The Grace Kelly Dress by Brenda Janowitz

The Grace Kelly Dress by Brenda Janowitz
Published by Graydon House ISBN 9781525804595
Hardcover,  $27.99, 336 pages

Brenda Janowitz's latest novel, The Grace Kelly Dress tells the story that a wedding dress plays in the intersecting lives of three women.

Rose is an apprentice seamstress to Madame Michel, the premier Paris dress maker of whom it is said that "to wear a custom Madame Michel wedding dress is to guarantee a happy marriage". Every bride in 1958 Paris wants a dress like the one Grace Kelly wore at her wedding to Prince Rainier, and Madame Michel is the one wealthy brides turn to make that happen.

When Rose is chosen to design and make a wedding dress for Diana, she can hardly believe it. It is important to the Madame Michel brand that this dress be perfect, and Rose feels the pressure. Diana's handsome brother escorts Diana to her appointments, and Rose finds herself falling for him, even though he is also engaged.

In 1982, Joanie is engaged to her perfect man. Matthew is president of his fraternity, Joanie's sorority brother-fraternity. He is smart, kind, and loving and is sure to be successful. But why isn't Joanie more excited to be marrying the best catch around? She is more excited about wearing her mother's wedding dress, a copy of Grace Kelly's wedding dress. Joanie is a very traditional woman, even called a goody-goody by her friends, but still something isn't right.

In 2020, Joanie's daughter Rachel is preparing for her own wedding. Rachel, better known as Rocky, is the complete opposite of her mother. Rocky is the CEO of her own video game app company, and she likes wearing motorcycle boots and has tattoos. Her mother Joanie has been busy planning Rocky's wedding, and is so thrilled that Rocky will wear her own wedding dress. She will be the third generation to wear the dress, and this tradition means everything to Joanie.

But Rocky doesn't want to wear the dress and she doesn't know how to tell her mother this. Rocky is more like her late father, and often feels left out of the conversation between her mother and sister, who are so much alike. Her sister can't seem to commit to anyone, so if Rocky doesn't wear the dress, Joanie's dream will disappear.

The Grace Kelly dress is about three women each finding her own voice in her life. Rose has been given a chance to further her career, but when love comes into her life she has a decision to make. Traditional Joanie, who always follows the rules and never disappoints her parents, has to decide if she can stand up for herself or do what is expected of her. Although Rocky is the CEO of her company, making important decisions every day, she doesn't know if she can be honest with her own mother.

I liked the theme of women deciding what is important in their own lives, and standing up for themselves, even if it means disappointing people they love. Even though each woman faced different expectations (because of the times they were living in), they had be true to themselves. Fans of Adriana Trigiani's Valentine series would enjoy reading The Grace Kelly Dress. I recommend it.

Thanks to Harlequin for inviting me to be a part of their Romance & Women's Fiction blog tour, and providing me with an egalley for an honest review.

Friday 5ive- February 21, 2020

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post about five things that caught my attention during the week. We were in Florida last week with my brother-in-law and his wife, and the weather was perfect- sunny and 77 degrees everyday. (Sorry, my Central NY family and friends....) So this week's Friday 5ive is really from last week.

1) Our friend George knows how much I like to read books, so he found this cute little deck chair  book chair for me. It's perfect to use at the beach! While I sat in my lounge chair, my book got to lounge as well, and my hands didn't cramp up from reading the three books I finished that week. My Kindle fits well too. Everyday someone would stop and ask me where I got it- I found a sticker on the back that read "thinkinggifts.com", so here is the link in case you want one too.

2)  While out boating, we came upon these beautiful sailboats on Sarasota Bay. They looked so lovely, I had to take a photo.

3) Our Sign of the Week is a funny one we saw at the New Pass Grill when we were getting a breakfast egg sandwich.

4)  My brother-in-law brought his new McLaren car down and wherever we went, it got a lot of attention. Heads turned every time we drove by. He made a lot of new friends last week.

5) Beach time means reading time for me and I was able to read three books last week between the beach and the plane trips. Jenny Colgan's books are perfect beach reading, and her The Bookshop on the Shore continues the story from The Bookshop on the Corner. In this one, single mom Lottie moves herself and her young son to Loch Ness from London, where she takes a job as a nanny to a family of three wild children and their checked-out single father. She also works part-time at Nina's book shop van. Colgan's characters are so vivid, you want to be friends with them, and possibly even move to Scotland. I flew through this wonderful, heartwarming book. 

The Bookshop on the Shore

Brenda Janowitz's upcoming novel, The Grace Kelly Dress tells the story of three woman. Rose is a seamstress in Paris in 1958 who must design a wedding dress for a wealthy socialite, based on Princess Grace Kelly's dress. But she is hiding a big secret from the socialite, one that will destroy everything if it gets out. In 1982 Long Island, prim and proper Joan is engaged to the perfect man and can't wait to wear her mother's gorgeous wedding dress, based on Grace Kelly's dress. If only she was as excited to actually get married. In 2008, Joan can't wait for her daughter, tech CEO Rocky, to wear her wedding dress at Rocky's wedding. But Rocky is not a traditional girl and doesn't know how to tell her mother she can't wear that dress. The way Janowitz intersects these three women's lives is interesting, and each woman's story is equally strong, a feat not easily achieved by most authors. My full review will follow soon.

The Grace Kelly Dress

And lastly, I picked up the latest Read With Jenna's book, Abi Daré's The Girl With the Louding Voice. Jenna Bush Hager never steers me wrong, and this novel about a young Nigerian girl whose dreams of going to school are dashed when her father marries her off to an older man is so moving and profound. You will root for Adunni to overcome all her troubles to achieve her dream. I absolutely loved it and could not put this book down. My full review will follow soon. 

The Girl With the Louding Voice

It's back to reality and 21 degrees in NYC today. Hope you are safe and warm where you are.