What I Read in May : Dinah

May was very busy, but I managed to read four books, all of which I liked to varying degrees. It was the first month in a while where I didn’t read any YA or any fantasy, but there were three different books set in the UK, and one in South Korea, so I still had some serious escapism.

(*Photos link to books, we may collect a small commission from any Amazon purchases)

What I Read in May : Dinah

The Divines

The description of this book hit so many of my favorites - boarding school, British culture, a mysterious death and a struggling writer. Josephine is newly married and stops by to visit the former grounds of the all-girls boarding school she attended St. John the Divine, where the wealthy students called themselves “Divines” and generally ran the school with very little consideration for the teachers and staff. She flashes back to her last year there, when a girl was found dead, and as she reminisces about how that year unfolded, lets her guilt and suppressed feelings take a brutal toll on her mental health.

I loved how she built the culture of the girls at the school - it rang so true with the little traditions they uphold, the relationship with the town nearby, and the 90’s, British, rich preppy girl style. The book did move a little bit slowly, but I was curious to see how the girl died and while the ending was entertaining, it wasn’t what I expected. There was definitely a section in the middle that dragged a little bit while Josephine was melting down in the present, and the past was slowly unraveling.

The Lost Apothecary

Another book set in the UK, with a ton of flashbacks! This one is about Caroline, an American woman who discovers her husband has betrayed her and goes on their 10th Anniversary trip to London by herself. While she is there, she gets pulled into a mystery about an apothecary that catered just to women in the 1700’s, helping them with health issues, but also getting rid of badly behaving men. The story goes back and forth between the two stories, with Caroline uncovering information and struggling to make a decision about her marriage when her husband appears in London, while the apothecary Nella finds herself in an impossible and dangerous situation.

I really enjoyed most of this book, especially the timeline in the past, although I didn’t love how it ended. I didn’t agree with one character’s death, and I couldn’t believe that one wildly insane and manipulative act was let off as nicely as it was.

If I Had Your Face

This was a fascinating look at South Korea, from beauty culture, to class issues, to sex work. It follows five young women, who all live in the same inexpensive apartment building. Kyuri, who has had all of the best plastic surgery to get a jon in a “room salon” - an underground bar where the women are very much for sale, Miho, a talented artist who grew up in an orphanage but studied art in NYC, where she fell in with a wealthy crowd and after a tragedy, has a very wealthy boyfriend, Ara, a hairstylist who cannot speak after a traumatic attack, loves a K-Pop idol and has a best friend that wants extreme plastic surgery to get a job in a room salon and finally Wonna, a newlywed trying to have a baby that she and her husband cannot afford even with their white collar jobs.

I could not put this book down! It was so interesting and there were so many different layers to unpack to each character and their dynamic. I couldn’t believe how the orphanage system worked, the entire concept of a “room salon” and how engrained the beauty culture is in success in the country. I highly recommend this anyone!

Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret

This book is controversial in royal watching circles, but Eloise, our mom and I all read it and loved it! It is a collection of anecdotes about Princess Margaret, from people who were friends with her socially, to diplomats that entertained her and staff members. Some of it is fictionalized - like a whole part about what would have happened if Pablo Picasso had been able to act on his fascination with her that was wild and hilarious!

Princess Margaret definitely had some tragedy in her life, but she also leaned into the titles and status hard, making the lives of those around her difficult seemingly for her own entertainment. I did appreciate how much insight there was into her relationship with The Queen Mother and just how those second-tier royal duties wore on her and went against her personality. It’s interesting to see the contrast between who she truly was, and how she acted in the public eye.