Reviewed by Carissa

TITLE:  Ribbons and Frills

SERIES:  Summer Bigger Than Others

AUTHOR:  Claire Davis and Al Stewart

PUBLISHER:  Beaten Track

LENGTH:  43 pages

BLURB:  

Ribbons and Frills costume sewing factory has always been about creating dreams, but when the owner asks his very upper-class son to take over, sparks fly, and not just from the sewing machines. The last time manager Gary Shaw saw Ashley Turner-Hoff was a year ago, when he left Gary standing on the beach with a broken heart and sand in his underwear.

Ashley Turner-Hoff has a plan to save the factory which involves one famous mannequin and a fashion show in London.

Can Gary forgive Ashley and give him a second chance? Can Ribbons and Frills really compete against top fashion designers, and do Gary’s dreams of being on stage finally come true?
Find out in this summer story of sequins, sand, and surprises!

Part of “Summer Bigger Than Others – A Summer Anthology” from Beaten Track Publishing.

REVIEW:  

Gary and Ashley had a summer fling a year ago. Gary wanted it to be more, but Ashley, still caught up in his life back in London, leaves Gary with little more than a ‘well, it’s been great, but…’. A year later, when the costume sewing factory that Ashley’s father owns is having money troubles,  Ashley returns, hoping his last-ditch plan will help save the factory and the workers from bankruptcy. Gary, who is more than a little smitten with the upper-class, posh-speaking Ashley, thinks this is pretty much his nightmare come true. Because heaven knows he won’t be able to keep his hands off the man, and he has already been down that road one too many times.

Once I got over the fact that the MC was named Gary (I know a Gary, and yeah, that’s a whole host of odd images in my head), I quickly fell in love with him. He is a lot more than what I thought he would be, and I like that. And this is definitely one of those books that would be awesome with pictures, because I’d have loved to see all the creations that these characters make. Especially Gary’s costumes.

I’ve never been good at sewing–and the hem lines on all my pants can attest to–but it is something I dearly with I could do. There is just something about creating magic out of random pieces of cloth that I find so enchanting. Which is pretty much I why I decided to pick up this book.

Plus the cover. The cover may have swayed me. A little.

The ending was a bit…obvious, but still very cute. Though I don’t know how Ashley let it happen.

Anyways, a lovely reunited lovers story tied up in some pretty cool ribbons.

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Beaten Track

Beaten Track Anthology

Amazon  

Amazon Anthology  

ARe