3.5 stars

This short story felt like a painting... Enthralling, magical, and fantastical.
It's too short to be fully developed, but it hooks you up immediately. It's funny, a bit satirical, and engaging.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, short story. Available on KU and audible.
Part of my wished this had been longer, have always loved Isabel Allende

The writing was beautiful and I found the story very interesting, but the characters fell a bit flat. But overall an enjoyable read.

I'm starting with a caveat which is that I have not been a big Allende fan. Every time that I have picked up one of her books, I have just found myself underwhelmed. Ok, the one time I picked up and read one of her books .... After that, I just never found them interesting or intriguing enough for me to read them. I thought that I would give her another chance with this short story/novella, and unfortunately, I am still not an Allende fan. The characters just never interested me. And yes, it's hard to really get a character across in that few pages, but other authors have done it well enough before. I think that we are supposed to be more sympathetic to the inspector, but I felt he was too arrogant or rude to be someone I could feel for. Sure, he never had that type of overwhelming love, but that didn't mean he had to be a misogynist and demean both of the lovers. And the lovers were, I believe, meant to be depicted as having something epic happen to them in terms of their love and the museum, But they just came across as selfish and childish to me. I do wish the museum had been given more of a presence, because that may have redeemed this story.

Was it readable? Sure. Will an Allende enthusiast enjoy it? Probably. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who has never read Allende and I would advise someone who was luke warm towards her books before to skip this one.

Pros: I have been wanting to read something by Isabel Allende and have been a bit intimidated to try her novels, so I thought this short story was a great place to start. I enjoyed the idea in this book of museums being magical.

Cons: Short stories tend to be hit or miss for me, and I just did not get much out of this one. However, it did leave me wanting to read more by the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon for the opportunity to read this short story.

Hmm... I'm not sure this worked for me. I suppose what I found frustrating is perhaps the point of the piece, which is an ephemeral quality that renders the whole piece difficult to grasp. There's nothing, really, to hold on to, with characters who are never fully realized and sort of disappear even as you're reading about them, and a thin plot that does the same. From that standpoint, maybe this is brilliant writing. Form mirroring function, or rather a lack of form or function. All flourish.

An ethereal and dreamlike short story by Isabel Allende that captures the essence of her flowy, beautiful prose.

This was interesting, to say the least. It's a fantastical short story, full of beautiful prose. I'm not quite sure what to make of it, but it was interesting.

3.5/5 ⭐

At dawn, a cleaning lady at the Guggenheim Museum stumbles upon a pair of young lovers intertwined in an intimate embrace, marking the beginning of an intriguing narrative. Their nocturnal rendezvous, characterized by uninhibited antics within the museum's confines becomes the focal point of a inspector's case. As he delves into the events of that fateful night, his unconventional perspectives and interpretations inject a hint of humor, prompting a reevaluation of what it truly means to approach matters with "delicacy" (if you know, you know). And our two lovebirds certainly didn't make things simple for him.

I really had no idea what to expect when I started reading this novella, but it was a pleasant surprise. This marks my introduction to the works of this author, and I really enjoyed her blend of poetic and witty prose. And even with only a few pages to work with, she breathed life into her characters. To say the less, I'm impressed. I felt a bit let down by the ending, mainly because I wanted to know more. It's quite possible that it was exactly what she had in mind - for us to draw our own conclusions. Who know?

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for providing me with a copy of this story.

This short story felt like a fever dream. I read it in one sitting but I couldn't tell you a single thing about it now.

I love Isabel Allende but I did not like this story. The writing was beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but the story itself was lacking. If this were the length of her other novels I think I would have liked it more.

Isabelle Allende is one of those authors on my TBR who I've been meaning to try out for ages. Her latest short story Lovers at the Museum was a pretty good place to start.

One morning, a runaway bride and a naked man are discovered sleeping and tangled up in each other in the galleries of the Guggenheim Museum. A police detective tries to determine how they evaded the museum's security all night long, only to hear a surreal story of two young lovers—love at first sight—bending the rules of reality. The short story offers a vignette of dreamlike prose that bends even the pragmatic detective to the whims of the lovers' otherworldly experience.

Really cute short story. I like Allende's approach to magical realism and this story with the magical museum building doesn't fail.

What a fun (albeit brief) short story! I'd describe the story as being whimsical but with weight. While not much happens plot-wise over the 25 pages of the story, the characters and atmosphere make it compulsively readable -- a true achievement for someone who doesn't love short stories to say. I am definitely curious to read more short stories from this author.

I have previously loved everything i've read by Isabel Allende, so that was the main reason I decided to pick this up. The premise is very interesting, but I think that it fell a little bit flat because it was so short. The reader doesn't really have time to connect. with the characters and I'm sure that if it was like 50 pages longer I would have loved it. The writing is great and whimsical, it just didn't meet my expectations.

I found this so amusing to read and a perfect balance of short and sweet. I would totally buy this in a book format just to bring with me if I ever need a quick pick-me-up to read! I would totally recommend this for those who like romance with a little bit of magical realism and intrigue. Loved this!

I love the prose, the writing itself has dreamy feel & romantic, magical realism with it. It's just that, with all that potential? I want more. Not a full fledged book perhaps, just some more of that goodness, and a proper ending. This one feels like a.. way too convenient shrugs of an ending? Thank you Net Galley and publisher for the arc!

Short and sweet! This was my introduction to Isabel Allende and I would definitely read her work again. As a lover of love and a lover of art, I enjoyed the fantastical elements of this short story that serve as a reminder that art can be magical even in a world of political and religious scandal. I thought the characters were interesting and I would even read a full length novel with this premise to explore the characters and themes in more depth.

An example of something I read purely because I love the cover design. It was an okay story, but could have used a little something to make it more special.

I have a soft spot for Isabel Allende since her YA series was part of my journey into reading when I was in high school, so I would read anything she writes. This a nice short story with a little bit of fantasy and mystery thrown in if you need a break or palate cleanser if you will from long books. It's about two strangers finding each other and having an instant connection while being thrown into this other world in a museum, one they cannot explain where is comes from. It is told from the perspective of the detective that is assigned to the case. Allende is great with imagery descriptions and storytelling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the opportunity to read this book and share my honest review.