Fiction, Thriller 327 Pages, E-Book

★★★

GoodReads Synopsis:

The secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.

My Review:

Viv goes missing in 1982 from a small town in upstate New York. Presumed dead for 35 years, her niece Carly travels to Fell, NY to get answers about her disappearance.

The story centers. around a run-down motel where Viv worked while in Fell -- she was in search of New York City. Viv worked the overnight shift and when she vanished, it was like life in the town just kept going and no one batted an eye at trying to find the missing woman. Not just Viv but the other missing women in town didn't get a fair shake either!

The motel holds its own secrets and is the center of all the hoopla in town but, there is also a serial killer on the loose. Girls are found dead all over town and not a single cop is putting forth any good cop work to find the killer. Viv did more cop work than actually, paid cops.

Supernatural. Ghosts. Spirits. All-around strange people. I could have done without the supernatural aspect of this story, it was sloppy and unnecessary. I get it, Viv couldn't have been a victim of the serial killer because that is obvious but everything else was poorly written and fleshed out.

Heather. Callum. All of them, are unnecessary. Not really true-crime, not really a thriller, more like a sci-fi mystery.

One-Word Summary: Interesting

[theleafpile]

me, reading a horror novel before bed: surely this won't have any negative impacts

also me, waking from my third nightmare: oh no

[boringoxymoron]

After finishing Midnight Motel I can tell that Mote has much more chemistry with Sun than with Kat.

[sparklestheunicorn]

Ivy and coney island? Champagne problems and clean? Lavendar haze and the man? Getaway car and lover?

Coney Island, clean, lavender haze, getaway car

Make me choose between two taylor swift songs (or be like em and send me multiple if you want)

[fiction-quotes]

I glanced at Heather. She was perked up, her face tight and serious. There are so many of them, she'd said when I first met her, and when I asked her what she meant, she said, Dead girls.

  —  The Sun Down Motel (Simone St. James)

[ahaura]

Simone St. James The Sun Down Motel

[drgnflyteabox]

mdni - implied fat!reader x bluecollar!simon riley drabble - simon is a bit of a creep also lol

Bluecollar!Simon Riley whose house floods so he has to spend the next few days in a cheap, seedy motel

First morning there he's leaving for work just as the sun is rising. Its hot, humid, and he's a shitty mood because he'll be working all day and it's only gonna get hotter

Simon Riley who smokes a couple cigs before he goes, sitting on a plastic lawn chair on his concrete faux patio when he sees you

You're flustered, damp with sweat and skin sun-kissed. You've got a laundry basket on your hip and immediately he's imagining a baby there instead. His baby.

Simon Riley who's shameless about staring at you struggling with the laundry door, dropping your clothes and giving him a view of your wide hips and plush ass in very short pajama shorts

You're so flustered:(( nearly in tears while you pick everything up. The shorts are a little tight, a little worn, and the thin material gives him just enough of a view of your pussy that it sustains him the whole day :')

All he can imagine is coming back and sinking into you :') not even necessarily fucking right away, but keeping his cock warm and relieving the tension in his body. He deserves that, no?

He's not creeping, necessarily, when he takes note of the lotion you use. Vanilla. He just happened to be having a smoke and walking right by your window, where you've got one foot propped on a chair rubbing it into your skin.

Your room is tidy. Despite the stained walls, cracks in the ceiling and overall dingy-ness, you've managed to make it look cozy.

New sheets, a fluffy blanket, string lights strung across the wall. Beside you, lotions and creams and washes - he snorts a little to himself. The bathrooms here don't have any counter space or mirrors to set them down on.

But his house does. In fact, most of his shelves are empty everywhere. His pantry, his closets. The only thing he's got are work clothes and beers in the fridge. Maybe a stray heel of bread.

Simon Riley who decides he'll have you move in before he even talks to you, before he starts memorizing your schedule on the weekends and evenings he gets home. You're struggling, on the edge of homelessness, but he knows you'd be the perfect wife and mother. That you'd bring light and warmth to his house, fill those empty shelves and empty rooms...

[loverafey]

Ok so rafe has his big truck and the center consul comes up and makes the front of the car a 3 seater so maybe when reader and rafe go on a road trip she goes and lays next to him with her head in his lap and takes a nap while he drives

UGH THIS IS SO CUTE :( expanded a bit more on it because i just love the idea so much.

road trip ! bf!rafe x reader.

          ꕀ warnings - none, pure fluff! wc - 422.

rafe had insisted on a road trip somewhat out of nowhere while you were trying out this new baking recipe you’d found online, turning out to be a mess with flour everywhere and a confused expression etched on your face, both from the failed recipe and his proposal.

winter’s just around the corner, the air notably cooler these days. “i wanna drive you ‘round the mountains.” he’d spoken, larger hands grasping yours stubbornly. of course you weren’t going to decline. rafe cameron got whatever he wanted, plus it was a nice chance for you to snatch his credit card and buy some new winter clothes for yourself.

you always loved his truck, it was perfectly capable of withstanding longer drives, just like the one you both were about to hop onto now. with all your luggage in the trunk, you joined him in the front seat.

“you ready?” he had his classic cheeky grin adorning his lips, leaning over to press a soft kiss on the side of your face as you nodded. rafe really was the softest during winter, just so full of love. maybe it was something different in the air, and you thoroughly enjoyed it.

the morning sun soon bled into dark orange hues across the sky as the sun began setting, your eyes growing heavier. rafe had parked the truck momentarily along the way to pull the center down to pull in an extra seat, making it bigger.

“tired?”

“mhm…” you yawned, rubbing your eyes as you sat back on the seat. rafe’s hand gently grabbed onto the side of your head, guiding you down so your head was now laying on his lap. your body instinctively curled up into a fetal position, arms hugging yourself as you nuzzled your face into his thighs. an acceptable substitute for pillows for sure.

“comfortable?” he couldn’t help but chuckle, fingers raking lightly through your hair, twirling them around as you hummed sleepily. soon enough the your eyelids had gotten unbearably heavy and you’d drifted off to sleep.

rafe continued to drive around with you sleeping on his lap, the sound of your breathing calming him down. his fingers continued to caress your head soothingly as he drove off to the nearest motel for the night, the car’s radio silent, the only noise being of the wind outside and the occasional cars driving by. a perfect ride.

tomorrow, he’d make sure to get payback by making you agree on letting him nuzzle his face into your lap instead. his favourite pillow.