The Keeper of Happy Endings

There are times for holding on in this life and times for letting go. You must learn to know the difference.” ~Esmée Roussel, The Dress Witch Two women. Two Countries. Similar lives. Eventually, friends. This was such a wonderful story…but a double edged sword for me. Soline Roussel is a dressmaker from Paris like her mother and her mother’s mother. They make wedding dresses that are known to be woven with spells of joy. When Hitlers armies invade Paris, Soline volunteers at the hospital where she falls in love with an American Ambulance driver. When things become more dangerous, he sends her to America, where they will be married when he can get there. Rory Grant is an aspiring artist from an affluent family. She is engaged to be married to her fiancé, “Hux”, when he returns from traveling to Sudan with Doctors without Borders. Her world is upended when she finds out he has gone missing. With a beautiful piece of property and an idea, Soline and Rory meet…and a friendship blossoms. With wonderful characters and storylines…this book has it all! Family, Love, Loss, Mother-Daughter relationships, hope and even a little bit of magic. The double edged sword was that it was a tear jerker. I love a good cry from a book! But this one hit home. I don’t speak with my mother and this one definitely pulled at the heart strings for that. However, like the quote says, “there are times for holding on in this life and times for letting go…you must learn to know the difference.” No truer words have been said or written. My first 5 star read of 2025…I highly recommend!

Easy read with some good historical fiction. Light on the topic of magic and an overreached ending.

Beautiful story woven between 2 women with a whole lot more in common than meets the eye.

This is only the second book l've read by Barbara Davis and I my heart is shook even more than the previous read. This book had so much depth and impeccably interwoven pieces, just like Soline's dresses. Another incredible plot that deserves to be turned into a film that would enthrall audiences.

There were so many hints that the book was spoiled for me in the first half. Perhaps that was the author’s intention so there wouldn’t be any surprises. I cannot say with certainty as this was the first book of hers that I read. Also, the story started to feel like a soap opera with all the back-from-the-dead drama. Overall, it’s a good read.