This might be the best book I've read this year!! Few times in my life have I read a book or found a story that connected to my profound, deep, intimate love of history like The Dress Shop on King Street did. Ashley Clark took my breath away with her handling of this story and her near-orchestral anthem to the power of the stories we tell. Through characters like worried Harper, salvaging her heart amidst the wreckage of broken dreams, or weary Millie, navigating a full + beautiful life with the likeness 0f two faces, or determined Peter, striving to preserve historical buildings in an attempt to connect to the history of his own family, Ashley Clark wonderfully stitches together romance, history, heartbreaking pictures of racism, faith and love.

As Harper and Millie stitch + sew the seams of vintage dreams and dresses, their stories unfold in a beautiful tapestry beneath them as we learn where their dreams came from, and what they are made of. This is a beautiful story with resonant themes, spectacular prose and remarkable storytelling. It invites readers to rediscover the magic of history through the historical setting of Charleston heirlooms, fashion and architecture. It will delight and entice you to keep reading: page after page, moment by moment, button by button. The Dress Shop on King Street captures a rare sort of feeling of coming home: a quiet, unshakable hope in His faithfulness in the past, and His presence with us in the future.

A special thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review.

This is the first of a duology centering around two heroines, alternating between various timelines and southern locales.

Millie is a biracial nonagenarian with a lifelong struggle to remain true to herself and her proud history(ies) and to reconcile the choices she’s had to make along the way and the dream she’s had to sideline. Harper is a young modern woman searching for her true vocation in life after her dream is also sidelined.

Although I found this a bit of a slow starter, I connected with both the heart rending poignancy and the unflinching truth of how Millie lived with the intolerance of others yet stayed proud of her dual cultural inheritance and clung to her faith, especially during some of the most dangerous periods for racial diversity in our history.

And while there were reaches of believability in coincidences (this IS a fictional novel), it was a solid, enlightening story, especially as a debut.

Much thanks to both #NetGalley and #BethanyHouse for providing me the ARC. The opinions are wholly my own.

4 Dress Shop dream stars

This debut novel by Ashley Clark is a multi-generational and split timeline debut novel. Filled with richly imagined characters, I found myself immersed in Fairhope, Alabama and Charleston, South Carolina. This story is filled with family secrets, fabric, signature hats, and special buttons.

Harper Albright has her dreams set on a career in fashion and she’s attending design college in to fulfill those desires. Her big dream is to open a dress shop someday. Her plans get derailed though, and she retreats with all those dreams dashed. She finds Millie, the woman who first taught her to sew and tries to figure out her future.

The split timeline features Millie and we learn all about how she left Charleston, leaving her family and roots behind her. Through her story, we learn of love, heartbreak, and the pain of life in a racially charged South.

As you might expect, Harper and Millie move down the path to a dress shop in Charleston, but both have to do some reconciliation with the past in order to move forward. I thought this one ended well, and I really liked the author’s note at the end with how the story is based on real artifacts.

I like that this is marketed as #1 in a series as I would like to see what else is in store for these characters.

This was such a lovely debut novel! It goes back and forth between present day and the 1940’s in Charleston, South Carolina and Fairhope, Alabama and tells the story of two women who have aspirations of owning a dress shop. It is beautiful but also heartbreaking at times. If you are a fan of historical fiction you will love this book! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5

This is a lovely dual time line story that's really the story of Millie. now 80, who was sent away from home by a mother who hoped she would be able to avoid the prejudice faced by biracial individuals of the time. The story is prompted when she opens a dress shop with Harper, who she has taught to sew. Whole Harper's part of the novel (and Peter's) is interesting, it is Millie who shines. What a saga-the distance from from Charleston to Fairhope, Alabama might not be long in miles but for Millie it was huge in effect. She's a wonderful character. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A gentle and positive read.

The young attractive lady in a red hat with matching lipstick is quite the cover that fits this book perfectly! The Dress Shop on King Street by Ashley Clark more than met my expectations. There are lessons to learn through other people’s experiences, fictional or not, when it comes to tough decisions about self, dreams, family, society, and even helping others achieve their own dreams.

In a nutshell, this book struck my heart in so many ways that it’s difficult to pinpoint where to start. When Millie was young, she dreamed of owning her own dress shop. But she lived when society was all about segregation, so as a mixed race, Millie’s mother insisted she go to Alabama where she could have better chances of reaching her dream.

Millie finds herself in another conundrum when she’s married and gives birth to twin girls, one fair skinned and one a darker complexion. It is then that she and her husband make the heart-breaking decision to separate the girls to prevent society from attacking either of their precious girls. Every time Millie saves up nearly enough to open her dress shop, something comes up where she uses some of those savings while her dream gets pushed back once again.

The Dress Shop on King Street by Ashley Clark is a book of fear, the emotional struggles, and the hope all tied into one. Millie is a fantastic main character because she stands strong to her convictions while making the best decisions for herself and her family, even when it breaks her heart to do so. She shows strength and so much character.

Regardless of what’s going on in the world, does that mean we should stop reaching for our dreams? Absolutely not! I’ve learned from this book that many of us, Millie included, are full of fears that stop us from seeking our dream. But instead of trying to control the things that scare us, we need to face that fear head on and move on. The sooner we do that, the quicker we’ll be on our way to achieving that dream.

Historical fiction brings out many issues that people and society were forced to experience. This book in particular has so much to teach about treating everyone like we want to be treated. That segregation is wrong and even though times have changed, it really hasn’t that much. This book comes at an opportune time with so much race-related hatred happening in some of our bigger cities.

A digital copy of The Dress Shop on King Street by Ashley Clark was provided complimentary in exchange for an honest review by Bethany House via NetGalley. I give this book 5 out of 5 tiaras because it gently integrates societal issues of segregation and the emotional baggage that resulted for many while still focusing on following dreams. So what dream have you had that something stopped you from achieving?

Fantastic book.

Hannah hasn’t been able to count on many people in her life, starting with her mom. Despite living in another country from her mother Marla, one day her mom just shows up unexpectedly. She makes a shocking announcement to Hannah. When Marla was going through the stuff left behind in her own mother’s home, she found information about a house in Paris that belonged to her grandmother.

No one knew anything about Granny Ivy’s life in Paris and they sure didn’t know she’d left them her apartment.

Hannah has to take some time away from her job as a Jane Austen tour guide to go to Paris with Marla to figure everything out.

But this only leads to more questions. It seems like Hannah’s great grandmother had quite an amazing life in Paris.

Ivy’s portion of the story is told through diary entries from Paris in the 1920’s and 30’s.

Very enjoyable story. Great attention to detail. Good characters. Likable love interests. A bit of talk of delicious food, site seeing and name dropping of famous artists of the 30’s. I loved it.

I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley. Thank you, I’ll definitely be recommending this book to others.

Lovely time slip debut!

Millie, the daughter of an Italian man and Black woman, leaves her Charleston home in 1946 to live out life as a white woman at the urging of her mother. Millie years to own her own dress shop.

In the present day thread, Harper has ambitions for a bright future in the fashion industry. When her instructor tells her she lacks the talent needed, Harper is crushed. She seeks refuge with Millie that taught her how to sew as a young girl.

This novel is about racial inequality and having dreams. I love this quote from the novel: "From the beginning, I have been working between the seams. Where you have ripped, I have mended. When you have torn, I have sewn you....Keep the fabric of your dreams."

This was a beautifully crafted split-time novel following the lives of two very different women with two different stories who ultimately share the same dream— to one day own a dress shop.
There’s the historical storyline that tells Millie’s story which begins right after The Great Depression, starting when she is a only a teenager.
Then there’s the contemporary storyline that follows Harper’s story as she pursues her dream of being a seamstress and opening a dress shop, a dream she almost gives up on... until she becomes friends with the elderly woman, Millie.

This story was heartbreaking yet filled with hope. The characters were well-done and felt real. They were also complex and interesting, each one unique.
Millie was such a strong, inspiring character and watching her life play out was really special and heartfelt.
Franklin was one of my favorite characters. He was wonderful.
Harper was a likable, relatable character but I really, really liked Peter! He was a favorite for sure.

The historical storyline was my favorite as it was a bit more compelling but the contemporary one wrapped it altogether nicely.
Also, the faith content in this one was wonderful. I loved that!

There were times I smiled, laughed, and teared up. That makes for a good book in my opinion!

I’d recommend for historical fiction lovers as well as contemporary fiction lovers as in this one, you will get both.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a review.

Your family heritage can be an exciting adventure to explore. . .unless your heritage is mixed race at a time when that heritage can be dangerous to admit. Millie Middleton is conflicted. She has a dream, to open her own dress shop, but as a woman whose mixed racial heritage will stand in her way as long as she lives in Charleston. When she leaves town and meets a young man on the train, it appears she may have a chance to fulfill her dreams. Or not.

Harper Dupree also has a dream, to be a dress designer, but when her dream is dashed, she returns home and reunites with the woman who taught her to dew and to dream. Can they work together to accomplish both their dreams?

This is a complex story that weaves between several timelines/time periods. I found myself having to take notes as to who was when and what they were doing, but once I got it straight in my mind, I found the story compelling. I remember the racial issues of the 50s and 60s, but only from the distance of California. Reading about it from the point of view of Southern characters really brought it home to me. This would be an excellent read for a book club because there are so many topics that could be discussed.

I received a copy of the book from NetGalley. The opinion is my own.

I'm giving this book 3 stars.

It's the perfect feel-good, work hard to achieve your dreams kind of book.

It's the perfect romantic tale through multiple generations. There are various points of view, and the stories are told in the past and present day. I know for some, myself included, that can sometimes be confusing. I would honestly say in the beginning, it was confusing with the multiple points of view because of how the past and present were connected.

This author did a fantastic job of painting a beautiful picture of being stuck with what you cannot change in a time that seemed unwilling to accept.

In the end, to know that part of this story has a real history behind it was surprising and unique. That the sack with some of the things mentioned was apart of history, it was sad knowing this story, unfortunately, was the lives of many individuals during that time. Taken from their families and sold at a young age, never to see each other again.

With a refreshing new voice, Ashley Clark's debut novel is sure to win the hearts of many readers. This dual timeline story of long buried secrets coming full circle is one of my favorite story tropes that never grows old. Especially when such dazzling characters come to life and populate the pages, their stories tugging at my heart. Ms. Clark has designed a heroine who faced a moral dilemma and was haunted by a choice that would affect those she loved for generations. Her prose is melodic, rich with images that transported me to another place and time, holding me captive. Laced within is a wonderful faith thread that will resound with readers. I look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author/publisher and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Reviewed for www.compassbookratings.com

The Dress Shop on King Street is a sweet Southern tale of finding family and following dreams. Written by Ashley Clark, this well-crafted historical fiction alternates between two characters--Harper and Millie. Millie's story ranges from her youth to old age and is particularly poignant. She gracefully navigates challenge after challenge, while always working on her dream of owning a dress shop. The story is fraught with mystery, romance, and jumps between several time periods. The Dress Shop's strength is in Clark's use of vivid descriptions and detail. Readers will feel like they are actually in Fairhope, Alabama and Charleston, South Carolina. A major theme in the book is race and passing for white. Clark includes Book Club questions to allow groups to have meaningful discussions. The Dress Shop on King Street is a delightful read!

Review of Digital Advance Reading Copy

For full content analysis, go to www.compassbookratings.com

A well written Christian novel set in Charleston South Carolina and Fairhope Alabama, two of my favorite places to visit. A story linked by two buttons and a family secret of passing as a white person in the 1940"s. What secrets the family must keep close to protect the ones they love. Will recommend and I think that this would be a good book club choice..

Really good story told in alternating time periods, from the 1940s to current time. A woman is a seamstress and wants to open a dress shop. Instead she meets a man and they are taken in at a boarding house - room for helping the owner. Then, in current time, a man is a history buff, and looking into properties and meets a young woman who also wants to open a dress shop. He offers her and her companion, a much older woman, a loft to live in and a storefront. It would seem that things would work out...

I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I just loved this book. It was written non-linear in time and person, but very well done. This dealt with being black in the early and mid-1900s. The characters were very well developed. The story kept my interest and had nice twists and turns in the plot to keep you guessing.
The story is Christian, but not at all in a preachy way. In fact, you really don't know it's Christian until the end. It is a clean, well-written book.
Editing is very important to me and this is very well done.
This is Ashley Clark's first book.
I highly recommend this book and give it a strong 4 out of 5-star rating.

The Dress Shop on Kings Street
Ashley Clark

*"God’s timing don’t always match ours, and that’s okay.”*

Oh if I had a penny for every line I quoted in this book I'd be 1k times more richer 🤭 because this book was thaaaaaaat good and people who know me will know how I work but new followers be warned that when I love something I gush and fangirl about it a lot and this will be one of the books that will stay in my heart for a very long time 💙

Giving up dreams is easier showing all the reasons why you can't do it but oh the result is so worth it and this story is all about fulfilling your dreams and to say that I was inspired and touched is an understatement. Dreams are worth the pursuit and time you spend on it, just because ten doors slam in your face or just because you've preached twice dry bones don't come to life it all comes together when God breathes life into it and makes our dreams reality

This novel does not follow a linear narrative or a chronological order but the story is told as a series of episodes or scenes that flip from the past to present depending upon Millie's nostalgia and surrounding occurance. The scenes being moved from past to present in a constant swing it still flows like a river and bends and twists and I love that in a book being unpredictable and with many plot twists!!

The book starts with Millie as a teen who has to move away from her mama just because she told Harry that her grandma was sold as a slave long back and yeah also she's partially black not so much in color but of race. She goes to Alabama as her mom said and lives her life forgoing her dream to own a dress shop one day, she's wealthy alright but with an unfinished business.

Harper Rae is a beautiful young girl with dreams and she's ready to take on the world with her vintage dresses but not everyone sees the diamond in the rough right so leaving all hopes of starting up a dress shop she runs to Fairhope to her father who is the man who is her rock throughout the novel.

Peter is a historian who is addicted to history and digs deep till he finds what he wants and now after years of searching he's finally found a heirloom from his mother's family side and wants to know more and when one domino falls the other falls into place right,..... Yeah not really

This book took me on an emotional rollercoaster at the last hundred pages because of its brilliance and the way the author has used scripture from the Bible and linked with the characters was simply....... Oh I don't even have a worthy enough word for it!

If you ask me if this book is worth your time? Is the writing good? Are the characters faulty and humane? Is it a real story?
YES to all of the above!!!


And yes it's kinda a historic fiction and surprisingly I loved it because history and me don't have a very good relationship but this book was the BOOK and I'm gonna be waiting with bated breath for "PAINT & NECTAR" Book 2 of the series 💙

Clark wrote a lovely story. The narrative alternates from the 1940 to modern day. Readers receive bits and pieces of the story and begin to sew together the full picture. I liked how the author brought the two parts together. There were a few surprising turns in the book. I liked the sewing part. It's soothing to read about although I have no seamstress skills at all. Millie was my favorite character and a very strong person.

This story started out in 1860, moved onto 1946 and then into the “current day”, bouncing back and forth between 1946 and today, with references to the 1800s. Whew. Sadly, this was way too convoluted for me to follow. After 26% I was tired of going back, re-reading chapters just to figure out what year we were in and who these people were – I’m still not sure about most of them. I’m sure it would have all come together at some point.

Best wishes to this author, Ashley Clark, and her new series. Many thanks to Net Galley and Bethany House Publishers for an ARC of this book.

This book was difficult to get into as the first few chapters were a bit confusing to me. But I’m so thankful I continued on! Millie’s story is one of incredible heartache, a big dream that took lots of detours along the way, and the strength of this woman in her incredible journey. This is an incredible story weaving love, dreams, and God’s grace seamlessly.