Book Review: Dictatorship of the Dress

By Melissa Amster

As the dress-bearer for her mother’s wedding, Laney Hudson has a lot more baggage than the bulky garment bag she’s lugging from New York to Hawaii. Laney is determined to prove she’s capable of doing something right, but running chores for her mom’s fairytale nuptials is proving to be a painfully constant reminder of her own lost love.
 
So when she’s mistaken for the bride and bumped up to first class, Laney figures some stress-free luxury is worth a harmless white lie. Until the flight crew thinks that the man sitting next to her is Laney’s groom, and her little fib turns into a hot mess.
 
The last thing Noah Ridgewood needs is some dress-obsessed diva landing in his first-class row. En route to his Vegas bachelor party, the straight-laced software designer knows his cold feet have nothing to do with the winter weather.
 
When a severe storm leaves them grounded in Chicago and they find themselves booked into the last available honeymoon suite, Laney and her in-flight neighbor have little choice but to get better acquainted. Now, as her bridal mission hangs in the balance, perhaps the thing Laney gets right is a second chance at love. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

I won a copy of Dictatorship of the Dress from Cindy Reads & Writes. Even though it published in 2015, I had not heard about it until now. And after finishing, all I could think was that it was a hidden gem that everyone should know about!

I really enjoyed this story. I wasn't sure where it would go, but I loved the journey. I enjoyed getting to see both perspectives and really liked Noah and Laney. Jessica Topper took some creative liberties while also staying true to some of the locations in the story (I asked her about a restaurant that was featured, as it sounded really cool, but she told me that it was a fictional place). The travel aspect of this novel was a lot fun, even though most of it took place in a city that I know well. I did enjoy revisiting Chicago this way though! One part even made me think of Adventures in Babysitting (which also takes place in Chicago). 

The dialogue and descriptions were great, really bringing this novel to life and allowing the characters to jump off the pages. I could even feel the stinging cold of a Chicago winter. I enjoyed the flashback scenes, as they gave the characters more depth and motivation and allowed me to get to know them in new ways. Laney had so many layers to her and she was not what I was expecting from seeing the cover. I also liked that she was Jewish. And I won't complain about the steamy factor one bit! ;) 

I had a lot of fun reading Dictatorship of the Dress. I had been reading another wedding-themed novel at the same time and there were some similarities in terms of certain things being mentioned, but overall they were two completely different stories. I hope to read Courtship of the Cake soon!

Movie casting suggestions:

Laney: Stacey Farber
Noah: Finn Wittrock
Allen (flashbacks): Garrett Hedlund
Anita: Alison Sudol
Dani: Candice King
Vera: Jennifer Grey
Sloane: Amber Heard