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.
This was so much more than a story about shared dreams of a dress shop. It's well-written, focusing on a period and place in history that I rarely see in novels--the Deep South in the late 1940's-60's.
Millie's story was not at all what I was expecting--she is a woman of mixed race in a time where races did not mix, and for safety has to hide her heritage (and make decisions that could break a weaker person). The intellectual part of me realizes that stories like hers were not uncommon, but as I've grown up so far removed from the culture of that time, it's hard to accept the reality of it. Her story is poignant and heart-breaking, yet not without joy and hope.
I do think Harper has a tendency to give up too easily--my first thought was that she should have defended her dress to her professor; how can you succeed in the cutthroat world of fashion if you can't stand up for yourself? Though truthfully I saw some of my worse flaws in her, and could see myself making the same mistakes (not a pleasant self-revelation). Like her, I love sewing vintage-style dresses, and I don't take criticism well, though when dreams are crushed and life falls apart, I hope I wouldn't go quite so far off the deep end as she does.
Thank you Bethany House and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.
Heirloom Secrets
1. The Dress Shop on King Street
2. Paint and Nectar
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