If someone ever shattered your heart and you wished the world would just stop, Heartbreak Hotel knows exactly how you feel. This upcoming graphic novel doesn’t just explore grief—it offers a surreal, emotional retreat where feelings can breathe. It’s a place where dreams go to linger, even after love is gone.
Set for release on September 30, 2025, Heartbreak Hotel arrives through Maverick, with words by Micol Arianna Beltramini and art by Agnese Innocente. The story blends heartbreak with healing, fantasy with truth. At its center is a mysterious hotel, built from sadness, memory, and emotional recovery.
A Shelter for the Shattered
Unlike most tales of heartbreak, this one gives readers space to fall apart. The hotel at its core acts like a mirror, reflecting everything you’ve tried to forget. While many stories push you to move on, Heartbreak Hotel lets you stay with the pain until it starts to shift.
Beltramini calls the project deeply personal. For her, it’s “the book I’ve always wanted to write.” She poured in every love, every loss—real or imagined. The result feels raw and real. It doesn’t matter if your heartbreak is romantic, platonic, or from childhood. This book welcomes it all.
Artist Agnese Innocente gives the story warmth and intimacy. Her illustrations soften the sadness while amplifying the emotion. The colors, expressions, and pacing feel tailored to readers of every age. Although aimed at young adults, Heartbreak Hotel speaks to anyone who’s lost something and tried to rebuild.
A Creative Pair With Emotional Depth
Beltramini has made a career out of honest storytelling. Her comics include Last Goodbye, a tribute to Jeff Buckley, and Anna dai capelli verdi, a fresh retelling of Anne of Green Gables. She also curated Viva Valentina!, where new voices reimagined Guido Crepax’s iconic heroine. Since 2015, she’s translated Crepax’s entire body of work into English for Fantagraphics. In 2024, she began teaching storytelling at the International School of Comics.
Innocente brings a rich résumé of her own. She illustrated Girotondo, which won the 2021 Andersen Award for best comic for young readers. Her version of Anna dai capelli verdi earned the 2022 Boscarato Award. She’s worked with Disney and Warner Bros. on books tied to Mulan, Frozen, and Harry Potter. Her art graces the pages of top publishers in Italy and France, capturing complex emotions with a light touch.
Together, the pair forms a perfect creative match. Their shared sensibility turns Heartbreak Hotel into more than a book—it becomes a feeling.
Come Broken. Leave Holding the Pieces.
This isn’t a story about quick fixes or forced smiles. It’s about sitting with your sadness long enough to understand it. And maybe, eventually, to let it go. While the book offers fantasy, it never escapes emotional truth. You may laugh, cry, or just exhale a little deeper.
Now available for pre-order, Heartbreak Hotel hits shelves September 30, 2025. Whether your heartbreak is fresh or faded, this is a story that invites you in—and gives you time to heal.
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Image credit: Madcave Studios
