I received this book from Edelweiss/the publisher in exchange of an honest review.

Back in 2020 I read The Incredible Hotel and had a lot of fun reading that, so imagine my delight when in April I found a new book featuring the hotel! YASS!

In this new book we are back at the Incredible Hotel which is, just as we left it in the previous book, still incredible! Still filled with wonders, fun, and of course delicious foods made by the amazing chef  Stefan!! This time though there is a baking competition coming to the hotel, and not just any competition. Oh no, this is the BIG BIG competition with a very important judge, Chef Tartine! I was so looking forward to this competition and I just adored seeing Stefan be 100% hyped about it and try to think of something awesome to win the competition! Something that will wow everyone! Just the competition would have been enough for me, but the author adds something extra. Another ingredient! Because a CRIME shock is happening! Stefan has lost his recipe (SECRET IMPORTANT) and it is not just him missing something, others are also missing things! And so the story got even more exciting! Because who is the criminal? And will Matilda (yes, our bellgirl and best friend of Stefan) figure it out? I just loved that Matilda took it upon herself to go and find clues and more.

The mystery itself was exciting, but a bit simple. But I can forgive it, I mean, I am an adult so I am not really the age group for this one, haha. It was still fun! And I loved how the illustrator spread around the clues and we, the reader, could search along with Matilda to find them and follow them! The whodunnit? Well, it is a cutie! That is all I can say. You will be able to forgive her easily for her crimes.

And I love that this wasn’t just the end, oh no, it is still time for the baking competition. One with a predictable ending, but then again, that person deserves to win definitely. DANG, when I saw them working on it I was like, is that all, but oh no, it is just the start! Oh my!

The only thing I wasn’t a fan of was the boss of the hotel. I disliked how he jumped to conclusions and just did THAT. He made up in the end, but still. Very punchable guy.

The art was OODLES of fun once again! I just love all the details. All the little things you can see. How colourful it is. So fun!

All in all, I had so much fun reading this one and I hope that there will be more books set in this hotel. And can we please get that portal arranged so I can visit for reals? Please?