Thank you Simon and Schuster (Australia), Anstey Harris (the author) and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel.

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book written by a new to me author, whose husband. I have since read is a Luthier (a maker and repairer of violins).

Grace, a 40 year old Luthier, lives alone and is the owner of some complicated relationships throughout her life, both past and present. Set mostly between England and Paris the book is set out like a symphony, contained within four movements. Entwined in these movements are characters which are not always particularly likeable, although some are often very lovable and all are developed so well by the author.

To compliment the great character development the author has described geographical locations and music, particularly violins amd cellos beautifully. At times I felt like I was walking through streets of Montmarte myself and other times I was imagining the pain of hours and hours of practice resulting in beyond blistered hands.

I loved learning the intricacies or making amd repairing beautiful instruments and of the passion, soul and hard work that members of an orchestra go through to the amongst the worlds best. The list of music at the end of the book was a lovely surprise.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this wonderful book, it is so nice to start and finish my reading year with fabulous books. I highly recommend this book and will be telling my friends all about it.
I will also recommend this for our book group.

Musical - literally - and highly predictable, but still an enjoyable story.

Plot: Grace is in love with David. Things get complicated. Grace seeks solace in her instrument-making, and the company of a headstrong teenager and an elderly man. There is intermittent David-drama.

The drama level is pretty high here, and even though I basically predicted everything, it still caught my breath to actually read the way it all played out. It's lucky there are so few characters because they all have their own stories and we're given enough detail and time to get attached. I definitely got attached. Not so much to Grace, who annoyed me a lot, or David, who is a scumbag who calls Grace 'darling' and 'sweetie' and other equally eye-roll-worthy names waaaaaay too many times, but mostly to Fiery Nadia and Nice Guy Mr Williams. These two are the real MVPs.

So the story is sweet and dramatic; highly predictable but nevertheless enjoyable.

The writing is unique. I am on the fence. It's beautiful and elegant, and contains some really beautiful phrases, but it's also full of an insane amount of detail regarding music and instruments and honestly, it was pretty much lost on me. I appreciate the attempts to describe, but I basically had no clue what I was reading. Oh well.

I was also incredibly bothered by how many times the author used LITERALLY (hence my cheeky opening line) because it was overused and, in some cases, incorrect. This is one of my pet hates.

I was torn between 3 and 4 stars for this one but I nudged it up thanks to my love of everything French and how this book catered to it. I loved reliving my own memories as the author described places I myself have been. Ah, such fond memories.

If you're looking for a sweet little contemporary with elegant language, attention to detail and cosy settings, this is the book for you. It's quite lovely, and I'd recommend for an easy, light-hearted page-turner.

Not having read any JoJo Moyes or Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine, I didn’t have any expectations and wasn’t disappointed that it wasn’t similar. In fact, I enjoyed it.

Grace is a bit lost. She thinks she’s fine, although she can’t perform in public since being asked to leave music college as a young woman, but the reader can see she’s not, so it’s no surprise to us when everything falls apart. But Grace is a strong woman and her rebirth from the ashes has a positive effect on more lives than just her own.

Excellent writing and a story which kept me guessing until the end, I gave this one 5 thoroughly enjoyable stars. Music lovers will especially enjoy all the music and there’s even a play list included.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for a free copy of this novel.

‘We were staying at David’s apartment in Paris the night the woman fell onto the Metro tracks.’

Grace Atherton has been the ‘other’ woman in a relationship for eight years. Her world revolves around David, who is (one day) going to leave his wife (when his children are grown). In the meantime, to protect David’s family, discretion is needed. Grace is also an accomplished cellist and luthier, who owns her own shop repairing (and making) violins and cellos.

Then, one evening, David saves a woman who fell onto the Metro tracks in Paris. Everyone wants to know who the hero is. Once David is identified, Grace’s life is turned upside down. What will Grace do?
Grace (and this novel) are saved by Nadia, a teenager who helps in Grace’s shop, and Mr Williams, a customer.

The interactions between the three are wonderful. As Grace emerges from the wreck of the fairy-tale she’d imagined, she also learns that she is not alone and that events in the past were not quite as black and white as she’d imagined. Sometimes mistakes can be revisited. Sometimes dreams can come true.

Yes, elements of this novel are predictable. But it was the way in which Ms Harris told the story that held my attention. I enjoyed this novel. I liked the ending, the way that Grace, Nadia and Mr Williams all found a degree of happiness. And David? Hmm.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia) for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

When first opening this book a reader may well believe that it is purely a relationships read, the main character of Grace, a cellist, instrument maker who is “the other woman” in a relationship with a human “peacock”. Yes, David is true to this description, so sad for Grace who has worn the tarnish of rejection from her music professor at the conservatoire, and who looks to the bright light of 7n. However the author sets the scene relatively early whereby Grace’s fantasies of a life with her beautiful man dissolve due to events at a railway station. From here the book develops and moves into a wonderful and delightful story whereby Grace has to pick up the baton of reality. All the elements are subtly there, rejection, sexual predatory, homophobia, unfaithfulness and narcissism. Grace has not been one to “collect” a volume of friends and since meeting David she has continually daydreamed of a life with him and fantasises of holidays in France, maybe Spain, always looking for David to fill the void in her life rather than pursuing fulfilment herself. Her business is successful, however her experiences with her music professor have affected her so adversely that she is unable to play the cello to an audience. As it all begins to unravel Grace has a real hissy fit and demolishes all the stock in her shop including a cello she had been working on for the great Cremona competition. Two people who are trying to cope with their own problems see in Grace what she does not see in herself and come to her aid. Her shop assistant Nadia a talented musician struggling with the problems of youth and family and a cherished old gentleman customer Mr Williams who is dealing with his own personal loss. These two friends from different points of life’s spectrum get Grace back on her feet and in doing so in the end resolve their own issues. Whilst in Cremona Grace runs into a fellow student from her days at the conservatoire who reveals to her the truth about the professor and in doing so the clouded self judgement of her cello abilities are changed and faith in herself is restored. As further events unfold while in Cremona Grace faces her demons and finds herself finally playing for an audience.
Many thanks to Simon & Shuster and to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this delightful story.

<i>I received an advance reading copy of this book thanks to Simon & Schuster (Australia) via NetGalley</i>

I really did not know what to expect of this book and after a little bit of online research scoping the different titles etc., I decided straight off the bat (not really knowing what the book entailed) that I preferred the both the title <i>The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton</i> and also the cover art of this specific edition.

Once I began reading, it was incredibly easy to keep pace and continue to read on. I sat back cautious about where the story was heading; I highly despise the generic boys treats girl badly, girl is a wreck, boy apologies, girl happily returns, narrative. So many books have great promise only to travel the same path as so very many before them and honestly, it's just a little boring and predictable - I like a thrill and pleasant surprise when I read fiction books of this nature every now and then. For them all to have a similar ending isn't overly enjoyable for every reader. I am so happy I put my trust in Harris and where she was directing the narrative. I didn't know whether I felt angry, helpless or sorry for Grace whilst I was reading but I'm glad Harris took her in the direction that she did. By the end of the book I felt a sense of pride and camaraderie at the strength Grace built after tackling some very difficult situations that one hopes never to be in the midst of.

The structure in which this book is written is beautiful. It flows gracefully and I felt a sense of gentleness whilst reading. The amount of detail written about the violin family and how they are crafted is perfect. You get a good overview of the art without receiving too much information that distracts from the flow of the story. Atherton has done a fantastic job at fusing romanticism to the craft of violin-making throughout her narrative.

I highly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to reader of contemporary fiction.

I want to thank this book from the bottom of my heart for bringing me out of a reading slump. I raced through it in one night

First, let's talk about the elephant in the room: the title is terrible. I read somewhere that this was originally called "Goodbye, Paris" which is much better but misleading/a spoiler. How about something punny about Grace, or the Paris Affair or something else?

The constant apostrophes before the word "cello" did me in too. Yes, I know it's an abbreviation but it's an accepted use. Just say cello. Other musicians do. Drop the pretention.

I love loved the musical aspect of the story. Grace' s back history and obsession with playing and later creating the cello. Adored it.

If you're looking for something light and predictable, in a contemporary story with fantastic characters look no further, I couldn't put it down. Tidy wrapped up loose ends and obvious plot points? Heaps of them, doused with generous feelgood.

Pick it up if you're a fan of Elinor Oliphant or Begin Again

Oh how I loved this book. I’m not a musician, and don’t have any of the talent that Grace does, but have learnt so much in this book. How instruments are made, how lives are altered by one small act, and how friendships and love can come out of hardship and pain.

A truly delightful book that I will highly recommend to others.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.