Quite Literally Books 😍❤️📚✨

Omg, I found new books to love! 😱

My current QLB book collection! Yay! Aren't they stunning?? 🤩

As you know, I'm primarily (90%+) a vintage edition book lover.  I make an exception for my favorite UK book publishers such as Dean Street Press Ltd., The British Library (Women Writers and Crime Classics), Persephone Books, Girls Gone By Publishers and Grey Ladies. 

But, I simply could not resist buying Quite Literally Books' Summer Reading Bundle after reading book-savvy Simon's Stuck in a Book blog post!

Gorgeous wrapping of the books and bag! Stickers, red tissue paper and so perfect!

When I read QLB's Manifesto, I just KNEW in my heart that this was a publishing company that I needed to follow and support:

    “𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭? 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴.

     𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘐𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺.

    𝘚𝘰, 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘹𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘴." 

This bag is not only beautiful in design, but it's so well made! I love the fabric!

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT QUITE LITERALLY BOOKS:
❣️ 5🌟 Stories
❣️ Gorgeous graphic covers
❣️ French flaps
❣️ Easy-to-hold and flip through
❣️ Perfect-sized text (yay!)

For all lovers of republished books by American Women Authors —you definitely need to check out QLB! 🥰  

Two books I've read and loved! It's amazing having two editions of each!

My next read! I'm hoping Plum Bun is another 5 star read for me 😄

Although I'm not an expert on Quite Literally Books, I'm so excited to know more, read more and buy more of their books! How about you?

Please support this wonderful, women-owned NYC publishing company—the duo of Bremond and Lisa is 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨!  💕🌸🤗🌸💕

It was so hard to open my QLB books...so beautifully wrapped! 

Look at all of these goodies! Card, pencil, book mark, stickers! 🤩

Let me know in the comments if you’ve read any of these titles! Both The Home-Maker and The Pink House are 5🌟 reads for me! Plum Bun is next on my TBR! 🥰❣️

Loving my new red QLB book bag so much! 😍

The World at Home by Ginny Kubitz Moyer 🥰❤️🧵

Omg, I LOVE this new novel by Ginny Moyer Kubitz! 🤩 

The World at Home is a tender and touching wartime romance that must be savored like a decadent chocolate truffle. I was enchanted by the very first page! 

How can Ginny Kubitz Moyer keep writing better and better novels? It blows my mind! 😱 I would love to absorb even a tiny bit of her sparkling creativity and novel-writing talent! 

When I first heard that Ginny was working on a third book, my first thought was..."When will I be able to buy a copy? I need to read it!" The themes, locations and times that she has chosen for all three of her novels (so far) are exactly what I love to read about:

Intelligent and creative women of the past who are making a life for themselves, discovering who they really are and what their place is in the world. 

There are very few authors that give me the feeling that I should read their novels slowly and experience each chapter in small, exquisite "bites". Two of those authors are Gladys Taber and Elizabeth Goudge. The third is Ginny Moyer.   

Ready for my rating and review? Let's get started! 

RATING: 10🌟! 

WHAT I LOVED MOST:

❤️ Orphan female protagonist 
❤️ Lovely, intelligent, talented Irene
❤️ Fascinating seamstress world
❤️ Sewing/clothing descriptions
❤️ Paper dolls and childhood memories
❤️ Living above a shop 
❤️ Captivating conversations 
❤️ Lost loves and wartime friendships
❤️ Cozy descriptions of clothing, food and everyday living

Once I became immersed in this wonderful world, I didn’t want to leave. Ginny is absolutely amazing at creating complex characters and gorgeous descriptions that are impossible to forget—in the very best way! 

Here are some of my favorite sections: 

'It was the first Friday in October, one of those glorious fall days in the city that make you willing to forgive the foggy overcast of summer. Buttery evening sunlight drenched the shop, and the vase of iris glowed like something in a painting. Benny Goodman was on the radio for the five o'clock hour, and I whistled along as I swept up snippet of thread and then pulled down the shades. '

'I've dressed it up with light green paint on the walls and violet-blue curtains around a three-way mirror and the storeroom entrance. There's a big folding screen hiding a dressing area, a screen which I painted the same violet as the curtains, with a design of gold and green scrolls. There's always a vase of iris on the counter by the door, and I added a framed picture of Paris and other tasteful knickknacks for a little cosmopolitan flair.'

'The fabric was exquisite, dark rose satin, the rich kind that looks like cool water rippling in a brook. It was a long evening dress with a high scoop neck and a fitted bodice, tight through the hips then flaring out gradually from there to the ground. The sleeves were long and full, falling gracefully to a band at the wrist.' 

'I lifted one of the bolts to my nose. It was kelly green cotton printed with tiny flowers in burgandy and navy blue, and it smelled clean, dry, and intoxicating, as new fabric always does to me.'

I wish I could share ALL of the parts that made me go back and read them again. But, let's face it...then, I would be sharing the entire book! lol. You'll just have to read it yourself. 😍

Don’t forget that The World At Home is available for pre-order now and I guarantee you’ll be 𝙎𝙊 happy you did!

Both The Seeing Garden and A Golden Life are absolute favorites of mine and, if you haven’t already read them, you need to! 😍 

Please consider signing up for Ginny Moyer's free newsletter (which is charming, lovely and everything you want a newsletter to be) and follow her on Instagram (@moyerginny, if you aren't already!). 

So many heartfelt thanks to Ginny for sending me this ARC for review!! I've been dying to read her new novel for months and it was an utter joy to have a chance to experience The World At Home a little bit early. 

I can't wait for early December when The World At Home will be on bookstore shelves! Yay! 🤩🌟📚

Hope you're doing well, my sweet book friends! Let me know in the comments if you've read any of Ginny's books or plan to! (You'll be very very happy you did!) 💕🌸🤗🌸💕

Peter and Paul by Susan Scarlett 👯‍♂️🏡❤️

Happy Furrowed Middlebrow Friday, Friends!

Reading Susan Scarlett books is definitely one of the joys of my reading life. The more titles I read, the more I'm addicted. Thank goodness that the awesomely amazing Dean Street Press republished all of Noel Streatfeild's books under this adorable pseudonym! Yay!

This week, I'm sharing another book rating and review—Peter and Paul! 

RATING: 4.5🌟 

For me, Peter and Paul is the Furrowed Middlebrow version of a Sweet Valley High book!

Peter and Paul reminded me so much of Jessica and Elizabeth from the Sweet Valley High by Francine Pascal. I used to love reading this YA series when I was young and this Susan Scarlett book absolutely brought back the same fun "twin vibes" drama that I used to get from this series.

I really enjoyed:

• The alternated settings of the upscale fashion/clothing store (where the twins work) and the country vicarage (their home)
• The fascinating characters in each location: a moral-minded (and very behind-the-times) vicar, a loving (but frazzled) mother, a jealous (and deviously clever) store manager—plus, lots of employee gossip and unfulfilled Hollywood dreams balanced with the helpful, quiet and caring Paul (Pauline) and slightly clueless (but handsome) fashion designer, David Bliss.

If it wasn't for my frustration over the selfish behavior of Peter (Petronella), I would have given this novel another half star. But, this is a theme that frequently upsets me and slightly spoils the enjoyment of the story overall. I know that there must be some sort of conflict in a YA novel like this, but it's one that bothers me more than I like. So, even though it was a great story, it's not quite a 5 star read for me. 

But, I'm still very excited to read the rest of the Susan Scarlett books! In general, they are a such a treat to read and I'm always very grateful to Dean Street Press Ltd. for republishing all of these charming books by Susan Scarlett/Noel Streatfeild! 

Many thanks to my dear friend, Gina (@gina.stanyer.books on IG and YouTube), for buddy reading this book with me! 

Stay tuned for a full SUMMER READING BOOK LIST in my next post! I've been slowly creating a list of all of the books in my collection with "summer" in the title (or a summer theme) and I'm looking forward to sharing these books with you! 

Hope you're having a wonderful summer so far and please let me know what you've been reading in July and August 🤩💛  As always, lots of love and many hugs!! I'm so grateful for your support (both here and on Instagram!) 💕🌸🤗🌸💕