Stories that bring the past and the present together always intrigue me. This story does just that in a most interestingly mystical fashion. Not actually a time travel novel, but two stories past and present with a magical twist and a fabulous ending. Rachel Hauck is a master of her craft and I have enjoyed all the books of this Wedding Series along with others that she has written.....definitely one of my very favorite Christian authors. I thank Zondervan and the author for allowing me an advanced reader copy through NetGalley for an honest and unbiased review. I was blessed to have found Ms. Hauck with the original/first book in the wedding series “The Wedding Dress” which I dearly loved!! Although there is a small reference to this book in this story, it is not necessary to read “The Wedding Dress” before you read “The Wedding Shop”. The stories do stand on their own and can be enjoyed that way as well. My new status as a grandmamma has kept me from reading this in a timely manner and others have explained the story in general terms so I will not go into that in this review. Would I recommend to friends and family? Definitely!!! If you read no other book this year, this is absolutely worth your time and will keep you engrossed through to the end. Enjoy!

I continue to be amazed by the way Rachel Hauck tells a story with such ease. The characters are perfectly intertwined while bringing the past and present together.

This was a nice read. Somewhat predictable but with enough plot twists to keep me reading till the end. Romantic without being a bodice-ripper. Would appeal to fans of Nora Roberts wedding series books. Interesting, likeable characters.

I really loved this book! I knew the writer, I was sure I had read a book about a Wedding Gown that was magical, and I kept waiting for something other wordly would happen with the Wedding Shop. It did the story was magical and I enjoyed it so much. Two women worlds apart but both ran the shop and their history intersects. I loved the story I'm not going into great detail as I have the description for you here on Good Reads. I didn't want to put the book down and I'm waiting until Rachel Hauck comes out with her next book! Hopefully it won't be long!

Here is the description as found on Good Reads: Two women separated by decades. Both set out to help others find their dreams when their own have crumbled.


It’s the early 1930s, but Cora Scott is walking in stride as a career woman after having inherited her great aunt’s wedding shop in Heart’s Bend, Tennessee, where brides come from as far away as Birmingham to experience her famed bridal treatment. Meanwhile, Cora is counting down the days until her own true love returns from the river to make her his bride. But days turn into months and months to years. All the while, Birch Good continues to woo Cora and try to show her that while he is solid and dependable, he can sweep her off her feet.

More than eighty years later, former Air Force Captain Haley Morgan has returned home to Heart’s Bend after finishing her commitment to military service. After the devastating death of her best friend, Tammy, and discovering the truth about the man she loved, Haley is searching for her place in life.

When Haley decides to reopen the romantic but abandoned wedding shop where she and Tammy played and dreamed as children, she begins a journey of courage, mystery, and love.

As Cora’s and Haley’s stories intertwine through time in the shadow of the beloved wedding shop, they both discover the power of their own dreams and the magic of everyday love.

Fall in love with The Wedding Shop. I know I did! I couldn’t put the book down I had to know what happened to the lives of two women the book focuses on. You will get a glimpse into the lives of Cora from the 1930’s and Haley from the present time. This story is so much more than just about a shop or a dress. It is a story about love, healing, faith, and forgiveness. The moment I read the first page I was hooked. The author does a great job intertwining the lives of these two women. I highly recommend this book.

A tale of God's perfect timing that spans the ages.

***

She's done it again. I don't know what kind of magical mojo Rachel Hauck weaves into her stories but they get me right in the feels every time. Every. Time. Yes, I spent a good portion of this book crying...In a reflective, happy, sad, mixed-emotions and feelings kind of way. I'm pretty sure not everyone will be affected in this way, but somehow this book hit me right in a soft spot and pressed in. Deeper and deeper.

This book--and the characters jounrey--reminded me that God is powerful, influential, and working in this world (yes, even though it is a fictional book). It's one of the many things I admire about Rachel's writing - her ability to gently remind us of the fact that God is a BIG God and capable of doing amazing things. He's a God of miracles. I remember one line hit me especially where Haley says, "...but I'm not going to let a little thing like money stand in my way." What truth! And what a great theme--considering the fact that God's will is bigger than money or our ability to plan things out (but I digress).

This story, like The Wedding Dress and The Wedding Chapel, is "dual time" encompassing a story from history with the present. I'm not a huge fan of this in general, but the stories have really grown on me. If I were to choose which story I liked best between Cora Scott and Haley Morgan I'm not sure that I could pick. Both were well thought out, developed, and enticing in their own right.

Haley reminded me a lot of myself - not exactly in personality, but at the core of who she is and what she focused on in this book. Her devotion to opening The Wedding Shop and her appreciation for its history is also something that resonates deep in me. I love history and want to see it cherished and preserved. I loved Cora's character and storyline, though I was frustrated with her at times for being "blind". Then again, aren't we all blind to things we don't want to see sometimes?

And the ending. *sigh* I won't share much here other than the fact that I was at around 50% one night and finished the rest of the book (staying up until 2 am) just to see what happened. And I loved it!

If you like present day romance, historical romance, or (like this book) a combination, you are going to love this book! It gives you the best of both worlds and a woven story that will pull you through until the end and have you rooting for The Wedding Shop.

Rachel Hauck’s books are always on my must read list and I NEED to read her books as soon as they are released. I love it when I am fortunate enough to receive a review copy but if I don’t I will always preorder so I can get a copy ASAP. “The Wedding Shop” is her latest offering and I can truthfully say that I loved it. Of course that was no surprise to me.

Often our idea of success is different from what God intends for us. I believe that “The Wedding Shop” is a beautiful illustration of the Lord’s definition of success, especially the story of Cora and how she used her shop to minister to young women in her community. It was so fitting that some of those same women were used years later to help Haley reopen the shop.

Two stories of two women from different generations yet somehow connected, “The Wedding Shop” is so infused with Holy Spirit moments that some might describe it as magical. It is a story filled with unexpected romance yet it is so much more. It is a story of faith and forgiveness and moving on with life past disappointments and mistakes.

I have enjoyed each of the books in this series and I also loved the way Rachel tied this story together with the first two books. To me that made it even more special. Do yourself a favor and read “The Wedding Shop” and don’t forget “The Wedding Chapel” and “The Wedding Dress“. I guarantee you will be in for a special treat.

I love this story of flawed, believable characters that are friends, family and true loves. A bit of historical fiction mixed in with present day all set against the backdrop of a wedding shop. I'll definitely be reading more of Rachel Hauck.

I previously read The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck which I LOVED and I wasn’t surprised when I also LOVED The Wedding Shop. This book isn’t considered a sequel but it does tie into to the first book and brings characters from that story over to this one. Much like the first book, The Wedding Shop bops back and forth between present day and the past and intertwines the stories together. The main character Haley comes back to her hometown after her tenure in the Air Force is over and decides to reopen the town wedding shop that she and her now deceased best friend promised each other to open together. She relies a lot on faith and her best (male) friend to get the shop opened and goes from thinking it’s impossible, to realizing that it is feasible, with a little help from the previous shop owner (the past tense story heroine.)

This book written by Rachel Hauck is an amazing tale of redemption, forgiveness, and love that spans multiple generations. The Wedding Shop was built to help brides find their perfect dress and trousseau and make them feel beautiful and their day special. Miss Cora ran the shop for over 50 years and took it over from Jane who had the shop built for this purpose initially in the late 1800s. Cora Scott had suffered heartbreak and betrayal and wasn't sure she would ever find true love again or that she even deserved it.

Haley has come home after serving six years in the military and she was heartbroken after a disastrous relationship and she was questioning her worth and whether or not she deserved to have a forever love. She felt a strong connection to the Shop and was determined to renovate the Shop and make it a successful business.

This story was a clean Christian romance that was beautifully written. I felt a connection to the characters and had a hard time putting the book down. The story boomeranged back and forth between the different time periods sharing the connections these characters had and the similarity of their stories.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love how Rachel includes names of friends. The Saglimbeni brothers are in this one! (They serve on her worship team.) Those finds are fun for readers who know her. She also mentions a song by Laura Hackett Park, a fellow worship leader in the International House of Prayer movement. That was fun to see. I enjoy Laura's worship music.

I liked that we follow both Cora’s and Haley’s stories in this novel. Both have a romance brewing in their own time setting. I liked how the modern-day hero echoed the historical one. As always, Rachel’s prose is strong and so is her pacing.

One of the themes is faith—how to chase it down and rekindle it. Another theme is forgiveness and how we humans have a hard time accepting forgiveness, or love, when we feel ashamed or unlovable.

I liked the references to the earlier books in this series, The Wedding Dress and The Wedding Chapel. I recommend reading them first so you’ll catch the references here. It’s not necessary that you read them ahead, but it would help.

I loved how she threw in the spiritual side, even had a character pray in the Spirit. Loved that. And her sense of humor! I laughed aloud a couple of times.

This is another great novel from Rachel. High recommended!

I enjoyed The Wedding Shop by Rachel Hauck. I was given a chance to read this book in exchange for a review. The book switches back and forth between two time periods telling the story of Cora from early 1900's and Haley from modern times. The author draws out the similarities between the two women as they each struggle to find their own success with a Wedding Shop in a small town in Tennessee. It's a sweet story and the chapters clearly stated the time period., so it was not at all confusing. There is definitely a spiritual connection and religious direction to this book, so if that's what you like you will definitely enjoy this.