Review: The Beautiful Strangers by Camille Di Maio (audio)

Title: The Beautiful Strangers

Author: Camille Di Maio

Narrator: Jess Nahikian, Sarah Naughton

Published: March 2019, Brilliance Audio / Lake Union Publishing

Length: 11 hours 18 minutes / 320 pages

Source: Audio – Brilliance Audio / Print – Paperback via GetRed PR

Summary:

A legendary hotel on the Pacific becomes a haven where dreams, love, and a beguiling mystery come alive. 

1958.
Kate Morgan, tethered to her family’s failing San Francisco restaurant,
is looking for an escape. She gets her chance by honoring a cryptic
plea from her grandfather: find the beautiful stranger. The
search takes her to Hotel del Coronado, the beachfront landmark on the
Southern California coast where filming is underway on the movie Some Like It Hot.

For
a movie lover like Kate, it’s a fantasy come true. So is the offer of a
position at the glamorous hotel. And a new romance is making her heart
beat just as fast. But as sure as she is that the Coronado is her
future, Kate discovers it’s also where the ghosts of the past have come
to stay. Sixty years ago a guest died tragically, and she still haunts
the hotel’s halls.

As the lives of two women—generations
apart—intertwine, Kate’s courageous journey could change more than she
ever imagined. And with the Coronado wending its way through her soul,
she must follow her dreams…wherever they may lead.

My thoughts:  This is the third book I’ve read by Camille Di Maio and with each one I pick up by her, I fall more in love with her writing and her characters. She has such a way of making her stories come to life, and such a way of effortlessly combining fact and fiction in her historical fiction tales.

I absolutely loved this book and found myself completely charmed by the characters right from the start.  As soon as I read the prologue I was pulled in, and never once found myself wavering in interest. I loved the dual narrative in this – a unique way to tell the story, and the author’s note at the end of the book is really quite interesting.

The mystery of the beautiful stranger really keeps the book moving. Who is she and how is she connected to Kate’s grandfather? Unlocking this secret brings Kate on a journey to the Hotel del Coronado where she meets famed Hollywood stars, there to film the movie Some Like it Hot. Now, I’ll be honest here – I’ve not seen this movie, but you can be sure I’ll be adding this to the list of movies to watch ASAP! Kate also meets a young man on her way to the hotel and this part of her journey was just as fun to watch as her learning about the secrets of her grandfather’s past – I’m such a sucker for a good romance and this one really is just that!

I also loved that sprinkled in throughout the book we get a little history of Coronado and of the hotel. This is one of the reasons I love reading historical fiction. I love learning about different places, and even different people. In the author’s note, Camille makes note of the filming of the movie at the hotel, and she also talks a bit about her choice in how she told the story. This is tied to the history of the hotel, but it’s also intriguing enough that it makes me want to learn more…so you can bet I will be digging a little deeper here!

This book is filled with all the trademarks of a great read – history, fantastic characters, a little mystery with some added suspense thrown in here and there, and of course lots of secrets. It’s a hauntingly beautiful tale that is as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking at times. I cannot recommend this one enough to historical fiction fans everywhere!





Audio thoughts: This was a great book to listen to on audio. Both narrators were new to me, and I thought they both did a fantastic job with the parts they had. They brought their character’s stories to life, and both managed to infuse just the right amount of emotion into their voices as necessary. Their pacing and intonations were spot on. This really is quite an enjoyable story to listen to and I definitely recommend giving it a try!