"Absolutely Divine"...such a joyful and smile worthy read.

I originally fell in love with Diana Biller's writing while reading her debut novel "The Widow of Rose House". When you spend as much time reading books as I do it is always exciting to discover writers with a unique, original and authentic voice...as these usually turn out to be those memorable reads that standout from the rest, they also tend to hold my interest and tease my brain more.... just like this one did.

One of the things I love the most about Historical Romance is the old-world splendor...along with the strict societal rules of conduct that governed all interpersonal relationships of the day and also consequently tend to deliver some of the more fabulous and strongminded book-heroines that like to challenge "said" rules.

You definitely get the sense of opulence and splendor here... with the setting of Vienna of the 1870's,
the Hotel Wallner along with its storied history and Maria the latest in a line of females to take over the family business. It’s ball season in Vienna and Maria only wants one thing to restore her family’s hotel to its former glory and she’s not going to let anything get in her way. Enter Eli the American foreign agent who manages to save her life twice in only their first two encounters.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the hero...Eli Whittaker a man dedicated to his career of catching criminals and also by his own self-admission a celibate and a virgin. He was honest, sincere and he grew on my alarmingly fast!!!
Eli only wants one thing, to find out who is selling American secret codes across Europe, arrest them and go home to his sensible life in Washington, DC..... but somehow, he manages to get dragged into all the madness surrounding the intricate affairs of the Hotel and Maria herself.

There is beauty, romance, chaos, mystery, attempted murder, political intrigue in this book and it all adds to further the depth of the story in my opinion...there is a perfect balance between plot and the love story...a sweet and fascinating read indeed.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC and this is my honest review.

Reading Diana Biller’s Hotel of Secrets I thought of the importance of momentum in reading pleasure. More likely I yearned for it. And it was not to be had. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of anything but reading: work, Holy Week services, Pascha, and day-to-day stuff, leaks and stumbles, an unforeseen pharmacy trip, cooking and cleaning and so much laundry. Nothing crisis-ridden, but add a need for sleep and the e-reader, propped up to make for maximum lying-in, would watch me snort, snooze, and drool through the night…a mere two-or-three pages from where it had been turned on. All this to say, while I was enjoying Biller’s Hotel of Secrets, I didn’t get to enjoy it because my reading momentum was shot. Only devoted readers get this. Also all this to say Biller’s historical, opposites-attract romance, with its bacchanalian Viennese setting, one of the best heroes I’ve ever read, and terrific banter is worth reading with steady momentum over a few days. Maybe don’t start it, as I did, when you won’t have the luxury.

For now, the blurbish bits, and then I can try to piece together a few thoughts on why I liked Hotel of Secrets as much as I did:

It’s ball season in Vienna, and Maria Wallner only wants one thing: to restore her family’s hotel, the Hotel Wallner, to its former glory. She’s not going to let anything get in her way – not her parents’ three-decade-long affair; not seemingly-random attacks by masked assassins; and especially not the broad-shouldered American foreign agent who’s saved her life two times already. No matter how luscious his mouth is.

Eli Whittaker also only wants one thing: to find out who is selling American secret codes across Europe, arrest them, and go home to his sensible life in Washington, DC. He has one lead – a letter the culprit sent from a Viennese hotel. But when he arrives in Vienna, he is immediately swept up into a chaotic whirlwind of balls, spies, waltzes, and beautiful hotelkeepers who seem to constantly find themselves in danger. He disapproves of all of it! But his disapproval is tested as he slowly falls deeper into the chaos – and as his attraction to said hotelkeeper grows.

Hotel of Secrets is wonderful for two reasons: super-likeable characters, mainly Maria and Eli, but there are others (this is definitely an ensemble cast, maybe too many “ensembled”) and terrific banter. The romance soars when the narrative focus is squarely on Maria and Eli, a case in point, their not-quite-meet-cute when Eli, newly-arrived in Vienna, comes to the aid of an inebriated woman outside the hotel he’s been sent to investigate; tipsy Maria has just been reminded of her fortune to meet “the man”…to her heart:

“He’s very strong and tall and good-looking and that mouth is indeed quite something, but he’s not the man.” “I have no idea who you’re talking to,” he said, the impatience in his voice clear. “I think you’re drunk.” “Yes, hold on to that. Good. Irritation is good. Just dump me on the ground and leave me. That’s the wisest course of action. Above all, though, we cannot sleep together.” He dropped his hands. She staggered, but remained upright. His expression of horror was — rather delicious actually. No, not delicious. Absolutely not. “That will not present any difficulty,” he said, and then he bowed crisply, and, bless him, walked away.

This initial encounter sets the tone and pace of Eli and Maria’s relationship, his control, her wolfish lust; his restraint, her loose, delightful quips. Biller does two things very right with them: their differences are also part and parcel of their vulnerabilities and they are, at heart, incredibly decent and have a capacity for friendship, affection, and companionship. They are good to their families, good to each other, and hard on themselves. Their “vegetable” love, to quote Marvell, is organically grown and therefore, believable; their “dark moment,” when they are close to being torn asunder, is a result of their vulnerabilities, their emotional Achilles’ heels. That Biller has them speak honestly and doesn’t belabor their separation worked for me.

What didn’t? I think the narrative is bloated by the romantic suspense plot and the plot itself is poorly paced. It drags and then is promptly resolved, with some unconvincing about-faces on the part of, one in particular, certain secondary characters. When a romance attempts to do two things, to marry two genres, this may be the result. It leans more toward one, see my constant frustration with Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell series, much as I love it, or toward the other, Biller’s romance is the nonpareil; her suspense plot, as chaotic as Vienna’s Fasching. Miss Austen and I heartily recommend Biller’s Hotel of Secrets for Eli and Maria and their wit-infused exchanges as offering “real comfort,” Emma.

Diana Biller’s Hotel of Secrets is published by St. Martin’s Griffin. I received a Hotel of Secrets e-arc from St. Martin’s via Netgalley. This does not impede the expression of my honest opinion.

Heat Factor: I’ll never look at linen closets the same way again.

Character Chemistry: Do you want to see a stern, bossy hero who is competence porn personified come undone? Because Maria sure does.

Plot: Eli is sent to Vienna on a wild goose chase and ends up in the middle of a conspiracy.

Overall: Loved it.

So, reading this book, my first reaction was: why aren’t more people writing books set in continental Europe during the Gilded Age? The setting of 1878 Vienna is spectacular. (I had a similar reaction to Biller’s previous book, which is set in 1878 Paris.) Britain during this time was all in on the Victorian period, the hallmarks of which (at least in fiction) were: purity, rigid social mores, trains, bustles, and empire. Continental Europe, on the other hand, is all about decadence, opulence, revoluton, and, well, empire. Which sounds more fun?

You don’t have to take my word for it. Here’s Eli’s description of night in Vienna:

Outside, the city had descended once more into black-and-gold madness. He sidestepped a group of jugglers (no one wanted one juggler, let alone a group of them), escaped a tense situation with a mime, and narrowly avoided being waltzed with by a group of rampaging youths.

Amazing.

One more note about the setting. So I was in Vienna maybe twenty years ago, and I don’t remember much of my time there. But I very distinctly remember my impression of the city as one of decayed opulence, of a city that was caught in its past glory of remembered empire.


Pretty much like this, except with fewer filters.
That memory is not inconsistent with the portrayal of Vienna in this book.

All of which is to say: maybe I’m a huge nerd, but I love me a good historical romance with a setting that’s not a London ballroom circa 1818. And that the setting here permeates this book, such that Vienna at the last hurrah of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is almost a character.

Please note, however, that this book does not read as straight historical fiction. Vienna may be a character, but the human characters feel thoroughly modern (by which I mean, of the present moment) in their sensibilities. But who knows? Maybe rigid 19th century secret agents were really about consent, and our belief that this is not the case stems from the broader backlash against care for and about others in the 21st century.

Now that I’ve nerded about things historical, let’s talk romance!

This is a romance that rewards readers who are immersed in the genre. When Eli is introduced—stern demeanor and luscious mouth—I know exactly what I’m getting here, and Biller hits all the beats. Grumpy man bemused by the chaos in which he finds himself? Yup. Protective instincts activated? Yup. Extremely inconvenient lust? Yup again. I must admit that there might be a bit of shorthand here, that Biller is relying on readers bringing their understanding of genre to the book to really make things like a sternness or a desire to see someone come undone carry the necessary weight. But since I am steeped in romance-talk, I didn’t care, and, in fact, found great joy in seeing the familiar tropes in a new setting.

Furthermore, the writing is just…joyful. There’s no other way I know to describe it. While the characters are undergoing some seriously stressful situations and are carrying some serious past trauma, the tone remains light throughout. Sincere moments are punctuated by levity—provided by both the narrator and the characters’ dialogue. Take this scene, which occurs after Eli has confessed his deep, dark, violent secret to Maria:

“I know you, Eli,” she said, softly. “I know you wouldn’t hurt me.”

“How can you know that?” he snapped. “You don’t know me . I’ve been in your life two weeks, Maria. Two weeks.”

“You saved Jakob’s orchids.”

“What?”

She shrugged. “That’s when I knew I could trust you, I suppose. I didn’t realize it until a bit later. But…you saved a stranger’s orchids, just to make me feel better. You picked them up so gently, and you covered their roots with soil, and you…you saved them. Not to mention my life .” She smiled. “And let’s not forget my ballroom floors.”

He ignored this attempt at levity. “You can’t base your estimations of a person’s character on…on horticulture.”

She frowned, a hint of that regal Wallner expression in her eyes. “Of course I can.”

This is a serious moment for these characters, as they reveal themselves and their vulnerabilities. But even here, we get those hints of joy, with the light banter at the conclusion of the conversation.

In case you’re reading this review to hear about things like the plot…well, there’s a lot of plot, and a lot of characters with very complicated relationships with each other. The conspiracy builds slowly, until all of a sudden, we’re in full-blown “What is even happening?!?” mode (or at least the characters are). I felt the ending was perhaps a bit rushed, but all the pieces do tie neatly together in the end—and some, if not all, of the twists were unexpected.

Here’s the TL;DR: I am a mega romance nerd. I am mega into romance, and I am mega nerdy. (Look, these are just the facts.) And I enjoyed reading this book. A lot.

A content note: more than one person gets murdered in cold blood on the page. It was unexpected, but not, I think, gratuitous.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

The Hotel of Secrets is an absolutely delightful book about a time and place that's brand new to me. The characters are well-drawn and intriguing and the romance is top-notch. I love a good story about cash-poor wealthy trying to keep their heads above water and this book does not disappoint. It's funny, too!

This book didn't work for me. The first chapter alone had my head spinning. There were so many characters thrown at you that I couldn't keep track of what was going on. Overall I found the book confusing and not that interesting.

This book was so much more than I was expecting. It definitely wasn't your typical historical romance. There was mystery, intrigue, family drama, humor, and, of course, a beautifully told romance.
I loved the setting in late Imperial Vienna. It was quite a change of pace from most other romances.
The chemistry between Maria and Eli is off the charts, and their relationship is built in a believable way that really let's you fall in love along with them.
Diana Biller does a marvelous job building this story and all of its characters. They all seem vividly brought to life by her captivating writing style. I'm very eager to read more of her books as soon as I can.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Maria Wallner comes from a long line of strong independent women who run the famous Wallner Hotel. The Hotel has been a pillar of Vienna's ball season as well as a popular hotel, but after the financial crashes, she is now having to try hard to get the Hotel back to what it was and to make it a popular hotel once again. She is doing this with help from her grandmother and her best friend Hannah. It's the start of a new year when Hotel of Secrets starts and with that comes the ball season in Vienna where all of the rich and famous people in Vienna come out to celebrate almost every night at balls throughout the city. For Hotel Wallner the ball they are going to host will make or break them and because of that Maria is on edge and must do everything possible to make it a success. While this sounds difficult enough add-on someone trying to harm her at every turn the book is a whirlwind.
Alongside Maria, we have the American Eli Whittaker who works for the American government and has been sent to Vienna to handle an issue to do with secret codes. Eli is very uptight and extremely private and a little inexperienced with pretty much anything outside of his job. One thing we do learn very quickly about Eli is how he cares for people and is willing to protect those he ends up caring for by any means necessary. Maria and Eli while an unlikely pair at first make a great team and help each other see and learn so many things both about themselves and the world around them.

Overall I really liked and enjoyed this book and could see myself reading it again in the future. Biller writes her female character in such a way that has them being the ones in charge and calling the shots. Maria is the main character of this story, with Eli being the side-main character. Alongside the mystery that was going on in this book of who was trying to harm Maria, we also have the slow-burn romance budding between Maria and Eli that is so well done and felt so natural throughout all of it.
(The man literally did research in the 1800s about intimate relationships...who else would do that besides Eli..nobody that I've read so far. It just made me like this character even more because of how he truly did care and wanted to make sure he was doing things right. Plus it made for some very entertaining moments when he told Maria this. )

We also have some great half-sibling relationships in this book and a strong female friendship that was also front and center.

I tend to not read a lot of historical books that are heavily focused on romance because of the power imbalance that usually happens in them, but this book did not have that type of power imbalance. Both of the main characters were equally involved and consent was talked about a ton throughout the intimate moments in a way that went along with the story.

I will now be going back and reading all of Biller's backlist because her writing had me captivated the entire time.

As for Hotel of Secrets, I would love to see it have a companion novel following Hannah as she was the head chef at a very popular hotel in the late 1800s which is almost unheard of. I need more!

Posting on Blog on: April 24th, 2023

Finished ✔️ Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller.

4 ⭐️’s
Kindle Unlimited: No

Delicious
Delightful
Magical escape into the world of highly competent characters and glittering waltzes in Vienna
It was an interesting read
Yes, I’d recommend it.

#DeesReading #DeesRecs #DeesBookRecommendations #BookNerds #BookNerdProblems #BookNerdsUnited #BookProblems #BookProblems101 #BookNerds101 #Bookworms #BookwormProblems #BookwormProblems101 #BooksOfFacebook #DeeTheBookReviewer #DeesReadOfTheDay #DeesBookOfTheDay #DeesBookReviewsOfTheDay #BookReviewer #NewToMeAuthor #DianaBiller #ReadOfTheDay #BookOfTheDay #HotelofSecrets #NetGalley

This book has a good mix of romance and mystery, as well as a lovely cast of quirky (but not too quirky) side characters who round it all out. I did find something a bit off in the tonal mix of the majority of the book v. a few harsh realities of spycraft moments, but ultimately that didn't throw the reading experience too far out of whack. The descriptions of 19th century Vienna are sumptuous and a nice change of pace from the usual Victorian UK setting.

A unique story that was such an enjoyable read. I love visiting Vienna and loved its depiction here throughout the 19th century.

What a fun read! Hotel of Secrets is full of twists and turns, romance, and drama.

Maria manages her family’s hotel. It was once highly successful but lately has struggled. The hotel is a big source of pride for her family. So when Maria gets the chance to host an important ball, she jumps on the opportunity. But there’s suspicious things going on!

There were several mail-biter moments that kept me turning the pages. And so many personalities! Just an enjoyable mysterious read overall!

Thanks to @netgalley and @smpromance for the opportunities to read this book. The review expresses my own personal opinions.

Hotel of Secrets by Diane Butler is a historical drama that’s full of everything I love. Give me all the mystery and throw in romance and it’s a WIN for me. I
highly recommend this escape into 1870s Vienna! The trip you and your heart didn’t know you needed. 🥳🥳🥳

📬A huge thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this advance copy. This book is not only beautifully written but again it’s full of everything I love - romance, scandals, spies and murder attempts!
4.5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This novel is such a good time, balancing the drama of Viennese high society and conspiracies with the hilarious absurdities of individual people. Maria Wallner just wants to get her family hotel fully running again after many lean years, but she's hampered by mysterious accidents, assassination attempts, and family drama that's suddenly turned even more dramatic than usual. She's equally assisted and distracted by the reserved American agent who's come to investigate an intelligence leak traced to her hotel (did we mention the spies? the hotel is crawling with them!). I absolutely fell in love with these two and the zany characters around them, even if — like Eli — I thought they were all mad decadents at first. To be fair, they are, but they're the best kind of mad decadents, loyal and true. And like Eli, I soon realized I never wanted to leave them. For readers who like a mix of drama, comedy, and romance (with plenty of steam), Hotel of Secrets is a rare treat.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third book I’ve read of Ms. Biller’s and I loved the outrageous Moore family in the first two books. This story focuses on Eli Whitaker, a US Department of Treasury investigator who travels to Vienna to determine who has stolen American codes. He meets Maria, who is working to restore the family hotel and having a difficult time with assassins and more trying to derail her plans.

It's intriguing that Eli is a virgin but he is dedicated to reading erotic books and his attention to detail makes him a quick study and an entertaining part of the story. Maria is an independent woman with experience and there is plenty of sexual tension to their interactions during their romance. They seem like an unlikely couple but quickly become a great match.

The Hotel Wallner is almost its own character with the beauty and history. I love historical novels that also describe the architecture, landscape, dress, culture and more. Eli, Maria and the supporting characters all contribute to a great story which has an action-packed storyline full of romance, witty banter and mystery.

I look forward to reading more of Ms. Biller’s work.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this new book.

Hotel of Secrets
Diana Biller

Biller’s latest historical rom com/mystery/thriller, Hotel of Secrets, set in a fictitious and infamous Vienna hotel in the late 19th Century, is hilarious one moment and deadly serious the next and staring Maria Wallner, an incredibly forward-thinking woman. Her complex plot and excellent storytelling will draw the audience in and her fluent narrative, beautiful backdrops, audacious humor and over-the-top eclectic cast will hold them captive from page one until the end. Her female stars are as usual strong, ahead of their time and fearless and readers will absolutely fall in love with every one of the Wallner women, some right away and some eventually and especially with Maria who is funny, loving and has a heart of gold but who does not want any one man, even if he’s “the man”, in her life even if he’s unlike anyone she’s ever known. Then there’s Eli, now he’s a conundrum but as the pages turn readers will learn his story and love him too. Fans of historical fiction, the novels of Karen White, Lauren Willig or Beatriz Williams will not be able to put this down.

Four generations of Wallner women have owned and managed The Hotel Wallner, an alleged gift to current manager/owner Maria Wallner’s Great-grandmother Theresa from her lover the Emperor. The hotel, once the Grande Dame of Vienna now has fallen into disrepair because of Elizabeth Wallner’s (Maria’s mother) incompetence, but now it’s up to Maria to save it and she has vowed to bring the hotel back to its former glory if it’s the last thing she does. And that just might be the case since lately it seems she’s always in some sort of peril and always being saved by a too handsome American undercover agent whose cover has been blown since everyone knows he’s been sent to Vienna to investigate the selling of secret government codes.

Eli Whittaker is a man on a mission; find out who’s selling American secrets, expose them and then get back home to his simple life and away from the chaos that is the Vienna Ball Season. Things here are too crowded, too busy, too bright and much too tempting for him, especially the beautiful and feisty hotel manager who always seems to be in the middle of some sort of danger.

Set in the romantic and enchanting city of Vienna in the 1870s, "Hotel of Secrets" is a captivating historical romance and mystery that will transport readers to a world of hidden desires and dangerous secrets.

The story follows the lives of two intriguing characters, Eli and Maria, who find themselves inexplicably drawn to each other. Eli Whittaker is an American agent who arrives in Vienna with a mission to discover who is leaking secret codes. He is a complicated and exceptionally competent man who is celibate and chooses not to form relationships due to childhood trauma. Maria, on the other hand, is a stunningly beautiful and mysterious woman whose family owns the Wallner Hotel where Eli is staying. She is trying desperately to bring it back to its former glory.

As they get to know each other, Eli and Maria find themselves embroiled in a dangerous game, where nothing is what it seems and everyone has something to hide. As they delve deeper into the mysteries surrounding the hotel and the Wallner family, they uncover a web of deceit and intrigue.

Biller's writing is vivid and atmospheric, bringing the city of Vienna to life with all its grandeur and glamour. The characters are complex and multi-dimensional, each with their own secrets and desires that are slowly revealed over the course of the novel.

One of the things that sets "Hotel of Secrets" apart from other historical romances is the attention to detail that Biller puts into her research. The historical accuracy of the setting and the time period adds an extra layer of authenticity to the story, making it all the more engrossing and immersive.

Overall, "Hotel of Secrets" is a beautifully written and compelling novel that will appeal to fans of historical romance and mystery. With its gripping plot, well-drawn characters, and stunning setting, it is a must-read for anyone looking for a captivating and thrilling read.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy.

**Setting aside the historical inaccuracies that made me want to scream** What a delicious book! No one here wants to read a bullet-pointed list of the historical inaccuracies, that could turn into a dissertation-length essay. However, if you set that all aside and look at Hotel of Secrets as a modern era or fantasy book, this is delightful. Strong lead characters, deep descriptions of beautiful Vienna, fantastic banter with a healthy drizzle of suspense and romance, what more could you ask for? A great beach or plane read you'll eat this like popcorn.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book both from just a reader standpoint and a personal one. I just recently found out a many times great grandmother of mine was the archduchess of Austria way way back and that Marie Antoinette was a cousin and I'm sure there are hundreds or thousands of us out there. My point is, it was interesting to find that out and then be immersed in Viennese life in a later time period by this book because that's what the author did, the setting and characters were so alive, that I felt I was a fly on the wall, watching the story unfold. The trials and tribulations, the love and the hate, and the intrigue and ruthlessness of the empire surrounding the daily life of these characters and the Viennese people with a glittery facade of a carefree existence. And how dangerous it was to be related to the emperor or his immediate family. And although this is a fictional story, I would not be surprised at all to learn that were some factual threads woven throughout. All the characters were interesting and had very distinct personalities. I loved how strong Maria was while still being vulnerable and adaptable and Eli was the perfect complement. This book has everything - love stories and suspense - and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to St Martin's Press/Griffin and NetGalley for a digital review copy. All thoughts are my own.

I really enjoyed this story! It was adventurous and fun and luscious. I enjoyed the strong female character, the vivid details of Vienna, and the romance. Recommended!

I was excited to receive an arc of this book. I've heard some positive buzz and was particularly intrigued by the unique setting. A hotel in Vienna fun by generations of women who were all mistresses to important men. Our heroine is the current hotel manager in the late 1800's. Our hero is an American spy/secret serviceman sent on a mission to recover codes. Unfortunately, this book suffered from too modern language, wallpaper history and writing that was less than engaging.