I loved this book!!! When the going gets rough, lean on your friends. It will be amazing what can be accomplished together. That is exactly what this group did.

A sweet work of historical fiction from one of my favorite time periods, encompassing love, loss, war, and the challenge of figuring out who you are and who you choose to be, in spite of where you come from. I love that this story centers around three women who couldn’t be more different, but who all desire the same thing—love, friendships, and connection in their community. The ingenuity that binds them all together is inspiring, and the sweet village and the people within it are absolutely endearing. A lovely book!

This story takes you back to a heartwarming, wholesome time! Just the read I needed right now! We follow two main characters, Violet and Grace as they find and lose love and become strong women making choices for themselves in a time of war. Excellent! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!

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.

This is a charming historical fiction which focuses on the power of women working together during WWII, of strong friendships that grow and strengthen throughout the years, and of family and romance that struggle and thrive through difficult times of war, rationing, and fear. I loved the characters, but what I loved most was the actual story being told - women who form a sewing group to make and exchange wedding dresses during a time when most wouldn’t have been able to have one due to the clothing rationing. I was already impressed with the book but the author’s note at the end really clinched it for me. It truly added so much more to the story to hear the author’s inspiration and to learn more history about that time period and what was happening. It was the perfect touch and ending to an already wonderful book.

#theweddingdresssewingcircle #netgalley #bookreview

“Sometimes we just need someone with a fresh perspective to hold up a mirror and show us who we really are-” - Jennifer Ryan, The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle.

This story reminded me a lot of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Except “This story began with a wedding dress” in Britain during WWII. It was nice to witness the transformation of these characters & the bonds that they developed.

I did find the ending a bit too ‘neat’, but, overall I enjoyed it. I, also, really appreciate when authors include in the AUTHOR’S NOTE what motivated the writing of the novel. This is always an added treat for this reader. This should appeal to all WWII fiction lovers. 4.5 stars.

***ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

As in her last few books, Jennifer Ryan sets her story in a small town in England during WWII. But these books are less about the war than about the characters and how they help each other through the hardships to make the best lives they can. This one is about friendship and romance as well.

Follow three women, and their community, as they journey through the challenges faced during WWII and how they found themselves, love and happiness all because of a beautiful, shared wedding dress.
This is an amazing read that will have you falling in love with the characters and feeling all the feelings they experience. Exceptionally written, I can’t give it enough stars!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley, Jennifer Ryan and Ballantine Books and hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is a historical fiction novel that takes us to a small village outside of London during WWII. When Cressida Wescott’s home and fashion design business are destroyed during the Blitz, she has no where else to turn other than her childhood home in Aldhurst. Shunned by her brother, she finds herself back in the familial home with her niece and nephew. Determined to keep busy, she takes her talent to the local sewing group and helps to repurpose and rework clothing.

When Grace Carlisle brings her mothers old wedding dress to the group in hopes of restoring it enough to wear to her wedding, a new purpose is brought to the group…reworking wedding dresses so that the women of England can have something beautiful to wear to their weddings despite the war raging around them.

Cressida’s niece Violet, a symbolic figurehead of the group who never actually attends or even helps due to her social standing begins to change her tune when she tags along with Cressida. Her ambition in life is to marry a title but a conscription and the people around her open her eyes and heart to a whole new world.

Together these three women learn to love, explore their ambitions and look beyond their upbringing and what’s expected of them during a time of war when everything is turned upside down.

This book is fantastic! While the characters are fictional, the women of England did form sewing circles and create a wedding dress exchange program bring a bit of beauty and hope to an England full of fire and fear. It is another terrific example of the extraordinary acts of kindness that regular people displayed during the worlds darkest hour. I love, love, love the way the main characters grow and change and begin to see things in a new light. It also reminds us that hope and love were very much alive despite the circumstances and that it’s okay to fight for what you want.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group and Jennifer Ryan for access to this excellent tale of love and war.

Every single time I read a new historical fiction novel, I always learn something new in history. This book is about a sewing circle who helped their villagers with repurposing/recycling clothing and fabrics during WWII. I had no idea that clothing and fabrics were also rationed during the war. The author learned a great deal of her information about this from her grandmother and mother, which I think is such a great opportunity for her, and us as her readers.
Women were expected to be constantly knitting something for the troops, if you were not busy repurposing something else. Fashion designers and clothing manufacturers were considered very important at the time due to clothes and fabric rations, and the unavailability of everything.
This novel follows three women: Grace-a vicar's daughter; Violet-an upper class, spoiled young woman; Cressida-an upper class, successful fashion designer. They are all called to the sewing circle, and when word gets out that they are repurposing and borrowing out people's old wedding dresses they become very well known in England, and then the USA. All they way to Eleanor Roosevelt! The three women are in for a wild ride, and each of their lives changes drastically because of it!
I really enjoyed this book. It was a nice, easy read, and in the end I learned so much about fashion and this time in history.

In 1942 Britain, new clothing was rationed and women wed in their uniforms or what clothing they could scrounge from friends - the setting for Jennifer Ryan's delightful tale, "The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle".

It alternates between the voices of 3 women - renowned fashion designer Cressida Westcott, her entitled young niece Violet, and vicar's daughter Grace Carlisle - who works constantly for others and doesn't value herself nearly enough.

Friendship - and romance - grows for all three of them, as wedding dress renewal takes off across the country.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is based on real world events during WW2 where women would share their wedding dresses with other women to wear for their weddings. With the supply chains slowed and often broken, Europe had restrictions on what could be made from fabric. Wedding dresses were something that could not be made during this time. Many women got together to share their dresses so others wouldn't have to go without.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is character driven. It was a slow start for me but then picked up about 1/3 of the way in. The story is based around three women whose paths cross: Cressida Westcott, a famous fashion designer, Violet Westcott, Cressida's niece, and Grace Carlisle, a local vicar's daughter. These women form a friendship during the challenging times.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Ballatine Books in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan is a wonderful read. The story and the characters are so well drawn out, that you just want to befriend them. Together the three of them started a small revolution during WWII to help women feel like brides on their wedding days. While the book is fiction there is, as with all great stories an element of truth, an actual wedding dress borrowing system during WWII in Britain.

Cressida Westcott has worked hard for many years. She could not follow the pathway her family had set for her after the death of Jack, her fiance. Instead she found her way in London and became a rather famous dress designer. With WWII and the bombing of London, her home and shop were destroyed and she needed to head home.

Violet Westcott (niece) felt her life was not going as planned. She was going to marry a lord and become a lady in this manner. The only problem was WWII and how society began to break down the barriers between classes. Violet had to find a new way. She had a gumption she didn’t even know about!

Grace Carlisle had never put herself first. She was constantly covering for others, doing things for others, and slowing erasing herself from being anything be a shadow of a helpmate. With Violet’s and Cressida’s help, pushing and shoving, Grace too found a new way forward of helping herself to help others.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan is a ‘feel good and want to take on the world’ type of read! It is an awesome book! Enjoy!

Based on a true story, this book takes us on a journey during WWII to a people that are restricted in food and clothing. Especially fabric for wedding dresses. Something that might seem "extra" during the war turns out to be almost more needed than ever.

Cressida is a renowned designer living in London. When her flat and business are bombed, she is forced to return to her childhood home and her brother who she has been estranged from.

Violet is Cressida's niece and quite spoiled. When she is drafted to help the war effort, she is not pleased. But soon she realizes her own strengths and is able to see outside herself and how she can be a blessing to others, not just an ornament to be shown off.

Grace Carlisle is the local vicar's daughter. She is engaged to be married and finds her mother's wedding dress in the attic. She brings the moth-damaged dress to the local sewing circle in hopes to find a way to restore it enough to wear for her own wedding. When the excitement grows and more women express the desire for a dress, she vows to share her dress, but also find more dresses that can be repaired and shared. The town comes together for this new mission and hearts are softened and relationships strengthened.

The combination of Cressida, Violet and Grace, as well as some other fantastic personalities gives this book such a positive, uplifting message. There's so much hope and love and of course some sweet love stories as well. Definitely would recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is an uplifting story about wartime Britain and the women who did their bit for the war effort, and about the sacrifices they made, the bonds of friendships that were formed in a time of great upheaval in their country. It is a story told from three POVs, which I really like as you get to experience events from different angles, each with their own insights and perspectives.
You have Cressida, a wealthy designer who loses her home and business in the London bombings, retreating to the family manor in the country looking for a new beginning.
Then there is Violet, who is looking to marry a man with a title, wealth and high social standing.
Lastly you have Grace, the vicar's daughter, engaged to a church minister.
The three women are brought together over a moth eaten wedding dress as they try to restore it to its former beauty. As they repair the dress a transformation occurs, not only to the dress itself but to the women as they mature and grow into more than just the expected roles placed on them by others.
This was an uplifting, joyful read, putting a bit of light into a very dark period in our history. I recommend this novel to any historical fiction fan that wants to brighten their day.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return.

This is a fascinating story, a different type of WWII story, that gives insight into the clothing shortages and cloth rationing in Great Britain during the war. Clothing, a basic need that we take for granted, was rationed, a reality that affected people’s daily lives, including brides who could not find wedding dresses due to the rationing of fabrics.

The novel tells the story of how a community of women in a small village outside of London, came together through their sewing circle to support each other during the war. Told from the perspectives of three very different women, Cressida, Grace, and Violet, each woman experienced her own personal growth. I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend this unique and special WWII story. Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This is an amazing story of women coming together during World War II to help make dreams come true. The realities of rationing during World War II are well described. The characters are well written and I connected with them easily.

This is the second book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it very much. It's a lovely read about the fashion industry during WWII and it provides excellent insight into the dilemmas the war caused. Shortages forced women to find creative ways to change up their wardrobes and to help in the cause to provide clothing to those in need. Brides often had to wed in everyday clothes because silk and lace were nearly impossible to find. The characters were very likeable and each had unique stories to share. You will learn something as well as be entertained. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan will make readers feel warm and cozy all over. It is historical fiction based on true events.. The tone of the book is not just romance but working together and making do. I've not read this author before, but will be checking out her other books. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for a review.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

After Cressida's London home and dress studio are destroyed during the Blitz, she relocates to her family manor in the English countryside. She planned to stay with relatives from whom she has been estranged for many years. She is grudgingly welcomed, but ultimately makes herself indispensable to the community.

The local women's sewing circle gathers to repair and make old clothes usable during the wartime shortages and rationing. Currently, they have to somehow make an old, moth-eaten, wedding gown serviceable. Cressida and her niece are accustomed to high society, but the war changes everything. Their outlook on social status and what values are truly important become the focus of the book.

This charming romance also provides an excellent view of wartime Britain, not only in the cities, but in the surrounding countryside.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful book. I enjoyed it as much as I liked this author's other books.