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1943tre's review
4.0
3.5 rounded up to 4.
A really charming debut that makes me excited to hopefully read more of Gillian Libby. There was a lot to enjoy about this novel. Firstly, the STEAM and more importantly, the build-up. This was giving a bit of an Emily Henry vibe, which I love. Pete was hot and a little bossy, and had that brooding intensity with a bit of angst that I require to feel something. If you're into the "guy who has been silently brewing in his overwhelming attraction for you, unspoken, for YEARS" trope à la Love Hypothesis, Hating Game, Beach Read–you will probably enjoy this.
The premise of this felt slightly convoluted/absurd/implausible. Basically, Millie is a wannabe influencer who, for what feels like literally no reason at all, gets tagged by a real influencer in an Insta story that says "cute couple alert!" with her and aforementioned local hottie Pete. Her follower count seems to go up after this happens, so she proposes a fake dating solution that will both up her follower count AND be good press for Pete's hotel. But like, wut lol? Pete is a local hot eligible bachelor, but why would the public care so much that this could have ANY effect on her follower count? I might understand if Pete was a literal celebrity, but since Millie starts out as a micro influencer (AT BEST lol) and Pete is really just a hot nobody, it makes no sense to me why them pairing up in this fake way would produce any business results for either of them. Luckily for me, Gillian Libby finds a way to distract me with the pure HEAT of many open-door scenes and a very sweet HEA, so I had an easier time accepting this utterly absurd set-up.
A really charming debut that makes me excited to hopefully read more of Gillian Libby. There was a lot to enjoy about this novel. Firstly, the STEAM and more importantly, the build-up. This was giving a bit of an Emily Henry vibe, which I love. Pete was hot and a little bossy, and had that brooding intensity with a bit of angst that I require to feel something. If you're into the "guy who has been silently brewing in his overwhelming attraction for you, unspoken, for YEARS" trope à la Love Hypothesis, Hating Game, Beach Read–you will probably enjoy this.
The premise of this felt slightly convoluted/absurd/implausible. Basically, Millie is a wannabe influencer who, for what feels like literally no reason at all, gets tagged by a real influencer in an Insta story that says "cute couple alert!" with her and aforementioned local hottie Pete. Her follower count seems to go up after this happens, so she proposes a fake dating solution that will both up her follower count AND be good press for Pete's hotel. But like, wut lol? Pete is a local hot eligible bachelor, but why would the public care so much that this could have ANY effect on her follower count? I might understand if Pete was a literal celebrity, but since Millie starts out as a micro influencer (AT BEST lol) and Pete is really just a hot nobody, it makes no sense to me why them pairing up in this fake way would produce any business results for either of them. Luckily for me, Gillian Libby finds a way to distract me with the pure HEAT of many open-door scenes and a very sweet HEA, so I had an easier time accepting this utterly absurd set-up.
milenagallo's review
2.0
i really did not enjoy this one- the beginning was enjoyable, i loved the small surf town setting and the marketing references but that was about it. i didn’t think the characters were particularly likeable and at no point during this book was i rooting for really any of them… the characters and the storyline were both average and honestly the relationship was extremely middle school.
if you want a mindless summer read i suppose this may be good to pick up but overall just so predictable and meh :/
if you want a mindless summer read i suppose this may be good to pick up but overall just so predictable and meh :/
azdesert_bookworm's review
4.0
Basically Millie is a hot mess. She gets laid off from your New York marketing job and with the support of her two college friends who landed in New York with her, Millie decides to take a chance and do something for herself, you know, without really thinking it all through. And that decision takes her to Peacock Bay, California to reunite with Quincy, the one college friend who did not get swept up in the lights and lure of NYC but, instead, went back to her small surfer village hometown.
One can’t overlook the magical black dress that is shared among the four friends. It’s the sisterhood of the traveling dress; an object that comes to symbolize the connection between them and the belief that the dress will see them through life’s biggest moments.
Peacock Bay is a beautiful setting. A small town where people ride bikes to the shops. Everyone knows everyone. The coffee shop opens a little later than usual because the surf is good. As you read you can almost feel the sea breeze and smell the salty air.
The book takes a very modern approach to the characters' lives and interactions with each other. From Facetiming to making grids on Instagram, it almost made me laugh with how accurate the obsession can be with our phones.
I did feel that the fake relationship was a weak point of the story. They were doing this for Instagram, but very little actually made it on Millie’s page and Pete is a social media ghost, and I honestly got a little tired of every conversation between the two involving their deal and the fakeness of the relationship.
Overall, this is a story about overcoming your own insecurities and believing in your abilities to succeed. Everyone struggles. Everyone has challenges, but everyone also has the ability to put themselves in a position that is good for them. Millie learned to trust herself. She learned that she needed to have confidence and do something that was going to make her happy. It’s not about other people, and through it all, she was able to help those around her.
https://thebookshelf.substack.com/p/four-ways-to-wear-a-dress-by-gillian?sd=pf
One can’t overlook the magical black dress that is shared among the four friends. It’s the sisterhood of the traveling dress; an object that comes to symbolize the connection between them and the belief that the dress will see them through life’s biggest moments.
Peacock Bay is a beautiful setting. A small town where people ride bikes to the shops. Everyone knows everyone. The coffee shop opens a little later than usual because the surf is good. As you read you can almost feel the sea breeze and smell the salty air.
The book takes a very modern approach to the characters' lives and interactions with each other. From Facetiming to making grids on Instagram, it almost made me laugh with how accurate the obsession can be with our phones.
I did feel that the fake relationship was a weak point of the story. They were doing this for Instagram, but very little actually made it on Millie’s page and Pete is a social media ghost, and I honestly got a little tired of every conversation between the two involving their deal and the fakeness of the relationship.
Overall, this is a story about overcoming your own insecurities and believing in your abilities to succeed. Everyone struggles. Everyone has challenges, but everyone also has the ability to put themselves in a position that is good for them. Millie learned to trust herself. She learned that she needed to have confidence and do something that was going to make her happy. It’s not about other people, and through it all, she was able to help those around her.
https://thebookshelf.substack.com/p/four-ways-to-wear-a-dress-by-gillian?sd=pf
magnoliapigeonbookblurbs's review
5.0
5/5⭐️
Big city to small town, friends to lovers, sisterhood of the traveling pants -esque feel good romantic comedy. Four Ways to Wear a Dress had me laughing, smiling and considering how much social media really plays a roll in our lives. Great read!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!
Big city to small town, friends to lovers, sisterhood of the traveling pants -esque feel good romantic comedy. Four Ways to Wear a Dress had me laughing, smiling and considering how much social media really plays a roll in our lives. Great read!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!
rosiebp's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
laceyhopper's review
5.0
Four Ways to Wear a Dress - Gillian Libby 4.5 ⭐ / 5
Millie and Quincy have been friends since college, and Millie has had a major crush on Quincy's older brother, Pete, for just as long. Millie has reached an impasse after being fired from her marketing job, and she takes a chance on visiting her friends' hometown (and Influencer hot spot) Peacock Bay to take a few weeks away from the real world in their family hotel. Millie and her friends share a dress that instills self-confidence, which is exactly what she will need when she is going to be constantly near her biggest crush. While she's there, Millie tries her hand at becoming an Instagram influencer by sharing her unfiltered life, including her experience with having ADHD and her love of surfing. When a local Influencer does Millie a "favor" by implying that Pete is Millie's man, the two decide to fake it for a month to boost the hotel's online image. Pete and Millie's relationship heats up while Millie tries to figure out what's a part of their deal and what Pete's true feelings are.
Four Ways to Wear a Dress was such a fun read!! I truly connected with Millie and her ADHD diagnosis. I know nothing about surfing, but I was still interested in the parts of the book that focused on it. There is a lot of focus on Influencer culture and how so much of it is for show. This novel does a great job of showing real lives behind the likes and lenses of Instagram and explores the stigma of mental illness and being a woman in a male-dominated sport. The pacing of this book is great for a debut author and I can't wait to read more from Gillian Libby in the future.
I am lucky to have received this ARC through NetGalley from Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for my honest review.
Millie and Quincy have been friends since college, and Millie has had a major crush on Quincy's older brother, Pete, for just as long. Millie has reached an impasse after being fired from her marketing job, and she takes a chance on visiting her friends' hometown (and Influencer hot spot) Peacock Bay to take a few weeks away from the real world in their family hotel. Millie and her friends share a dress that instills self-confidence, which is exactly what she will need when she is going to be constantly near her biggest crush. While she's there, Millie tries her hand at becoming an Instagram influencer by sharing her unfiltered life, including her experience with having ADHD and her love of surfing. When a local Influencer does Millie a "favor" by implying that Pete is Millie's man, the two decide to fake it for a month to boost the hotel's online image. Pete and Millie's relationship heats up while Millie tries to figure out what's a part of their deal and what Pete's true feelings are.
Four Ways to Wear a Dress was such a fun read!! I truly connected with Millie and her ADHD diagnosis. I know nothing about surfing, but I was still interested in the parts of the book that focused on it. There is a lot of focus on Influencer culture and how so much of it is for show. This novel does a great job of showing real lives behind the likes and lenses of Instagram and explores the stigma of mental illness and being a woman in a male-dominated sport. The pacing of this book is great for a debut author and I can't wait to read more from Gillian Libby in the future.
I am lucky to have received this ARC through NetGalley from Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for my honest review.
casscorps's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
allypkuhn's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
klcrabill's review
5.0
Wow, what a fantastic listen! I loved how timely this audiobook was, discussing the struggles of twenty somethings after the pandemic and trying to figure out their lives in the time of social media. And the romance, whew! There's just something about listening to a sex scene while doing menial house chores that makes them a lot more enjoyable!!! Loved how the narrator told the story, with the slight differences in tone for different characters but not too goofy. Truly a super enjoyable listen, could not stop listening because I couldn't wait to figure out what happened and if the "fake husband" turned into a true romance. Highly recommend for a easy breezy enjoyable listen!
doremelodie's review
3.0
Fake dating. Friend’s older brother. Mental illness. Expectation vs reality. She felt first, he fell harder. “Sisterhood of the traveling pants” ish.
Usually I think fake dating is cute. However, I couldn’t help but find Millie annoying. How much obvious does it have to be? Even with the book solely written in her perspective, I thought Pete was being very direct in his intentions. I wish I got his POV. Honestly, if I was him, I would have given up.
Usually I think fake dating is cute. However, I couldn’t help but find Millie annoying. How much obvious does it have to be? Even with the book solely written in her perspective, I thought Pete was being very direct in his intentions. I wish I got his POV. Honestly, if I was him, I would have given up.