I am a huge fan of old Hollywood and Marilyn Monroe, so taking a journey to 1958 for the filming of Some Like it Hot was such a treat!

Hotel del Coronado (the “del”), which is now on my “must visit” bucket list, sets the scene for two lives generations apart. Both named Kate Morgan, one died tragically on the steps of the del, while the other takes the biggest risk of her life, leaving her family, to work on the movie set of Some Like it Hot.

The younger Kate Morgan sets out for a job at the del based on her grandfather’s encouragement to find the “beautiful stranger” – though she isn’t sure if this “beautiful stranger” is real or a byproduct of his dementia. Nonetheless, Kate decides to be the first of her family to leave the bay area and venture down south. Her narrative is told alongside the elder Kate Morgan’s story, and we begin to see a trail of breadcrumbs leading us to how these two women are tied together. Cue Marilyn Monroe, Billy Wilder and other Hollywood icons all set against the gorgeous Southern California backdrop, and I was hooked!

This book had history, romance, mystery and drama all rolled into one. It felt like I was watching a movie. I was constantly guessing what would happen next and how the story would end. I loved the Kate’s as well as their friends and the Hollywood stars encountered along the way. The Beautiful Strangers offers the perfect escape from winter – highly recommend adding this one to your list!

Buy The Beautiful Strangers by Camille Di Maio

Verdict: Read it! (4.5/5 stars)
Length: 320 pages
When: You are in the mood for historical fiction with some Hollywood glamour.
Quote: “When you’ve lived as long as I have, you learn that time moves like lightening. And if you try to lasso it, you’ll only get burned.”
Also read: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (B2C review) or The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams (B2C review)