I loved everything about this book. The historical information on clothing rationing in England was fascinating. I always love learning something new. The fictional characters were absolutely wonderful from the main ones, Grace, Violet, and Cressida, to the supporting cast. Jennifer Ryan has found her niche writing about the English homefront during World War II. I’ve enjoyed all her books. This may be my favorite.

This is my third Jennifer Ryan book. She is such a talented writer and breathes life into her characters. As with her previous books, The Chillbury Ladies’ Choir and The Kitchen Front, I immediately fell in love with them, inspired by their bravery and their support for each other during desperate times. Great relationships and distinct POV’s. A fascinating story based on true events.

I absolutely loved this book! It was a little slow to begin with a lot of story buildup, but I think it was worth it. Everything ends up coming together. There is so much character growth and it was just wonderful. It is heavy on the romance, but even for someone who doesn't read romance novels, I was rooting for all the couples. Definitely in my top 5 for historical fiction this year and top 10 overall for the year! It did keep me up waaaay past my bedtime because I just needed to know how it ended.

This book follows three women through WWII. When fashion designer Cressida's house and workshop is leveled during the Blitz, she is forced to go back to the family manor house that she left years ago. While her brother has passed, his two children remain. Cressida's niece Violet appears to be just another socialite, but when forced to join the service as a mechanic, she begins to grow up and realize what is important in life. At the nearby vicarage, Grace is engaged to an indifferent clergyman. When she takes mother's old wedding dress to the local sewing circle, a plan is hatched to rehab and circulate wedding dressing.

I found this book to be a bit boring and predictable. The characters were extremely stereotypical. The romances were bland and unremarkable. Everything progressed exactly as expected. Overall, not a book I would reread or recommend.

Sweet story of young women during the war who want to wear white for their wedding, so find old used dresses that they can mend and make beautiful again.

I rarely found myself putting this book down, it was easy to follow and I always wanted more.. I realized while reading I started to play the characters lives as a movie in my mind, which in my books is a plus. I am not going to go in detail about the book since many commenters on Goodread have already done. So, if someone wants to know the plots or a little information about the book, they could move their way there to read it. I just want to compliment the book on how well written it was and I really loved the authors presentation of life during World War II and how much women were doing during that time. Would I recommended this book to others? Yes, I feel that the drama, suspense, and love story would capture others attention. I would love to read other books from Jennifer Ryan!

This was such a different perspective on the historical fiction war books and I really enjoyed it. I loved the writing and the pace.

Thanks to NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Jennifer Ryan does it again. In a field of WWII historical fiction that tries to have that thriller or shock value to it, comes one that really brings home the human aspect of wartime. In all of Jennifer Ryan's books, a reader will find the real people coming together for a war effort - facing the challenges related to, but not directly of the battlefront. Whether it be food rations or sewing or class relations or losing a loved one to the war, Ms Ryan weaves a tale of the struggles on the home front with the war as a backdrop. Her books are for the war fatigued, because we are meeting believable characters on a journey of self discovery, an oh it happens to be during wartime.
Patrons will enjoy these books as they are clean and fun with a moving storyline. They will want to find out if the characters find their happiness in the end. I would recommend these to patrons and to book clubs. Well done.
4 solid stars.
This review will appear on Goodreads where I save all of my book reviews.

I absolutely loved this novel. The character development is beautiful and seamless. WWII is my favorite genre of reading and The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is a 5 star read for everyone and is bound to be a best seller.

I so enjoyed The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir that I was delighted to see that Jennifer Ryan has written another novel of historical fiction taking place in England during WWII. The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle starts out slowly and it took me a while to click with the main characters. However, things are not always what they seem and, as Grace, Cressida, and Violet get to know each other better, we gradually see another side to each of them. There is romance in the background for these three women and it becomes fairly obvious what’s likely to happen in that department, but each relationship builds slowly and believably. For me the romance is secondary to the relationships among the women in Aldhurst village and how they come together as a community to find solutions to the problems they face with clothing rationing, especially when it comes to wedding dresses. The ending is quite satisfying and left me with a warm feeling inside.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan is pretty standard romance/historical fiction. During World War II a group of women gather to help the main character have the wedding of her dreams. The story is set in 1942 when clothing was rationed and "making do" was common.

I loved the research and historical information found in The Wedding Dress. The writing could have been a bit more interesting.

Recommend.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan

War changes things and World War II in England was no different. For Cressida Westcott, famous and sought after London couturier, it changed her life.

Bombs begin to drop on London and people escape to the countryside. Cressida has to move and has family in Kent, but they barely know her. Away from her fashion business in London, Cressida shares her designing and fashion skills with the local sewing circle and wedding dress exchange.

The story goes on to show how Cressida’s life expands in many ways, as do the lives of her selfish niece Violet and soon to be dear friend Grace. Though rather predictable, this is a touching story in many ways. You will root for the ladies and gents to pair up and for them all to become their best selves as the war awakens something in every one of them.

With lovely characters and a feel-good story, The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is a winner, and I thank #RandomHouse and #NetGalley for an ARC for my review.

Thank you Random House for gifting me an ebook copy of The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle. I enjoyed Jennifer Ryan's previous book, The Chilbury Choir, and found this a strong novel as well, one that that is filled with sad but also hopeful themes on friendship and the strength of women. I find that Ms. Ryan has a gift for addressing the balance of every day life moving on/forward during times of war and grief while honoring the uniqueness of living through specific atypical times (such as the past two years, perhaps I liked this book for that sense of life persists...?). There are many strengths to this story, including the sense of connection with and immersion into the time, place, and lives of Grace, Cressida, and Violet. Ms. Ryan also writes in a way that does not dismiss grief and hardship as shown through Cressida's story, nor does she ignore the role of privilege in Violet's life and I think that is important in terms of allowing the reader to understand the growth and change that underlies the story.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is Jennifer Ryan at her best! I’ve been a fan of hers since reading The Chilbury Ladies Choir and I loved the little nod she gave to Chilbury in this book.

The way people came together and worked to help each other during WWII is inspiring. Before reading this book I hadn’t heard of the women of the era sharing their wedding dresses so that young couples might enjoy beautiful weddings to remember. It’s lovely to learn how they all worked together to find joy during difficult times.

As always, Jennifer Ryan has given us a wonderful escape to the times of WWII.

Please keep them coming, Jennifer!

Like Jennifer Ryan's other books, this is a story of the home front in Britain during World War II. The rationing and the regular bombing seems almost unbearable to this reader that has never had to experience either. In this book, the enterprising women of the local sewing circle have the idea to restore their old wedding dresses for the war time brides to borrow. This idea becomes so popular that the idea crosses the Atlantic and receives the endorsement of Eleanor Roosevelt. While this is the basis of the story, we watch as the women in this village grow and change and become stronger in the face of terrible hardship.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle tells the intertwining stories of Violet, Grace, and Cressida, three women whose very different lives all lead them to one town and one group of women who all decide to work together to remake old wedding dresses and lend them out to women who are getting married during World War II. Violet is a spoiled heiress who has had everyone handed to her, but after the death of her father is put to work. Cressida is a gifted clothing designer whose house is bombed in London and must returned to her childhood home. Grace is an engaged woman who has long been restrained by the life she feels destined to lead. In the wedding dress sewing circle, the women find friendship and new futures for themselves. They also find unexpected love.

The good: This book is very well researched and does a good job of integrating historical information into the personal lives of the characters.

The bad: One-dimensional characters, extremely trite and sentimental dialogue and quotes. It was copy-paste stuff.

Cressida Wescott has lost everything in the Blitzkrieg on London, leaving her no choice but to return to the family home she left years before. Luckily her niece seems thrilled that her famous aunt is coming to stay, thinking that the famous dress designer will brighten up the increasingly dull village life. But things take an unexpected turn when Violet is conscripted, she doesn’t believe she’ll ever find a husband if she has to parade around in a dull, drab uniform. At the same time, Grace Carlisle is desperately trying to restore her mother’s old wedding dress into something that will help give her the wedding she desperately longs for. Luckily, Cressida is more than willing to pitch in and help and before long she convinces not only the members of the local sewing society to donate their old clothes for the cause, but also members of other “make do and mend” groups across the countryside. This is a charming and heartwarming story that we could all learn a thing or two from

Jennifer Ryan has a talent for writing absorbing historical fiction. She began with The Chilbury Ladies Choir, a book that I very much enjoyed. Next came The Spies of Shilling Lane and then The Kitchen Front. I recommend all of these. The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is the next, English set, WWII story by this author. I really enjoyed it and recommend it highly.

This is a story that, to me, was about change and transformation. Do people have to stay in their strictly defined (by them or others) roles or can they move toward the lives that they want? Watch the characters to find out.

Readers follow three women whose lives and circumstances have been impacted by loss, the war and a heretofore acceptance of given roles. First is Grace; she is the daughter of a village vicar. When Grace’s mother died she stepped up to support her father. Grace, who puts her own needs last, is a very kind “do-gooder”. She is scheduled to marry another vicar but is she settling? What will happen when she again encounters the son of the squire who was a childhood friend? Readers will want the best for this good and likeable character.

Then there is Violet. She accepts and relishes her place in society. She is a rather self-important snob as the novel opens. When Violet is called up to do war work, how will she change? What talents will she discover? How will her views of people change? Violet has always wanted to marry a title, maybe even more than the man. What will happen when she meets a brash American?

Last, but definitely not least, there is Cressida. She is a successful fashion designer whose life is upended by the Blitz. Cressida is Violet’s aunt and Grace’s father is an old friend. Will Cressida and Grace’s father let go of their past grief enough to perhaps get together? Even if a reader thinks that they know the answers, there is pleasure in reading this title.

The author, in addition to telling her characters’ stories, provides readers with an interesting take on the period. Through fashion, readers learn about the system of clothing coupons and a contest for making do in a fashionable way with less. Cressida enters this contest. She also helps Grace to refashion her mother’s beautiful wedding dress…and, by the way, what is the history of this dress? And, of course, there is the sewing circle.

I truly loved this book. I enjoyed the people, the setting and the historical context. Even if you suffer from WWII historical fiction fatigue, I recommend that you read this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House-Ballentine for this title. All opinions are my own.

A fascinating account of what went on behind the scenes for women during World War II. I don’t usually read historical fiction, but I enjoyed this story very much.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is such a feel-good book. I greatly enjoyed reading about Cassida, Violet, and Grace. Highly recommend.