After Meg’s father passes away she returns to the heart of Chicago. Facing the brutal cold and concept that she is now literally an orphan Meg arrives at Parkview apartments where all her childhood memories are hidden away, many too painful to face. Her father has left her this building, its longtime curious tenants and the many daily problems to contend with. Leaving the dazzling world of fashion behind in NYC along with her ex-boyfriend Drake has not been easy, but Meg is determined to make her father proud. Assisted by Sylvie, Ellie and handsome handyman Logan - Meg must find a way to repair and restore this crumbling historic site to its former glory. Filled with unexpected romance, friendship and even a mystery involving a magical dress - as Christmas approaches so do the miracles of the holiday season. Enjoyed and recommend this sweet and quick holiday read.

Sweet Christmastime story about a young woman reinventing herself after the death of her father. I fell in love with Meg and the residents of the apartment building she inherited. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Meg Julliard has to go home to Chicago to manage her late father's apartment building. It's not what she hoped for her life, and her real dreams lie in the fashion world. The eclectic group of tenants keep Meg run off her feed with a host of disasters and tasks. Meg befriends one of the residents who is preparing to move into a nursing home, and together they start to go through Ellie's memories that are housed in the apartment. That includes a very special dress, which leads to so much more.

I'm going to be honest, I loved the historical portions of this book but I just didn't feel the romance element at all. This is saying a lot, because romance is my favorite genre, but I would have preferred if this was straight historical fiction. The historical aspects really drew me in and piqued my interest and the modern-day relationship just felt tacked on, in my opinion. But it was full of holiday magic and fun characters.

This is a heartwarming Christmas story. I love the fact that, because there is a dress involved, you see two different stories from two different part time periods happening. The main romance was heartfelt and all of the characters in the book or interesting to me.

The synopsis sounded absolutely fantastic and that translated so well to the story. This was such a sweet story with great characters. I loved everything about this from start to finish and absolutely loved that this was set during the holidays.

Super cute holiday story. Very predictable, the romance is just enough, the characters are silly and very relatable.
I loved reading about all of the people who live in the apartment building. Definitely enough for a sequel if needed. Some of the plot points seemed rushed at the end as if the author was trying to quickly wrap up every happy ending, but still enjoyable.

This is the first I have read by Courtney Cole and will certainly be seeking out more from this talented author. I really enjoyed her light and super sweet story, even though I did think it was a little too heavy on the sweetness at times, I still found this highly enjoyable!

Despite this being a holiday/Christmas story, it's the actual story of relationships and family which steal the show, it's about following your dreams and working hard to make them come true.

I thought it was a little slow in parts, but the pacing is pretty steady and doesn't stick around for too long so your not yarning wondering when the next scene is coming, which is always a good thing.

I liked the characters are likeable and relatable and I enjoyed getting to know them.

Overall, a sweet festive story!

One Dress. Two Women. The Magic of the Holiday Season.
What an absolutely delightful and heartwarming Christmas story!
It makes you feel good deep down inside.
After the death of her father, whom she didn't get a chance to visit nearly enough in recent times Meg is in for an eye opening experience. She inherits her father's Chicago based senior citizen apartment building. This is the last thing she wants to do is take responsibility for this building with it's many financial needs. All of the seniors speak so highly of her father though and so does his assistant.
Meeting apartment dweller Ellie Wade, Meg quickly sees this woman for the gem she is.
Ellie is sad this holiday season though as she's moving into a nursing home soon and her memories are all tied up in her apartment and her belongings.
A gorgeous Christmas dress from many years ago that she's unearthed with sorting her belongings represents both the best and worst night of her life.
Now Meg is in the fashion design business and realizes the dress for the quality it is.
So many emotions are brought to the forefront in this book as we see the highs of lows of it's characters. We see Meg competing in a fashion show with her fashionable timeless designs.
The women have a dream to restore the apartment building to it's former historic glory and the inspiration from this special Christmas dress may be just what they need to do it.
Lively and uplifting. I recommend this book.

Pub Date 09 Nov 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

This was such a great Christmas romance! I love reading Christmas books all year long and it was just what I needed for Christmas in July! Highly recommend!

I always love to read a couple of this Christmas books in July for Christmas in July (yes, I'm one of those people) and I tend to feel the pressure in hoping I make a great choice for the occasion. I took a chance with The Christmas Dress and boy oh boy, am I ever glad that I did. This book was absolutely lovely in every way and checked all the boxes for me in what I find is a not only an excellent book, but superb holiday read as well.

The story was absolutely magical and I fell all you need to know going in is that it centers around two women, one vintage dress, and an unlikely friendship, through which comes a beautifully written story that highlights the magic of Christmas. It's one of those stories that simply brings you delight and touches your heart, which was a definite highlight for me.. On top of this, I really appreciated how elements of the fashion industry and Chicago architecture were sprinkled into the story.

I so enjoyed this heartfelt, uplifting, meaningful story and the group of friends and neighbors we come alongside. It's truly not one I will fast forget. I highly recommend adding this to your holiday TBR.

Many thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the gifted e-copy.

The Christmas Dress is a wonderful story of what can happen when our dreams are put on hold, then realized.

The story follows Meg as she returns to her father's Chicago apartment building after his untimely passing. Without any management experience, Meg relies on the elderly residents for knowledge and community.

Each resident has a fascinating story to tell and Meg learns life lessons from them. Since the building is old and in desperate need of repair, Meg relies upon the building's handyman who just so happens to be handsome and the perfect fit for her.

Ellie is one of the residents whose story is the focus of the novel and the reason behind the name of the book.

I loved how Ms. Cole weaved the stories of the elderly residents' past into Meg's story. The holiday setting added a bit of sparkle to the story. While the setting lends itself to a wintertime read, the message is perfect any time of the year.

This is the first book I've read by Ms. Cole and look forward to reading more by her.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved a good Christmas romance and this was it! The story of how two women's lives interconnected just warmed my heart. It is one I can't recommend enough for all my Christmas loving friends.

I firstly should like to thank Courtney Cole, William Morrow Paperbacks and NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this book in return for an honest review. I loved this book. I didn't know what I was expecting but definitely this was not the run of the mill Christmas story. The characters were great. Even the bad one was tolerable. This book made me laugh out loud, made me cry out loud and all feelings in between. It was impossible to put down and I ignored everything else around me.....food, phone, bed, everything to finish this. I loved the author's writing style and I have to say the Epilogue was a little bit of a surprise how it was written but it fit sooo well. Thank you Courtney Cole for a book that I know I shall read again down the line and I am definitely going to recommend this to lovers of a good make me laugh and make me cry book, those who like romances and those who like and even those who don't like Christmas. Again, a huge thank you you to William Morrow Paperbacks and NetGalley for making this book possible for me to read and love.

Meg Julliard has big dreams of breaking into the fashion world in New York City. After her father’s death, she leaves her job in NYC to return to her hometown of Chicago to manage her father’s apartment building. It doesn’t take long for her to realize that the building is in bad shape, and there is not any money to update it. As she gets to know the residents, Meg realizes that it is a special building, and also that the residents don’t have the funds for a rent increase. She befriends a wonderful older woman named Ellie who has a beautiful and special dress. Ellie gifts the dress to Meg who uses it as an inspiration to start her own line of classic beautiful dresses. Will she be able to win a fashion contest with her new designs? Will she be able to get the money to rehabilitate her old building? Will the cute handyman, Logan, who seems to be keeping the building together, be able to help her out?

I loved this cute story. There were so many elements that I enjoyed. I loved that the building had a very interesting and mysterious past that was discovered throughout the book. I also like that Meg had to figure out what she really wanted in life and how to make it happen. I adored the romance between Meg and Logan. Logan helped Meg on her adventures and helping her to make her dreams come true. The dress was magical, and I enjoyed the story of the dress itself. I loved the relationship between Meg and Ellie, and how they both helped each other come to terms with their pasts. The community of the building felt like a community that cared about one another and was unique. This book was a clean and enjoyable read.

Favorite Quotes:
“Life isn’t a fairy tale. But sometimes, it’s still beautiful.”

“You never know what is happening behind the masks people wear.”

Overall, if you are looking for a heartwarming and sweet novel, I highly recommend The Christmas Dress.

Book Source: Review Copy from William Morrow. Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Christmas Dress by Courtney Cole
Publisher: William Morrow and Custom House
Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Romance, Women's Fiction
Publication Date: November 9, 2021

The Christmas Dress by Courtney Cole is a standalone novel that truly captures the magic of Christmas!

The characters are fascinating, the romance is beautiful, the story is engaging and filled with so much history. I really enjoyed reading this one and recommend it for anyone looking for something special!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A really enjoyable Christmas romance with a touch of mystery and magic. Meg loses her job with Stitch magazine and almost abandons her dream of becoming a fashion designer. When she has to take over her father's building she moves from New York to Chicago and meets a group of tenants and a hunky handyman. The building has lots of memories for her, some sad. Her new friendship with a tenant moving into a home sets her forth in the path of her dreams, saving the building and finding romance because of a beautiful green dress.

Sweet story, full of fun characters, a bit of history, fun surprises. Really enjoyed this story, would recommend to all !

3.5 stars
This was a very cute, predictable Christmas romance story. I enjoyed the idea of the timeless dress, making it's way through generations of women. I also really liked Logan's character. The ex-girlfriend drama was a bit over the top and sometimes the conversations around what makes "a real man" were a bit outdated, but overall is was a light holiday read with a Hallmark worthy plot.

Meg Julliard's fashion dreams get put on hold when she returns home to take over the running of her late father's old apartment building. After a rough start with the tenants, Meg starts to form bonds with the old residents of the building. But every time Meg turns around something else goes wrong with the building, and there just isn't any money to fix it up. When Meg starts to rely on the new friends she is making, she learns that there just might be some historical secrets in the building. And when Ellie, a longtime resident, gifts Meg an old Christmas dress with some strong memories attached, they both hope that the dress will bring Meg some much needed Christmas magic. Can Meg still have her fashion dream and help restore the building to what it once was? Maybe with a little help from local handyman, Logan, and a magical Christmas dress.
This was a delightful Christmas read. It was just the right amount of lighthearted Christmas fun, with a good story. It will make the reader wish they had a fabulous dress that fit like a dream, and a building full of interesting history. I recommend it for a great Christmas book to read by the fireplace and glowing Christmas tree.

An absolutely beautiful, timeless, and charming Christmas story. Someone put it on the Hallmark channel already.