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    The Beautiful Strangers
    The Beautiful Strangers
    The Beautiful Strangers
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Beautiful Strangers

    Written by Camille Di Maio

    Narrated by Jess Nahikian and Sarah Naughton

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    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 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 Coronado wending its way through her soul, she must follow her dreams…wherever they may lead.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateMar 5, 2019
    ISBN9781721354283
    The Beautiful Strangers
    Author

    Camille Di Maio

    Camille Di Maio always dreamed of being a writer, and those dreams came to fruition with her bestselling debut novel, The Memory of Us, and her second novel, Before the Rain Falls. In addition to writing women’s fiction, she buys too many baked goods at farmers’ markets, unashamedly belts out Broadway tunes when the mood strikes, and regularly faces her fear of flying to indulge in her passion for travel. She and her husband homeschool their four children and lead an award-winning real estate team in San Antonio, Texas. They split their time between Texas and Virginia. Connect with Camille at www.camilledimaio.com.

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    Reviews for The Beautiful Strangers

    4.5/5

    49 ratings8 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I loved this book! It was fantastic! It had some really good turns and twists! It was a little mysterious but very sweet.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this story. The characters are well developed. Without giving away too much, despite the odd perspective of one of the lead characters, it was amusing and fascinating to hear that side of things. It was an intriguing combination of history and fiction. Worth the read!
    • 5/5
      Beautifully Executed. Set during the 1958 filming of the 1960 Golden Globe Aware Winner for Best Motion Picture- Comedy SOME LIKE IT HOT, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon, Di Maio's work here takes just enough historically accurate details and uses them to make her fictional world and its tale all the more real. Indeed, all three award winning actors make appearances in the book, and one of them even advances a crucial plot point. But the tale here is one of leaving home to find your true destiny, and it is in this tale that the book truly shines. Kate Morgan steals every scene she is in and is one of the more loveable main characters I've come across of late. The mystery of the Beautiful Stranger is compelling, and the execution of including the Stranger's perspective at the end of every chapter really keeps things moving nicely. This was my first book from Ms. Di Maio. It won't be my last.
    • 5/5
      Ms. DiMaio has been added to my list of favorite authors. This story, along with her depiction of the time, and the much loved characters, will have you speed reading this book.

      Two women, with the same name and born years apart, have a connection. The story brings this connection to light little by little, allowing the reader to connect all the dots. A mixture of ghost story and a young girl’s love for her beloved grandfather to search out the meaning of what some may think are an old man’s dementia rantings.

      Enjoy this book with a cup of tea, or lemonade, and revisit the golden age of Hollywood, a simplier life where there were still many secrets, heartbreaking and sad, but secrets can lead to a happy ending and love.

      I received an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
    • 4/5
      This is my first book by Camille Di Maio and I don't know what took me so long. The writing was beautiful. All of the dual timeline stories I've read in the past have paralleled a past time period with the present day. This story was unique in that both story lines were set in different past periods. The "present day" story line takes place in the 1950s during the shooting of the film "Some Like it Hot" starring Marilyn Monroe. While I know this book is a work of fiction, the way the author captured Marilyn's essence made the story read more like a history than a work of fiction. The link between both story lines is the luxurious Hotel Del Coronado. The sweet romance of young love, the mysterious ghost story, and the fascinating Hotel setting made this a captivating story.I received a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 5/5
      Set at the historic Hotel Del Coronado. A ghost. A star-struck young girl working in the kitchen of the Hotel Del. Is it a coincidence that she has the same name as the ghost?The book opens in 1892 with a young woman fleeing her abusive husband. However he finds her, murders her, and leaves the scene. Authorities rule her death a suicide.Fast forward to 1958 where, day after day, Kate Morgan works in her family’s fish restaurant in San Francisco while dreaming of a life in the movie industry. One day her grandfather, suffering from dementia, insists that Kate take her grandmother’s wedding ring and sell it so Kate can go to San Diego to find “the beautiful stranger”. Unable to deny him anything, she secretly pawns the ring and takes off to San Diego. Now the mystery begins. Who is the beautiful stranger Kate must find? And why does she share the same name with a ghost that is believed to reside at the Hotel Del? But along with mystery comes romance. Her first day on the island Kate meets Sean O’Donnell who gets her a job in the kitchen at the Hotel Del Coronado where they just happen to be filming the movie SOME LIKE IT HOT.I was hooked as soon as I read that the two protagonists shared the same name. I knew there had to be a connection, but what was it? It was a delightful journey finding the answer. Through Di Maio’s lush descriptions, I could spell the ocean waves, feel the sand under my feet and the cool breeze, and hear the sea gulls overhead. The emotional depth of her writing presents a beautiful story of love and family.Camille Di Maio once again gives her readers a stunning story they won’t soon forget. She masterfully weaves the dual storyline of 1892 Kate and 1958 Kate bringing it to a climatic and satisfying conclusion. A truly heartwarming story. This book was given to me by the author and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
    • 4/5
      The Beautiful Strangers is another wonderful novel from Camille DiMaio. It's told in two time lines - Kate in 1892 and another Kate in 1958. It takes place at the Hotel Del Coronado in beautiful southern California. There appears to be no connection between the two Kates except for their names but as their lives intertwine - despite living years apart - the courage that they both possessed comes to light.The year is 1958 and Kate, who waitresses at her uncle's restaurant in northern California, wants to see more of the world. Her grandfather, who is suffering from dementia, tells her during one of his lucid phases that she needs to go to LA and 'find the beautiful stranger". Kate loves the movies and when her grandfather finds a job opening working on a film set, he encourages her to apply for the job. When she arrives, she finds out that Some Like it Hot is filming at the Hotel Del Coronado and when she gets a job, she meets Jack Lemon and Marilyn Monroe along with the rest of the cast. It's a dream come true for Kate plus there is a nice young man at the hotel that she begins to fall in love with. When she starts asking questions about 'the beautiful stranger' she finds out that she was a ghost who had the same name she did. Was there are connection between the two of them? Why was the ghost still haunting the hotel and why did her grandfather know about the ghost? The connection with the Kate in 1892, made this story all the more interesting and we get chapters told from 1892 and about the dilemma that is going on in Kate's life.Camille Di Maio has once again brought us a story that it rich in plot with wonderful characters. It's apparent that she did significant research about movie making in the mid 50s. She made the hotel and the location in California come alive with her wonderful descriptions. As the stories twist and turn, they become intertwined in a way that makes the story even more interesting. I have been a fan of all of Camille's writing and think this is her best book yet.Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
    • 5/5
      Kudos to Camille Di Maio, Author of “The Beautiful Strangers”, Lake Union Publishing, March 5, 2019 for such a delightful, captivating, intriguing, enthralling, charming, page turning, and entertaining novel. Camille Di Maio has written all the ingredients for an amazing best seller. I love the author’s writing style and the vivid descriptions of “Hotel del Coronado” in Southern California. The clear water, the crystals in the sand, the breezy air. Hold on a moment!! I am ready to make a reservation myself!The Genres for this novel are Historical Fiction, Fiction, Women’s Fiction, with a touch of enchantment and a dash of ghosts. The Hotel was the scene for celebrities such as Frank Oz, Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, former presidents and more. “Some Like it Hot” was filmed at this Hotel. If you look up the hotel up on-line, or “Google “it, you will see there is a reference to the hotel being haunted by a benign ghost Kate Morgan, who met her untimely death there. What can be better in a book than movie stars, ghosts, a beautiful destination that sounds like paradise?The author has described her colorful cast of characters as complex and complicated. They are looking for something more than they already have. Maybe they are pursing a dream, or looking for their reality?? Kate Morgan (not the ghost in the story, but that is relative), is following her dream and her Grandfather’s wish to find the “Beautiful Stranger”. She leaves her home and family back in San Francisco, and risks everything to go to “The Hotel del Coronado”. Luckily she meets a handsome stranger, who is able to offer her a job at the Hotel.I loved this story, and I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy a fascinating Historical Fiction novel with a ghostly presence. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.