A charming historical fiction for fans of the Jan Austen Society and Call the Midwife. It was the same vibe. It also brought me back a little into one of my favorite series - The Friday Night Knitting Club, its just the Tuesday Sewing Circle Here. Is it a perfect book, no. It's is predictable in so many ways but it is a great feel good story. And as predictable as the character developments and romances are (it all ties up into a too nice bow really) they are really sweet and you kind of fall in love with their stories. Also the fashion, the descriptions are so vivid that I could picture them perfectly in my head!

Cressida Westcott is a renowned clothing designer in the 1940's, until the London Blitz turns her entire world upside down. Forced to go back home, she grudgingly goes back to her estranged family. Once there, Cressida finds an old wedding dress that needs mending, and thus begins the Wedding Dress Sewing Circle, a group of women who take a chance, and begin to find their voices in repurposing clothes during WWII.
This story, just like the authors previous novel, The Chilbury Ladies Choir, is a story of resilience, purpose and finding your voice for women. Women supporting other women during the war, when they have nothing else and no one else. This book contains everything you would ever want in a feel good story. A little bit of romance, some heartbreak, finding support, finding your voice and a sense of community all while keeping true to actual events that happened during the darkest times in our world's history. Just like Ms. Ryan's previous book, this is one that will warm your heart and bring a smile to your face.
Thank you to Netgalley & the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my review & honest opinions

Feel good historical fiction! I read a good amount of historical fiction especially those set in WWII but this book was a story I had not heard of before. It is based on true events involving clothing rationing during the war. It is filled with strong, female leads. Greatly enjoyed this read!

A historical fiction book with such a fun theme. Fixing up wedding dressing during the war. This circle of ladies help each other through tough times.
I really enjoyed this book !

The wedding dress sewing circle was born of a group of resilient and optimistic women who choose to do good during a tough time. When vicar’s daughter, Grace, discovers her mother’s wedding dress wasting away in the attic, she comes to the local sewing circle to help her rework the dress for her own upcoming nuptials. The women embrace the project and quickly realize that rationing is causing many other young women in Aldhurst to have the same problem obtaining a new dress.

What starts as a pet project gains prestige when famous London designer, Cressida Westcott returns to her ancestral home when her flat is bombed during one of the many Luftwaffe attacks. Her energy and encouragement helps push these women to expand their program to other brides. She even helps convert her previously snobbish niece Violet, to join in and promote their project.

Told in alternating chapters, we learn how Cressida, the famous designer estranged from her family, Violet, the young aristocrat conscripted to war work, and Grace, the woman who is the heart and soul of the village help a community to come together to help those in love and find love themselves at the same time.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is a endearing piece of historical fiction based on a true story illustrating the power of friendship and the philanthropic spirit. Paying it forward never goes out of style.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and of course Jennifer Ryan for the advanced copy. The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle comes out May 31st. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I typically don't read Historical Fiction but the title and cover of this book interested me and I have to say it was fantastic. This book will make you feel warm and cozy all over. You will find yourself falling in love with the brave women in this lovely story.

War time England and the ladies of that time getting together to cope with clothes rationing. Forming sewing circles to mend and make do with what they had. Based on true wartime rationing. Very interesting story of women get together to support each other. I truly enjoyed each character growing thru this time.

A vicar's daughter, a fashion coutourier, and a spoiled young aristocrat come together during WWII and join the local sewing circle. With clothes rationing, the group decides to collect old wedding dresses and redesign them for use by brides throughout the area. This book was delightful! I loved the growth of the women, the friendship they forged, and the resilience they showed during a difficult time.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!

This was such a great story told from alternating perspectives of 3 different women in England during WWII. I really loved all 3 women's stories, how everything wove together and the fresh and uplifting perspective that it brought. This is such a difficult time period to read about, but this story provided hope and love and resilience and I really enjoyed it. Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC.

I want to start off by saying that I don't usually read historical romance. There are a few that I have read that were phenomenal, but this wasn't one of them.

I felt the dialogue was a bit boring. The description was so promising to me, but I just could NOT get into it.

Thank you publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

Good, but felt a little too long. The dialogue also felt too formal with long explanations that didn’t seem realistic for actual conversation.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Ballantine Books

This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time (and I read a lot of books)! It is an incredibly heart-warming story of a group of women who come together in a small village in WWII England. One of the members of a sewing circle finds her mother’s moth-eaten wedding dress, and asks her friends if they will help her repair it for her upcoming wedding—and that she will lend it to any of them if they do. This sets in motion the gathering, mending and exchanging of wedding dresses for brides who do not have dresses. Given the fabric shortages, clothing rationing, and “mend and make do” dictums of the period, the women inspire a large-scale wedding dress exchange so that every woman can have a special wedding day. Along the way, these women develop deep friendships, discover their brave inner selves, throw off outdated conventions, and find true love. The stories of sacrifice, resilience, and community shine through in this moving and beautifully written novel, and the discussions of fashion, fabric, and style create a wonderful backdrop. I love novels set during WWII and this was one of the best. A highly-recommended book that I hope finds a large audience.. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC!

"Sometimes it's just the simplicity of sitting with others, together in spirit and endeavor, that makes life feel right."

A beautiful historical fiction about rationing clothing and the lack of supplies during wartime. The story follows 3 women and their connection to a sewing circle that mends, adjusts, and shares wedding dresses to the women of the community in a time where fabric was difficult to come by and used for only necessary clothing items. Each chapter is from alternating points of view of the 3 women and their roles during WWII rural England. I typically steer clear of wartime novels as they carry stressful, depressing themes, but was pleasantly surprised by the lightness of this novel. Looking forward to checking out more of Ryan's novels.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan
Posted on April 13, 2022 by Carol Early Cooney

“Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional…

An essential element of historical fiction is that it is set in the past and pays attention to the manners, social conditions, and other details of the depicted period.[1] Authors also frequently choose to explore notable historical figures in these settings, allowing readers to better understand how these individuals might have responded to their environments…”

Wikipedia

I selected this week’s book with my eyes open. I read the description and thought it sounded interesting even though it was yet another historical fiction book. I am truly at the point where I would be happy never to read yet another historical fiction book based during the Second World War. There would need to be a good hook to get me to read another. ( I think I have said this before and look how that turned out.)

And this book sounded interesting enough for me to want to read it. I was given a copy in exchange for my unbiased review.


The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle starts during the London Blitz. Cressida Westcott loses her design studio and her home all one night of bombing. She is left with nothing. The only option she can see is to return to her ancestral home and hope that she can be taken in by her niece and nephew. She and her older brother did not get along and she has not been home in years. Her brother is dead and she hopes she can stay there while she tries to find a new place to live and work.

Cressida is famous in the world of fashion design. Her studio was quite an accomplishment for a woman in those times. She never married and she worked hard all the time. She arrives at her old country home with a coat over her nightdress. That is all she has with her. Her niece and nephew welcome her to their home.

Cressida’s niece, Violet, feels that her only purpose in life is to marry well. She wants to marry an aristocrat and settle down. She doesn’t really have any ambition beyond that. She attends some of the Village functions but is never really any help to anyone.

Hugh is Cressida’s nephew. He and his father did not get along but he is trying to take on the role that his father played in the town and carry out the directions that he his father left. He is a reluctant landlord. He did not like his father very much but doesn’t see that he can break with his Father’s ways.

Grace Carlisle is the vicar’s daughter. She selflessly gives to the people of the parish. She runs most of the events and visits the sick. Her father was devastated by the death of his wife and Grace has stepped in to fill the void. She is engaged to be married and the Vicar goes to the attic to find Grace’s mother’s wedding dress. He does find it but it has moth damage in several parts of the dress.

Grace takes the dress to the parish sewing circle to see if they have ideas on how she can fix the dress. The night she brings the dress, Cressida comes to the sewing circle for the first time. In looking over the dress, the women start discussing that the wartime brides in England cannot get wedding dresses or even white dresses. The women start thinking of ways that they can help by fixing up dresses and sharing them among the brides.

The book centers on Cressida, Violet, and Grace and the changes that they go through over the course of the book. Cressida encourages the women in the sewing circle to be independent and is there to help Grace and Violet when they are in doubt. I liked the way the story progressed and the character development. The story moved along well and held my interest. The characters are believable and interesting. I recommend it.

By the way, Jennifer Ryan also wrote The Chilbury Ladies Choir, which I have read and enjoyed.

Thanks for reading.

This is the first book I’ve read from this author, and I believe all her books will be on shelf soon. It’s such a cozy read and you still stay up all night til you finish it. You will love these characters!
I highly recommend it.

A lovely tale, but predictable and quick to come to the inevitable conclusions. I have read all of Ms. Ryan's books, and though enjoyable, this wasn't my favorite. It seemed rushed.

I’ve read a lot of books set during WW2 and this one touches on something I wasn’t aware of. I hadn’t really thought about fashion shortages during the war especially wedding dresses.
This book is about a group of women who manage to do something about the shortage. They also find true love along the way.
This book was really good, hard to put down. I loved it!
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

I think Jennifer Ryan books will be auto-buy for me. I have loved all of the books I have read. This is an uplifting book despite the fact that it is about World War II in England. Yes, the difficulties of war are experienced in this book, but we also get to see life on the home front. One of the slogans in England at the time was "Keep Calm and Carry On". This is a big theme in The Wedding Dressing Sewing Circle and her other books.

In this book, we experience the world of London fashion during the war. Clothing was rationed but couture designers were encouraged to keep designing for the export business. Cressida is a famous London fashion designer who is forced to move back to her brother's manor house in a small village after her home and fashion house are bombed in London. When she arrives she gets involved in helping the villagers with their sewing circle. They start with helping the vicar's daughter repair her mother's wedding dress. At the time, the only way to have a "white wedding" is to borrow a dress. Otherwise, the government encouraged women to wear their best dresses. As time passes, the sewing circle gets involved in many weddings and begins a project that helps many women borrow a white wedding dress. People in the United States, including Eleanor Roosevelt, are prompted to get involved with donations.

Cressida the fashion designer, Violet her spoiled niece, and Grace, the Vicar's daughter are the main characters who we follow in this book. They experience growth and change as they face changes in class, women's rights, and their role in society. Three romances are also part of this book. Throughout the book, I am just amazed at how Englanders continued to try and live as normal a life as they can despite the horrifics of war. The government put on contests, encouraged people to continue to look their best, and give a cheerful and hopeful face.

I would love to spend more time in this village or another one like it. I hope Ryan continues to find more stories to tell.

I knew when I read the summary that "The Wedding Dress Circle" would be a delightfully heartwarming and feel-good book. I was not wrong. If you're not in the mood for any depressing historical fiction, you can definitely count on this book. That in itself is a gem. The three main characters were all distinct and interesting. My main complaint is that the main moment of development for each character happens off stage. There is a lot of telling throughout the book and it doesn't do the work to develop those moments or relationships. I wondered while I was reading if this bothered me and the answer is yes and no. It bothers me because I was taught to expect more, but it also didn't because the book is what it is. It delivers on being cute and exactly what you expect from it based on the summary. It's a Hallmark-level historical fiction, but I think there's value in that and I'm interested in reading some of the authors other books.

Told from the perspective of 3 women, this is the heart warming story of how they helped British women to keep their spirits up during the war years by gathering wedding dresses to share