The Dressmaker's Secret

The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy, Book 1

De: Kellyn Roth

Narrado por: Alexandra Ralph

If they knew who she was, they’d never accept what she’s become.

Claire will stop at nothing to provide for her daughters. An unwed mother, she does everything possible to raise them whilst avoiding her scandalous past. Some secrets are best kept, even between mother and daughter.

Alice longs for a father, especially if that means her mother will be happy. She takes matters into her own hands — but she never expected what she finds.

Despite her efforts to shelter her daughters, Claire’s ghosts rise up to haunt her, and any semblance of control over her life vanishes. If her secrets are uncovered, what will become of her family?

The Dressmaker's Secret is the first novel in a Christian women's fiction saga, The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy.

©2016, 2020 Kellyn Roth, Author (P)2020 Wild Blue Wonder Press

Alice is the star of the story!

What a delightful story! I love how it is told from the perspectives of Alice and her mother Claire. The English narration is highly appealing and makes this audiobook tale come to life.

In The Dressmaker’s Secret, the introduction to The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy series, Claire attempts to keep her secretive past from nearly everyone, including her 8-year-old daughters Ivy and Alice. Her dear friend, Nettie is the only one who knows the truth, and I love how she stays loyal to Claire.

Young Ivy is meek and accepting, but Alice is quite spunky and bold and seeks answers. Especially about why she and Ivy don't have a father. I admire her tenacity, strength, and inquisitive nature. Usually, I’m not overly fond of children in books, but Alice is quite entertaining and easy to connect with.

Though the story focuses on Claire navigating her secretive life, the true star of the book is young Alice. I empathized with her and hoped she would find answers. I understood her mother’s reasoning, but I wanted so much for Alice to find answers. For the most part, the pacing is a bit on the slower side, but fits well with time period and plot. Ultimately, I enjoy how the mystery unfolds.

Disclosure: #CoverLoverBookReview received a complimentary copy of this book.

Narrator is perfect!

This is a solid, well-written Christian historical fiction novel by Kellyn Roth. The time period and setting were so clear as I read. This book is full of lovable characters with unique and endearing qualities. There were a couple of twists I didn't see coming, and I appreciated the surprise factor.

Tough subject matter was dealt with delicately.

This book is full of love, encouragement, and compassion.

I plan to reread this book.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts are my own.

Great start to a series

I loved that this had the point of view of the mom and the eight-year-old daughter, Alice. The young girl's curiosity was spot on, making me chuckle when she spoke her mind or smiled at her inner thoughts.
Her longing to know of and about her father pulled at my mother's heartstrings. I think the story was well written until the end some extra twists were thrown in, leaving somewhat of an open ending. Because it's a series, I'm hoping Alice will uncover her full story in the future. I, for one, want to know the remainder of her family's secrets. ;)
While not a swoony historical romance, there is a bit of a love story in the mom's storyline but, hers is more of a single mom trying to make ends meet for herself and twin daughters in an era where being a single mom could cause such a scandal.
The narrator did a fantastic job with voice changes going from a girl's voice to the mom's, the nanny's, and the male characters involved. She kept me hooked to the end.
I rate it 4/5 stars.

A Faith-Filled Story of Family and Forgiveness

I really enjoyed The Dressmaker’s Secret! Kellyn Roth delivers a touching, Gospel-centered story that explores family bonds, mother-daughter love, and how secrets can shape a life.

Narration by Alexandra Ralph is very well done, especially Alice’s voice, which has just the right amount of youthful sweetness without being distracting.

This is a slower-paced, thoughtful read with themes of grace, prayer, and forgiveness. Not a romance, more a deep dive into the way an abandoned woman does whatever is necessary to protect her children while learning to heal and move forward. We see much of this story through the eyes of Alice, one of Claire's twins, and the lights of Claire's life!

Trigger warnings: abandonment, brief off-page rape mention, overbearing parenting, and death.

I received an a copy of the audiobook from the author, but all thoughts about this story are my own.

Beautifully written historical fiction.

I am so in love with this book! The story, narration and writing were all amazing. It was my very first Christian historical fiction and I loved it! The plot twists were so shocking and I did not see any of them coming. Overall great book and recommend it for anyone and everyone.

*I received this audiobook for free from the author for this honest review.*

great story

The Dressmaker’s Secret is the first book I have read written by Kellyn Roth, and I am excited to read more of her books. I look forward to the next book in the series.

I had the pleasure of listening to the audio version of this book, read by Alexandra Ralph. She did a great job bringing this story to life.

The character development was great. Claire is trying to provide the perfect life for her twins. Though living in the Victorian era, it is hard to give them a full life when dealing with her past. She eloped at 17, and her father brought her home, and that is when she found herself pregnant. Claire has a lot to deal with, and there are a lot of layers to her. Her daughters are a joy. Alice is a little girl who is just figuring out life. She wasn’t aware that not having a father was wrong until a little girl told her. Now she is trying to figure out who he is. Nettie, who is the nanny/governess for the twins, also has her issues she is working through.

The storyline was enjoyable. I felt like I was in the 1800s, trying to navigate life with Claire.
At times, I struggled to figure out whose point of view we were in. But overall, the storyline was good, dealing with many different issues, and a surprise reveal at the end.

Kellyn Roth does a great job of intertwining faith throughout. Claire is on a faith journey, so she struggles with her faith throughout the book, but near the end, she becomes open to Him.

*I received a complimentary copy from the author and voluntarily chose to review it. All opinions are my own.

A “feel good” captivating Christian Story

This is a story of the interference of a controlling, hateful father among British ton and misunderstanding, unfounded judgment, and of the ones who chose to believe in God and of those who chose not to believe.
This is a wonderful tale of strong friendship, perseverance, and dedication of two women and of a loving brother.!
The ending is very surprising and stirs up more questions within the reader/listener. It is a great lead-in to further stories.
The characters are so realistic and the scenes so vivid that the reader/listener feels he/she is in the story.
The Narrator Alexandra Ralph does a very good job in performing the various characters' voices and in emphasizing all the correct phrases with energy and consistency.
This is a very inspiring and touching tale.

Great

The Dressmaker's Secret (The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy, Book 1) by Kellyn Roth was a great audiobook! I have to say that Alexandra Ralph did an amazing job with the narration, especially with the voices. The story itself pulled me in right from the start, and I quickly found myself really liking Claire. I am excited to start book 2!

Sweet historical fiction with an amazing narrator

Well, yet another book outside of my genre that I enjoyed.
Kellyn is a great person and an extremely talented writer. This story was plotted incredibly well - I don't know how she managed to keep up with all of the strings and then tie them up nicely (I mean, except the ones that were intentionally left unfinished because, y'know, this is a series).
The characters are fun and real-life. Like, I'm not sure I'd be completely surprised I was able to meet them in person. The fact that they're from a different time period feels like more of a barrier than that they're fictional.
This book had serious moments with great bits of dialogue and writing, but then it had laugh-out-loud moments. And that's the best kind of story.
There's nothing I can even say was done badly. I just didn't enjoy it enough to give a full 5 stars. But it was still wonderfully written.

I would give a content review, but I think Kell covers that quite well in her Goodreads author review (which I greatly appreciate).

*Thanks to the author for providing a free copy of this book. A positive review was not required. All thoughts expressed are my own.*

I loved everything about this book!

So lovely! I loved the flow of the story and the writing was absolutely superb!