Astor Place Vintage by Stephanie Lehmann Review!!

Book Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; Original edition (June 11, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451682050
• ISBN-13: 978-1451682052

About the Book

When a vintage clothing store owner in New York City discovers a journal from 1907, she finds her destiny at stake as the past and present collide. 

The past has a seductive allure to Amanda Rosenbloom, especially when it comes to vintage clothing. She’s devoted to running her shop, Astor Place Vintage, but with Manhattan’s rising rents and a troubled economy, it’s tough to keep the business alive. Meanwhile, she can’t bring herself to end an affair with a man who really should be history. When Amanda finds a journal sewn into a fur muff she’s recently acquired for the shop, she’s happy to escape into the world of Olive Westcott, a young lady who lived in New York City one hundred years ago.As Amanda becomes immersed in the journal, she learns the future appeals to Olive. Olive looks forward to a time when repressive Victorian ideas have been replaced by more modern ways of thinking. But the financial panic of 1907 thrusts her from a stable, comfortable life into an uncertain and insecure existence. She’s resourceful and soon finds employment, but as she’s drawn into the social circle of shopgirls living on the edge of poverty, Olive is tempted to take risks that could bring her to ruin. Reading Olive’s woes, Amanda discovers a secret that could save her future and keep her from dwelling in the past.

It’s Olive, however, who ends up helping Amanda, through revelations that come in the final entries of the journal. As the lives of these two women merge, Amanda is inspired to stop living in the past and take control of her future.

Review

Astor Place Vintage takes readers back to a time when life (and New York City) was a lot simpler. Or was it?  Stephanie Lehmann takes us through an intricately woven tale of two women enduring heartbreak and healing, love and loss, an entire century apart. 

Though living in completely different eras, each shortly after the turn of their own centuries.  Olive and Amanda suffer similar setbacks.  While Olive struggles to prove herself as a capable, independent, working woman, she pursues a career with an unflappable consternation.  Meanwhile, Amanda has proven herself able to create and run a successful business, she struggles with an unwavering landlord and a debt she may not be able to repay.  Olive and Amanda also share in the difficulty of understanding love and passion.  We see Olive struggle with her inexperience and Amanda struggle with the wrong kind of experience.

The common thread between these ladies is, surprise, surprise, clothing!  While Olive describes in vivid detail the clothing of her generation and lifestyle, Amanda scooping these same items up for resale in her shop.  Amanda finds herself discovering these garments as though they are relics.  She tends to each stain with delicacy, replaces buttons with tenderness, and re-stitches hems with adoration and precision. 

Vividly descriptive of glorious New York City and the drastic changes that took place between 1907 and 2007, this story is a romantic and warm one that will leave you cheering for the ladies.  There’s mischief and scandal, love and friendship, operas and fortune tellers, all for a couple gals just trying to survive in the big city.