Primo Pelle. Luxury Journal Collection. Hard Cover, Genuine Leather, Antique and Hand Bound. Premium Thick Paper Writing Notebook and Travel Diary (Vintage Brown,Black and Wooden Look) (7 X 5 inches)

Short review:***3 1/2 stars***Please do not be turned off from the "low" star ratings I have given these items. These are BEAUTIFUL books.Simple and straight forward: these books are quite gorgeous.However, from my own inspection I could not verify that these are indeed crafted from "full grain leather" throughout the whole book. Further minor issues (such as sloppy glue application along the inside edges of the book cover and loose strings hanging from the binding) detract from this book's command of such a high price. I feel that I have overpaid for them, as there are "equivalents" right here on Amazon without these issues, for around the same price.Nevertheless, please do take note that I am NOT returning these books - and plan on keeping them! Because these are NOT big issues! This is a lovely item!All in all, only time will tell if they are as durable as hoped!Long review:I purchased two of these lovely leather bound books because they listed the materials as being "full grain leather." For those who know "full grain leather" and know book covers (of the type this seller is listing), you may reasonably understand why this item piqued my curiosity. Full grain leather is quite thick. Of course there are thin areas, but when a person is referring to using it in a book bound as shown in these photos... I could not even imagine how they could pull it off. I had to get them in my hands so I could inspect them with my own eyes. I was very excited.Unfortunately, after my handling and inspection, I cannot confirm that these are indeed full grain leather throughout the book. There are definitely areas which have been shaved/thinned out - I would almost say that they "had" to be - in order to make sense... It is quite possible that there are certain areas of the book (such as the front cover of the book where embossments and designs were made) that "may" have started as "full grain" - but I doubt it. I was mainly interested in the folding creases for the covers - and it definitely looks like these were shaved/thinned out. I am certain any book binder would look at me incredulously for my stupidity if I ever told them of my dream of finding a book in this same design with the folds of the book also in unshaved "full grain leather." Mechanically, it is logical that it wouldn't work for a book this size. Still, one can dream. Please note: This did not detract from the overall beauty of the book - I did not deduct any stars for this. Although the whole reason behind purchasing this was based upon that specific set of words/assumption, there is nothing in the description the cover of this book is 100% full grain leather... and it makes perfect sense that the creases of the cover MUST be shaved down in order to bend open correctly. This conforms to every other high quality book I have handled before. I can't explain my own brain-burp in this case. Do not let yourself be put down by this part of the book. The covers feel durable and great!The paper feels thin and very smooth. I haven't felt "cotton" paper this thin and smooth before - which leads me to doubt that it is indeed cotton. There are no noticeable "fibers" typically found in cotton paper. Some of my pages have creases and folds in them - I did not deduct any stars for this (though you might). I haven't written in them yet, but I'm not sure that they will be able to handle a fountain pen without bleeding through to the other side. Paper is not thick and luxurious cotton (as I had expected) - but that is fine for me at this time. There are no "recycled cotton" fibers typically found in "recycled cotton" pages. Lets just say these "cottons" were mulched quite finely before being pressed into paper... again, IF it is indeed cotton...Books were packaged without adequate protection in see-through thin plastic bags. Amazon packed them in with several other items I also ordered at the time. These books got bounced around a bit - and it looks like there are minor scuffs along the covers of the books. I didn't deduct any stars for this - leather books/journals get beat up from use, and that (in my opinion) adds to their beauty. I DO wish that they didn't ARRIVE like that, but it wasn't a big enough deal for me to deduct a star - not everyone may like this though.I deducted stars for the following - and these could have just been that I received a bad batch (this may not be your situation at all):1.) sloppy glue application along the inside cover of the book (both books had this) - glue remnants run all along the edges of the inside cover and the paper backing. I do not normally notice this sort of thing in a book. I noticed it for this though. For the price of this book, it should not have such a thing. Due to the severity of this, I deducted one star for this. I didn't like this too much...2.) binding strings are hanging loosely from the binder of book, binding is somewhat "looser" than what it could be. Again, for the price of this book, I'm not sure that I like it to have such a thing. Due to how minor this is ( though this could hint at larger, longevity issues with the book... - but I do not think so), I deducted 1/2 star for this. This also wasn't a happy-maker for me...Depending upon how people see it, the glue could be the minor issue and the binding the more severe issue - either way, you can flip the worth of the stars around as you see fit. I can include photos - but I cannot physically show you how "loose" the bindings feel (you'll have to use your imagination there).Overall, a bit pricy for what it is (around $49.00 on Amazon as of Sept. 13th, 2018), but still very lovely!Honestly, I am really hoping to see some serious 5 star reviews of this product. That is how much I want to like it. I do hope that the issues I've listed above are not in every book being sent out, and someone out there is going to recieve some flawless books and write a review that these books are meant to have. These books DEFINITELY have 5 star potential!Also: I may revise my review because I really do like these books (I am tempted to just round UP to four stars) - maybe I'll reach out to the company and see if there is customer support for this and revise my review further (customer support can significantly change my impression of an otherwise "so-so" item to a "WOW!!" item - but only if the customer support is strong enough). If there is any actual interest in this product, I may reach out to customer service and report back.As the first reviewer of this item, PLEASE do not let my review deter you from purchasing this book and giving it your own review! These are issues that I have discovered ONLY on my set of books which bother me and may not reflect other copies being sent out, or something that may bother you! These are gorgeous books!Thank you for reading this far! I buy these items with my own pennies. 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