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Vintage Love: Roman (2013)

by Stephanie Lehmann(Favorite Author)

3.67 of 5 Votes: 1

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Heyne Verlag

review 1: The entire premise of this book sounded interesting when I picked it up from the Library shelf. I was not wholly disappointed! The storyline between Amanda in 2007 and Olive in the early 1900's pulled me in from the start. The Journal that connected the two women was a great idea and made sense. Both of the storylines were believable to a point. Then Amanda's story got a bit bizarre. Her insomnia was understandable with all the stressors in her life. The whole "ghostly" visits (or were they really just figments of her immersion into the life and times of Olive) got a bit hokey. The ending of the book tied up a few loose ends, but for the most part both women's stories were left wide open. I guess I just wanted more. Loved the vintage clothing references and especi... moreally the vintage photos of the places they referred to though!
review 2: This book was such a pleasant surprise! This one was lent to me by a friend whom I regularly exchange piles of books with and I hadn't heard of it prior. I honestly wasn't expecting much because the cover and blurb don't do this book a ton of justice, but I really ended up getting sucked into the story.Astor Place Vintage is told in dual times/perspectives between Amanda, a vintage clothing shop owner in a relationship with a married man in 2007, and Olive, a young woman in 1907 New York determined to make her career as a fashion buyer at a department store in a time where women had very little rights and were just beginning to enter the workforce. I honestly never get tired of books told in dual times, they are some of my favorite reads, and the most fun is always in seeing how the two stories tie together in the end.Amanda begins reading Olive's journal from 1907/1908 after finding it in a fur muff purchased for her vintage store. She becomes captivated by Olive's retelling of her life in the early 1900s and as time goes on she realizes that although their lives are separated by a century, they have many things in common. I was equally invested in both story lines and loved the descriptions of women's fashion in 1907 and Olive's experience working as a sales girl in a local department store (a position that back then was not considered respectable). I also really enjoyed learning about the limitations imposed on women in the early 1900s. It's baffling to think that such a short time ago women could not even stay at a hotel by themselves without being accompanied by a man. However, even with so many things limiting her, Olive is an incredibly modern thinking woman who doesn't let anything get in her way. She puts great value on herself, her career and the friendships she makes and it was very refreshing to see such a strong character. Amanda also had a great storyline and the examination of her affair was interesting. I really sympathized with her and was proud of the decisions she finally made for herself in the end.The author leaves things very open at the end and while this would usually bother me, I actually enjoyed it here. It felt like the right way to end the story and I enjoyed being able to conjure up my own imagination of what happened to the characters after I turned the final page.I really recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, stories with multiple time periods/perspectives, strong female characters AND New York. Excellent read! less

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