I would like to confess something. I could not finish this book. I really tried to keep reading this book until the very end. But I just could not. I did not like the plot of the book. I had already seen The Traveling Pants movies, so there was no need for a remake in this book. And the main female character was just annoying to get through. I just rather DNF than keep on reading.

2.5 stars rounded up.

Four Ways to Wear a Dress focuses on Millie as she moves across the country and tries to become a social media influencer and create and Instagram-worthy life. Maybe it is generational, but I had a hard time connecting to the characters who chose to put fake perfect lives out there. It certainly doesn't endear me to them particularly when children are involved.

ADHD is also an integral part of the book. While I appreciate the neurodivergent representation, I found the main character, Millie, frustrating at times as she blamed nearly everything on ADHD.

I also don't entirely understand why the book is entitled Four Ways to Wear a Dress. While the dress does make a few appearances, it's not a prominent part of the book. I can only imagine that the author might be intending to write a series of four books, based on the four women who wear the dress.

If you can get beyond the annoying social media influencer moments, Four Ways to Wear a Dress is a lighthearted book with some laughs.

Thank you, NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca, for the digital review copy.

i really enjoyed this book!! it was so much fun to read, especially in the summertime!! thank you so much to netgalley for letting me read this one early!!!

This book was so much fun and steamier than I expected. Millie heads out to visit her influencer bestie after getting laid off. Millie has ADHD and feels like she cant seem to get it together, so the break is welcome. While packing she finds a dress she and her friends shared to wear for big moments - think sisterhood of the travelling pants. Obviously, she has to wear it on her trip. She makes an account to document her time there, and ends up falling into a fake relationship with her "instagram husband." As a baby bookstagrammer, all the nods to social media were really fun. As someone with ADHD, I definitely understood Millie's feelings of not feeling like your life is together. And Pete the insta husband was *insert sweating emojis* hot. The mix of sisterhood of the traveling pants paired with the 2022 content creation and trying to make it all work is a formula that hit me just right. I think the book also relays an important message that we should all give ourselves a little more credit and can afford to be a little more real in this curated world of social media we live in.

Thank-you NetGalley and publisher for the chance to review this ARC.

I really liked the premise of this book.
The cover is so pretty and eye catching.
I liked the message that this gave.
The characters here were very fun.
The setting is perfect for summer!

Rating : 3 out of 5
Blurbs :
You are capable of more than you think you are-don't give up on your happiness
Your friends are your fiercest champions
It's good to admit to your mistakes, but sometimes it's also okay to pretend your crush is really your Instagram Boyfriend
The perfect dress can help you get through anything

Millie Ward has been fired. Again. She's tired of feeling like a failure, and she refuses to blame her ADHD the way her parents do every time she hits one of life's speed bumps. This time, she's going to let that speed bump actually slow her down, and jumps at the chance to visit her best friend-and Instagram influencer-Quincy in California. And she wouldn't mind if that invitation also involved getting closer with Quincy's brother, Pete.

When her best friends Kate and Bree help her pack, they rediscover the little black dress they shared in college. This dress helped them during first dates, exams, and job interviews-bringing each woman who wore it a bit of luck and confidence. Whatever comes during Millie's next chapter, this dress will help.

But Peacock Bay is full of mega influencers who have perfected the look of the surf lifestyle, and a minor misunderstanding has Millie and her magical dress joining their ranks. Now she has to convince her crush Pete Santana that pretending to be her Instagram Husband will help bring new business to his struggling hotel and help her launch her influencer career. But maybe posting all her failures isn't the best way to win Pete's heart, no matter how good it is for his business. When she reveals her biggest screw-up of all-their fake relationship-there's a good chance she could lose not only her new following, but Pete as well...

Thoughts : If you need a summer book to read during your summer holiday, then this book is for you. I can't say that I don't enjoy this book but at the same time, I also can't say this book is my favorite. There are some funny and steamy moments (obvs) but I don't feel any attachment to the characters in this book. Overall, it's a pretty good debut book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy!

Loved this debut novel from Gillian Libby! If you’re looking for an enjoyable, steamy book for the beach, you’ve found it here. You can’t help but love Millie and Pete.

I left this book wanting to know more about some of the supporting characters so hope there’s more to come on some of them!

This little gem is a perfect summer read! Talking about reinventing oneself, fresh start, great friendships, sunshine, sand, beach, waves, surfing and of course life of an instagram influencer. If you love the now considered classic-Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, this quick read is for you!

Though the story was fun, it lacked depth for me. There is way too many things going that everything seem to be shallow. Millie has ADHD, she got laid-off from her marketing job in NYC and she flew to California to be with her college best friend hoping to make a good start and change for the better. I can already tell how the story will come together about 30% into the book. The fake relationship with Pete was good but I would have wanted more. Some deeper and more heartbreaking conflict when they broke up because well….. the more dramatic break up leads to a sweeter kiss and make-up scene. Overall, it is a quick read, perfect for the sunny, laid back summer weekends!

Special thank you to Sourcebook Publishing @bookmarked @sourcebookscasa and Netgalley for the copy.
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#fourwaystowearadress #bookreview #bookstagram #book #advancereaderscopy #netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreviewer #bookworms

Surf, sand, and a hunk await Millie after she loses her NYC job. She tires the surfer life and becoming an influencer while helping the hunk, Pete, try and save his hotel. Millie May mess up quite a bit, but she is earnest in wanting to do the right thing.
Social media plays a large role in the book, which had a compelling message. What you see isn’t always what you get.
It’s a cute read about life realizations and choosing the best wave to ride.

I went into this debut novel expecting to enjoy myself. I did not. And while this book is not for me, I’m certain there is a wide audience for it. (the reviews that I’ve seen are divided, and that’s exactly how I feel about it… so divided) There were parts of Four Ways to Wear a Dress that I enjoyed but unfortunately, those times were overshadowed by characters treating friends, family, and the social media audience they played to so badly, and at times cruelly.

The fact is that this is a story that was not for me, but might be exactly what you’re looking for – so take any review with a grain of salt and check out Four Ways to Wear a Dress for yourself as you make your own decision on enjoyment level.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own – good, bad, or indifferent. I was not financially compensated for this review and no expectation of a positive review was promised.*

I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. The romance was super steamy, which is exactly what you want in an easy beach read.

For the most part this was a very enjoyable book. I did not care for all the influencer/Instagram content it focused on but I understand that was a big part of the story. I am not the target audience for that but I don't blame the book for that. Another thing that got to me was how much Millies ADHD was mentioned. It was like we needed to be reminded that she had that over and over again.

Now what I loved was the friendship between Millie, Bree, Kate and Quincy, You could tell that they were there for each other no matter what. It is refreshing to see such strong female friendships. I could also see Sage fitting into that role as well and I wish we could have seen more of her and Millies friendship blossom.

I absolutely LOVE the romance between Millie and Pete. I was rooting for them the whole book and had a huge smile on the face at the end of the book.

I look forward to seeing what Gillian Libby writes in the future.

My Review: ⭐️⭐️.5/ 5

A contemporary romance about a woman named Millie Ward who is fired from her job for speaking her mind. To lift her mood, her best friend Quincy invites her to California to visit and reassess what she wants to do next. Millie’s other friends sent her their joint black dress (that they all share for big events). Millie hopes this might also help her get closer to Quincy’s brother, Pete.

This reminds me so much of the Sisterhood of Traveling Pants series/movies. The title is a bit confusing as it mentioned the other ways to wear the dress but it doesn’t go into the history of the dress with the other friends. It’s a romance, so I expect that Millie will be very evident as the narrator how much she wants Pete but it was very repetitive to the point of annoyance. The spice is OK, but it doesn’t get into gear until the end really, and it doesn’t make up for the thin storyline as it is. I enjoyed some parts of this including the inclusion of her ADHD and her internal struggle with it and the location of the book. The writing story was not for me though unfortunately.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Tropes: small town/coastal, brother of the best friend

Spice Level: 2/5

With that first sentence, I was hooked! The rest of the book was not what I expected after reading the blurb about it, but it was still an enjoyable read. This would be a good beach/pool book. Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really liked this contemporary adult read, and I would definitely recommend to anyone who thinks it sounds good!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Four Ways to Wear a Dress
Thank you to Netgalley, for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Finishing this book left me with one overwhelming feeling: I wanted more. Not necessarily a sequel, but there wasn’t enough in this book for me to care. The plot? A decent idea, but not enough. The romance? Cute I guess, but not enough. The smut? Decent but again, not enough.

Pros:
-ADHD representation, though I’m not sure if it was perfect
-A start of a conversation about social media and our need to look perfect.
-Semi-hot scenes! The smut is the only reason this is getting dragged up to 3 stars but if the smut was better, this could have been 4 stars.

Cons:
-The plot wasn’t believable. I’m sure parts are… but as someone who has worked in social media marketing for years, there was so much that I was like.. Uhhh no. That’s not how it works. I’m not an influencer but still.
-Why MARRIED? No seriously, why would they jump straight to Pete & Millie being married?I mean, I can see a fake relationship to boost ratings, but.. Why did they jump straight to married when that’s way easier to disprove than just dating? Felt like the author only did it so they could have a plot piece of Millie running away and not having a plot hole… but created a plot hole in itself? Like it just didn’t feel believable.
-A lot of this book was.. Slow. The start of this book was slow and it took awhile for me to get into. I liked the first 5 pages or so, but then got so bored until I hit the 40% mark. I enjoyed the 40% - 70% at least a little, then I got bored again and it never picked up.
-I just didn’t understand the motivation for a lot of the character’s actions.. Especially Millie’s.
-Everything wrapped up way too nicely. I get that’s how a lot of contemporary romance books work but this didn’t feel like a natural progression. Just, hey, everything is perfect now, yay! Which seems antithetical to the whole message of the book.
-None of these characters had depth. I literally think the only one that did and felt real was Quincey. It was all so stereotypical or not believable.

This is a very good debut! I loved the atmosphere and it would make for a great beach read!

I definitely think the synopsis and title could be tweaked. It doesn’t describe the story that unfolds very well. Because of this, I had different expectations going into it.

Four Ways to Wear a Dress by Gillian Libby is a new take on Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Millie, who has ADHD, loses her job she moves to Peacock Bay where her friend, Quincy, and college crush, Pete, live. Quincy and her friends are all Instagram influencers. Millie decides to join them. I liked this book, but it did seem to drag at times. The characters were well written. I'd recommend for a quirky summer read.

I loved this book! A 5 star read for me. Just the book I needed to get me out of my reading slump.
I liked that the main character had ADHD and how it was treated in the book. Great characters in general. Liked how it touched on the pandemic and the effects it has had particularly in smaller tourist villages without being over the top or in your face. It was subtle which just made it better and made the reader think about it more.
I liked how it touched on social media and influencers too. Overall a really thought-provoking book that leads itself perfectly as a book club read for the many possibilities for discussions it creates. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

While I liked the ADHD representation with Millie and how she's shown people that not everything on social media is what it seems and how it's okay to be yourself and make mistakes because we're all. human, I just couldn't bring myself to care about the other characters and their social media influencer lives and reading about how much Millie wants to get down and dirty with Pete on what felt like every single page of the book made it extremely difficult for me to finish this book.