I loved this book. It is told from three times from three ladies who wore the same wedding dress. It tells their stories as they prepare to get married. Each person faced expectations they didn’t agree with and had to decide if they were going to conform or go their own way. I thought it was an excellent book about the choices women must make.

If you were a fan of last year’s The Gown by Jennifer Robson, then I 100% think this book will be for you. Like that story, this centers the making of a wedding gown and is a multi-generational family story. And like that story, I absolutely could not put it down.

The Grace Kelly Dress is told in three timelines. You will meet Madame Rose, who is creating a replica of Grace Kelly’s Dress for a bride in 1958. Joanie, in 1982 who wore that same dress at her wedding, Lastly is Rocky who in 2020 is engaged to the man of her dreams, but wants one thing, not to wear her mother “Joanie’s” wedding dress.

Each timeline could absolutely stand on it’s own. There was love and mystery throughout each one of these women’s stories that kept perpetuating this tale. I found myself completely vested throughout my reading of this.

My only criticism is I wanted more of each character’s tale, but this book would have been way too long. It has an extremely satisfying ending. If you are looking for a feel-good read, I think this will meet you expectations.

Thank you NetGalley and Graydon House Press for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars
I happen to appreciate a story that spands generations when in the mood. This book fulfilled that need for me. It is a telling of family, beliefs and the ever challenging relationships between mothers and daughter.

WOW! Brenda Jankowitz, Author of "The Grace Kelly Dress" has written a memorable, heartwarming, enchanting, captivating, riveting and entertaining novel. The Genres for this novel are Fiction and Historical Fiction, and Romance. This is a layered story, and like pieces of a puzzle, they ultimately fit together. I love everything about this novel, and Brenda Janowitz is an amazing storyteller, who vividly describes her characters, events, and landscape. There are three timelines in this story and three sets of characters. This is based on Grace Kelly's wedding dress with its'  intricate patterns. As I was reading this book, I kept thinking of the song "Tradition" from Fiddler on the Roof. The author describes her colorful characters as likable, and memorable. Each character does have her own set of problems. 

Can you imagine one wedding dress, that three generations of women in the family each use? It is more than a dress. It is almost like a layer of their own lives in their own timeline, and their traditions and memories passed to the next generation, and so on. What is so special is that all three women get to participate and actually be apart of this history.  I appreciate that the author discusses the importance of family, support, love, friendship, and mother-daughter relationships. I am an emotional reader, and I did shed some tears and laughs with the characters. I loved that each woman made the dress part of her personality.

There is almost a magical, fairytale feel in this story. Doesn't everyone want to feel like a princess, and special on their wedding day? I would highly recommend this beautiful and feel-good story to readers to readers that enjoy Fiction and Historical Fiction.

This was okay for me. I had a hard time getting into it for some reason. I'd give it a solid 3 1/2 stars cause once it got going I enjoyed it. The Grace Kelly Dress is set in 1958, the 1980s & 2020 - each time period focusing on a wedding, and this particular dress. I think it has some overlap with fans of Romance, Women's contemporary, and Historical Fiction. It is really different than anything else I've read this year.

This is the kind of book I need every once in awhile. It's just a feel good story about love and mothers and daughters and families and a dress. One, handmade, special wedding dress.

While there were some parts that I wished were expanded on (Jesse! Mel!), I found the stories of each Rose, Joanie and Rocky all very interesting and I was excited to see resolutions in each of their lives.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

In 1956, Grace Kelly fulfills every Disney dream imaginable and marries her real-life prince in a grand and luxurious wedding. Her elegant four-piece wedding gown becomes an instant inspiration to millions of brides around the world, and seamstresses are inundated with requests for wedding dresses in the gown’s likeness.

Two years later, Rose, an atelier in a small but renowned Parisian bridal shop, works with a young bride who has requested a dress very similar to Grace Kelly’s but with a modern edge. Rose is young but an excellent designer, so she feels up to the challenge. What she doesn’t expect is to be so attracted to the bride’s brother…who also happens to be engaged, yikes. After many emotional twists and turns, she’ll complete the dress—but her life will never be the same.

Fast forward sixty years, Rocky (born Rachel) is preparing for her own wedding. Her mother, Joan, insists that she wear the same Grace Kelly-inspired dress that was passed down to her, but Rocky wants no part of it. It’s not her, and though she doesn’t want to hurt her mom’s feelings, she just can’t reconcile this lacy, elegant gown with her short purple hair, tattoos, and edgy tech CEO personality. But what Rocky doesn’t understand is that her mother has her own reasons for wanting to keep the wedding dress in the family. It isn’t until Rocky works up the courage to tell Joan how she really feels that she finally learns why Joan has such strong feelings about Rocky’s wedding and, especially, the dress.

MY THOUGHTS
I don’t usually love historical fiction, but I devoured this book in a matter of hours. The writing is beautiful and surprisingly suspenseful. I was flipping pages like crazy, desperate to know how all the women’s stories would finally connect and come together. I loved seeing how the dress impacted all three generations of women, and I appreciated how unique each story was. What united all of them, though, was their drive to connect with and support the people they loved—not only their romantic partners, but, more powerfully, their mothers and sisters. It’s just a really beautiful book.

If you enjoy historical fiction even a little bit, I’m telling you, you NEED to read this one!

I love stories that have various POV characters spanning various time periods. That was the case with this, as you read about Rocky in present day,her mother Joan in the 80s, and the seamstress Rose in 1958. A wedding and a dress (a replica of Grace Kelly's dress) are what connects all three women.

I enjoyed the dynamics between Rocky and Joan. The characters and scenarios were realistic and relatable. However, I'd expected a bit more depth with each of the women, but I found them to be a bit uneven. Rose's story line, as well as Rocky's, were the ones I was most drawn to. Some things in the end seemed to tie up a bit too neatly, and a few of the secondary characters seemed a bit forced, If you like historical novels with a modern twist, you'll likely enjoy this book. Overall, this was an enjoyable book.

I have really enjoyed Janowitz's other books and was honored to receive this NetGalley book to read as an ARC. To be fully transparent, I thought this book was just "ok," with a drawn out story line and choppy chapters. That is my personal opinion, and outside of this forum, I will speak positively of this book, as I know how much work goes into a book and I wouldn't ever want the author or publisher to be discouraged. I understand my feedback won't change anything, as the book is about to be released, but that is just my personal opinion. I love the cover, and I am grateful for the opportunity to read this book early!

Three women in different generations all connecting to the same dress. Yes, please. What this book did so well was let a gorgeous dress shine in each of the timelines. My favorite was the earliest as the dress was being constructed with love in a design house in Paris. The seamstress (Rose) is using a lace adorned with rose designs to add beautiful design details. The reveal of her connection to the other two women was probably the most emotional moment of the book for me, although not a shocker. The other two timelines felt a bit shallow. I would have loved, for example, to know more about Rocky's father. Much time was spent on Joanie as the mother of the bride in 2020 and the actual bride in the 1980's. It was fun to imagine her dress with the same sleeves as the Princess Di dress. All in all, an entertaining read that reminds us of the importance of our connections to the past whether they be people or heirlooms.

Thank you to Harlequin-Graydon House and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I admit that this book is exactly the sort of book that I always love.

It has everything that I look for when looking for a light women’s fiction - it takes place in multiple time frames, it involves women and their relationships, it incorporates fashion and sewing and for good measure part of it takes place in Paris.

The main character of the story is the dress, it’s what ties all three women together. The women are Rose, the seamstress from 1958 who actually sews the dress. Her daughter Joanie, who wears the dress again at her wedding in the 80’s and Rocky, the granddaughter who wears the dress again at her wedding in the present time.

I really enjoyed the story of Rose and the scenes describing her working at the atelier in Paris. I would have probably enjoyed more a whole novel just on her.

The other two characters felt flat to me, a little too stereotypical.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, it was a quick easy read, but I didn’t really connect with Joanie or Rocky and wish I could have just read the story of Rose.

I received an ARC of the book.

This book has three time lines and I found each one enjoyable! It was a quick book and would be a perfect beach read! Thanks to the publisher for the early copy

3.5 Stars. This was a really sweet story about 3 generations of women passing down a very special wedding dress. Although there were things that I liked about all 3 women, the chapters were fairly short and it made the story feel very segmented and due to that, I don't feel that I got to know any of them all that well. Thank you to Netgalley and Graydon House Books for the ARC.

Dual timeline historical fiction is my JAM and this one was done so, so well! I breezed through the story and found the characters to be loveable and relatable.

3A wedding dress and 3 generations of brides trying to define their lives and make the wedding dress their own. Rocky is not the type of woman to wear a traditional wedding dress but her mother has her heart set on her wearing the family wedding dress. How is Rocky going to have the wedding that is true to herself but does not destroy her mother? A story of family and perception and making a life of your own.

I loved this charmingly sweet story, featuring three unique storylines & generations of women linked together by the same wedding dress. This will make for a great beach read or as wedding season approaches!

**Review will be posted on my blog on 3/4/20**

**3.5 STARS**

Thank you to Graydon House Books and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

The Grace Kelly Dress weaves a story about the lives of three women in the same family tied to a single dress. We meet a talented dressmaker Rose, who is working at an atelier in Paris. The story of her daughter Joan takes place in the 80’s, growing up in a different time with different dreams. Then to round it off is Rocky, Joan’s daughter, who is about to get married but can’t see herself in this heirloom dress.

We see how three women in one family try to express and find themselves through their connection with a dress, The Grace Kelly Dress.

What I Liked:

*The history of Grace Kelly’s dress is not something I am aware of. I knew she was an American actress turned princess – her life seemed like a fairy tale. I knew she was beautiful and iconic but learning some things about the making of her dress through Rose’s story was really interesting.

*I love how each woman in this family had such a unique story. Rose is an orphan, and finds herself working at an atelier and then of course falling in love. Joan’s story and coming of age in the 80’s was the most interesting to me. She had a perfect plan set out for her – but she’s dealing with her sister’s death, and not really knowing who she is. I liked that her love story seems conventional but turns out different than expected. As for Rocky, she knows who she is but she’s dealing with grief as well and strong feelings when it comes to her mom and sister. I really loved the insights into each woman and how this wedding dress invoked different emotions in them.

*I adore how things came together in time for Rocky’s wedding to go off successfully. There were so many emotions that came into play with Rocky’s wedding but I get it…weddings bring out some crazy feelings in people. And it’s overwhelming for everyone involved at times. Sometimes a wedding isn’t only about the two people getting married.

*The importance of family and family heirlooms and traditions is the main part of this story. It’s why we see Rose and Joan’s past with the dress and how it affects Rocky in a different way.

Things That Made Me Go Hmm:

*There are three stories being told and at times I feel like it didn’t flow smoothly. Was it because the copy I read was a digital arc? I’m not sure, but I think at times some chapters felt abrupt and rushed.

*I was so involved with Joan’s story – I wish we met the man she ends up with, Rocky’s father, but we don’t get much of that story. I think the important part of her story was finding herself and having her parents love her no matter what happened.

Final Thoughts:

Setting aside some of the pacing issues I had with the story, in the end I really enjoyed The Grace Kelly Dress. I had a feeling of happiness for Rocky, Joan and Rose by the time I read the last page. I resonated with each of their stories because each woman had their own strength. No one had the same experience with love also which I appreciated. This story took a wedding dress, and showed us how something made with love could endure time and change with each woman that wore it. It’s a story about family and the importance of traditions yet respecting your own self expression. Overall it is an enjoyable read.

For months I entered every giveaway possible to read this book in advance. Then out of the blue last Monday, I was sent the widget by an awesome publicist. The Grace Kelly Dress is an equisite read. Three women, three different eras, wear the dress, after adding their own alterations. Readers get the entire story in three parts: Rose, Joan, and Rocky. Each woman experiences her struggles while grappling with the dress. Like a beautiful cloth, Janowitz sews a precious story, a story of tradition, family, love, and connection. Well done!

At first I wasn’t too sure about this book. The different timelines didn’t follow as well as I would have liked. However - towards the end it really came together beautifully. I enjoyed the storyline throughout, just wish it would have flowed better. But overall I enjoyed the writing style and the story.

The Grace Kelly dress tells the story of 3 generations of women through the wedding dress they share. The story is told through three timelines where we come to know how each of the women came to wear the dress. Each of the women has experienced a significant loss in their lives and each of them seeks to pave their own way in the world, which results in pushing away those who matter most. Each woman makes changes to the dress to suit themselves as they find out what matters most in their lives.

I love how the story of the dress is able to bind together three unique stories and timelines. Each woman shares her struggles, how loss has affected them, and how they are able to put the pieces back together and move forward. They each learn that family is of the utmost importance as they pave their ways in the world, even when things don’t work out as expected. This book is about family, loss, grief, love & happiness - all told through the details of a shared wedding dress.