I thought I knew what to expect with the title of this book, but I was wrong, it is quite an in depth read and I do enjoy the book within a book theme, there was twists and turns, some i guessed and some I didn't, it is a good read, it is not a quick book there is quite a bit of depth to it, I liked the characters and enjoyed the writing style, I have read a few Trisha Ashley now and have enjoyed them all.

Garland is a costumer, and a string of circumstances see her moving to a small village where newly discovered relative Honey is opening a wedding dress museum with a twist.

Alongside the modern day tale, we are introduced to Honey and Garland ancestor, Rosa-May, who has inspired a section in the museum. The book switches between the dual timelines, and slowly reveals the truth of Rosa-May's life.

Not a usual romance story, there is a lot of fashion detail, lots of technical information. I sew myself, and found a lot of Garland's story to be fascinating!

As a big Trisha Ashley fan, I struggled to connect with this one, although the details about costume and wedding dresses were fascinating. There were a few too many useful coincidences in the plot. Not my favourite I'm afraid.

When Garland Fairford meets her distant relative, Honey Fairford, for the first time she has no idea how much her life is about to change.
When Garland suddenly loses her Fiancé and her job as a costumier in London she decides to take Honey up on her offer of a job as Curator and Costumier at a wedding dress museum she is opening.
On her arrival in Lancashire Garland is shocked to find her former best friend Thom, who she hasn’t heard from in years, living and working on Honey’s estate.
The museum is dedicated to wedding disasters and Garland is tasked with going through the wedding dresses that have been donated, reading their stories, and working out the best way to display them. One of the dresses is that of Garland and Honeys ancestor Rosa-May Garland who was a celebrated actress of her day before she married and moved out of London.
Could being surrounded by other brides’ misfortunes help Garland to find her own happy ending?
A lovely book with relatable characters that is funny, moving and heart-warming. It not only tells the story of Garland but also has a constant thread running through it with the story of Rosa-May.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Garland works as a historical costumier in London. She makes costumes for productions shown in theatres. Her name is from an ancestor, who is a well known actress, Rosa May Garland

Whilst she is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, she is acquainted with Honey, she is also related to the actress.

When things go wrong for Garland, honey offers her a job with her, which will take her away from London.

Honey wants to open a wedding dress museum, but not as Garland thinks.

Arriving in the village, she sees someone, who she never thought she’d meet again, which shocks her and makes her think what he’s doing in the village.

I loved the characters in the village and the setting.

There’s some interesting revelations throughout the story, relating to the wedding dresses.

I highly recommend this book.

Garland works for a well known costumiers and is in line to be promoted until she finds out her boyfriend has not only cheated on her but also let the actress he cheated with try on and pose for photographs to promote his play in her wedding dress that she spent months making.
In a fit of rage she shreds the costume she had made for the actress, dumps her boyfriend and loses her job !
Honey is a well known murder author and has recently found out that she is related to Garland. Honey is about to open a museum featuring wedding dresses from weddings that haven’t had a conventional start if any and who better to be the curator than Garland who has recently become unemployed!
A really enjoyable read

This is Trisha Ashley's latest offering, where romance takes a definite backseat, set in London where the protagonist, Garland Fairford, works for Beng and Briggs as a talented historical costumier, with a lucrative sideline in making miniature costumed mannequins. She is engaged to Marco Parys, a writer who is using her as a muse, his mother is making it clear she is not a suitable wife, and she is barely seeing anything of him. Garland has discovered she is related to Rosa-May Garland, a well known regency actress, of whom there is a temporary exhibition at the V&A museum, where she is introduced to Honey, a bestselling murder mystery writer, learning they are distant cousins. Honey is intent on setting up a museum, featuring Rosa-May, and displaying donated wedding dresses, on the theme of brides that have suffered a range of misfortunes.

Honey wants to employ Garland as curator of the upcoming museum whilst repairing the wedding dresses, and getting them ready for display. It takes a disastrous explosion of blind rage that results in Garland breaking her engagement and losing her job, for her to take up the job offer in Great Mumming in Lancashire. She sells her tiny flat, and takes with her a crazy and weird cat she had not bargained for, Golightly, and moves into a tight knit community that embraces her. It includes the surprising presence of Thom, a marionette maker, she used to be close to, but who had abandoned her when she took up with Marco. In a narrative that goes back and forth in time with Rosa-May's backstory, we are given the intricate details of the repairs to the wedding dresses in the frantic preparations for the museum opening.

Ashley immerses the reader into Garland's new small town life, both professionally, and her growing personal relationships with the likes of Holly, Thom, Pearl, the bookshop owner, and Simon, the hat maker. This is not a fast paced read, and it is perhaps a little too earnest in relaying all the details of Garland's new position. Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable read with a mystery at its heart that is resolved in a shocking way by the end. What did get on my nerves was the OTT use of exclamation marks throughout the text, they are so off putting, hopefully the publisher will address this issue prior to publication. Readers who love wedding stories and descriptions of wedding dresses will love this! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

In some of the novel it is RosaMay Garland POV and we are told its set in 1815 and it is 'part memoir part diary'.
Has dream of going on the stage, so decides to run away to London on her 17th birthday, to find her first job.
She was a successful actress and meets Captain Guy Fairfield and gets married but leaves to join his regerment.
'Feeling increasingly unhappy, as she lost control over money and the lost of her independence hit RosaMay hard not long after her impulsive marriage'. But has given birth to twin boys

Now back in 2018 a new POV is set Garlan 34, works at 'Being and Briggs, where she speclizeding historical costumier. She is getting married to Marco who's new play is about to start and wants to use Garland's fammous family ties to gane more sales. But is he taking her for granted and is he 'valued her support and reassurance much less he once had'.
Manages to lose boyfriend and job in the same day.

Honey Fairford is a distant cousin ofhas Garlan. And has inherited Pelican house from her grandfather.
Honey was opening a wedding dress museum, the help of Garland moving in the the spare cottage and work space, attached to the museum.
" setting sale to new horizons' at 1 Pelican Mews, Great Mummin, in West Lancashire.
Also Viv Greenaway has movel in with Honey.

Ivo Gryffyn, is his stage name (Thom), used to be best friends with Garlan.
But quit acting 'but has not heard a thing since in left London, after his step brothers death.
Garland finds Thom here at Great Mummings, apparently 'life is full or coincidence' Honey claims.

We also meet Derek, Honeys PA, security and housekeeper. And all of the people who live and work at Mews.
Pearl is a second hand bookshop owner, Simon's a hat maker. Thom makes
Marionettes lives above his workshop.
Rory The grows keeper.
We also meet Baz- art shop with Derek his parner.
Ginny Spindrift shop
Rev JoJo,
Viv a poem who is staying at the house and is a poet and so much more.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me a complementary digital copy of this ebook in exchange for a full, frank and honest review.
All opinions expressed are completely my own.

I hope Trisha will forgive me for saying but, and this is only my opinion of course, but we have this author back to her best! This is a wonderful tale of reconnection and the triumph of the human spirit. More please! My thanks to the publishers and netgalley for the reading copy.

I always enjoy a Trisha Ashley book. This one didn't disappoint, though I do think the title is misleading. Not much repairing of wedding dresses went on - it's not a shop, but a museum. That said, I love the idea of a wedding dress museum. There is romance, but it's very subtle. I would have liked more of this. I didn't really get any depth of feeling from the main character either. She was very matter of fact about everything, but then so many of Trisha's characters are. I didn't think the ending of Rosa May's story was fitting, not what I was expecting from a TA book. What else? Ah yes, raised eyebrows again at how quickly Trisha's characters get married. Not realistic in my view. But there was enough there to keep me reading. I loved the cat, what a brilliant character. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall I enjoyed this book, I love most of Trisha Ashley's works but this one fell a little flat for me (sorry). The storyline was great, a unique idea about the wedding dress museum and hearing the stories behind how each dress came to be a part of the museum. The back story of Rosa May was interesting and I liked the mystery behind the letter writing and in particular when the final mystery was revealed which was quite unexpected. The last few chapters were excellent and well written as always.

The novel felt just a little long for me, the middle portion seemed to drift on and maybe just a bit too much focus on what her cat gets up to!

I love Trisha Ashley books and I was so excited to read this one. A lovely tale of families and wedding dresses and love finding its way. Also karma on those who deserve it.

Another good book from Trisha Ashley, with mentions of previous books. It follows Garland, who makes costumes in theatre, and how a quick succession of events leads her in a new direction.

Garland Fairford has everything she wants in life her perfect job as a costumier for a prestigious London firm and a fiancée who she is hoping to marry soon when Garland meets Honey a distant relative and bestselling novelist she feels an instant connection with her and when her life takes a turn for the worse Honey is there to help to a new and maybe better life. Lovely to read a Trisha Ashley book set in the same area as some of her other books so you know the area and some of its inhabitants. A great read with many interesting characters always a treat when Trisha has a new book

A nice enough warm and pleasant read. I liked the way that the dual timeline was packed in too. Great concept and a wonderful summer read.

Another winner from Trisha Ashley. Garland Fairfield works for a theatrical costumiers and specialised in historical costumes. She is named after an ancestor who was a famous actiress called RosaMay Garland. Garland is engaged to a playwright and director. When the Victoria and Albert Museum hold an exhibition of RosaMay's most famous theatrical dress, Garland discovers a relative that she was unaware of, Honey Fairford. Honey is a best selling author who is opening a museum dedicated to wedding dresses that were involved in unfortunate weddings.
Following a dramatic outburst from Garland, she loses her job and her fiancee all on the same day. This results in Garland moving to Pelican Mews in Great Mumming and taking up a job as a conservator and curator for Honey's museum. The book revolves around the setting up of the museum and inhabitants of Pelican Mews and a face from Garland's past. Honey has a copy of a diary from RosaMay and throughout the novel, RosaMay's story is slowly revealed.

It was fun to see a nod to other books set in the area, there is mention of a cracker factory - A Christmas Cracker, the village of Half-Hidden - Creature Comforts and other tacit reference to other books.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, it has a small and manageable list of characters. A gentle read with no real surprises but lovely characters.

I’m a big fan of Trisha Ashley’s books, and have been for many years now. I was so excited to be offered an early copy to review.

I loved the concept of a museum of wedding dresses from weddings that have gone awry.

I loved both Honey and Garland, they’re both such great characters. Garland is lovely, and I honestly was delighted by her “berserk rage”. Honey is an unusual character, but very fun. She writes gory crime novels, and I love her sense of humour and determination.

I wasn’t so keen on Thom, though I warmed up a little towards the end of the book. Other than his disappearance 6 years prior to the story, I didn’t really get a strong sense of his character. He just seemed to be in the background, generally being helpful (which is a good trait, after all).

I loved Golightly too, especially his faces and noises. He definitely added plenty of humour to the story!

Overall, this was a delightful romance, full of those whimsical and humourous touches that make Trisha Ashley books so special. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and didn’t want it to end.

I was given a copy of this book, my opinions are my own.

Garland Fairford is an historical costumier and through her work has met a long lost cousin Honey Fairford. But back to Garland; her work involves costumes for her fiancé's new version of a Shakespearian play, and she is of course designing and making her own wedding dress (kept under wraps)! But tragically, she catches out her fiancé and the leading lady (an ex of his), in an embarrassing situation but no before hearing how he's not in love with Garland and also that they had "borrowed" her wedding dress for a photo shoot!!!

So ends that relationship, Garland is given a lifeline by Honey who is in the process of opening up a Wedding Dress Museum in the little village of Mummingford, The job is curator of the museum as well as fixing the donated wedding dresses and designing/making gifts etc.

Garland takes on this opportunity and moves there to live in on the job and bumps into an old friend from her past, Thom, who has disappeared years before and she'd lost contact.

Each of the wedding dresses for the museum come with a story, some tragic, some funny and she has found her happy place. Will her ex Marco, remain out of her life and can she find true love in the village?

A fabulous story, great characters and you'll be cheering Garland on all the way through the book. I gave it 5 stars!

Another highly enjoyable book from Trisha Ashley, The Wedding Dress Repair Shop is a story of second chances. I found the title slightly misleading - its not about a wedding dress repair shop at all - Garland Fairford, a historical costumier - moves from London to curate a wedding dress museum with a difference, and confronts some ghosts from her own past in the process. Granted she does repair some wedding dresses to be exhibited, but that's as far as it goes!
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very easy reading quite laid back story about Garland, who works as a historical costumier in London and is nearly engaged to Marco, a playwright. But events change and she ends up selling her house and moving to Lancashire to work with a long-lost relative, Honey, who is just setting up a new bridal museum, but is also a well-known author.

Once there Garland works with Honey, who owns the main house and museum, to set up the new exhibits, including the one that brought Garland and Honey together when they realised they were distant relations, the Rosa-May Garland exhibition, an actress they were both related to. Here the story flips back and forth slightly between the present day and some entries in Rosa-May's diary where we find out what happened to her.

The museum is set in a lovely courtyard setting with other businesses and sounds like a lovely place to work. There are various characters who own or work in the other businesses, Thom (marionette maker), Simon (hat maker) and Pearl (bookstore owner) and Garland fits into their crowd just perfectly. She did already know Thom, initially from her childhood, and again when they were older, but he had disappeared suddenly from her life a little while ago so they have some issues to sort out.

I wouldn't say it was my favourite Trisha Ashley book as it felt slightly too laid back at times, but overall it was still a very easy, enjoyable read - and I did love Golightly the cranky cat!