Book Review: Dictatorship of the Dress by Jessica Topper

Dictatorship of the Dress (Much "I Do" About Nothing #1)

By Jessica Topper

Release Date: January 6, 2015

Source: Publisher

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As the dress-bearer for her mother’s wedding, comic book artist Laney Hudson has a lot more baggage than the bulky garment bag she’s lugging from New York to Hawaii. Laney is determined to prove she’s capable of doing something right, but running chores for her mom’s fairytale nuptials is proving to be a painfully constant reminder of her own lost love.

So when she’s mistaken for the bride and bumped up to first class, Laney figures some stress-free luxury is worth a harmless white lie. Until the flight crew thinks that the man sitting next to her is Laney’s groom, and her little fib turns into a hot mess.

The last thing Noah Ridgewood needs is some dress-obsessed diva landing in his first-class row. En route to his Vegas bachelor party, the straight-laced software designer knows his cold feet have nothing to do with the winter weather.

When a severe storm leaves them grounded in Chicago and they find themselves booked into the last available honeymoon suite, Laney and her in-flight neighbor have little choice but to get better acquainted. Now, as her bridal mission hangs in the balance, perhaps the thing Laney gets right is a second chance at love.

I have been meaning to read this book ever since it came out. I loved how it promised a story of a girl who was mistaken as the fiancé of the hunky guy next to her on the plane. How was that going to turn out? I had to see! 

Laney Hudson has been given the job of transporting the dress to her mother's wedding in Hawaii. Laney is determined to not let her mom down, which means not letting that garment bag out of her sight. When Laney is mistaken as a bride and bumped to first class, Laney takes the upgrade and doesn't correct the assumption. But when the flight crew thinks the man next her her is her fiancé, Laney has no idea how to get out of the lie she's told. Noah Ridgewood is a straight-laced business man on the way to his bachelor party in Vegas and wants nothing to do with the Bridezilla sitting next to him. When a storm leaves them stranded in Chicago, though, Laney and Noah spend some time together and soon realize their assumptions about each other couldn't have been further off…

This book was exactly what I thought it would be: Adorable. Starting with Laney, I absolutely loved her character and how she was an artist. She used to illustrate comics and turned to drawing when she was stressed. I loved when she drew different people she came across (especially when she drew Noah!) and used her drawing as a way to entertain an adorable little kid they ran into during the novel. Both Laney and Noah have a geeky side and it was so gosh darn cute when they connected over their inner geeks and stopped judging each other based on their first impressions. Noah had a stressful life where some serious expectations were placed upon him, but it only took one day with Laney to make him realize his life really wasn't what he wanted it to be anymore. 

With this book, the author framed it in a way that it was Laney and Noah in the present often reflecting on scenes from the past. We got to see what Laney had experienced in the past that left her so broken and what Noah has been dealing with with his actual fiancé back home. With all of the flashbacks, the pacing was a bit slow and I just wanted to get back to Noah and Laney, but those flashbacks were necessary to understanding the characters. The time Laney and Noah spent together, though, was cute and fun and I loved watching them discover new things about each other and slowly falling for each other. 

Overall, this book was just a bundle of joy to read. With mistaken identities, insane snow storms, and a night in a honeymoon suite, Laney and Noah's story is impossible not to love. If you're looking for a cute, fun romance, you have to check out Jessica Topper's Dictatorship of the Dress.