Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I have always been a fan of Grace Kelley. Although this book is a fictionalized biography, I was surprised to learn of how happy she really was. I found this book to be very interesting and I still wonder how much truth is in some of the fictionalization.

Grace Kelly is not someone I was familiar with, so this was an interesting book to learn something new about someone. I found the historical settings and context to be interesting. Thank you for the ARC.

I enjoyed reading The Girl in the White Gloves. Although the author took some liberties with the story, the book feels right. To trade Hollywood for a crown is something hard to realize for an average person. I believe this book helped me understand her life a little more. It is quite amazing to think of all of the famous individuals she knew. I believe most people will enjoy the book as much as I did! It was definitely an interesting read!

The Girl in White Gloves: A Novel Of Grace Kelly by Kerri Maher was exactly that—A NOVEL—in which the author surmised what she thought Grace Kelly’s feelings and thoughts and words were after researching her life. In the notes at the end of the book, Mahler says she could not pin down or check certain details, and, that she fictionalized letters between Grace and Rainier among other things. She is honest about this being a work of historical FICTION. And I respect that this was Mahler’s vision of Kelly that I am sure she worked very hard on.

I respectfully do not concur with her vision after reading the book. I am fairly old—I remember when Kelly died and am comparable in age to her oldest daughter. I make this point, because Kelly was alive during part of my lifetime, and I read interviews she gave, as well as about events in her life in real time. To me, the “voice” of the novel—Kelly’s fictionalized emotions, thoughts, and words came across as those not of someone of her era or the Kelly I read about when she was alive—but as those of a figure of a more modern era. For most the book, Kelly comes across as insecure and before her marriage more promiscuous than I surmise an unmarried woman of her era would have been—especially one who cared so much about what her parents thought. The author spoke of liaisons which are documented, but of some that are not when I looked up what contemporaries said.

My impression of Kelly is that she was a smart, accomplished, and hardworking woman to have perfected a talent which made such an impact in a short career as an actress, and then later to be a leader in Monaco in helping to develop that country. I did finish the book despite this unease on my part, but respectfully must say I did not enjoy it much despite my interest in Kelly for this reason.

I would like to paint a picture of Kelly that is slightly different than the one painted in this book from a twentieth century source. I would like to quote her “unofficial family photographer“ for several decades—Howell Conant—who began as an “official photographer” of hers towards then end of her film career when she was still single. He was someone who was around her for decades from the end of her acting career, and through the years of her marriage until the time of her death. He was around her family to photograph their family memories.

Here are two quotes of his from an article that appeared in People Magazine September 21, 1992, when he published a book of the photographs he had taken of she and her family:

“She wanted to be remembered as a lady,” he says. “And that’s precisely what she was.”

[And about her relationship with her husband] “They were ‘relaxed, happy, and contented together,’ he recalls. ‘He was the only guy in the world she could have married. Anyone else would have ended up being called Mr. Kelly. Not Rainier. He is a man’s man, and they were close.’ “

His “voice”rings true to my vision of Kelly. Of course, I did not know Grace Kelly, and I am not an expert on her. I applaud all of the hard work that went into this book, but respectfully, it did not fit the picture of what I have always read about her. I respect the author’s vision, but do not agree with it. So perhaps I should NOT have read a novel about her in which she was fictionalized, but a biography instead.

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader’s Copy of the book, and for allowing me to review it. I apologize for my tardiness in just now getting around to reviewing it many months after its release last year.

I picked this book up because Grace Kelly's name immediately invokes beauty, elegance, and a rarified living far above my own—a fairytale life. She was so graceful and gracious as a person that it was only natural that she would marry a prince. This is the stuff of dreams for romance readers. At once historical fiction and biography, this book is a fictionalized account of Grace’s life and gives us a supposed glimpse into her world of friendships, complicated relationships, rise to fame, career, and famous marriage. Despite Grace's public persona of allure and poise, her inner life was far from serene or as blissful as outsiders imagined it to be. Whose life is? Yet, Grace struggled to portray exactly that while inside, she was conflicted and longed for personal fulfillment and recognition. She subsumed herself into her role and her personhood fell away from her. Maher has done a splendid job of seamlessly stitching together fact and fiction to tell a compelling tale. If you're a royal watcher or a fan of Kelly (from the outside), you will enjoy this book

This book is so good. It is a fictional version of the life of Grace Kelly. It is incredibly well researched. I have loved Grace Kelly since I saw her in one of my favorite movies, Rear Window. This story was really compelling and very well written. I could not put it down. I thought it was even better than The Kennedy Debutante, which I also really liked. I definitely recommend it.

I am definitely one of those girls who was guilty of growing up absolutely adoring Grace Kelly. Not that she didn’t deserve that adoration, but I feel guilty that I only based that off of the part I could see—her beauty, her composure, her talent, her glamorous life. As we get older, it can be hard to learn about the sad parts that we didn’t see in so many of these people. Judy Garland is another woman who I grew to truly understand only later, after learning about her life.

Weaving back and forth in time between the 1950s when Grace was at the height of her acting career, and the 1970s when she was established in Monaco married to Prince Rainier, The Girl in White Gloves takes some creative liberties but tells the story of Grace Kelly’s life and her transition from Hollywood golden girl to wife, mother, and princess in Monaco.

Grace’s story is one of a woman trying so hard to meet expectations set by others. I found the dichotomy between the life people thought Grace Kelly had, and the stress and ambition it took to try and maintain that life in some way to be not only enlightening, but relevant. It made me think a lot about the way we present ourselves on social media versus the minutiae of our real lives. Grace Kelly’s life was incredible. What she accomplished is incredible. But the work, worries, and low moments aren’t as visible.

What I loved about the way Kerri Maher wrote this, is that she gave life to the icon that is Grace Kelly in a way that is hard to capture through pure history. She filled in the narrative of her life, and made me feel as a reader like I was getting behind the scenes gossip. It felt salacious and raw. It made me think about Grace Kelly in a way I hadn’t otherwise. I loved the blend of non-fiction with creative license.It isn’t a biography, but it does lend a sense of heart to the lore of a woman who went through many more ups and downs than her life in statistics might show.

This book is lovely, sad, fun, and compulsively readable. A truly great blend of fiction and non-fiction that you’ll find yourself lost in!

Thank you to Berkley for my copy. Opinions are my own.

"Mother, wife, princess...they were all roles, even if she hadn't fully digested the script when she accepted the part."

This fictionalized account of Grace Kelly, Hollywood icon and Monaco's Princess, is entertaining and informative while also acknowledging the liberties the author admits taking with Grace's life and times. Since we all live two-faced lives -- the one inside and the one the world sees -- it's always hard to know exactly what someone was thinking and feeling at a particular time. I always take any type of account or story of a person with a grain of salt. That said, this novel gives readers a glimpse into scenes that encompassed 33 years of Grace's life both as an actress and then as the wife of Prince Rainier. This was a different time and certainly a different world to now, but many of the themes of the ambitious woman who wants a successful career along with motherhood are addressed.

Frankly, what I felt for Grace Kelly -- other than admiration for her talent and drive -- was sympathy. At the brink of superstardom, she marries her prince but basically loses herself. It takes years before she starts carving a new niche for herself in the 1950s when women were still very much under the thumb of society thinking men were in charge. Grace gave up so much to be married to Prince Rainier and her life was not the fairy tale it must have seemed to all who watched her on the world stage.

I enjoyed reading this well-researched novelization that provides insight into this American film actress and now I have the strong urge to go look up and see the films as I think I'll view them in a different light now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for this E-book ARC to read and review.

Grace Kelly: the glamour, the poise, the beauty, the ... horrific mess of a personal life?

The Girl in the White Gloves follows the adult life of Grace Kelly, told from fluctuating eras. Her career is loosely outlined; and some of her truncated relationships (few juicy details about her supposed pattern of fraternizing with her costars) are thrown in for good measure, I think, just to allow the reader to understand why she was so hoodwinked by a prince who forbade her her career.

Though a professional force to be reckoned with courtesy of her spitfire Irish Catholic father, her relationships with her parents as well as the older men that she chose to date were largely unfulfilling and often controlling and jealousy-ridden. The Girl in the White Gloves does include some fine anecdotes about Grace Kelly and her actual friends and acquaintances. However, by and large, readers will mostly be frustrated by the plot jumping around, the horrible ways in which Kelly allowed herself to be treated, and the lack of depth to most of the characters.

Grace Kelly was a talented actress and a natural beauty. She was best known for working with Alfred Hitchcock, then her abrupt retirement to marry Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. For some of us, we even remember the tragic accident that took her life. But this book goes beyond what we see in the photos and stories we search on the internet.

The Girl in White Gloves is a wonderful blend of fiction and real-life; we follow Grace from her early beginnings in the theater, to her break-out role in Hollywood, then to her life as a Princess.
The chapters alternate from her acting career in the 50’s to her role as Princess of Monaco in the 70’s. We see her form life-long friendships with many of the who’s who of Hollywood, such as Josephine Baker, Frank Sinatra, Alfred Hitchcock, Cary Grant, etc. And just to drop a few more name, Cecil B DeMille wanted her in one of his iconic movie, and she also studied under the innovative Lee Strasberg. She retired from acting at the height of her career to marry Prince Rainier III. And many years later we see her struggle to balance her marriage, her commitment to Monaco, and her children. We see her do everything she can to protect her children from the flashbulbs of the insistent press. We see her struggle with the yearning to do what she loves but knows that it’s no longer possible. We see her struggle with a relationship that doesn’t appear to be the happily ever after we all though it would be.

A great book, perfect for those who love Gil Paul.

Also, I believe it’s essential that you read the author’s notes at the end. Kerri Maher did a ton research and she goes on to explain what changes were made for this novel to come together.

A Big thanks to #NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the advance copy. This book was right up my alley and an absolute treat for me.

An interesting interpretation of Grace Kelly's life. After reading this novel, I wonder what Grace would have thought of this presentation. It is an imaginative portrayal of Grace. The author read various biographies of Grace's life and visited Monaco to get the feeling for the person. She wrote her take on the events from 1949 to 1982. Being a princess was not all "happy ever after".

The Girl in White Gloves is a fictionalized biography of Grace Kelly whose life appears to be what fairy tales are made of. We meet Grace as she begins her career and get a glimpse into her personal and private lives from daughter to actress to princess. We see a beautiful woman who isn't living the beautiful life and overall I was left with a feeling of sadness for her. Although I was well aware of the tragic end of her life, I didn't realize there was so much sadness in her life.

The Girl in the White Gloves is historical fiction based on the life of American actress Grace Kelly.
I was already familiar with much of her life story but found the book to be an interesting but sad read. Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy to read.

3.5
After reading The Kennedy Debutante by the same author, I had high expectations for The Girl in the White Gloves. Although I enjoyed this book, it didn't meet the standard I expected from this author. There was too much speculation, time variances and fictional characters. As much interest the public has about Grace Kelly, this book didn't quench my thirst in a way that kept me wholly interested.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book. A fictionalized biography of Grace Kelly which all rang true. Growing up in the 50s, I idolized her and was pretty familiar with the magazine accounts of her life. The author has achieved a nice balance between fact and fiction. It is a well written pleasant read.

This was a book about Grace Kelly and her life before becoming Princess Grace. I enjoyed the parts about her early career and honing her craft. I did feel that it was a bit long at times.

The first half of this was so good, nuanced and detailed with a lot of sparking humor. I love fiction about Hollywood and the behind the scenes glimpses it gives, but this book fell apart halfway through for me. The characterization of Grace Kelly did a complete turnaround and felt unrecognizable from the character introduced to us in the beginning. Tonally, the book felt like a completely separate title halfway through, and it left me a little disappointed.

I always enjoy fictional accounts of famous people and this book about Grace Kelly was no different. I found it a little tedious at first, but perhaps that is because the author wanted the book to reflect the research done as much as possible. I'd always pictured her marriage as a fairy tale sort of experience, but was almost relieved to find out she had struggles like the rest of us.

Grace Kelly left her acclaimed Hollywood career to marry a Prince. This was, to her fans, a real Cinderella story with a "happily ever after" ending. For Grace it was not quite all that.

I'm a classic movie fan and have seen all Kelly's movies. Her Hitchcock movies are among my favorites. However, I knew little about her except that she married a prince. This historical novel looks at her early career, her lovers before Rainier, her relationships with her parents & siblings, and peeks into Grace's insecurities. What could have devolved into something contrived and stilted, instead is an endearing and engaging novel that just happens to feature real people and events. This is what good historical fiction is all about. A bit of embellishment and imagination that still reveals the truth. No, this is not a biography and there are errors and fantasies, but all of it rings true and brings this lovely woman to life. I really enjoyed it.

Grace Kelly was an icon for the generation that adored her. Even when she left the United States to become the wife of Prince Rainier of Monaco, all books and stories were eagerly read and commented on much like Princess Diana. This is an interesting portrayal of the interior Grace Kelly and what she was really like. Happiness is not a major component of being royal and this book reflects that aspect of her life.