I really liked the narrator! She did a great job bringing everyone to life. Thank you for my ALC!

Part historical romance, part mystery this book was entertaining but confusing. There were a ton of characters and I got mixed up a lot. There were also a lot of subplots spinning and one or 2 never really resolved.

This was spicier than I was expecting and felt a lot more modern too. Lots of modern ideas (like sexual consent or a woman head chef at the hotel) which I liked but wasn’t sure it was historically accurate. I was able to suspend that belief though! Overall entertaining if you’re able to get over the long list of characters.

I wanna start by saying until now, I haven’t read a historical book in years. But I absolutely loved this one! I love Marie & Eli, but it was the thriller aspect that kept me engrossed.

Everything everyone has been saying about this book is true, it's wonderful!

I loved the atmosphere and the characters the most. I got to escape to a grand hotel filled with drama and romance. I think the characters are developed really well and are super likeable. The romance was sweet and a bit steamy too!

The narrator did a fantastic job. I really felt immersed in the story and loved all the accents!

This was a great audiobook; Carlotta Brenton handled the accents and the nuisances of various characters so well that it was always easy to identify whom was speaking and when.

The story has some creative elements: the three generations of strong women, the dilapidated hotel, the historic elements, and the muddied family trees. It was nice to see various interactions between all the characters, but I was mostly charmed by the strong females. As someone who is never very impressed with overwhelming feminism, I think this story did justice to how strong women aren't always the ones in the forefront of the crowd, but the ones behind the scenes keeping everything going.

The grandmother is the one whose story I would REALLY love to read....

Overall: 4.5 stars

I'll tell my students about: sex, language, physical violence, LGBTQIA+, parental death, blood/gore, trauma

**Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the free ALC.. All opinions expressed are my own.**

Thank you @StMartinsPress, @Dreamscape_Media and @Netgalley for the #gifted ARC/ALC of HOTEL OF SECRETS!

I absolutely adored Diane Biller’s THE WIDOW OF ROSE HOUSE and was so thrilled when I saw she had a new book coming out. Thankfully HOTEL OF SECRETS did not disappoint.

The banter and chemistry between hotel proprietress Maria Wallner and American agent Eli Whittaker is off the charts. I absolutely swooned as these two fell for each other.

And on top of this love story, we also have historical fiction set in 1870s Vienna aka the golden era of Viennese balls and parties as well as a bit of a spy novel. After all, Eli is in Vienna to track down whoever is selling American codes across Europe. And someone keeps trying to murder Maria.

Don’t let this cover fool you into thinking this is just another historical romance. It’s so, so much more than that. There is Maria’s fated “dark haired man”. A running joke about what one can get up to in hotel linen closets and how Maria can best outfit them for her guests. And a celibate spy who does the research so that he can please his lover… and cites his sources. ;)

This book is long at 400 pages but I didn’t want to leave this gorgeous world that Biller has written or the two MCs that captured my heart.

HOTEL OF SECRETS comes out on March 28!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5094536079
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqIwjeZrFu5/

This was a cute historical romance set in the 1800s in a hotel with a fun "who keeps trying to kill the main character" type mystery!

I will say the romance was like sweet, sweet then oh my 🔥🔥🔥. That scene in the closet tho. *blushes* It had a undercover agent, bodyguard, protective thing I was all for. 😍 But I will say I felt it dragged out a little long. I got a touch bored in one section but then the ending with the mystery twist did surprise me! Overall, it was enjoyable and I liked the audio format but wished it had been a little shorter! But it definitely has some spice which for some reason I wasn't expecting. 😂 The romance was definitely my fav part. Eli was ADORABLE!!!!!!

I adored this book. The setting was so lush and vivid, and it felt so different from most other historical romance. Diana Biller excelled at bringing Vienna to life, and I wanted to stay completely immersed in it. The romance was so lovely and passionate, and I could go on and on about my love for stern but soft virgin heroes who fall for strong, confident women, but the setting was definitely my favorite aspect of the book. The cast of characters was also so bright and lovable—I initially was concerned bc there were so many to keep straight, but by the end I’d gotten to know and love each of them well enough that I didn’t have much trouble. Also, the competence porn!! Eli and Maria were so perfect for each other, the romance was never overshadowed by the complex mystery & external plot.

Re: the audiobook specifically, I thought it was phenomenal. The narrator did a wonderful job with all the various accents and really distinguishing each of the many characters. I’m particularly picky about heroes’ voices in audiobooks, but she really knocked Eli out of the park.

This book surprised me! I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. First, I really enjoyed the way that the author brought historical facts into the novel. It felt like its own character in a way. Second, a moment of appreciation is needed for Claude who, to me, was absolutely HILARIOUS! I loved his comic relief every time he come into the scene so much! Third, the book did a very good job of keeping me guessing who the assassin(s) were.

Maria and Eli’s relationship was perfectly written and unexpected. The way that they brought out the best parts of each other was so sweet to witness. Their playful banter has me literally smiling throughout the whole book. And, *SPOILER ALERT*, for Eli to have been a virgin prior to being with Maria… DAMN! I ain’t mad at you at all Eli! 😉

There were a ton of characters in this book and, while it was a little hard to keep up with them all at times, I feel like there’s a great opportunity to write more books following other people’s relationships.

This book kept me guessing the whole time. I was so invested in the plot and the characters and the success of the hotel… Just brilliant!

I love it when a story has enough ebb and flow to keep me reading, and this one, while it was slow in the beginning, had enough twists and turns to keep it interesting throughout. (But not so many that it felt like whiplash, yknow?) It was part drama, part romance, part mystery, and all fascinating.

The hotel itself was such a major part of the plot, and when a setting lends itself to the story as well as this, it’s a winner for me. Additionally, the intrigue of political secrets and assassination attempts and family history was so good. It felt so balanced. Not a single thing overpowered the others—the whole story was woven together so well.

The family and found family dynamics in this book were great. And obviously, it’s a huge part of the story itself. Maria and Eli were so perfect. I suppose I would have liked his background to be more integral to the plot, but that probably would have doubled the length of the book. His story is the only thing that felt like it could be a loose end.

The open door romance in this book is a plot point, so be aware of that if it’s not your thing. But the way Maria and Eli’s relationship developed felt so natural. And the ending was so satisfying.

Historical fiction can be so detailed, and I love how this book used journal entries to recount some of the historical events. Overall, I loved the storytelling—Diana Biller nailed this one. Thanks to the author, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A quirky fun love story with a mix of espionage and mystery. I found this really intriguing and loved learning Vienna in 1878, it's such an interesting unique location I've never had the chance to read about its history before. I loved the writing and the characters they were so funny and even spicy at times. The family and relationship dynamics were also really interesting and I loved seeing them develop and blossom into what they became at the end. Overall I really loved it and will be checking out more by this author.

It’s a new year 1878 in Vienna, Austria at the Wallner Hotel, struggling to house guests after the financial failures across the country a few years prior. Maria Wallner loves her hotel, somewhat of a legacy in her family, she’s excited to host the Hotel Keeper’s Ball.

When a premonition is made about “The Man” Maria will meet and fall in love with, she’s not interested in falling in love with any handsome strangers. She meets the dark handsome Eli Whittaker while he’s saving her from getting hit by a carriage. On assignment from America, Eli is looking for a spy in possession of their secret codes. Their attraction however cannot be denied, Eli can’t help to protect Maria when multiple attempts are made on her life, why is she being targeted?

A group of quirky characters, family drama, masked assassins and the mystery really move this story forward. I particularly enjoyed the historical aspects of this novel, detailing in short journal entries real life events such as the Panic of 1873, the Herzegovina uprising, even Beethoven made a couple appearances! A bit of a slow burn but I thought the last couple chapters were gripping and made the story come together when the mystery is revealed. Big kudos to the narrator, Carlotta Brentan, for bringing whimsy to the characters, especially Hanna as I enjoyed all her baking and general shenanigans happening at the hotel, you will be laughing about the linen closets for a bit :)

Big 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an early copy of the audiobook for an honest review.

What a lovely romp through Vienna in the 19th century. A very well written love story mixed with mystery and the power of family. I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook from Netgalley and it was very fun. I would say this had everything that I would usually go for with mystery and romance. Also, grumpy/sunshine trope is so cute.

This is a historical romance with mystery & suspense. The beginning chapters set the scene & the plot develops quickly. Sadly there is no warning in the blurb that the romance is very explicit, & this detracts from the overall plot. It’s placed at a point that disrupts the mystery as it unfolds hence upsetting the flow. The solution to the mystery seems like an afterthought.

I really wanted to like this book because I love historical fiction and was excited to read about a story set in Vienna (and in ball season! Dreamy setting). Sadly after getting 54% of the way I just had to DNF. I really tried but after halfway through I still couldn’t care about the main characters that much. I preferred side relationships over the main romance and felt like there was too much going on plot wise. It’s a bit of history, espionage, and romance all in one but it was lacking in the historical aspect because it was trying so hard to focus on too many plot lines and many characters.

Overall I’d still recommend to historical romance lovers looking for a light storyline which was enjoyable enough

I quite enjoyed this audiobook!
The narrators has a beautiful accent that makes you feel like your right there in Vienna.
The story line cool and keeps you guessing all the while semi swooning! ♥️♥️
Add a little spice and you have a saucy little mystery novel.

Thanks for the change to listen in exchange for a review NetGalley.

Maria inherited her family’s hotel in Vienna and all she wants to do is to restore it to its former glory. Random things keep happening, like masked assassins, and a distracting American foreign agent, and they’re distracting but she’s determined. Eli, the foreign agent, only wants one thing – to find out who’s selling American secrets – and Maria keeps drawing his interest. With tension high, Maria and Eli find themselves drawn to each other with unmistakable force. Will they each get what their after – or have they bitten off more than they can chew?

I have really got into audiobooks this year and am really enjoying. The narrator on this one was fantastic! The narrator helped raise this one above what I imagined. The characters were so well done and they were exactly how I imagined them to be. The narrator also nailed every accent that was written into the characters – just wonderful.

This book was fantastic. I loved that the male was a virgin instead of the woman! I cannot remember a book where that has happened. I did not expect this one to be an open door romance – and three scenes at that! Woot!

My only complaint is that there were so many characters it was hard to keep track at some points, but the narration really helped with that.

I highly recommend you check this one out – its great on audio but I bet it would be great in print as well. Out March 28th

Thank you so much to Dreamscape Media, @dreamscape_media, and Netgalley, @netgalley for this ALC copy in exchange for this honest review.

A little mystery and a little love! Listening to Maria’s story was captivating and when Eli comes to town, things change.

Maria has had terrible luck, but when her hotel is needed to host an event, luck appears to take a turn. Eli comes to town as an American spy and appears to save Maria at every chance during several attempts of murder. Eli’s character has a soothing and comforting manner, albeit inexperienced compared to Maria.

Hotel of Secrets follows mystery and brings the past forward in a story of love, murder and family secrets.

Listening to this audiobook was absolutely fabulous and the narration brought the characters and feelings to life.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the story and the narration was emotional and entertaining. Some of the accents I think could have been better or more authentic is the only criticism I would have for the audiobook. Thank you for this listening opportunity!

3.5 stars
Entertaining and fun read. It was a nice change of era for me. Romance,intrigue and laughter how can you go wrong :)

Thanks NetGalley for this arc

Normally, historical romance books take place in England, so imagine my surprise when I found out this hotel novel takes place in Vienna! Finally, a new city to read about - and what a fun city it was!

Vienna's high society and its nightlife came to life in this fun romance. I adored learning about how the aristocracy behaved - these are no dowdy English ladies! And the balls! So many decadent balls. I just loved the premise of this one too - the granddaughter of the emperor's mistress is reopening her family's hotel when a CIA agent shows up to uncover shady financial issues and spoil her plans.