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kari_f's review
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
With a vivid and beautiful setting, Hotel Portofino is a book that will whisk the reader away to 1920’s coastal Italy. Touted as “a very English hotel, on the Italian Riviera,” the hotel and surrounding beaches act as the main settings for an “Upstairs Downstairs” or “Downton Abbey” sort of drama. We encounter a marriage on the rocks with another being arranged, crooked political dealings, the mounting tension of impending war, secret romances, a cast of (mostly) snooty guests and servants with their own intrigues and ambitions, and a myriad of secrets that lurk behind every decision and conversation.
I found most of the book to be engaging, dramatic, and delightful as the secrets started to come out and threaten to overturn each of their lives. I loved some of the characters and despised a few others, which was no doubt intended by the author. There was ample character development, as well as a fun little Agatha Christie-ish homage of a mystery. I did feel like the ending came pretty abruptly and that there were several strands left unraveled, and I’m not sure that I liked the open-endedness of it.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. The sensory language made me feel as if I could see the details in the hotel design, smell the salty ocean air, and taste the delectable kitchen creations. This feels like a book made to be dramatized in a screen adaptation!
Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this advanced readers copy of the book!
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism, Violence, Sexual assault, War, Body shaming, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, and Grief
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