I love the historical details Jennifer Ryan puts into all her fiction and this one did not disappoint! The sewing circle was so fun to learn about and a fun departure from her others which have focused on choirs, cooking competitions and spies. I enjoyed that she showed a new area of the war efforts, though some of the relationships fell a little flat for me. I wasn’t interested in Hugh after he brushed Grace off, and I had a hard time connecting to the passion between Violet and Landon, they just weren’t exciting relationships for me this time around.
I’ll eagerly await her next novel, and can’t wait to see what she chooses to focus on next!

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in return for an honest review.

World War 2 historical fiction is probably my favorite genre so I always enjoy a good WW2 book. I love the connections the women in the story formed, both the three main characters, and the supporting characters, during the war as they bonded over sewing, friendship, and love. I enjoy learning about different aspects of the war efforts at home and found the wedding dress exchange to be quite interesting.

Love these quotes,

"In my experience, the way things are supposed to be isn't necessarily the best way. Sometimes you need to step outside the way your life has been mapped out, find your own path, your own place in the world."

"Why everyone has this notion that you have to be one type of person or another is beyond me. We're all a blend of different ingredients,"

Historical fiction always helps me learn more about a broad subject. WWII seems to be a popular subject, but I love how this books dives into that part of history and breaks down how people got through.

All the characters were fun to read and all had great backstory as to how to they got to where they are now. You can see the characters growing as you start to finish the story.

Courtesy of Netgalley I received the ARC of The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan. I loved this WWII British historical novel, highlighting clothing rations. This story explained coupons, shortages, clothing design, and repurposing used clothing, especially the creativity of the used wedding dress project. The three main women characters from different backgrounds form special bonds and relationships,while developing long lasting friendships amidst new ways of seeing and achieving their goals.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is based on real life stories, of women who "Mend and Make Do" with clothes during WWII in England, due to clothes rationing. Grace, the vicar's daughter in Aldhurst Village, brings to the group her mother's wedding dress, with hopes they can save it for her upcoming wedding. When the blitz levels Cressida Welcott's design studio in London, she returns to her childhood home at Aldhurst Manor, and becomes involved in the sewing group. As the group blossoms, they soon begin gathering, mending, and lending wedding dresses beyond their small town. This is a sweet story of women finding their own strength in times of war, as well as the story of friendships, which carries them through the most trying of times. I highly recommend for readers who love historical fiction. This book is due to be released May 31, 2022. I seldom give 5 stars to my reads, but I am to this one, as I was completely swept away and entertained by this book. Thanks to Netgalley and Random house for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy reading historical fiction and I read a lot of it. This book was a little disappointing because I felt like it was more of a relationship/love story book than a historical one (except for the main premise of fixing wedding dresses up for those impoverished through the war). By the end of the book all of the main characters had been nicely paired up with their individual paramours. It was all neatly tied up with a bow, which is what made it seem a little bit too fictional. I have not read this author before, but I did enjoy her writing style and flow of the book, it was just a bit too much of a romance, albeit a tame one, in good taste, which I appreciate. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance read copy.

Three women connected by love, war, family, and sewing.

We meet Cressida who owns a fashion design house but has to go back to her family home since her shop was bombed, Violet who is her niece and who was conscripted, and Grace who is engaged to a vicar.

We follow the lives of these three women.

All three join a wartime sewing circle. Grace is in need of someone to help her repair her mother's wedding dress and is thrilled to hopefully have someone to help.

Since clothing rations are limited to what types of cloth can be used for clothing, Cressida agrees to fix Grace's dress since she loves doing that and has the talent with any fabric. All the women join in and start a "share your wedding dress with others" campaign.

So enjoyed learning about this...the "sharing" did happen during the war.

THE WEDDING DRESS SEWING CIRCLE is as cozy as the cover and has characters that you will love and characters that will show you how to have compassion, how to not give up on what you want, and how women gather together for support and to help one another and others.

A lovely read and another historical fact I was not aware of...enjoy!! 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this dive into history with Cressida, Violet, & Grace. The intertwining narration made for an interesting storyline and I found myself reading through chapters, eager to hear how things would play out. I loved the evolution of the characters and the historical details woven into the plot. This is a great book for fans of WWII era stories, the English countryside, and Downton Abbey. The only thing I find odd is the cover - it is the exact same cover of another book I read that was also published this year (Until We Meet), they just edited what the women are working on in their laps. I find that so odd & wonder how two books can have almost identical covers.

It’s an overall good book. It is set in wartime UK and described the courage of the wooon the home front during that time
thanks for letting me review this book to Netgalley and the publisher

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan is a feel-good story of wartime Great Britain and the people who sacrificed and made do for the war effort. The intertwined stories of the characters was well done and one couldn't wait to see what would happen next to all of them.

Once again Jennifer Ryan focuses on the home front in rural England during World War 2. Her topic is clothing rationing, and the local village sewing group tasked with mending and repairing old clothes to make them usable again. The nominal leader of the group is local aristocrat Violet Westcott but she is uncomfortable among the lower class villagers. Grace Carlisle, a vicar's daughter and soon to be vicar's wife, is a hard-working member of the group who brings her mother's old wedding gown to the group to see if it can be mended for her own wedding. Violet's aunt, noted couture Cressida Westcott, is bombed out of her London flat and shop and unexpectedly joins the group. She takes an interest in Grace's beautiful dress and a plan is evolved to repair the dress, make it available for other brides to borrow, and create a collection of dresses that can be loaned to other brides. With clothes rationing and fabric shortages, purchasing dress or fabric to make a dress is impossible so this is a huge morale booster for the women of England.

The plot is fascinating and based on true stories, but the character development is this novel's biggest flaw. Violet is snobbish and stuck up at the start but learns to live with and accept women she considered beneath her after two weeks of army training. Grace is meek and spineless but suddenly is able to stand up for herself and what she wants which is not to be a vicar's wife, and Cressida leaves her city ways behind and becomes a fan of small town life. All three have fairy tale endings to their romances and the men are little more than stereotypes. I would find the book more believable if the characters didn't go from one extreme to another, and not every fairy tale had a happy ending, unfortunately.

This is an interesting plot but the character development is not realistic and marred my enjoyment of the story.

Much like her book The Kitchen Front, Jennifer Ryan shows another aspect of how British women survived on the home front during World War II. This time, she shows the terrors of the nightly air raids during the Battle of Britain. She also shows how women did their part for the war effort. Women participated by joining the military; working with the newly arrived American forces; working in factories; and by mending and redesigning clothes as part of the "Make Do and Mend" initiative. This is a another compelling story by Ryan showing an aspect of the war not often seen. There is much to recommend for those who love WWII novels and for those who are interested in sewing and fashion design.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle
by Jennifer Ryan
Pub Date: May 31, 2022
Ballentine
Thanks to the author, Ballentine, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. As a heavy historical fiction reader, I was kind of burned out on WWII books. I almost missed this one, but I'm glad I didn't.
* British Literature * Historical Fiction *
Three plucky women lift the spirits of home-front brides in wartime Britain, where clothes rationing leaves little opportunity for pomp or celebration—even at weddings—in this heartwarming novel based on true events, from the bestselling author of The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir.
The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is based on true events – when clothes rationing during WWII leaves young brides in challenging situations, a group of women comes up with an idea to start a charity to give out white wedding dresses. In the process, they lift spirits and learn resilience. I highly recommend it.
5 stars

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is a story of hope, friendship, loss, love, and renewal. The characters learn and grow as they experience war. I love the historical accuracy and learning about the rations systems that were in place regarding clothing. At its core, The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is a testament to the tenacity and resiliency of women.

I'll admit that, as a heavy reader of historical fiction, I'm a tad bit burned out on World War II historical fiction. However, I'm easing my way out of a horrid reading slump, and I've been choosing authors/stories that I know will feature bighearted stories (not necessarily happy stories!) by authors that I know I can depend upon for satisfying and moving stories. I hit the JACKPOT with this one!

This is a gorgeously told and moving story about women from very different walks of life who band together during a very hard time in Britain's history. There's drama, love, heartbreak, and hope--everything you need if you need a story that will take you away.

Many thanks to PRH and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another enjoyable read by Jennifer Ryan, full of likeable characters, well written situations, and a good sense of time and place. Sure to please!

Thoroughly enjoyed this book set in England during the blitzkrieg focusing on a leading London designer whose house and design study is bombed and the time she spends and people she meets and business she starts to solve the wedding gown shortages during the following 6 months at her childhood country home in Kent. The characters and settings are realistic, relatable, and well developed. The story is well written and comfortably paced. And the mood is positive and uplifting. I enjoyed this book and recommend it.

This author has such wonderful stories and characters, but what I really look forward to time and time again is the detail she puts behind the setting and the descriptions in her books. I was not disappointed in The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle - such intricate details about sewing and stitches, etc. Great for book clubs to read!

4.5 rounded up

You'd think a feel-good book set in England in the middle of World War II an oxymoron, but here it actually works, as the tone of the whole is not just romance but working together and making do. Even finding ways to excel--while everyone learns to become a better person.

It begins with Cressida, a forty-something who stayed single and became a dress designer. She's ignoring the war, as her business is booming--so much of industry is geared toward war that people are turning to dressmakers. But when London is bombed yet again, both her house and her design house are flattened. She is left with nothing but the nightgown and coat and shoes she fled in.

She goes back to her home village to stay with her niece and nephew, barely known, and reconnects with some childhood friends . . . and slowly the lens widens as we get to know the villagers, and a few visiting allies.

Ryan is kind to her characters. They have flaws, but they work to become better people. Meanwhile, the glimpse into the world of rationing from food to clothes is well integrated and fascinating. It matches up with the many letters and diaries I've read from the period. The shadow of war is there--and grief--reminders of the senselessness and cruelty of war.

But our focus stays with our main characters, whose meaningful work comes to a lovely ending centered around the wedding dress. It's a kind book, an instant comfort read. Vert welcome these days!

THE WEDDING DRESS SEWING CIRCLE
by Jennifer Ryan
Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books
Pub Date: May 31

I chose The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle because of author Jennifer Ryan as well as that glorious cover! And the setting of WWII England, which has always intrigued me.

So many commodities during the war were rationed, including silk, which was reserved for parachute making only. For the many young women hoping to wear a real wedding gown to their ceremony, three creative women devise an ingenious solution: Repairing wedding dresses for brides across the country.

The author has a compelling way of conveying the heroic spirit of the British, as described beautifully in her earlier novels, The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir and The Kitchen Front. That same spark is found in her newest offering, and I found myself totally immersed in the lives of these grand characters and their engaging stories.

Highly recommended for histfic fans, for readers drawn to this gripping time period, and for lovers of Jennifer Ryan's splendid books.

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