The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna van Praag
**This review is based on an ARC from Netgalley that was released on 12/30/14.
This is not an author that I have ever read, but the synopsis on Netgalley drew me in and I thought it looked interesting. Though it fell into the Women’s Fiction category for me, there is a bit of magic (you have to believe!) involved, but not in a cheesy or fake way. This is the story of Cora and her grandmother, Etta, who owns a magical dress shop. When a woman enters her shop, she can always find a way to make them feel a lot more confident and happy with a quick magical stitch. She is intent on helping her granddaughter, Cora, realize her true feelings for a neighborhood friend, Walt, and uses her magic to help the feelings along. In the process, a lot more emotions and mysteries and brought to the surface than expected. Though I found myself a bit frustrated and just wanted Cora and Walt to be together already, the story wouldn’t have been complete without all the other “drama” that happened. This is a fun, easy read that doesn’t require too much thinking or analyzing….definite recommendation for my friends/family, but will probably not purchase for my high school library. It made me think of a fairy tale and that’s always a good thing in my eyes!
My rating: 3/5
The Library Princess 