Another wonderful read by Ms. Foster.

Marlow is ready for a change. Her ex-husband recently died in a car accident and Marlow is ready to get far away from his family business (where she worked) and his parents. She heads to Bramble, Kentucky where she rents a cottage. Marlow falls in love with Bramble and the people in it including her landlord Cort. All seems to be going well, Marlow gets a job at the local bar, she's looking for a building to make into her own shop, and she's developing a relationship with Cort, until who should show up at her doorstep but Pixie, the woman her ex-husband had an affair with. Pixie isn't alone, she has a baby with her. Read this one to see what happens with Marlow and Cort, Marlow and Pixie and Marlow, Pixie and her ex's parents. Plus see if the people of Bramble accept Marlow and Pixie and ultimately let them permanently join their small community. Pick this one up in May 2025.

Alright, I’m going to be honest. Not much happened in this one. Despite that, I really enjoyed the undying themes of the bonds of sisterhood and strong, powerful women during a time when men thought we were meant to solely stay home to cook, clean, and rear children. This is about as honest a review as you’ll see from me!

The Dressmakers of London by Julia Kelly is so much more than a wartime story of two sisters. It is a story of two sisters finding themselves and each other again. The book begins with their mother’s death, a hardworking widow who opened a dress shop when the girls were young. One married, left the area but is needed. The world is in the middle of WWII, with Great Britian in the mist of military call ups and rationing. I had no idea how this story was going to play out but certainly not the captivating way that it did.

This is a unique look at civilian life in London during the war. It was a fascinating read with intense emotions between sisters, the world of fashion and life in general. It is not to be missed.

I have read several books in this sub-genre: stories about women civilians in Britain during World War II and what life was like with all the challenges. They are interesting reads and give some insight into daily life in the war years.

This story involves two sisters, Izzie and Sylvia, who were once close but drifted apart when Sylvia left to become the wife of an upper class toff. They had both worked in their mother's dress design shop but Izzie had the eye for it and Sylvia was more of a businessperson. They are shocked upon their mother's death to find out that she left the shop to them jointly, even though Sylvia left long ago and Izzie stayed to run things. Both women assumed Izzie would inherit.

It's wartime Britain and Izzie gets conscripted so must grudgingly ask her sister for help. Sylvia, whose marriage to a philanderer is falling apart, steps in and tries to apologize to her sister for her long absence. Izzie is bitter and close-minded. To the reader, it's obvious early on that together the artistic designer Izzie and the marketing and financial organizer Sylvia together have the perfect skills to run the business but it takes a while for them to figure it out.

Along the way they each learn something about their family, their own strengths, friendship, loyalty and what is important. Much of the book is letters between the sisters which start out icily polite but eventually become a real honest exchange. An enjoyable read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Izzie loves design and working with her mother in the family dress shop. Sylvia is the older sister who married young to wealth and turned her back on her family. Sylvia and Izzie have to navigate the war years dealing with clothing rations at their dress shop and learning to like each other again as Izzy is conscripted in the WAAFs. Their mother started the dress shop when she had to find a way to take care of all three of them when her husband died in an accident. When she passes away, the sisters have to find ways to make the shop relevant and sustainable during the lean years. How they accomplish this is through determination, creativity, and friendship.
I love how they learn about each other through letters when Izzy is away doing her duty while Sylvia tries to adjust to new rationing rules with innovation and inspiration. The sisters have a lot of baggage to wade through from the death of their parents and Sylvia's escape into marriage years ago leaving her younger sister to grow up without her. I enjoyed meeting many of the secondary characters as well from Mrs. Reid, store seamstress, to Alexandria, Izzy's friend in the WAAFs, to William, the family solicitor. Even though this is set in London during the war years, it is a story more about family, sisters, and reconciliation. This book makes you feel content by the end and I highly recommend it for readers who enjoy stories of sisters, WW2, and historical fiction.
#TheDressmakersofLondon #netgalley #historicalfiction
Thank you Net Galley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Julia Kelly is an auto-buy for me and she's hit another home run with this historical fiction book. Loved the characters and the setting!

Thank you NetGalley, Gallery Books and Julia Kelly for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Dressmakers of London.
This is a heartwarming and heart wrenching story of two estranged sisters who both inherit their mother’s dressmaking shop in London during World War II. At first, I was missing the action taking place in London-bombings, devastation and wartime losses. This story focuses almost entirely on the relationships of the two sisters with their miscommunication and struggles with events in the past. As it turns out, I was glad to focus on the family drama and learn about the clothing industry during wartime. I was immersed in the storyline and became quite attached to the well rounded characters.
I found the best part was the letter writing between the characters which showed strong emotions and deep seated feelings. Both sisters have difficulties in love, friendships and decision making but they have unique ways of solving their problems.
There are many twists and turns and I was rooting for a perfect ending along with the many bumps in the road.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and look forward to more from Julia Kelly.

Julia Kelly is one of my favorite authors. Her latest novel is another wonderful one. Historical fiction set during WWII in England, this book focuses on two sisters and their mother’s dress shop. I always learn something new with Mrs. Kelly’s books, this time it’s about clothes rationing.

Thank you #Netgalley, #GalleyBooks, #JuliaKelly and #TheDressmakerofLondon for the advance readers copy for my honest review.

I loved this book. I've enjoyed Ms Kelly's books, but this was especially interesting. And, I really enjoy epistolary novels too!! This story was poignant and captivating. Highly recommended.

Julia Kelly has done it again. I haven't found any books by her that I don't like and this one is no exception! The Dressmakers of London will have you enthralled from the very beginning. The story of two sisters in World War II who inherit a store together and must learn to navigate a war torn world. Definitely worth it! You won't want to miss this one! Thanks NetGalley

I really enjoy Julia Kelly’s historical fiction books. They are well researched and her characters and stories are memorable.

The Dressmakers of London is my new favorite of hers. It is something special and I found myself reading every chance I got.

Izzie and Sylvia are faced with not only the death of their mom and jointly inheriting her shop, but the war will force them to rely on each other in ways they never have before.

With hurt feelings, memories of earlier years, and lack of communication over the years playing a part in their current relationship, or lack of one, they slowly begin to confront everything that happened. What happens is wonderful to watch unfold and I enjoyed every aspect of this story.

Sylvia and Izzie communicate through letters and those letters are part of this book. As a fan of epistolary novels I really enjoyed this. If you aren’t, don’t worry, the letters are only part of how their story unfolds.

Thank you to Gallery Books for the copy of this book. All views are my own.

This book highlights a little known aspect of WWII. England resorted to using clothing coupons in order to preserve the material for the war effort. The author writes an interesting story incorporating the family drama between two sisters while showcasing another hardship the public had to endure. Each sister has her own personal struggles and strengths as they attempt to keep the dress shop open. I enjoyed the growth of both sisters as they navigated their lives through the war and beyond. I appreciate the research done by the author to give us another wartime story that is different from the others. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an advanced eGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.
#TheDressmakersOf London # JuliaKelly #NetGalley

Izzie has helped her mother run her dress shop almost from the beginning. But the mum does not feel well and the war is making everything harder. Them her mother dies and Izzie discovers the shop has been left to both her and her sister - a sister who has not been part of the family for 14 years. Fantastic from start to finish.

The Dressmakers of London was a delightful, unique book that centers on the relationship between two adult sisters, the dress shop they inherited from their mother, and the challenges of civilian life in London during World War II. This book was the perfect blend of WWII historical fiction and family drama that could be set in any time period. Both of the sisters, Sylvia and Izzie, were affected greatly by the death of their father during their childhood and the subsequent changes in life his death caused in their everyday life. This book beautifully explored their pain and growth as a result. I don't want to spoil anything but I was so pleasantly surprised by the ending of this book.

While the relationship between the sisters and their care for their mother's dress shop was my favorite part of this book, it was equally intriguing to read about Izzie's wartime service/conscription into the WAAFs. Izzie hadn't ever traveled far from home or from the dress shop, and this was a new experience for her... but one that came with a lot of personal growth, love, and friendships.

This book was so readable. I truly cared about ALL the characters in this book and could not put it down. Well written and researched, there is a fascinating discussion at the end about clothing rations during the war - something that was new to me.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

I love historical fiction set during WWII and I love books about sisters and family so this book was a perfect read for me. It was apparent throughout the book that the author had researched this time in history very well. Her characters were fantastic and the story was a real page turner.

Sylvia was the oldest sister and Izzie was 5 years younger. Their mother owned a dress shop in London and both girls were raised helping out in the shop The difference is that Sylvia couldn't wait to get away from life at the dress shop. Izzie loved the safety and the work at the dress shop and was content with her life. Once Sylvia married a doctor who was part of the upper crust of London and well respected, she didn't have much to do with her mother and sister and Izzie resented her for thinking she was better than her family. Izzie loved running the dress shop and knew that she would be the owner when her mother died. She was very upset after her mother died and the will was read leaving the shop equally to the two sisters. Sylvia is willing to give her sister her half of the shop but Izzie refuses and decides to buy out her sister. The only problem is that she doesn't have enough money and due to her mother's haphazard way of keeping records, she has no idea how much the shop is worth. When Izzie is conscripted into the WAAF's, she asks her sister for help. She wants her sister to do the minimal amount of work to keep the business running and to ask her questions by mail. Sylvia is having issues with her husband and starts to devote herself to the shop. Her first task is to clean up the accounting mess but then she starts helping with customers. Izzie is not at all happy with the way that her sister is running the shop but there's nothing she can do about it. Plus Izzie is enjoying life in the WAAFs. For the first time she outside the walls of the dress shop and is making friends and spending time dancing with the men on base. Will the two sisters be able to find common ground to keep the dress shop open during a difficult time when clothing is rationed? Will they ever be close again?

This book was well written and the characters were very realistic. I was hoping that the sisters could find the love for each other that they used to share.

Be sure to read the author's notes at the end to learn more about clothing rations during the war -- something that I knew nothing about until I read this book.

This is a great historical fiction book about family and love and forgiveness during war time in London. If you enjoy historical fiction, add this book to your to-read shelf - you don't want to miss it!

I am a huge fan of Julia Kelley’s work, and The Dressmakers of London is no exception. It is a beautiful story of two young women learning to go after their dreams and aspirations while supporting each other.

This is a fantastic book! I enjoyed the various settings. A dressmaker's shop in London, Nottingham Court, and a WAAF camp.

The characters are relatable, and I became invested in Izzie and Sylvia's stories. Izzie started out thrilled with the responsibility of running her mother's dress shop. Her passion, though, is sketching and making beautiful clothes. Sylvia left her family behind as she walked toward a bigger and brighter future. A tragedy brings her back home, and she finds pieces of herself that were lost.

It was heartwarming to watch the sisters' relationship unfold. As they wrote letters to each other, they began to see each other in a new light.

I found the author's note very interesting! I never knew about the various clothing rations that occurred during the wars. The idea of owning clothing tailor-made is probably something I'll only dream of. Thanks to this book, I can picture my outfits in my imagination.

I was provided a complimentary copy of the book from Simon and Schuster via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

One can never go wrong when picking up a Julia Kelly book, so I knew I was in for a great read - but even I was blown away by how good this was! Unputdownable and lovely are the two words I would use to describe this!. Fantastic and utterly addictive would also suffice :) Either way, you are in for a treat! I loved this!

I have loved everything Kelly has written, but this is my new favorite and one of my top ones for 2024. Every historical fiction reader will love this one.

I was particular drawn to the story-line of a dressmaker’s shop that runs in this family. When the matriarch dies, she leaves the place to her estranged daughters. Sylvia walked away years ago and Lizzie stayed at the shop with her mother. She gets the news about the will and now they must work together. Will their relationship be repaired or forever estranged?

Love, loss, family and the strength you never knew you had. I am amazed that Kelly always finds a new story-line that completely has me staying up late at night to finish because I was so involved in these sisters. I am a quilter, so the sewing aspect and the designs discussed fascinated me.

The Dressmakers of London by Julia Kelly is a great WWII-era novel that is all about family and second chances.

Isabelle and Sylvia are estranged sisters, and through multiple events are brought together again to either overcome their pasts and differences or to have them distance themselves again from on another. The concepts of family, love, loss, forgiveness, overcoming obstacles, hope in the midst of adversity, and the complicated world of relationships are brought together beautifully in this HF by Ms. Kelly.

I also liked what the inclusion of the landscapes background of London during the War and their mother’s dress shop added to the character-led novel.

This is the 6th book I have read from this author, I enjoyed it very much, and will continue to read her mysteries and historical fiction.


4/5 stars

Thank you NG and Gallery Books for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 2/18/25.