Lovers at the Museum is a short story written and translated by Chilean-American novelist, Isabel Allende. When a cleaner finds a young couple asleep in a gallery of the Guggenheim Museum, security summon the police, and Detective Altor Larramendi, the hound of Bilbao, arrives to investigate.

What he finds is very puzzling: a drunken young woman in a bridal dress who didn’t marry her fiancé, ran from the church and went to a bar; a sober but naked young man who doesn’t even know the woman’s name, swears they did not break into the museum, but admits to smoking a joint; evidence of their lovemaking in several of the galleries; security who claim that after-hours entry beyond the electronically-locked doors is impossible; and no sign of forced entry.

These strangers, who claim they met in a bar and fell instantly in love, who tell him the museum is enchanted, what can he charge them with? Utterly delightful!
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories.

I didn't really find this book to be either bad or amazing - it just sort of happened, and I found myself reading it. I didn't feel particularly strongly about any of the events in the book, nor about the mystery of how they got there. I will say that I did like the author's writing style, and will be looking to see if she's written any longer works to see if those capture my emotions a bit more.

One thing I can say is that the POV character chosen was not what I expected after reading the blurb - however, I kind of liked the choice.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

This is a short sweet story of two lovers who share a magical night together in a museum. I enjoyed reading this story, which was chaotic and hilarious in a way. Would’ve liked it more if the story was a bit longer, but it was still a good read!

This quick read was absolutely quick. I read through it very quickly. I enjoyed the banter between the police officer but I was lost on the plot a little.

Generally speaking Lovers at the Museum by Isabel Allende seemed devoid of direction or purpose but at least it was quick!

I really enjoyed this short story. Picture entering an alternate world where you and your newfound love spend an enchanting night together. It's magical and mysterious, passionate and tender. Did it really happen or were the lovers intoxicated? Detective Larramendi is on the case. Lovers at the Museum left me smiling and imagining all the additional amazing things that could happen with this story. Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the digital ARC.

I actually really enjoyed this! 'Lovers at the Museum' by Isabel Allende is a short but delightful read. The story follows Bibiña Aranda, a runaway bride, who wakes up in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao wearing her wedding dress and wrapped in the arms of a naked man she doesn’t know, Indar Zubieta. Together, they embark on a dreamlike journey through the museum, experiencing a transcendent night of love at first sight. Allende's prose is whimsical and dreamy, perfectly capturing the magic of their encounter. While the characters may not linger in my mind for years to come, the story itself left me with a warm feeling, reminiscent of the early stages of romance. It's a lovely and heartfelt reminder of the beauty of love.

Very short story. I don't think I could have made it through a longer version though. The first couple pages felt like a vocabulary lesson and then the rest was just weird. There was never an explanation as to why the bride did not marry her intended groom. Some of the descriptions were what I would consider classless as well. Definitely not my cup of tea.

This is a short, interesting book about two lovers who share a magic night and an inspector who tries to find the truth about said night.

I enjoyed reading the story, though it is quite short, it was like a sweet, little candy. I already knew that I liked Isabel Allende, so this only consolidated my good opinion of her. Her writing is smart, her characters are interesting and her worlds are full of life.

A magical love story of love at first sight and an evening that suspends reality! Two lovers are found intertwined by staff of the Guggenheim during the early morning hours. As the inspector tries to determine how and what crime to charge them with, the lovers recount a night of fantasy that even they don't know how it could have happened but, they insist that it did. Enjoyable and fast-paced short story!

Didn’t really understand the point of this. It was written well I suppose but you could also just read the description of the story and know exactly what happens. I love short stories but I wasn’t the biggest fan of this one just because there was no point. I would have been more interested actually reading what happened the night they were together.

I was delightfully intrigued by this short story of young lovers found in the Guggenheim after a night of magical love at first sight. As the inspector tries to recreate the night based on the lovers individual recounting, we are taken on a blissful cloud-like story of love that transcends time and reality. I enjoyed the story very much but, would have liked a tad bit more to have a tiny grasp of what was happening. But perhaps that was Allende's direction, to accept it as a love so magical, there is no logical explanation.

A lovely little story and good reminder of something we can sometimes lose sight of - true love is magical!

Well…not sure what I just read but it wasn’t worth it. Thankfully that chaotic mess was only 25 pages.

It's been too long since I read any Isabel Allende. In "Lovers at the Museum", a man and a woman are awoken at (you guessed it) a museum. They've clearly been there overnight, but nobody is sure just how—how did they evade the guards, the alarms? They haven't stolen or broken anything, so is there a crime with which to charge them?

Allende is known for her magical realism, and true to form, there are more questions than answers here. We're left to fill in the blanks, to believe or not believe what Bibiña and Indar have to say about what happened the night before. The story drifts along, and not all that much happens, but it doesn't really matter because it's so clear that Allende is in control of the narrative (even if the local police wished otherwise). I suspect that if I had a different cultural context or education, I'd make even more connections here, so I'll be curious to see what other readers make of it.

Either way, a reminder to go update my TBR!

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

This book had me giggling, confused and deeply intrigued as to what had happened. It was fast paced, short and a great short read. The two main characters were likeable and I love the bouts of magic presented.

Thank you netgalley for an advanced ARC of this short story

This short story is 27 pages long so a quick little read for anyone who wants something engaging and fast, the story was interesting and I feel it come to a good ending ... would of liked it a little longer tho

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I have been wanting to read an Isabel Allende book for a while. I saw this and thought it would be perfect as an introduction.
The writing of course it's great so I'm definitely going to pick up her other stories, and as far as short stories like this go, it was good. I was intrigued the whole time.
However, like with most of short stories, I feel like I needed more? I feel like I should have had more time to really care, specially since this follows a couple. And since I was intrigued, I also expected something more at the end.

Overall a good short story & I also recommend it to anyone to read it as an introduction to her works.

I love Isabel Allende and this one didn’t disappoint. A short sweet magical realism of two lovers. I just wished it was longer!
Thanks to NetGalley for my free copy.

Love is incredible and museums are magical, but 23 pages aren't enough for us to feel that.

Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.