Book Info

Paperback

Expected publication: April 16th 2019 by Montlake Romance

ISBN 1503905276 (ISBN13: 9781503905276)
Other Editions (4)
Source:Netgalley EARC

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A plus-size Texas gal has designs on an old crush in New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown’s exuberant, bighearted romance.

In the small town of Celeste, Texas, Mitzi Taylor has never quite fit inside the lines. Nearly six feet tall, flame-haired, and with a plus-size spirit to match every curve, she’s found her niche: a custom wedding-dress boutique catering to big brides-to-be with big dreams. Taking the plunge alongside her two best friends, she’s proud they’ve turned The Perfect Dress into a perfect success.

Just when Mitzi has it all pulled together, Graham Harrison walks back into her life, looking for bridesmaid dresses for his twin daughters. A still-strapping jock whose every gorgeous, towering inch smells like aftershave, the star of all Mitzi’s high school dreams is causing quite a flush.

For Mitzi, all it takes is a touch to feel sparks flitting around her like fireflies. She can just imagine what a kiss could do. Graham’s feeling it, too. And he’s about to make that imagination of Mitzi’s run wild. Is it just a hot summer fling, or are Mitzi’s next designs for herself and seeing her own dreams come true?
My Thoughts


Mitzi Taylor is a lifelong resident of tiny Celeste Texas and from the time she noticed him until present day her High School crush on Graham Harrison is still going strong.

Having moved back to town with his two teenage daughters and take over his father’s car dealership Graham soon becomes as enamored of Mitzi as she is of him.

Having the two girls, Dixie and Tabitha/Tabby work in her dress shop during the long summer hours provides them all with plenty of opportunities to spend time together and get to know one another better.

Along with best friends Jody and Paula, Mitzi’s dream of making The Perfect Dress shop a viable and lucrative business begins to come true in spades.

However the ladies personal lives hit a few speed bumps that draw them closer together and prove that women from Texas really are stronger than they ever thought they could be

Family, friends, laughter, tears and some awesome dressmaking abilities tie together three larger-than-life women in this wonderful character driven story.

Not only do Jody, Mitzi and Paula have their lifelong friendship going for them but their humor and talent as well help these ladies make a life outside the box society tries to place women their size in.

Female power to the max prevails as each one overcomes their own personal stumbling blocks so in the end a well deserved new beginning for the three is well on its way to coming to pass.
Of course Fanny Lou, Mitzi’s absolutely hilarious grandmother and her father Harry Taylor, along with other secondary characters, are not too be missed either as they totally add just the right amount of small town supportive drama when needed!

[EArc from Netgalley]

Mitzi Taylor, Jody Andrews and Paula Walker have been best friends since their school days. They went their separate ways after high school graduation but now the three plus-size friends have opened a custom wedding boutique for plus-size women in their hometown of Celeste, Texas called The Perfect Dress. Mitzi designs the dresses and Jody and Paula make Mitzi's designs come to life. Their lives are about to change and they will be facing good times and bad times, blessed times and disastrous times.

The main female character is Mitzi Taylor who is about to have a "blast from the past" high school crush Graham Harrison breeze back into her life. Graham is divorced and raising his fifteen-year-old twin daughters who are "big girls" who need bridesmaid dresses. He stops in to The Perfect Dress to arrange for his girls, Dixie and Tabby to have dresses designed and made there. Looks like there is attraction blazing between Mitzi and Graham although neither one is quite ready to act upon it just yet. Thus begins a slow buildup to a serious relationship between the two. Add in Mitzi' s friends and her grandmother Fanny Lou with lots of encouragement, Graham's twin daughters' encouragement and what you get is a heartwarming story. As an added bonus the author includes the ups and downs in Jody's and Paula's lives so there is never-ending entertainment to be had.

The Perfect Dress by Carolyn Brown is truly the "best of the best" to be had in current Women's Fiction. This book has so much to offer in the way of page-turning entertainment. The love and support of the three best friends is so uplifting to read that I came away at the end of the story filled with happiness. Carolyn Brown writes the best comfort-for-the-soul, heartwarming stories and she never disappoints. If you enjoy feel-good, soul-comforting stories you won't go wrong with The Perfect Dress!

I just finished “The Perfect Dress”. This is a very good book. I read it in record time. I was very touched to read about the influence that her many granddaughters had on her decision to write the book.
The Perfect dress is about a small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business. There are 3 lifetime friends that have opened a wedding shop making custom Wedding gowns and Bridesmaid’s dresses only in Plus sizes. They were all plus sized girls growing up and two of them still are.
The book deals with the predjudice that plus sized people deal with. This book gives a good insight on the negativity that many times come from others.
This book is also a fun story! There are lots of sides to the book. It is funny at times and sad at times. Karma is certainly needed in some parts of the book.
My only negatives with the book were the number of times that she mentions the size of people. Plus sized, big, other;s saying fat and so on. The book is certainly based on the issues involved with not being slim but at some points seems to be overkill. My only other issue was the use of ice cream as the answer to all problems. This is certainly not the case with all people of size. It just seemed a little too much of an overused idea that all women automatically jump to rocky road ice cream every time they are upset.
Overall, I really liked the book. It has colorful characters, romance and a great sense of right and wrong. Thanks for allowing me to read this early.

This was my 3rd book by this prolific author who specializes in comeback kid heroines and powerful female friendships in writing romance novels. This was a very cute story filled with small town realness- the good, the bad and the ugly. Mother-daughter relationships in this were often difficult in this and this is a recurring theme I’ve found in this author’s work. This novel has multiple narrators and so there are multiple perspectives and voices, but it is well-executed so you’re only rarely confused as to whose perspective you’re getting.

This very body positive novel covers major issues faced by plus sized women and teens and I think anyone who’s ever been plus sized will relate to that. It’s a little less sensitive in how it deals with conventionally-sized women and in supporting plus sized women, I think unintentionally goes the opposite way of making it seem like there’s something wrong with not being plus-sized.

Despite the themes of weight and insecurity in this novel, where this book shone was in the portrayal of female friendships. It was basically a celebration of girl power and women supporting women and every feminist thing that warms my heart.

Some plot elements in this were a case for the Plausibility Police. I often found myself thinking the hero’s situation with his first wife was extremely unrealistic and didn’t require as much conflict as was portrayed. It wasn’t necessary from a plot point of view, it didn’t add to the major conflict in the story and if anything, it weakened what was otherwise a pretty enjoyable and very cute read.

I found this book to move at the perfect pace. It flowed well and had a nice storyline. I liked the characters and the main idea of the dress shop that made custom gowns. I think my favorite part was the epilogue, but regardless Carolyn Brown did not disappoint with this book.

First, I must confess that Carolyn Brown is my favorite women's fiction writer.

The Perfect Dress introduces us to Mitzi, a very tall very interesting woman who has made it her life's work to cater to women who are outside the fashion norm with her custom bridal shop. Her best friends and Mitzo are find and generous and they are happy with their life.

Enter Graham, Mitzi's long last guy and things begin to change when she is tasked with creating two dresses for his bridesmaid daughters. Old passion come to light. is this the beginning of a new relationship for Mitzi?

Beautiful cover. Authentic dialogue. Ms. Brown can do no wrong, once again.

I could not put this book down. It was that great. There is something about Southern women that makes you want to say let me in to the group. Each part of this story was well done and so entertaining. The fact that it is about large women of all ages is very educational.

I was given this book for free for an honest review. I enjoyed reading the story, it made for good, light reading. Each of the main three characters had their own relationship problems and romances which made it all the more interesting for me to follow.

The book emphasises that one does not have to be skinny for him/her to feel beautiful or special. I understand and totally agree however it wass mentioned to many times in the book that sometimes I felt that that was the only thing I am reading about. There was also a lot of detail about food, especially fattening food that they constantly ate at all times of the day. I understand that some people enjoy being bigger girls or boys, however no need to live such unhealthy lifestyles.

Another great read from Carolyn Brown! This was a heartwarming and uplifting read. Very enjoyable! I especially loved Mitzi's relationships with her friends. Highly recommended!

THE PERFECT DRESS by Carolyn Brown is a wonderful journey. Filled with laugh out loud and ice cream moments! It's about life long friends and falling in & out of love! Family by blood and those by choice. Carolyn Brown is a master storyteller and you remember her stories long after the last page.

I always enjoy books written by Carolyn Brown. Her characters talk just like my Kansas and Oklahoma relatives do often using familiar "country" sayings and phrases. I especially enjoyed the relationship between Mitzi and her friends. Their loyalty and love for each other was wonderful. I could relate to the plus size bullying and loved the way the twins had already learned how to curtail it in their lives. Their father, Graham is a gem and I was so glad when he started seeing Mitzi. I highly recommend this uplifting women empowering novel with lots of humor.

Something about the voice of this novel did not connect with me. I found the premise interesting but didn’t care for the execution

The Perfect Dress is such a fun read. Three friends and partners : Jody, Mitzi, and Paula operate a plus size wedding dress shop in small town Texas. The scenes are fast moving and the main characters delightful and fiesty. My favorites were Fanny Lou, Tabby, and Dixie. Each friend has relationship issues that get satisfactorily settled at the end. Get ready for hilarious scenes like at the bridal show and at the back door with the shotgun. The Perfect Dress is the perfect read for loyal friends and good comfort food.

Mitzi Taylor has grown up in the small town Celeste, in Texas. She has never seem to fit in. She and her friends have opened a plus size custom gown shop. Graham Harrison is her high school crush. He has just moved back to town with his twin girls. They need bridesmaids dresses for a friend of there moms. When he goes to the dress store Mitzi still has the feelings that she had while they were in high school. Can Mitzi overcome her insecurities enough to make her teenage fanasty a reality? This was a cute book. I loved it from beginning to end. Everyone has insecurities and nobody is perfect.

Carolyn Brown is one of my favorite authors. Especially her women's fiction. The Perfect Dress was a wonderful book. I wish there would have been a plus sized dress shop in my town when I got married. I love the friendship between the 3 main characters and the twins were a delight.

This book is wonderful! I simply could not put it down! Carolyn Brown has written another story of love and friendship that just warms the heart. Mitzi, Jodi and Paula are the kind of life long friends we all long for. Always having each others best interest at heart, especially when life gets tough.

I have to be honest and say that I hadn't heard of this author or this book until the publisher approached me about being on the Blog Tour! The book didn't exactly sound like something I would read, but it's good to read outside your comfort zone sometimes! I started reading this book as soon as I could, and after reading, I have to say that I liked the plot and I loved the different storylines! This book focused on three women and it told all three of their stories, which I really enjoyed! I didn't think I was going to enjoy it as much as I did, but it flowed perfectly and kept me intrigued and wanting to read on and find out what was going to happen next for each of the women! There were a few twists in the plot and some funny moments too! The characters were also amazing and made this book even better! The main character was mostly Mitzi, but there were other main female characters as well e.g. Jody and Paula! I liked all three women a lot in this book! They all worked hard in their business and wanted to make it as successful as possible! They were always there for each other too and tried their best to support each other! I loved their friendship and how they were always there to talk through something and spent a lot of time together! Graham was the main male character and love interest of Mitzi! I admired Graham a lot in this book because he looked after his twin teenage girls and he worked hard to provide for them all! He also loved his girls for the way they were and he didn't try and change them! It was also easy to see that Graham still had feelings for Mitzi, but he didn't rush anything with her and wanted to make sure that they were both ready! I also liked how he handled his ex-wife! This book was mainly written from both Mitzi and Graham's point of views! I really enjoyed that it was because it helped me connect and understand both characters more and it allowed for a few more things to happen in the plot, especially as they spent a bit of the book apart! There were also other characters point of views in this book too, which I liked because it helped me connect more with them too! This book was also written in third person, which I have to be honest and say that I really didn't like! I wasn't sure if it was going to be written from third person before I started reading, and I've read a few books written in third person and enjoyed them, but it actually made it harder for me to read this book because there were quite a few other characters and it all started to blend together at times! I can also completely understand why this book is a standalone! I'm really sad that it is because I really liked all the characters and I would love to read more on them, but the ending did sum up all their stories and was left at the perfect place! The cover for this book is also perfect for it! It really suits the book and represents the book very well! I love it a lot and The title for this book is perfect too and it does make more sense in a way after you read the book! Big thank you to Carolyn, Montlake Romance, and Netgalley for an ARC of The Perfect Dress!

I haven't read a Carolyn Brown book before, so I was unsure just how I would like this book, but I haven't met a true BBW book I haven't loved, so I'm going to put all my hopes and feelings into loving this one.

I love the whole idea that this dress shop was exclusively for BBW/curvy women! and I'm dead jealous that there isn't an in real life one near me! I truly would basically live there, and honestly, with me showing that much emotion, you cannot help but realize that the author hit the nail on the head with this book.

This book is focused around Mitzi, the owner of this plus size boutique, but also factors in the lives of her best friends and business partners. but I truly loved the relationship between Graham and Mitzi, especially when Mitzi puts Graham's ex-wife Rita firmly in her place.

This story is well written and flows right off the page and into my soul! The characters are outstanding and you cannot help but love them all! and I'm thrilled to say that the author finished this book with a truly outstanding epilogue.

That dress sounds very pretty, but not for a bride.

These girls are great. They actually have life skills.

I can't believe Jody became a vegan for this shmuck.

Wanda's bipolar.

How big is Paula that no one noticed she's six months pregnant?

Who knew you can clean a house wrong.

Gladys is just concerned about what to wear to her kid's hypothetical funeral, not that that kid is dead?

The child bride is making more sense to me now.

Every customer should be like Ellie Mae.

I feel the most sorry for Kayla in this situation.

He is so cute.

What the heck is FCCLA?

Quincy is actually nice.

Double standard, Darrin!

Jody's mother needs to get a life.

Whoa, Mitzi has balls of steel.

Spiders and cats, no way.

He needs to start bringing a Taser to work.

Walk away slowly, Quincy...

Haha, point, set, match goes to Tabby!

Hazel knows how to play her daddy like a fiddle.

I feel bad for both Jody and Quincy's childhood palates.

Drop dead, Clinton.

He brushed Mitzi's hair. That's damn sexy.

I want a Graham!

That's a big baby. Ouch!

Aw, "Mitzi Mama"!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Huge fan of Carolyn Brown and loved this book! It's such an amazing story about being your true self and following your dreams. I love these 3 best friends and how they stick close with one another even when times are tough. It's a wonderful story about love, friendship and following your dreams