My toned watercolor book just arrived yesterday and I love the size but I while I was expecting the outside of the book to be “toned”, I hadn’t anticipated the pages themselves to be toned, as in a vintage brown tea color. It’s definitely different but I’m coming to like it more than I thought. Colors can still get vibrant on the page although not quite as vibrant as it would if the page was a true white of course. My other gripe is that the page dries really fast, even with loads of water – so if you’re doing a whole sky wash or something, you’ll have to work really fast. I don’t think it’s 100% cotton which probably contributes to the need for speed. But overall quality is there of course, being Hahnemuehle and it’s perfect for traveling!