Ravensburger Fantasy Bookshop Jigsaw Puzzle Review
Fantasy Bookshop is a wonderful and rather magical, detailed image of a book store by the popular digital artist Aimee Stewart. Also published as Wish Upon a Bookshop and Readers Paradise.
Books and jigsaw puzzles is a winning combination for me and I couldn't wait to get started on this 1000 piece fantasy style book shop.
If I could imagine up somewhere I'd like to spend the majority of my time, this would be it. The perfect place filled with special books, comfortable seating, antique decor and cats.
Title: Fantasy Bookshop
Publisher: Ravensburger https://www.ravensburger.com/start/index.html
Release date: 2017
Artist: Aimee Stewart https://aimeestewart.com
Cutting style: Grid cut
Number of puzzle pieces: 1000
Finished size approx: 70 x 50 cm / 27 x 20 inches
I love the digital artwork of Aimee Stewart and here she's conjured up a simply magical bookshop filled with amazing hardcover editions of many classic and favourite reads. It is, quite simply, a book lover's paradise.
Right from reading the words Wish Upon a Book I was hooked. The solid wood furniture, plush velvet seating, thick stair carpet and antique rug along with the magical elements of the stars, the magic ball, the feather quill and inkpot are a heavenly combination that I could not resist.
➡️ Done this jigsaw or planning to do it? Come and try my FREE Fantasy Bookshop Search and Find Game.
NOTE: Fantasy Bookshop has also been published as a jigsaw under the name Wish Upon a Bookshop by Wentworth Wooden Puzzles and Readers Paradise by White Mountain Puzzles.
It's a Ravensburger so I was expecting the quality to be extremely good. However there were some quality issues with this particular puzzle if I am being honest.
I don't mind puzzle dust but some puzzlers do and there was rather a lot of it when I removed all the pieces from the inner plastic bag and put them into the cardboard box. A lot of leftover blue dust was left in the box and was then also transferred over on to my Jaques of London jigsaw puzzle board sorting trays.
The cut on Fantasy Bookshop was very loose, much looser than I like and it meant that I was unable to assemble sections on my sorting trays as I normally would and then move over to the main jigsaw because the pieces fell apart once I tried to move them.
You can get an idea from the close up image on my photo below on just how large the gaps are between each puzzle piece. It doesn't have the nice snug fitting that I prefer for jigsaw puzzles.
On comparing the completed puzzle artwork to the enclosed poster print and also the box front, some parts like this rug were rather blurred.
Some areas of the finished puzzle artwork looked rather blurry (especially the rugs and the wallpaper) and not as sharp as they looked on the box artwork or on the included smaller poster. I was a little disappointed in that.
The jigsaw pieces feel lovely and thick as I'm used to with Ravensburger puzzles and all pieces were there and in perfect condition (no bends, tears or badly cut pieces) except for having a rather loose fit.
This Aimee Stewart design is also still available (Jan 2020) at wentworthpuzzles.com in a choice of sizes. If you love this artwork, a wooden jigsaw version could make the perfect gift to yourself.
It was also published by White Mountain Puzzles and given the name Readers Paradise as a 1000 piece puzzle. Still available at the time of writing from whitemountainpuzzles.com.
Because the stair carpet with the midnight blue and fuschia pink is unique amongst the colour palette in this design, I chose to start in this corner.
I started by assembling the entire outer edge. It wasn't very hard except that I missed one edge piece, a very small one, which turned up later on when I was working on the inside of the design.
After the edge, I worked on the stair carpet as that was the only area containing that midnight blue shade and fuchsia pink. It was then easy to work from that area and start on the wooden floor, the main round table and the plush red seating area.
Other easy to assemble areas included the Wish Upon a Book sign, the book shop sign on the outside door, the colourful balloon lights, the yellow glass lights at the top, the window with the net curtain and purple wallpaper surround and the posters.
Hard to assemble areas included the cream colour stair sections and working out which cream colour piece went where because there are a number of possible places in this design.
Part of the reason why I love putting puzzles together is because I appreciate the artwork as much as the process of solving the puzzle. Fantasy Bookshop is a highly detailed design and has a lot of things for you to notice and spot.
Because there are so many areas in this Aimee Stewart design for you to spot, they are listed on a separate page for you. Come challenge yourself once you've completed your jigsaw and see how many items you can find without reading the answers.
➡️ FREE Fantasy Bookshop Puzzle: Search and Find Game
Despite a few quality issues that I mentioned, I really loved this jigsaw. It was a really fun experience and not only did I enjoy making the puzzle but also spent a long time looking at the artwork after and studying the picture.
This is one design that I will be gluing and framing. It stops a little short of getting a perfect rating because of the issues I encountered. However it is still very magical. Thank you Aimee for a wonderful design.
You may consider purchasing this design from one of the other jigsaw brands mentioned in this review if you're not keen on the Ravensburger version.
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Books and jigsaw puzzles is a winning combination for me and I couldn't wait to get started on this 1000 piece fantasy style book shop.
If I could imagine up somewhere I'd like to spend the majority of my time, this would be it. The perfect place filled with special books, comfortable seating, antique decor and cats.
Ravensburger Fantasy Bookshop Jigsaw by Aimee Stewart 1000 Pieces Puzzle Review
Title: Fantasy Bookshop
Publisher: Ravensburger https://www.ravensburger.com/start/index.html
Release date: 2017
Artist: Aimee Stewart https://aimeestewart.com
Cutting style: Grid cut
Number of puzzle pieces: 1000
Finished size approx: 70 x 50 cm / 27 x 20 inches
I love the digital artwork of Aimee Stewart and here she's conjured up a simply magical bookshop filled with amazing hardcover editions of many classic and favourite reads. It is, quite simply, a book lover's paradise.
Right from reading the words Wish Upon a Book I was hooked. The solid wood furniture, plush velvet seating, thick stair carpet and antique rug along with the magical elements of the stars, the magic ball, the feather quill and inkpot are a heavenly combination that I could not resist.
➡️ Done this jigsaw or planning to do it? Come and try my FREE Fantasy Bookshop Search and Find Game.
NOTE: Fantasy Bookshop has also been published as a jigsaw under the name Wish Upon a Bookshop by Wentworth Wooden Puzzles and Readers Paradise by White Mountain Puzzles.
Puzzle Quality Notes
It's a Ravensburger so I was expecting the quality to be extremely good. However there were some quality issues with this particular puzzle if I am being honest.
I don't mind puzzle dust but some puzzlers do and there was rather a lot of it when I removed all the pieces from the inner plastic bag and put them into the cardboard box. A lot of leftover blue dust was left in the box and was then also transferred over on to my Jaques of London jigsaw puzzle board sorting trays.
The cut on Fantasy Bookshop was very loose, much looser than I like and it meant that I was unable to assemble sections on my sorting trays as I normally would and then move over to the main jigsaw because the pieces fell apart once I tried to move them.
You can get an idea from the close up image on my photo below on just how large the gaps are between each puzzle piece. It doesn't have the nice snug fitting that I prefer for jigsaw puzzles.
On comparing the completed puzzle artwork to the enclosed poster print and also the box front, some parts like this rug were rather blurred.
Some areas of the finished puzzle artwork looked rather blurry (especially the rugs and the wallpaper) and not as sharp as they looked on the box artwork or on the included smaller poster. I was a little disappointed in that.
The jigsaw pieces feel lovely and thick as I'm used to with Ravensburger puzzles and all pieces were there and in perfect condition (no bends, tears or badly cut pieces) except for having a rather loose fit.
Wish Upon a Bookshop Puzzle by Wentworth Wooden Puzzles
This Aimee Stewart design is also still available (Jan 2020) at wentworthpuzzles.com in a choice of sizes. If you love this artwork, a wooden jigsaw version could make the perfect gift to yourself.
White Mountain Puzzles Readers Paradise Jigsaw Puzzle
It was also published by White Mountain Puzzles and given the name Readers Paradise as a 1000 piece puzzle. Still available at the time of writing from whitemountainpuzzles.com.
Jigsaw Puzzle Construction Order and Tips
Because the stair carpet with the midnight blue and fuschia pink is unique amongst the colour palette in this design, I chose to start in this corner.
I started by assembling the entire outer edge. It wasn't very hard except that I missed one edge piece, a very small one, which turned up later on when I was working on the inside of the design.
After the edge, I worked on the stair carpet as that was the only area containing that midnight blue shade and fuchsia pink. It was then easy to work from that area and start on the wooden floor, the main round table and the plush red seating area.
Other easy to assemble areas included the Wish Upon a Book sign, the book shop sign on the outside door, the colourful balloon lights, the yellow glass lights at the top, the window with the net curtain and purple wallpaper surround and the posters.
Hard to assemble areas included the cream colour stair sections and working out which cream colour piece went where because there are a number of possible places in this design.
What to Look for on Completing This Jigsaw Puzzle
Part of the reason why I love putting puzzles together is because I appreciate the artwork as much as the process of solving the puzzle. Fantasy Bookshop is a highly detailed design and has a lot of things for you to notice and spot.
Because there are so many areas in this Aimee Stewart design for you to spot, they are listed on a separate page for you. Come challenge yourself once you've completed your jigsaw and see how many items you can find without reading the answers.
➡️ FREE Fantasy Bookshop Puzzle: Search and Find Game
Overall Experience With Fantasy Bookshop
Despite a few quality issues that I mentioned, I really loved this jigsaw. It was a really fun experience and not only did I enjoy making the puzzle but also spent a long time looking at the artwork after and studying the picture.
This is one design that I will be gluing and framing. It stops a little short of getting a perfect rating because of the issues I encountered. However it is still very magical. Thank you Aimee for a wonderful design.
You may consider purchasing this design from one of the other jigsaw brands mentioned in this review if you're not keen on the Ravensburger version.
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NOW Try My Free Fantasy Bookshop Search and Find Game
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