This was such a great read…and so unexpected. It was a murder mystery, historical romance, and so much more.

The characters were amazing. Maria was that perfect combination of self-sufficient, sassy, and resilient all rolled into one, but with a chip on her shoulder regarding love.

Eli was…he’s hard to describe. Capable, loving in his own distinct way, and delightfully original.

And the side characters were so well-done.

Just do yourself a favor and read it.

I loved this book so much! The time period and setting were so interesting and unique. I loved the mystery and the diary entries. The romance was well done. I wish I could visit Vienna during this time period the way it's described is vivid. The historical accuracy and passing mentions of different historical events happening in other countries made this book feel so rooted in history.

I liked the book. It had a good amount of mystery, romance, and smut thrown in. It was slow at some points but overall enjoyable. I loved that it was a historical story not set in the US ,England, or France. I enjoyed the characters and the overall story and look forward to reading more by this author!

The narration was well done and enjoyable

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was transported to the glitz and glam of Vienna in the late 19th century. I loved the cast of characters, the plot, the secrets, the steam, the mystery, and the pace of the story. This is my first story set in Vienna and it was fascinating. If you like historical mysteries give this one a chance. I listened to this and loved the narrator.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was an excellent mix of historical fiction, mystery, and romance. The voice acting f was good as well. Highly recommend it.

This is one of my highly anticipated reads to the point I requested the audiobook on Netgalley and pre-ordered the digital. I regret nothing because hands down this is a five star read

Hilarious, cheesy, sexy as hell and an intriguing mystery on top of everything else. I'm talking spies, closet shenanigans, risqué scenes, sabatoge and Vienna glamour in the late 1870s. I didn't want this to end. When I say you'll feel all the feels, it's an understatement.

The audiobook was narrated by Carlotta Brentan and she is phenomenal! I have a new fave narrator now. Unique and fitting voices for each character that never falter. She perfectly hits every voice on cue whether its emotional or molding to the atmosphere. She even had me hardcore grinning the majority of this read. I savored the ebook but inhaled the audio once it came through.

This novel has completely rekindled my love affair with historical fiction romance. All of the stars and hearts to Diana Biller! I also recommend checking out other reviews or just hitting that add to cart button. You will not be dissapointed if this is your genre.

Thank you Dreamscape Media for the gifted ALC and St. Martins Griffin for a beautiful physical copy! This will be a novel I'll continue to revisit and love.

Mystery, intrigue, romance and a family's legacy of secrets all come together to weave a riveting tale. A thoroughly enjoyable read. Would recommend for fans of historical fiction and mysteries, book clubs and anyone who has kept a secret.

This was a charming read, with such whimsy and love but also mystery and murder. It was very slow to start, but once I was in, I couldn’t stop. The family tree was a little confusing at times on audio, I’m not sure if I would have the same issue in print. As a fan of historical fiction, I found this one fascinating, learning about Vienna in the 1800s. Overall, great listen!

Review: Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller

Once in a great while I take a step outside of my contemporary romance bubble comfort reads and try something different and @simonandschuster is great at offering the perfect books for that! Thank you so much @simonandschuster #BookClubFavorites for the free book! And to @dreamscape_media and @Netgalley for my audio copy!

This book is giving serious historical fiction vibes for it being a historical romance. I really enjoyed the premise of this one. The setting was great and I loved all the people who lived at the hotel.

I just really struggled with the main characters feeling out of place in the time period. They often acted or spoke like character in modern novels and it took away from the element of historical fiction for me.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

I thought this was a fun read. Little bit of history, little bit of mystery and a decent romance. I liked the narrator as well!

I was lucky enough to get an ALC of this book from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media. I thoroughly enjoyed the narration.

This story is all about the Hotel Wallner in the 1870s. I had a hard time associating the way the story was written with the time period. It seemed very modern and the casualness they discussed sex and sexuality didn’t fit for me in a late 1800s story.

Nothing seems to go well for Maria. Know matter how hard she’s trying to bring the hotel back to its glory, there’s so much sabotage and obstacles for her to overcome. And not only that, she’s trying to avoid ‘the man’, a family myth about the women falling for a specific man that doesn’t stick around. Eli had no idea what he was walking into staying at the Hotel Wallner.

It started off being interesting, then when the American Spy and the Hotel Manager began to explore each other's bodies, it became awkward. It was like listening to my grandparents figuring out how to have sex when one is a virgin and the other is just ready to get at it. Yea, that was a weird few chapters for me.

The mystery, betrayal, and romance kept me wanting to read more with this story. Despite the awkward sex scenes, I truly enjoyed Maria and Eli's love story.

I'm still not sure what to think of this book. Parts of it were wonderful. I loved the overall storyline and the twits throughout the adventure. I feel like some language was very out of place in taking with the rest of the book. Definitely not for everyone but if you like unique books it's worth a try.

Hotel of Secrets indeed.
I was given the opportunity to listen to The audiobook by NetGalley and the publisher Dreamscape Media.

The Narrator did a great job voicing this novel.

The story was filled with so many twist and turns. At times it was difficult to focus on the main character’s storyline due to the subplots. However, the love story of the main characters ended up being a welcomed, beautiful part of the book. I recommend this book to those that love suspense and romance novels.

I absolutely loved this story about a multi generational family, headed by women, running a hotel in Vienna that was on its comeback at the cusp of World War II. The women were fated to have one daughter to pass the hotel to that one extraordinary love of their lives.

Enter the American, who has come to Vienna to find out who has been stealing the American codes and publishing them.

Trouble keeps finding them. Marie is hell-bent on not succumbing to the trappings of her fate . Will love win out in the end?

#HotelofSecrets #NetGalley

DNF 25% - I could not get into this read. The audio narration was not good. It was like a bad version of the muppets and all of the characters/ voices very confusing to follow.

This novel was a funny, romantic, and detailed historical fiction! There was no lack of family drama and intrigue. I was transported back to Vienna, Austria.
Many thanks to the author, Dreamscape and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

(3.75 stars)

I enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure what I was expecting when i started reading. I love going into books blind. I love starting books with just the blurb and a hint. but thats it.

I loved the characters in the book. I loved that Maria is so strong and steady. The things I wasn't a big fan of was the pacing of the book. the exciting parts were to quickly over and the meandering parts were like wandering through a hedge maze trying to find something exciting.

The book is totally worth the read, but the pacing is just not my cup of tea.

Thank you so much to @dcbiller for taking me out of my own literary box. and introducing me to this world.

Thank you @netgalley & @dreamscape_media for the ARC audiobook!

The cover for this book is gorgeous. I however felt like at least on audio it was hard to concentrate on what was going on. It did make me laugh at parts and the quirky suspense part was enjoyable but I didn’t get lost in the story or really develop an interest for any of the characters.

// thank you to net galley and the publishers for gifting me this arc!

this book reminded me why we love historical fiction. the setting, late 1870s vienna during ball season, was unique and immaculately written and made me want to go back in time. little fragments of journals would be given at the start of each chapter too, going all the way back to the main character's great grandmother, and gave this book such a wonderfully deep, historical feeling. the way the political issues and institutions of the time were interwoven into this story was fantastic and I'm so impressed at the amount of research this author must have had to do!

in terms of plot, i thought it was a very interesting set-up and the dynamics between the characters were wonderful. learning about both eli and maria's motivations and backstory was so interesting, but the surrounding cast of characters was also amazing, especially maria's grandmother josephine. i will say that this book struggled to define itself—i think it tried too hard to be both a historical romance and a mystery and so failed at being distinctly either. the romance was sweet, but i didn't really connect to either character—sometimes they felt a little flat or unrealistic to me. there didn't seem to me a clear reason why eli and maria would work as a couple. the mystery plot and the ending in general felt a little rushed for me, although the reveal was genuinely unexpected, it also felt a little unnecessary.

the audiobook was wonderfully narrated! although (and this was entirely my fault) I did have to endure listening to four *seperate* sex scenes on a very full, very public train and that made me *very* uncomfortable 😀