This book surprised me. The plot was romantic, but not sappy and had some unexpected twists and turns. Loved the Friends references and the fact that Jack and Emi were obviously MFEO. Looking forward to Aimee's next book!

I received a digital ARC of this book from Aria and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I felt like a read a totally different book than other readers . . . And while I hate to not finish a book, I really wanted to add the The Lucky Dress to the DNF category early on.

The The Lucky Dress simply was not for me. I didn't enjoy the characters or the story telling, and could find no humor or romance in this supposedly "irresistibly hilarious rom-com." I only liked two things about the book. One, the cover - it's adorable and it's what caught my eye in the first place. Two, Liam - who is barely in the book at all, and the only character with any positive personality qualities. No other character is at all sympathetic or supportive to Emi's emotional state. Her BFF Lily and her husband Josh are judgmental. Evan's bridzilla (and Jack's sister) - to-be, Hannah, is just over-the-top. Why wouldn't you side with and support your twin sister Evan!? Jack and Hannah's mother, Amelia is manipulative. Greta is a piece of work. And Jack and Emi themselves are hopeless. (Not going into spoilers on the specifics.)

I like alternating timelines between present and past, but they have to have a purpose and be done well. That's not the case in TLD. The past and present chapters are disjointed, unfocused and often times without purpose or relation to what is happening in the present. We jump from present to one year or five years or 3 years without any order or reason.

The story's inconsistent, disjointed, and unfocused storyline, the characters, and complete lack of humor and romance combined to make a book that I couldn't enjoy. I was also confused that this story has been published before as the Little Gray Dress in 2017. It would be interested to know what changed other than Emi's lucky dress going from gray to blue . . .

The Lucky Dress by Amiee Brown was such a fun read. I was sucked in from the start and pretty much devoured the book. If you’re a fan of Romantic Comedies you will love this story.
Emi, our heroine was written as realistically as anyone can be in a RomCom book. I felt her pain and cheered for moments of success. She wasn’t without flaws, but how much fun would that person be? The other characters brought the whole thing home for me. Great cast!
I didn’t want this book to end.
Well done Amiee Brown!

Sometimes a girl needs a good chick lit novel in between heavier reads and The Lucky Dress certainly fit the bill for me. The novel was a really quick read for me, I read it in a day. I really liked the main character of Emi and the romance aspect of the novel. The writing was really well done and I would like to read more from this author.

Perfect beach reading book

This was such a great, fun read! It was one of those stories where you kind of know how it will end but the journey to get there still makes it enjoyable. I think there isn't a girl out there who doesn't have a special outfit like "The Lucky Dress" to get back at the ex...or try to win him back! A funny relatable story and I was definitely rooting for the main character of Emi from beginning to end.
There were plenty of awkward but hilarious moments between characters throughout the story and the writing was well done and kept my interest until the end. The characters were uniquely developed and I could picture them each in my head as I was reading.
The only negative I had about the book was the character of Liam- I felt like he came in and out of the story too quickly. I would have liked to see more from him and Emi...Once I finished the story I read how there is another book about Liam's character coming out next year so I guess I was not the only one to feel this way!
Thank you to NetGalley and Aria Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and review.

If you had to face your ex, you'd want your lucky dress too!

I enjoyed this frothy, funny rom-com and read it in one sitting. Perfect beach read!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

It was good to read a book that wasn’t cookie cutter but you have to know the ending before you read it when the characters do not speak their minds. What could have been cleared up rather quickly took years in the book because nobody said what they meant.

I am so glad that I stumbled upon this little gem! The Lucky Dress is the perfect chic-lit, romantic comedy full of several ups and downs. Emi, her best friend Lily, and Lily’s husband Josh are heading home to Portland for Emi’s brother’s wedding. Unfortunately, this means that Emi must come face to face with her ex-fiance, Jack, who broke Emi’s heart two days before their own wedding. With her lucky dress in tow, thus begins a whirlwind of incredibly awkward, yet hilarious moments as Emi spends the week with her brother, his fiance, Hannah (Jack’s sister), and a variety of family and friends.

I didn’t know until after reading The Lucky Dress that Aimee Brown originally published this last year under the name Little Gray Dress. Apparently, some changes have been made, etc. but I did not read it so the novel was all new to me! With chapters shifting between past and present, the reader gets to know all of these fabulous characters while learning about the various relationships in the novel and how they began, developed, and in Emi and Jack’s case, how they ended. Sometimes I struggle with past/present shifts, but once I got into this one, it really worked.

Emi was such a fantastic lead character but dear Lord, this woman was literally a walking disaster. She consistently endured a variety of disasters ranging from hilarious to heartbreaking, yet she kept going with a good attitude and a unique charm about her. I loved her BFF Lily and all of the family, but Jack and Hannah’s mother Amelia really stuck out to me. On one hand, she seemed like a snobby, rich socialite, but then a completely different side would be revealed showing what a caring person she truly was. She completely meddled and over-stepped, but overall I really loved her character.

Then there is the handsome, mysterious Liam. After Emi strolls into his bar with no money, he ends up being her date for the wedding functions and a completely romantic, charming, swoon-worthy character! Supposedly, Liam has his own book coming next year, and I am crazy excited to read it!

Aimee Brown blew me away with her variety of conflict that was not overdone, despite the fact that it was ongoing. Moreover, this debut author has created amazing characters that I will not soon forget. Although the story was about Emi, all of the supporting characters stood out and added so much enjoyment and depth to this book. Of course, I disliked Greta, but all of the other characters seemed like the type of people we would all want in our lives. The Lucky Dress is funny, romantic, emotional, and at times, frustrating – but it is an addictive read that I highly recommend!

*Thanks to NetGalley and Aria for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Lucky Dress by Aimee Brown is a fabulous read!

Emi and Jack are the perfect couple, two days away from their wedding when she finds him in compromising position with his secretary and her world falls apart. She refuses to hear any explainations and moves far far away.
Emi opens a cafe and is trying to get over Jack and make a new life for herself. And she is doing well until she has to go back home, to a wedding of her twin brother and Jack's sister. And it turns out Jack has moved on as well and he has a new girlfriend.
Lovely book about heartache. second chances and broken dreams. All the characters are realistic and well presented. We can feel their sorrows, aches and joys and root for them during their turbulations.
Entertaining and fun story.

Everybody has that one piece of clothing, right? The one where good things just seem to happen as soon as you put it on? You get that little bit more confidence, it highlights all the right places, it makes Lady Fortuna smile at you just that little more often? Well, this book is about that lucky dress - and that one set of circumstances where you really, really need it!



I was offered an ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are strictly my own.

The story
Emi Harrison hasn't been feeling particularly lucky lately. Ever since her ex-fiancée, Jack Cabot, successfully shattered her heart into a million pieces. She's managed to avoid him for a whole year, but all that's about to change at her brother Evan's wedding...

She will have to face Jack, Jack's sister, Jack's parents, and Jack's new girlfriend: a mean girl that just won't quit. What could possibly go wrong?

But with her lucky dress on, she might just find new love, life, and maybe even happiness at last!

The opinion
First things first: if you're not good with feeling embarrassed for someone else? This book might be a little difficult. Because, for approximately all the scenes that take place in the present day? There is a serious amount of cringe present. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Once you move past the cringe, though, there is actually a really nice story unfolding. Told through alternate chapters of the present (seeing Jack and his family again) and chapters that jump further and further into the past (from Emi and Jack's wedding day all the way to them meeting), as a reader you really get to know all the characters.

That, however, also leads to my one main problem with this book: the starting point of the entire novel is that Emi caught Jack doing something horrible. However. The more you get to know Jack through the flashbacks, the more unlikely it seems that he would actually have done such a thing. Maybe if Emi's background would have been explained a bit more explicitly a bit earlier on in the book, her reaction might have seemed more reasonable (it took an explanation about 3 chapters from the end for me to go: "oh, that's why you reacted like you did"). While reading this book, however, I spent a lot of time wondering whether I just had these characters all wrong, or whether they actually did seem to behave a little out of character (or as different characters) every other chapter.

Take Jack's mother: she is, apparently, both conniving, meddling, incredibly nice, very caring, slightly terrifying, very invested in Jack and Emi's relationship, taking a "hands off" approach to their problems, ... While I did actually like her as a "person", at times it was kind of hard to guess which version of her you'd be seeing in any particular scene.

One final thing: Greta is set up from the very beginning as someone we shouldn't like. And let's be real: Greta is very unlikable. Some might even say verging on delusional in her approach to the world in general, stopping at nothing to get what she wants. But the fact that the first time Sophie met her, she immediately looks down on her? Because of the way she chooses to make a living? That really rubbed me the wrong way.

The rating: 2.75/5
Now, don't get me wrong - the story itself? I would've given that a 3.5 rating or higher. I really enjoyed the set up with flash backs alternating with the present day scenes. There was a diverse (within the realm of white, straight and rich people) set of personalities. However, the unlikeliness of some scenes (you'll get this as soon as you get to Sophie and Greta's first meeting) combined with the erratic-ness of the characterization of some people did take away from that just a bit.

All in all, though, I enjoyed reading this book. And if you're in the mood for something with romance, plot twists (ooh, that plot twist at the end! that had me shook!) and some very out there characters? This is definitely the book for you! (Goodreads - published on August 7th)

-Saar

The Lucky Dress is a fun and quick romance. My main complaint was that there was a bit too much drama for my taste. There was one last conflict around the 80 percent mark that I thought was unnecessary. Despite this, I thought Emi and Jacob's story was very entertaining. I loved how their storylines, past and present, were interwoven. There were some gender stereotypes as well that I was a bit frustrated at, so hopefully in Brown's future novels she doesn't excuse or rationalize behavior solely due to gender.

3.5 Stars!

Emi’s life took a couple of unexpected turns, but she coped, she changed, she lived and found a new way. And then the past comes back to meet her head on. So EMI needs her lucky dress. But just how lucky is it?
EMI is a likeable and believable character and I enjoyed this book

I really wanted to love this book, but I simply wasn't drawn in by the characters. Telling the story in 'reverse' was a nice tactic, but I didn't think added much to the novel. Additionally, while there will always be a need for an antagonist, I think things went a little too far in this book, with a basically straight up evil, horrible woman with no redeeming qualities. Based on this book, I don't think I would pick up another book by the author.

I received this ARC via Netgalley in return for an honest review. This is a good summertime beach read book. The story is about Emi, who has to go to her twin brother, Evan's, wedding to the sister of her ex-fiancee, Jack. She's dreading this, for all the reasons you can imagine. Since they broke up, she's gained weight and hasn't dated. She did move to Texas and open her own business, determined to make a new life. Yet, there's a big hole in her heart. The author uses current day and flashback chapters to describe Jack and Emi's history. There's also Jack's annoying sister and his overbearing mother, Ameila, who Emi has to deal with. Jack is a sweetheart and you can see why Emi fell for him and he for her. Throw in all the craziness of the wedding and bridezilla, along with a few other 'I can't believe this happened' events and you've got a good beach book with a great HEA.
I struggled, at first, to relate to Emi, as I'm at a different place in my life. I'm glad to say that, as the story progressed, I enjoyed her and the author did a good job in this book. I read it electronically and am happy to say there weren't any noticeable editing misses (a big thing for me!).

I loved this book! It is funny and the characters have a depth that makes them real. There are flashbacks in the story which I usually don’t care for, but in this story they worked really well. Aimee has done a wonderful job with her first novel and I am really looking forward to reading anything else she pours herself into!

A fantastic book! I loved the book when it was titled "Little Gray Dress" and the added content made it even better! I can't wait to see what Aimee Brown delivers next!

4.5 stars

This was an entertaining contemporary romance. Emi has to face her ex, as they are both attending Emi's brother's wedding. His sister, his parents and his new girlfriend will be there too. This is the perfect time for her to wear her lucky dress, because she is going to need all the help she can get! I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading other stories by this author.

Emi and Jack were getting married in two days, until she walked in on him and his receptionist. A year later, she sees him again at her brother and his sister's wedding. A fair story, and quick overall, but a lot of jumping into the past, then the future then the farther past, etc. Got a little whiplash after awhile, and skimmed the past to get to the present. Would still recommend though, as it makes an easy summer read.

Very funny...lovely little chick lit read :c)

My review has been posted to Goodreads.

Review has also been tweeted as usual.

Thank you! :c)

Emi Harrison thought she had the perfect man in her fiancé, Jack Cabot, until he did something that broke her heart. She fled the town they lived in to start a new life away from Jack, his family, and their mutual friends. But Emi’s twin brother, Evan, is marrying Jack’s sister so she must return for the wedding and face the music, Wedding March and otherwise. This story is told concurrently with a series of flashbacks going backwards in time of important moments from Emi and Jack’s relationship and the present day wedding week.

Emi’s feelings for Jack did not magically disappear just because they broke up. Although this is a rom-com, there is quite a bit of heartache and angst. For the past year, she had been trying to go on with her new life and forget Jack. He has made efforts to communicate with her, but Emi will not respond. The idea of seeing him again with his new girlfriend is just about more than Emi can take so she “borrows” a man, Liam, a bar owner that she just met to be her wedding date.

The vignettes of their past relationship show how much this couples loves each other. In the mix is an evil girl who wishes them ill and just will not go away so guess who the new girlfriend might be. The style of this story makes for a bittersweet read seeing them as a couple and knowing how much pain they are both in being together again. Emi’s stubbornness and refusal to let Jack explain the situation before leaving and his determination to let go for her own good cause a lot of the trouble and heartache for them. For a lawyer who is a go getter, he seems to have backed off too far. As common with this genre, there are some humorous moments to do with an over-the-top bride and the pre-wedding festivities.

Note, I am reviewing this book under a new title called THE LUCKY DRESS. It is being released on August 7, 2018. There have been some editorial changes.