3.5 stars rounded up!

I really enjoyed the intertwining timelines and linguistic play in this novel. Grace Adams, is amazing. An award-winning polyglot, former TV personality, and dedicated mother, this story connects the dots across a very long day, month, and years past. I found it to be a fast read though well-written. Definitely recommend for readers who enjoy a little bit of suspense, an infusion of foreign language phrases, and stories of family drama.

Thank you to the Author and Publishing team for a copy of this work!

There were three different timelines to keep track of, which is fine, but this book was overwhelming and information was too rushed poured. I needed to slow and process everything serval times and then return to the book when I felt ready .

What a gorgeous, heartfelt, book! Go, Grace, indeed!! I will be watching for new books by this author. I truly felt like I was walking, crawling, falling alongside Grace.

The September 2023 Read with Jenna book club pick, Amazing Grace Adams was on my radar, and I was excited to receive a publicity box from Henry Holt Books in addition to NetGalley access in exchange for my honest opinion. I managed to procrastinate reading this one for a while, but I took advantage of listening to the audiobook this weekend.
In 2002 Grace Adams was amazing - a polyglot who won a linguist competition and starred in her own mid-afternoon TV show around words. However, the Grace Adams of “now” is having a midlife breakdown, it seems. Told with alternating timelines from 2002, now, and specified years in between, which were a bit tricky to follow via audiobook, Amazing Grace Adams details the pressures on a middle-aged mother who decides she has had enough. As the book continues, more of the backstory of Grace’s current mental state is told, including her pregnancy, her relationship with her daughter, her job(s), her relationship with her husband, and her relationship with her sister. There were a few times where I laughed aloud, but most of the time I was struck by how tragic the story was. Considering the cover, I thought this would be a bit lighter and brighter. I was also intrigued that there are different covers for this book - in one Grace is flipping off the reader and in the alternate, her middle finger is covered up with a sticker. This is not limited to the audiobook version, and I’m sure there is a reason for it, but my internet sleuthing wasn't fruitful.
I think that the target audience is a middle-age mother who has forgotten her own identity and isn’t connecting with her kids and/or husband Perhaps if I fit that profile I would have enjoyed this one more!

I read the description of this book and knew it was one I had to read because from this line I knew I could relate to the main character. "Grace Adams gave birth, blinked, and now suddenly she is forty-five, perimenopausal and stalled"

This book lived up to all my expectation. I loved it and will be looking for more from this author in the future.

The forties are a tough age, so tough, and this book conveys that well. It's very relatable for anyone who after taking stock of their life feel like they use to me amazing, but no longer are. Multiple timelines make that story hard to follow at times, but still a worthwhile read.

Grace Adams is a hot mess. She is the mother of a teenager, her marriage is in shambles, and she cannot seem to hold a job. On her daughter’s 16th Birthday, she only wants to give Lottie a special birthday cake, but Lottie does not want her mother at the party. Poor Grace has a heck of a day, filled with various crazy events and encounters that continue to hinder her progress in getting the precious cake to the party. Grace is a mother on the edge, and you don’t want to mess with her today. The story switches back and forth between the current day and Grace’s past family life. Since I listened to this as an audiobook, at times it was hard to differentiate the timeframes. Each chapter starts with a year or “NOW” indicating the timeframe, if you aren’t listening closely it’s easy to miss. I loved the narration, the English accent placed you in London. There were some cringy moments, where you just wanted to cover your eyes because you could see the awkward situation that Grace was headed towards. But there were also some emotional moments between Grace, Ben, and Lottie. Since I am a mother of a teenager, this hit home and was an emotional read for me. If you are the mom of a teenager, trying to navigate the world of social media and your child’s place in it, or just feel like you are always failing as a parent, I think this book is for you.

This was DNF for me. I thought I would feel a kinship with the MC - I'm "of a certain age" and am certainly dealing with some of the hormal issues she's dealing with. Except - she is just a miserable woman. A foul mouthed one at that and I just couldn't deal with it anymore. This book was gifted by Netgalley and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Grace Adams is a the kind of strong, voice-y protagonist I love to read about. Plus, her situation is relatable - the overwhelm, the hot flashes, the shock at how your once-small baby could now (suddenly, unexplainably) be a big, bold teenager. I loved the way the story unfolded, with a little bit of mystery as to how Grace could have suffered such a fall from, well... grace. She's deeply motivated by her love for her daughter, who feels increasingly unreachable and distant. I was definitely rooting for Grace as a character, and I'll look forward to checking out whatever Fran Littlewood writes next!

This book wasn't necessarily my cup of tea.

The book follows 3 timelines and jumps between them.

Grace used to be an amazing woman (her words) before she unexpectedly got pregnant from a weekend fling.

The main premise of the book follows Grace through one day where she is trying to get across London to give her daughter, Lotte, a cake for her 16th birthday. We see the struggles Grace has gone through to get her to the point she is at that day when the timeline jumps back to previous years and months.

Some parts of this book are relatable, marriage and parenting woes, but others just seemed a bit out there.

Thank you to Netgalley and Henry Holt and Co. for the Advanced Readers Copy.

Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood is a story about a woman pushed to her breaking point. It is funny, heartwarming, honest, and cringeworthy all at the same time. Her family is disappointed in her, and she is disappointed in herself. But today, she sets out to prove herself to everyone. This was a quick read, and I felt bad for Grace at times. But other times, I found her kind of annoying. This book has been compared to many other books about awkward, down-on-their-luck characters, but I think most of those other books were better. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

As this book opens, Grace Adams is not feeling so amazing. it would be more accurate to say that she is feeling overwhelmed. Anyone who has ever been stuck in traffic will enjoy reading what Grace does when in this situation. This will be the beginning of readers caring about what happens to Grace.

The novel moves back-and-forth in time, letting readers know about Grace’s early linguistic talents, her marriage, her work, motherhood and more. She is the kind of woman who is trying to manage her life as. anyone who has read a novel by Allison Pearson might recognize.

Readers who enjoy stories with humor and emotion will be happy to meetGrace.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for this title.

This book is so hard for me too describe. And I loved the plot, everything. It was such a light funny book, that made me laugh.

This book was laugh out loud fun. You know what? Grace Adams may have been making questionable decisions let and right, but I applaud her vigor. She made for a good time and for that reason, I was rooting for her.

As the mom of two young girls, I am often told to cherish the moments and that things get harder as they get older. It wasn't until I read Amazing Grace Adams until I felt the gut punch of this statement. Fran Littlewood does such an amazing job of describing the rawness of motherhood and being a woman.

This is a well written book. It has some fine lines, a few well-conceived set pieces, a fair share of perceptive and insightful observations, and lean dialogue. That said, try as I might I found neither the characters, nor their situations, nor the overall narrative engaging enough to arouse or hold my curiosity and attention. As a consequence, it doesn't seem fair to write much more of a review, apart from encouraging inquisitive readers to give the book a try.

The rare book that is a heartbreaker and also hilarious. It is impossible not to like Grace Adams, even as she seems intent on imploding her own life. You will be rooting for her.

Falling Down meets menopause. Interesting premise, but I found this book really hard to get into. And I’m a middle aged woman, I should feel some kinship to Grace, but I just didn’t. The scenarios were so extra, the dark comedy was not that funny, and there were some gut punch revelations that made the entire thing very depressing.

I stopped and started this book twice.

I’ve seen reviews and heard such good things about it. The narrator is great, and I think the storyline as well.

But I really just didn’t like it!

I’m not sure if I couldn’t relate to the characters, the jumping back-and-forth, or the British narration. But I just couldn’t follow it or relate.

I really appreciate this opportunity, and I’m looking forward to seeing this book and hope others like it more than I did.

One for fans of Lessons in Chemistry and Where'd You Go Bernadette, Grace Adams is a character you will love to root for!