It is 1957 Madrid, Spain, and Daniel Matheson, an 18-year-old Spanish American photographer is visiting Spain for the first time. All Daniel wants to do is get eye-opening photos for his portfolio and get into journalism school. However, his father, an oil baron, who is signing a deal with Generalissimo Francisco Franco, has other plans for Daniel. He wants Daniel to join the family oil company. Throughout navigating this messy time in Daniel’s life he meets Ana Moreno, an employee at the Castellana Hilton, the hotel he’s staying at. She also happens to be one of many struggling under the dictatorship. As he gets to know Ana, he also starts to become more aware of the struggling lives forced under the oppressive dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
For me, what makes a book a fantastic book is when the writing makes you feel and empathize with the characters. This book sadly failed to do that for the most part. This is in regards to Ana’s situation, where I didn’t share the fear that the citizens had under the dictatorship. I think the fear was overcrowded by romance which completely dominated the story. There should have been more insight into the everyday hardships of the citizens. Another point is that this book has around five different points of view, and I found myself getting bored with 1-2 of them waiting for Daniel or Ana’s point of view. On the positive note, this book was a good insight into the Spanish dictatorship which I was ignorant about prior to reading. I did find this book interesting however I know many would find it boring because of the length. Overall, I would give this book three stars because there were a couple of flaws but was enjoyable. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book however, I would recommend some of Ruta Sepetys’s other novels.