march 2022
another month of 2022 in the books! and speaking of which, march was full of reads — 5 books and 1,800+ pages. this month, i spent time in new york’s famous dakota apartment house, yachting in the mediterranean, uncovering a decades-old serial killer case, hanging out with capote’s swans and making a cross country trek with giraffes — not really, but it felt like it!!!! i love that books can transport you to different places and times. a deep dive into march’s book reviews can be found below:
the address by fiona davis
alex’s rating: 9.9/10
last month, my aunt bought me a book about the dakota apartment house and i quickly became obsessed. a few days later, i stumbled across the address in a bookstore and when i found out it was a historical fiction about the dakota, i said yes!!!! back to exploring the halls of this 1884 building in central park. sara smythe has traveled a world away from london to nyc to take a job with the up and coming apartment house in an unfavorable neighborhood. she quickly forms a bond with her boss, perhaps tooo close. suddenly, she finds herself trapped at blackwell’s island insane asylum, beginning to lose hope that she’ll ever find freedom again. enter nellie bly — a real journalist from pittsburgh who went undercover and blew open the truth about the cruelty of insane asylums. (i now must find a book about nellie). she busts sara out and helps her get back on her feet again and reunites her with theodore (her boss). it sounds crazy right? well it’s only HALF the story because 100 years later, the relatives of both sara and theodore start digging into their family tree and what they find is shocking!!! this is a really great read.
the lion’s den by katherine st. john
alex’s rating: 9.9/10
summer and belle have been friends since they were kids but lately it’s been a little rocky. when summer invites belle to her birthday bash on a mega yacht in the mediterranean (all expenses paid, courtesy of summer’s new boyfriend john) it seems too good to be true. but a weekend in the sun on a fancy boat does sound like a good time. shady shit goes down on the boat (like being locked in your room at night for starters) and we slowly learn the truth about summer, and her mysterious boyfriend. this really is only the tip of the iceberg though because not too long ago, summer’s ex-boyfriend wound up dead. could she have had something to do with it? belle works to find the truth. this story takes you on a wild journey and is truly just a fun, easy read.
the book of cold cases by simone st. james
alex’s rating: 7/10
any crime junkie fan will run to simone st. james newest novel with a name like ‘the book of cold cases’ but they may be a tad disappointed. when shea collins meets acquitted murderer beth greer, she jumps at the chance to interview her — not just because she runs a cold case blog on the side but, because beth’s case continues to confuse the small town in oregon some 40 years later. shea soon learns that the secrets may just be hidden in beth’s house, literally. the story turns into a haunted ghost story that’s so outlandish it throws the plot. it was an interesting read and one that i enjoyed, i just didn’t love the supernatural aspect.
capote’s women by laurence leamer
alex’s rating: 10/10
my first 10/10 for the year! laurence leamer is absolutely spectacular in sharing the stories of fifth avenue’s swans. truman capote collected beautiful women the way others collect baseball cards. when he famously exposed the rich and famous in “la cote basque, 1965” everyone pondered what he was doing. and we may never really know. capote’s women highlights the lives of babe paley, gloria guinness, marella agnelli, slim hayward, pamela churchill, c. z. guest and lee radziwill. their wealth knew no end and their secrets were the center of capote’s conversations.
west with giraffes by lynda rutledge
alex’s rating: 7/10
west with giraffes is a true story about two giraffes that made the cross country trip from new york to san diego in 1938. i’ll be honest with you, this book felt long and it took me a while to get through — the majority of the book detailed the 3,200 mile journey, but the ending redeemed it for me. animals are truly amazing but can you imagine two gentle giants traversing the country in 1938? i would be starstruck. during a tumultuous time in the world, two wild creatures miraculously made the 12 day journey in a makeshift vehicle. i’m left with a greater appreciation for animals.
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