This is interesting story about self discovery and being true to yourself.
The drama that comes with it and decisions that have to be made is another story.
I was very happy that Sky was able to realize what is important in her life and move along.

First, it is important to note that this read is set in the 1980s. Second, the time period is important because of reference to issues that were at the forefront during that time and some of them persist today. There are several characters that play roles in this read. Sky Valentine, elementary teacher dealing with sexual identity, family, and the various people that come into her life. the story is told from her perspective. Grace Webster, sign language interpreter. Zenobia, college roommate. Ola, childhood friend. Odeta, childhood friend, Henry, Sky's brother. Delbert, ex-fiance'. As the story unfolds, the reader in taken on a rollercoaster of events and interactions.

It was good to read a story with people of color. It was also good yet heart breaking to read about the challenges of coming out to family and friends. What was most interesting to me was reading about Sky and how she dealt with the challenges she faced. It was not a linear road and the reader may or maynot agree with the decisions she made and how she made them but that contributed to making the read interesting. There is no way I would have done that like that...really? the book cover is gorgeous!

I have conflicting reactions to this book. On one hand, the story itself was interesting and left me wanting to continue reading to find out what would happen next. The author used beautiful prose to paint the picture of the story. The fact that she can string words together in a pleasing way is undeniable.

The things that left me shaking my head were flaws in the characters themselves as well as some plot holes. Many of the secondary characters were completely unlikable - Odetta, Zenobia, Olga, and don't even get me started on the ex that was left at the altar. All selfish with no redeeming qualities. Then there were things that seemed thrown in for good measure - the ex continues to pursue Sky, even when he knows he's going to become a father, but then suddenly, he stops. The friend Sammy is added at the last minute, for the sole purpose of being able to mention the AIDS pandemic. And then there's the hot and cold, fighting and then not fighting, and being unfaithful nature of the relationship itself, which turned me off. When you read a romance novel, you want the two main characters to come together in the end, knowing that it will last. I didn't get that with this book.

Erm, I didn't hate 'Choosing Grace' but I also didn't love this book. I really tried, I read this book last weekend and its taken me a week to write a review as I was unsure what to say. I enjoyed the story but for me, there was too much selfishness in the characters and there seems to be no love or passion between them. A lot of repetitive too. I absolutely loved where it was set and the era it was set in tho, this is something I can read about all day.

Sky Valentine is a young, African American woman who is tired of living in a community where she feels like she's boxed in, in North Carolina. She escapes the restraints of her upbringing, attends University, and works hard on shredding everything that makes her a southerner. While attending university she meets Zenobia who she falls head over heels with, but it's a brief fling, interrupted by Zenobia's sudden departure. Once college is complete, Sky returns home, to find her mother has promised her hand in marriage to a rich and arrogant man. Sky wants to live her own life, leaves the groom at the altar, and moves to New York City, the Bronx, where she has got herself a teaching job. Sky meets Grace at a party where it's love at first sight. Sky feels the pressure of coming out to her family and friends back in Durham when her 'would be' husband has been stalking her and as an obsession with her.

I was given an Arc copy for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC of Choosing Grace in exchange for an honest review.

The book has heart but was too languid for me to fully enjoy. I loved the history and the focus on queer relationships and dynamics but with a tighter story, I'd not have struggled to finish the book as I did. The side characters seemed more reliable than the narrator and I don't believe having an unreliable narrator was intentional.

Ledsbian drama at it's best. Sky is looking for freedom and leaves Norgth Carolina for Hew York. where she meets Grace. The plot revoles around their relationship and its ups and downs. Sky does not want to come out of the closet and left Delbert at the altar to go to New York. This is a very emotional ride for the reader buyt is quitye a ghood sytory. I received this book as an ARTCfrom NetGalley but my yhoughts and opinions are my own. I recommend this book for lesbian romance lovers.

Sky Valentine is ready to leave North Carolina in order to be free and start her life. She went to college in Rhode Island where she got a taste of freedom as well as falling in love with a woman, Zenobia. Going back home meant dealing with an overbearing mother and an arranged marriage to an older man. So Sky left everything and moved to New York, where she connects with an old childhood friend and meets Grace Webster, and it is love at first sight, or so the blurb says. The blurb also says Zenobia returns and Sky must now choose between the first love and Grace.

Naturally, you can guess this was not a great read for me. The book starts a bit slow and with more of a soul searching story line. This felt more like a coming of age/coming out story than someone torn between two loves. Sky understood she was a lesbian but there were some inner struggles with the idea. Understandable, as we all have a journey of self discovery and acceptance. There were some arguments that seemed utterly unnecessary. Like when Sky goes on a rant about Grace not having tolerance for her figuring out her sexuality late in life when really Grace was talking about being closeted.

The miscommunication was frustrating, but not as frustrating as the lack of chemistry between the characters. It seemed like even the honeymoon period was marred with arguments and trust issues. The secondary characters were even more annoying with a meddlesome sister, two friends that were unlikable (there was not even chemistry between Sky and her BFF), and a sinister ex fiancé. Almost suddenly a very good male gay friend appeared and immediately hints of sickness were thrown in. He seemed to exist just for the purpose to cover HIV in a queer story based in the eighties, and unfairly came out as an afterthought.

So back to the blurb, after stumbling for the majority of the book in a clumsy relationship, the first love enters. And not sure why, there wasn’t ever any doubt in my mind who Sky would choose-not a spoiler, see title! More interesting was the story of the assistant principal that went nowhere. Also, fidelity seems a loose term for this bunch. Maybe that was the way or still is, but wow.

On a positive note, the cover by Kayla Mancuso was beautiful with the most adorable, eye catching red umbrella. 2 stars

ARC generously provided to me by BB via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really like that this book is set in the 80's, in the US and that the protagonists are African American.
Sky Valentine is on her journey, dealing with her internal conflicts and coming out after leaving on the altar the man her family and friends considered the "handsome, respectable, hard working, progressive black man [that] every black woman needs".
As the story progresses we see that even before Grace and before the almost husband, Sky actually was in love with another woman, Zenobia, and part of the conflict is Sky deciding between Grace and Zenobia, who comes back to the story at a certain point. Well, I do understand that the author plays with the word "Grace" when defining the title for her book, but it is also a kind of spoiler, and maybe I would prefer having more doubts when reading the book, but the title made me certain of what would happen...
Also, I had a bit of a problem with the epilogue, I felt some rush there.

The cover of this book is a work of art, I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but to me this was the best thing about the book. Don't get me wrong, the story is nice as well, just not as nice as the cover.

Sky moves to New York City after leaving a man at the altar. Sky is gay and she knows it but she feels she will never be able to be her true self if she stays in Durham. When Sky runs into an old friend in NYC and gets invited to a party she sets out to a whole new world for her. Grace is assigned to pick Sky up, to make sure she actually shows up to the party. They instantly connect, even though Sky is afraid to come out and Grace thinks Sky is a homophobe. Sky struggles to come out and has a hard time letting go of her past, also because it keeps popping up.
There is a love between Sky and Grace that I don't fully understand, it is described but I just don't really feel it. Both have a hard time trusting and are weary, there isn't a lot of depth to it. With the exception maybe of Sky taking Grace home to Durham, but even there it is lacking in depth for me. This book has so much promise but it doesn't deliver. In my opinion, it could have been so much more. There is a friend that suddenly appears who clearly has HIV, in the eighties in NYC this is all new of course, but mentioning it just in passing is just not enough. A great redeeming factor for this book is the diversity, not in sexual orientation but the setting and characters. Characters are POC with different backgrounds, all gay in the eighties in New York, it's not every day you read a book set like this one.
I struggled a bit with the writing style and the passing of time in this book as well. I think it shows, especially in the earlier chapters the author writes poetry, a poetry writing style doesn't really work for a full book, at least it doesn't for me. And the passing of time, a chapter ends, and the next chapter can be the same day, 3 days ahead, or even a month. It left me confused because I felt a lot of the story was lost in the time that passed off the page.

content warnings: stalking, infidelity, rejecting parents, homophobia, sex, forced/coerced marriage, non-consensual sexual contact, terminal illness, death of a minor character

I enjoyed this novel — it’s an easy read and I flew through it within a day. Every character in this book is flawed, which was refreshing, though I questioned why some of the characters/storylines needed to be included (ex. Grace’s sister Hope and assistant principal Ms. Parker). I liked how topics such therapy are addressed head-on, and at some points in the story, side characters give wonderful insight.

I’m quite ambivalent about the main character, Sky. It was entertaining reading from her first-person POV — she’s hilarious and her story is moving — but I found a few of her interactions quite questionable. Thankfully, she seems remorseful for most of her decisions by the end (with the exception of one random bit of her past that’s revealed near the end and made me go, huh?). The main romance is lovely and I admired how both woman learn to adjust to the other’s needs.

There are some awkward word choices (including “orbs”), and I found some of the phrasing to be quite choppy, but this could all just be personal preference.

In short, I liked this book and will be checking out future novels from Regina Jamison.

Sky Valentine is African American starting her first job out of college as a kindergarten teacher in the Bronx. For me the most interesting part of this book is setting it in the mid 80s. The Bronx and Harlem are gritty, the lesbian community small and tight knit. It is a time when civil unions are first starting to be recognized and a black woman named Oprah has a new talk show. Sky isn't out yet to her family and friends at home in Durham, NC. An old school friend of Sky invites her to a party and there she meets Grace.

The story follows Sky's journey as she navigates a relationship with Grace and comes out to her family at home. But Grace is hard to like. She is on and off with Sky often without warning or explanation. It doesn't help that other friends muddy the waters in how the reader perceives Grace. Since the book is told first person POV from Sky I didn't understand Grace's thinking or emotions. There is even cheating even if they were technically "on a break". If this was promoted as women's fiction I would have rated slightly higher but as a romance novel I wasn't convinced that these two should be together. And the epilogue tells me what happens to some of the characters but it doesn't convince me they have a lasting HEA.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bella Books for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Sky is tired of living her life by others standards so she flees to to college where she gets her teaching degree and decides to live her life her way.

Sky falls for woman Zenobia but when their affair is interrupted by Zenobia leaving she left with why. Years later Sky moves to New York where she gets a teaching job. While settling she runs into a old friend Olga who invites her to party at her place.

Sky meets Grace and they both are attracted to each other. As they get to know each other Sky in my opinion wants to live her life her way but it’s like she also caution in living her life but things get more interesting when Zenobia comes back in the picture and now she has to choose to seeing what could’ve been with Zenobia or bring with Grace who captured her heart.

This was a good read I like all the characters I could relate to Sky.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.