Diana Biller

Hotel of Secrets is set in grand, decadent Vienna in the late 1800s, where Maria Wallner is working hard to restore Hotel Wallner back to its former glory and status; after a financial crash and careless management under Maria's mother Elisabeth, the hotel is not at all what it once was under Maria's grandmother Josephine or her great-grandmother Theresa. Elisabeth cares only for Maria's father Heinrich, who is married to Adelaide, and Maria swears she will not put a man ahead of her life's work: the hotel.

Meanwhile, buttoned-up American Eli Whittaker is sent to investigate a problem at the American Legation in Vienna, while a case he worked for years to crack back in the States is getting buried to save prominent politicians' reputations. Eli saves Maria's life a number of times, and thinks she must be connected to the case he is working on now - a letter referencing the stolen codes was sent from the Hotel Wallner.

As Eli works to solve his case and protect Maria, who is obviously someone's target, Maria works with chef/baker Hannah and her grandmother Josephine to prepare for the hoteliers' ball, an event that could restore the Hotel Wallner's reputation - IF it goes well. But someone is trying to sabotage the ball...

More assassination attempts than the usual romance novel, and some very spicy scenes in linen closets, this is a real page-turner in more ways than one. Maria and Eli's romance is trauma-informed in a very modern way that is a pleasure to read about even as it's unlikely in that time and place.

Quotes

"Not many people can see past what society says is right to what is actually right. You can." (Maria to Eli, ch. 24)

It wasn't quite that easy, of course. Elisabeth had chosen Heinrich many times before, and those times had mattered. Those wounds wouldn' simply disappear because of one moment. But that one moment mattered too. (ch. 33)

But now that she recognized it, she found it everywhere; it had climbed inside her like a flowering vine on an arbor. Everywhere she looked, love bloomed back. (ch. 33)… (plus d'informations)

Thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin & NetGalley for a digital advance reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

If you’re looking for a sizzling and steamy historical romance with a mystery, this is the book for you. Taking place in 1888 Vienna there are spies and secrets, an aristocratic family, friends, and lovers. Most of the action occurs in a currently languishing hotel full of family members and other quirky characters.

Hotelkeeper Maria Wallner is working hard to restore her family’s formerly glamorous Hotel Wallner. American Eli Whittaker arrives to discover who is leaking secret codes and finds himself saving Maria from numerous assassination attempts. It doesn’t take long for the sparks to fly between them in bedrooms, ballrooms, and linen closets.

I didn’t finish this (DNF at 61%) as the plot was convoluted and confusing. The characters reminded me of a Marx Brothers movie with everyone bursting in and out of hotel rooms, bordering on hysteria without the comedy. I didn’t care about the hotel, the mystery, or the characters. It felt like the plot was developed merely to bring the two main characters together for racy intimacy every few chapters.

The cover and description led me to think I would be reading historical fiction rather than lusty historical romance. This was not for me.… (plus d'informations)