The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck

What would you do if you wound up with a mysterious trunk that had been welded shut? For bridal shop owner Charlotte, this is just one conundrum she must face.

The Wedding Dress, by Rachel Hauck, is what you would call a sweet book, and I mean that in the best possible sense. It really is sweet. You will like the characters, the story and the way it's written. It may not stick with you after you've read it, but sometimes we need kindly, comforting entertainment, and The Wedding Dress provides that.

Charlotte is a bride-to-be herself, only she isn't sure that she wants to marry her fiancé, Tim. Is it that the spark isn't there? Is it that she doesn't love him the way she thinks she should? And what about that darn trunk? What is in it? Oh, and then there is a man who wears purple. First he all but coerces her to buy the trunk at an auction, and then he shows up at her shop, telling her things about the trunk and its contents that are unsettling.

Charlotte regarded the trunk. Who was the man or woman who owned the trunk in days gone by? What about the bride the auctioneer spoke of from 1912 - wouldn't she want a home for this battered old piece?

"Eight-fifty." The second man on Charlotte's left made a bid.

"One thousand dollars." Charlotte clapped her hand over her mouth. But it was too late. She'd made the bid. 

 As Charlotte tackles her engagement and the trunk, we are treated to a second story line, this one detailing Emily Canton, a turn of the century bride-to-be. Will Emily marry the wealthy and dashing Phillip Saltonstall, or will she accept the love offered by former beau Daniel Ludlow? And who will make her wedding gown - the uppity snob her mother hires or a talented black seamstress?

There is enough of a mystery to The Wedding Dress to reel you in, and the characters keep you hooked. Hauck also presents a Christian slant, but if you typically are put off by such things, don't let that stop you from reading this book. It is light enough that it won't offend the easily offended, but present enough that you sense Charlotte's spirituality.

This is a sweet book, and sometimes that's just fine.

        


Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.


Published by Thomas Nelson and available on Amazon.com.