The Supernormal Sleuthing Service: The Lost Legacy by Gwenda Bond and Christopher Rowe Review!

Title: The Supernormal Sleuthing Service
Series: The Supernormal Sleuthing Service #1
Authors: Gwenda Bond, Christopher Rowe
Pages: 416 pages
Published: May 2nd 2017 by Greenwillow Books
Source: Edelweiss

Purchase: Amazon / Book Depository

Three kids. A hotel full of monsters. And a stolen magical artifact that could disrupt the balance between the humans and the supernatural. Welcome to life at Hotel Monster! Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library meets Hotel Transylvania in the first book of this hilarious and spooky new series that blends mystery with monsters.Stephen’s dad decided to move the two of them across the country to New York City, where he is taking over as head chef in an exclusive hotel. A hotel that has the most elite of clientele: monsters! Surprise! (Though they prefer to be called supernormals.) And an even bigger surprise? Stephen is part supernormal himself. When a magical family heirloom is stolen and Stephen is framed, he must work with two new friends to navigate this whole new world and clear his name. After all, consequences can be dire in the world of monsters. Spooky, funny, and full of monstrous hijinks, The Lost Legacy is an inventive and accessible mystery-adventure full of friendship and humor—perfect for fans of Pseudonymous Bosch and R. L. Stine’s Goosebumps series.

My Thoughts:

Stephen and his dad move to New York, into the grand New Harmonia hotel, when his grandmother passes away. She worked as the chef there and now Stephen's dad is taking over her job. Little does Stephen know that his life is about to change forever. The New Harmonia hotel is home to some very interesting people, they are all Supernormals. Stephen himself finds out that he is actually half fae, and his absent mother is fae royalty. Stephen is only finding his feet with the whole Supernormals thing, when an important magical artifact is stolen and Stephen is the sole suspect because a Bigfoot saw him do it. But Stephen knows that he had nothing to do with it. Along with his two new friends, Ivan and Sofia, they set out to find the truth, but it's not as easy as it seems, especially when Stephen doesn't know the customs of the different species yet. 

This was such a fun and easy read. The authors descriptive writing made for effortless reading. I loved the hotel! It's a hotel filled with all different creatures, including a dragon and a talking elevator!! The elevator was hilarious. It got so snippy and would sometimes refuse to move. We get to learn all about the hotel and it's inhabitants along with Stephen, which I liked.

The characters were the best bit. Stephen is dropped into the Hotel and the Supernormal world with no idea of what's happening and I felt like his reactions were real and honest. His disbelief turns to wonder which turns to acceptance. He has no idea of the different species culture and is trying to solve the mystery of the stolen artifact, but accidentally causing trouble as he goes. I felt so sorry for him at times because while he is grieving his grandmothers death, and trying to adapt to life at the weird hotel, he is accused of theft and no one, not even his father, believes that he didn't do it. I was so glad he had Ivan and Sofia to help him. 

I loved the minor characters too. All were well written and developed. As I said, I loved the elevator, but I also loved the Dragon and Sofia and Ivan. All of these play an important role in helping Stephen!! 

In all, this was a quick and fun read. I usually read middle grade books and then pass them onto my kids and I have to say, they loved this too. While it wasn't the most action packed book, it still had enough to keep my attention till the end. The mystery element is what let it down because you knew straight away who was the culprit and why, but it still didn't detract from the overall enjoyment. I'm looking forward to the next book!!