I appreciate the social issues explored in this dual time novel. The earlier time in the U.S., 1946, was a time when mixed marriages were not accepted. The children of such a marriage would have difficulty fitting into society, white or Black. Clark has done a good job of giving us a sense of the difficulties of the time without any gruesome scenes.

The narrative alternates between 1946 and the years after and the current day. I felt the prologue a bit unnecessary and would have preferred that information included in backstory presented early in the book. I was also a little unclear about the missing generation, between Peter and Millie. And Millie's mother seemed absent so I was a bit surprised when she appeared later on in the book as if she had been there all along.

There is good historical detail. I loved the descriptions of architecture and fashions of the day. I was a bit surprised with the Charleston historical buildings as I thought much of the city was destroyed in the Civil War and the 1865 earthquake. I would have liked to know a bit more about that aspect of Peter's work, such as which parts of the city survived. I really appreciate the historical note Clark adds at the end of the book, identifying the factual details of the human side of the story.

This is a good novel about women who have had their dreams dashed. It is also good for readers who like to express themselves through creative endeavors, in this case sewing. There is a good budding romance included and a good spiritual message of hope in God.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

An adorable book. This story is about Harper Albright, who has pinned all her hopes on a career in fashion design. However, one day she feels that her future is in danger, so she returns to her home, Fairhope, Alabama. This return is for Harper an opportunity to be with Millie, the woman who taught her to sew. On the other hand, the author narrates Millie's life in Middleton during the year 1946. Millie arrives in Charleston, a place where she will surely live many adventures. I liked this book because of the two narrated timelines. Life was not easy in the 1940s, and the challenges Millie faced were many. I loved the importance given to the dress store. Besides that, I have always thought that clothes have intriguing stories. It is the first book in this series. I will be looking forward to the next books. I thank NetGalley and Bethany House Publishers for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

The cover made me pick up this book and look inside. Then the book blurb grabbed my attention. I was excited to dive into author Ashley Clark’s historical debut novel. Honesty I felt a little lost. and it was slow-going in the beginning as the author takes her time in introducing characters past and present. It took me a few chapters to get a grip on who was who and where this story was headed. After that, the story flowed easily, and it began to soar as I became emotionally invested in these brave women’s lives.

This is an impressive, beautifully written story, rich in history, that takes readers into a depth of emotion you do not often see. This author does a remarkable job of having the reader walk alongside Harper Dupree and Millie Middleton as they go through some inconceivable situations. Each of these women are faced with choices that are beyond themselves, things build in the story until the end when the reader is anxious to have all secrets revealed.

This is a tearjerker that switches from present to past seamlessly giving readers an up-close and personal view of Millie and Harper, their courage, and their weaknesses. I was fascinated by both timelines as these women are in pursuit of a dream and how they keep their families safe in the process. This is a heartbreaking, endearing novel filled with encouragement, hope and love. Millie’s story with her husband, Franklin, young white man, the train jumper was incredible I admired this daring woman seeking out her identity in a turbulent world. I appreciated the honest, natural faith thread.

Harper’s dad tells her…”God’s timing don’t always match ours, and that’s okay.” She slowly blew out a deep breath. “Sometimes we believe a lie about ourselves is the truth because we’ve got its identity wrong. We trust it and give it far more than its fair share of our energy.” Harper’s Dad is trying to encourage her to stay at the Inn she always wanted to when she was a child. He thinks it will help her re-group. He says,… “Sometimes you have to look for the next good thing. Maybe this is yours. Give you something to look forward to.”

The author is not afraid of tackling hard topics and themes like finding your gifts, following your dreams; deals with turbulent times of racism, hopes, seeking real love, friendship, secrets, acceptance for what was and what could be, and family. The author also deals with second chances, forgiveness, forgotten dreams and sacrificial love. This is a thought-provoking story that will touch your heart; and stay with you long after you close the book.

This book would make a great book club pick there is so much to discuss. I am excited to read the next novel in the Heirloom secrets featuring Lucy and Eliza.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog www.bookfun.org

"We will live fragile lives, my dear Harper, if we avoid that which is delicate for fear it might break at the seams."

What a debut! I thoroughly enjoyed the dual storyline. Talk about tears in the first scene!!! The author did a beautiful job communicating the Millie's hardship in Charleston in the 1940s. I instantly LOVED Millie and Franklin. Their relationship was a tender one that made my eyes water on several occasions.

I also really liked the contemporary thread with Harper and Peter. Both these characters had believable struggle en route to achieving their dreams.

The shifts between eras were seamless. The narrative was gorgeous. And the spiritual theme that despite perfect loves drives out fear is so relevant and inspiring.

*I received a copy from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Dress Shop on King street is a beautiful book about two women and their dreams. It is written in two different time frames yet in the same time era. A heartwarming story of what a person will do for love and to protect those whom they love. Even at a very great cost to their own happiness. Millie Middleton, daughter of an Italian father and Black mother, was sent out into the world as a young teenager. This was in the ’40’s. As her father had been murdered for marrying a black, her mother felt that this was best since she looked white but lived with blacks and this was inviting more trouble and she feared for her daughter’s safety. Then we have Harper Dupree, a twenty-something year old in modern day, who has become discouraged in her aspirations. Both shared a love for dress making and someday having their own dress shop. This story of second chances, forgotten dreams and sacrificial love will tug at your heart strings. This is Clark first novel and it reads like a seasoned author. Look for her name to be among those receiving awards. I was most impressed with this book……..I received an early e-book copy of the story from the publisher via NetGalley and this review is in my own words

This is such a beautiful, powerful, and heartbreaking story. I loved the past/present format (though the past was definitely better than the present) and the beautiful way the author tied everything together. I will definitely be looking out for more books from this author!

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for an advance readers' digital copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this well-written dual timeline novel that told the story of Millie Middleton, from her life as a young girl through her nineties. The multi-generational novel alternated from current day back to the 1940s and blended Millie's story with the hopes and dreams of young Harper Albright. Both women are talented designers with exceptional sewing skills, and both have dreams of owning a dress shop. They met when Millie taught Harper how to sew when she was just a youngster.

Millie's secrets are embedded into the novel via two special one-of-a-kind buttons, family heirlooms that end up providing connections and revealing family relationships.

This engrossing debut novel contains themes of faith, family, difficult choices, following your dreams, fashion and sewing, architecture, southern history/racism, and a bit of romance, too.

This book offers a story to immerse one’s self in and it is also a novel to make one think. What does it mean to deny a part of one’s heritage? How does a person carry their life forward with that knowledge?

This story takes place both in the 1940s and today with some time also spent in the slave owning south. Heritage and history matter as this story makes clear. It also shows a deep and caring relationship between protagonists Harper and Millie. Both seamstresses, will they achieve their dreams?

Read this novel of loss, pain, hope and two antique buttons. It will move you.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

The Dress Shop on King Street,Charleston,S.C. Holds a special place in my heart,I'm from there and this story is the best of the best and you will see! You have adventure,sorrow,happiness in this amazing story of a woman of mix blood wanting to open her own dress shop but sometimes things get in the way. Follow their lives and adventure as they try to make these dreams come true,you can go home but you can't run and hid! Received from Net Gallery

This review was done for Historical Novels Review Magazine and per their policy it cannot be posted until after the magazine is published in February. After it is published, I will come back and update the review.

Loved, loved this tale of two women, Harper living in the present, and Millie, living in the 1940’s. The story begins with their separate storylines and then Clark deftly weaves their story lines together seamlessly and they become friends with a common goal - to own a dress shop. Their dreams are the glue that binds them together with all the obstacles and secrets that threaten to divide them. So many themes are thought provoking throughout this beautiful tale with the biggest one for me being racism. Millie is biracial in the 1940’s living in the south. Her mother convinces her to live as a white woman and she is very ambivalent about denying her Gullah roots. I couldn’t help but cringe at the realization of how horrible this time must have been for those who felt they had to deny part of their heritage to be accepted and “fit in”.
Millie is a strong beautiful woman who captured my heart right away. Her life was fraught with challenges, joy, and heartbreak. Harper has recently had her fashion designing dreams crushed and meets Millie and their bond becomes stronger and stronger. This tale had me entranced from beginning to ending and Millie actually became like family.
Many many thanks to Ashley Clark, Bethany House Publishers, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read this recently published book. I highly recommend this one.

I received an advanced review copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

The story the author weaves around an actual historical artifact is lovely. The novel is an enjoyable read, and it's not too difficult to figure out the time period that you are reading even though it shifts often. There's a beautiful story of family reunion, vintage clothing, and romance as well. I definitely did not want to stop reading until the end.

There are two important things this book is missing though. First, the story deals with racism and passing, and the author does her best to characterize some of the very difficult decisions that come with passing. Still, especially in the beginning, the ease from which the main character goes from leaving her family behind to meeting someone who right away becomes a friend and then finding a friendly place to stay in a new state, left this decision wanting some agony. In other words, the story needs a little bit more pain, both in the process of the main character leaving her family and also even in the beginning when the slave girl was sold. I felt like the beginning needed a few more chapters so that we could sense that soul crushing pain the girl's mother had to have gone through when she was taken away and sold.

Second, there's a lot of talk about God helping people fulfill their (earthly) dreams, but it seems disingenuous when the characters themselves do not seem to have a faith life. There are no scenes of going to church, or praying alone, or praying with family, or anything that would give us a sense that the characters have a relationship with God. It's almost as if God is there just to help people fulfill some earthly dream of opening a dress shop. Mention of God shows up, but randomly, with no context. How did any of these characters come to their belief in God? There are no scenes, for example of parents teaching their children, or praying with them, or reading the Bible with them, or anything that would give us this context.

Another revision would have made this a much better book. Still, it was enjoyable, and I would read the next book in the series.

I'm not sure I've read a better first novel. The Dress Shop on King Street is a beautiful time slip story about two women from different generations who share a similar dream. Millie Middleton, daughter of an Italian father and Black mother, we meet in the 1940s and Harper Dupree, a twenty-something in modern day. Harper is devastated when her design teacher informs her that she lacks the 'it' factor to become a great dress designer. Fascinatingly, she gives serious consideration to giving up her dream of one day owning a dress shop with her own designs.

Her wise father encourages her to look up her original seamstress teacher: Millie Middleton. As Harper contemplates her future, Millie begins to share a little of her past which still has many locked mysteries. Clark does a beautiful job weaving the ladies two stories together as they journey to Charleston, Millie's birthplace, to find the man that might unlock some of the secrets of Millie's past.

The story grapples with many different themes: dreams, identity, race, friendship and family. There's also a powerful faith message that grows through the story that has stayed with me well after finishing the novel.

Millie and Harper are tremendous characters in their authenticity and vulnerability. We see them hurt deeply, love vulnerably and courageously, surrender dreams and experience the heartache of misunderstandings and cruelty of humans. Millie's love story with Franklin, a train jumper, was beautiful to read. His acceptance of her heritage and willingness to forgive her secrets was a wonderful example of agape love.

I loved how the soul of the story developed through the pages so much so I was gripped by it and didn't really want it to end. I was also left with many questions and I appreciated that Clark left some mysteries still unanswered.

I'm excited for what is in store for we readers with the second in the series. Fortunately, we don't have to wait too long before it is released.

I received an early ebook copy of the story from the publisher via NetGalley with no expectation of a positive review.

I absolutely loved The Dress Shop on King Street by Ashley Clark!!! It is one of the more diverse books I have read in Christian Fiction and for that I am thankful. The Dress Shop on King Street deals with the generational stigma of racism in America. It tells the story of Millie and how the racism her family encountered in the past and while she was growing up effected her family and how she raised her own family. The book told of how, at her lowest, she found strength to go on regardless because of God and that in her own way, she did not give up on her dreams-- they just turned out differently than she envisioned and had it's own timing. I loved that the author did not sugarcoat the topic racism and did the best to portray the harshness of its effects on others. The book gave the message that every one's life has layers that weave/stitch together into something beautiful, despite the roughness of life. It teaches the reader to not give up on our dream, especially if it's placed on us by God. I have recommended this book to many friends already, especially one who actually lives in Fairhope, AL. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book!!! (This review is also on GoodReads.)

I received an ARC of this great book. The story brings a mystery to light that goes back through generations. The characters are fascinating and the detail excellent. I was transported to another time and couldn't put it down!

A brilliant, brilliant piece of fiction. The author did an excellent job in picking an engaging plot, and reining in the interest of the reader from the first page. Truly one of the most thought-provoking pieces I have read this year, and that is saying much. Although I wasn't too pleased with the ending, and wished the story had stayed in the 1940s and not jumped around so much, it was a lovely read nevertheless. Kudos to the author!

The Dress Shop on King Street opens in Charleston, South Carolina in 1860. Rose, a slave, is facing a horrendous situation. Ashley, her nine year old daughter has been sold. Ashley, whose father is white, will leave the next day with a sack filled with mementos from her mother. She will never see her mother again. From there the narrative is told from 1946 to the present in the voices of Millie Middleton and Harper Albright. Even though they are separated in age by decades, they have a strong bond and share the same dream. Can it be realized?
This eloquently told story is packed with beautiful descriptions of both time and place. The author knows her characters well and they are skillfully presented. Millie is a complex woman who has made difficult choices and has often questioned her heart breaking decisions. Harper's dreams have been dashed and she questions her worth. Throughout the novel the importance of personal history plays a huge role. Painful secrets are revealed and questions are answered.
This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is moving, profound and memorable. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Baker Publishing and NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A delightful book that traces the life of a woman of mixed race who makes difficult decisions to try and achieve her dreams. A young man becomes obsessed with preserving history in the hopes of finding his own history. This is based on a true story.

Wow. This story was breathtaking and heartbreaking and hope-giving in so many ways. This is a story of racial tensions and resolutions spanning over 150 years, beginning with a 9-year-old slave child being sold away from her mother to the modern-day descendants of that slave child embracing their heritage and fulfilling their dreams.

I’m a busy mom who doesn’t have a lot of time for reading, but I couldn’t put this one down. I was crying on one page and soaring with hope on the next. My emotions were all over the place at the heartbreaking decisions made, the secrets kept (or revealed), and the love that developed between an innkeeper, a history buff, and a seamstress. In a word, I loved this story.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

I call this kind of book a saga. It goes across generations with a dress shop as a recurring theme. A good story that not only tells the family story but also the history of segregation in the south. I liked the overlapping stories and how they all weave together.