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The Grand Paloma Resort
The Dominican Republic’s famed Grand Paloma Resort is the paradise of dreams. Here, you can have it all, and the staff is always eager to please—that is, until they are pushed to the brink.
Vida is a curandera, a local healer, who has been called to the resort to attend to a crisis. A young guest lies unconscious due to negligent resort childcare. Vida wants nothing to do with it, as she has her own unborn child to think about.
Laura, a mid-level manager at the Grand Paloma Resort, is forced to call Vida for help. She’s made it this far through sheer hard work. Her brainchild, which pairs platinum guests with a resort employee to attend to their every need, has been wildly successful. She’s mere weeks away from a promotion that will blaze a path off the resort, to a life of freedom and opportunity. If only her little sister, Elena, could get with the program.
Elena has tried her best to live up to her own ideals and her sister’s expectations; to escape the endless monotony of her life, she’s become increasingly dependent on pills and partying. As a babysitter at the resort, she’s at the mercy of guests who are only interested in having fun, cheating on each other, and getting a break from their screen-addicted kids. Now one of those kids is believed to be dead and it’s all her fault.
At a local beachfront watering hole, Elena runs into the child’s father. High and clueless, he offers her an obscene amount of money to give him private time with two young local girls. Elena pockets the cash and prays she’s gotten the girls out of harm’s way—until they disappear.
Over the course of seven days, The Grand Paloma Resort offers an unforgettable story of class, family, and community revolving around this cast of characters, that shows surviving paradise comes down to reckoning with long-held secrets and true acts of love.
Vida is a curandera, a local healer, who has been called to the resort to attend to a crisis. A young guest lies unconscious due to negligent resort childcare. Vida wants nothing to do with it, as she has her own unborn child to think about.
Laura, a mid-level manager at the Grand Paloma Resort, is forced to call Vida for help. She’s made it this far through sheer hard work. Her brainchild, which pairs platinum guests with a resort employee to attend to their every need, has been wildly successful. She’s mere weeks away from a promotion that will blaze a path off the resort, to a life of freedom and opportunity. If only her little sister, Elena, could get with the program.
Elena has tried her best to live up to her own ideals and her sister’s expectations; to escape the endless monotony of her life, she’s become increasingly dependent on pills and partying. As a babysitter at the resort, she’s at the mercy of guests who are only interested in having fun, cheating on each other, and getting a break from their screen-addicted kids. Now one of those kids is believed to be dead and it’s all her fault.
At a local beachfront watering hole, Elena runs into the child’s father. High and clueless, he offers her an obscene amount of money to give him private time with two young local girls. Elena pockets the cash and prays she’s gotten the girls out of harm’s way—until they disappear.
Over the course of seven days, The Grand Paloma Resort offers an unforgettable story of class, family, and community revolving around this cast of characters, that shows surviving paradise comes down to reckoning with long-held secrets and true acts of love.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published August 12, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 443 reviews
January 1, 2026
4.5 stars
Ended up loving this book though it’s a difficult read for sure. The Grand Paloma Resort follows several characters who work at the Grand Paloma Resort in the Dominican Republic: Laura, a mid-level manager, Elena, Laura’s younger and more idealistic sister, Vida, a local healer, and a few others. A small crisis occurs when a young guest is involved in an accident and lies unconscious; a bigger crisis manifests when two young local girls are reported missing after having been promised to a rich white tourist man. The novel details what transpires over these seven days and how these characters fight toward safety, healing, and justice for themselves and one another, no matter the cost.
I’ll start by saying wow, this book packed a big punch when it comes to revealing the harms of sexual tourism as well as the history and plight of undocumented Haitian workers. Without feeling preachy, the book delves into how class, race, and colonialism upends people’s lives and how rich people (especially rich white people) who engage in this industry of sexual tourism often get away with the harms they perpetuate. The sexual tourism component aside, Cleyvis Natera does a great job of highlighting how class inequities marginalize people and shape the decisions they make. It was also interesting and compelling to read about how Natera shows that even people local to the Dominican Republic – and marginalized people broadly – can be complicit in the subjugation of their own people. Though, Natera does a nice job of balancing individual responsibility with the limitations put forth by a system that advantages the rich, often white wealthy elite.
I think what helps this book avoid feeling preachy is that Natera structures the plot in The Grand Paloma Resort as a thriller. I was interested for the first half of the book, though by the last half or 40% or so I was flying through the pages to see what would happen (I finished it late at night before bed because I had to know what would happen.) The writing flowed well and it was fascinating to read about the perspectives of the different characters and their views on these issues. Even though the book was split across multiple perspectives, I found myself caring for and invested in our different protagonists, as well as sympathetic to their choices even if they weren’t always the most moral.
I will say that this is a difficult book to read in that there’s at least one graphic scene of sexual assault, as well as a lot of hinted at sexual abuse. So be warned. I’m a bit disappointed at the lower Goodreads average rating (though quite a few of my favorite books have lower average ratings so whatever) – though I suspect it may be because this book is both a thriller and a bit of a social justice book as opposed to solely fitting into one genre. Anyway, I’d recommend it to those interested though it can get quite intense, so be warned in that regard.
Ended up loving this book though it’s a difficult read for sure. The Grand Paloma Resort follows several characters who work at the Grand Paloma Resort in the Dominican Republic: Laura, a mid-level manager, Elena, Laura’s younger and more idealistic sister, Vida, a local healer, and a few others. A small crisis occurs when a young guest is involved in an accident and lies unconscious; a bigger crisis manifests when two young local girls are reported missing after having been promised to a rich white tourist man. The novel details what transpires over these seven days and how these characters fight toward safety, healing, and justice for themselves and one another, no matter the cost.
I’ll start by saying wow, this book packed a big punch when it comes to revealing the harms of sexual tourism as well as the history and plight of undocumented Haitian workers. Without feeling preachy, the book delves into how class, race, and colonialism upends people’s lives and how rich people (especially rich white people) who engage in this industry of sexual tourism often get away with the harms they perpetuate. The sexual tourism component aside, Cleyvis Natera does a great job of highlighting how class inequities marginalize people and shape the decisions they make. It was also interesting and compelling to read about how Natera shows that even people local to the Dominican Republic – and marginalized people broadly – can be complicit in the subjugation of their own people. Though, Natera does a nice job of balancing individual responsibility with the limitations put forth by a system that advantages the rich, often white wealthy elite.
I think what helps this book avoid feeling preachy is that Natera structures the plot in The Grand Paloma Resort as a thriller. I was interested for the first half of the book, though by the last half or 40% or so I was flying through the pages to see what would happen (I finished it late at night before bed because I had to know what would happen.) The writing flowed well and it was fascinating to read about the perspectives of the different characters and their views on these issues. Even though the book was split across multiple perspectives, I found myself caring for and invested in our different protagonists, as well as sympathetic to their choices even if they weren’t always the most moral.
I will say that this is a difficult book to read in that there’s at least one graphic scene of sexual assault, as well as a lot of hinted at sexual abuse. So be warned. I’m a bit disappointed at the lower Goodreads average rating (though quite a few of my favorite books have lower average ratings so whatever) – though I suspect it may be because this book is both a thriller and a bit of a social justice book as opposed to solely fitting into one genre. Anyway, I’d recommend it to those interested though it can get quite intense, so be warned in that regard.
May 5, 2026
Latine Heritage Month 2025 #2
I loved NERUDA. While this is different, the feeling is the same.
I don't watch a lot of TV. And yet, I binged THE WHITE LOTUS. I wasn't the only one. This gives similar-ish vibes with class, race, and the things people will do to hide their secrets.
The setting is a resort in DR. Most of the hotel workers are underpaid locals. Upper management is generally foreign. American or Western European. Nothing new to see here.
Laura is a mid-level manager. She is trying to move up, but she's local, and there are barriers. Her younger sister Elena is unreliable, and she often covers for her. Their mother has long since passed. Their father has disappeared.
Elena works as a babysitter at the resort. One of the children is believed to be hurt. There is also a bit of trafficking occurring in and around the resort. Several people are in on it. The wrong children are stolen. I'm not saying there are right children. But these girls' mother is in on the prostitution ring. And their father is a wealthy married foreigner who would do anything to keep things quiet. And he has a lot of money.
I'm reviewing this badly, but it's a really introspective look on the damage capitalism can do to an economy and its people. Nearly everyone is horrible. It's very engrossing.
🥃 Take a shot every time I put DANZA KUDURO on repeatin 2010 now
🥃 Take a shot every time a white person does something you expect them to
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books
I loved NERUDA. While this is different, the feeling is the same.
I don't watch a lot of TV. And yet, I binged THE WHITE LOTUS. I wasn't the only one. This gives similar-ish vibes with class, race, and the things people will do to hide their secrets.
The setting is a resort in DR. Most of the hotel workers are underpaid locals. Upper management is generally foreign. American or Western European. Nothing new to see here.
Laura is a mid-level manager. She is trying to move up, but she's local, and there are barriers. Her younger sister Elena is unreliable, and she often covers for her. Their mother has long since passed. Their father has disappeared.
Elena works as a babysitter at the resort. One of the children is believed to be hurt. There is also a bit of trafficking occurring in and around the resort. Several people are in on it. The wrong children are stolen. I'm not saying there are right children. But these girls' mother is in on the prostitution ring. And their father is a wealthy married foreigner who would do anything to keep things quiet. And he has a lot of money.
I'm reviewing this badly, but it's a really introspective look on the damage capitalism can do to an economy and its people. Nearly everyone is horrible. It's very engrossing.
🥃 Take a shot every time I put DANZA KUDURO on repeat
🥃 Take a shot every time a white person does something you expect them to
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books
September 2, 2025
2.5 stars The premise of this is excellent. Two little girls disappear, and a hotel staff member flees. This book was full of issues. First, it didn't know what it wanted to be. It didn't work as a thriller. It tried to be a social commentary on class disparity and evil rich tourists in developing countries. It also tried to be shocking with sex scenes and foul language awkwardly thrown in. The novel was written in a very disconnected way, and I didn't connect with any of the characters. This was a miss for me.
April 29, 2026
and if the hurricane had taken all these atrociously insufferable people out … I wouldn’t have cared
August 19, 2025
5 stars. The Grand Paloma Resort features a luxe island resort with flawed-realistic-even unlikable characters, and a dark underbelly of secrets and corruption that proved to be a rollercoaster of emotions and heartbreaking events. There’s much going on within the storyline but several things stick out the most. First is the history between Haiti and Dominican Republicans and its repercussions for Haitian workers at the resort—so disturbing to read. And Natera incl. in storyline current issues facing children and females in the Caribbean (heartwrenching-almost dnf’d here). She’s given readers a stark reminder of the injustices immigrants live with daily. This felt raw, the suspense, the topics true to form. I loved the White Lotus vibe, and as a fan others may like this one. Overall am very impressed with her writing and want to read more from her. Pub. 8/12/25
⚠️ female disappearance/child trafficking + other child related triggers/immigrant experience
⚠️ female disappearance/child trafficking + other child related triggers/immigrant experience
August 26, 2025
I'm so irritated after reading this book. At the 30% mark I knew I was reading it just to find out how it would end and I also knew I would regret investing that time.
This book felt like if Little Rot and The White Lotus had a baby - but not in a good way. Every character except for Vida got on my nerves. The social commentary and critique of tourism was so heavy-handed and made the dialogue feel unnatural at times.
And the "secret" just didn't feel that high stakes. I really don't know why it was added in the book. The book is billed as kind of a thriller but that's not quite what this is - in fact I felt like it wanted to be so many things so it failed to be anything good. The suspense was high but the pacing was off. The last 10% of the book felt never ending. The book switched POVs in ways that didn't often push the narrative forward as well as it could have.
Honestly, the suspense/desire to know if anyone would pay for their bad behavior was the only thing that held the whole book together. The unrealistically tidy and cheery ending really was the nail in the coffin for me. This book was not for me.
This book felt like if Little Rot and The White Lotus had a baby - but not in a good way. Every character except for Vida got on my nerves. The social commentary and critique of tourism was so heavy-handed and made the dialogue feel unnatural at times.
And the "secret" just didn't feel that high stakes. I really don't know why it was added in the book. The book is billed as kind of a thriller but that's not quite what this is - in fact I felt like it wanted to be so many things so it failed to be anything good. The suspense was high but the pacing was off. The last 10% of the book felt never ending. The book switched POVs in ways that didn't often push the narrative forward as well as it could have.
Honestly, the suspense/desire to know if anyone would pay for their bad behavior was the only thing that held the whole book together. The unrealistically tidy and cheery ending really was the nail in the coffin for me. This book was not for me.
August 23, 2025
I really really liked this book. I was pretty taken it from the start, and only toward the end did it go on a bit long for me. Natera builds such great suspense and allows her characters to make some pretty awful choices. She also works in some history of the DR so well. There are a few pieces that didn't work for me at all the "secret" as well as storytelling choices that felt a bit heavy handed. But honestly, I was so impressed by this one in a major way.
November 11, 2025
loved.
Update 11/11 for Substack:
Year of evil women!!! This book centers on a pair of orphaned sisters who work together at a luxury resort in the Dominican Republic. Laura is the eldest daughter on steroids: tough, determined, calloused, rude. She runs the resort with an iron fist, turning on people she’s known her entire life to appease the corporation that pays her bills. Her sister Elena is prodigal, driftless, aimless: careless due to Laura’s mothering, blind to how much she’s allowed to flounder due to her sister cleaning up her messes constantly-- that is, until Elena makes a mistake she can’t undo and no one can fix, and the entire operation grinds to a halt as her mistake coincides with a world-altering hurricane barreling down on the island.
I felt deeply connected to both the narrative and the themes of fighting against assimilation, colonization, imperialism, and the protection of the natural world. Natera writes with reverence about Blackness and Dominicanidad, as well as the ways our people are tormented by outside forces and how those forces worm their way into our psyches, altering us and making us shift and curdle. I loved this book- Elena was frustrating (I will never not have beef with a careless younger sibling character) but I loved how deeply Natera plugged into Laura’s darkness. More of this in fiction, please! So happy a Dominican author really went there on multiple levels.
Update 11/11 for Substack:
Year of evil women!!! This book centers on a pair of orphaned sisters who work together at a luxury resort in the Dominican Republic. Laura is the eldest daughter on steroids: tough, determined, calloused, rude. She runs the resort with an iron fist, turning on people she’s known her entire life to appease the corporation that pays her bills. Her sister Elena is prodigal, driftless, aimless: careless due to Laura’s mothering, blind to how much she’s allowed to flounder due to her sister cleaning up her messes constantly-- that is, until Elena makes a mistake she can’t undo and no one can fix, and the entire operation grinds to a halt as her mistake coincides with a world-altering hurricane barreling down on the island.
I felt deeply connected to both the narrative and the themes of fighting against assimilation, colonization, imperialism, and the protection of the natural world. Natera writes with reverence about Blackness and Dominicanidad, as well as the ways our people are tormented by outside forces and how those forces worm their way into our psyches, altering us and making us shift and curdle. I loved this book- Elena was frustrating (I will never not have beef with a careless younger sibling character) but I loved how deeply Natera plugged into Laura’s darkness. More of this in fiction, please! So happy a Dominican author really went there on multiple levels.
January 4, 2026
With its horrible characters, powerful jerks facing little accountability, exploitative labor, and graphic sexual content, this book read like all the worst parts of The White Lotus. While engrossing in a can't-look-away-from-a-trainwreck way, I hated how everything felt like it got swept under the rug and forgiven too quickly, especially given the weight of the subject matter. Overall, not a very enjoyable read.
April 20, 2025
Really sheds a different light on tourism. The constant contrast between the resort guests’ indulgences and the staff’s/locals’ struggles made for a really compelling read. However, there were periodic shifts in perspective within chapters which I found a little disorienting at times, mostly in the first half of the book. Overall I really liked this one. Great character development.
July 3, 2025
When I selected this book, I decided to take a chance on an author that I'd never heard of before. The synopsis sounded intriguing, and I love vacationing in the Dominican Republic. I wanted to like this book; I really did. Needless to say, I was disappointed.
This book was classified as a mystery/thriller; however, I don't know if that's the best categorization. I found the storyline to be monotonous, and the writing style was dry and boring. The storyline was presented from different points of view, which is something I typically like. The author neglected to inform the reader which point of view each chapter was written from, making the storyline sometimes difficult to follow.
I pushed through and finished the book, but I most likely will not read another by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion/review.
This book was classified as a mystery/thriller; however, I don't know if that's the best categorization. I found the storyline to be monotonous, and the writing style was dry and boring. The storyline was presented from different points of view, which is something I typically like. The author neglected to inform the reader which point of view each chapter was written from, making the storyline sometimes difficult to follow.
I pushed through and finished the book, but I most likely will not read another by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion/review.
Read
August 25, 2025NR, this was a DNF for me. I found it boring. I tried to listen on audio, and that may have been the problem. At any rate, we're all done here.
August 10, 2025
The idea of a luxury resort in a gorgeous location with a mystery/ thriller concept sounds sexy and like a good time, but I didn't feel that this was in that category. The story fell flat to me and seemed a tad incongruous with the genre. What took me out of the story most was the change in POV that seemed to happen suddenly. It would have flowed better if a single POV was utilized per chapter. I might have been able to connect to the characters more, and the story would have felt more fluid. It all was too halting to get a good flow reading this.
August 12, 2025
The premise of this book looked promising, but the story is full of stereotypes about Dominicans and the tourism industry. I am not saying these isolated incidents do not happen at the resorts, but the book just focused on the rich tourists getting to do whatever they want and getting away with it, and the resort workers just catering to their whims and cleaning up their messes.
I had really high expectations for this one because I loved Neruda in the Park, but I feel Natera focused heavily on everything that's bad at a time when DR's tourism industry is already plagued with negative headlines.
Thank you to the publisher and author for providing a free copy of this book through NetGalley.
I had really high expectations for this one because I loved Neruda in the Park, but I feel Natera focused heavily on everything that's bad at a time when DR's tourism industry is already plagued with negative headlines.
Thank you to the publisher and author for providing a free copy of this book through NetGalley.
July 2, 2026
I ate this book up! The suspense was intense, and the stakes were sky high. I was hooked from the start and couldn't wait to find out what happened next. The characters were awful, making choices that often left me PISSED. But that's what made it so compelling. I also liked getting snippets of the history of DR and a glimpse into the lives of hotel workers. It's easy to forget that there's a whole world behind the scenes when we're on vacation. Sure, some parts didn't quite work for me, but overall, I was invested in the story and couldn't put it down.
August 18, 2025
2.5 ⭐️
The pacing of this story is a little off and sometimes sentences begin and end abruptly, but I was wondering what was going to happen next so that kept me turning the pages! Sometimes, with a book like this I wonder if anyone rereads the book for continuity and editing because some portions seemed so scattered and confusing. This book just gave me a headache and I had such high hopes....
The pacing of this story is a little off and sometimes sentences begin and end abruptly, but I was wondering what was going to happen next so that kept me turning the pages! Sometimes, with a book like this I wonder if anyone rereads the book for continuity and editing because some portions seemed so scattered and confusing. This book just gave me a headache and I had such high hopes....
November 14, 2025
Book Title: The Grand Paloma Resort
Author: Cleyvis Natera
Publishers: Ballantine Books/Penguin Random House Audio
Publication Date: August 12, 2025
Currently Available on KU? 🙅🏼♀️
Audiobook? ✅
🍿 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴: I won’t lie, I decided to listen to The Grand Paloma Resort by Cleyvis Natera entirely because of the cover and title which were giving me White Lotus vibes. Unfortunately, this didn’t work out completely in my favor and ended up being a pretty middle-of-the-road read for me.
🤩 𝚃͏𝚑͏𝚎͏ 𝙱͏𝚎͏𝚜͏𝚝͏ 𝙱͏𝚒͏𝚝͏𝚜͏: It started out really strong for me, and I loved the descriptive way Natera has of writing setting. This was a side of the Dominican Republic that I hadn’t seen in a book yet, and I enjoyed the insight into the culture. The book is mostly centered around the resort but does include other areas of the DR as well with the 3 different {main} viewpoints. In certain ways it delivered on my White Lotus vibes, in that it was rather dark and depicts rich people behaving very badly.
🎧 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝒩𝒶𝓇𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃: The audio has a full cast in terms of MCs, but I have to say that I couldn’t tell the difference between Sixta Morel, EJ Lavery & Diana Bustelo’s narration. I honestly thought I was listening to one narrator which seemed like an issue to me, and it didn’t make the audio as immersive as I would have liked. Maybe this is just a me not paying close enough attention thing, but I was shocked to see 3 narrators when I looked after I was done. 🤷🏼♀️
💭 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴: I was thinking this would be a mystery and/or thriller but that was very much on the back burner compared to the exploration of class and social issues. I understand what the author was trying to do, but it just didn’t work all that great for me and the 3 POVs + other random ones just ended up being more confusing than anything. Not sure I will read Natera again, but if you think this sounds good, I would still recommend checking it out!
T͏h͏i͏s͏ B͏o͏o͏k͏ i͏n͏ 5͏ E͏m͏o͏j͏i͏’s͏ o͏r͏ L͏e͏s͏s͏: 🤑🌊😬🥴👀
𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: ⭐⭐⭐
𝙰𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚘𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: ⭐⭐⭐💫
𝙼𝚢 𝚂𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: .5🌶️ (explicit scene spoken about after the fact)
I received a complimentary listening copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Author: Cleyvis Natera
Publishers: Ballantine Books/Penguin Random House Audio
Publication Date: August 12, 2025
Currently Available on KU? 🙅🏼♀️
Audiobook? ✅
🍿 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴: I won’t lie, I decided to listen to The Grand Paloma Resort by Cleyvis Natera entirely because of the cover and title which were giving me White Lotus vibes. Unfortunately, this didn’t work out completely in my favor and ended up being a pretty middle-of-the-road read for me.
🤩 𝚃͏𝚑͏𝚎͏ 𝙱͏𝚎͏𝚜͏𝚝͏ 𝙱͏𝚒͏𝚝͏𝚜͏: It started out really strong for me, and I loved the descriptive way Natera has of writing setting. This was a side of the Dominican Republic that I hadn’t seen in a book yet, and I enjoyed the insight into the culture. The book is mostly centered around the resort but does include other areas of the DR as well with the 3 different {main} viewpoints. In certain ways it delivered on my White Lotus vibes, in that it was rather dark and depicts rich people behaving very badly.
🎧 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝒩𝒶𝓇𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃: The audio has a full cast in terms of MCs, but I have to say that I couldn’t tell the difference between Sixta Morel, EJ Lavery & Diana Bustelo’s narration. I honestly thought I was listening to one narrator which seemed like an issue to me, and it didn’t make the audio as immersive as I would have liked. Maybe this is just a me not paying close enough attention thing, but I was shocked to see 3 narrators when I looked after I was done. 🤷🏼♀️
💭 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴: I was thinking this would be a mystery and/or thriller but that was very much on the back burner compared to the exploration of class and social issues. I understand what the author was trying to do, but it just didn’t work all that great for me and the 3 POVs + other random ones just ended up being more confusing than anything. Not sure I will read Natera again, but if you think this sounds good, I would still recommend checking it out!
T͏h͏i͏s͏ B͏o͏o͏k͏ i͏n͏ 5͏ E͏m͏o͏j͏i͏’s͏ o͏r͏ L͏e͏s͏s͏: 🤑🌊😬🥴👀
𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: ⭐⭐⭐
𝙰𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚘𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: ⭐⭐⭐💫
𝙼𝚢 𝚂𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: .5🌶️ (explicit scene spoken about after the fact)
I received a complimentary listening copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
August 19, 2025
Very good, dark mystery(ish) novel that takes place at an “all inclusive” type resort in the Dominican Republic. There is a central mystery going on, but this novel is more focused on capturing the inner lives of the characters and highlighting the exploitation of the workers at places like this. White Lotus is a good comp that’s being used in the marketing.
And it MOVES. The pacing was very deftly done, and Natera is going on my authors-to-watch list.
And it MOVES. The pacing was very deftly done, and Natera is going on my authors-to-watch list.
September 23, 2025
I wanted to like this book; the setting had potential, but overall the execution left me frustrated! The author leans far too heavily on demonizing every “rich tourist” who steps foot into the resort. The irony is never addressed - those very tourists are the reason the locals have jobs in the first place, yet the narrative paints them as soulless villains with no nuance!
The themes feel painfully overdone. Cliched portrayals of racism and sexism, cardboard cutout depictions of poverty, and the same tired “capitalism bad” storyline that’s been recycled countless times. Instead of exploring these issues with depth or originality, the book relies on stereotypes and heavy-handed moralizing. By the halfway mark, it stopped feeling like a story and more like a lecture.
There was potential for a thoughtful exploration of cultural tension, class divides, and the beauty of the setting, but the characters are one-dimensional, and the plot is sacrificed to make political points. In the end, it’s a shallow treatment of complex issues, and I closed tvhe book feeling more annoyed than enlightened.
The themes feel painfully overdone. Cliched portrayals of racism and sexism, cardboard cutout depictions of poverty, and the same tired “capitalism bad” storyline that’s been recycled countless times. Instead of exploring these issues with depth or originality, the book relies on stereotypes and heavy-handed moralizing. By the halfway mark, it stopped feeling like a story and more like a lecture.
There was potential for a thoughtful exploration of cultural tension, class divides, and the beauty of the setting, but the characters are one-dimensional, and the plot is sacrificed to make political points. In the end, it’s a shallow treatment of complex issues, and I closed tvhe book feeling more annoyed than enlightened.
May 28, 2026
I'm torn about this book. Laura being so up the Paloma's ass is fucking infuriating, and I don't think she actually learned anything from her many, many, MANY fuck ups. Elena i think was a believable teenager in an impossible position, even though she did something unconscionable. I don't know why nobody thought about either searching around the beach in the water or searching up the mountain, which apparently every child in the village was taught is the place to go for safety? And nobody thought about that???
I loved most of the other characters though, so that is making up for it.
I loved most of the other characters though, so that is making up for it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2025
4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟
As a born Dominican, this story literally had me on a chokehold. I deeply felt all the injustices (that still go on in my country) and it truly saddens me that these type situations still go on. This story will be unforgettable. I absolutely adore the authors writing style.
As a born Dominican, this story literally had me on a chokehold. I deeply felt all the injustices (that still go on in my country) and it truly saddens me that these type situations still go on. This story will be unforgettable. I absolutely adore the authors writing style.
June 17, 2026
This book was a ride! A cast of unlikeable characters, but their motivations are rooted in trauma. I loved the setting of the resort and the area and how you can visualize the scene. I was SO SO upset at the decisions both Elena and Laura made. It was a good read though and would have been nice to discuss with someone!
July 27, 2025
A tense, ravaging tourism thriller
When an American child is severely injured on her watch, a babysitter at a luxe resort in the Dominican Republic and her sister -- a cutthroat resort manager -- go to unspeakable lengths to escape the consequences, even after the cover-up results in two local girls going missing with a major hurricane bearing down on the island.
This is a meaty beach read for White Lotus fans with all the horrifying privilege on display, a large cast of complex and conflicted characters, and even some strong nods to the literary legacy of Edwidge Danticat.
It's a little rough in some places and quite difficult to read with most of the book consumed by the mystery of whether a pedophile got to the two missing children. The book spans several perspectives, but mostly focuses on the two sisters who are not without nuance but very often unlikeable.
It's other characters that save the show. The local curandera called to heal the tourist child's injury, who fears what the ritual might do to her own unborn child. Her ex-boyfriend, a resort employee torn between his local roots and the demands of catering to guests. The mother of the missing children, who is both longtime mistress to a wealthy foreign developer and operator of a prostitution ring from the local bar she owns. The nonagenarian teacher in their tiny mountain town, protecting an intense secret about the town's origins.
It would be so easy for a work like this to adopt a simplified message of Tourism Bad or to paint the wealthy as inherently despicable. A few well placed minor characters demonstrate wielding power for good. And threaded throughout everything is a further awareness not just of tourists, developers and locals, but the history between Haiti and the DR and its repercussions for Haitian laborers at the resort, occupying a rung even below Dominican staff.
The story unfolds over the course of a single week and this trajectory, underlined by the path of the hurricane and its aftermath, does a great job of showcasing how healing begins by excavating the ugliest truths.
CW: pedophilia, assault, domestic violence
Thank you to publisher Ballantine Books for my advance copy, provided in exchange for an honest review. This book publishes on August 12, 2025.
When an American child is severely injured on her watch, a babysitter at a luxe resort in the Dominican Republic and her sister -- a cutthroat resort manager -- go to unspeakable lengths to escape the consequences, even after the cover-up results in two local girls going missing with a major hurricane bearing down on the island.
This is a meaty beach read for White Lotus fans with all the horrifying privilege on display, a large cast of complex and conflicted characters, and even some strong nods to the literary legacy of Edwidge Danticat.
It's a little rough in some places and quite difficult to read with most of the book consumed by the mystery of whether a pedophile got to the two missing children. The book spans several perspectives, but mostly focuses on the two sisters who are not without nuance but very often unlikeable.
It's other characters that save the show. The local curandera called to heal the tourist child's injury, who fears what the ritual might do to her own unborn child. Her ex-boyfriend, a resort employee torn between his local roots and the demands of catering to guests. The mother of the missing children, who is both longtime mistress to a wealthy foreign developer and operator of a prostitution ring from the local bar she owns. The nonagenarian teacher in their tiny mountain town, protecting an intense secret about the town's origins.
It would be so easy for a work like this to adopt a simplified message of Tourism Bad or to paint the wealthy as inherently despicable. A few well placed minor characters demonstrate wielding power for good. And threaded throughout everything is a further awareness not just of tourists, developers and locals, but the history between Haiti and the DR and its repercussions for Haitian laborers at the resort, occupying a rung even below Dominican staff.
The story unfolds over the course of a single week and this trajectory, underlined by the path of the hurricane and its aftermath, does a great job of showcasing how healing begins by excavating the ugliest truths.
CW: pedophilia, assault, domestic violence
Thank you to publisher Ballantine Books for my advance copy, provided in exchange for an honest review. This book publishes on August 12, 2025.
December 9, 2025
Once again, I am fooled by a book I did not expect to like at all, just because it was not in a genre I usually read. "The Grand Paloma Resort" is about two sisters who live and work in the Dominica. Republic at a tropical resort for clueless billionaires, not people I enjoy reading about. The sisters are used to the underhanded ways of their clients and are not above some rather awful behavior themselves that is bound to get them in trouble. It all comes to a head when a hurricane unexpectedly slams into their part of the island, destroying the resort and many lives. During the events of the story the sisters deal with racism, classism, misogyny, sexual crimes, drug crimes, etc.
This book could have been trashy. It wasn't. The story drew me in and kept me caring, even when it got a little on the soap opera side.
I learned a bit about the relationship between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. I would like to know more.
This book could have been trashy. It wasn't. The story drew me in and kept me caring, even when it got a little on the soap opera side.
I learned a bit about the relationship between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. I would like to know more.
January 31, 2026
3.5⭐️ Ahhhh, I think she suffered from the sophomore jinx. And I am saddened it happened to Cleyvis Natera. She did such a great job with her debut novel, NERUDA ON THE PARK, but this one, not so much. The pacing was off, the flow was choppy and the plotting was disjointed. Was she crafting an upscale resort thriller/suspense/ mystery?
Well, possibly a bit of a thriller. Was it a fictionalized exposé of resort culture and the secret hidden realities of these places and the effects of those realities on the work crew, that are mainly local residents. Yes, you could say that was a significant part of the book. Alternatively, maybe it’s simply about two Dominican women working in a resort as a way to improve their circumstances that have kept them poor due to exploitation, capitalism, racism, colonialism, cronyism and a culture where prostitution has become the major export.
In the final analysis, it’s a little bit of all of this but it doesn’t cohere into a momentumish ride. It gains some traction then loses propulsion and picks up a little then again loses propulsion and after this rollercoaster ride, you just want to be done.
The positive standout is that the writing is always good enough to keep you turning the pages and clearly Ms. Cleyvis Natera has the talent to sustain a career as a novelist, this one just was a slight miss for this reader.
Well, possibly a bit of a thriller. Was it a fictionalized exposé of resort culture and the secret hidden realities of these places and the effects of those realities on the work crew, that are mainly local residents. Yes, you could say that was a significant part of the book. Alternatively, maybe it’s simply about two Dominican women working in a resort as a way to improve their circumstances that have kept them poor due to exploitation, capitalism, racism, colonialism, cronyism and a culture where prostitution has become the major export.
In the final analysis, it’s a little bit of all of this but it doesn’t cohere into a momentumish ride. It gains some traction then loses propulsion and picks up a little then again loses propulsion and after this rollercoaster ride, you just want to be done.
The positive standout is that the writing is always good enough to keep you turning the pages and clearly Ms. Cleyvis Natera has the talent to sustain a career as a novelist, this one just was a slight miss for this reader.
September 29, 2025
Couldn’t read this. I had to stop when I realized Laura was actually going to let her sister believe she killed a little girl just to teach her a lesson??? WTF? and the writing wasn’t that good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2026
The main character was so insufferably selfish, I couldn’t suspend disbelief enough to be engrossed by the rest of the book.
April 2, 2026
Generally, I appreciate more subtlety but overall this is a book that I’d recommend
January 16, 2026
I'm pretty sure I gained a bunch of white hairs while reading this.
What a damn roller coaster, my anxiety levels were off their charts like never before. I even ended up sobbing.
Never trusting Gab to give me another rec ever again because I'm pretty sure she might send me to my grave earlier than I would like.
Let me start off with saying one thing, it takes a certain talent to write such complex Latine characters. These characters are not just a byproduct of a system who has constantly betrayed them but their behaviors and attitudes are all led by survival instincts.
This book revolves around The Grand Paloma Resort located en la República Dominicana, the guests in the resort, the employees, the country's history, and relationships, but specifically around Laura, Elena, Vida, and Pablo. This book revolves around the disappearance of two young girls, who were last seen with a white tourist man. Themes of Sexual exploitation, Sexual Assault, Trauma, Colonialism, Migrant rights, Substance Abuse, Pedophila, and Racism
When your environment is constantly shifting creating instability, your sense of being or identity no longer is vital. You're running off your nervous system. All these characters had different and yet similar responses. You have Fight, Flight, Fawn, and Freeze and all these characters find a way to adapt whether it is morally correct or not.
Laura is such a fascinating character, I personally fell into the idea that Laura would be the one to break the generational cycle given that she was the eldest and carried a lot of responsibility. What's really interesting is that despite her positions in leadership in her family and with the resort. Laura collapses under the pressure.
I had a hard time trying to understand why that was the case but what really solidified it for me was that as humans we all reach our breaking point. As older sisters who lead, we also lose our own way. Our morality is changes when you are past your breaking point. Laura serves as a reminder that without the proper resources and support. We lose our way, especially when you are isolated and drowning.
As for Elena, I feel like more of her character should've been developed towards the end, we are presented with a very childish and selfish version of Elena in the beginning. One of the main reasons behind this is because she struggles with Substance Use Disorder. Drug addictions change the chemistry in the brain, impacting decision making and relationships.
I cannot express how upsetting it was to see this not be addressed. Accountability is important but so is the recognition of the disease that addiction is. There's the constant portrayal in books and films that addiction can be solved by just support but it's more than that. It requires treatment, stability, and the recognition that addiction is a disease. I do appreciate how Elena in the end was willing to take accountability towards her reckless actions but as a reader, I wish we would've gotten to see more towards her reasoning to return because all we got was a vague description of what happened in London.
The decision to make Elena responsible for the family secret made sense to me, she is someone who wants to strive towards making change while Laura is someone who needs to heal.
Pablo's character really caught me off guard, his character proved to show the MOST development. I don't support cheaters by any means but seeing him genuinely reflect on his self-harming tendencies completely changed my perspective on him. To see him give up the job that nearly killed his spirit was everything that by the end I was rooting for him, Vida and their little baby.
This is honestly such a complex book, I have so much more to say. If you want a book that'll keep you on your toes and will have you writing a whole ass essay about how fucked up the book left you then this is definitely a book you should take a look.
What a damn roller coaster, my anxiety levels were off their charts like never before. I even ended up sobbing.
Never trusting Gab to give me another rec ever again because I'm pretty sure she might send me to my grave earlier than I would like.
Let me start off with saying one thing, it takes a certain talent to write such complex Latine characters. These characters are not just a byproduct of a system who has constantly betrayed them but their behaviors and attitudes are all led by survival instincts.
This book revolves around The Grand Paloma Resort located en la República Dominicana, the guests in the resort, the employees, the country's history, and relationships, but specifically around Laura, Elena, Vida, and Pablo. This book revolves around the disappearance of two young girls, who were last seen with a white tourist man. Themes of Sexual exploitation, Sexual Assault, Trauma, Colonialism, Migrant rights, Substance Abuse, Pedophila, and Racism
When your environment is constantly shifting creating instability, your sense of being or identity no longer is vital. You're running off your nervous system. All these characters had different and yet similar responses. You have Fight, Flight, Fawn, and Freeze and all these characters find a way to adapt whether it is morally correct or not.
Laura is such a fascinating character, I personally fell into the idea that Laura would be the one to break the generational cycle given that she was the eldest and carried a lot of responsibility. What's really interesting is that despite her positions in leadership in her family and with the resort. Laura collapses under the pressure.
I had a hard time trying to understand why that was the case but what really solidified it for me was that as humans we all reach our breaking point. As older sisters who lead, we also lose our own way. Our morality is changes when you are past your breaking point. Laura serves as a reminder that without the proper resources and support. We lose our way, especially when you are isolated and drowning.
As for Elena, I feel like more of her character should've been developed towards the end, we are presented with a very childish and selfish version of Elena in the beginning. One of the main reasons behind this is because she struggles with Substance Use Disorder. Drug addictions change the chemistry in the brain, impacting decision making and relationships.
I cannot express how upsetting it was to see this not be addressed. Accountability is important but so is the recognition of the disease that addiction is. There's the constant portrayal in books and films that addiction can be solved by just support but it's more than that. It requires treatment, stability, and the recognition that addiction is a disease. I do appreciate how Elena in the end was willing to take accountability towards her reckless actions but as a reader, I wish we would've gotten to see more towards her reasoning to return because all we got was a vague description of what happened in London.
The decision to make Elena responsible for the family secret made sense to me, she is someone who wants to strive towards making change while Laura is someone who needs to heal.
Pablo's character really caught me off guard, his character proved to show the MOST development. I don't support cheaters by any means but seeing him genuinely reflect on his self-harming tendencies completely changed my perspective on him. To see him give up the job that nearly killed his spirit was everything that by the end I was rooting for him, Vida and their little baby.
This is honestly such a complex book, I have so much more to say. If you want a book that'll keep you on your toes and will have you writing a whole ass essay about how fucked up the book left you then this is definitely a book you should take a look.
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