Okay, so....it's kinda hard to review a book when the e-ARC was a 15 page preview rather than a full version, but I'll give it a shot. I admit I hadn't heard of Magnolia Pearl before, but Google helped me out there. After looking through the website, the book seems to be an ad for the brand more than anything. I don't mean this as a bad thing- they have an intriguing aesthetic, and very nice photography and sets, I could see someone wanting what seems like a physical copy of the site to put on the coffee table and peruse now and then. There's a 2 page introduction, a mini-bio of sorts by author Robin Brown that, just, wow, what a childhood, I just wanna hug her after reading that! It's short though- I don't know if there's more text later in the book covering her work, but I would hope so. There are quotes sprinkled throughout that fit in with the vibe of the fashions, but the focus appears to be on the fashion and brand. Not quite my thing, but would definitely be enjoyable to a fan of Magnolia Pearl and/or boho style.

#AndtheStarsgoWithYou #NetGalley

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A fascinating, compelling collection of wondrous photography combined with potent quotes.

Thank you #NetGalley for the review copy of #AndTheStarsGoWithYou

This book starts out with an introductory biography that is physically brief but provides readers with a huge amount of information about the author's early childhood, life, relationships, influences, values, and personality. The other pages had well-composed photos that also carry across a lot of meaning beyond the general fashion part, and strong quotes to go along with the images and the messages from the introduction.

This is a book showcasing the fashions of Magnolia Pearl - a clothing/lifestyle store in Texas. In many ways, it is a promotional piece - you would enjoy the photography here as you would a book on any fashion designer such as Chanel or Bill Blass. There are 2-3 pages of rambly text from the store owner, Robin Brown, about the hardships she grew up under and how she overcame them. But this is not a biography (she says she will write one eventually) and instead should be regarded as a picture book of various clothing and milieus that epitomize the Magnolia Pearl brand she started with her partner.

The aesthetic here is a reflection of a growing movement of shabby chic fashion - from Mori girls in Japan to the more colorful counterparts of Scandinavia (e.g., Sjoden Gudren). The origins and inspiration tend to be forest and nature, especially Scandic; hence, the clothing is all woven and cottons that are then artfully layered. There is a touch of whimsy and a touch of boho; the effect is a fashion version of shabby chic furniture. It should look well used, faded, distressed, and somewhat antiquated. Either hand knit or hand woven, mostly of cotton but also wool. Lace with the appearance of being hand bobbed are the usual embellishments.

For this review, we were only given the first 15 pages of the book. But those pages are likely representative of the rest: many photographed images of the various styles set in corresponding and harmonious (read: rustic) milieu. The photography is professional and it was nice to see that natural light was used in most of them. The models all tended to be the boring and unoriginal 'starved model' thin; I can only hope there were women of realistic and more common proportions and looks and ages in later pages. Even the male models looked thin in their hobo-like attire.

The images have quotes and inspiration from the author. And although the author is firm in her religion and brings it up often, she does not force it on others as overtly as could have been done. Again, since the publisher only gave the first 15 pages, I can only assume of what to expect in the rest of the 240. Reviewed from (part) of an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. The description made it seem like it was going to be so much more. Unfortunately, it was too short and did not convey anything in the description.

Now I am going back to the description it said it is 240 pages, the one I got was only 15 so I cannot correctly review this since this is such a small sample. Thank you.

This book is trying to sell you a life style that revolves around “Hobo” clothes. Lots of dreamy quotes and new world, new order fluffy but ultimately meaningless words. The photographs are very professional and beautifully posed but the clothes look like rags. On the same old waif like models. They could easily be so much better as I do like victorian lace and white cotton.So I checked out their website. I would need to speak to my bank manager before thinking about buying a tee shirt that looks like it would dissolve the first time it’s washed. I found the text rather unnerving and pretentious. I felt like I was being invited to join a new religion..These clothes are directed towards the nouvelle rich and yet the text would have you believe that they come from someone of a humbler more troubled background. It just doesn’t add up?