Living vicariously through a book

The minute I saw the cover I knew I wanted to read it. The cover featured a pretty pink dress that I wouldn’t mind wearing. The little blurb below the title–Do fairytale dresses bring fairytale endings?---clinched the deal for me.
The Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff is the story of Phoebe who realizes her dream of opening her own vintage store. Already, the story line had me hooked, given my fascination for all things vintage. It’s a dream come true and to all appearances, Phoebe is on her way to great success. But she is hiding a dark secret that threatens to overwhelm her. When she meets Therese, an elderly lady with her own collection to sell, a story to tell and a devastating secret of her own, Phoebe comes to realize that healing their past mistakes might not be so far off after all.
It was so much fun reading this book! If you’re a vintage fan and have dreams of opening your own store, this book is a vicarious way of doing it. Granted, real life doesn’t run half as smoothly as it does in books, but that’s precisely why it’s good to read this book. The plot runs smoothly and I really appreciated the details that the author put into it. Its light and breezy tone notwithstanding, it’s clear that the author put in some research so as to get the all the details right. So we get to read all about a Christie’s auction that Phoebe attends and the lengths she goes through to obtain a one of a kind Madame Gres dress, as well as read about taking a trip to Avignon to acquire more Broderie Anglaise. It’s almost as good as being there myself.
I also really liked that the focus wasn’t so much on the romance aspects of the book but on the character’s development. It’s a step up above the usual boy-meets girl, they fall in love and live happily ever after, storyline. All in all, a nicely diverting read that’s totally in keeping with the current vintage rage.