This book was beautifully written. The story revolves around three generations of women in the same family and the wedding dress that is passed down with each generation. I was completely swept away by each of their stories, which alternate throughout the book.

Rose originally designed the dress while working for a top wedding dress designer in Paris. It was passed down to her daughter, Joan and eventually to Rocky, bringing the story up to current date. Each woman had a unique story about the love of their life and it was fun to see each one play out all the way to Rocky’s big day.

I enjoyed every minute of this book. The author’s writing style made the book feel very real. The way Joan and Rocky changed the design of the dress to fit their personalities was interesting. Personally, I don’t know if I could have done that to a family heirloom, but I do understand each person is different and making the dress uniquely their own was important for their big day. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes reading women’s fiction and romance.

Family traditions sometimes out weight a person's own interests. That is what Rocky is experiencing as she is planning her wedding. Her mother wants her to wear the wedding dress that she and her grandmother wore in their weddings, but it's not even close to Rocky's style.

Three separate stories of love, life, and weddings unfold between Rocky, her mother Joan, and her grandmother Rose. In the end, family traditions are much more about the stories they tell than the actual traditions.
I enjoyed the mother/daughter dynamics throughout the book, but it was one of those stories that seem to be tied up neatly into a bow.

This is a lovely story about the famous dress which is changed for each bride's style and becoming a family heirloom. The characters of three generations are well developed and the plot moves right along. If one remembers Grace Kelly's wedding, it is especially entertaining.

Wow! This is such a beautiful story and so well written it had tears in my eyes multiple times. The way she wrote of Rose, Joan and Rocky's stories all leading into one was so eloquent. It wasn't until about 75% into the story that I finally began making the connections between the three ladies. The sentimentality of the dress and the changes it went thru in its continued life are so beautiful. A wedding dress passed down from one to another and being customized to each women's personality.

I would recommend this book to everyone who enjoys a sentimental and family oriented read.

This was cute. Very light reading.. I didn’t love it as much as her last book The Dinner Party.. The book focuses on a seamstress, and a mother and daughter. I felt the mother’s story was incomplete and wrapped up just because the book was almost over. Overall just ok for me.

THE GRACE KELLY DRESS is an innocuous title to a surprising impactful story spanning many years and evolving around brides and their wedding gowns.
Grace Kelly was an American actress who met a prince and became a princess. You can’t get any more romantic than that.
So at the heart of THE GRACE KELLY DRESS is romance, brides, grooms and their friends and family. But it would be so shortsighted for my review to trivialize a very well written look at some of societies and histories life altering events.
THE GRACE KELLY DRESS centers on three amazing women. Rose the Paris seamstress in 1958. Joannie in 1982 who now in 2020 is the mother of Roxy the bride to be.
There are lots of secrets hidden in the Grace Kelly dress – yes I am speaking of the actual dress which is the central character of this amazing book. Not really the one that Grace Kelly herself wore but the one that was fashioned after the original. Note there were many replications of the original dress. But none could totally replicate it because of the secrets it held.
In THE GRACE KELLY DRESS we travel through three generations of a family of women to uncover, discover those secrets. Each discovery more moving than the next. The Grace Kelly dress in this story has been altered in some manner in each generation and now is in the hands of the third generation.
There are many little clues – sparse as they are – that totally click once you arrive at the end of this amazing tale. The reader’s reaction tells it all. I laughed and kind of gasped with the big reveal. Brenda Janowitz was just brilliant in how she managed so deftly to keep certain details just out of reach. But candidly you are not aware of this at all. At least not until the end. And that’s when it all clicked into place like a well designed and constructed jigsaw puzzle. THE GRACE KELLY DRESS is truly a work of art.
Many references to items of clothing, accessories, and gifts are told through the remarks of characters like Rose as she embarks in an impossible journey as the protégé for a well-known dress maker whose claim to fame was the magnificent copies of the original Grace Kelly dress.
I have purposely been brief and obscure in my review of THE GRACE KELLY DRESS. In would be unconscionable for me to ruin even one moment of this beautiful story told with great care by Brenda Janowitz. THE GRACE KELLY DRESS is coming out in March of 2020. Make sure to put in on your must read list.

Three generations of women linked together by one wedding gown - a dress that is styled to emulate the famous wedding gowns of princesses.
The Grace Kelly Dress does a wonderful job of showing us what brides go through in the months leading up to their wedding. How sometimes heirlooms are more like albatrosses. And how the meaning of love changes from person to person and time to time.

The Grace Kelly Dress by Brenda Janowitz is thoughtful, well written novel which follows the history of one particular wedding dress, from its creation to its third wearing by the granddaughter of its original owner. Told in three voices, by the dressmaker who made it for a society woman in the style of Grace Kelly's wedding gown, by the second wearer of the dress who had it altered to add Princess Diana sleeves, and by the third wearer, who doesn't want to wear it all, it's an engrossing story of how the world and the brides in it have changed in style, taste and thinking...and how the world has changed.

A beautiful, loving story...I just wish I knew what happened to the third wearer's father! Thank you to the author, Harlequin and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Janowitz writes a novel told by three different women in three different periods of history. That is not easy to do, but she masterfully keeps the story moving by making the chapters short and the pacing spot on.

The story revolves around a bridal gown that three different women wore and passed down to her daughter. Each generation wants to make alterations to the dress, which was originally modeled to look like Prince Kelly’s wedding dress. In 1982, Joan wants to have puffy sleeves like Princess Diana had when she walked down the aisle. In 2020, Rocky (a nickname Rachel has gone by since childhood), doesn’t want the dress at all. She’s comfortable in motorcycle boots, black pants and shirts that show off her tattoos.

The challenges these women face are primarily with what they think others expect of them. In fact, the mothers of the different generations are incredibly gracious and forgiving, so it’s hard to feel too much empathy for the brides’ challenges. Still, this is a fun, light read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book, which RELEASES MARCH 3, 2020.

Exploring the complexities of identity, relationships, culture, and love through the lives of three generations of women connected by family and an iconic dress.

Brenda Janowitz has another winner on her hands. This is the story of an iconic dress passed down through three generations. She highlights the time period and depicts love in it’s various stages. The characters and their stories come to life and she keeps you turning the pages as you become completely immersed in their lives. She also had me thinking about my own family heirlooms and their importance. Great job! I thoroughly enjoyed it! #TheGraceKellyDress #BrendaJanowitz #NetGalley

Brenda Janowitz's The Grace Kelly Dress is a great multigenerational story. The story follows the lives of Rocky in 2020, her mother Joanie in 1982 and her grandmother in 1958, and how they are all connected to one wedding dress, a replica of the dress Grace Kelly wore. It was a very sweet story with some history mixed in, and the family dynamics made it hard to put down!

I couldn't put it down! It's a heartwarming multigenerational tale of three vastly different, independent women all tied together around one Grace Kelly-inspired wedding gown. While each woman has her own idea of love and wedding dress styles, this story brings them together with the power of family. It's sweet, uplifting, and enjoyable.

I loved this book! The timelines make the pacing fast. The characters are so well drawn and the story is perfection!!

This is a fantastic read for your patrons who loved The Dress earlier this year. Under the backdrop of not only a royal wedding but also the fashion design elements behind iconic wedding fashions, The Grace Kelly Dress goes into the lives of three generations of women who discover themselves through one amazing wedding gown. The book follows the timelines of the three women- grand-mere, mother and daughter- in a perfect mashup of both historical and contemporary women's fiction. You will root for these characters!

I was of two minds about the book. Some of it was decent reading, but it seemed like Janowitz used some bizarre formula to pull it together. Facts changed, stereotypes were followed and then others were reversed. Let’s call the bride Rocky and her flirty, girly sister who is a lesbian, Amanda.

The story of 3 women and the beautiful gown they wore was just very bungled. Rose, the little seamstress grew up as an orphan in 1940’s Paris, but Janowitz fails to mention WW II, which might help us understand her personality and contextualize the setting. There are people who are relatives, then not relatives. The role of Michele is totally confusing.

Let’s add an adopted Korean, raised as a Jew to the mix...can’t leave anything out of this formulaic novel.

I had to take a deep breath and try to figure out the roles people played, how they got where they were and why so many stereotypical and unnecessary characters were tossed around.

I have liked other books by Janowitz but within a framework, full of potential, the author and editor have filled it with a mashup of types. It’s okay not to have every character type in the book. Better to keep identities stable and characters realistic.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this novel.

A lovely multi generational story of a beautiful, famous wedding dress and the three generations of women who wear it