Legend has it that every season there is one dress. The dress that can make your career, ignite a spark with that special someone, or utterly transform your life. For Felicia, who has been in love with her boss for 20 years; for Natalie who has sworn off men since her ex dumped her – for them and for others, life is about to change.
And all because of their brush with the dress of the season, the perfect little black number that everyone wants to get their hands on…
Today I am really excited to be part of the blog tour for Jane L. Rosen’s novel ‘The Dress’! I was invited to take part in the tour quite some time ago and immediately was excited when I read the description of the book. I loved the idea of a focus on one dress and nine different women who are all connected to that same dress in a particular way, and was curious to discover what the author would manage to do with this idea. Oh, and the book has just a simply beautiful cover as well, I love it and it would already be reason enough for me to want to pick up this book. If you want to know more about the novel, be sure to scroll down and check out my review, but also visit some of the other blogs taking part in the tour; you can find all the blogs on the tour poster!
‘The Dress’ tells the story of nine women who all have one thing in common: a beautiful black dress that happens to be the IT-dress of the season. Pattern maker Morris Siegel has been working within the fashion business for years, but it’s time for him to retire and he plans on saying goodbye with a final dress no woman can say ‘no’ to. The dress sells out everywhere and only a specific set of women gets the chance to actually wear and enjoy it; to experience its magic. Women such as Natalie, who works at Bloomingdale’s and is set on getting back at her ex-boyfriend, and Felicia, who has been in love with her boss for as long as she can remember. This dress is much more than just a piece of clothing, and is destined to change the lives of several women, without them even realising it.
Jane L. Rosen’s ‘The Dress’ is without a doubt one of my favourite reads of 2016 and one I can highly recommend to any chick lit fan out there, or basically anyone looking for their next read. The book has quite a basic idea at its core: nine women all have their own story to tell and their stories are in one way or another connected to the same black dress that’s the IT-dress of the season. All characters are different and introduced to us in relatively short chapters, and we come back to them throughout the novel, while discovering how a lot of the events and people are connected to one another. It was easy to like most of the characters and I was really curious to keep on reading, to discover more, and didn’t feel at any time like I was getting tired of the book or wanted to put it down.
With a big group of characters like this one, it can be a bit tricky to make sure things don’t get confusing, but somehow Jane L. Rosen managed to take care of this in a wonderful way and at no point did I mix up characters or had to go back to re-read something in order to understand it. I could spend a lot of time and space in this review to go into the several characters, which ones I liked best, which stories I thought were the most touching, but I honestly think this novel just needs to be picked up and read, instead of simply reading reviews about it. It really is a simply stunning and wonderfully well-written novel that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish; a fantastic read, so please don’t hesitate to pick it up!
Rating:
10/10
For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Legend has it that every season there is one dress. The dress that can make your career, ignite a spark with that special someone, or utterly transform your life. For Felicia, who has been in love with her boss for 20 years; for Natalie who has sworn off men since her ex dumped her – for them and for others, life is about to change.
And all because of their brush with the dress of the season, the perfect little black number that everyone wants to get their hands on…
Next week I am honoured to be part of the blog tour for quite a special release, if I may say so myself, namely Jane L. Rosen's 'The Dress'! I was provided with a review copy of the book and actually just finished it and loved everything about it. I can't wait to share my review next week and see all the other posts that will be part of the blog tour... Definitely one to add to your wishlist if you're a chick lit fan, you'll love this one, I'm sure!
Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Meet Ella and her mother Fabbia Moreno who arrive in York, one cold January day, to set up their vintage dress shop.
The flamboyant Fabbia wants to sell beautiful dresses to nice people and move on from her difficult past. Ella just wants to fit in. But not everyone is on their side.
Will Fabbia overcome the prejudices she encounters? What's the dark secret she's hiding? And do the silk linings and concealed seams of her dresses contain real spells or is this all just 'everyday magic'?
Among the leopard-print shoes, tea-gowns and costume jewellery in Fabbia's shop are many different stories - and the story of one particular dress.
Today I'm really quite excited to be part of the blog tour for a novel I've been looking forward to reading for several weeks now, namely Sophie Nicholl's 'The Dress'! The book was released by Bonnier Zaffre on July 28th and is my first experience with Sophie Nicholl's writing. I'm really a girly-girl when it comes to pretty dresses, so I straight away really liked the sound of this novel and fell in love with the gorgeous book cover. Needless to say, I couldn't wait to check out this novel! I've got some exclusive content from Sophie Nicholl's herself as well, so be sure to scroll down to take a look and visit some of the other blogs on the tour as well, you can find the names on the blog tour poster!
Fifteen-year-old Ella and her mother Fabbia Moreno have left their life in Eastbourne behind to start over in York, where Fabbia has plans to start her own vintage clothing store. Fabbia has always had a love for glamour and beautiful clothes and loves nothing more than to share her passion with others and help them pick out the right outfit. Ella can’t help but struggle with her mother’s personality every now and again, because all she wants is to fit in and be accepted. Luckily, Ella finds a friend in Billy and Katrina, who is the daughter of rich housewife Jean Cusworth. While Ella tries her best to lead a normal life, Fabbia is focused on moving on from her past; a past that always manages to catch up with her eventually, no matter what or where she goes…
I was really curious to check out Sophie Nicholl’s ‘The Dress’ and I’m happy to say that after just a few chapters I was already hooked by the story and that stayed that way until the very last chapter. I personally love novels that have a touch of magic to them and that’s definitely the case with this book. I was intrigued by both Ella and Fabbia, who each had their own story to share, and just really enjoyed reading about them. I could understand Ella on the one hand, because I still remember what it is like to be a teenage girl, looking for a way to fit in and wanting others to understand you, but I also felt for Fabbia and really admired her passion for clothing and wanting to give her daughter a good life. It really felt like these characters have a lot of stories to tell, which is also why I was really happy when I discovered this is the start of a series and I’m already looking forward to reading more.
The novel reminded me a bit of Menna van Praag’s ‘The Dress Shop of Dreams’, which I read last year and can highly recommend. There are some similarities between the two novels, but Sophie Nicholls definitely managed to give this story her own twist. I really enjoyed her writing style which includes some great descriptions of all the amazing clothes and was just really comfortable to read. I also loved how each chapter starts with a reference to a specific piece of clothing or accessory, and how the novel was occasionally interrupted by a story that played an important role in Fabbia and Ella’s lives. Overall, I think ‘The Dress’ is an enchanting, well-written and captivating read which I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish; author Sophie Nicholls has that touch of magic and I already can’t wait to see what she will come up with next!
Rating:9/10
For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk/ Amazon.com / Goodreads
The Dress by Sophie Nicholls is published on 28th July by Tweny7; paperback, £7.99
Thanks to the author for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Guest Post by Sophie Nicholls!
How to make time for writing in a very busy life
Before my daughter was born, I would get up at 5am every morning to write before I began work. This was my time, time to indulge my passion. It was precious time, when the house was still dark and quiet, just me and the glow of my computer screen, my hands moving over the keyboard in perfect rhythm.
But then my little girl was born and things changed. Suddenly, those hours of silence, my hard-won prize for dragging myself out of bed before sunrise, were no longer possible. Nights and days blurred together, punctuated only by the cries of a colicky baby.
I remember tearfully wondering out loud to a friend, during that first year of motherhood, whether I would ever manage to write another word again. (In fact, I also seriously wondered if I would ever again manage to sleep for more than four hours straight. Or drink a cup of coffee whilst it was still hot.)
My friend, also a writer, shrugged and said, ‘You’re just going to have to think differently about writing. You’re not going to get that chunk of time – that early morning, that Saturday – for writing anymore. You’re going to have to learn to pop in and out of the ‘zone,’ write whenever you can, in snatched moments. Get used to it. That’s just the way things are now.’
This turned out to be very good advice. Galvanised by my friend’s words, I stopped yearning for those uninterrupted stretches and started grabbing any moment I could. At first, I could write only when my daughter was napping or late at night, when I knew that I had at least a couple of hours before she’d wake for a feed again. The laundry and the clearing-up would have to wait, I told myself. I’m not a writer anymore unless I write.
And so I did. I wrote with a new sense of urgency. I wrote as if my life depended upon it. And perhaps it did.
I’m not saying that everything I wrote during those times was my best work. Often, it would be sleep-deprived drivel. But at least I was writing again – and that felt good.
In between these short bursts, I’d fill my notebooks with ideas, or scribble notes on the backs of receipts, cardboard packaging, paper napkins, whatever I could grab. Feeding times proved to be excellent opportunities to write in my head. I’d cradle my daughter and dream up plot lines, working through bits of dialogue. This way, as soon as I did manage to grab an hour here to perfect, a story beat to hit. I maximised every bit of time that fell randomly into my lap.
I stopped waiting for the perfect writing time to arrive. My writing desk, previously my sacred space, gradually heaped up with household bills, old magazines, the ironing. My laptop, my notebook, post-it notes, those paper napkins, became my best friends.
These days, my daughter is four and I do have a desk again and even a room of my own, of sorts, in our spare bedroom. But right now, for example, I’m writing this article with my laptop balanced on my knees in the changing room outside my daughter’s ballet lesson.
I’m not the writer who needs perfect quiet anymore, uninterrupted stretches to create and dream and get the first draft down. I’ve trained myself to tune out all the noise. I can write in a crowded café or in the twenty minute gap between a tutorial with a student and the school pick-up. I can even write with Peppa Pig blaring out in the background. Well, sometimes.
I won’t say that it’s easy. I’m sure that I often appear absent-minded, even obsessive. (I think all writers are, by nature, at least a little obsessive.) My long-suffering partner has got used to me banging on, over dinner, about a plot line, sounding out an idea. He’s endlessly patient with my explanations of character or background. Just the act of talking a storyline through out loud often helps me to get it straight – ready for when the next writing opportunity comes along.
And I think that, for me, that really is the key to the art of writing in the gaps. It’s about knowing what comes next.
Write in the gaps. Use the in-between times. Most importantly of all, just write.
Thanks so much, Sophie!
Lily Fitzpatrick loves vintage clothes - made all the more precious because they were once owned and loved by another woman. Thousands follow her vintage fashion blog and her daily Instagram feed. But this passion for the beautiful clothes of the past is about to have unforeseen consequences, when Lily stumbles upon the story of a 1950s New York beauty, who was not only everything Lily longs to be, but also shares Lily's surname.
Joy Fitzpatrick was a legend. But what was the famous dress which she once commissioned - said to be so original that nothing in couture would ever match it again? What happened to it - and why did Joy suddenly disappear from New York high society?
I am so excited to be part of the blog tour for quite a special read today, namely Kate Kerrigan’s exciting new novel ‘The Dress’! The book was released on the 27th of August by Head of Zeus and as soon as I first read the description of the novel I knew this was going to be a read I did not want to miss. I immediately loved the sound of the novel, especially since it deals with specific things which I love reading about such as vintage fashion, blogging and the glamorous 1940s and 50s. There was actually nothing about this book I didn’t already love, so I definitely had high hopes for it! As part of the blog tour I also have a special extract from the novel to share with all of you, so be sure not to miss that by simply scrolling down!
Twenty-something Lily Fitzpatrick always wanted to be a fashion designer. Yet her fear of being a failure led her to decide to focus on her successful vintage fashion blog instead, sharing her passion for fashion with thousands of followers each day. One day, Lily unexpectedly finds an article about an amazing dress which was worn back in the 1940s by high society woman Joy Fitzpatrick, who also happens to share Lily’s last name. Lily decides to do some research in the hopes of discovering more about Joy herself, this amazing dress, and the person who made it. As Lily finds out more and more about both the dress and Joy, she realises she has discovered quite an amazing story and won’t stop until she has gotten to the bottom of it.
This is, without a doubt, one of the best women’s fiction reads I’ve read so far this year. Kate Kerrigan is a fabulous author and I honestly already can't wait to read her next work! 'The Dress' focuses on two main points of view: a modern-day storyline told from the perspective of vintage fashion blogger Lily Fitzpatrick and a point of view that brings us back to 1940s America with at its centre married socialite Joy Fitzpatrick. Next to that, there are several chapters told from the perspective of Honor, an Irish small-town girl who is a truly gifted seamstress. Each of these three women has a distinctive voice and a thoroughly captivating and interesting story to tell; stories that are intertwined and which I couldn't get enough of.
While the story includes fun aspects such as the focus on vintage fashion and blogging, it also deals with quite a few serious topics. Kate Kerrigan is a wonderfully talented author with a great writing style. It felt like I was flying through the pages and I could easily conjure up every single detail of the story in my head thanks to all the vivid descriptions. In my opinion this is women's fiction at its best and I understand why this novel has already received numerous 5-star reviews. Overall, 'The Dress' is an amazing and well-written story filled with authentic characters and an engrossing storyline. It grabbed me from the start and I ended up falling in love with it; a book I can recommend to anyone, a truly wonderful read!
Rating:10/10
For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Extract from 'The Dress'!
The young woman had an almost frightening beauty.
Her high cheek-bones seemed carved from some exquisite
alabaster and her painted red lips were shaped in a perfect,
symmetrical pout. However, it was her eyes – two dark pools
of immeasurable depth – that held him. She had a look of
knowing that transcended her sultry beauty. Although she
was a complete stranger, her fathomless gaze seemed to say
that she recognized him, recognized the vein of sadness
which, despite his great success, still ran through the core of
Francis Fitzpatrick.
Frank did not seek out an introduction, he would not have
presumed, but Victor’s wife, Norah, must have noticed him
staring because before he knew what was happening, he was
being introduced after all.
‘This is Joy Rogerson,’ Norah said.
Frank took the pale, delicate hand in his and tried his best
to retain his composure. But as he looked into the girl’s deep,
sad eyes, Frank knew that, despite the great distance he had
travelled, despite the efforts he had made to chase away the
vulnerable boy and become the strong, capable man that he
was today, Frank Fitzpatrick had utterly lost himself.
