The historical detail in this book was absolutely stunning and I adored the setting. It hit me as I began this story how few books set in Australia I've read. I loved both time periods and definitely enjoyed the assortment of characters. I'm looking forward to reading more from Tea Cooper!

1853. After cholera claims her parents, Della return to Sydney and devotes herself to the Curio Shop of Wonders. Where she also discovers her aunt Cordelia is selling something more than just curiosities to collectors.

London, 1918. Fleur learns about her husband being claimed by war. She travels to Sydney to claim her inheritance, her husband’s land and wealth. It leads her to the same store, Della and her aunt owned. There, she unravels the story of her inheritance.

I like fast moving stories, but the characters and events could be better developed. It feels as everything is just scratched at the surface and it keeps jumping from one person to another, at least at the beginning. It gets better developed later in the story, but I was still missing a good hook at the beginning. I had a hard time getting into the story and being connected with the characters.

It held my interest and I did read it fairly quick, but the dual timeline didn't work too well in some places, especially at the end.

The setting in Australia is gripping, especially the landscape and the way people interact with it. The social divide between Australians/Germans and Australians/Natives affects relationships and outcomes.

The romance was very light and kind of left open-ended in its own timeline (we only learn what happened from the second timeline).

The title is about a secondary character and I didn't feel like it represented the novel right.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

A great quick read! A historical fiction following two different timelines with memorable characters and an intriguing plot.

The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper will take you from London to Australia after WWI. Fleur lost her parents in the Zeppelin raids, married an Australian soldier, and learns he was killed in the last days of the war. She has been left with a sizable inheritance but she must travel to Australia immediately to sort it out. The inheritance, and the story as a whole, revolves around the first Australian opal discovered. The story takes you back to 1853 and Austrian Captain Stefan von Richter and his quest to reclaim the opal for his mentor. Stefan meets some unsavory characters, Della (the love of his life), and Bert, a homeless lad who unlocks the mystery for Fleur. The beautiful and unique flora and fauna of Australia are described along with some of the history and mystery of Australian opals. The story has lots of twists and turns. I enjoyed the read.

My first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. i will be looking for other books by this author.
I received an advanced copy from the publisher and netgalley and this is my opinion

Wow this book confused me! I liked the story, but got kind of lost between the back and forth between characters. Both stories were about a curiosity shop, it was open in one instance, and abandoned in the other. I liked the story okay, but it was confusing. Different kind of story, but I liked it.

I very much enjoyed Tea Cooper's The Woman in the Green Dress. She handled the dual time line seamlessly and it was entertaining to learn about Australia and its history. Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy