A charming, well written, and thoroughly researched novel about several women who set up a way for women to access previously worn wedding dresses during World War II. The challenges of clothing ration coupons are carefully explained. The book provides a thoughtful overview of the challenges of clothes rationing in England, during World War II.

The small English village comes to life via vivid descriptions, providing a wonderful sense of place. The main characters are unique, individual, and interesting. Overall, then this is a pleasant novel.

I requested it because I have read “The Kitchen Front” an earlier book by Jennifer Ryan. “The Kitchen Front” is also charming and well written. It also has two main characters and villain who are strikingly similar to the characters In “The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle.” There is an independent woman who is faced with an unexpected challenge and a struggling, but talented woman who has always lived in the village. In some ways “The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle” feels like a rewrite of “The Kitchen Front” with dress designing substituted for cooking.

It took me the first chapter to get into this WWII historical novel. But then it grew on me rather quickly. I was afraid the characters might be a bit stereotypical, or perhaps that was my brain, seeing what I expected to see, but it definitely was not so. Each of the three women proved entirely capable of changing and growing in important ways.
By the second chapter, I was hooked in that “un-put-down-able” way, and started zipping through it (to the detriment of other books I was reading). By a half of the way through, you may have an inkling where each of the story lines might be going, and who belongs with whom. But you won’t care, because you’ll just want to keep reading, and see how all of the characters are going to get where they’re supposed to land.
Thankfully, Ms. Ryan does not over-write her characters. They have both flaws and virtues. I have also learned a considerable amount about what life in Britain was like at the height of WWII. The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle turns out to be just what it sounds like, a group of women taking people’s donated wedding dresses and refashioning them for women who would otherwise have to wear street clothes. It’s warm, it’s funny and it’s good-hearted. I was very sorry when it ended. Perhaps Jennifer will write another book following up what happens to the characters after the war.

Jennifer Ryan has done it again with The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle. Ms. Ryan has a knack for taking little known facets of homefront life during WWII England and present us an engaging story filled with wonderful characters.

For this latest installment, we meet Cressida Westcott, a fashion designer who looses her home and studio in London during the Blitz. With no where else to go, she retreats to the Kent countryside and the family estate that she turned her back on many years before. What she intends to be a short stay in the village until she can secure new lodgings in London turns into more as she falls back into village life and gets to know her niece and nephew, who happens to be the new Lord. One of the things she gets involved in is the village sewing circle. An upcoming wedding, a rationing system for new clothes, and a moth eaten wedding dress lead to the formation of an idea to remake old wedding dresses for girls getting married. Soon, the circle collects dresses from neighboring villages and begin to lend the dresses out to brides to be and ultimately draw the attention of none other than Elenor Roosevelt.

Of course, there is a romance or two included, and a little family drama to round it out. Violet Wescott, Cressida’s niece gets conscripted soon after her Aunt arrives. We also meet Grace Carlisle, the vicar’s daughter who brought the first dress to the sewing circle. Cressida’s appearance back in the village has a profound affect on Grace.

This is well researched, as always, and was a quick read. I recommend this book to fans to Ms. Ryan, and anyone interested in historical fiction. Thank you to NetGalley,, the publishers, and the author for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This story, set during WWII, is a gem! The three main characters Cressida, Grace, and Violet are so different from each other, but become very close as they learn more about themselves and those around them.

Cressida is a famous fashion designer in London; Grace is a vicar’s daughter in a small English village named Aldhurst; Violet, Cressida’s niece, is a privileged brat (sorry, just sayin’!) who also lives in Aldhurst. After Cressida’s home and business get bombed in London, she comes to live with Violet in Aldhurst. While these three get to know each other, they, and the Ladies’ Sewing Circle, begin to mend Grace’s mother’s wedding dress for Grace’s upcoming wedding, since there is a clothing ration and wedding dresses are in high demand. This incident begins the sewing circle’s foray into taking in used wedding dresses that can be mended and shared with other brides who are in need of a white wedding dress. Of course, each of the three main characters has a romantic involvement that carries the story along nicely.

But learning about the need for white wedding dresses was so interesting. At the end of the book the author tells about her research and where she got her information about the need for wedding dresses that even Eleanor Roosevelt got involved in!

This was such a sweet story of people working together to help each other get through a very difficult time, and in the end, love wins. I highly recommend it.

I'd like to thank NetGalley, Jennifer Ryan, and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is based on true events in WW2 in the British countryside and London. This is a different take on many of the other WW2 books that have been written over the past few years. These people are doing what they can for the war effort but they are also helping with the spirit of community in the time of war. With many men going off to war and the real possibility of death, weddings were often quick and with war rationing, fabric was often scarce.

This book is about community, family, friendship, and love. Cressida Westcott was a designer from London who lost her home and studio in London to bombings. Cressida ends up in the countryside with her estranged aristocratic family. Violet is her niece that has some misplaced values and her nephew is following what he was raised to believe from a miserable father. Their lives all come together and they ultimately help each other become better people and find love.

The sewing circle ladies really spoke to me. I involved with several embroidery groups and the mix of people in this book is very similar to sewing circles of today. Making things, sharing knowledge, and in the time of war sharing supplies. These ladies made many people have happy wedding days with the white dresses many little girls dream of wearing. As an aside, I have a friend that makes burial gowns for premature babies that do not get to leave the hospital with their family's. All of these baby dresses and hats are made from donated wedding gowns. Unfortunately, this is needed but a beautiful gesture to help ease some pain.

This is a very heart warming story. I hope you enjoy it and learn more about the horrors of war and coming together as a community. Thank you Jennifer Ryan for sharing this story and NetGalley for sharing an advanced copy of The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle. #NetGalley #JenniferRyan #TheWeddingDressSewingCircle.

Jennifer Ryan is absolutely an auto-buy for me and this book was her most amazing, yet. The whole concept and inspiring lifestyle of the 1940's and a bit more romance in this one. How can you not with weddings? Jennifer is positively a kindred spirit of the WWII era and if you want an authentic and inspiring novel, this is it.

Watch my Amazon Live interview with Jennifer Ryan here: https://amazon.com/live/broadcast/9fc5ed9a-581d-49b3-a200-18a4d3ac7a90?tag=erinmbransco-20&linkCode=ilv&ref_=social

Ah another WWII historical fiction novel. However, this novel came as such a pleasant surprise to me that I was hardly able to put this book down. Following the intertwining stories of 3 women as they attempt to support the war effort yet maintain their own identities in war-torn Britain, The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is full of family, grit, determination, strength, and love, sprinkled generously with a fashion theme. Violet, Cressida, and Grace are newfound friends that I won’t soon forget. I would happily pick up another Jennifer Ryan novel.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an e-arc of this novel*

When fashion designer Cressida Westcott loses her home, design house and all her possessions in one night during the Blitz she returns home to Aldhurst Manor. She left twenty years ago and she hopes her nephew Hugh and niece Violet will be more welcoming than their late father Eustace. She plans on staying long enough to find another place in London to live and a building for her fashion design business.

Violet Westcott is Cressida’s niece, she’s excited to see her aunt and life has been rather boring with all the men off fighting in the war. It’s also getting in the way of her finding a suitable husband, when Violet’s conscription letter arrives, she’s mortified, she has to do six weeks of basic training and after she passes her brother Hugh gets her a position close to home as a driver at Darley Grange.

Grace Carlisle is the local vicars daughter, her mother died when she was ten and she’s been helping her father with his parish work ever since. Grace is engaged to steadfast Lawrence, she wants to wear her mother’s moth damaged wedding gown and it might be past saving?

At the village hall, the local ladies hold the Aldhurst Sewing Circle and mend and make do classes. The women alter and repurpose clothes, there's a huge demand for second-hand clothing and especially for growing children. The dress is almost beyond repair, Cressida agrees to help and she starts attending meetings at the hall. The ladies want to boost morale in England and a way of doing this is to refurbish wedding gowns for brides to borrow for their big day and have the wedding they have always dreamed of. Everyone wishes to experience joy and love and especially during the dark days of WW II in England.

Cressida, Grace and Violet become close friends, it changes their outlook and expectations and for the other members of the sewing circle as well. Before they know it, they are being sent and repurposing gowns for brides from all over England, they have a waiting list and Vogue magazine wants to interview them.

I received a copy of The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle from NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. It’s an uplifting and absolutely delightful story about the power of friendship, women helping other women and finding love when they least expect it. Jennifer Ryan used real details about clothing coupons and rationing at the time and the sharing of wedding dresses in her impeccably researched and well written book and five big stars from me.

In today’s world, we think we know about supply shortages due to covid. However, what we are experiencing today is nothing like the Europeans experienced during World War II. Shortages are at the heart of Jennifer Ryan’s latest novel, in particular wedding dresses.

Three female protagonists help tell the story of the women on England’s Homefront as they band together to help each other through the war years. The novel is set in Aldhurst Village and London.

Readers are first introduced to Grace Carlisle. Daughter of the local Vicar, Grace is a shy, quiet young girls, helping however and whenever she can. She is engaged to a vicar from another village. Throughout the novel, Grace comes to realize that she is marrying Lawrence for all the wrong reasons. With the wedding not far off, Grace tries desperately to mend her late mother’s wedding dress that has been eaten by moths and mites.

Cressida Westcott is a well-known fashion designer in London. She is a workaholic, never marrying or having children. During the Blitz, Cressida’s home and design house are victims of the Nazi planes, leaving her homeless and without a source of income. She has no choice but to go to her ancestral home in Aldhurst Village, where her only niece and nephew reside. Will they take her in? Or are they like their father, Cressida’s brother? A hate-filled old goat.

The third protagonist is Cressida’s niece, Violet Westcott. With all the men away at war, aristocrat Violet is sure she will wind up a spinster, unable to make a suitable match with a titled man. Then Violet’s conscription letter arrives. She is in despair at the boring uniform.

Cressida goes to the village sewing circle. A group of women meet every week and sew together. Grace goes for help with her mother’s dress. Cressida goes to teach the women some basic sewing skills, and Violet goes for want of anything else to do.

This circle is where the wedding dress for every bride is born. The village women donate their dresses while Cressida contacts her old clients to donate theirs, and a movement is born. The idea of a white dress for every bride is true. Be sure to read the author’s notes for the scoop on how dresses for brides grew and grew, eventually with the United States participating.

I enjoyed reading “The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle.” It was interesting, but not riveting; therefore “The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

This was a sweet read, very gentle and easy. I throughly enjoyed this one and would have loved to have seen them making the wedding dress . This was a lovely story and I finished it quickly. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This is beautifully written book that hooks you on the first page and doesn't let go. It has romance, humor and just enough warfront history to make it a great read. Loved it and highly recommend it.
I received a complimentary copy from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine via NetGalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thanks to William Morrow and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book. It was a very heartwarming story of women in a village during WWII who come together to help each other. They gathered old clothes and materials to repurpose for new items due to clothing rations. Their main item becomes remaking wedding dresses to share amongst anyone who wants to use one. Cressida, Grace, and Violet are the three main characters all from different walks of life. The war changes them and helps them to see who they really are. And did I mention some happy love stories mixed in. Highly recommend!

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, I was provided an ARC of The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

*****Publishing May 31, 2022****


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ One small English town, 3 strong women all actively involved with the Aldhurst Sewing Circle that played an integral role during WWII with creating a clothing exchange, so that the community could obtain clothes without using their limited clothing ration cards. Especially useful for parents. Their efforts eventually included Wedding dresses, so that brides could borrow a wedding dress for their big day!

This book is narrated by the following 3 women:

Grace has been taking care of her father since her mother died of TB 10 years ago. She carried out his duties with the church , since he went into a deep depression after his wife’s death. Grace is set to get married in 3 months, but with the clothing rations,
she decides to wear her mother’s wedding gown. The moths damaged the dress, so she needs to mend it if she is going to wear it . Her father suggests taking it to the Aldhurst Sewing Circle to help fix it. Cressida comes to the rescue to help Grace fix it. What will she learn about herself with helping people during the war including attending the Sewing Circle meetings?

Cressida Westport a successful fashion designer who has her own design house in London looses everything when a bomb strikes during WWll, including her design house. Cressida has no choice but to go live with her niece and nephew in the country side of Aldhurst. How will she adapt to small town life? Will she be able to fit in?

Violet, Cressida’s niece, who has to report to active duty right after her Aunt comes to live with her. She has to wear a uniform and cut her hair short, which she is not happy about and feels humiliated by it. What will she learn during her active duty?

A wonderful story of women taking a dire situation and coming up with ways to support their community during the war!

This book is based on actual events, Jennifer Ryan details out in her author’s note her research and how she used it in this book! I loved how this author included the parameters of the clothing ration and the ration card details, so you get an idea of what it was like in Britain during the war.

I enjoyed reading The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle. Set during the London Blitz, Ryan brings to life the difficult times World War 2 proved to be for so many. When Cressida Westcott is forced to return to her hometown with nothing, she sets off a series of events for the women in the village. Based on a true story, I love the way the women work together regardless of British class and help one another mend clothing to share with the villagers. The most remarkable items they mend and share are the wedding dresses. With a ration on fabric and other limitations, the ladies work to bring one small joy to the brides of war. One of my favorite parts of the story is Grace's metamorphosis from a meek wallflower to the woman she is meant to be. If you enjoy women's fiction with some romance in a historical setting, you'll want to read The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle.

I was so happy to be chosen to receive an ARC. I’ve read all of Jennifer Ryan’s previous books. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed each one.
This one did not disappoint. Ryan’s last theme was surrounded by cooking. Her first book was surrounded by singing. This book’s theme is sewing. I hope she continues to share different types of vocations of what was done in the time of war. I know Ryan applies herself by jumping in and doing a lot of research when she writes. I especially love the author notes she provides at the end of her books. I learn things about the war I had no clue about.
The three ladies in this book are wonderfully unique. I learn a lesson in each one of their storylines. Though I loved all the characters, my heart kept gravitating to Violet. The challenges, decisions and friendships she creates throughout the story bring such a heartfelt gift in the book. I will as usually be adding Ryan’s book to my collection when it comes out to print.

A romance set in England during WWII, with all of the predictable characters: the aristocratic heiress who learns not to behave like a silly fool and finds that you don't need a title for true love; the cold, efficient businesswoman who has to shelter in her childhood village and surprise! learns to be nice; the vicar's sad daughter with hidden talents; the lord of the manor, an asshole who becomes surprise! a nice guy; and so on. There was indeed a network of women in the UK circulating white wedding dresses during the war, and there were some fabulous styles that came out of wartime fabric rationing, and this book builds on those events. But the writing is clunky and tells rather than shows ("Cressida Westcott, noted couturier, ..."), and paste and cut errors abound, resulting in repeating phrases or sentences within pages of one another. The characters are all stock and their developments are very predictable. In addition, everyone is white, everyone is able-bodied and healthy, everyone is straight, everyone is kind of boring.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is a fun read – not too heavy and not too light. Set during WWII in England, the story follows three women at crossroads in their lives. They meet at the village’s sewing circle and form a common bond around creating wedding dresses for women during wartime.

The story covers issues I hadn’t read much about before, about the clothing rationing in England and how wedding dresses were particularly in short supply. The author, Jennifer Ryan, does a great job on the historical detail and brings to light this niche topic in an entertaining and heartwarming manner. The characters felt real and the setting described very well.

This is the second book I’ve read by this author and will certainly watch for more from her. The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir by this author was also a delightful read.

After renowned fashion designer Cressida Westcott loses both her home and her
design house in the London Blitz, she has nowhere to go but the family manor house
she fled decades ago. Praying that her niece and nephew will be more hospitable than
her brother had been, she arrives with nothing but the clothes she stands in, at a loss
as to how to rebuild her business while staying in a quaint country village.
Before long, Cressida’s spirit and ambition galvanizes the village group into action,
and they find themselves mending wedding dresses not only for local brides, but for
brides across the country. And as the women dedicate themselves to helping others
celebrate love, they might even manage to find it for themselves. Highly recommend!

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the eARC copy of THE WEDDING DRESS SEWING CIRCLE by Jennifer Ryan.

Despite the multiple POVs with Grace, Cressida and Violet, I still can follow the story and I enjoyed the story. This novel is about three women in a wedding dress sewing circle dealing with rationing in wartime England.

The characters are likable. I found the novel entertaining. The novel is a pageturner. I liked how women support women.

Highly recommended for fans of THE GOWN.

Historical Fiction / Women's Fiction

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle combines the best of historical fiction and epic romance. The novel tells the story of three women who learn what true love is, all while working with a group of friends to provide wedding dresses for brides during WWII clothing rationing.

I was swept away into the lives of Violet, Grace and Cressida, and the mission of the Sewing Circle to fulfill every bride's dream to wear a beautiful dress on her wedding day. The emotional growth of each of the main characters through the course of the novel was believable and added to the tug on my heart as I hoped for each to have a happy ending.

Thank you to Netgalley, Ballantine Books and Jennifer Ryan for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle. The opinions in this review are my own.