barbn 's review for:

The Grand Paloma Resort by Cleyvis Natera

3.0

adventurous dark informative mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine, and Cleyvis Natera for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Like White Lotus, The Grand Paloma Resort transports the reader to a luxury beach resort. Guests go to the Grant Paloma - Dominican Republic to relax, have adventures, and be pampered. Natera uses The Grand Paloma to tell the stories of the employees and community members exposing the human and environmental costs of luxury tourism.

The Grand Paloma begins by introducing the Moreno sisters. While nannying, a child Elena was responsible for has a serious accident. Elena calls her sister, Laura, a manager at the resort, to fix her mistake, and the sisters call their friend, Vida, a curandera, to help the child. Believing she killed a child, Elena flees the Dominican Republic. While searching for her sister, Laura discovers that her friend, Dulce’s, daughters have gone missing just as a category 5 hurricane is approaching the Grand Paloma Resort.

Natera, born in the Dominican Republic, uses The Grand Paloma Resort as a sort of expose of the luxury tourism industry, humanizing the people who serve at resorts and live in nearby communities and showing just how much privilege tourists have, including committing crimes without punishment and abusing local sex workers. Natera even explains on-going social and economic tensions between Dominicans and Haitians.

The Grand Paloma Resort is a thought-provoking read that could absolutely be enjoyed on the beach.