I love historical fiction, and this didn’t disappoint. This is story that draws you in and keeps you there, until the final page.
Wonderful, likable characters, as you follow Kate Morgan in her journey into the past, and her contact with movie stars, ghosts and a handsome stranger.
Go back further and learn the story of the Hotel Del Coronado’s famous ghost, who needs a conclusion to her own story.
Camille Di Maio always has interesting and complex characters, and she does provide them here. My thanks to Lake Union, and Net Galley for the ARC. I loved the book and bet you will too.

A beautiful story of following your dreams and finding your roots. I've been to the Del and could feel myself along those hallways in this book. Some truths and some fiction weave a mystery of the ghost of the Del and the main character's journey from San Francisco to Coronado to fulfill a dream and search for someone her grandfather refers to as the beautiful stranger. Great characters and story development. Even a glimpse at Hollywood and movie making in the 50s. A great read! Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC

I love historical fiction because it's a chance to learn something through the art of story. And by that definition, Girls on the Line excelled. On its surface, it was about friendship, romance, and family with the backdrop of World War I. But subtly, it demonstrated how women of the era had their feet in both the Victorian times and the new world. It was quite a life to straddle. Equally compelling was learning about the women who operated telephone lines even quite close to the front lines and didn't get proper recognition from the government until the 1970s. I don't say this often about a book, but put this one at the TOP of your TBR list.

This book will interest fans of historical fiction. It has a complex group of characters, told by 2 people 60 years apart. The book weaves together pieces of a puzzle involving the 2 people from 60 years apart. A ghost and a young woman honoring her grandfather's wish to find the beautiful stranger, before he is totally lost in his dementia. A good blend of romance, history, and mystery. I highly recommend it. Thanks to the publisher, the author and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this advance copy.

Camille Di Maio has a way with words. The sentences flow like liquid and, before you know it, you're at the end of the book. This book follows five weeks of young, naive Kate Morgan's life and dips back sixty years into the eternal life of Hotel Del Coronado's ghost. Kate's got some history to unravel, courtesy of her Grandpa George and a touch of dementia, and she does it surrounded by movie stars filming at the hotel of her granddad's memories.

I love historical fiction because I can google places detailed in the story. This author did a great job describing the hotel and the "island" of Coronado itself. A well-researched peek into the lives of the cast of Some Like It Hot, the fashion of the times, and relatable dialogue. My only issue is the timing. That all this happens in five weeks is a bit of a stretch, and days seem to go by but it turns out its only a day.

Regardless, this is a great book to follow the author's other great books. I simply loved The Memory of Us and Before the Rain Falls. I encourage you to pick up this and any others and snuggle in for a good read. I was able to read this book before publication in return for my review. Ms. Di Maio has quickly become one of my favorite authors.

Wow! This book just enveloped my life for two days while I was turning each page.
I was transported to 1958 to begin an adventure with a young woman.
Kate Morgan feels the urgency to honor her grandfathers wishes of finding "The Beautiful Stranger" before his dementia completely sweeps him away.
Kate travels to the Hotel del Coronado on the island of Coronado, California.
Her plan is to stay for a short time and find the answers she is searching for.
With only a small amount of money and the clothes on her back, she falls in love with this magical location.
She finds a job, movie stars, new friends and life changing knowledge.

This story is told by two people, sixty years apart and we hear the thoughts and hopes, from a ghost who dwells in the hotel as so many do!
The connections and intricate details in Camille Di Maio's book had me hanging on to each word as the pieces of the puzzle begin to mesh together.

"If there is not hope, then what is there to save us?" This is my favorite quote in the book. It is hope that all would be made right, even if took years to obtain.

What a wonderful story! Thanks to @camilledimaio__author and @lakeunionauthors @netgalley and @getredpr for the early read! I love camille and all her books!

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. I love reading about places i want to go and about people i want to learn more about. I also love reading novels with minor characters that are well known and an outside story that carries the novel on its own but adds to the historical portion. This novel checked all the boxes! THE BEAUTIFUL STRANGERS centers on The Hotel Del Coranado, which was where the Wizard of Oz was written and Marilyn Monroe played and worked. (I am so intrigued by this beautiful location and wouls like to go there someday. ) the main character is Kate Morgan in two forms: one- a spirit that checked in during the 1880s and died in the hotel. Second- a 20something spirited girl who came to California with a few dollars, a dream of working in the movies and a message from her ailing Grandfather - follow your heart, find the beautiful stranger and save her.
I loved both stories and the strong voices of both Kates. I loved the supporting characters and will be haunted by Kate Morgan and this story for a long time!

Cant wait to share this magical story with others when it hits shelves March 5!

For fans of: Kate Morton, Fiona Davis, Adriana Trigiani.

Dream cast:

Kate Morgan (ghost) Reese Witherspoon (as a brunette)

Kate Morgan (girl) Holland Roden

Sean ODonnell Eddie Redmayne

#historicalfictionnovel #hoteldelcoronado #hollywood #starlets #comingsoon‼️

This is my second book by this author and like the other one it quickly pulls you in and keeps you there! Her descriptions make you feel like you’re in the Coronado and on the beach. The duo time lines were easy to follow, one story so achingly sad. Love historical fiction and love her stories!!
Thank you for the early read!!

THE BEAUTIFUL STRANGERS by Camille Di Maio is a beautifully-written and magical story of love and family that kept me engaged from beginning to end. A captivating work of historical fiction, it is set in the late 1950s in and around the illustrious Hotel del Coronado, a landmark beachfront property just over the bridge from San Diego, California. Kate Morgan, a young woman trapped in the drudgery of working in her family’s restaurant in San Francisco, longs to escape to a different kind of life than generations of her family have ever known. She unexpectedly gets her chance when her ailing grandfather makes a desperate plea that she go to Coronado and find “the beautiful stranger”. When Kate arrives at the Hotel del Coronado, she is offered a dream job helping on the movie set of Some Like It Hot. Surrounded by famous actors and a hotel manager she can’t get out of her mind, Kate searches for clues about “the beautiful stranger”, who she soon learns may be connected to her own life in ways she could never have imagined. I truly enjoyed this heartwarming story. It had the perfect blend of history, mystery and romance and I highly recommend it! Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.

Another wonderful novel by Camille di Maio. Two women fifty years apart whose stories connect.the gorgeous location the luxurious Hotel del Coronado. Drew me right in took me out of my world into this delicious novel highly recommend this book and all the authors books, #netgalley #thebeautifulstrabgers #lakeunionpublishing,

Well written and very entertaining,like the way the author includes flashback from the past to the present entwining the two women each with a different purpose in life.
Good description,and captures the era of the times,setting the scene for the plot if the story.
Well recommended.

It’s 1958 and Kate Morgan wants out of her stultifying life in San Francisco and her escape comes in the form of a plea from her grandfather. Sent to the glamorous and stories Hotel del Coronado, Kate is tasked with finding the “beautiful stranger” for her grandfather. When Kate is offered a job at the hotel, famous for its role in the Marilyn Monroe movie Some Like it Hot, she’s thrilled. But the glamorous hotel has plenty of tragic secrets, including the death of a guest sixty years before. A guest that is said to have never checked out. This is such a fun story, capturing the elegance, romance and tragedy of the Del and incorporating its most famous haunting