The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle - by Jennifer Ryan

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan is a heartwarming historical novel. The story is told from the perspective of: Cressida, Violet, and Grace. I thought The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle was well-written with realistic, developed characters. I enjoyed getting to know Cressida, Violet, Grace, Hugh, Ben, Landon, and the other characters. The village women were kind and quirky. I liked getting to see the main characters learn and grow from their experiences. We get to see the ladies come into their own. The women were resilient and creative amid such hardship. I enjoyed the author’s descriptive writing which brought the story alive. I could tell that the author did her research. She included details that made the story authentic. The people in England endured so much during World War II (bombings, rationing, loss of loved ones). The rationing of clothing was a complicated system (I do not know how they figured it out). I love how the women came together in the story to help brides have a white wedding gown. They were a supportive group of women. I thought it was interesting to learn that it was unpatriotic to be idle. If you were sitting and listening to the wireless in the evening, you should be knitting, crocheting, or sewing. If you were not knitting something for a family member, then you should make socks for the troops. There are some dark moments in the story, but there are many light ones as well. It was important to enjoy the good times. To live and use what time you had because you never knew what tomorrow would bring. Despite the war, the people were optimistic and hopeful. You did not have to do something on your own as one of our characters learned. There were others there willing and able to lend a hand. The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle was a little bit of a slow starter, but I soon became involved in the story. I just loved the ending. I appreciated the author’s note at the end. It provided some interesting information. I liked that we get to see that it is possible to have a career (do work they loved) and be married. It was a new concept for women at this time. Some of the themes in the story are friendship, family, rationing, life choices, danger from war, and romance. I liked that we get to see that no task is impossible if people work together. The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is a heartwarming, positive story that will leave you smiling. The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle is an uplifting tale with a waging war, make do and mend, bursting bombs, ration regulations, wedding dress worries, firm friends, and rare romances.