What if you could rent out your body for a living? The Hostess explores a terrifying job where a young woman sells control of her own body, but discovers some clients are taking more than just her time.
The Hostess is a novelette with only 58 pages. It’s a fascinating story in a small package.
Overview
Michaela works for Leisure Life Club (LLC) as a hostess. A hostess allows a guest to have control of their body for a certain amount of time. The hostess has no recollection of this time, at least, not that they’re supposed to.
Michaela and her friend/coworker, Susan, have begun experiencing symptoms that something bad is happening that shouldn’t be. They have been experiencing strange dreams and have developed unusual marks and bruises on their bodies. Since the company won’t look into it, they do. They might not like what they see.
Positives
The Hostess really makes you feel a lot in its short time. While the pace is overall fast, the author still manages to evoke the characters’ fear, betrayal, and pain.
It highlights the argument for body autonomy. How much control do we really have over our bodies? The author highlights how the main character is marketed as “exotic” because she’s part Asian. This is something we deal with daily.
Negatives
This story could have been expanded into a larger book to add more depth and help merge the scenes more effectively. Especially towards the end, it feels rushed.
Recomendation
I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. I really wanted to give it five stars, but it just feels too cluttered, which led to a lack of cohesiveness. So I’ll settle for four stars. The Hostess is a great quick read that gives me Altered Carbon vibes.
This title is available at no extra cost with a Kindle Unlimited membership.
I received a complimentary Advanced Reader Copy(ARC) of the book for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own and reflect my genuine reading experience. Receiving the ARC did not influence my evaluation, and I was not compensated for this review.
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