well, that was.... different, I guess? A short story about two disoriented lovers found in the Bilbao Guggenheim... has some magic realism, I guess... just meh for this reader, oh well. Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for letting me read it.

Thank you Net Galley and publishers for letting me read and review this arc.

What a fun and short little story. I have more questions than answers, but there are so many interesting ways to interpret this one. Two strangers wake up in a museum in a lover's embrace. The guy is fully nude and the woman is dressed in a wedding gown. They tell the detective that the museum opened up before them to this magical place and were so enamored they made love all night. The detective knows this is false because the museum was locked and there's no footage from the security cameras, nor did any of the guards see anything weird when patrolling. But the lovers don't change their story and aren't lying. This story is only 25 pages but lots of details are packed into it. I enjoyed it.

I enjoyed it! I wish it was longer! If this book will turn into a novel, i would definetly read it! I love how direct the story is. If you enjoy the movie Night at the Museum, you would love this one!

Sorry to say that, but I find this story stupid. I didn’t get the elements of magical realism, because actually they were not. Yes, something “unrealistic ” happened in the story, but was it magical? The plot wasn’t explored enough to get that magical mesmerizing sensation and the conclusion of the story was very vague, closed ending without that satisfying afterthought.

Anyhow, thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy for an honest review.

Weird girl fiction lovers where you at?

Lovers at the museum is a short sureal tale concerning a night of passion between a bride that run away at the altar and the man she met at the bar who developed an adoration for her upon the first meeting, in a magical museum.

The story is 25 pages and the ending is left open although it is strongly presented by the narrative that the museum's magical capabilities are indeed true.

I really liked some parts of the story (especially the aesthetics of it) but it just wasn't truly special.

I really enjoyed this short and sweet story. It leaves you thinking and wanting more. Mystery, love and magic all within 25 pages. I thought it was well done.

This was a quirky short story about two lovers who, after having just met, are found asleep in the heavily guarded Guggenheim museum with no one being able to explain how they ended up there given lack of detection by video cameras or the elite security system. It is an alluring story of magical realism and it is believed that their passion and love for one another allowed the lovers to enter the museum undetected. The writing of Ms Allende is beautiful and incredibly prosaic. I have been wanting to read something of hers for awhile and while reading this certainly makes me want to explore her work further, this story didn't quite do it for me. I thought there were some questions of consent that were a little glossed over (the girl was clearly drunk/intoxicated while the man admitted he hadn't been drinking at all. I didn't love that). Also, the ending was so abrupt that it seemed to be rather an afterthought. Someone mentioned this story seemed like a fever dream, and I think that is an excellent descriptor. I do look forward to reading other works by Isabel Allende, though. This is a great intro to the author for anyone curious about her work.

A runaway bride connects with a man at a bar & they head over to the Guggenheim in Bilbao and enjoy a night of decadence and lovemaking. In the morning, they are found by a cleaning lady & promptly arrested. Both the man and the woman claim they were enchanted as soon as they entered the museum. They were never seen on the security monitors or spotted by anyone in the museum that evening.

This was a fun and cute short story. I like that the couple did fall in love after their magical evening. Period

Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for a copy of this short story.

Allende has proven herself over and over that she is among one the greatest storytellers of our time. Lovers at the Museum does not disappoint. This dreamy short story is woven with rich characterization along side a mystical vibe. An enchanted museum in which the lovers spend an evening frolicking and connecting on a different plane. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and exchange for my review. #LoversattheMuseum #NetGalley

When Inspector Larramandi was assigned to investigate a case of two lovers found entwined in each other, covered by fabric of a wedding gown in the famed Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, his first instinct was this was an act of passion and a clear case of break and enter,

But things take a strange turn when they take the testimonies of the couple and find that till last night, the couple were both strangers to each other and the museum had a really strong security arrangement which is impossible to break into.

How did this couple get into the museum? Why didn’t the security alarm go off? How did these strangers meet, and ended up having a night so passionate, one reads about in books.

This story was delightfully short and leaves the door open for reader to imagine the phenomenon at work.

Rating - 3.8/5

I loved this sweet, strange, surreal, magical tale. I've been wanting to read this author and this is a great introduction. There's no point in reading the synopsis ahead of time because the story isn't the point as much as the magic. Very short, this beautiful story left me smiling.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

What a beautiful flight of fancy. I’ve always loved Allende’s writing; i can be carried away inside her stories and characters. Lovers at the Museum is the same. In the end, i want to imagine them spending their lives together and growing old in the glow of that magical night;

A strange little magical realism treated story that left me as confused about what it was about and what happened and how as it did when I started it.

Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing just didn’t expect to have no idea what was going on, going into this story.

The writing was okay -it felt a little clunky and plump in some instances ( for example at some point the police man wants to be careful and not too direct while questioning the suspect and says „are you a whore?“. Which, I mean I am not the expert at always knowing what’s okay to say kn any given situation but that’s not a particularly carefully worded way to start a conversation) which I Jeveraner if it was done purposely or not.


It was still an interesting if very strange read and if you have a few minutes and are interested, why not give it a quick read? It’s not even 30 pages!

I don't think I have read anything by Isabel Allende in over 20 years. I used to love her historical fiction books.

This is a very short story about two young people found entwined in a museum after a night of having sex. It turns out the pair are complete strangers. Both claim love at first sight. I think maybe the girl was slipped some psychedelics. You be the judge. I am horribly unromantic so I just didn't buy what they were saying.

This was a magical tale - a proof that once you are in love, you get into a parallel universe where everything is possible and the worldly rules don't apply any more.

Fairytale like in its oddity and quick, obsessive love. Very enjoyable short read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC of this story.

Reading this as a basque person myself and an art history student was specially interesting.

I’ve always loved Allende’s writing and this wasn’t going to be the exception. Her masterful use of the language is incredible to read; it transported me into the story and made me want to continue reading even though it was such a short story. The descriptions were very accurate and I could easily identify where things were taking place, specilly having been to the museum several times myself. The whole museum talk was also very spot on, it shows that Allende has made the proper research to learn about the way museums work, specially in regards to security.

I think I’ve never liked a short story’s characters so much as I have with these ones. I wouldn’t have complained if the story would have been longer if that meant I could get to know then better. You could tell they were really well rounded characters and that she had paid attention to the details, even for such a short piece as this one.

It was really fun to see magical realism brought over to the art world and I found that the two work together really well, but maybe that is just my own romantic view of the arts. My only complain with this is that it isn’t longer.

A very short and sweet story about a magical museum, a new and passionate love, and the realities that want to tell you otherwise.

A runaway bride leaves her obligations behind and finds herself in the arms of a handsome man and then quickly in a magical museum where they dance with sculptures, float in the air, and listen to the sounds of waterfalls. They’re found the next morning by an inspector who only wants to know how they were able to slip inside the locked and guarded museum where evidence of their night are in every room but with absolutely no trace of them on cameras.

The description of the museum in the “dimension of dreams” during the “time that is not marked by clocks” felt so whimsical, it left me wanting more stories from this pocket of space. I quite enjoyed it all except there was some questionable consent since the young woman was drunk when meeting the young man, and even had to be sent to a detox clinic to recover from the “intoxication that had almost killed her.” Overall I wish there was a bit more to the story, especially the museum, but I would still recommend this for a quick read of whimsy.

Fun short story by this well known author.

When a woman in a bridal gown and a naked man are found together one morning locked in the museum the police are called and questions are asked. The most important one being how they got into a locked museum in the first place, let alone why the dress.

Lots of dialogue to make you smile, some fantasy, and a neat ending. I liked it very much.

Quando um casal de jovens amantes, é encontrado no Museu Guggenheim, em Bilbao– um homem nu e uma mulher com um vestido de noiva – o detetive Aitor Larramendi, que está a investigar o caso, fica estupefacto com a forma como conseguiram entrar no museu e passar uma noite inteira sem serem detetados pelas câmeras de segurança. Enquanto o detetive interroga Bibiña Aranda e seu amante Indar Zubieta, os seus relatos sobre os acontecimentos daquela noite acabam por deixar mais perguntas do que respostas.
Com elementos de realismo mágico, romance e humor, esta novella foi uma leitura divertida . Algumas perguntas ficaram sem resposta devido a ser uma leitura pequena, mas ainda assim gostei da história e voltaria a ler o trabalho desta autora!