Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller

On By BarbaraIn America's Gilded Age (1870-1900), Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Standalone Title, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

Hotel of Secrets

Barbara’s rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: 3/28/22
Period: Gilded age/Victorian – Vienna
Number of Pages: 416

This was a wonderfully crafted melding of two people who are so very different, yet so very much the same. As I began reading, I kept thinking “How will these two get together?” – then – OMGoodness, I couldn’t picture either of them without the other. It is a beautifully written romance and mystery rolled into one. I loved each of the characters in the book – except the villain, of course – and would love to see Maria’s brother and Hanna both featured in future books – together or separately.

Maria Wallner comes from a line of very intelligent and independent women who don’t marry. Yet, they each find ‘the man’, the love of their life who will father a daughter to continue the line. The ladies own the Hotel Wallner, once the premier hotel in Vienna. They hosted the most creative, lavish, fairytale, balls of the Vienna season, but, as Maria’s mother was not a very attentive steward, the hotel has fallen into disrepair. The hotel is now Maria’s responsibility and she fully intends to restore it to its former glory – even if she has to scrub and repair every inch of it herself. She’s been making progress, but ‘accidents’ keep happening that cause damage to the hotel – and almost to Maria. She’s been fortunate enough to be saved each time her life was in danger – will her luck hold out?

Eli Whittaker, an agent of the US Treasury Department, has been sent to Vienna to track down whoever has stolen and sold some US codes. All he wants to do is to track down the traitor and bring them to justice so he can go home and get back to his other cases. However, he has difficulty concentrating on his case because he keeps having to save a beautiful young woman who manages the hotel in which he is staying. Is she part of his case? She will certainly remain a suspect until he can prove otherwise. Still, she is beautiful – and intelligent – and resourceful . . .

While I liked Maria, I loved Eli. He was such a different kind of character that he caught and held my interest from the beginning. He is not your normal ‘romantic hero’, but he is exactly the right hero for Maria and I would have loved to see a bit of an epilogue that takes place five or so years later. I would love to see them with children – boys and girls – and I’d love to see the elegant hotel fully restored and at the height of fashion.

This was a delightful read and I can recommend it. Should you choose to read it, I hope you will love it as much as I did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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What Happens in the Ballroom by Sabrina Jeffries

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

What Happens in the Ballroom (Designing Debutantes, #2)What Happens in the Ballroom by Sabrina Jeffries

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Designing Debutantes, #2

Release Date: March 28, 2023

Nathaniel Stanton, the Earl of Foxstead is a man with a lot of responsibilities and a lot of secrets. After returning from the war and mourning the death of his mother, Nate needs to fulfill a deathbed promise he made to his commanding officer. A promise to see the man’s daughter, Jocelin, and her young son Jimmy taken care of, but to do that he will need help, so he turns to Mrs. Eliza Pierce, widow of his friend Samuel and co-owner of Elegant Occasions. Nathaniel has always thought Eliza is beautiful, but she seems even more so now and she is gracious when he reveals that he is the reason her husband ran off to war. The more time he spends with her, the more he wants, unfortunately, his secrets make it impossible to marry her right now, but he hopes Eliza will be able to help Jocelin find a husband so he can complete his promise to Jocelin’s father and then court Eliza and convince her to give marriage another try.

One husband was more than enough as far as Eliza is concerned, she is happy working behind the scenes of the business she and her two sisters started. When Nathaniel asks for her help launching his ward, she is happy to help the young widow but wonders about the relationship between Jocelin and Nathaniel, especially in relation to Jocelin’s young son. Nathaniel assures her that there is nothing going on, nor has there ever been anything between them. Eliza urges him to stay away from Jocelin, as it is clear the young woman has deeper feelings for him, and when Jocelin approaches them, Nathaniel pulls Eliza into a toe-curling kiss that Nathaniel says is for confirmation (that’s his story and he’s sticking to it). Upon seeing Jocelin’s reaction, he agrees to stay away but is more determined than ever to win Eliza. Eliza finds herself considering marriage again, but when she learns one of Nathaniel’s secrets from a third party, will she still be willing to trust him with her heart?

As always, Ms. Jeffries’s writing is impeccable and her characters are not only easy to relate to, they are easy to like. This book gives the eldest Harper sister a long overdue HEA with a man that has even more secrets than Geoffrey from the previous book did! I wanted to like this book more than I did, but I just had a hard time justifying Nathaniel’s deception to protect his secrets. I kept thinking, if he can’t trust her, how can he love her? Anyway, the book still delivered a great story with likable characters, a cute toddler, LOTS of secrets, some surprising twists, warm love scenes, familiar recurring characters, delightful new characters, more than one romance, and a sweet HEA complete with an epilogue. This is the second book in the series, but it can definitely be read as a standalone title.

*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.*