Welcome to Litsy!

Thanks to @Clwojick @TheAromaofBooks for September‘s #ISpyBingo prompts that lead me to this incredible HF novel❣️I absolutely loved it ♥️Set in dual timelines - 1947, London on the cusp of Queen Elizabeth‘s wedding and 2016, a young woman researching her grandmother‘s past. Even though parts of the story are a bit predictable, I was completely consumed with the story of Ann, Miriam and Heather. Great audio narration 🎧#pearls #WeddingDress

An engaging and quick read.

Before she passed, my Nana told my stepmom that this book reminded her of her life in England just after the war, before she came to Canada. She so identified with Ann's character (thankfully, not with the circumstances surrounding Ann's decisions).

It would not have been a book I'd pick up otherwise, but it was lovely to sit with these women and think of Nana.

I enjoyed this book about two young women employed at Norman Hartnell‘s couture salon in London. They are working on the intricate embroidery for the future Queen Elizabeth‘s wedding gown. #involveswedding #bookbinge

Oh my goodness! 🤩 @sblbooks I just love everything! The mug (which hasn‘t photographed the best to show the beautiful coloring) is perfect! I just adore Door County Coffee—one of my favorite companies! Excellent choice. And the hot cocoa (not pictured) is delicious. Can‘t wait to dive into this book. Thank you so much! Many thanks to our hosts for putting this together. 💕 #MugLove23

#Bookmail from last week! I‘ve been listening to a podcast called Literally_reading and they were discussing these!

#LitsyLoveReads

The Gown was a great read. A beautifully written historical fiction that grips you from the beginning. My only hang up is the dual timeline. They just aren't for me.

June Book 17/25 #LitsyLove #bookspinbingo

This is a photograph of the 1947 wedding gown of Queen Elizabeth.It was hand embroidered with symbolic motifs.This book tell the story of two young women who worked on the embroidery.The design was top secret,and there was a frenzy to discover any information. Behind the scenes look at the world of couture, the healing power of art, and the strength of women‘s friendships. Meticulously researched.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Current audio. Another IRL BookClub read.

🎵 Say you'll remember me standing in a nice dress 🎵

#wildestdreams #FearlessFebruary

2021 Book Log Dump
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I did manage to read some good stuff, but also, some glaring garbage—looking at you Leviathan Wakes.

82 of 2021. This is historical fiction set around the time of WWII and the events surrounding Queen Elizabeth‘s wedding and gown creation. It was a decent read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

#historicalfiction

I finished this tonight and then watched the news report of the death of Prince Philip. Thinking of my UK friends and Litsy folks...

Delightful historical fiction. You can practically feel the fabrics described.

Although the main characters of this book were fictional, they did allow me a glimpse of the work and detail that went into the creation of Princess Elizabeth‘s wedding gown. Also of interest was this time period following WWII as England was still living through austere times. I could see the wedding being a welcome distraction at the time or a show of extravagance when many were struggling. Altogether it was an interesting read.

I am glad I chose this book for my Thanksgiving read. The story of of two of the women working on the future queen‘s wedding gown it struck the right balance providing me the lighter read my brain needed but but having enough density to keep me fully engaged. I have liked every one of Robson‘s historical novels I have read and have set another aside for Christmas Eve.

The incredibly frustrating thing about this novel is that there are no good, clear, close-up photos of the embroidery when you Google it! Was this a bit predictable? Yes. Was it still a good read. Yes.

This was good. Any other suggestions by this author? #bookspinbingo square @TheAromaofBooks

I really liked this. I wasn‘t sure what I was going to think, as I‘m not much for fashion, so I think if there had been more focus on the gown than there was (and all the details in creating it), I might not have liked it as much. But, I liked all the additional stories of Ann, Miriam, and Heather. Cont in comments...

This was a perfect example of the right book at the right time. It was sweet and romantic and makes me want to learn to embroider. I will always love stories about women being the everyday kind of brave. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Vacation is over (😭) but I won‘t lie, I missed my quiet reading time in the morning. I love my hubby, but it‘s so nice to have a little bit of quiet time before the sun comes up with just me, my book, a cup of coffee, and my cat. Anyone else feel the same?

The Gown is captivating from the very first stitch. It‘s a beautiful woven story of dedication, friendship and survival told through the eyes of three compelling women. #thegown #jenniferrobson #bluestockingreviews #readitloveit #findgreatreads https://www.bluestockingreviews.com/post/the-gown

Audiobook. Good story about a friendship and the embroiderers making of Queen's wedding gown. I enjoyed the story, good narration, quickly paced. The narration was pretty good as well. It was fun to look up photos of the actual gown to see if the descriptions were close to what I imagined.

This fun novel about the dressmakers behind Queen Elizabeth‘s wedding gown was easy to read and offered a really neat perspective into the royal world. I loved the depth of the characters and the different points of views. Definitely recommend.

The story follows two women that embroidered Princess Elizabeth‘s wedding gown, and that‘s pretty much it. I was hoping for some input from the princess or more about the gown, but no. It held my interest, but it isn‘t going to be memorable. So it‘s a bit difficult to rate, maybe a so-so pick? 2/5💍s

Delightful fast read. There are certain troupes and structures to this historical fiction that are over used in the type of book. I still tore through it.

Just got back into this book. Took a bit of a break to play Animal Crossing. Still really enjoying it. May need to switch around to something else but we will see.

At the start, I enjoyed this story, but when the love stories took over I got bored. The book is also more about the ficional characters, than about the actual wedding. That actually plays a little part in the whole story. The details about the making of the dress are specially nice if you're interested in clothes/sewing.

The pup and I our enjoying our night. Really enjoying this book so far it‘s nothing like I expected and It‘s made it all the better.

#brides

#februaryfeels

#royalty
#reallyrandomfebruary
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@OriginalCyn620

Disclaimer: I‘m obsessed w/ the royal family & how fundamentally demented the whole institution is so that greatly influences my review. 😂

“The Gown” is really well researched historical fiction & I enjoyed reading it but it never quite lived up to the drama it purports to have on its back cover. None of the women feel fully fleshed out either. But I can‘t commend the author enough for the amount of research this must have taken.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I did not think I was going to like this book. I had to read it for a book club and was not looking forward to it, but as soon as I started, I got sucked in and fell in love with the writing and the story that centers around the history of the making of the Queen‘s gown for the royal wedding. It‘s a story about friendship, love, family, history and so much more. I really recommend it even if you don‘t like historical fiction too much, like me!

Well folks, I found my first 5⭐️ read of 2020! This book was so beautifully written with characters that were deep and complex at times and flawed and real at others! It really made me think about the people who put the blood, sweat, and tears into histories iconic outfits!! This is a must read for historical fiction fans!

Welp, one of the silver linings of having the worst part of your cold come on the weekend is that you can start & finish a great book! Aaaagh, I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH ❤️❤️❤️ A wonderfully researched and written book that had me wanting to put it down so I wouldn‘t devour it, BUT wanting to know what happened next. This was my first book from the author, but I‘ll definitely be looking at her other books now. Definitely a 5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 read!

My current mood...

Chilling at home on this cold & snowy Saturday 🥶 Nursing a sore throat with ‘The Office‘, a new book; “The Gown” and lots of tea 🤧🤓📖 I‘m so ready for a lazy day!!

I‘ve been lost in this book all day. The post war details made me feel like I was there. Now I‘m off to google everything I can about the queen‘s wedding dress.

Up next...The story of the women behind Queen Elizabeth‘s wedding gown.

The first half, for me, was a little slow....but the second half was just wonderful. I don‘t know what got into me but I just cried through the ending. Lovely story.

Thank you @erzascarletbookgasm for such a beautiful gift.

I love The Crown and some royal fashion so was looking forward to this story of two seamstresses who worked on the Queen‘s wedding gown. But...hmmm. The story of Miriam, who escaped the Holocaust, is thoughtful, yet overall this is easy reading that drifts into predictable writing too often for me to have loved it. But the wedding dress detail was fascinating and I Googled the wedding photos about a hundred times while reading to spot details👇

Full disclosure: I had put Jennifer Robson's The Gown on hold thinking that it was nonfiction. Huh. It's not. I didn't love it any less, but my expectations *did* shift when I began the book and quickly realized that I was reading historical fiction.⠀
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Anyway, I love series like The Crown and Downton Abbey, shows that both delve beneath the glamorous surface of the British monarchic system in one way or the other. (continued in comments)

I appreciate the unique premise of this book. This post-WWII historical fiction novel tells the story of two women who helped create the wedding gown worn by Princess Elizabeth in 1947.

It's a bit of a dreary day here in Virginia, so the brightness of my burning bush is so, so welcome. (These shrubs always make me (Jen) think of my grandma, who we called Beulah B. They were one of her favorite plants.)⠀
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Anyway, I'm thrilled to begin Jennifer Robson's The Gown today--so far, it's really compelling. What are you reading this weekend?

@erzascarletbookgasm Jessie It‘s here! Thank you so so much for thinking of me on my birthday. I am quite excited to read this even more...as it says “perfect for fans of The Crown” which is a huge favorite. You are so sweet. 😘😘😘