Monday, April 6, 2015

The Wedding Dress Audio Review

The Wedding Dress
The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck
Visit the Author's website HERE
Audio Publisher: Oasis Audio
Audio Publishing Date: April 3, 2012
Four brides. One dress. A tale of faith, redemption, and timeless love. Charlotte owns a chic Birmingham bridal boutique. Dressing brides for their big day is her gift–and her passion. But with her own wedding day approaching, why can’t she find the perfect dress–or feel certain she should marry Tim? Then Charlotte purchases a vintage dress in a battered trunk at an estate sale. It looks brand-new, shimmering with pearls and satin, hand-stitched and timeless in its design. But where did it come from? Who wore it? Who welded the lock shut and tucked the dog tags in that little sachet? Who left it in the basement for a ten-year-old girl? And what about the mysterious man in the purple vest who insists the dress had been “redeemed”? Charlotte’s search for the gown’s history–and its new bride–begins as a distraction from her sputtering love life. But it takes on a life of its own as she comes to know the women who have worn the dress. Emily from 1912. Mary Grace from 1939. Hillary from 1968. Each with her own story of promise, pain, and destiny. And each with something unique to share. For woven within the threads of the beautiful hundred-year-old gown is the truth about Charlotte’s heritage, the power of courage and faith, and the beauty of finding true love.
I bought a copy of this audiobook on Audible. All opinions are my own. Buy a copy today! 

My Thoughts:
Rachel Hauck wrote yet ANOTHER fantastic novel. This one is tied up between two women, one in the present and one in the past. Yet they are bound together unknowingly by a single wedding dress. Their lives and love stories are slowly patched together and we the reader get to see the Divine at work behind the scenes. 

Charlotte is our present day heroine who unknowingly buys the Dress locked away in an old trunk. As her engagement falls apart, learning the history of the perfectly preserved Dress fills her thoughts. Soon she finds her own personal history is involved. Char has to learn what to do with all she has learned. 

Emily is our main 'past' heroine. We walk with her as she struggles to know her own heart. Emily is following along with what she thinks is best and will make her family the happiest. She feels young and impressionable, which led me to think her too selfish and undeserving. Em has to decide which dress to wear in the end. 

Eleni Pappageorge is our narrator and she is perfect for this story. She can do a great Southern accent. Eleni was able to lend a different voice and inflection to each character without making it sound over the top or obnoxious. I immediately checked out other books she has narrated and was delighted to see she has also narrated Hauck's Royal Wedding Series. I hope this means I will be hearing more from the both of them combined! 

My four stars is probably a personal rating: it took me awhile to finish the book due to time constraints so I felt more disconnected from the story and characters than I may have otherwise. I loved Emily and (especially) Charlotte. I would have loved to spend more time with the other Dress wearers, Mary Grace and Hillary, but I understand that may have muddled the rest of the story. 'The Wedding Dress' is romantic and beautiful, easily connecting the past and the present in touching ways. Check it out if you love past-present connections, Christian romance stories and don't mind a bit longer feeling read.

And there you have it! My first audiobook review :) Anything I can add to add or change about my future audio reviews??

6 comments:

  1. This sounds like a wonderful story! I'm glad that audiobook reader added to the narrative too - it's great when the reader can bring each character to life and is able to draw you into the story. I think this was a wonderful audiobook review for your first one!

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  2. Keep meaning to read this one, but alas, I don't pick it up. I do have a copy of it though, so perhaps this year will be the year. :D

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  3. Thanks Charlene! Rachel Hauck is pretty good at what she does.

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  4. This SHOULD be the year! Have you read other Hauck? Super adorable romances

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  5. I have! Her Royal Wedding books are THE cutest. :)

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  6. ARGH love them! Have you read anything similiar??

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