Hotel of the Gods: Beware the Hellhounds - Tom Easton

Atlas loves animals and mythology, but hates Eris and her friends who bully him on a regular basis, often when he heads to the fish and chip shop where his dad works.  It's after one such occasion that a cat befriends him, follows him home and then sits in his bedroom with him whilst he plays the guitar and moans about the state of their rented flat.  Then the cat simply vanishes.  The following morning, whilst the family are at breakfast, there is a knock at the door and a rather unusual courier hands Atlas a scroll which he promptly hands over to his mum.  Imagine her surprise when she reads that both she and Atlas' dad have been offered jobs at: 

And to top it all off, they can live on site.  Wasting no time, Atlas, his sister Ariadne (Ari) and their parents pack the car and follow the sat-nav to the hotel.  However, when they get there Atlas and Ari realise that this is no ordinary hotel, but is, in fact, a hotel for gods and goddesses (and selected heroes too!).  Atlas is quick to start exploring but when he comes across the basement, what will he find?

I loved this book!  It's a funny, fast-paced adventure, perfect for children who love mythology (the Greek gods in particular) and aren't quite ready to tackle books like Who Let the Gods Out.

Atlas is the perfect main character: he's a myth-loving electric guitar player with a secret ambition to schwaaaaaaaannnnggggg those chords as a headline act at a festival.  He loves animals and is in his element at the hotel, exploring and having fun with Māui who is the ultimate trickster.  The wealth of gods and goddesses are a delight to read but I have to say that Hades was my favourite!  I also liked the fact the Atlas' parents seem completely oblivious to the fact that they are now running a hotel for such out of this world guests - it made me chuckle!

With illustrations by Steve Brown to perfectly compliment the writing, this is a book that will be in big demand.  Readers will find Hotel of the Gods an a-Thor-able book; they will be swept along by the action (but hopefully not into the swimming pool!) and they will Hades to leave the hotel when they finish the book.  I know I'm going to myth Atlas and I make no Apollo-gies for being excited about the second book in the series (Vikings on Vacation).  This is a series that is guaranteed to    Hera -ld a new generation of mythology fans.