This was certainly a delightful book! It was full of secrets.
There’s a bit of espionage and the main character has several attempts made on her life. It was a little humorous too. I found myself laughing at times. There was some unexpected heat within a few chapters. This book pretty much had it all!
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

4.5 stars

This was such a fantastic read! The mix of romance and adventure/action was so well done and the cast of characters was wonderfully quirky and endearing. I fell head over heels for Eli and I cannot get over how sexy and appealing I found all of the consent and his desire to learn - in all areas of life. He was all in and faced whatever challenge came his way and Maria is a lucky, lucky woman. The action got a little chaotic at the end as all the different plot lines started to come together. I'm not sure all of them were sufficiently addressed and I don't think quite so many threats to safety were necessary, but I appreciated that there wasn't a ton of romantic third act drama. I also liked that the relationship between Maria and her mother was left in a hopeful place. An epilogue would have been amazing since things wrapped up quickly, but my heart was definitely happy when I finished this one. I'm hoping we might see a story for Mac and Hannah in the future.

I both read and listened to the audiobook of Hotel of Secrets and the narration by Carlotta Brentan was fantastic. I really enjoyed all of the different voices and accents she utilized and had no problem differentiating between characters. Definitely an enjoyable listening experience!

Audiobook Review
Overall 4.5 stars
Performance 4.5 stars
Story 4.5 stars

CW: murder and attempted murder, gun violence, kidnapping, financial instability/insecurity, arson, blackmail, animal attack, parental neglect, emotional and physical abuse (child and spouse, past), infidelity (not MC's)

*I voluntarily read and listened to an advance review copy of this book*

Hotel of Secrets is an 1800’s European romp, a very funny love story with a wicked plot which reads like a juicy soap opera! It has all the checkmarks of an old-fashioned mystery with a beautiful, strong, heroine, a naive dashing spy and secrets which we all try to piece together. The story will grab you from the very first page.

Maria Wallner has been given the task to restore her family’s (although she is her father’s illegitimate child, one of them…) dilapidated hotel, the Wallner Hotel, to the famous establishment it once had been. With very little money, and it being Ball season, Maria must try and pinch pennies and yet make every guest feel special, regardless of who they are and what they are doing and to whom they are doing it to!

But when an opportunity falls into her lap, hosting the infamous Housekeepers Ball, although she has barely any money, she grabs the chance to put their hotel center stage. Now, she must figure how to put this together without bankrupting the family.

American Eli Whittaker comes to Vienna with only one agenda. Someone is stealing American secret codes and it is his job to find out who. Except that upon his arrival, she saves a very drunk woman from being run over by a carriage. But when he checks into his hotel, he discovers this beautiful woman is the proprietor! Eli is a very organized, black or white, no gray type of personality. He does his job well and researches everything. A bit naive in the romance department, he is quite unsure of just what to do with Maria, who for some reason seems to become quite the distraction for him.

But when Eli must save Maria a second time from being killed, he begins to believe someone is trying to harm her. As his radar goes up, Maria still feels nothing is wrong. You see Maria’s mother has been the mistress to a man for over 30 years. The man’s wife has children, and his mistress has children. But most people just turn a blind eye to the situation and the children just tend to ignore one another.

The more time Maria and Eli spend together, because now he will not let her out of his sight, the closer they get. But Eli has a secret which has kept him from getting close to any woman for his entire life. But these feeling for Maria are unbearable.

While Eli attempts to find out who and why someone is stealing the codes, back at the hotel, there is sabotage going on. Sadly, Maria must sell a piece of her family’s history just to prepare for the Ball. Then everything comes to an astonishing climax (pun intended), and Maria must be saved one last time before she is killed. Will the hotel be saved? But in the end, as Eli knows his job is wrapping up and he must head back to the states, the couple must make some decisions as to where they go from here.

Hotel of Secrets has wonderful intrigue, a quirky take on new love, a very strong and stubborn heroine and a mystery which will keep the readers on their toes!

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’s/Griffin #HotelofSecrets #DianaBiller for the advanced copy.

Thank you to Netgalley & St Martins Press for this copy of Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller. This is out 03/28!

I was excited to read this for the setting, the intrigue, and just the simple fact it is a woman main character that is written by Diana Biller because I love how she writes them. I really liked all of the political/culture/consent themes in this story. Everything left me wanting a little more though. I wanted more of the setting, I wanted more depth to the characters, and more of the mysteries in this. If she continues this book into a series I would totally read it, I just didn't fully sink into this one like I thought I would.

I think this book suffers from not knowing what it wants to be. It's trying too hard to put romance, political intrigue, and family drama all in the top spots. Two of those should have been side points, but instead we get a halting pace as we switch between main plots. Politics get full stops for chunks of romance, the romance screeches to a halt for family drama, and there's not enough blending for me.

The writing is beautiful, and Biller definitely knows how to create a beautiful setting. Her characters were also well-drawn, especially the side characters. They all get motivations and loves and ties to the family, but this also contributed to the slow pace. I do think this was well-researched and I love love love the setting of old Vienna, but I do, unfortunately, think it suffered from a case of multiple personalities. This will be someone's perfect book, it just wasn't mine.

This book contains all kinds of mad, bad and dangerous people as well as eccentric, adorable and endearing characters. The first thing he did was save her life three times. She brings light a joy into his life. He is home, to her. History, mystery, secrets, thriller, action packed and steamy romance all rolled into one. Wonderful read.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and leaving my review voluntarily

Title: Hotel of Secrets
Author: Diana Biller
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5

During ball season, anything can happen, even love.

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.

The family drama---dramatics---in this were a lot! Maria’s family is front and center in all sorts of sordid scenes, which has to be exhausting. I loved Maria! Despite the drama surrounding her, she just wants to focus on the hotel. She was a lot of fun to read—even if I related more to Eli and his no-nonsense ways. A charming story---and an absolutely gorgeous cover!

Diana Biller lives in L.A. Hotel of Secrets is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Wonderful historical peppered with Austrian political backstory from the 1800's. Maria Wallner runs her family's hotel. The hotel has always been managed by the females in her family. However, Maria's mother was more concerned with her lover (Maria's father) that she was with the upkeep of the hotel. Maria is trying to revive the hotel. She has help from her grandmother, her half-brother, and her best friend Hanna. Eli Whittaker is a United States Secret Service Agent who has been sent on a spy-hunting mission to Austria. Spies, assassins, and family secrets are exposed as Maria and team manage to host one of the most important Ball of the season. At the end, Eli is looking for a new job in Austria.

I loved the humor of this story. Add this to your reading list.

4 1/2 Stars

ARC review copy via NetGalley

4.5 stars, rounded up.

Maria Wallner, the current manager of the Hotel Wallner in Vienna, is celebrating the start of 1878 in the small ballroom of her hotel and hoping that this year will see a change of fortunes for the hotel. She is happy with the turnout for her ball and even happy that her parents are making a spectacle of themselves as her father’s wife watches them dance – gossip is good for business after all. She is less thrilled to be teased that this may be the year she finds “the man” who will be the father of her daughter – the same as all the Wallner women before her. But as the ball ends and she finishes her duties, even the threat of “the man” can’t stop her good mood and in a champagne-induced haze, she decides to toast the hotel and would have been hit by a carriage if not for the dark-haired stranger with sinful lips – whom she has decided is definitely not “the man”. But the next day, she sees her rescuer again when he saves her life again and realizes he is a guest in her hotel. She is drawn to him, but can’t let herself be caught up in attraction, she has a hotel to save and has just been given the means to do so by way of the Hotelkeepers’ Ball.

Elijah “Eli” Whittaker is a US Secret Service agent who has been sent to Vienna undercover to find out who is leaking US treasury codes from the American Legation in Vienna – at least that is the excuse his superiors have given him. Eli is brilliant, conscientious, and very disciplined, he has no time for nonsense and finds Vienna chaotic and nonsensical. On his first day, he goes to the American Legation’s offices only to find them closed and the people of Vienna still partying in the streets, that is where he first sees Maria and saves her from being run down. He is surprised by the attraction he feels, but brushes it aside, he has no time for an attraction. When they meet again, he thinks she is spying on him and wonders whom she works for, but when he saves her life yet again, he wonders if the attempts on her life are related to his case, since the leaked information was mailed from the hotel. He decides to stick close to her and soon finds himself immersed in the chaos of Hotel Wallner and its mélange of friends, relatives, and secrets.

This was such a great read, I enjoyed every bit of it and didn’t want it to end. The writing was fantastic, the plot was sublime and the characters were delightful. In the beginning, Maria and Eli seem like complete opposites, and in many ways they are, but by the end, I couldn’t imagine either of them with someone else, because they are perfect for each other. The story has a lot going on, but it never overwhelms the connection between Maria and Eli, theirs is a slow-burn romance filled with tender feelings, mutual respect, and simmering passion. Be prepared to be immersed in a story that is filled with a lot of characters, connections that seem vague, secrets, spies, witty banter, plumbing problems, almond cakes, forbidden romances, intrigue, wild boar, waltzes galore, betrayal, steamy love scenes and a nail-biter ending followed by a very sweet declaration scene. It is a wonderful book and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

Actual Review: Diana Biller is truly one of the most distinct voices in historical romance and I am obsessed with her. Hotel of Secrets had this magical, enchanting quality about it, but also like, so much sexiness. The way this book was crafted to bring about a bit of a mystery with a full fledged romance was a masterclass in how to write a true ROMANCE with suspense elements. Just a really fantastic cast of characters, secrets, and setting. I am obsessed with Diana Biller just like before, but now I'm even more impressed because this is entirely unconnected to the Moore's, which means the woman REALLY understands character building. Twelve out of ten, excellent.

Narration: While only one narrator, I thought Carlotta Brenten did a truly fantastic job of bringing this story to life. I didn't find her voice for Eli cringe ever, which you know, is sometimes a concern. I would say, listen to a sample, but if our tastes in audiobooks tends to align, you should be good to go.

Musings on Secret in the Title: ABSOLUTELY deserved and the way she deals them out throughout the book was really truly well done. And Hotel of Secrets is a literal HOTEL OF SECRETS. You know what I'm saying?

Everything I could want in a book, that's what Diana Biller delivers with Hotel of Secrets. Romance, chemistry, intimacy, history, epistolary, and just enough mystery/suspense. The writing is gorgeous with compelling characters that stand out in originality. They're refreshing to get to know, always surprising me. And like her debut, the setting holds its own weight as a character. I'm consistently in awe of Biller's storytelling and am eager to read anything she writes. I enjoyed HOS from beginning to end. Also, Eli. Eli. Eli. Eli. Eli. Good grief, Eli.


Thank you to the author and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I'll add my review on Amazon on pub day.

A grand historical novel with romance and intrigue. Set in the glittering city of Vienna the characters shine. Eli and Maria are not just from two different continents but two different worlds. The staid upbringing of a man from the new America meets the worldly woman from Vienna. They have to work together to solve a mystery while falling in love. Amongst the glitter the author created a wonderful group of characters and plot well worth sinking into.

5 stars

Sweepingly romantic, subtly suspenseful, and genuinely laugh out loud funny, Hotel of Secrets is going to scratch the historical romance itch for so many readers that I know and honestly, I can't wait for them to get their hands on this so we can squeal about it together.

From the first sentence, I was transported to the glittering world of 19th century Vienna with its stunning hotels, scandalous society, and dark secrets. Biller's character work is absolutely delightful, crafting a devastatingly gorgeous (and surprisingly steamy) romance between ambitious Viennese hotelier Maria and starchy US treasury agent Eli. They are such a perfectly matched pair and getting to spend time in their world made my heart practically sing!

If you love found family, unique historical romances, and a starchy male romantic lead that is just absolutely undone by his love interest, you need to pick this book up as soon as it hit shelves.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

I’ve read a couple of other books by Diana Biller and so I was very interested to read this latest one. It’s quite different from the others I’ve read but still very enjoyable. It’s a mashup: part historical fiction, mystery, spy story, and ultimately a romance.

The story is set in Vienna at the beginning of 1878. Maria Wallner is the manager of a hotel her family has owned for generations and she is trying to bring it back to its former glory, but finances are limited. She is very creative at making do! Eli Whitaker is an American investigator with the Treasury Department, in Vienna to investigate who has stolen their embassy’s diplomatic codes (not his strength; he normally investigates counterfeiters and such). He is staying at the Hotel Wallner because of a tip that the codes were sent on hotel stationery.

There are quite a few extended family members to keep track of, which I found difficult at first. There are a bunch of half-siblings due to affairs, for example. I really enjoyed the characters, however, especially Maria and her grandmother Josephine. Eli grew on me, but Maria’s infatuation with him seemed a bit immature (constantly referring to his sensuous mouth, for example). You get a bit of a history lesson of the Hapsburg Empire along the way, as each chapter presents snippets from the daily journals the Wallner women have kept for decades. There’s a whole level of political intrigue that will probably confuse most readers, but if you just go with the flow of the story, it won’t really matter. I found the final discovery a bit of a disappointment, but I enjoyed the book nevertheless.

Warning: there are some very graphic steamy encounters, so if you’re listening to the audiobook, I advise using headphones!

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient. The audiobook was nicely narrated by Carlotta Brentan.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook and to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Suspense, mystery, espionage, romance, family drama. This novel tackles all this with brilliant storytelling and deeply developed characters

Maria Wallner is desperately trying to keep he family hotel afloat. This hotel is a staple of Viennese culture, starts by her great grandmother. On New Years Day, she is rescued by Eli Whitaker, an American agent in Austin to work a case. From that moment on, the two are attached. Attraction builds slowly and it’s exquisite.

Best romantic historical of the year.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for access to this arc.

I liked Eli very much but struggled somewhat with the Wallner side of things. I liked Maria too but when it came to the Wallners generally there was far more melodrama and farce to the story. Elisabeth and her married lover, Heinrich, (Maria’s father) were a little too much Gomez-and-Morticia when it came to PDAs. When it came to Eli, for the most part, the tone of the novel changed entirely. I found it a little difficult to pin down the overall style the book was going for. Perhaps it was intended to match the chaos of Vienna?

I did enjoy how over the course of the book Eli opened up to Maria and to a bigger, more open life. I was saddened by his violent and traumatic backstory (involving his father).

I must say that being gored by a wild boar even now would be a difficult thing from which to recover and I can’t imagine that it was easier in 1877. Eli seemed to shrug off injuries a bit too easily.

There were parts of Eli’s story which didn’t really seem to go anywhere. I had questions about how things were going to work and what exactly were Eli’s plans by the end of the book. I wanted to know how he was going to clean up those loose ends in America. I wanted to know what the outcome was regarding his findings within the Legation.

I did love how Eli was excessively competent. He was studious and learned things well and quickly. This applied fairly universally for Eli – from waltzing to flower-arranging and more. Eli lacked sexual experience but Maria did not suffer for it if you get my drift.

While Elisabeth and Heinrich mostly irritated me, I enjoyed Maria’s best friend (and the hotel’s chef) Hannah, and Maria’s half-brother, Macario. Maria’s grandmother, Josephine was formidable and evidence that “the man” legend wasn’t quite the whole story when it comes to Wallner women.

It’s rare to read a historical romance where the female lead has sexual experience. Maria’s attitude to sex is very modern. She’s had multiple sexual partners and enjoys casual sex. Until she meets Eli that is – then emotions join the physical attraction and things get a lot more complicated for her.

Eli finds himself rescuing Maria from certain death on multiple occasions. Usually I love a rescue. It’s my catnip. But….

It took me a month to read Hotel of Secrets. The reading experience of this book was, for me, unlike The Widow of Rose House or The Brightest Star in Paris. Yet, when I was actually reading, I didn’t hate the book either. It’s just that I found it very easy to walk away from and very easy to make the choice to do something else instead of read. While there was plenty to like about Hotel of Secrets, it didn’t work anywhere near as well for me as your earlier two books (and even your novella A Christmas Spark which was entirely delightful). I didn’t enjoy the melodramatic and/or farcical aspects of the book as much. I’m having trouble putting my finger on exactly what didn’t quite work for me – because something didn’t. It’s very unlike me to take so long to read a book. I can’t put it down to a reading slump – I’m not in one. Books I read immediately before and immediately after Hotel of Secrets did not take me a long time to read.

I really feel like I should have liked this book more than I did. The elements are all there for it to succeed. But something about it – maybe the way it was put together? – didn’t quite gel for me. I discussed this review with my son because I was struggling with what to write. He suggested that it was like a dinner where everything on the plate was something I liked to eat but somehow the combination of the food together didn’t taste quite right. It seemed to fit so I’m adopting it.

Grade: B-/C+

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of Hotel secrets by Diana Biller. This is a suspenseful historical romance and while I enjoyed the story, I found some of the plot to be a bit absurd. Maria's family; her mother, grandmother and great grandmother, all had secret affairs which ended with each having a daughter. Starting with Theresa, who was given a hotel by her lover, each generation has maintained a diary in order to protect their family and the hotel. At the beginning of each chapter there is a diary snippet from the various Wallner women which I felt enhanced the story but I would have enjoyed it more had it been presented as a multi POV. I also enjoyed the historical setting of Vienna, especially at New Year's; the description of the balls and the traditions were wonderful.

Fantastic!

Biller wrote another funny, warm, exciting book that balances a dark mystery with sweet as candy romance. She transports the reader to magical 1800s Vienna and inserts the right amount of history into the background and just a little into the plot. She had me guessing who the baddie was until the very end!
Maria and Eli are both competent, strong, and likable. I usually find one or the other MC likable but Biller makes everyone likable, even Maria's mother.

Immersing myself in the world that Diana Biller creates in her books is a surreal experience. It feels so realistic and genuine that I feel at times like I'm reading a biography of a life, with added color from the narrator's point-of-view, and that seems to be the author's intention in her writing style. She incorporates real-world events and people, bringing to life a point in history that many of us know little about. 19th century Vienna was never discussed in any textbook I read, nor have I read about that setting in other books, but Hotel of Secrets makes me want to read even more. As with Diana Biller's other books, the story includes an array of strong, independent women, well-meaning men who stumble into their lives and upend everything, and a romance that creeps up on both characters and readers alike. If you haven't read a book written by Diana Biller yet, you are not living life to the fullest extent, I promise you.

After her mother spent years neglecting their family's hotel, which has been with them for generations, Maria Wallner got her hands on it and is determined to bring it back to glory again. If only she had more money...and things didn't keep falling apart. Living as the illegitimate daughter of a married man and a mother who seemed to care more about her dalliance than the wellbeing of her family, Maria has become used to managing things on her own. Handouts are not welcome, though the sentiment behind them are appreciated. When one of her recent guests, an American named Eli Whittaker, begins to insert himself into her daily happenings, she is intrigued by his mannerisms...and his mouth. And their acquaintance turns into something more when he saves her life not once but twice. Eli was sent to Vienna as an undercover operative of the US Treasury Secret Service, to determine who leaked American codes to foreign agents, and the trail leads to Maria's hotel. He soon discovers, however, that more is afoot than just leaked codes, and after saving Maria's life for a third time, he is newly dedicated to keeping her safe. His recent interest in her beyond the professional is just a passing notion...he hopes.

I loved watching the relationship between Eli and Maria develop. It wasn't too fast, happening gradually to allow for amazing development of the characters and their circumstances. It meant that when their feelings did come to fruition, it felt so natural and sweet. Eli was quite a bit of a grump, and Maria, while not necessarily a bubbly sunshine, tried to see the positive in everything. As they spent more time together, it was funny to watch Eli slowly find his smile again. One thing I think many readers will find intriguing is that we have a virgin hero on our hands in this book...with an experience lady willing to teach him the ropes. But perhaps the most hilarious part of that whole pairing is that Eli was so dedicated to ensuring his own education before they came together. He went to a special bookshop and purchased reading material...with pictures. It was adorable and so much sexier than I had imagined it would be. He was so concerned about making it good for her, and she was so patient with him the whole time. They really were the perfect pairing. Aside from the romance, the intrigue of the murder attempts on Maria kept me on the edge of my seat and had me guessing the whole time. Her family tree was wild, which meant I could never be sure if we were going to meet a potential suspect or a secret family member. Of which there were many.

As always, I am not disappointed in the slightest. Diana Biller writes with the intention to dazzle...and consider me dazzled. I can't wait to read what she writes next.

I read this too long ago to be able to write a proper review now, but I do remember really enjoying it! It was a different setting than I was used to, and I liked both the hero and heroine.