Jessica Topper

The dress-bearer for her mother's wedding in Hawaii, Laney Hudson, when her plane is unexpectedly grounded, is forced to share a honeymoon suite with her gorgeous seatmate, whom the flight crew thinks is her fiancé. By the author of Louder Than Love. Original.

Dictatorship of the Dress

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Jessica Topper is a "new-to-me" author, but with a cover like that and a ridiculously cute pun-tastic series name, I had to give this book a chance. And I'm really glad I did! It's different than a lot of the contemporary romance I typically read – and that's not a bad thing. 

If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times (at least) – I am a fan of books and movies in which two characters are pushed together for a limited amount of time, in a situation out of their control. I love seeing how people connect in times like those. That's exactly what happens with Noah and Laney here as they are mistaken as a soon-to-be-married couple – solely because of proximity and the fact that Laney's carrying her mom's wedding gown. When their connecting flights are grounded due to weather, they find themselves checking into the honeymoon suite at a hotel. That's when the story really begins. 

I'm all for the one-night stands, but I LOVE that it's not what happened with Noah and Laney. Sure, there was an attraction, but she's dealing with the baggage from her past and Noah is dealing with his present/future. It's through the course of a lot of talking while stranded together that they get to know each other and things slowly develop. It wasn't even about the slow burn here as much as it was just about these two characters getting closer as Laney lets go of the past and Noah realizes he wants a different future than the one he's currently heading towards. 

I started Dictatorship of the Dress expecting a light and fluffy read. It wasn't that. It wasn't necessarily tough and angsty either, but definitely landed somewhere in between. There was a lot of inner dialogue and reflection as Laney thinks back on what happened with her childhood love, Allen, and as Noah thinks about his engagement to the fairly loathsome Sloane. But there were sweet, romantic moments laced throughout, as well as a healthy dose of humor and heart. I really liked the characters and the path they were on. And, with an ending like that one, there's no way I couldn't be utterly charmed by the whole experience.

I enjoyed this book – and Jessica's writing style. I'm already eagerly awaiting Dani's story in Courtship of the Cake. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Dictatorship of the Dress

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