3.5 stars



I was excited to receive this ARC of one of the hottest anticipated historical fiction books of 2019. It seemed too good to be true. The cover is gorgeous, the characters sound intriguing and Sepetys is well known in the world of historical writers. Plus the large print was SO HELPFUL for me.



Warning: the beginning is slow. I'm talking 150 pages of build up. Ana guards her secrets so well that even the reader can't know them. The first section of the book consists of Daniel and Ana arguing about secrets, but also getting to know each other. At times I felt the setting was more interesting than the characters. While we learn very little about the main characters due to their secret-keeping, the hotel is described in gorgeous detail. I could imagine myself there!



The middle of the book, however, is wonderfully exciting. There's so much panic as Daniel is attempting to understand all of Spain's secrets. So many secrets are given away at once that it was overwhelming to read. Nothing happened the way I thought it would! While I wish the plot had moved faster, the quick reveals were really fun. And as a character, Daniel was so entertaining. He's thoughtful, humble and creative like me. I loved learning about photojournalism in the 1950s, which I didn't even know began that early. I was so glad to read that his career ended up flourishing at National Geographic.

Overall I did enjoy the historical aspects of this novel. Sepetys did a phenomenal job intermixing fact and fiction so each character felt alive. Specifically, the scandal involving adopted babies in Spain was something I didn't know previously. I hope the scandal continues to be investigated and it should definitely be taught in schools. I can't believe how little Americans know about Spanish history.