Lovely Love Books 🥰💝✨❤️

Happy Valentine's Day, Friends! 😍💕💕

A wonderful Dean Street Press Furrowed Middlebrow book by Molly Clavering!

How has February been treating you so far? It's still pretty cold here in New Hampshire 🥶❄️ (single digits at night and highs of 30s during the day) and we've still got over a foot of snow on the lawn. Trying to go to the backyard compost area is a challenge because the snow is literally up to (or over!) my knees 😂 

I've been loving chatting with Liz (@pony.books) about our upcoming trip to London in April (yippeeee!), buddy reading vintage YA and romances with Andrea (@sorrythankyou79) and talking to Gina (@gina.stanyer.books) about our planners/traveler's journals and all things cozy! 

Stories for Lovers by the British Library Women Writers Collection!

On Saturday, Ian and I are planning on going to our favorite local coffee shop (Sunny Cafe!), watching a show together (Downton Abbey...again!) and maybe getting Thai for dinner (yumm!). I'm sure Ian will also want to spend some time with his new-to-him pinball machine, Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man (Did I ever mention that Ian has an arcade/pinball/movie room in our house? See end of post for a photo of his pinball machine. Let me know if you want me to share a video or more photos of his arcade room!) and I'll probably knit on my Harry Potter-themed scarves while re-watching a favorite movie. 

Full of poignant short stories of so many lovely British Women Writers!

What are YOUR plans for V-Day this year? ☺️💓🎁 

Okay...onto the BOOKS! 

Here are all of the books in my collection that have "LOVE" in the title! I know I post a lot of these subject/season themed collections, but it's definitely a passion of mine - lol. Do you like having books organized by theme or season? I also like to organize my bookshelves by author or genre (vintage middle grade, children's, holiday, etc.). So...for now...here are my love books with ratings—I will add links to my reviews on Goodreads soon!

Beautiful Emma Bridgewater mug from Gina and Lovepop card from Ian!

LOVE BOOKS & RATINGS:  

💝 Love Comes Home by Molly Clavering 4🌟
💝 Stories for Lovers by British Library Women Writers 4.25🌟
💝 How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry 4.5🌟
💝 Paris—And My Love by Mary Burchell 4🌟

Lovely vintage Harlequin romances by Mary Burchell and some of my vintage makeup collection!

💝 The Love Child by Edith Oliver 4🌟
💝 Love by Elizabeth von Arnim 4.5🌟
💝 Loves Music, Loves to Dance by Mary Higgins Clark 4.5🌟
💝 Love by Susan Branch 5🌟

Susan Branch books never fail to make me happy!

Best book everrrr! It's one of my all-time favorite books!

💝 No Fond Return of Love by Barbara Pym 3🌟
💝 The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford 4🌟
💝 Book Love by Debbie Tung 5🌟

Such a sweetly illustrated book about book love!

💝 Love is in the Earth by Melody 4🌟
💝 Caitlin Love Trilogy by Francine Pascal 4🌟
💝 The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman 5🌟
💝 A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott 5🌟
💝 The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love by Joan Medlicott 3🌟
💝 Paris in Love by Eloisa James 5🌟
💝 Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert 3🌟
💝 Love Over Scotland by Alexander McCall Smith 4🌟
💝 Peony in Love by Lisa See 3🌟
💝 Live with the Things You Love by Mary Randolph Carter 2🌟
💝 No Lovelier Spring by Lida Larrimore 3.5🌟

Lida Larrimore's vintage romances are so thoughtful!

The cutest book in the whole world!!

💝 Raggedy Ann: A Thank You, Please and I Love You Book by Norah Smaridge 5🌟
💝 Come Back to Me, Beloved by Kathleen Norris 5🌟

A 5🌟 Kathleen Norris novel - sooo perfect! A buddy read with Gina Stanyer.

💝 French Girl in Love by Maysie Greig 3.5🌟
💝 Odds on Love by Maysie Greig 4🌟
💝 The Laurel Bush: An Old-Fashioned Love Story by Dinah M. Craik 4.5🌟
💝 Love and Friendship by Jane Austen 3.5🌟
💝 The Book of My Beloveds by Esmerelda Little Flame 5🌟

I have poetry in this lovely book! Available on Amazon! 

💝 A Fine Romance: Falling In Love with the English Countryside by Susan Branch 5🌟
💝 Enid Blyton's Nature Lover's Book 3.5🌟
💝 Learning To Love Yourself by Gay Hendricks 4🌟
💝 The Last Letter from Your Lover by JoJo Moyes 5🌟
💝 The Demon Lover by Victoria Holt 3🌟
💝 The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold 4🌟
💝 Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith 3🌟
💝 Sweet Valley High books by Francine Pascal (too many to list with love in the title - lol!) generally all 3-4🌟

Love-titled books on a pink bamboo lace shawl that I knit myself!

LOVE BOOK TBR:   

Here is a list of all the books I'm hoping to read within the next year or less. Any favorite books listed here? See above photo to see some of the covers!

Photo from Dean Street Press Ltd. website. 

❤️ Love in a Mist by Susan Scarlett
❤️ First Love by Gay Head    
❤️ Look Back with Love by Dodie Smith
❤️ All for Love by Tasha Tudor
❤️ The Lovely Day by Dorothy Evelyn Smith  
❤️ The Long Love by Pearl S. Buck
❤️ How to Love by Thich Nhat Hanh  
❤️ The Love Child by Fiona Hill
❤️ A World of Love by Elizabeth Bowen
❤️ Love for Lydia by H.E. Bates 

I would LOVE to know your favorite books with "love" in the title or any books that just give you that loving feeling 😊💓 

Wishing you the most wonderful Valentine's Day (no matter who you're with or even if you've taken a self-care day of your own!) and sending lots and lots of love from meeeeee! 

As always, I'll try to keep this list updated as the months (or years!) go by. If you ever use my list for anything fun, please tag me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or anywhere on social media. You can also email me: babsbelovedbooks at gmail dot com! ☺️✨🌸 

Ian's new-to-him 1980s pinball machine is so cool!

Ian playing his new Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man pinball! 

Mrs. Martell by Elizabeth Eliot 👱🏻‍♀️🧔🏻💄👛🎀🏰

Happy #FurrowedMiddlebrowFriday, Friends! 

This is my second post for this hashtag (woo!) and, because I'm so excited about it, I think my next post will be sharing my entire Furrowed Middlebrow Collection. Let me know in the comments if this is something you'd like to see ☺️📚💚

Before I share my review of Mrs. Martell by Elizabeth Eliot, I wanted to tell you about this lovely little vintage makeup table that I thrifted in my neighborhood. 

I love all things vintage beauty, clothes and makeup (though I don't use a lot of makeup myself), but especially makeup items. I adore the little golden purse that Ian bought for me, gloves, compacts, lipstick tubes, handkerchiefs, etc. This vanity table was such an amazing and inexpensive purchase—plus, it came with the little bench, too! (Someday, I will swap out the fabric for a rosy pink color.)

[Side Note: I'm on the hunt for a vintage pedestal, swivel mirror (my Grandma Catherine had one and I loved it!) and a pink depression glass perfume bottle. Wish me luck!]

Anyway, I thought that my newest addition of vintage furniture would make a lovely background for both the Mrs. Martell book and this 1947 edition of Love Book Magazine. Don't you think the covers are really similar? 

I know, I know...back to the book!😂

 

Rating: 4.5🌟 

I was completely swept away by this Furrowed Middlebrow book!

Usually, I try to stay clear of books with unlikable main characters, but this one is the exception to the rule. It was SO good!

Mrs. Martell (Cathie) is vain, self-centered, selfish and generally horrible. But, it was extremely enjoyable reading about her devious plans and seeing the world through her one-track, malicious mind. The entire story centers on Cathie's primary goal in life—to be Mrs. West, wife to Edward...who is currently the husband of her cousin, Laura.

Not only is this the best cover of the Dean Street Press Furrowed Middlebrow series (at least, it's mine...especially being pink and all), the story was unexpectedly amazing. I loved it from the beginning to the end.

Elizabeth's Eliot's novel is definitely a great choice for a book club read. There's just so much to discuss! I plan on reading this book again very soon and I'm now intrigued by this author. This is my first Elizabeth Eliot book, but I believe there are three more in the FM series: Alice, Henry and Cecil.  I'm hoping the others are just as good (or better!)

This is the perfect, light book to read to amuse, entertain or get a "soap opera" fix. I would have given it 5🌟, but I need a little bit of hope or joy at the end of a story for a full star rating. Otherwise, I loved it!

Let me know in the comments if you've read this book or anything by Elizabeth Eliot. Dying to know your thoughts! 

Have a fantastic Friday and wonderful weekend!! Many loving hugs to you! 💕🌸🤗🌸💕 

Here are some photos of the illustrations inside of this charming magazine: