The Wedding Dress

This one is really hard to rate, review, and classify. I really enjoyed aspects of the story, especially Charlotte. The odd parts are...well, odd. The older gentleman, the “Purple Man” or “Mr. Oddfellow”, falls just short of perfection as a mythical or supernatural being...he is one shade too nebulous. And I'm not too sure about the dress itself...what makes it fit? Is it some sort of miracle or simply “by magic”? Without a real specification, it would be easy to believe it magical, and I don't agree with that theologically. Basically, it seems that enough was said to raise questions and speculations, but not to give any sort of spiritual opinion on it. It being Christian fiction, it feels like the Christian application is missing.

The mechanics of the writing is excellent. Hauck knows her way around English better than most current authors. In the way of storytelling, however, it's simply a good rating, as it feels not quite a finished story; the characters were given a whole story arc, but not the dress itself or the purple man. Both of those remain just as shrouded in mystery as before.

All that said, I loved the womens' individual stories. The tale is very sweet and engaging, and it's easy to see how it's a reader favorite. I, however, am not comfortable with rating it more than 3.5 stars.