This is a fictionalized story of Grace Metalious, the author of Peyton Place.
Having grown up in the era of the best selling novel, Peyton Place which became a movie and TV show,
I must say I enjoyed this book immensely!

𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨!

What a wild ride, based on Grace’s Metalious life this shocking, scandalous, emotional and dark was fascinating and impossible to put down. I never read or watched Peyton Place and now I’m intrigued.

Thank you Suzy Approved Book Tours for this tour invite.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 by Dave O. Dodge released September 15, 2021.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

Honestly, I didn’t read more than a 3rd of the way through and was too bored to finish. I thought the writing was very amateurish and that this barely veiled fictitious story of Grace Metalious’ life isn’t breaking any new ground. In fact, it’s been covered much better in earlier works by other authors.

𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨!

What a wild ride, based on Grace’s Metalious life this shocking, scandalous, emotional and dark was fascinating and impossible to put down. I never read or watched Peyton Place and now I’m intrigued.

Thank you Suzy Approved Book Tours for this tour invite.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 by Dave O. Dodge released September 15, 2021.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

Dave O. Dodge, the author of “The Seasons of Grace, The Unauthorized Backstory of Peyton Place” has written a unique and intriguing novel. The genre for this novel is Historical Fiction and the author writes about a story within a story. The author writes the story of Grace Metalious, the author of “Peyton Place”. During the 1950s Grace took the world by storm by daring to write about stories in a fictional small town.”Peyton Place” was a best-seller, and then was made into a movie. It reminds me of the attention that “Fifty Shades of Grey” received when that came out.

Grace Metalious is described as complex and complicated. The neighbors where she lived felt that she had written about their town, and it became personal. Although Grace maintained that her book was not an autographical book, and was based on a fictitious town, some residents became enemies. Grace had few friends. Indirectly, her choice of being a writer, caused her personal life to be like a ‘Peyton Place”. Grace became dependent on people that could rescue her when she had problems.

Dave O. Dodge, does describe how difficult it was for a female author to write and get published. Although Grace did get paid, she was not always financially responsible and had difficulties. It was also difficult to raise a family and promote a book, and live in a town where people weren’t friendly. Grace did get the taste of some finer things in life, which also caused a problem. When Grace was offered the opportunity for “Peyton Place” to be made into a movie, she found that Hollywood was a different type of a stressor, with various personalities to deal with.

For those of you who enjoyed watching “Peyton Place”, this is the perfect read to learn about the creator, and I would recommend this book.

I was quite young when Peyton Place was so popular. However, I was well aware that it was considered scandalous for the time. I have vague memories of my mother watching the television series that was eventually made after the movie.

Mr Dodge has written a very interesting book based on fact, although somewhat fictionalized. After reading the "backstory" in this book, I am more compelled to find and read the novel by Grace Metalious. The book starts as seemingly several plots that seem to have no apparent convergence. But soon enough the plots converge and one starts to understand the reasoning fo the author.
While Grace made many errors in her life, she certainly found a story worth telling. Grace used the prejudice and classism that she had endured for years as fodder for a huge bestselling book. Her story is as compelling to read as the novel apparently was at that time.

I would suggest that you refrain from checking the historical facts until you finish the book as that will limit the "spoilers" that I ran into.

Growing up in the era of "Peyton Place" the book, the movie and the TV show, I found the author's life and her life choices more than equal to the notoriety of them all. Grace made puzzling decisions and her "backstory" is her own little piece of Peyton Place. The story is engaging and a novel worth the read, especially for those who remember the times and for those who may wonder about those times.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the ebook for my honest review.

Peyton Place (1957) was Grace Metalious' best selling novel that no one admitted to reading due to its lurid content. Like the original Peyton Place, Seasons of Grace follows the road to success and tragic downfall of a small town writer. Dodge's compelling fictional story of the author, Grace Metalious, imagines the events leading up to and following the publication of Peyton Place. There are many parallels between the two novels. Metalious' life story to me is a tragedy. She lived her life as though she had no filter. Like her characters, she drank heavily, smoked, cheated, neglected her family and home, and divorced. Ultimately, everything she ever wanted led to her downfall.
What makes Peyton Place and now Seasons of Grace important is their exposure of the hypocrisy of small town values with blistering social commentary. Both writers successfully exposed what people knew but refused to admit. In Seasons of Grace, Dodge has refused to white wash the reality of small town living and the life of the great and courageous writer, Grace Metalious, and he has done so with both honesty and respect.
Thank you to Glue Pot Press and Netgalley for providing a complimentary copy for my enjoyment and review. Seasons of Grace is available at your favorite bookstore or library.

This book brought Peyton Place back to life, with all its foibles and characters. Entertaining and well written, it was one book I enjoyed. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Peyton Place, the book and the TV series was a very big deal when I was growing up. My curiosity about Grace Metalious began then and continues. I enjoyed the author's insights and will be recommending this book to others.