Such well developed characters in this sort-of Thelma and Louise story (but I think it is better). The reality of what Hadley and Grace have done in taking almost a million dollars from Hadley's husband's safe comes home to both them as the FBI gets involved. Traveling with an 11-month old baby, a teenage girl and a challenged young boy mean much emotion and self-awareness in this well written novel. Recommended.

I really enjoyed reading this book.it. It really is a fun story. The key to enjoying this book is just sit back and enjoy the ride without analyzing it or picking apart the more far-fetched parts.
The characters are fun and likeable (most of them!) and the story fast-paced and many times comic.

I absolutely love Suzanne Redfearn’s books. I found In an Instant to have memorable characters and am so happy to have the same feeling after reading Hadley and Grace. This modern day Thelma and Louise storyline is quick paced and action packed as two strangers find themselves on the run with kids in tow. Both women have separate reasons for their choices and will learn and grow on this adventure. I received an ARC of this book, all opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

The cover of this book caught me at first. Then, the synopsis, which is much like Thelma and Louise, which is one of my favorite movies. I enjoyed the ride this book gave me, and connected to the characters easily. One of the best books I've read so far in 2021. Looking forward to more by this author.

Thank you so much to Lake Union publishers, the author and Netgalley for an advanced copy. Please be warned that this review may contain spoilers - read at your own risk.
Hadley and Grace is about two very unique women who are doing the best they can for their families. They both have a plan, get what they are owed from Frank Torelli (Hadley's husband + Grace's boss) and create new lives. Grace is escaping financial instability with her baby boy Miles, caused by her soldier husband who keeps clearing out their bank account because of his gambling problem. Hadley wants to seek refuge from Frank who is her abuser, she brings her nephew Skipper and teenage daughter Mattie along with her.
However, when they both meet trying to take back what they are due, they become a team.
While on the run, they discover Frank's money stash was dirty, illegally earned money, They are criminals.
Their journey completely changes their identities and personalities, they have all sorts of obstacles and adventures, both physically and mentally. They become each others family and It was a very charming story.
This was an enjoyable read. I was very torn about how many stars to give this book until I finally settled on 4 stars,
I have two ideas/criticisms: 1) Some information was a little far-fetched, for example; I would've loved to know about Hadley's journey to Africa and how Grace managed to get the children there without parents permissions etc.
2) I would've LOVED to have read a chapter or two in the perspective of Frank or Mattie or even Skipper, through the eyes of a 9 year old.
Susanne Redfern really did nail it though to retell the story of Thelma and Louise in the modern day. Thank you so much for the advanced copy. This book is also available to buy as an audiobook.

Hadley and Grace has been compared with Thelma and Louise, which I loved. In some ways it is similar but it is definitely a different story. I really enjoyed learning about Hadley, who is in an abusive marriage. She wants better for herself but mostly for her daughter and nephew who she is raising. She secretly goes to her husband's business to get some money to help her escape. This is where she meets Grace, who has an infant. They are not good friends and don't even like each other, but they know they have to team up in order to get away. This is where the action really begins. I loved every moment and felt for the ladies who only wanted a better life for them and their children.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #SuzanneRedfearn, #lakeunionpublisher for this ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Two women wanting to escape + 1 car = a road journey. That was the core of the book by author Suzanne Redfearn, inspired by Thelma and Louise, which had many rocking emotional moments as the story progressed.

I loved the author’s earlier book and hoped this one too would touch my emotions on a deeper level. Initially, it took me some time to connect with the two women. Both Hadley and Grace had their own problems. Wife was abused, employee was fooled.

Slowly as the pages turned, traversing through many implausible events including car chase and shooting, with FBI closing in, the writing revealed the strength in the two women. Their friendship was forged by the trials they faced together.

Emotions slowly found me, in their laughter and tears, pain and happiness, and I was pulled along as the shotgun rider on this trip. The author revealed her prowess in writing emotive dialogues, at the way the book wrenched my heart-strings. The characters were nuanced well; they shone as the story progressed. Had me cheering for them.

Overall, a beautiful heart-warming story.

This is your modern day Thelma and Louise story, and you cannot help but love these two moms as they run from the law and the same man who has made both of their lives miserable. One is a new mother with an accidental criminal past, and the other a woman who is fleeing from an abusive husband. You cannot help but cheer for them to get away, as you can tell they are not true criminals, just two free spirited souls trying to survive out on the open road with their kids. I loved reading how the author is a big fan of the original Thelma and Louise (I am a big fan of country singer Pam Tillis, who is good friends with the author of Thelma and Louise. Fun fact, the author based her character Thelma on Pam), and I found myself wanting to country line dance with Grace in the bar (exactly something my best friend and me would do together). There is plenty of drama and sadness mixed into this story, but it was one heck of a fun ride with two women who finally realize they need each other more than they'll ever know. Thank you NetGalley for this fun, unputdownable read.

Favorite Quotes:

Handing him over to Vanessa feels a little like handing a live grenade to a known sufferer of seizures.

“You don’t need to gloat about it,” Grace says. “I’m not gloating.” “You are. You’re gloating all over the place. You’re completely covered in gloat.”

The media storm around this is going to blow up. He can already see a Lifetime Original Movie being made. Hell, the motel clerk, that scrawny kid at the desk who went white as the walls around him when Mark showed his badge, probably has six marriage proposals by now and a dozen benefactors willing to give him a new smile. Every damn person in the article is going to be a celebrity and a hero, while the FBI is being painted as the Big Bad Wolf hunting Little Red Riding Hood and taking money from little old ladies and young men who need dental work.

She looks like a Greek goddess—empowered, bold, and fearless— like she should be chiseled of marble and holding up a temple.

… rumors have been floating around about a movie being made. Grace cringes at the idea, certain someone like Angelina Jolie will be cast to play Hadley, while some actress who looks like Nanny McPhee will play her.

My Review:

I was riveted and on edge while reading this cunningly crafted book and was holding my breath that the two protagonists would survive, and it didn’t look likely. The storylines were intriguing, tragic, highly emotive, and perfectly pitched to maintain an undercurrent of tension while also balancing out the emotions with more lighthearted and amusing observations and memories of two women who by happenstance and a series of poor choices became bonded and accidental fugitives on a cross-country run from the FBI with their children in tow.

The pacing and storytelling were nothing short of brilliant and evoked a steady stream of heart clenches and keen visuals. I ached for the woman working as hard as she could to keep her head above water and wearing worn-out shoes with superglued soles while contending with a screaming inconsolable baby. Suzanne Redfearn has mad skills and a rabid new fangirl.

MY THOUGHTS:
The first book I read by this author was In An Instant and it was wonderful. I loved it. Now I've read this one and thought I was going to be disappointed. I thought it's too much like Thelma and Louise. I almost stopped reading it when that tie in hit me. I was not in the mood for a story based on that. But... this is a great story. It's a pager turner and in parts a real tearjerker. It made me laugh in a few places and get very angry in some. So lots of emotions. Yes, it's very good. A tense yet sweet story.

Hadley is in a horrible marriage and wants out. She wants better for their daughter and the nephew she's been raising for four years. He's a special needs child and so full of love. He also loves baseball and uses that in many ways. Hadley gets a chance finally to escape her abusive marriage when her sister decides she wants her child back.

Grace is married and has a new baby. Her husband is a soldier with a horrible gambling addiction. When she finds they are completely broke again she can't take it anymore and packs up the baby and leaves. She loves her husband but does not want this kind of life any longer. Not for herself or the baby.

When Hadley and Grace cross paths things start to go crazy. They have to team up and from then on things are never the same for either. With their children in tow they hit the road. One to escape her abuser and the other to escape a gambler. Little do they know what all they are going to have to go through and do to get the life they so richly deserve.

This book takes you on a road trip that you won't soon forget. While it's really a beautiful story it's also a sad one. Things that happen will make you wonder at times if it is worth it. They meet some pretty nice people and some not so nice. This book does NOT have a lot of vulgar language in it as I read in another review. It does not contain explicit sex scenes and it's really just an all around good story. It's a heartfelt story about two women who want what's best for their families. There is also a FBI agent I really liked. Actually two of them. But that you'll have to read about for yourself.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #SuzanneRedfearn, #lakeunionpublisher for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

5/5 stars and I do recommend you read this one. It's very good!

“Hadley and Grace” is the story of two moms who are renegades, rebels, or perhaps just moms with three kids. What happened that night was a coincidence, and yet these women have a hidden, exceptional connection. Their fates intertwined to place the two of them at that place and that time, and things will never be the same. The story unfolds in chapters that alternate between characters, and are labeled to easily identify the point of view. Hadley Torelli is beautiful and wealthy. Grace Herrick works for Hadley’s husband, and she needs money since her husband, now deployed in Afghanistan, has depleted their meager bank account. FBI Special Agent Mark Wilkes is investigating racketeering, expecting to get a promotion and buy his son a dog.
Hadley and Grace have the absurd idea that two women with three kids can abscond with a fortune, and evade husbands, gangsters, and the FBI. They drag backpacks, diapers, and car seats. They must constantly stop for formula, diapers, water, food, drinks, and a never ending supply of snacks not to mention changes of clothes. They squabble like siblings with nothing in common and yet are fiercely loyal to each other. The baby cries; the kids cry, they want to cry. It is ridiculous, and yet it works. The media calls them “Thelma and Louise,” but really they are “Lucy and Ethel” on the lamb. The ending? Well, I am not giving that away.
“Hadley and Grace” is more about the people than what they are doing. They are strong women; they are mothers; they are dangerous, and they know the power they wield over men. I received a review copy of “Hadley and Grace” from Suzanne Redfearn and Lake Union Publishing. Readers will both laugh and cringe on every page; I know I did.

Since Thelma and Louise has always been one of my favorite movies, I guess it's not Really a surprise that I loved Hadley and Grace so much. One of my favorite books of the year, for sure.

An enjoyable read especially since I've been on a law and order SVU kick. I liked Hadley and Grace and all of the characters and while the story was a little fantastical it didn't need to be completely plausible. I will say it's not my favorite of Redfearn's books but I loved In an instant so much that it would be hard to top that. I also just read Finlay Donovan is killing it and for two very similar books I liked that one just a little more. But seriously no complaints with this one it. I think a lot of people would enjoy it.

Grace and Hadley are both escaping. They know of each other but they never imagined that their lives would be so linked together that they become the Thelma and Louise of the time crossing all boundaries and doing stuff they never imagined they'd do.

The two women once they decide to stay with each other both know that risks face them ahead and they need always to use their wits to be ahead of the pack following them - whether family or the police.

By the end of the story, both characters have changed immensely. The children other than the baby have also changed (for the better) and the story has a nice ending.

Hadley is married to Frank who is in my opinion not just a horrible husband but a horrible man too.

Grace Herrick works for him, but she's about to be fired. The two women meet, flee from Frank and theirs no looking back once they set out on their adventure.

The two characters are right up my street, different personalities that somehow work together and they bond and become a strong unit. I'm sure the authors heard this before, but very Thelma and Louise.

A well written thriller, well paced and plotted. All the essential ingredients needed for a good book are here.

Occasionally we see humour and joy and happiness, but there is sadness as well.

With Frank and the FBI looking for them I highly recommend this one. You'll be cheering for them all and hoping for a good ending?

Thanks in advance for this copy.

After reading Hadley and Grace I want to grab a girlfriend and go on an adventure! (Without all the guns and illegal stuff of course)
Hadley has a plan to escape her abusive husband on an upcoming trip. Frank has made all the plans and knows all the stops so Hadley needs to make sure she checks in and does everything correctly so Frank doesn’t find out she’s on the run. She has one stop to make before she takes her daughter and nephew on the road and that’s to Frank’s office to find the cash she knows he has hidden. Hadley doesn’t find the money but instead runs into Grace, Frank’s secretary, and she appears to be looking for the money too. It turns out Frank was suppose to give her a percentage of the job she worked hard to get, and being the slime ball he is, he won’t pay her. After a battle of wills the two decide it’s best to team up and share the money. Hadley assumed it would be a few thousand dollars but finds out it’s actually a few million and it belongs to the Feds, not Frank. Running from Frank and his guys is one thing, but running from the police with a baby and two teenagers is a while other thing! This unlikely pair will become allies and friends and do their best to get themselves out of a bad situation even if it means changing their identity, learning to shoot a gun, and driving like a bat out of hell!
Hadley and Grace is a modern day Thelma and Louise and I enjoyed all the ups and downs, twists and turns, laughs and warm fuzzes.

Let this book stand on its own without trying to make it into a Thelma and Louise. Sit back for a few hours, chuckle, laugh a little, no really laugh a lot and enjoy the caper of Hadley and Grace. It grabbed me in the first chapter and never let go. This one has it all, loss, regret, lust, absolute ridiculousness, carjacking, FBI, and sweet thank you letters, but the most of all, love, a LOT of love.
Minimize your requirement for believability because some of the things they do is quite out of the ordinary, sometimes I have a problem with that, but not with this one. Oh, my goodness there is nothing you won’t love about these two. So many times, in this book I was laughing out loud, Skipper,
“who’s on first” wearing his baseball uniform, Grace, a gun toting lack of mother hood skills kind of woman, Hadley, straight out of the Sopranos, clueless but has boobs, and “Tilley”, a perceptive teen to old for her age but makes the best of it and we won’t mention Frank because what I would call him should not be in a review.
I was given an advance copy from Lake Union Publishing through Net Galley for my honest review, this one gets a high 5 stars…

This is a fun book to read. It was fast moving, runs the gamut of emotions. Very “Thelma-Louise-isqness”. (I know it’s not a word but you get the idea of it. ). Only set in the present decade. Grace is employed by a real son-of-a-gun. Hadley’s husband is a wife beater jerk. Grace, who has a little criminal history, is tired of the job and her boss. Hadley is leaving her husband. Oops, it’s the same guy! Grace knows the jerk has a safe full of money. Hadley knows that there is a safe and there might be some money. An unlikely friendship is born. The book moves very fast and is entertaining every step of the way. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review.

I loved this modern-day Thelma & Louise story!

Hadley and Grace are both such wonderful characters, and their journey together left me flipping the pages, reading just one more chapter, just one more chapter... These women are strangers, but with a common connection, and that sends them off on a road trip that neither of them will ever forget.

This book is one big comedy of errors as Hadley and Grace set out on a road trip — well, it's more like run — with their three kids in tow. Through the ups and downs of their journey, Hadley and Grace form an unbreakable friendship, and the kids become a sort of blended family. This book is a wonderful story of friendship and strength.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union publishing for a copy of the book.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing for providing an e-ARC from via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

In the traditions of Thelma & Louise (without as much violence), Hadley and Grace is a modern day tale of two women escaping their lives, children in tow, to start anew. When they coincidentally find their fates intertwined, they will plot and race to stay ahead of the trouble chasing them. A tale packed with misfortune, chaos and danger, it is a story of motherhood, unlikely friendships, self-discovery and what it means to be a family.

Let me just start out my saying what a fun and wild ride! Hadley and Grace are both such loveable characters, as are the kids, and I couldn't help but root for them in their dramatic, and often times hilarious, roller-coaster ride. I particularly loved the theme centering around what it means to be a family. The author also did a wonderful job keeping me engaged, although at time the plot was highly unbelievable. The added touches of kindness as they run from the law, were a beautiful touch.

If you're looking for a fun, fast-paced story similar to Thelma & Louise, or an escape from everyday life definitely check this book out. It would also make for many interesting discussions within a book club, sure to offer a lot of laughs.

CW: gambling, addiction, violence, domestic violence, gun violence, toxic relationship, kidnapping, death