Welcome to Litsy!

I can't praise this enchanting tale too much. It has given me so much joy over the last few days. It was an absolute perfect winter read.

Get lost in the magical world of Papa Jack's Toy Emporium. You won't regret it.

Also ✔️ the prompt for London between the wars #BookedinTime @Cuilin @dabbe
Book 1 of #10beforetheend @ChaoticMissAdventures

A dreary day in the UK as we're battered by Storm Darragh. So it's time to batten down the hatches for a cosy day of staying warm, tea drinking, reading the tagged.
Having finished my reread of David Copperfield, I might have to watch The Personal History of David Copperfield. 🤞there's no power cut.

What are your plans?
#SaturdayChatterday

My #5JoysFriday this week

⭐️ A gorgeous, fruity Malbec to relax with 🍷
⭐️ The Litsy community 💙❄️💙 and an amazing response to the return of #MidwinterSolace
⭐️ Relaxing winter vibes 📖
⭐️ A lovely new Christmas scented candle 🕯
⭐️ The tree is up 🎄

@DebinHawaii

This looks fun 💙❄️💙

I'm going to join in #10beforetheend starting with the tagged. I'm going to choose Christmas/winter themed fiction for my 10 reads.

@ChaoticMissAdventures

I had almost given up on this book! It starts pretty sad, and I just can't handle sad right now. I thought I'd give it a couple more pages and yes, the heroine comes through and makes a decision on her own of what her life is and is going to be.

Finished these yesterday and started on the tagged book. The wrist warmers are part of a set. The matching beret is on my needles right now.

This one was not bad, I enjoyed it mostly,
I listened to it via BorrowBox.

Read for reading challenges.

3.75/5

4.5/5 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 #magicalrealism Holiday Read No. Three

A perfect festive read, full of whimsy and magic all set in a toy shop over many years
Loved this!
4 ⭐️

#Movie2BookRecs @Klou
Prompt: Jingle Jangle

What a perfect time of year to read this magical book. I‘d have to say that it‘s up there as one of my all time favorite books so far.I feel the the toy emporium depicted in this book symbolizes life (especially the holiday season), and how you feel about it as a child.This story sparked my imagination.As I was reading,there were times I felt that I was in the emporium.I hope that I find a place as magical as this to visit one day.LOVED this book!

“When you were young, what you want out of toys is to feel grown-up. You play with toys and cast yourself an adult, and imagine life the way it‘s going to be. Yet, when you are grown, that changes; now what you want out of toys is to feel young again. You want to be back there, in a place that did not harm nor hurt you, in a pocket of time built out of memory and love.”

Here‘s my #bookspin list and my shelf with all the holiday books I‘ve collected for #wintergames 🎄📚 I probably won‘t get through all of them, but I like having lots of options.😁 #merryreaders @Clwojick @StayCurious @TheAromaofBooks

....I'm having a problem with this one. Poor Cathy...who has the character development of paper and seems to only exist to be the Manic Pixie Dreamgirl for the brothers and has one line of dialogue to the brothers' eighty....is in labor and the boys are still squabbling and being brats despite the fact that they are grown ass men. Okay, this may be a DNF soon if it doesn't get better...

Christmas books ~ yay or nay?

A year ago, my answer would have been an emphatic “no.” That‘s because I hadn‘t properly explored the world of Christmas books. Outside of A Christmas Carol, I perceived most Christmas stories to be either romances or heartwarming tales, and while there are some exceptions (like a heartwarming dog story),

Continued ⬇️

Do you have any books that you started earlier this year, set aside, and hope to finish before the year ends?

I read roughly 200 pages of The Toymakers back in August. So much of it was beautiful and magical but I was not ready to face what I sensed was coming. I took a break - a much longer break than I‘d intended - and I hope to finally get to the end this month.

Gathering books for the #wintergames - can‘t wait to get started. I also have a ton of Christmas books on my Kindle.😁🎄📚 #christmasreads #winterreads @Clwojick @Crimson613 #tmskellington @StayCurious

This is a lovely story, it vividly makes you imagine the amazing emporium and you can imagine being very excited by the magical toys. #bookcover

Day 3 from #fallisbooked challenge, I am a bit behind and honestly had no pictures of black cats. I was in a bookshop trying to see if I saw one. Then I saw a book about cats. I can't remember the name now. I saw this page! @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Ok this is more than likely too ambitious, but I will try to read most. In September I did manage 16 books, it is possible! #tbrpile #bookspines #fallisbooked

#7days7covers

(also, I‘m not supposed to explain, but this is one of my favorite books ever 🤫)

“Mightn‘t be, Cathy, that until you‘ve seen the dark, you don‘t really know the light?”

“I hope you never see that dark, Kaspar, not for all magic in the world.”

~The Toymakers/Robert Dinsdale

*Not my photo.*

“Mightn‘t be, Cathy, that until you‘ve seen the dark, you don‘t really know the light?”

“I hope you never see that dark, Kaspar, not for all magic in the world.”

~The Toymakers/Robert Dinsdale

*Not my photo.*

We were finally able to get the mail! My apartment complex decided to replace our mailboxes. They took our mail and held it hostage in the office! We retrieved it this morning!

So that means I finally got the beautiful handmade bookmark that I won through Read With Me Book Group on Facebook!

Are you lost? Are you afraid? Are you a child at heart?
So are we.
The Emporium opens with the first frost of winter.

~The Toymakers/Robert Dinsdale

All are welcome at Papa Jack‘s Emporium, for everyone was once a child, no matter what they‘ve done or whom they‘ve grown up to be. ~The Toymakers/Robert Dinsdale

Thanks to a sweet friend‘s compassionate generosity, I was able to get this high priority wishlist book through Amazon. ❤️

Really quite different plot to what I'd assumed.
It has the fairytale element whilst including a moral theme which is so relevant even now.
I particularly appreciated the final section and the way in which the story changes, it made me think of Narnia and the first time the children go through the wardrobe.
The war theme is very well displayed.

Oh, this isn't just magical and adult fairy tale, but also quite soul searching about war and toys and impact...

I adored The Caravel and The Night Circus so hoping this is on a par.

Enchanting, took me a bit to get into because it‘s not a normal read for me but I really enjoyed it.

I loved this book so much!!
It was a solid 4-star read for most of it, but the ending was spectacular. If you‘re drawn even a little to the “fairytale for adults” genre, this is for you.
The story isn‘t light-hearted, however, and deals with some dark themes, like war, guilt, and hubris.
I can‘t rave enough about this book.

Had to buy!
I can‘t remember the last time I paid full price for a book and got it on the release date. Just arrived and Ive got wine and a blanket and Im going in.
Fairytale for adults is one of my favorite genres.
#blameitonlitsy

Historical fiction with fantasy.Beautiful metaphors but I didn't see a well integration of the story.The beginning was all about magic: "Are you lost? Are you afraid? Are you a child at heart? So we are, The Emporium" a place where toys are alive.This is Cathy experience in Emporioum.Some scenes were long.The near end is dark, not expected for me but end is too happy, but in general I enjoyed it.Cover is?Not a happy story 3.4⭐️In GR it has 4⭐️

Papa Jack‘s Emporium only opens after the first frost. What‘s inside is truly magical. Toys come to life, childhoods are renewed, and lives are changed. This story follows Cathy through her life as the Emporium takes her in during her times of struggle and London‘s struggle during the war. I throughly enjoyed this book! 4 🌟

This book is absolutely amazing. A true marvel that will blow you away with its magic and almost epic scope. Highly recommend!

This book is absolutely amazing. A true marvel that will blow you away with its magic and almost epic scope. Highly recommend!

A whistle-stop tour through the first half of twentieth century London, comprising reflections on love, war, childhood, humanity, social change and sibling rivalry, with a huge dose of magic to boot. A recommended read.

I‘m totally in love with this story already, even though I‘m only 60 pages in. 😍 @julesG - looks like they gave the book another edit for the paperback version.

Sorry for the pic quality

This book sounds good and its currently 99p

#kindledeals #bargains

This looks interesting...99p for Kindle at the moment

Obsessed with the story, the cover, and the red page edges 😍♥️🎄 #thetoymakers #fiction #bookblogger #christmasiscoming #obsessed #amreading #amwriting #writer #reader

I loved this book so much! Who else loved it as much as me?

Every time I‘m in a foreign city I go to visit a bookstore. My local bookstores at home don‘t have an English section. The Waterstones first at Trafalgar Square (they didn‘t have Vicious) and Piccadilly Circus were a paradise for me! I bought #TheNowhereGirls, #Vicious (sadly only that boring cover), #TheBearandtheNightingale (half price) and #TheToymaker. It was an exhausting day!
#london #bookstore #shopping #waterstones #uk

I did it! I finished this! And yes, I needed tissues in the end.

The rather poor editing put me off more than once. The book could easily be 50 pages shorter and would not lose any of the magic within.

A good read, but did not meet my expectations, which were probably very high due to the reviews the book got so far.

#MakeMeReadIt #Book3 @TheReadingMermaid

#WarTimeStory #StoryWithSoldier #SFFTBRChallenge @DuckOfDoom

The middle was fairly well edited and now the mistakes start up again. Like,
Two full stops..
Adjectives instead of adverbs

🙈🙈🙈

Why, oh why?

Perfect example of how to ruin a good book with bad editing.

I did not expect to be plunged into WW I. But the story has picked up, the editing mistakes are fewer in this part of the book (there's one that stopped my flow, where there was a "he" instead of a "she").

I might finish it this week.

#MakeMeReadIt #Book2 @TheReadingMermaid

The kids are off to their father's. I can lie down on my sofa.

I'm determined to make some headway with this. It's dragging a bit.

I guess I'll see you in 5 minutes when I take my next reading break. 😁

Just a few pages further in, I've come across a slip in grammar. From past tense to present tense.

It annoys me. Really. I'm itching to take red pen to the pages.

#bookishpetpeeve