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The Dress
 
 
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The Dress [Kindle Edition]

Sophie Nicholls (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews) |
Digital List Price: £1.53 What's this?
Kindle Price: £1.53 includes VAT* & free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
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Product Description

Product Description

The Amazon Kindle UK No. 4 Bestselling Novel.

Meet Ella and her mother Fabbia Moreno who arrive in York, one cold January day, to set up their vintage dress shop.

The flamboyant Fabbia wants to sell beautiful dresses to nice people and move on from her difficult past. Ella just wants to fit in. But not everyone is on their side.

Will Fabbia overcome the prejudices she encounters? What's the dark secret she's hiding? And do the silk linings and concealed seams of her dresses contain real spells or is this all just 'everyday magic'?

Among the leopard-print shoes, tea-gowns and costume jewellery in Fabbia's shop are many different stories - and the story of one particular dress.

This is a full-length novel for lovers of vintage and readers of contemporary romance/fantasy.

Also by Sophie Nicholls - Ruby Slippers
Coming soon - The Dream : The sequel to The Dress and Book 2 in the Ella and Fabbia Moreno 'Everyday Magic' trilogy.

Product details

More About the Author

Sophie Nicholls
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
147 of 152 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Simply put - I loved this book. I downloaded it on my Kindle as an unknown quantity but was persuaded by the reviews and my impression of the free first chapter sample. Also the price cannot be beaten, where else can you get hours of entertainment and enjoyment for so little money? The story focuses on Ella and her mother Fabbia, their move to York and the reaction of the local community. The beautiful descriptions of the delicate vintage clothes made me want to rush out shopping, the only thing that stopped me was the engaging story of Ella and her mysterious, glam mother.

Immediately on finishing this book (in one sitting) I downloaded Sophie Nicholls' other book - Ruby Slippers. I recommend taking a punt on The Dress even if you are unsure. I am very glad I did.
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31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
A pleasant read 18 Nov 2011
Format:Kindle Edition
This is an unusual book, and I kept changing my mind about it. The beginning was quite slow, and it took me some time to get into the story. I then read the second half very fast. I disliked the increase in drama as the book went on, but the ending charmed me again.

The story focuses primarily on the attempts of Fabbia Moreno and her daughter Ella to build a new life in York. I love the city of York, so I enjoyed that element of the setting. Fabbia has a number of secrets which are hinted at throughout the book, but Ella has been kept in the dark about her mother's true past and some of her current habits, and she is anxious to know the truth.

The parts that interested me the most were Fabbia's workings with "words" and her vintage clothes; The Signals; the tarot cards and her past in her true home country... unfortunately much of this was not developed particularly thoroughly and felt like a sideline to the much more well-travelled plot of outsiders trying to fit in. That said, I could sympathise in particular with Ella; we've all felt like an outsider at times and her struggle to find a place for herself was well portrayed.

Nicholls' writing style is lovely, very smooth and easy to read. Her characters are imaginative and well presented and the story reached a pleasant end, even if some of the more interesting elements of the plot remained unresolved. I understand there will be another, connected story however, so perhaps we may be given more development of these plot points in future. I give it 3.5 stars overall, and I do think I will be investigating the next book when it appears.
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52 of 57 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
It's difficult to write a review of this book without using the same sewing and dress-making metaphors that are richly sprinkled throughout The Dress but I'll have a go ... it's a book where the story and the characters mysteriously and slowly unravel and reveal themselves as you turn each page. It is a thoughtful, poetic and heartwarming (yet also gritty and occasionally shocking) account of a mother and daughter who are in exile from their homeland, from their own identities and, at times, from each other.

For me it felt like a Yorkshire version of Chocolat (that judgement is based on having seen the film of Chocolat rather than the book, which I haven't read) ... and I mean that in a good way! Probably the best way for me to describe the book is in the words of one of the central characters, Ella, from the book's opening pages: "The story that I'm about to tell you is not so simple. It has complicated seams and concealed fastenings. It has deep pockets and interfacings that won't sit quite true."

(additional note: the page count for this book on my phone is 3000+ pages - definitely a book to slowly savour rather than to devour in one sitting, which is what I did with Sophie's previous book 'Ruby Slippers')
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Name Dropping
Found this book easy to read but pretty mediocre. Too much name dropping, all the famous couture houses had a mention. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Pearly Queen
a great read
This novel reminded me of Joanne Harris' best seller, Chocolat but with the subject matter being clothes instead of chocolate. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Franicle
enjoyable
I think this book is a enjoyable book, the people where engaging and you could see where they were coming from.Worth a read
Published 1 month ago by Lisa Andrews
Denim jeans c 2011, bleach stain
This was the first book I downloaded onto my Kindle. As the story drew me in, I forgot I didn't have a book in my hands and read it one day! I loved the teasing chapter titles. Read more
Published 1 month ago by J. Walker
Worth every penny
An excellent read. A story that constantly moves and holds you attention. Pleasant ending and it does not leave you hanging on . Read it in one day. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Bear
Enjoyable
I enjoyed this book. A lovely story with interesting characters. I really enjoyed how descriptive the book was about the vintage fashion and the chapter headings relating to the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by C Daniels
very disapointing
This book promises much but totally fails to deliver. I think the writer began to set the tale in a past time... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Kvinne
The Dress
This is a lovely story with a bit of history thrown in. It involves 3 different families and the ups and downs of life between the wars. Read more
Published 2 months ago by T. Laker
Story line not really developed
Sadly I was disappointed by this book. There were some very close parallels with Joanne Harris' Chocolate which was a bit of a shame although I'm not sure which came first. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Julia R
A beautifully woven tale
This is a gem of a book. Perfect for anyone who loves beautiful fabrics and vintage clothes. I also found Fabbia's story of separation from her roots and family very affecting. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Trillian
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Popular Highlights

 (What's this?)
&quote;
Because the world is full of magic when you know where to look. &quote;
Highlighted by 26 Kindle users
&quote;
You go to my head and you linger like a hearty refrain and I find you spinning round in my brain like the bubbles in a glass of champagne &quote;
Highlighted by 20 Kindle users
&quote;
It was a simple dress, a slip of oyster-coloured silk, made to fall over the body like a sigh of pleasure. &quote;
Highlighted by 13 Kindle users

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