As a kid we stayed at the Hotel De Coronado and I remember loving it. Of course the rich history of it alluded me then but if I were to go back I would want to know more about it.

Ms. Di Maio does that with this book. She gives you some history of the hotel, the ghost and the making of a classic Hollywood film. In it though lies a family’s history that is about to be unraveled.

Kate is a wonderful and endearing character that will have you rooting for her the whole novel. The connection she has with her grandad is living and warm. It is evident they share a bond.

This is a novel that will hook you from the first few pages and won’t let you go until you read the final two words.

Kate Morgan is a dreamer and feels there is more to life than just working at her parent's San Francisco restaurant. It is 1958 and when the grandfather that she adores encourages her to seek out " the beautiful stranger" at Hotel del Coronado. Deciding to take a risk, Kate pawns her grandmother's ring and heads out on the train. Although her adventure gets off to a rocky start, Kate soon meets Sean O'Donnell, an Irish-American that happens to be an employee of Hotel del Coronado. Soon Kate has a job and meets the cast of the film Some Like It Hot that is filming on location in the hotel. Surprisingly, Kate is told over and over again that she has the same name as the ghost that many believe still haunts the hotel. But what does this ghost have to do with Kate?

Well, I read this story in one sitting and while the p.o.v of the ghost unravelled the mystery quite early on, I was still very much captivated by Kate and her adventures. This is my third read by this author and there is something that always draws me into her novels. Partially, because of the those gorgeous book covers!

This novel had an interesting premise. The setting takes place on the set of Some Like it Hot, which is one of my favorite movies. Thus, this novel seemed to have everything I like, old Hollywood stars, ghosts, and romance! However, this novel took a while to get into and I was not a fan of the characters. Still, I recommend this for fans of Susan Meissner.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, my first by Camille De Maio. Historical fiction is my favorite genre, and this one had it all and more! A little romance, a little mystery, and a great setting. Highly recommend!

The Beautiful Strangers is a quick, satisfying read. I loved the intertwined stories of the two Kate Morgans. This book kept my interest from the very beginning to the very last, and surprising, sentence.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing and Lake Union Authors for my digital copy of this book!

I first discovered Camille Di Maio last year when The Way of Beauty was chosen as a book club read. I really enjoyed that book, so I was excited to read The Beautiful Strangers. I ended up loving this one even more, and felt transported to the Hotel de Coronado.

In 1958 Kate Morgan is feeling pulled away from San Francisco and her family's restaurant, where she works day in and day out. She has a special bond with her grandfather, and hates seeing his dementia grow. One day he tells her to go to the Hotel del Coronado to find the beautiful stranger. Kate decides to take the risk, and she finds herself working on the set of Some Like It Hot. She even gets the chance to help look after the iconic Marilyn Monroe. Kate only plans to spend five weeks there, enough time to find the beautiful stranger and bring back money for her family. When she arrives though she feels as though she has found where she belongs. She also learns the hotel has a ghost, and her name happens to be Kate Morgan too.

I was completely enamored by this novel. I have never been big on Hollywood or movies, but this book completely memorized me. Di Maio presents such a vivid picture of life at that time. I could feel Kate's need for more, and I loved the way she threw herself into everything she did. I also found myself fully rooting for the romance that develops, even though I usually only roll my eyes.

I was glad the ghost has such a special place in this novel. In her author's note, Di Maio mentions that the ghost Kate Morgan was only going to be in the preface, but then she felt a pull to let her tell her story throughout the rest of the novel. I loved seeing how the two stories met up, and it had such an uplifting tone.

If you haven't read this book yet, I think it would be a great summer or beach read. You can imagine yourself in the sand of the Hotel del Coronado with glamour and lights all around you.

I loved the magical setting of the Hotel Del Coronado and all of the interactions that Kate had with the movie stars filming Some Like It Hot.

It was such a mix of genres that it had something for almost everyone- a love story, a ghost story, a mystery, as well as historical fiction.

In 1958 Kate feels that there is more to life than working in the family restaurant so when her grandfather begs her to find the beautiful stranger she sets off to the Hotel Coronado in California.... where to her delight they are filming Some Like our Hot. In her element amongst the stars she manages to get a job and even a romance with a hotel worker...... but who is the ghost that haunts the hotel?

This is my first book by this author but I really enjoyed it and will be looking for more. The storyline was good and worked well with the narrative by the 1958 Kate and the ghost Kate so that all the old secrets could be revealed.

This is my first book by Camille Di Maio and I don't know what took me so long. The writing was beautiful. All of the dual timeline stories I've read in the past have paralleled a past time period with the present day. This story was unique in that both story lines were set in different past periods. The "present day" story line takes place in the 1950s during the shooting of the film "Some Like it Hot" starring Marilyn Monroe. While I know this book is a work of fiction, the way the author captured Marilyn's essence made the story read more like a history than a work of fiction. The link between both story lines is the luxurious Hotel Del Coronado. The sweet romance of young love, the mysterious ghost story, and the fascinating Hotel setting made this a captivating story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

The Beautiful Strangers is another amazing book from the talented Camille Di Maio!

What it's about: It is 1958 and Kate Morgan wants more for her life than working in her family's restaurant in San Francisco. So when her grandfather's failing health sends her on a search to find "the beautiful stranger," she finds herself pawning her grandmother's ring and setting off for the Hotel del Coronado. Some Like It Hot is being filmed when she arrives and she ends up being hired to cater to the stars, well one star in particular, Marilyn Monroe. While experiencing the glamour of Hollywood stars, she also manages to fall in love with a hotel employee plus finds out there is a ghost at the hotel that shares her name. Kate is following her dreams of bigger things, learning secrets from her grandfather's past, and experiencing so many other things in this fascinating tale of secrets, heartbreak, and love.

There are two POVs in The Beautiful Strangers, the ghost Kate Morgan and the young Kate Morgan, which was a really great way to bring two generations of stories together. I loved the story of the ghost (which is apparently partly true!), and I loved Kate Morgan's peek into Hollywood while finding her grandfather's 'beautiful stranger.' I was even starstruck reading some of the old Hollywood people's names! Sometimes the book gave me chills which was amazing.

Camille Di Maio's last book was a 5 star read for me, and while I didn't love this one quite as much, I still really enjoyed it. There is something about her writing that really draws me in, and the characters always seem to be very relatable. The romance aspect to the book was cute and I didn't mind it at all even though romance in books isn't always my favorite.

Final Thought: The main mystery ends up being unraveled fairly early in the novel for the most part, but the way the story unfolds and the other things that are happening kept me interested and wanting to find out more. It also felt like I was reading very quickly even though it still took me just over 5.5 hours to finish. I was thoroughly enjoying the storyline and reading slower to take in all in. Once again I cannot wait to see what Camille Di Maio comes up with next!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book!

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Kate Morgan left her family’s struggling restaurant in San Francisco to follow her grandfather’s daily request,”Find the beautiful stranger!” After overcoming several “road blocks,” Kate follows her dreams to “work around the glamour of Hollywood and under the beauty of palm trees.” She heads south and finds the “white as a cake” Hotel del Coronado perched on an island, connected by ferry boat. Her goal is to land a job on the set of a movie being filmed at the hotel. Kate meets a young man, Sean, on the ferry crossing. She reveals her name and he “looked ashen. The ghost. The Hotel del Coronado has a ghost. And her name is Kate Morgan.” Thus begins the unraveling of “the beautiful stranger!”

If you love the beach, with its palm trees, sun, and sand; a mystery, iconic Hollywood movies and stars; and a love story-on many levels- read The Beautiful Strangers; preferably while sitting with a view of the ocean!

The Beautiful Strangers was a wonderful story about family, love, and secrets from the past. At the urging of her grandfather, Kate takes off from San Francisco to Coronado, California. She is interested in finding out more information about the beautiful stranger that he keeps talking about. During her travel, Kate is fortunate to meet Sean who works at the Hotel del Coronado. Kate begins working there and soon finds out more information about the mystery of her grandfather’s past. The characters are all enjoyable. Kate experiences a lot during her adventures to Coronado and while she works there. We get to see the secrets of the past come alive and the power of what love can do.

As I read The Beautiful Strangers surrounded by snow and freezing temperatures, it was so lovely to be transported to warm and sunny southern California. Camille Di Maio did a masterful job of blending storylines from two separate time periods. It was just the right combination of history, romance and mystery with a touch of the paranormal. I look forward to reading her previous novels. Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for introducing me to another favorite author.

The Beautiful Strangers is the love story of Sean and Katie, intermingled with Katie's adventure of discovering her grandfather's past. Katie Morgan is a young waitress, working at her family's restaurant in San Fransisco when her aging, ill grandfather, George, urges her to go to Coronado Island in Southern California to find "the Beautiful Stranger." Katie travels by train with nothing but the clothes on her back and meets Sean on the ferry to the island. They form an instant bond, but Sean is engaged to marry Cynthia, a childhood friend. Sean gets Katie a job at the Hotel Del Coronado, and Katie begins her search and discovers many intriguing things she didn't know about her grandfather, along with the fact that she shares the name of the ghost that haunts the hotel. Katie's journey is also one of self discovery, learning who she wants to be and how she can accomplish it. But she still needs to find out who was the Beautiful Stranger? And with her feelings for Sean growing deeper each day, what will she do when he marries?

Beautifully written and engaging, I enjoyed this book and its historical angles. I thought the narration between Katie and the ghost Katie was interesting and introduced details to the story that helped add suspense to the mystery of the Beautiful Stranger and George's past.

If you enjoy a good historical romance, do yourself a favor and read this novel.

I received an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

A really great historical fiction book set at the beautiful Del hotel in San Diego. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story and learning about the hotel and am planning my own trip!

I received an Advance review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

A historic hotel.
A ghost.
Family mysteries.
Old Hollywood.
Marilyn Monroe.

This historical fiction from Camille Di Maio has all these things and more! I loved our main character, Kate, a girl who was willing to take risks in order to get a shot at getting closer to her dreams of Hollywood and building a life beyond just working at her uncles restaurant, while also following the requests of her grandfather who is suffering from dementia.

My favourite parts of this novel involved the scenes that included old Hollywood stars Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and of course, Miss Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn Monroe has always fascinated me for some reason so the parts involving her made me especially happy. I loved how her role in the novel was wrapped up in the end.

Overall, this is a fun read full of mystery and has you rooting for Kate to find what she’s looking for. The Southern California setting makes this a great one to bring to the beach and enjoy on a nice summer day!

Special thanks to Camilla Di Maio, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Beautifully Executed. Set during the 1958 filming of the 1960 Golden Globe Aware Winner for Best Motion Picture- Comedy SOME LIKE IT HOT, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon, Di Maio's work here takes just enough historically accurate details and uses them to make her fictional world and its tale all the more real. Indeed, all three award winning actors make appearances in the book, and one of them even advances a crucial plot point. But the tale here is one of leaving home to find your true destiny, and it is in this tale that the book truly shines. Kate Morgan steals every scene she is in and is one of the more loveable main characters I've come across of late. The mystery of the Beautiful Stranger is compelling, and the execution of including the Stranger's perspective at the end of every chapter really keeps things moving nicely. This was my first book from Ms. Di Maio. It won't be my last.

This was such a fabulous book. Set in some of my favorite locations in California, this was a story involving the Hotel Del Coronado, a ghost story and the set of Some Like it Hot with Marilyn Monroe. What a combination. The descriptions of scenery and setting were so perfect, I totally felt like I was walking the hallways of the hotel and involved in the production of a movie. The characters were so well written, I felt like I knew them and like I wanted to know them. I so enjoy a book that can place me within its pages and make me feel everything. And this book definitely did that for me.

I highly recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction, brilliant writing and tender emotion. This is a perfect one.

I received an Arc of this book

Everything about this book is beautiful. The lush settings of the Hotel del Coronato and her beaches provide a backdrop everyone will want to lose themselves in. Add in legendary movie personalities from the movie Some Like it Hot, an earnest dream-seeking heroine, a charming Italian boy, and a ghost with a mission and you’ve got an unputdownable book.

I loved both Kate Morgan’s and their individual, yet entwined stories. I loved 50’s Kate Morgan and her absolute faith in her dream—even when it appeared all could be for naught.

Maybe for the first time ever, Marilyn Monroe played a minor, yet integral, supporting role and the author humanized her for this reader.

This book is the perfect respite from Winter with warm shores, smiling sunshine, and sun-kissed dreams.

The Beautiful Stranger is a perfect feel-good book. Perfect if you like ghost stories, love stories, and old Hollywood movies. As a big fan of the movie Some Like it Hot was I thrilled that the setting of the book took place at Hotel del Coronado where the movie is being filmed. Which meant that movie stars like Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and last, but not least, Marilyn Monore.

Storywise must I say that some parts were better than others, I loved the movie parts the best, the love story didn't really rock my boat, but it was still pleasant to read about, it's not like I disliked it. I liked how Kate learned more about her grandfather's past. And, honestly? Who doesn't love a ghost story? The ending was pretty cool must I say, didn't see that coming.

This is the second book I have read by Camille Di Maio (The second being The Way of Beauty) and I'm looking forward to reading more books.