Book Review: The Perfect Dress by Carolyn Brown

Three best friends and business partners work together to make every woman’s dream come true, by designing the perfect dress for their wedding. But not just any bride to be. The Perfect Dress wedding boutique is the only custom dress boutique of its kind, and caters exclusively to plus sized women who may not receive the love, care, and attention at mainstream boutiques. The Perfect Dress by Carolyn Brown received 4/5 stars as a quick read with a balance of cute scenes, heart warming interactions, unbreakable friendships, and a touch of romance.

Synopsis

The Perfect Dress follows three best friends and co-owners of a custom wedding dress boutique for plus sized women on their individual relationship journeys. Mitzi, the main character, is surprised when her high school crush returns to town with two teenaged daughters. The book also touches her two best friends; Jodi, who has been dating Lyle since grade school but without the marriage certificate, and Paula, a superstitious woman who accidentally dated a married man before he confessed being married.

As with any good book staged in the south, there is the exuberant granny who loves to gossip. Fanny Lou is everything we want in an angel investor. She clutches her pearls, throws caution to the wind, and walks in without knocking. Mitzi’s father, Harry, also plays an active role. Which is funny because Graham’s last name is Harrison. It made me laugh.

The shop, although doing well as the only boutique in the area that services plus sized women exclusively, is crossing their fingers for an invite to the biggest bridal show in Texas. The ladies know that the exposure would be incredible for their boutique. Meanwhile, they look for other avenues to expand, like bridal party gowns and even tux rentals, for plus sized individuals only. They even add a floral expansion for custom bouquets designed to match the gowns perfectly. But nothing would be as good as the exposure from the bridal show.

Book Review: The Perfect Dress

This book was a warm read with touches of romance that truly highlighted the power of friendship. The comic relief from Fanny Lou broke up the sadness and struggles felt by the trio. Jodi and Paula’s interactions with their mothers made you long for Mitzi’s mom, as they describe her beautifully and a contrast from the other two eccentric mothers.

Without giving spoilers, there were some things I didn’t like about the book. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it. But there were some issues that resulted in it receiving 4/5 stars.

No Romantic Sparks

In the big picture, I enjoyed that this book was not a sleezy romance about two people who fall in love at first sight. The romance between Mitzi and Graham is subtle, and not the focus of the book. In fact, it’s so mild that the reader may not see it at all. It took me until chapter 15 to even feel any sort of actual romance between the two characters. Other than Mitzi telling her friends how she had a “crush” on him (initially in high school, but now as an adult… do adults have crushes, or are they love interests at this age?), there is nothing that indicates anything going on between them.

Childish Personality Traits

The oddest part, in my opinion, was the trio’s ages. Based on their personalities and behaviors, they were perceived very young. But then they would reference time, like how long Lyle and Jodi had been dating or the time lapsed since they graduated high school, and you realize they are a lot older than they act. Sure, they own a business and live alone. But some of the things that go through each of their minds feels like you’re reading the thought process of someone straight out of high school. Not necessarily bad thoughts, just not age appropriate.

Excessive Size Mentions

This book is about a plus sized woman who makes custom dresses for plus sized women. I knew before page one that the main character was a larger woman. Yet the author felt the need to remind the reader, directly, on every single page. Not only does it feed into Mitzi’s insecurities (which is odd since she’s initially portrayed as proud and confident of her body), but it often adds nothing to the context at hand. Instead of showing the reader through metaphors or poetic wording, the author consistently mentions the characters’ size by referring to them as big girls. It quickly became redundant, and after the 76th mention of someone’s size I found myself rolling my eyes and mumbling “I know…”.

Totally random, I also didn’t like that Mitzi offers the twins a job (and willing to pay them) but they decide they want to learn how to sew instead of payment. That feels backwards. The author should have empowered Mitzi to build the twins’ entrepreneurial spirit properly, with money, instead of reinforcing the old concept of free work, exposure, and trade.

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