The Dress Shop on King Street (Heirloom Secrets #1)

Title: The Dress Shop on King Street (Heirloom Secrets #1)

Author: Ashley Clark

Genre: Time Slip/Dual Timeline

Publishing Date: Dec 1, 2020

Publisher: Bethany House

Length: 352 Pages

Links: Baker | Amazon | Goodreads

About the Book:

Harper Albright has pinned all her hopes on a future in fashion design. But when it comes crashing down around her, she returns home to Fairhope, Alabama, and to Millie, the woman who first taught her to sew. As she rethinks her own future, secrets long hidden about Millie’s past are brought to light.

In 1946, Millie Middleton boarded a train and left Charleston to keep half of her heritage hidden. She carried with her two heirloom buttons and the dream of owning a dress store. She never expected to meet a charming train jumper who changed her life forever . . . and led her yet again to a heartbreaking choice about which heritage would define her future.

Now, together, Harper and Millie return to Charleston and the man who may hold the answers they seek . . . and a chance at the dress shop they’ve both dreamed of. But it’s not until all appears lost that they see the unexpected ways to mend what frayed between the seams.

My Review:

Well if I didn’t pick a remarkable book to start the new year out with!

On a fun note, I live on King Street–though not the same one from the story–and that was what initially made me want to pick it up 🙂

If I hadn’t already known that Ashley Clark was a debut author when I opened this book, I never would have believed it. This story was penned with the imagination and craftsman ship of a well-seasoned author. The characters were incredibly well developed and the imagery was vivid enough that I couldn’t help but feel as if I were fully immersed in the characters’ world. Although not entirely uncommon for me to finish a book in a day, this one demanded it because I simply couldn’t put it down.

The emotional charge of this novel was palpable right from the prologue, which managed to make me tear up and I knew I was going to be sitting for a while–because I wasn’t going anywhere away from this book. A topic never too far from the news last year was racism and racial inequality. The author managed to take this topic by the horns, and weaved together an emotional saga stretching generations that demands to tug at your heartstrings and cause you to consider the reality of painful life decisions based on both fear and love for those held dear. It has left me in an unavoidable book fog, longing for more as I don’t feel nearly ready to let the characters go.

Ashley Clark is without a doubt an author that I will be looking forward to reading more from in the future, and I have already gone on to pre-order the second book in the series that will be releasing in May. I’m not sure I could recommend this one enough!

*I received a copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers. Thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.

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