Review: The Spectacular

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I wish I could give this one 10 stars! Fiona Davis is near the top of my MUST-READ list these days. I have loved every book she has written. If you are not familiar with Ms. Davis, you should be. Every book she writes is set in a NYC landmark and features some type of drama along with that landmark, which often becomes a character too. The Spectacular is set in Radio City Music Hall, where Marion has just landed a job as a Rockette. Marion's family doesn't agree with her decision to dance and there is a bomber loose in the city. The Big Apple bomber has been terrorizing New York for 16 years, and I will not spoil anything about what he does or if he is caught. What you need to know is that this book is just like the title states.....SPECTACULAR!!!

This will be my monthly book pick for June.

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July book pick

For this month, I chose a book that was spectacular, but I have never featured it as a monthly book pick.  

This book is based on the true story of Belle da Costa Greene, the first curator of the Morgan Library. Belle's father was the first black student and graduate of Harvard and he championed civil rights.  Belle's father and mother split up and the mother raised the children as white.  When Belle got hired as the curator of the Morgan Library, she knew that her boss was a racist, but also knew she deserved this job.  Belle did a wonderful job in collecting the materials and continued on as the main librarian even after JP Morgan's death. 

Marie Benedict always selects strong women for her books and this one is no exception.  

August Book Pick

 Alva Vanderbilt wants nothing more than to fit in society, but society says she is "new" money and no one feels that status has any value.  The chief society lady who is shunning Alva is Caroline Astor.  Caroline runs all social functions, events, and controls who is in and who is out.  

There are no murders here, but you will see tons of drama.  Picture the mom from the Titanic movie times ten and that is what these characters are like (and remember the characters are based on real women).  They are trying to one-up each other and tear each other down, they are complete MEAN GIRLS.  

All that being said, I found this a fun, and worthy book pick.  It is such a departure from my normal reads as it is set in the last 19th century New York City and features no war.  

Renee Rosen always knows how to give us a story that is unique and interesting and she does not fail with this one.  

Review: A New York Secret

A New York Secret by Ella Carey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Black Buck

Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free

The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free by Paulina Bren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Barbizon was a very interesting nonfiction read. It is a history of The Barbizon Hotel for women with a sprinkling of the history of Mademoiselle magazine too as a lot of the story intertwines with the magazine's history. The book takes us on a journey from the building of the hotel and its origins. Did you know it was built to fill a hole in the housing market, as there was not anything for single girls in the 1920's? A lot of famous women would reside within the hotel's walls, Margaret Brown (yes, the Titanic Molly), Grace Kelly, Liza Minnelli, Sylvia Plath, and many more. I found that most of the book discussed the girls that were in the guest editor program of Mademoiselle magazine. I had no idea that was a thing as a guest editor program in those days.

I received a copy of The Barbizon in exchange for my honest opinion.

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The Read with Michelle September book pick is here!!!

 Hello fellow readers!

2020 may be the weirdest year on record, but it has also flown by...Happy September!!!  To me, September is all about fall. I have put up the summer decor and brought out all the fall goodness... yellow and orange leaves, purple flowers, acorns and of course pumpkin everything.  I thought about picking a fall type book, but I found nothing that I thought was exciting so I went back to the stack of new releases that I had.  One cover stood out, then I read the story and I was like oh THIS is THE book!  

The September book pick is The Lions of 5th Avenue by Fiona Davis.  

Fiona has been one of my go-to authors for a while because every book she writes is set in the most interesting places in NYC.  Here is a list of her books because you really need to read them all:

                                 

The Dollhouse-about girls who want to be models and secretaries and live in the Barbizon Hotel. 

The Address (my personal fave)-is all about the Dakota Hotel from the time it was built to the first occupants.  This one shocked me at the end.

The Masterpiece-this journey starts by a girl tripping over a suitcase in Grand Central Station and takes you to an art school that made its home in GCS.

The Chelsea Girls-Hazel and Maxine live in The Chelsea Hotel and have dreams of making it big on Broadway meanwhile Joseph McCarthy is out looking for communists.  

Fast forward to Fiona's new release and you will see a beautiful setting of the New York Public Library and if that is not enough, she gives us an apartment over the library (folks really did live there once upon a time), a book theft, death and family estrangement.  This one has it all!!!! 

Review: The Lions of Fifth Avenue

The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: Everybody's Doin' It: Sex, Music, and Dance in New York, 1840-1917

Everybody's Doin' It: Sex, Music, and Dance in New York, 1840-1917 by Dale Cockrell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was well researched, the problem that I had was it was hard for me to visualize the description of the dances, I think probably because I know nothing about dancing. You can tell that Mr. Cockrell is highly intelligent by reading his text, and sometimes that flowery vocabulary doesn't fit in with the vulgar talk of prostitution and dancing.

I do feel like I learned a little bit about the history of the dance and glad I read this one.

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Review: The Chelsea Girls

The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book started off as the usual WWII book that I read. Girls and boys overseas fighting a war in a few theaters while the rest of our country is at home doing what they can to help the war effort. This time some girls join up with the USO to give the troops a little entertainment. The girls forge a friendship that lasts after the war. Then we see the girls join back into their old lives and forge new ones. Hazel, who wrote the USO shows longs to be a writer right here in NYC. She moves into the Chelsea Hotel, a place where artists can live with no prejudice and lots of support. She moves right into an entertainment industry that is in turmoil because of Joseph McCarthy and the HUAC (House of Un-American Committee). Maxine, her former USO pal, moves back to NYC too and joins Hazel's play. Now I can't tell you any more about this one because I don't want to ruin it for you. Hazel, Maxine, their men, their fellow cast members will all get tangled in with the HUAC in some way. You will get a glimpse into the future so you will find out what happens with the characters from the time we meet them in the '40s to the end of their life. I did very much enjoy this book but only gave it 4 stars because I felt it wasn't as vivid as Fiona's other books. It is a good read though.



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Review: The Dakota Winters: A Novel

The Dakota Winters: A Novel by Tom Barbash
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I stopped reading Dec 24, 2018, because I wasn't feeling the vibes of the book. The setting was nice, but I couldn't get into the characters. I plan on coming back at some point.

I did come back sooner than I thought. My friend had read this and really liked it. Since I trust her opinion I had to come back and see what I thought.

The Dakota has fascinated me since December 8, 1980. I have never forgotten seeing it for the first time and thinking what an interesting place that it must be. Over the years I have picked up any book that I see written on the famous/infamous structure. This one was a little different because it was the first told from a man's perspective.

This family was kind of screwed up (ok, whose family isn't? )...but they seemed like they were connected in some odd way. Everything seems to center around Dad's (Buddy) nervous breakdown. He is a famous interviewer that had his own tv show. Most of the book is how dad can get over this breakdown and get back on the air.

Along the way, we get to spend some time with the one and only John Lennon. We even get to take a trip with Lennon. On this trip, John will write a lot of the material that will become the Double Fantasy album. Some of the dialogue that Lennon says could really have come from his mouth. There is a neat reunion planned...a reunion that will make Buddy's career rebound and bring Lennon back out onto the top of the world with a dude named, Paul. It all ended on Dec 8, 1980. No reunion, Buddy's show will fail. Anton will have a breakdown. Everyone just falls apart.

It does end nicely. While not a book I will ever pick up again, I did enjoy the time spent within the walls of the Dakota. The cover was also very nicely done.


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Review: The Dollhouse

The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love a book that sucks you and and won't release you. This book fit the bill perfectly. Picture this....it's 1952, you are in a hotel in NYC. It's a hotel unlike hotels we have these days, this one was for ladies only. Many of the girls were attending college or modeling during the day and having fun at night. It is in this setting where Darby from a small town finds herself. She is in NYC to go to a college she doesn't want to attend studying a profession she has no desire to do.

The people she meets will change her life.

Flash forward to 2016...because this story takes place in 1952 and 2016. Rose lives in the same hotel (now condos) that Darby lived back in the day and STILL lives there! Rose will reveal secrets of the past and solve mysteries of the present all the while dealing with an ill father, work drama and a crappy boyfriend.

Darby will change Rose's life.

This book is full of twists and turns. I thought I knew what was going to happen, but then BAM I was wrong and the story turned. What a great book to finish my 2016 reading challenge.

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Review: The Dollhouse

The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love a book that sucks you and and won't release you. This book fit the bill perfectly. Picture this....it's 1952, you are in a hotel in NYC. It's a hotel unlike hotels we have these days, this one was for ladies only. Many of the girls were attending college or modeling during the day and having fun at night. It is in this setting where Darby from a small town finds herself. She is in NYC to go to a college she doesn't want to attend studying a profession she has no desire to do.

The people she meets will change her life.

Flash forward to 2016...because this story takes place in 1952 and 2016. Rose lives in the same hotel (now condos) that Darby lived back in the day and STILL lives there! Rose will reveal secrets of the past and solve mysteries of the present all the while dealing with an ill father, work drama and a crappy boyfriend.

Darby will change Rose's life.

This book is full of twists and turns. I thought I knew what was going to happen, but then BAM I was wrong and the story turned. What a great book to finish my 2016 reading challenge.

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Review: The Address

The Address by Fiona Davis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was going to read this solely for the reason that Fiona wrote it (I adore her books), but then she set the book at the Dakota. What a fascinating building to set a story!! Then she threw in a murder mystery. This one was hard to put down.

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Review: The Masterpiece

The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have loved every book that Fiona has written and I have been waiting for this one for months. I must say that it did not disappoint. It was nice to have a sitting in the art world, that is a place I love to be.....then that art world was set in New York City at the Grand Central Terminal. On top of that there was a mystery!! This was a great read and I had trouble putting it down and it ended perfectly. Now to wait for Fiona's next book.

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