Hotel of Secrets

Now, I'm not the biggest reader of historical romance. For some reason we don't always click, these books and I, but I always give them a shot and I'm so, SO glad I decided to read Hotel of Secrets.
This may also be the first historical book I read set in Vienna and it was honestly so magical.

This book takes place in January 1878 Vienna. Maria Wallner is the hotel manager for Hotel Wallner and is trying to bring it back to the amazing heights it had before. With Maria comes her mother, her grandmother, Hannah (the cook), and some other zany characters staying at the hotel OR in some fashion related to Maria such as her father, her father's wife, her half-brother, her grandmother's lover, and her grandmother's lover's husband. Oh and we cannot forget Claude, the French spy, who spies on everyone, don't you know that's what spies do? —you see where this is going, right? This hotel and all the lovely characters are so full of life and mischief and drama.
Then, we have Eli Whittaker, the undercover American who works for the US Treasury trying to figure out who is passing off American secret codes. He's very serious, he doesn't smile, he believes 100% in justice and order. He's thrown into Vienna on New Year's Eve and into Ball Season. The waltz is played everywhere, government officials he is supposed to work with just take weeks off and seem to be nonchalant with secret codes and how currency works. It is his hell.

So, Eli is staying at Hotel Wallner where all this drama is happening, oh and gets caught up in Maria because of the assassination attempts. You could say, Maria and Eli are in an opposites attract type of love story. But honestly there is so much going on in this story their romance does sometimes take a backseat. Again, trying to bring a hotel to life, secret codes being “stolen”, assassination attempts, and more, so it can feel like the romance isn't done justice, but I friggin' loved it.

Here's the thing: the romance is done in a way where you can see the characters slowly moving from being on their own to being a team and go from staying the course of life to actually living. Eli is an absolute treat of a hero and one of my favorite book boyfriends. The competency, the researching and investigations, and his ability to listen... I love him to pieces. Maria is outgoing, a problem-solver, and determined. Nothing NOTHING is going to stop her from putting her hotel back on the map. She's also the sexually experienced/free one in this relationship with Eli being celibate/virgin so that change in dynamic was really cool. It is a slow burn and the pace was so smooth. As much as I loved Eli, I loved Maria just as much. This is a power couple just waiting to take Vienna by storm.

I could ramble on more about how much I love the main characters, but let's move onto everything else. I have been trying to figure out if this is a plot or character driven story, but I'm not quite sure. I'm leaning more towards plot, but when I think about it I start remembering how atmospheric the book is. It is so vibrant and loud. I almost turned on waltzing music to listen to while reading because it is mentioned so often. Everyone is dancing and having a great time (if they aren't in the laboring class) and I fell into the fun of it all. Some of the story/plot lines end ridiculously – in a fun way!– and some felt maybe too easy. Like, why did the ball have to move from the rival hotel? I'm just not sure if the reason was truly justified considering everything that happens to Hotel Wallner. But, the character ALL of the characters are so much fun and add so much to the story. Currently, laughing hurts my head and makes me dizzy, but this darn book kept making me laugh and swoon and I could not put it down.

There is drama to feed those of us who like Reality TV, humor for us who love to laugh, and a swoony romance for us romantics. The story is as beautiful as the cover. This book is one of my favorite historical romances and will definitely be one I re-read in the future.

I just finished Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller and here is what I thought..

Maria Wallner is on a path to do one thing... to restore the Hotel Wallner to its glory days. Nothing will stand in her way, nothing.
Definitely not the broad-shouldered American foreign agent who has saved her life... twice.. not matter how beautiful he is.

Eli Whittaker isn't looking for anything but to arrest the person selling American secrets. His only lead... the hotel.. yet he can't seem to help himself around the damsel in distress hotel owner and it is getting in his way...

This book is super cute! It was well written and I loved the two main characters. I am always looking for a solid historical fiction with quirky relatable characters so this one fits me like a glove. Love the mystery and intrigue throughout the book and the ending was fabulous!!!

The book checked all the boxes for me and was wonderfully entertaining

4.5 stars thank you @stmartinspress for my review copy!

#hotelofsecrets #historicalfiction #smpinfluencers