This guide to London Villages includes lots of places to eat and shop all beautifully illustrated. I would have liked it if the author included more historical background and less commercials. The guide is geared to trendy celebrity watching travelers. If anything this guide did give me ideas of places to avoid esp on the weekends. The book will make a good starting point for finding your own hidden gems.

London Villages by Zena Alkayat is spectacular! It captures all the wonders and kooks and crannies of London. It is where if I had a guide what I would love to be shown in London. Not the tourist places but what makes London so unique and mesmerizing.

The author takes you through shops that feel quintessential London. Cheese shops, leather shops, shops where things are still made by hand, and places where in all your travels you'll never see anywhere else. I went down cobbled streets of villages and walked into places that held magic, and pure joy.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review London Villages by Zena Alkayat.

This book would make a wonderful gift.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Great book for those getting ready to travel to or even move to London.

A must-have for the traveler (in person, armchair, or anything in between) for the bookshop recommendations alone; it's a marvelous bonus to be treated to restaurant, shop, park, museum, and theater finds that will take you off the traditional visitor track. I'd recommend mixing these locations in with your standard fare if it's a first visit to London - the next time I go I'll base a large percent of my day trips on these jewel-box neighborhoods. The pictures are evocative, the descriptions are enticing (although "convincing Italian" as a descriptor made me squint my eyes a bit), and our guides' love of the city and subject matter pour from the page. A strong recommend.

Very fun and a great way to learn about places in London that are unique. There are great places that many travel guides do not include, and plenty of 'treasure spots' for those wanting to beat the crowds of tourists. Each picture captures the beauty and style of these villages which are wonderful to look at. If you enjoy London for its history, culture, and travel, then this is a great read.

London is so much more than most people realize. Historically, London, as it spread, gobbled up the surrounding villages that grew up near the city but separate. It is fascinating how many of these “villages”, a number of which are now Boroughs, have been able to maintain their identity and individuality. Naturally, they have evolved over the years but there is still something special about each.

I really enjoyed looking through the great photos and reading the text. Of particular note were the areas where I resided or frequented whilst living in London. Some are almost unrecognizable with a lot of gentrification in some of the more colourful areas of my memories. There were also areas where I would have avoided decades ago that now would entice a visit.

For the lover of London, tourist or resident,, this is an enjoyable walk through some incredible neighbourhoods and a reminder of what Samuel Johnson said so long ago: when one grows tired of London, one is tired of life. Five purrs and two paws up.

If you are looking for things to do in London that are not the usual tourist affair, or if you are from London and are looking for some new things to do, the London Villages aims to show you places that are not usually recommended.

London has been split into 5 seperate areas: Central, North, South, East, and West for you to be able to see where the locations are in relation to each other. Each ‘Village’ has a description about it, some notable places that are worth a look, how to best access it, along with 5 highlighted places. These highlighted places each have informations including it locations, website, open hours, a telephone number if applicable, and a small blurb about the place and it history in the village.

If you are planning on visiting London and want to see more of it than just the regular tourist places, then London Villages is a great book for you to plan your trip. It will also be a great coffee table book for you to add to your collection as well.

This was a lovely book to read it gave an insight to villages you don't know are there. It was very interesting and very useful if you want to visit a new place in London.

Come to this by all means if you like the idea of "chichi boutiques" – personally I've never felt the need to buy a chichi. Boom, tish – here all week. This is not my kind of guide to what is not my city of London – yes, I know there are districts well-contained within its sprawl, either places with a community identity or areas that actually were villages and small towns before they got engulfed. But this is not really the sort of read I thought to find devoted to them.

The pattern is this – pretty map with hand-drawn highlights interposed, short page of puff about the place and its boutiques – oh, those boutiques – and two further spreads devoted to each where the numbered locales on the maps get a tiny gazetteer entry and photo. Just the first two "villages" here are enough for me – need a random photo of a stack of cheese rounds? Yup. Need to know where to go for a haircut that for men starts – STARTS – at £41? Then check said head under said hair.

The whole is easy on the eye, and reading mind, but is about as engaging as those listings you get in in-flight magazines, and barely more likely to be followed up.

I have never wanted to climb inside a book, like Mary Poppins and the art work, more than I did with this book. So many interesting places and shops. The pictures are beautiful. This is a definite must have before traveling to London.

Excellent, descriptive review of lovely London villages. Written from an insider's point of view to showcase the neighborhoods. Richly describes areas off the beaten path, for those seeking an authentic experience. Great little book with loads of vibrant pictures. Definitely a must have guide! I plan to utilize many of this author's tips and suggestions on my next trip to London.

I like each area has a map showing what street the place is on along with a preface telling about the neighborhood. I also like each business has a website as well. I like that it’s like each place is a hidden gem; not your usual touristy places. This book makes you want to head to the London area to check out all these interesting spots.

Armchair travel at its very best! Packed with tantalising photographs and just enough description to transport you to these quirky and inviting destinations. Enticing selection of shops, cafes and other places within each little haven . Perfect to indulge the senses as well as tempting you to seek out these charming ‘villages’.

Very interesting book. This one sure will come in handy in the future so I will be buying a copy .

I do recommend this one

This is another great guide of London and made me discover new places I want to visit in the future.
Lovely illustrations, a lot of information
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Lovely guide book format and painting type drawings....Huge step up from lonely planet.. Makes me want to explore London on foot. i thought I would
super enjoy the quiet London companion book? in actuality I liked this much better..

This guide to London is unique. Rather than focus on the highlights, it provides information on five locations in small sections of London neighborhoods. The locations are places like bookshops, cafes, bakeries, clothing stores, wine shops, cheese mongers, etc. I think this guide would be more useful for people who live in London and have time to hunt down these places. It is not a guide for a tourist. The photos in the book are Instagram perfect shops, but the aesthetic of the photos felt very similar and I think took away from the uniqueness of some of the locations. I noticed that this is a reprint from 2013. I hope that the publisher verified that each location still is operation and things like the websites haven't changed. I did like the maps, but they are not detailed enough to be able to find any of the locations.

Thank you, Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion, for the advance review copy.

The book gives short descriptions of the villages with amazing pictures mostly of shops and cafes. It's comforting and gives a fair idea on what to do when we reach these places.

Love the pictures and the presentation. It's cozy and aesthetic.

I received an ARC of, London Villages, by Zena Alkayat. I really enjoyed this book. The pictures are great, makes me want to be in London and its Villages.

Though there are 30 villages listed, like most cities, the names represent self-named areas and don't show up on any municipal map. Mostly they are areas that may have been incorporated into Greater London years ago and they became part of some previously standardized town or county. It's probably the best way to tour a city/town because it's the way that the 'locals' view themselves.

Each area may have one or more of the following sections (most with pictures): bars pubs and gastropubs. cafe & restaurants. museums and galleries. public spaces & venues. Shops: beauty, book stores (bookshops),fashion, food and drink, homeware & gifts, services and specialties. Markets.

It's like a 'Lonely' guide for the 'hip', so take it that way.