A refreshing romance novel set in the glittering world of Imperial Austria! It’s fun to see one outside of London, y’know? Maria is a delightful heroine with a wild family history. Quite enjoyable, and I’d love to read more romances set in the hotel!

Diana Biller’s Hotel of Secrets is one part romance, once part historical fiction, one part mystery. Biller definitely manages to keep the suspense and the romance rollicking along, making for a delightful read.

Maria Wallner has dedicated herself to restoring the Hotel Wallner, her legacy and the family’s pride and joy, to its former luster. To that end, she decides to throw a big, splashy do to indicate the hotel is open and willing for business when it comes to dances and balls during carnival season, no matter how much her family opposes her.

That’s when the attacks by masked assailants start, which proves to be only one obstacle standing between Maria and her hopes of reviving the hotel; another is her selfish mother, who, after four generations of matriarchal ownership, has shirked her duties regarding the business for years, and that, together with Vienna’s economic downturn, means it’s time for a major refurbishment.

Fortunately, Eli Whittaker – handsome American Treasury agent with a mission – is on hand to intervene. He does not want to be involved in Diana’s business – he’s much keener on trying to figure out who’s selling American codes in secret all over Europe to the country’s enemies. A lead draws him to the Wallner, but Maria’s problems are a distraction, to say the least.

Maria and Eli find themselves embroiled in two mysteries which may indeed dovetail together – and a love match which might indeed turn out to be divine. But he’s wedded to his Washington DC lifestyle, and Vienna is her home. Between kidnapping plots and the distractions the guests and her parents provide, will they figure out where they belong?

Great characters + fun mystery + banter + oodles of hero and heroine-based romantic chemistry = Diana Biller, and this book is no different than any of their others (all of which I’ve adored) in that regard. Her dialogue is smart, and the romance as delicious as a Viennese pastry.

This is a great romance – filled with wit and life. Eli is very internalized, and very conservative while Maria is more passionate and bold. Her love of her hotel and of Vienna glows brightly in her every action. But her love for Eli is just as beautiful. Their connection goes from annoyance to love to lust to desire, and it’s wonderfully handled.

Maria’s grandmother is definitely my favorite supporting character, but there are a lot of wonderful folks floating about in the prose. Biller knows how to create people you love and loathe, and relationships you root for. Every bit of it is fantastic.

In the end, Hotel of Secrets doesn’t quite manage to climb above The Widow of Rose House for me, but it landed just a notch below that auspicious novel. It’s quite a great ride, and fans of romance, of mysteries and of good historical fiction will likely gobble it up.

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This book is an absolute delight! It has mystery, music, culture, history, humor, drama, and of course an incredible romance. And if you love a buttoned up hero, this is absolutely the book for you! I loved it and will be reading it again!

I absolutely love this story. I do think it needs some more editing-just some slight misspellings and some wording- but otherwise it was a captivating read.

This book was a fun historical fiction romance/mystery. I liked the multi-generational feel and the setting of the hotel. I really loved the male MC, I felt like he was different and likable. The romance was great and I found myself turning pages to find out what would happen.

A fizzy delight of a book! I was swept away by the unique setting and delicious banter. Can't wait to read more by Briller!

I love reading books set in this time period, although this one did not quite follow many of the "rules" and expectations during this time-it seemed to be made up as it pleased the author. Most of the characters were well developed. I could feel Eli's broody attitude through the pages and I really liked Josephine. I did not quite follow the plot, as Eli's big investigation seemed to slowly slip into the back story without really being as big of a part of the plot as it was in the first part of the book. It was quite open door, which I did not suspect so that was surprising. I liked that the characters came together in the end and supported one another.

This was a wonderfully fun read. Banter, intrigue, mystery, romance, all in the very evocative atmosphere of bygone Vienna. It was a pleasant change from the plethora of historical romances set in London/England. I loved the main character Maria - strong, quirky, fun, and imperfectly human. Eli wasn't quite as well-developed, I thought, but I did love the chemistry between them and the banter that ensued. And the hotel really did feel like its own little world in the larger world of Vienna. Overall, I highly enjoyed and read more from this author or in this series if it was turned into one.

This book has a little bit of everything - found family, hilarious characters, scandal, drama, romance, suspense, and intrigue. Sometimes I felt like it was a little bit *too* much. But it was an overall enjoyable read and I will definitely read more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and St. Martin's for the eARC in exchange for my review.

This was a fun read with lots of twists & turns! I really enjoyed that the hotel felt like a character all its own as well as the focus on found family.

Hotel of Secrets is a wonderful tale that held my interest from start to finish. Set during Vienna in the late 1870s, it is part mystery, part romance and a whole lot of fun!

Maria Wallner has been hard at work trying to bring her family’s once splendid Hotel Wallner back to its former glory. Eli Whittaker, a guest at the hotel, is a U.S. Treasury agent sent to Vienna to find out who stole codes from the American Legation there--an assignment that he believes is a wild goose chase. The sole lead he has for his investigation is a letter that was sent from the Hotel Wallner.

Several attempts on Maria’s life keep bringing Maria and Eli together, as he always is on hand to save her. Their relationship is both tender and funny as the two try to figure out what they are to each other amid increasingly desperate attempts by unknown parties to sabotage the hotel’s revival and/or to kill Maria.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, there are numerous funny moments in the book, many of them involving Maria’s complicated family and loyal members of the hotel staff. Maria and Eli are a marvelous couple, easy to root for and like; both with an enormous, untapped capacity to love. It was a pleasure to follow their adventures as they discover the many secrets of Hotel Wallner.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC!

“Hotel of Secrets,” by Diana Biller, is a historical fiction book set in 1870s Vienna. In this book, the reader follows Maria, the current owner of the Hotel Wallner, Eli, an American Government agent, and a number of Maria’s family and friends. This book started out really strongly for me - a New Year’s gala ball, wondering how Eli fit into everything, and then a who is trying to sabotage the Hotel Wallner. I really liked Eli - from his quiet observations to his resourcefulness for knowledge (what he could’ve done with Google I find rather interesting to ponder). I did get a few of the characters confused as the book progressed, but I think that was due to me skimming a bit. There are trigger warnings for this book on Ms. Biller’s website. What I wasn’t expecting was detailed “sexy time.” I understand why people have loved this book - the description of the time were good, one could feel like they were actually in the hotel (or at the ball or in Vienna). I would read another book by Ms. Biller, but for me, sadly, this book didn’t always work regarding Eli’s mission and the eventual who-done-it. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

I really enjoyed this book! At first I wasn't sure if I'd love the writing, but by about a quarter of the way in I found myself too caught up in the story and characters to mind anymore. I found it really engaging and was very invested in what would happen, and in the romance. Slightly more spoilery/specific notes below:

(Also I normally wouldn't comment on the sex scenes specifically, good or bad, because that's embarrassing to me lmao. I would prefer to not acknowledge that when idk who will read this. So it's a mark of just how good they were that I feel the need to at least mention it in my review!)

Sometimes I start a (straight) romance and the male lead is described as so rude and humorless that I have no idea how they're going to bring me around to liking him by the end, or thinking he's a good fit for the female lead. This was one of those, but Biller did indeed end up putting me firmly on the side of the relationship! I love them together and really enjoyed this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read and review this ARC.

It’s been a little while since I’ve read a historical romance, and this book reminded me of why I love them! It was so fun to be transported to 1878 Vienna. I loved the main character, and the romance was cute but did feel a little like something was missing. I enjoyed their banter and all the messes they got into. I definitely recommend to historical romance fans!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review

A fun ride! I loved the setting of Vienna and the ball season. The family of women was a fun, unique take on some of the classic romance tropes and I enjoyed the hint of intrigue laced throughout the story.

This is a quick read of romance and intrigue. There is a a lot of historical information which I skimmed after a while. A solid 3 stars.


********************************I received an ARC for my honest opinion from NetGalley.************************

Hotel of Secrets is one of my favorite books this year.
I assure Hotel of Secrets is far more than a romance. There is a romance in the story, but the intrigue is really at the heart of this novel.

There are quite a few characters to keep track of. Take the time and make the effort to do so. Grandmother Josephine is a particularly interesting character. Claude, the Parisian spy, is a hoot as is Mac. Eli and Maria are the heart of the romance and novel. I found them to be likeable characters.

There are a number of chuckles to be had and a few laugh-out-loud moments.

I highly recommend reading this story. It's entertaining and charming.

I received an ARC of this novel. That in no way influenced my review.

#HotelofSecrets#St.MartinPress#DianaBiller#NetGalley

I loved this book! I got caught up in the story from the very first chapter. I had a hard time putting it down and actually read it when I should’ve been doing other things.

The characters were delightful! I enjoyed the banter between them. There were multiple times when I laughed out loud. I even had to read a section of it to my husband because it was just too funny! (It was the lobby scene where the husband was as loaded as the gun he had.) There is also elements of seriousness and danger. Someone is trying to kill Maria but Eli keeps saving her at his own peril.

Maria is the hotel manager who has inherited it from her mother, who inherited it from her mother, who had inherited it from her mother, who had received it as a gift from the emperor. Eli is a straight laced treasury officer from the US who is sent to Vienna to investigate the loss of some codes. Maria‘s family and friends bring much love and laughter into the story.

I was very satisfied with how the story ended!

I spent a fair bit of time thinking about the genre and I would classify it as a historical romance with elements of mystery and intrigue. For those who are concerned, there are sex scenes that I found to be very well written.

I will be recommending this to everyone! Especially fans of Jennifer Crusie who also like historical’s. If you’ve ever read Agnes in the Hitman, I was very much reminded of that story as I read this one. It’s just this one takes place in 1878 in Vienna.

Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller has written a beautiful historical romance novel.
Biller's writing style is so easy to sink into, and her characters are relatable and consistently interesting.
I absolutely loved these characters. The romance is wonderful and the banter was fun!
There was also a lot of fascinating details here. I loved how vivid and descriptive everything was.
The setting of 1870s Viennese Victorian-era was just amazing. How she transported me back in time is truly remarkable.
For my first time reading her book I'm definitely going to be reading more in the future.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

St. Martin's Griffin,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

Having enjoyed Diana Biller's previous novels, especially The Widow of Rose House, I was delighted to receive an ARC of her next book. Fortunately, the author is an excellent storyteller, as there is quite a bit going on in this historical romance, set in Vienna, Austria in the 1870s.

Maria is eager to restore the popularity and financial stability of her family's hotel by organizing a ball for 500 people when the rival hotel must forfeit just 3 weeks prior to the scheduled date. At the same time, she has to escape mortal injury several times and wonders who has targeted her and why. Eli is an American Secret Service agent who has arrived in Vienna to investigate a case but had never expected to be called upon to save Maria's life more than once. And there is much intrigue among Maria's unusual--to say the least--family.

What I particularly liked were the witty repartee--often between Maria and Eli--the lush descriptions, the impressive intimate scenes, and the lively plot. However, I had a difficult time believing the relationship between reserved, self-professed celibate Eli and free-wheeling Maria, who swore she would never marry, Also, I felt that several instances of murder without consequences strained credulity a bit too much.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.