The Dress Shop of Dreams: A Novel Paperback – December 30, 2014

What a delightful read!The story itself was a page turner. I loved the way there was a bit of magic woven into the story line. I loved the characters with their own, unique qualities and yet … … …The entire story was missing richness and depth that I’m not sure I can put my finger on.I got what the author was trying to capture in her unique, magical story line.I got the mystery and suspense that she wove into the story to keep the reader turning page after page (and I did, turn page after page).I got the developing story line that kept the reader holding on to see what was going to happen next. There was suspense, wonder and mystery,And yet … … …It was missing the lingering richness that coated my senses. I mean …The dress shop was colorful, but just how colorful was it? Yes there were racks of colorful dresses, but I lost the sense of how the colors made the potential shopper feel when they entered the room. Did the shopper need to feel the colors and the silky dresses when she entered the room? I don’t know, but I would have liked to.I wanted to be submerged in the room and F.E.E.L it! I wanted to be wrapped in the textures and the deliciousness of the fabrics that made me want to go out and buy a dress so that I could feel that same thing.Did I need to feel that when I read this book? No, not necessarily, but I wanted to and I was not feeling it. I think the author was trying to take me there, but I never got there. She used words to describe the setting and how the character was feeling, but she did not bring me into it with the character.There’s a section of a paragraph on page 110, at the bottom of the page that read:“Cora has absolutely no idea what or whom Walt is talking about but she absolutely doesn’t care. Because, my goodness, his voice. His voice is something she could listen to forever. It wraps around her body, soft sounds encircling her limbs and holds her tight.”On the surface, this looks pretty good. For me, it’s missing something. First of all, the word, “Absolutely” means nothing to me! What kind of “Absolutely” is absolutely and what does it mean to me, the reader?So, she could listen to Walt’s voice forever, but where did it touch her soul and how can I feel that with her? Yes, they were soft sounds that held her tight, but what does that feel like? I want to know!I found this book to capture this flavor and the entire time I was reading it, I just wanted to feel it with her and I did not.I respect this author. She crafted a story beautifully, designed characters that were unique and relevant to the story and as the story began to wrap up, she was able to bring the story to a satisfying close. I enjoyed this read and yet the entire time, I felt like I was being denied something. Like perhaps salt!You know, when Thanksgiving dinner is being presented and all of the fixings are spread out nicely on the table, but the hostess secretly leaves the salt off of the table? The food is good, but without the salt, I’m going to eat every bite wishing I had it to enhance the flavor. I could eat the mashed potatoes and they would slide down my throat and fill my belly BUT, if I sprinkled a little salt on top, I would invite the potatoes to linger in my mouth a little longer so I could roll my tongue across my teeth and squish the potatoes in every nook and cranny of my mouth so that even my teeth could sing the praises of such a decadent meal. Perhaps even a little bit of the potatoes would find a hiding spot somewhere along my gum line and lie in waiting so they could slide back down and join the turkey and they could dance and squish together in perfect yumminess. A savory blending of potato creaminess, married with the fibrous, meaty, satisfying texture of chewed turkey to slide and dance all the way down into my stomach.Oh my goodness … I’m getting carried away.You’ll enjoy this read and you may or may not feel like you’ve been denied the flavor enhancing salt and if that is the case, you’ll sing the praises of this book.For me, I will bid this author goodbye and thank her for blessing me with a delightful read with a happy ending.

Another gem from my TBR shelf, The Dress Shop of Dreams is an enchanting, contemporary romance set in Cambridge (UK) with a bit of Oxford thrown in for good measure. What begins as the story of star-crossed lovers Walt and Cora soon becomes populated with other people who explore their own second-chance romances. Each of these helped along by the magical sewing of Etta, Cora’s grandmother, who own the Dress Shop of Dreams. Unknown to Cora, grandma Etta has been keeping secrets, especially about the manner in which Cora’s parents tragically died.Many words have been used to describe this page turner – contemporary, light, sweet, magical. I call it enchanting and intricate for the manner in which the author intertwines the various plot lines. And did I mention there a mystery involved as well. Well written, good pacing, totally flawed yet realistic characters, and a pinch of magic (who doesn’t believe in a bit of enchantment) make this a feel-good read. Better than a box of bon-bons.

What I loved about this book is how magical everything appears in this book, especially those things that many would not think magical, as numbers, molecules, and labs. Even if the latter have been seemingly portrayed as clean and too well organized as in the protagonist’s life, there is quite a lot of magic in many of these scenes, especially with her scientist parents.The actual magic, which we don’t meet in our daily lives, like 3D-movies of books when somebody reads them to us, or the dresses performing magic, becomes a very organic part of the whole world in this book, and actually as I write these words now I start to believe that with a little bit of faith the 3D-book-movies and magical dresses could be possible in our world too.This is what I like about Menna’s books: they show us human fears and very different ways they take us, but they show us also that we have all the ability we need to find our magical ways. And whatever the chapter of the book, whether it is a love scene or a suspense piece or a slice of mystery, all of them wrapped me up in a feeling of warmth and pleasure. And utter curiosity what would happen next.I am very much glad that there are more books to come from this wonderful writer’s pen.

Cora's only focus has been on continuing her dead parents scientific work. Her grandma has other ideas. So she uses her magic to start Cora on a path to finding love and happiness.This book just exudes warmth. It's the perfect story to have you smiling as at times. Sometimes you just need a book that is light, cute and inviting. And "The Dress Shop of Dreams" is just that. The only reason this story isn't a 5 for me is that I thought more time should have actually been spent in the dress shop. The love stories were fun, but my favorite part was reading about the characters reactions as soon as they found the perfect dress.This isn't a complicated story by any means. But it is the perfect book to pick up when you just want to read something that will make you feel good. I'd fully recommend this story for those looking for a quick enjoyable read.

I HATE classifying books by genre but this one fits into many and I want to give the author BIG kudos for making that work. This sweet contemporary light paranormal romance is a page-turner. The story centers around a dress shop that, with a little magical boost, helps people see the best in themselves and gives them the courage to go after what they really want. Of course, the path to true love is never easy and this book keeps you guessing. Several multi-generational love stories intertwine and you don't know if any of them will end happily until the end of the book. There are more twists and turns in this book (and a mystery) but I don't want to include any spoilers. If you're looking for a fun, compelling sweet love story that you can't put down, this is your book.

Read this on the kindle. Enjoyed it so much I have brought it as a Christmas gift. Clever story

I love this book! It has the perfect mix of magic, realism, intriguing characters and a good amount of humor. I bought it on kindle as soon as possible and couldn't stop reading. If you like the mix of love, fantasy and bit of crime, this is your book.

I just finished the book Dress Shop of Dreams: i love it! <3 When i'm reading; i’m like in the book i totally forget whats going on around me & some how im really fast in reading! :-D Magic! :-)

Enjoyed every page of this book!

Very enjoyable. Great light reading