Fashion, History and Women's Rights-"The Fashion Designer" by Nancy Moser Review

 

"The Fashion Designer" by Nancy Moser is a book filled with fashion, history and women's rights!  It is also packed with faith content!  It's the second book in "The Pattern Artist" series and can be read as a standalone, but I would recommend reading the books in sequence to get the most enjoyment from the series as there are references to past events, and characters from the first book make cameo appearances.  Ms. Moser does refresh the reader later on in the story regarding characters and events from the previous book, but it would have been nice to have a little refresher or character list earlier on.

Ms. Moser excels in the historical details.  She wows the reader with her descriptions of the time period, down to every minute detail.  I felt like I was transported back into New York City in the early 1900s, when women were still fighting for their rights and maternity clothes weren't yet in fashion.  Our main character, Annie, wants to design affordable, functional clothes for the everyday woman.  She even wants to try her hand in maternity wear (gasp!).  I learned so much history while following Annie's journey. 

"The Fashion Designer" has characters that really live out the Christian walk and incorporate their faith into everything they do.  The main characters are always talking about their faith, praying, discussing God's timing and trying to trust God.  There is a sweet bit where Annie's husband leaves her a Scripture verse when she is struggling with doubt. 

There are some more mature themes in this book, such as domestic abuse and rape.  They are both talked about, not in a lot of detail, but enough that I was feeling uncomfortable.  It was very hard to read about the way a husband is treating his wife at one point.  I know that these are important and realistic themes to address, but they may be hard for some to read about.

"The Fashion Designer" incorporates a lot of great history and faith content!  I really enjoyed those aspects, but I would caution younger and/or sensitive readers due to the more mature themes in the book.  Overall, I really enjoyed it!

Content: I would rate this book PG-13 due to some of the mature themes that are addressed.  Some examples of the content are: a joke about a woman’s bosom; a man smokes a cigar; people drink champagne and other alcoholic beverages; a man is emotionally and a little physically abusive towards his wife and he oppresses her; there is a conversation about a woman giving birth, but it’s not graphic; a woman has been raped in the past and talks about that and losing her virginity; there is talk of a man being a drunkard.

Rating: I give this book 3 stars.

Genre: Historical fiction; Christian fiction

I want to thank NetGalley, Nancy Moser, Shiloh Run Press and Barbour Publishing for the complimentary copy of this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are my own. This is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR 16, Part 255.  I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I've been married to my wonderful husband for 42 years. We have three grown children with three great spouses, and seven grandchildren--and we're waiting for more! We both earned a degree in architecture, have traveled extensively in Europe, and I've performed in various theaters and choirs. I love to knit, kill all my houseplants, and can wire an electrical fixture without getting shocked. I am a big fan of anything antique—humans included. Professionally, I am the author of twenty-nine novels that share a common message: we each have a unique purpose—the trick is to find out what it is. My genres include contemporary and historical novels including "The Pattern Artist, "Love of the Summerfields", "An Unlikely Suitor", "Mozart's Sister". Some of my contemporary novels are the Christy Award-winning "Time Lottery", "The Invitation", "The Seat Beside Me", "The Sister Circle", and "The Good Nearby."

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