Hi Vintage-istas! It's
The Vintage Chanteuse, and I am
back after a long week of auditions, operas, and concerts. Thanks for your patience :-) And now that Summer vacation is in sight, I have road trips, beaches, fresh sweet corn, and BOOKS on my mind! My favorite Summer pastime is lying in the sun with a good book and a cold cocktail. So here is my Summer Reading List all of which include my favorite things: vintage clothing, antiques, romance, and a little mystery!
The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean
"Dora has always taken the path of least resistance. She went to the
college that offered her a scholarship, is majoring in "vagueness
studies," and wears whatever shows the least dirt. She falls into a job
at the college coffee shop, and a crush on her flirty boss, Gary.
Just
when she's about to test Gary's feelings, Mimi, the grandmother who
raised her, suffers a stroke. Dora rushes back home to Forsyth, NC, and
finds herself running her grandmother's vintage clothing store. The
store has always been a fixture in Dora's life; though she grew up more
of a jeans-and-sweatshirt kind of girl, before she even knew how to
write, Mimi taught her that a vintage 1920s dress could lift a woman's
spirit.
While working there, Dora befriends Mimi's adorable
contractor, Conrad. Is he after Dora, or is working from a different
blueprint? And why did Mimi start writing down--and giving away--stories
of the dresses in her shop?
When Mimi dies, Dora can't get out
of town fast enough and cedes control of the store to her money-hungry
aunt who wants to turn it into a t-shirt shop for tourists. But
ultimately, she returns to Forsyth, willing to battle whatever may stand
in the way of her staying there. Dora can trade her boring clothes for
vintage glamour, but can she trade her boring life for one she actually
wants?"
A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff
"Phoebe Swift’s friends are stunned when she abruptly leaves a plum job
to open her own vintage clothing shop in London—but to Phoebe, it’s the
fulfillment of a dream, and her passion. Digging for finds in attics and
wardrobes, Phoebe knows that when you buy a piece of vintage clothing,
you’re not just buying fabric and thread—you’re buying a piece of
someone’s past. But one particular article of clothing will soon
unexpectedly change her life.
Thérèse Bell, an elderly
Frenchwoman, has an impressive clothing collection. But among the array
of elegant suits and couture gowns, Phoebe finds a child’s sky-blue
coat—an item with which Mrs. Bell is stubbornly reluctant to part. As
the two women become friends, Phoebe will learn the poignant tale of
that little blue coat. And she will discover an astonishing connection
between herself and Thérèse Bell—one that will help her heal the pain of
her own past and allow her to love again."
Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews
"Meet Weezie (aka Eloise) Foley, a feisty antiques “picker,” banished by
her spiteful ex-husband from the house she herself restored in
Savannah’s historic district, who must come to terms with a life that
has suddenly changed…and not, it, seems for the better. In Mary Kay
Andrews’s delectable
New York Times bestseller,
Savannah Blues,
readers will feel the sultry Georgia breezes and taste sea salt in the
air, as they lose themselves in a wonderful, witty tale brimming with
sass and peopled by a richly endearing cast of delightfully eccentric
characters. Revenge is sweeter than sweet in Mary Kay’s capable hands."
One of Those Malibu Nights by Elizabeth Adler
"It was just one of those Malibu nights, dark as a velvet shroud,
creamy waves crashing onto the shore, breeze soft as a kitten’s breath .
. . But when private investigator to the stars Mac
Riley hears the sound of a woman’s scream over the crashing waves, his
low-key beach-bum lifestyle is changed forever. A beautiful, distraught
woman wearing only a black lace negligee stands in the doorway of a
fabulous beach house. In her hand, a gun, and it’s pointed directly at
him. . . . Mac escapes her bullet, but barely. Who was that woman? Days
later, she’s disappeared and the Smith & Wesson she almost killed
him with finds its way into his car.
Mac suddenly
finds himself tangled up in a web of deception. He’s going to need some
help if he’s going to get to the bottom of it all. This is where Sunny Alvarez comes in. Sunny and Mac have an on-again,
off-again relationship. Lately it’s been more “off” than “on.” But now
he needs her more than ever.
Together they go on a
quest that takes them from Southern California, to the beaches of
Mexico, to the streets of Rome and the countryside of France. All the
while, they are one step behind an elusive murderer, and one step ahead
of an actress who wants nothing more than to get lost. . . ."
The Lady in the Palazzo by Marlena di Blasi
"Marlena di Blasi seduced readers to fall in love with Venice, then Tuscany, with her popular and critically acclaimed books
A Thousand Days in Venice and
A Thousand Days in Tuscany.
Now she takes readers on a journey into the heart of Orvieto, an
ancient city in the less-trodden region of Umbria. Rich with history and
a vivid sense of place, her tale is by turns romantic and sensual,
joyous and celebratory, as she and her husband search for a home in this
city on a hill—finding one that turns out to be the former ballroom of a
dilapidated sixteenth-century palazzo. Along the way, de Blasi
befriends an array of colorful characters, including cooks and counts
and shepherds and a lone violinist, cooking her way into the hearts of
her Umbrian neighbors.
Brimming with life and kissed by romance,
The Lady in the Palazzo
perfectly captures the essence of a singular place and offers up a
feast—and the recipes to prepare it!—for readers of all stripes."
I don't know about you but I cannot wait to devour my reading list this Summer! What are you favorites Summer reads? Please share in the comments below!
Salut!
The Vintage Chanteuse
