Reviews - The Grand Paloma Resort

11 reviews for:

The Grand Paloma Resort

Cleyvis Natera

4.25 AVERAGE

readwithandreina's review

5.0

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book was breathtaking — like White Lotus set in the Dominican Republic, but told through the eyes of the resort workers instead of the wealthy guests. Cleyvis Natera weaves themes of classism, survival, exploitation, colorism, anti-Haitian sentiment, and generational secrets into a tense, deeply human story. Even with my Dominican roots, I learned so much about the hidden realities of hospitality work and the unspoken dynamics of serving American tourists. Part thriller, part mystery, part history lesson, this is a powerful read that shows the Caribbean far beyond the resorts.

Content Warnings

morganritacco's review

4.5

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious fast-paced

amaboutbooks's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

When I say I want a good thriller book, THIS IS THE KIND OF BOOK I MEAN!

This book contains multitudes, and was so complex, layered and so well written. I love how history was very much a component throughout the book and showcasing the relationship between the Dominican Republic and Haiti brought even more tension to the book. I think the morally grey nature of some of the characters throughout this book was so well done, in particular because they are seeking to get ahead in a world that is absolutely against them. Racism, along with colorism, are themes throughout this book, and the author does a phenomenal job of showcasing instances of these.

One of my favorite parts of this book is that the bulk of the story is told through the perspective of people that work within the resort, rather than people who are visiting the resort. This makes it so that it takes a typical "tourist thriller" and completely turns it on its head in a really satisfying way, along with bringing in so many complexities. Laura and Elena are both really interesting characters, and their dynamic as sisters is layered and full of complications. I also really appreciated how this book tackles the criminal activities of privileged tourists and how local communities are often affected without any form of justice, due to corruption. This book really tackles a number of complex ideas and issues and carries them so well throughout the story. And the ending? PERFECTION.

gabrieladf09's review

4.5

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Thank you so much to the author Clevys Natera and Ballantine Books for the advanced copy!

This book was such a rollercoaster of emotions and of events. It really gave me White Lotus in Dominican Republic vibes, which honestly was amazing because I love that show. The characters honestly had me on a whirlwind the whole time. I think my favorites were definitely the ones with the most complicated journeys, including Vida, Pablo and Elena. Elena redeemed herself a little bit for me at the end but she still had me wanting to fight her throughout the book. Laura honestly needed multiple hugs but as an older daughter, I truly understood where she was coming from and what her choices drove her to do. It is not easy raising a child when you yourself are still a child so while she made a lot of mistakes I really felt for her.

I think my favorite parts of this book were all of the cultural aspects and the exploration of the difficult social injustices that occur in my country. The rampant colorism, the hotel industry bleeding us dry as well as the way tourists interact with the locals it truly made my heart ache. Also, exploring the Haitian Immigration conflict the way she did truly shines a light on the way the Dominican Tourism industry takes advantage of Haitian immigrants but turns their backs on them once they don't need them anymore. As a Dominican, it brought a lot of feelings and it truly made me think about the way we see our neighbors. The author truly touches upon many important topics of conversation surrounding the social conflicts in the island and I truly commend her for the amazing job that she did, even while still writing a cohesive and very crazy plot. I had to put the book down a couple of times and truly analyze what Clevys was writing because it really hit close to home lol. Overall, I loved this book so much and I am so happy that I was able to read it.