***I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.***
Diana Biller's Hotel of Secrets is chock full of banter-filled shenanigans, must-have-you kisses, and romance certain to light a fire in the hearts of readers everywhere.
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.
"A beautifully researched and emotionally complex experience, Hotel of Secrets is an opulent slice of Viennese tradition as rich as a torte and as layered as a complicated line of Strauss. With intrigue and danger that nips on the heels of its luscious waltz, Biller’s lush and atmospheric escape is dolloped with romance and the deep, complicated and sigh-worthy characters that always shoot her to the top of my auto-buy list." - Rachel McMillan, author of The Mozart Code
Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller is a sexy historical romance set in Vienna during the late 1800s. The book has romance, spies, mystery, assassins, and excitement
Story Recap:
Maria Wallner is the manager of what used to be one of the most notorious hotels in Vienna. She wants to bring it back from irrelevance and disrepair to turn it to its former glory as the place to be seen around Vienna.
Eli Whittaker stays at Maria’s hotel to flush out the person selling American secret codes across Europe. The only clue he has is the person sent a letter from Maria’s hotel. Eli doesn’t expect to have to save Maria from an assassin and other threats to her while he is staying at her hotel.
My Thoughts:
I enjoyed so many things about this book. The setting in Vienna was very well described as were the beautiful descriptions of the grand Hotel Wallner. I loved that the author chose Vienna, as it gave a beautiful and festive background to the story.
Maria and Eli are terrific characters. Maria is a modern woman for her time and I loved her independent spirit and her love of her family. Eli is more reserved and quiet, but it’s because of his painful past, and this makes him keep everyone at arm’s length. Their chemistry was fantastic, and I loved how their love grew over time as they each battled with their own individual issues as well as physical threats.
I loved this story, the characters, the setting, the dialogue, the plot, and everything in between. Hotel of Secrets has a steamy romance, exciting mystery, witty banter, and a gorgeous setting.
Recommendation:
I highly recommend Hotel of Secrets to anyone who enjoys historical romantic suspense. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
About Diana Biller
I think the best way to you about myself is to tell you about the things I love. So here's a completely inexhaustive list: I love my husband, my dog, my family, and my friends. I love ballet--both watching it and taking adult beginner classes. I love hiking alone, writing in gardens, and jumping in waves. I love Disneyland. I love Los Angeles, where I live. I love reading--it's my oldest passion and my favorite.
And I love playing pretend, which is, for me at least, the thing underneath all the words and writing. I love living in worlds I've imagined, and I love meeting every new character who walks into them. I hope you'll love them too.
Oh yay! I’m so glad to see how much you enjoyed it. It looks gorgeous and my library just got it on audio so I cannot wait!
So happy to see you loved this one too!
I love that cover and love the sound of historical hotel setting with mystery and romance. Amazing review!
I’m excited to read this one. I really loved her previous novel.
It’s always nice when a setting has many descriptions to feel like you are there! Great review!
The setting appeals so much. I’m glad this turned out an enjoyable read, Wendy 🙂
Just wanted to say that the ‘like’ option seems to have vanished from your page since yesterday, don’t know if I’m the only one unable to see this.
I can’t see your like button again. Do you still have it ?
Thanks for letting me know. I’ve been messing with the plugins again. It should be good now
This sounds so good. Lovely review Wendy!💜
This one sounds brilliant, I love the fact that it’s set in Vienna which is a city I love to read about although I’ve never visited. Great Review.