I received this Advanced Reader Copy from Net Galley. The story is set in London and follows the life of Grace, an award winning linguist who specializes in 5 languages. It begins describing Grace’s meltdown as she abandons her car in the middle of traffic and proceeds to walk across London in an effort to deliver a cake to her estranged 16 year old daughter and win her love back. The format of the book is confusing at times because it flashes back to 3 different times (early on in her marriage, 6 months ago and the present). The telling of 3 storylines makes it difficult to follow. This is a story of the complexities of being a woman, wife and mother while reconciling all the unpredictable challenges life has to offer.

DID NOT FINISH.

(no rating)

I really liked the concept and idea of the story, especially with the three different timelines. I felt that certain timelines were more engaging than others.

That being said. I did not like the internal monologues of the character's thoughts. I felt the mother's thoughts on the daughter were quite weird and made me feel uncomfortable. Also, Ben's thoughts, "He wants to open her up, to gain access to her," were just so dehumanizing? I just could not get behind it. She isn't a computer you need to open up. The writing just was not for me.

Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Just wanted to love this book after reading the description but sadly I didn’t connect with it. It was chaos and not grabbing me in. I do appreciate NetGalley for the ARC for the purpose of this review. Three stars.

3.25/5 stars! This was a really interesting story; one focused on healing family ruptures and finding your best self despite the pressures of the world. I don't think I was the ideal audience for this story but found myself charmed by the first 40% of the story. It felt unrealistic at times and Grace had some amazing qualities, but she was far from amazing overall. Sometimes she was frustrating and selfish and that made it hard to root for her. But overall, an enjoyable contemporary fiction novel.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Thank you to Net Galley and Henry Holt and Company for this gifted Ebook..

Grace Adams is having a heck of a day. She is a likable middle-aged mother of a teenager. That alone makes me want to root for her. And she's having one of those days where despite your absolute best efforts, everything goes to sh*t. The book follows three timelines: present day, just a few months prior, and when she met her husband and the years following that.

What I liked:
I enjoyed Grace and Adam's romance turned marriage and the description of the small family they had made. Fran Littlewood does an amazing job at describing the challenges and emotions that come along with parenting a 16 year old. These parts of the book were spot on! At times, the book brought tears to my eyes as I identified with Grace and her parenting struggles. Events that shaped Grace's state of mind throughout the book were heartbreaking to read and for me validated much of her behavior.

What I didn't enjoy:
I could have happily read about Grace, Ben, and their daughter for hundreds of pages as they are a very relatable modern-day family. There are twists and turns that were distracting and as such made it a bit of a rollercoaster. I went quickly from sympathizing with Grace and crying along with her to what in the heck is going on?! Why did that just happen?! Had the book focused more on the family dynamics it would have been 4+ stars. It was just a bit all over the place in certain areas.

Grace attends a language convention and finishes first in translation. Her prize is a stay at a resort and since she has no one to take with her, she invites Ben who finished second. In present day, Grace is in her forties, dealing with the loss of her career, troubles with her adolescent daughter, a divorce, death, and health problems. The book goes back and forth between months, and years which made it hard to wrestle with all of Grace’s problems. All of the problems seemed real, it was just that there were too many unresolved issues. The switching of time frames got a bit confusing. I do like the idea of the main character being in her forties. I really liked Ben but wish he had been more helpful. Nice to highlight middle age and its struggles. Just too many and not enough support for Grace.

Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood is hard for me to review because I liked many aspects of the book but also disliked several others. The story line is told to us mainly by Grace and a few other characters. One story line is set on a single day with other timelines mixing in that try to get you to understand how Grace got to the present day. The story lines went back and forth so fast that it took quite sometime to feel comfortable with all that was going on.
The story is one many people can relate to, A middle aged woman going through peri-menopause, plus a separation/divorce and Grace works several different jobs, has a teenager and a spouse to deal with. She has a lot going on and you have to try and keep up with all that is thrown into the book. I understood the need Grace had for many of her motives and I liked her to a point as a character but it felt like I the reader was in a middle of a tornado in her head. Perhaps the author wanted us to feel that way because the character felt like that, but it was too much for me. I also wanted to know more about Ben the father and soon to be X. He seemed like a very caring and sweet dad but just didn't know where he fit into everything.
The one thing I really enjoyed and had no idea was coming along in the story was a" big surprise." However, I thought the surprise should of come sooner so you could understand more of the family dynamics. Too much was thrown in near the end to completely enjoy.
I know most of the reviews gave this book a three or higher and I am in the minority with a 2.5 star rating. I just felt this could of been a three or four for me but my head hurt at times reading and I could not wait to get to the end. I almost did not finish because I just could not deal with anymore craziness. I want to thank Net Galley for sending me an ARC of the book for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fran Littlewood for providing me with an eARC of this amazing, funny, honest book full of motherhood and marriage and everything in between. 🫶🏻

This Book definitely gave me Finlay Donovan is Killing it Vibes. Grace Adams is a spunky, premenopausal, funny woman who is reflecting back at how her life has changed and who she is becoming. I was blown away by how the truths about motherhood and depression were intertwined in this book. If you are a mom you will understand SO many things in this book. This was one of my favorite quotes from the book:

“It was because of the guilt. The same guilt Grace feels. The universal mothering guilt that is surely implanted in the delivery room along with that Pitocin shot. One out, one in. This crazed truth that no matter how hard they try, mothers feel they have failed their kids, that they are not good enough, not quite up to the job.”

I greatly enjoyed this book. I loved the little mystery going on. I loved the practicality of the characters. I loved how the author wrote about some hard subjects. I highly recommend this book if you are a mom who is just trying to get it together (like all of us🤪).

I loved this book from the beginning scene Grace a middle aged women with her life swirling around her is stuck in traffic.She finally has has had enough she gets out of her leaves it and walks away.A book women will relate to as she deals with her problems with her daughter and other issues.Will be recommending #netgalley#henryholtbooks

Amazing Grace Adam’s by Fran Littlewood starts off strong and brought into the story quickly of the life and loves of Grace Adams.
The storyline moved slowly for me and when Grace was having a mental breakdown on her daughter’s 16th birthday, it bewildered me with the complexity of all that was going on in her mind. I quickly got bored and found myself skimming pages until I was interested again.
While the ending explained the mental frailty and brought the story to a heartwarming conclusion, I felt vindicated to have skimmed over the mental break.
That might have been my own personal reaction of avoiding pain that I did not understand.

Every mother over the age of 40 should read this book. Powerful description of the complexity of the mother-daughter relationship and the indignities and difficulties that often come with middle age. I cried for Grace several times as I pulled for her to get her daughter back.

Grace Adams is stuck in traffic on a hot summer day, and she has reached the end of her rope. Grace abandons her car in the middle of a busy road and sets off on a very eventful journey back to her family, back to her life. She’s determined to reach her daughter’s 16th birthday, uninvited, to deliver a special cake she’s hoping will say everything that’s been left unsaid for the past 8 years. And she will do anything to make it in time.

At its core, Amazing Grace Adams is an emotional story of clawing your way out from rock bottom. It’s a story of resilience, of the everyday struggles women face. It is the story of how emotional trauma can pull at one string and quickly unravel your life at the seams.

In the beginning it was quite confusing jumping between so many time frames. However, as you continue reading you will see that Littlewood weaves in each intricate detail to tell how Grace made it to where she is today, to the woman that she has become, and to remind you exactly just how amazing she is. I promise, if you can stick with the jumpy timelines, it’s worth it!

I loved the way that motherhood was portrayed here. As a mother, you make all of your decisions the best you can. You are loving and endearing, strong and fiercely protective. But there’s always a place in the back of your mind where the guilt slowly creeps in, where you wonder if you’re doing it right, or if you’re doing enough. You can be ALL of the good things that your child needs while, inside, still feeling like chaos. Littlewood portrays this SO perfectly.

It has been a long while since I’ve reached the end of a book and really had to sit with my thoughts on it. More often than not I am reading to escape reality, to live in a fantasy world for a short time. I think I was almost the perfect target audience for this book, having been divorced and raising a teenager in this modern technology crazed day and age. So many things resonated with me and hit hard, really close to home.

Amazing Grace Adams was funny at times, a bit chaotic, sad and ultimately very moving.

I'm having a bit of a hard time rating and reviewing this one. I think it is very well-written, realistic, and the three timelines were cohesive and flowed well. It held my interest, and I was invested in finding out what happened. On the other hand, it also just made me sad. I felt like Grace had zero support and was really failed by her husband. I kept waiting for her to confront him unapologetically and truly express her needs, and I just never felt like she got to do that, all the way up to the end. That's probably what makes it realistic, because I do see it playing out that way for many women, but it also really bummed me out.

I thought Littlewood did a great job exploring how hard it is keeping up with your teenager's needs. It's really tough to walk the line between snooping and staying involved, between keeping them safe and breaking their trust. Grace's struggles with this was well-done, although I was a little uncomfortable with how often the 15-year-old daughter's looks/attractiveness was described.

Overall, I think this was a well-written book that takes a close look at the way society lets women down as they age, and it definitely made me want to check on all the forty-something women in my life.

CW - child death, sexual assault

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. Will recommend it to everyone.

What a moving story.
Lots of drama that moves at a frenetic pace, but I liked it and I think most mothers will relate.. The story is of about a middle aged woman in the midst of divorce and her trials and tribulations with her teenager.
I'll admit it was hard to connect to the characters but still a fun read and a poignant message.
Thanks to netgalley and ther publisher for the ARC in exchange for my reivew.

Amazing Grace Adams was a chaotic but interesting look at the main character's life when it all falls apart. I liked the reflection on motherhood and femininity, as well as the looks back in time throughout Grace's life.

A wonderful read that is perfect for every woman out there who has forgotten who she was before marriage and motherhood. Truly a journey of self discovery and validation!

I really wanted to like this one but I got halfway through and had to stop in just didn’t feel connected to any of the characters, even Lotte, who Was the most sympathetic. Also, with the three timelines, it was too disorienting.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Grace Adams has had enough. Her future once felt bright — a job on a game show where she got to showcase her talent for languages, a beautiful daughter, and an enviable marriage. But, now, everything feels like it is falling apart. Her husband is divorcing her, her daughter is living with her father and no longer speaking with her, and she is barely holding on to her jobs. Near her breaking point, she is determined to pick up a cake for her daughter’s 16th birthday and bring it to her daughter’s party (which, by the way, she has been expressly told not to attend). When she gets stuck in traffic, she abandons her car and begins walking — to the cake, to her daughter, and, hopefully, to a brighter future. The story tracks her unlikely and difficult journey to pick up the cake and get it to her daughter, interspersed with flash backs to how she got to this point.

This is a perceptive and impactful story about family, motherhood, and overcoming the hurts of the past. This one will have you thinking long after you finish the last page.

Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of “Amazing Grace Adams” in exchange for an honest review. Congratulations to the author on getting published and bringing Grace Adams to life. Unfortunately, this book was not the book for me. This was in the same vein of books like Eleanor Oliphant is Complete Fine, Woman Last Seen in Her Thirties, or The Cactus. Unlike those books, the conflict, drama, and chaos was the only thing this book had. In all of the frenetic energy, drama, and conflict, there was no opportunity to connect with the characters. It was all small moments that led to plot development, but no development of character. It was so depressing, and not in the good way that makes you want to read sad books. It tackled difficult subjects (grief, sexual assault, class, infidelity, career woes, etc.) with little to no nuance or complexity. Three hundred pages of a 45-year-old woman being failed, neglected, abused, and mistreated—serving as a punching bag—for every facet of society. I’m really glad others are enjoying it. It just was not the book for me.