The Little French Bridal Shop
The Little French Bridal Shop by Jennifer Dupee
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published March 9th 2021 by St. Martin's Press
Jennifer Dupee's debut novel is a delight...a story about discovering your authentic self when things get hard, and the joys you can find when you live from your heart. --Louise Miller
Is a lie of omission still a lie? Larisa Pearl didn't think so and it got her into a heap of trouble.
When Larisa Pearl returns to her small seaside hometown in Massachusetts to manage her beloved great aunt's estate, she's a bit of an emotional mess. She's just lost her job and her boyfriend and she's struggling to cope with her mother's failing health. When she passes by the window of The Little French Bridal Shop, a beautiful ivory satin wedding gown catches her eye...
Now, to the delight of everyone in town, Larisa is planning her wedding. She has her dress, made floral arrangements, and set the date. The only thing missing is the groom. How did this happen? All she did was try on a dress and let her fantasy take flight. But word about her upcoming nuptials has reached the ears of Jack Merrill. As teenagers, they spent time together on her great aunt's estate, building a friendship that could have become something more had they chosen different paths.
Lost in a web of her own lies, Larisa must first face some difficult truths, including her mother's fragile future, before she can embrace her family, straighten out her life, and open her heart to finding love.
My thoughts about The Little French Bridal Shop ~~
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)
First line—"The house, a stately brick Colonial, stood at the peak of a grassy hill, the slope of its great rolling lawn dotted with elms and sycamores, on the easterly side of a tiny seaside town of Kent Crossing, on the North Shore of Massachusetts."
I loved this story! I honestly did not want to put it down and totally devoured it. This is the author's debut novel and she did an amazing job. The writing was excellent and so descriptive—I felt like I was there in Kent Crossing, experiencing life as it happened.
I have to admit, I got a little frustrated with Larisa at times, with her continual lying, but it was also a bit comical watching her dig herself into a deeper and deeper hole. Poor Larisa, she was going through a lot in her life and I guess you do what you have to do. All-in-all, a lot of life lessons were learned and she, along with most of the other characters, matured and grew as the story developed.
This is an outstanding debut novel, so charming and beautifully written. I can't wait to see what Jennifer Dupee creates next. I thoroughly enjoyed The Little French Bridal Shop and would highly recommend it.
I received a copy of The Little French Bridal Shop from Goodreads and this is my honest opinion.
About the author
Jennifer Dupee grew up on the North Shore of Boston near the seaside communities of Manchester-by-the-Sea and Beverly Farms. Her debut novel, The Little French Bridal Shop, was chosen as Good Housekeeping magazine’s April 2021 Book of the Month.
Jennifer is a graduate of Brown University, where she studied under published authors Meredith Steinbach and Carole Maso, and received her honors in Creative Writing. She is an active member of the Grub Street writing community in Boston and has published in The Feminist Press. She was a semi-finalist for the 2016 James Jones First Novel Competition and a semi-finalist for the 2016 Faulkner-Wisdom competition.
Jennifer lives just outside of Boston with her family. Her first published novel is The Little French Bridal Shop, and she is currently at work on her next novel. ~ Goodreads
Connect with Jennifer
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