The Wedding Dress

I don't normally write reviews but with all the good reviews, I wanted another perspective. The book was full of Jesus and what I felt to be a self-righteous tone. It's not a terrible story and I don't care that it's obviously a Christian book, but it wasn't a book for me. It was predictable and kind of boring. I couldn't relate to the characters. I felt the main character was too self-righteous and I disliked her the more I read. Motocross race bikes don't way 500 hundred pounds and I was just more and more tuned out as I read it. I felt like I was being preached to and as much as I think there was an intent to be about civil rights, it was more about praise for a white woman going outside of social norms - almost making it about the white woman being a hero. It was odd and made me uncomfortable. It would have been more interesting to have more story development about the relationship between the white woman and actually develop the character of the black woman more. There was nothing more about her, just about the white woman being a hero and being revolutionary. I was disapointed that I paid for this book because of the postive reviews.

According to the information provided by Amazon, this book was published in 2012. However, according to my content information I purchased it in June 2011. How do you explain that? Unfortunately, I just finished reading it.I am a Christian and a believer in the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers and unbelievers alike. I can't remember where or how I learned of this book but by the time I got around to reading it I had no idea what to expect. I have read a large number of "romance novels" that include foul language, sex, sex, and more sex. I was more or less expecting the same with this book. Boy was I wrong.I'm not surprised that readers who are not committed to the Lord and His work in the lives of individuals found it too "Christian" for their tastes. I really enjoyed it. It is a romance novel without any overt sex (just a few hints of what a man wants to do to his fiance') and it has mystery surrounding the title theme, the wedding dress. It is a good, clean, enjoyable story ranging from 1912 to the present day. The characters are believable and their situations plausible.I recommend this book, even for those young people who enjoyed the Twilight series (I enjoyed those books too and I am 75 years old).

I read "The Wedding Dress" first and then purchased the "The Wedding Shop" and enjoyed both books for what they are, a fictional love story with religious overtones. This was not, to me, a preachy religious book. Yes, as I said there were references of God and religious beliefs thrown in here and there, but it was not saturated through out the book. I usually read haunted house mysteries and they are less believable than the religious notations that others complained about in this book. I am not a religious person, but I believe in God. This book was a very good read and change of pace for me....I had no problem reading through the religious sentences any more than I had no problem reading about spirits and ghosts in my haunted house books. If you did not finish this book because of the brief religious parts than you missed out on a good story. I also thought it was well written and moved along at a good pace. The ending was well thought out and completed all the story lines in the book. I will continue to purchase other books by this author.

Charlotte Malone decides to take a breather from running her bridal shop one day to take a walk around a local estate sale, not intending to buy anything, just look and take her mind off her stresses. She's surprised to find herself greatly interested in an antique wooden trunk that appears to have it's lock welded shut. A mysterious man in a vibrant purple shirt appears as the auctioneer, somehow coaxing her to bid on the item though she has no use for it. Charlotte ends up winning the trunk, taking it home, and with the help of some friends manages to eventually get it open. Inside, she finds a wedding gown that clearly looks like it's from another era, though she can't quite place which one. Strangely, it also appears to not have any signs of aging, as if it was just completed only yesterday. Charlotte becomes increasingly fascinated with learning the provenance of the gown, her research leading her to the stories of three other women -- Emily from the year 1912, Mary Grace from the year 1939, and Hilary from 1968 -- who all wore this dress on their wedding day. Each woman brings a riveting piece of history to the story of the dress, stories that will come together to explain the dress's pull on Charlotte.I expected a sweet, fluffy story going in but found myself pleasantly surprised to come to the last page and realize I really loved this tale! The different points of history are all fascinating and each character is unique and life-like. There are good-hearted characters to cheer for and wicked people to cut eyes at (figuratively, of course). I can't think of one character here, good or bad, that did not hold my interest til the end! And the mystery of the dress itself -- I had to know how all these stories tied together! There's also the cute couplings to enjoy -- the back and forth struggle between Charlotte and her man (not a bad struggle though -- more of a "man, it'll be great when they come around" kind of tension), even through their rough patches they had nice banter and sweet, honest moments. I think my favorite, though, was Mary Grace and her husband as they were portrayed as the old couple in the retirement home, still looking out for each other. Having known couples like that when I worked in those kinds of homes, it definitely brought some warm-fuzzies to my heart :-)I liked that this story had the blend of sweet, mysterious and heart-tugging without getting over-the-top sappy. These characters just felt like straight-up good people you'd know or meet in your everyday life. That tiniest vein of magical realism -- with the mystery man in purple -- was a pretty cool touch to keep the pages turning as well!

For a confirmed atheist, I found that there was a bit too much preaching. But, other than that, I absolutely loved the story. The characters were well rounded, and relatable. The story surrounding the dress, was just beautiful. You felt part of it.I would recommend this book wholeheartedly.

THe wedding dress by Rachel Hauck. I loved this novel which tells the stories of several women decades apart, who all wear the same wedding dress. The plots are cleverly managed to keep the reader guessing on the outcomes of who marries who, keeping you turning the pages right to the very end. As she explores the women's stories, the author draws out what they are looking for from marriage, and how life's twists and turns affect them. A touching and gripping novel.

This must be one of the best book I have read in ages. I was a little skeptical because I had not heard about the author previously, and the customer reviews did not tell me much about what to expect.But the plot blew my mind away, the christian message was so subtly and efficiently shared. I did think that it took a little while to take off, but as soon as it did, I could not put the book down.This is an author I definitely will be buying more books from. And The wedding dress is a novel that would recommend to anyone looking for something different and exciting.

I loved this book. I liked how it all wasn't a fairy tale at first. How we always face challenges in life even in love.

I found it quite slow and repetitive. It was one of those I kept reading expecting it to get better, but it didn't.