The Grace Kelly Dress by Brenda Janowitz (Review by Missi Gwartney)

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Nothing seems to be more memorable at a wedding than the dress the bride chooses and this couldn’t be more true in Janowitz’s new release, The Grace Kelly Dress. Narrated by 3 generations of women, each from their unique time period, who lend their own perspective of how important a wedding dress can be while recounting not only the love and memories but also the fears and expectations when one dress is passed down through multiple generations.

Each chapter switches between the stories of Rocky, Joanie, and Rose. While these women are daughter, mother, and grandmother (respectively) each story is pleasantly unique yet similar at the same time. Rocky hates the dress, Joanie seems to love the dress more than her fiancé, and Rose is caught up in what the dress means for her future. While “the dress” plays a central role in each woman’s life, it is intriguing to watch each individual story unfold and intertwine not only with the dress but also the emotion it uncovers. For me, the dress seemed to be the catalyst that each woman needed to be able to communicate their own story while emphasizing compassion, happiness, heartbreak and ultimately the need to rediscover themselves.

Even with switching between the characters and the short chapters, this book was very easy to follow and flowed well from one chapter to the next. Although at times, I couldn’t wait to get back to a previous storyline. I really enjoyed the book and finished it in just a couple days because I wanted to find out how it all came together. My only downfall with the book is that I felt that it came together too quickly at the end and was a little rushed. I wanted more about what happened with the “after”, but I think this had more to do with the author’s amazing job of developing the characters, so the reader wanted more even after the actual story was finished. I’d recommend it to all readers and especially those that love happily ever after.