I usually don’t read other reviews before I write one but I made the mistake of looking at some… *I’ll address my thoughts after my “normal” review.

This book will likely be my number one recommended beach/vacation read for this year. I loved the “sisterhood of the traveling pants” vibes and who doesn’t love friends to lovers / fake dating trope? I thought the FMC inner dialogue was hilarious and laughed out loud several times. I liked that the book incorporated real life issues… adult ADHD, ASD, social media pressure, fear of failure, etc. It made it relatable and helped me connect with the characters. While I prefer books written from dual POV and would have loved to have Pete’s side during the book it didn’t take away from the story only being in Millie’s POV. The book is light on the spice and the few spicy scenes are not very descriptive or lengthy. My only complaints are that I wish there was an epilogue and while I know the book is written for Millie and Pete; I did feel like there were some loose ends with the side characters. Made me think there would be more books in a Peacock Bay series but it doesn’t look like this is planned as of now?


*Ok so it seems like a lot of the lower star reviews are people who did not like the way the Adult ADHD and ASD were presented. For me they were both very relatable. When Millie said: “I have a hard time focusing. Certain simple tasks can feel like I’m doing them in thick mud, or one of those crazy ball pits. An idea I had will slip out of reach before I had time to complete it, or it’s physically painful for me to pay that bill that’s been sitting on my counter for over a month.” Like I felt that to my soul. We’re there parts of her diagnosis I don’t personally relate too? Of course but everyone’s ADHD journey is different so it’s ok to me if your experience is not the same as hers and doesn’t make how the author portrays it wrong. As far as Alana and how she acts towards Quincy and getting Monrow tested for ASD…. Is Alana correct? Nope she’s obviously the villain in this story lol. But I had lots of people who told me that my son couldn’t have ASD even though like Quincy says in the book: “I think it’s too soon, but what do I know? Part of me thinks he’s still just a little baby. I mean, he’s only four. But the bigger part of me watches him with the other kids and compares him to Amelia’s boys, how they were when they were his age, and I know he’s not like them. I hate the idea that things are going to be harder for him than other kids, and I’m not sure I’m ready to face it yet.” Like for any special needs parents whose emotions aren’t all over the place… I applaud you because mine still fluctuate on a daily basis. The book also isn’t about Monrow he’s the child of a side character so I don’t feel like he was being ignored per se, but I think we didn’t get every ounce of information because it’s not his story… maybe he doesn’t come to the one dinner because his parents knew it was too much for him and for everyone (him included) to be happier they were keeping to his schedule. Maybe when Pete says he doesn’t watch him like he does Claire it’s because Monrow is not comfortable with Pete? Again I think everyone has a different experience and just because mine or yours is different does not make the way it’s portrayed in this book wrong or disrespectful at all.


And this is why I don’t read other reviews before I post my own. 😂

After being fired yet again, Millie Ward decides to visit her best friend and Instagram influencer, Quincy in California, as well as see Quincy’s brother, Pete Santana. Millie decides to bring a little black dress that she shared with her friends Kate and Bree, when they were at college together. Believing it to bring her luck, she packs her back and heads to Peacock Bay. When there, a series of events lead her convincing Pete to be her Instagram Husband, in the hope that she can launch her influencer career and help him with his hotel business.
With memories of ‘The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants’ in my mind, I found the characters of Pete and Millie to be an enjoyable read. I also felt that Millie’s struggles with her ADHD gave this book a more grounded feel. Through in some surf and the backdrop of Peacock Bay with its intense society, and this made for an interesting read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was everything I was hoping for. It is an adult version of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants with fake dating.

Millie loses her job of three years and isn't sure what to do now. As she packs up her apartment she finds a dress she used to borrow from another friend, but not just any dress. This dress seems to have its way of bringing the best luck to her friends, so Millie decides to try her luck in Peacock Bay where other friends live.

Peacock Bay is struggling to recover from the pandemic. It is presented as a picturesque area with great surfing and the perfect place to raise families. Her best friend's family owns a hotel run by her brother. To help the hotel Millie and the brother decide to be an instagram couple.

This story shows how ugly side of being an influencer. You see throughout that the characters work hard to maintain their brand and one just won't stray from that. Having sponsors and followers is everything and they fear that breaking from that will ruin them. Millie has been following these influencers for a while now and soon learns that reality versus social media isn't the same. Can Millie cut it as an influencer herself?

She passes the dress on at the end to another friend and I'm hoping that means the story will continue.

It is a must for your summer TBR!

Thank you Sourcebooks Casablanca, Gilliam Libby and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is very much a grown up Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants if it was only focused on one of the friends. Considering, I would expect this to be the jumping off point for a fun series revolving around the LBD.
Millie can't seem to hold a job and when the most recent one goes up in flames, she throws caution to the wind and leaves for an extended visit to her best friend's hometown. It doesn't hurt that said best friend has a hunky brother, Pete, who is the one who got away. It also doesn't hurt that she finds some joy in her hot mess express social media platform she's created.
I don't mind steam and language if it pushes the story forward. There was a lot of unnecessary cursing (at times it was the only adjective) and it pulled me out of the story, which is rather unfortunate, because it's quirky and fun.
The narration by Erika Schindele is an easy listen. Her voice is fitting for a twenty-something and brought Millie to life.
Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the advanced copy and Dreamscape Media for the alc. All thoughts in this review are my own.

This story is the best of two things. 1) it’s a cute little surfer story with second-chance romance, best friends brother, AND fake dating tropes. 2) It hits all the points to social media. What it’s like to grow on social media, the rush, the highs and lows of gaining followers and sharing your everything online. I adored the ADHD and Autism representation tied HEAVILY into the storyline (not just as passing comment). I loved the spice spice spice of this novel and it’s not a one time thing. There are A LOT of characters. So many names to follow if you were to casually read. But if you binge it or read consistently over a few days you’ll LOVE the side characters and what they bring to the storyline. I hope for more spin-off’s and seeing how that magical black dress helps the other women.

This is everything I have ever wanted in a summer beach read. I’m not a huge rom-com reader, and friends to lovers is my least favorite trope, but I absolutely adored this book. If you are going on vacation, hanging by the pool or relaxing at the beach any time soon, make sure this book finds its way into your bag.

Basically Millie is a hot mess. She gets laid off from your New York marketing job and with the support of her two college friends who landed in New York with her, Millie decides to take a chance and do something for herself, you know, without really thinking it all through. And that decision takes her to Peacock Bay, California to reunite with Quincy, the one college friend who did not get swept up in the lights and lure of NYC but, instead, went back to her small surfer village hometown.

So, there is a total mash up of tropes that develop here. Obviously, there is the friends to lovers that I’ll get to, but there is also the friend’s hot brother and a fake relationship (sort of). It sounds a little confusing, but it all makes sense and works. One can’t overlook the magical black dress that is shared among the four friends. It’s the sisterhood of the traveling dress; an object that comes to symbolize the connection between them and the belief that the dress will see them through life’s biggest moments. I really enjoyed how this subtle object weaves itself quietly through the entire story.

Peacock Bay is a beautiful setting. A small town where people ride bikes to the shops. Everyone knows everyone. The coffee shop opens a little later than usual because the surf is good. As you read you can almost feel the sea breeze and smell the salty air. The picket fences make you want to scream with jealousy.
The book takes a very modern approach to the characters' lives and interactions with each other. From Facetiming to making grids on Instagram, it almost made me laugh with how accurate the obsession can be with our phones.

While Millie thinks that she’s a failure and is only getting followers and a social media following because she posts all her mishaps, she is the biggest source of the themes that develop. Everyone knows what people post on social media are the best aspects of life, their perfectly happy moments, but it’s not what day to day life looks like. It takes Millie to make them realize that people want to relate to others on social media. They want to feel they are not alone. Millie shows some courage to open up and share her struggles and encourages Quincy to as well. Through her support of the women around her, Millie learns how to become the woman she has always wanted to be.

I did feel that the fake relationship was a weak point of the story. They were doing this for Instagram, but very little actually made it on Millie’s page and Pete is a social media ghost, and I honestly got a little tired of every conversation between the two involving their deal and the fakeness of the relationship.

Overall, this is a story about overcoming your own insecurities and believing in your abilities to succeed. Everyone struggles. Everyone has challenges, but everyone also has the ability to put themselves in a position that is good for them. Millie learned to trust herself. She learned that she needed to have confidence and do something that was going to make her happy. It’s not about other people, and through it all, she was able to help those around her.

This is the perfect read for a dreary day. I swear that Millie is the book version of me with all the bad luck. I loved how she stood her ground and did things her way. The secondary characters gave the story a boost of charm. The dialogue was believable, same for the plot.

Four Ways to Wear a Dress
By Gillian Libby

I really enjoyed this book. I appreciated Millie’s struggle with ADHD and feeling like a constant screw up when everyone else seems to have it together. While never diagnosed with ADHD, I could see similarities between Millie’s personality traits and my own.

I would have liked a little more banter and flirting between a Millie and Pete, I think they came together pretty quickly. However, I also really like the way the rest of the book played out so I’m not sure there’s any way that could have been dragged out any longer. 🤔

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Four Ways to Wear a Dress is a lot of fun, a pretty decent summer read. It’s light and readable for the most part, and while there are issues, it’s a nice book to read between more intense ones.
While I’m not super knowledgeable about influencers and the lifestyles they lead, I did find this reasonably interesting, especially as someone who occasionally digs into gossip around certain “influencer” scandals.
Millie is a pretty interesting character. I can somewhat relate to her feeling of professional failure; never been fired, but I’ve also never been gainfully employed due to my own disability and neurodivergence. And as someone who has felt like a burden because of these conditions, Millie’s feelings of failure and resolve to break free from that mentality as far as her ADHD is concerned were cathartic for me to read.
And I did, in theory, like the “fake dating” scenario between her and Pete, with high stakes for both of their respective careers as their “relationship” helps things take off. While I wasn’t super won over by them as a couple, I do get it…kind of.
And the whole concept of the dress these women share and fits all of them, blessing them all with luck…it gives Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants vibes, and I adored those books when I was younger. It did not feel super well integrated with the rest of it (I’d have loved if fashion was more of a “thing” they were into as part of their respective brands), but it’s a nice touch nonetheless.
While I’m not jumping for joy and yelling about this book to the rooftops, it’s a fine enough book with some pretty good points, even if it didn’t entirely come together in the end. If you’re looking for a lighthearted read to dive into this summer, you might consider this one.

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

Four Ways to Wear a Dress by Gillian Libby is a delightful rom-com that would make the perfect beach read! The story revolves around Millie who has recently been fired. She goes to California to visit her best friend Quincy and Quincy's brother Pete. Somehow, Pete ends up pretending to be her Instagram Husband. But will they catch real feelings?

Here is a hilarious excerpt from the opening chapter:

"If this is the real world, you can take it and shove it right up your ass.
Maybe it was naive of me not to be better prepared for this outcome. And maybe I should have understood I might be the one fired if I didn’t keep my mouth shut instead of being the voice of the marketing department trying to explain to my boss at Butterfly Bridge that even if the toys his company makes are sustainable in environmental terms, the company he was running was not. But then I wouldn’t be me.
The toys my former employer is attempting to bring to the world are made of beautiful blond wood, minimalist, sleek, and way too expensive. The kind of thing a parent will put on a shelf and photograph in a half-hearted attempt to show how chic parenting can be, but they’re not the kind of thing a kid is going to beg for or play with for more than fifteen seconds."

Overall, Four Ways to Wear a Dress is a fun beach read that will appeal to anyone looking for a nice, light-hearted story. One highlight of this book is the humor. The narrator is great, and there were many moments that I found funny. I did take off 1 star, because I felt like there wasn't enough plot or a "goal" in the story, but that's just a personal pet peeve. I'm sure many people will enjoy this book. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of rom-coms, I recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in June!

I was hoping that this would be a cute beach-themed romantic comedy, which is what it is at its most basic level. But there were a few things that bothered me about it.

Everything seemed very surface level and immature, I couldn’t get invested in the characters or their problems because no one really spoke about how they were truly feeling.

And the dynamic between all the characters seemed so high school, when they are supposed to be women in their mid to late 20s. Alana is the mean girl, who I felt was way too mean, and the other girls just did what they were told to keep her happy.

Pete was a saving grace in this book, bringing some cute moments and trying to get Millie to grow up a bit. So I did enjoy their relationship, apart from all the miscommunication or complete lack of communication.

To finish off, I don’t like how ADHD and Autism were portrayed in this book. It seemed to be a way for Millie to excuse her childish behaviour and seeing little Monrow being excluded while his mother has to sneak around to get him assessed didn’t sit right with me at all.

This was such a fun summer rom-com book! The storyline semi-follows a friends-to-lovers trope, but the characters feel surprisingly fresh. Libby's descriptions of the scenery made me feel like I was at the Cove with Millie and Pete. I appreciated Millie's self-discoveries about herself and dedication to finding her own happiness, however this dragged a bit by the end of the story and felt a bit repetitive.
Overall, this was a fun summer beach read and could be made into a hallmark movie!

I was a bit all over about how I felt reading this book. I liked the plot, and I enjoyed where the story went. I really struggled with a few things though.

I somehow missed the connections and relationships of all these people, and for a while, I thought she was crushing on a married man, and it really threw me for a bit. I had to go back and re-read the relationships to figure it out. That's maybe more my fault.

I'm a bit blown away that a person who worked with influencers in her previous job would not have realized that what's in a photo is not real life. Every time she was surprised about something I just had to roll my eyes. It didn't make sense.

The maturity of the characters felt all over the place. The MC seemed like she was 14 sometimes. While other people seemed so worldly and put together. The dialogue didn't make sense for the ages of the characters, and that was a struggle for me.

I did, however, enjoy the story. The things that were issues for me didn't stop me from reading. I would pick up another book from this author.

⭐️ rating: 5 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 genre: romance, women's fiction
🔥 steam: open door, rated R, explicit language

OKAY Y'ALL, STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING & add this book to your TBR right now.
I started this book yesterday & finished it in less than 24 hours. When I tell you that I couldn't step away from it, I'm not kidding.

Things I Liked:
✨ I loved Millie. She was feisty but supportive, hilarious but serious, absolutely ride-or-die for her friends. LOVE.
✨ The real fears and discussions around autism and ADHD. You could really tell that Millie struggled even as an adult with her ADHD diagnosis but she was also very frank with those around her that being diagnosed and having medication improved her life TENFOLD. I think having these discussions and references in novels of all genres is super important & I loved that here.
✨ Pete & Millie were goals. They were like the perfect combination of love, teasing, and supportive.
✨ I really loved the real look at influencer culture. Being part of bookstagram, you're used to looking at instagram as a way to receive freebies or money - whether it's free books, small sponsored content, etc. So the fact that you could see the behind-the-scenes of that life, especially of that life when done successfully, was really great.
✨ The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants aspect. I really enjoyed that instead of pants that it was a dress (because, let's be honest, that's a much more believable piece of clothing). I like the idea of a piece of clothing connecting you to loved ones & special moments.

Things I Didn't Like:
✨ I wish we had gotten Pete's POV. It was obvious pretty early on the "miscommunication" that was happening here & that would have really helped!
✨ Alana was kind of...not my favorite person. But I understand the role she played in the story.

Now excuse me while I take off to California for the sun & surf.

Can a little black dress be lucky and bring good things to the woman who wears it? That's what BFFs Millie, Kate, Bree, and Quincy think so when Millie, who has lost another job, heads to California to stay with Quincy at the family hotel for a bit, she packs it. And a good thing she did! Millie has always had a little unrequited crush on Quincy's brother Pete and you, like me, know that this is going to be a back and forth until......Millie finds herself becoming an influencer, posting photos of herself and Pete and it helps the hotel. Unfortunately, not everyone thinks Millie is terrific. Alana is not a nice person, not at all, but she's not important in the end because well, romance (and steam) grows from the fake relationship. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A fun fast read. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens when the other women wear the dress!

This book hit me right in the nostalgia feels with the sisterhood vibes. There’s also a big surfing plot throughout the story that reminded me so much of Blue Crush. Just based on that this book was winning a lot of points from me. Add in the Instagram influencer sub plot, ADHD rep, and open door steamy scenes and I was sold. I really liked the main character Millie and watching her confidence in herself grow through the book. I had mixed feelings about all the insta influencers in this town and the ring leader Alana. I’m glad Mollie did not drink all of the Kool Aid with that group. Her relationship with Pete was really sweet, and you could tell it was a long time coming. This book focuses solely on Mille instead of rotating throughout the friends, but at the end of the book she ships the dress to one of the other girls. Feels like a sequel could be possible and I am here for it! This was the perfect beach read that taps into so much nostalgia while also giving you something new.

I really wanted to like this book. I was in the mood for a cute spicy romance. In the first chapter I thought “oh jeez this is Sisterhood of the Traveling pants,” which Was find but that whole trope seemed a little forced as the book went on.

I really enjoyed the middle and the way things wrapped up at the very end, but there were parts that were just so cringe. The dialogue didn’t seem fully developed, and there were too many snarky middle-schoolesque quips. Like what 20-30 year olds talk to each other that way?! I also am not a fan of the miss communication trope. Nearly all of the problems Millie faced would be nonexistent if she could have a decent conversation about her feelings.

Finally, and most importantly, I HATE the way that disabilities/Autism is portrayed in this book. I mean you have a little boy who is left out of social gatherings, blatantly not as adored as his siblings/cousins, and then you have people stigmatizing being tested because it “ruins your utopia?!” Are you kidding me??? No one bats an eye at this? It’s 2022, let’s not further stigmatize and harmfully portray disabilities.

This was such a sweet read! It definitely should be read on the beach or on holidays, as you are totally transported to the small, beach town setting. This was an enjoyable novel.
The romance was cheesy but I did really like reading about Millie and Pete. They were a very cute and hot couple. The tension the first half of the novel was really well done. However, the miscommunication in the novel was so frustrating to read. The conflict could have easily been resolved with a simple conversation between the two characters. So the end quarter of the novel was annoying to read. The ending was predictable but still sweet to read. It was also refreshing to read about a female character with ADHD. Millie was a fun main character. I also enjoyed the different array of female characters in the novel, it really touched on the contrasting approaches to motherhood and being a working mother, without shaming any type of woman.

I did enjoy this novel, but I definitely preferred the first two-thirds than the last. I would recommend it as an easy summer read!

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!

This was an interesting rom com for me. It featured Millie and Pete. Millie has ADHD and feels like she’s always failing at things. Pete is her old crush. After being let go from her job she decides to pursue her lifelong dream of being in California. She visits her old friends who live there and her friends brother, ahem, Millies old crush. While packing she finds a little black dress that all her friends had once shared (and had had good luck in) and decides its her turn to have some good luck in it.

Her friend is a social media influencer (it seems like everyone in this small surf town is) and Millie decides to start one too… except hers ends up being filled with bloopers and accidents. Her realness gains her a following and when her new highly popular ‘friend’ suggests she’s dating her old crush… the two decide to fake the relationship to help her social feed and his struggling hotel business…. But like all fake dating tropes… it doesn’t stay fake for long

Overall I liked this story. I liked the social media pretence (though I often find books always make it seem so easy to become a viral hit overnight but I digress lol) and the way it showed how reality is often soooo different than online. I love a good small town, surf town setting and I loved the ADHD and autism representation. It was like Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants but for adults. This one releases June 7th.

Read if you Like:

* Debut author
* Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
* Influencer lifestyle
* Surfing / surf towns
* The idea that a perfect dress can fix anything
* Best friends brother
* Fake dating
* Autism/adhd representation
* Some steamy romance scenes