𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗺𝘀 is told in multiple timelines. There’s an incredible gut punch of a moment that happens in an earlier timeline that makes everything in the present day timeline make sense.
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Chaotic. Frantic. Frenzied. Depressed. The author does an incredible job of mirroring the main characters state of mind with the energy and vibe of the book.
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While I am grateful that I can’t relate to all that Grace has gone through, this 40-something mom to teens can definitely relate to the exhaustion, frustration, and sometimes even the invisibility that Grace feels. And I can definitely relate to the feeling of just having enough of everything and being done with it all.

It took me a little while to get through this one, I think because it felt quite meandering at times and I was easily distracted from it. However, I really enjoyed the overall story and by the end I understood why the story had to be told through all different directions.

This story focuses on love and loss, mental health and aging as a woman. Overall, it felt quite deep, poignant and relatable even through the crazy moments.

I would recommend this book.

Gracie is a mother trying to get to her daughters sixteenth birthday party, with a cake. she meets many obstacles on the way.

Thank you to Net Galley for this advance copy of The Amazing Grace Adams. This was a hard book to read . Grace is a woman who has lost custody of her daughter to her ex husband and is having a break down / midlife crisis after her divorce . She has lost her job and can’t find herself . Determined to get to her daughter’s 16th birthday with a special cake , this book which jumps around a lot we explore how Grace meets her husband at a linguist competition , they get married , have Lotte and eventually it all goes wrong . Readers are kept guessing until the end about how Grace ended up in the situation she is . This book gave me anxiety , jumping all over the place. Not a fan

Thank you @netgalley for the Advanced Readers Copy. This book was published on September 5, so is available now. Grace is in her forties and is recently separated from her husband. It’s her daughter’s 16th birthday, and she is not invited to the party. She decides she will show up anyway, with a special “Love Island” themed cake. But everything that could go wrong does go wrong, and she does not help herself in most situations. The story goes back and forth in time, from before her daughter was born, to now, and shows what has happened and how things went wrong. It’s written in a light fun manner, but definitely deals with serious issues of motherhood, being a mother of a teenage daughter, menopause, aging, and all the things that women face today. I’m surprised that this made the NYT Bestseller list, but I enjoyed it overall. #amazinggraceadams #franlittlewood #readwithjenna #debutnovel #nytbestseller #bookstagram #booklover #reader #bookblog #lovetoread #fictionreader #bookreview #bookrecommendation #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #takeapagefrommybook #readallthebooks #booksbooksbooks #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #booknerd #whattoread #readingtime #bookaddict #ilovetoread #ilovebooks #needtoread #readallday

The book blurb and book cover are misleading. There is nothing humorous about this book as Grace becomes more dysfunctional each chapter. The chapters flip around in time, but it is not until the end of the book that a twist helps explain Grace’s behavior, her daughter Lotte’s problems, and her distancing from her husband, Ben. The twist in the book makes everything clear, but it was difficult getting to that point. Grace was a talented linguist, and it was a challenge to understand what was happening to her, as much seemed to be blamed on menopause, which wasn’t really at the core of her problems. I would hesitate to recommend this one. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I was excited about reading this book after hearing about it.
Grace is trying to win her estranged daughter back. The road to get her back is riddled with all kinds of crazy happenings. This book made me sad, it made me happy, and it made me laugh. The book did, to an extent, remind me of Eleanore Oliphant and Ove.
Amazing Grace Adams is a quirky book with a lot of heart. Well worth a read!

I'm always so grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for these opportunities to read good books early. So I feel quite guilty if there's one I just can't make my way through. I tried until I found me hating myself for trying. Yes, the content is just that objectionable! I wish I'd read a few reviews before I asked to read it. Apparently, other readers agree with me.

Let’s be honest, adulting is hard. Motherhood is super hard. And when all things go awry, attempting to do both is extremely hard. Enter Grace Adams having a horrible day. Things have spiraled out of her control with her job, marriage and teenage daughter. The story bounces between various time periods in Grace’s life, but mainly focuses on her daughter’s birthday. It started off humorously in that things-are-so-bad-you-just-have-to-laugh way, but eventually some poignant messages started to surface. I ended up feeling sad for most of the book. There are just too many struggles in Grace’s world!!

Thank you NetGalley, Henry Holt & Co., Macmillan Audio, and author Fran Littlewood for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced copy of this book in return for my honest review. For me, this book falls into the category of "I Really Wanted to Like This One But Sadly Didn't." If you read any of my reviews you will see that connecting to characters is HUGE for me. It doesn't matter how much action or drama, if I don't connect to the characters or even worse if I don't LIKE the characters (especially the main character) I have a hard time enjoying the book. And as a mother of teenagers in menopause, I was THE target audience, but I think there are better books out there for us. I won't be recommending this to my middle-aged friends.

This book is a character driven novel by Fran Littlewood. It is Read with Jenna Book Club pick.
Grace. It is a book that will provide stimulating conversation with book club members and readers.

Thank you to Net Galley and for an advance review copy. My thoughts are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Henry Holt & Company for the advanced reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

In Amazing Grace Adams, we follow Grace, a mother of one who is determined to get to her daughter’s sixteenth birthday party. She’s equipped with a Love Island themed birthday cake and is determined to make it there before the end of the party. Along the way, Grace runs into many obstacles, from traffic to road rage and the obstacles in her mind, reminding us that no matter how far we fall, we can always get up again.

I found this story both funny and terribly sad at times. While I was mostly entertained, I just wish there was a bit more story to this one in the present day. This book is split into the present, the far past and the more recent past and I don’t know if the intersplicing of Grace’s backstory into the present day worked as well. It just left me wanting more.

This cover is perfection. It’s exactly how I feel after reading this book 🖕Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I really tried hard to NOT throw this away! It’s because of you (and Jenna B. Hager) that I didn’t DNF this book 15% in. There were too many different timelines and even the POVs were confusing, coupled with absolutely zero character development and zero likable characters! This book was so depressing and I wish I could get this time back. I hate to say it but 🖕Grace Adams. You get 0.5/5 💫 for me 😢

I love how Grace has decided to remind herself and those around her that she truly was and is amazing. Sometimes life can wear even the best of us down. We can all use a little of Grace's determination. While I didn't see the comparison to Elanor Oliphant nor Ove, the book is defintely one that everyone should read and heed!

So this was the first read with Jenna pick that I did not like. It started off okay, but ended with a dark and disturbing story about a sexual relationship between a teacher and Grace's 15-year-old daughter. I'm really surprised that she chose this book because it was really hard to read about Grace discovering/witnessing this, and it was supposed to be an entertaining book, not about child abuse. Clearly the marketing for this one was all wrong. It's not an "easy" or "light or really "funny" read at all. It was dark and depressing. I thought it was about a woman who had enough, kind of rediscovering herself, but it was not that at all

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

Amazing Grace Adams was such a struggle for me to read and it’s hard to find anything I particularly liked about the book. I couldn’t get into the flow of the book for quite a while, and then the timeline was jumping around so I couldn’t make sense of what was going on. I really couldn’t tell you what this book is about other than Grace is a 45 year old mom, who seems to be having some issue, and whose 16 year old daughter is mad at her and she’s going through a divorce.

Would not recommend.

Amazing Grace Adams was a slow burn, for sure. For the most of the book, it seemed that Grace was dealing with a mid-life crisis. It was not until well after halfway through the book that the pieces start appearing and as they start to fall together, I realize that my heart had become attached to Grace and her life mattered to me. This book was expertly crafted and I will not soon forget it. Grace was at once spunky, hopeless, smart, sassy, and lovable. Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I love Grace. I loved the narrator. I really loved that this book touches on so many topics many other books about women ignore.

I am not a fan of the style of writing where we keep jumping from the present to various times in the past. But I have to say that Fran Littlewood knows how to grab a reader's attention. The beginning, at a polyglot contest where Grace meets Ben is immediately interesting. and grabs you right in.

Grace's mother was a depressive personality and that has a lifelong effect on her. Grace's erratic behavior as she attempts to deliver a birthday cake to her daughter Lotte shows some craziness but is still believable. Not so much the autoimmune condition that is making Grace's vulva disappear. Never heard of that one. (Note to self: Check it out on Goggle.)'

I also wish that there had been more about Grace's ability with multiple languages and how she acquired it. There wasn't much mention after the beginning. Other than that, this novel is worth your time and makes Littlewood a name to watch.

My thanks and appreciation to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC copy of this book...

DNF for me. I just could not make a connection. I tried listening and reading Amazing Grace Adams. Still, nothing clicked. I always give a book a fair chance and do not put it down until I have at least read 100 pages. I don't DNF too often, but I'm not going to force myself to read something I am not enjoying. Fran Littlewood wrote a every entertaining piece and I understand why many of my fellow readers enjoyed this book. Would I ever read anything from this author again? Absolutely!! Her writing skills are excellent. Just this story was not for me. I am grateful to have the opportunity to read this book prior to its release date. Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company.