I tried listening to this as an audiobook, but the novel moves back and forth in time and confused me. I switched to reading the book and that was better. The main character, Grace, has almost everything in her adult life going wrong. I felt quite a bit of angst just reading what this character was going through. Her stress reactions reach crazy levels as the reader follows her during one awful day. The ending left me feeling how strong Grace was and sure that nothing would really break her spirit.

Grace has had enough. So when she’s stuck in a traffic jam, at the prime perimenopausal age of 45, she exits her car and walks away. Because it’s her estranged daughter’s 16th birthday, you see, and she’s bought Lottie a cake, and come hell or high water, Lottie is getting her cake.

Grace's memories flash as she walks to her daughter. And slowly we begin to understand not only what she’s suffered, but that there’s a reason why Grace Adams is amazing.

Never did I see coming the emotion that permeates Fran Littlewood’s debut novel. I went into "Amazing Grace Adams" expecting an almost absurdist, satirical portrayal of a middle-aged woman on the verge of snapping, and though I did find some of that, I was also rewarded with a thoughtful and sensitive story of a mother fighting to regain her family and her life.

As revelations about Grace’s past came to the forefront, my heart ached. I felt such empathy for her, and I knew that if I were Grace, I’d too be pushing back at the world. I’d be screaming my frustration to the universe, all while swinging my golf club at whatever tried to keep me from my child.

A relatable and empowering read, "Amazing Grace Adams" is a standout 2023 debut.


My sincerest appreciation to Fran Littlewood, Henry Holt and Co., and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

This novel was trying too hard to be cool and relevant. I didn't like Grace and sure as heck did not root for her. This is basic and run-of-the-mill chick lit, and I think I'm too old for this genre anymore. I also didn't like the British humor. It felt forced and awkward.

4 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.


Truth be told, I struggled a bit with this one. While in the end the struggle was 100% worth it, I felt as though the story plodded along a bit at parts.

Grace Adams is a perimenopausal women of 45, struggling to keep her life together. Her daughter Lotte is 15, and a bit of a handful right now. Her husband Ben can’t do it anymore. The marriage and family thing just isn’t working for any of them.

At one time, Grace was famous. The polyglot hottie was what she was called when she was on a TV show as their resident wordsmith. She speaks many languages, and that’s how she met Ben. They competed against one another, and Grace won by 1 point. It was the beginning of something beautiful.

But now, things are a mess. Grace needs to repair her relationship not only with Ben but mostly with Lotte. And Grace is determined that Lotte’s sixteenth birthday party is the time to do it. Only nothing from the moment she sets out goes right.

As I said, I did struggle through parts of this one. The mixed up timeline might have been part of it - jumping back and forth through the various stages of Grace’s adulthood. Or maybe there was just too much backstory. However, the end was very much worth getting to. I enjoyed this book despite the slow times.

Grace used to be amazing. She used to feel amazing. Now at the age of 45 with a marriage in peril and a daughter who she can no longer relate to, Grace decides to remind the world of who she is. Dammit she is determined to be the woman she once was.
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THOUGHTS
Hearing this book compared to Ove and Bernadette I was sold. Two of my favorites and I couldn’t wait to dive in to this one. It started out well and somewhere along the line things became too far fetched. I was no longer as invested as I was when the book started. Still I believe there are readers who will really love this one. Sadly it was just okay for me. Thank you Netgalley and Henry and Holt for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was surprised by this emotional, raw story about a woman unraveling in midlife. I thought it was going to be a light-hearted, funny read, but it was much deeper than that. And that is a good thing!

Grace is an intellectual genius with languages who just wants to get a cake to take to her daughter’s 16th birthday party. As she leaves her car stranded on a congested highway to walk to the bakery, you learn the reason why she is completely unhinged and emotionally unstable (in a funny not scary way).

The author uses two different flashback series to tell us about Grace's life, one from the moment she meets her eventual husband and one from just a few months prior. Mixed with the craziness from the present day story, I was continually surprised at the events and how they affected her life. The author tackles a lot of heavy issues that were handled in a nuanced way.

I really enjoyed reading this, finishing it in one sitting. I just had to know all of the twists and turns. As a woman around Grace’s age, I understood her longing for the past and her grief at how much life has gone by. I wasn’t expecting to be so emotional but it was a cathartic, heartfelt read.

Poor Grace Adams may be amazing, but she’s having a very rough day, and her current life is challenging beyond belief. As a linguist, she’s had some ups and downs, but it’s her love life and family life that sting the most.

You can’t help but feel for quirky Grace who encounters one ludicrous event after another. Yes, she had a hand in creating many of these events, but it’s her emotional reactions that sink her into a crater I couldn’t imagine her climbing out of.

In truth, I felt a bit overwhelmed sometimes by all of Grace’s predicaments. Can’t this woman get a break? And why so much hysteria? And then, toward the end, it all begins to make sense, and my exasperation with her melted.

An amusing read with multiple timelines that are sometimes difficult to follow. But if you stick it out, you will be rewarded, and your heart will be at peace.

"Amazing Grace Adams" by Fran Littlewood is an Emotional Family Fiction Story!

Grace Adams is a genius. Really. She's an award winning Polyglot who's fluent in five languages. With all the great things she's achieved in her forty-five-year-old life, all she thinks she is now is perimenopausal. She feels like it defines her.

Today Grace is having a particularly bad day. She's stuck in traffic and all she wants to do is hand deliver a cake to her daughter, Lottie, on her sixteenth birthday. She's had enough, so she bails. She simply gets out of her car, lets it stand where it sits in traffic, and off she goes.

Unfortunately as she walks, life keeps getting in her way and Grace becomes more and more distraught and agitated. She just wants to talk to Lottie. She needs to talk to her.

The problem is, Lottie doesn't want to see her mum. Lottie wants nothing to do with her and my heart just simply breaks for Grace...

"Amazing Grace Adams" tore me up, touched my heart, and resonated with me like no other book has in a long time. It's sad, edgy, heartbreaking, and yes, there's a little bit going on in this story. But who doesn't have a lot of stuff to deal with at some point in their life when one more thing may put them over-the-edge?

As the present timeline 'Now' plays out, we slowly learn about Grace's backstory through two additional timelines of 'Four Months Ago' and 'Sixteen Years Ago' when she met Ben and gave birth to Lottie. We find out how passionate, fierce, and complicated Grace can be. We also discover why this family is separated and so broken.

"Amazing Grace Adams" was an enjoyable immersion reading experience through a DRC and an ALC. Either format will deliver a pleasant connection, however my preference is the audiobook with the excellent narration of Claire Skinner, whose voicing of Grace is exceptional.

"Amazing Grace Adams" is a wonderful debut novel and I found it to be a relatable story that stirred memories in me from long ago. By now I'm sure you realize that I think Grace Adams is simply amazing. I love Grace's story and I look forward to what this author comes up with next.

I highly recommend "Amazing Grace Adams" to readers who enjoy Family Fiction with a fierce, edgy, and memorable female main character!

5⭐

Thank you to Fran Littlewood, Henry Holt and Co., and Macmillan Audio for a DRC and ALC of this book through NetGalley. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.

Grace is a middle aged woman who finds herself adrift and without purpose. Estranged from her daughter and left by her husband, Grace needs to find a way back to the person she used to be.

On the day of her daughters sixteenth birthday, Grace leaves her car in traffic and sets off on foot to deliver a birthday cake and try to mend their relationship. Along the way, Grace encounters obstacle after obstacle, but she is not going to let anything stop her. The journey leads to a look back on her life, the choices she has made, and how she got to where she is now.

This is a lovey, heartwarming look at what it is to be a mother, wife and woman and the expectations we and others put on ourselves. You will cheer for Grace.

Oh my gosh I loved this book SO MUCH. It's a complicated story that moves back and forth through time as we follow Grace throughout one current very important day of her life. There are really a LOT of timelines to follow and I had no trouble doing so, but I recommend making sure you have time to get through this book, it's not one to put down and leave for a few days.

This is a book for any mother who has lived through the teenage daughter years. It's for any mother who had a difficult time *being* a mother. It's for mothers who had daughters who had more issues than, say, what you *thought* other mothers had to deal with. It's for mothers like me who are already well past those years but remember how absolutely insane you can feel just trying to keep your 16 year old baby alive. For some of us mothers, perhaps all of us, it's a time on the brink of insanity and then *poof* it's over and your daughter is a lovely young woman who made it through. But we know not all daughters make it through safe and alive and... SAFE, and so we are frantic and overwhelmed and helpless and also outraged just hoping to get our daughters through to the other side.

I was frustrated with Grace for a lot of this book, as it seemed like she let Lotte walk all over her and there were absolutely no consequences for anything, not one thing. But as the timelines go back and forth we learn there are likely reasons for Grace's inability to deal with the situations. There were unexpected heartbreaks that we learn of, that I cannot imagine, but that explain more what Grace is going through.

In the current single day that Grace moves through she descends from an irritated and frustrated woman in traffic down into straight madness as she makes her long journey to save her daughter, save herself as a mother, to save both their lives. I thought I was starting a quirky fun book but instead I moved through Grace's very serious journey and lived through my own past journey again. I found the book to be emotional and real, and I look forward to anything Fran Littlewood writes in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley for gifting me the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book, and Grace, are going to stay with me for a long while.

The plot, while filled with just enough everyday intrigue to keep the pages turning, for me was overshadowed by a main character I personally found annoying, perhaps because I am not a 45 year old mother. A little too much woe-is-me and hasn’t life been unfair (which to be fair it had been to her). Sped through this in a day though, just could’ve done with less of Grace’s whining

WELL. This one was a surprise! From the description, I walked in expecting an enjoyable women’s fiction type read with some humor - and at under 300 pages, I figured I’d breeze through, get a light palate cleanser with some laughs and some heart, and move on to the next.

Nope. This one is deep, and it’s powerful, and to tell you the truth it’s been a few days since I finished and I still haven’t stopped thinking about it!

You can tell from the first pages that this story is going to be a little bit wild and unbelievable, but rooted in something true - I think that’s a big part of its appeal. At its heart, it’s a mother fighting for her family back, for her daughter back, after some emotionally tumultuous years. By placing Grace in an over-dramatized, desperate, and somewhat hopeless physical journey filled with confrontations, you get a better glimpse into the frustration, anger, and sadness driving her mental and emotional journey.

I definitely recommend it, but I will warn that parts of this book are HEAVY. May want to check the trigger warnings - there’s some big and scary things going on in the lives of Grace and her family. But it’s a really moving storyline, even with characters that aren’t always particularly likeable - which I think is super hard to achieve! So glad I picked it up.

Thanks to Henry Holt Books, Fran Littlewood, and NetGalley for my copies! Amazing Grace Adams is out on Tuesday. 9/5.

I found switching back and forth among the many timelines in this book to be a big distraction, but the characters are so real that I kept reading to see where the story would take me. I have read books about mid-life crises that were hilarious, but Fran Littlewood gives us a version that is complex and with triggering situations that are a reality to many. Grace Adams seems to have to deal with more than her share. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with an ARC ebook to read and review.

I wanted to love this book so much. The description and buzz was speaking to my 45yr peri menopausal heart. But the jumping between time lines left me more confused. As I was looking for some talk about the journey of women I kind of felt that I had a hard time connecting with Grace.

Fran Littlewood has written the story of a woman whose life has gone to h#ll, and in doing so, will tug the heartstrings of mothers and women 'of a certain age' who will recognize bits of themselves in this wonderful character.

I loved this book, though I found it to be a tough read. My heart broke for Grace, and also for her husband, Ben, and daughter, Lotte, as she struggled to make it to Lotte's 16th birthday. The opening scene of the novel set the stage beautifully, as Grace, fed up with the traffic jam and on the verge of a breakdown herself, walks away from her car and sets out on foot to pick up the cake for her daughter's birthday. I just knew that she was a strong woman whose emotional string was stetched to its limit, but she was not giving up easily.

The format of the book, told in three timeframes, was a little difficult to follow, but gave the reader a thorough understanding of the cause of Grace's meltdown. I had a real sense of the depth of Ben and Grace's love for each other and for Lotte, and also how things became such a mess.

As a mother whose children are grown, this novel resonated strongly with me, and I recognized myself in some of Grace's interactions with her daughter. Though I have not lived through some of the same trials, I could empathize with her stress and volatility. 4.5 stars, rounded up.

Thank you to Netgalley, Henry Holt & Co. and Goodreads for the digital and physical ARCs of Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood. The opinions in this review are my own.

Grace Adams is a woman who realizes that she gave birth to a child and is now 45 and perimenopausal. She is unhappy and her child is giving her fits, One day she gets stuck in traffic and walks away from her car and starts walking .This book was so funny and I think all women can relate to this story. Grace just wants to be amazing again,

This is the story of a perimenopausal woman losing it. And unless you've been there, you're just not going to understand it. If you are a woman and haven't started the transition to menopause, Grace's life will seem terrifying. She had everything going for her, and then due to circumstances that will likely happen to all uterus-carrying adults and there's very little you can do to prevent it. She loses everything that matters to her, and that's so terrifying that people will reject the book. Understandable.

The title of this book isn't Amazing "Grace Adams", it's "Amazing Grace" Adams, and that tells you what it's about- one person's quest to find forgiveness for her sins. Is it funny? No, not really. Is it chaotic and messy? Yes, because that's what it feels like. Does Grace constantly complain about how hot she is? Yes, and because when you hit perimenopause you lose control of your body and mind, and the simple things like being warm become all-encompassing, and that's what Littlewood wants you to feel. It's not pretty, or comfortable, to read and experience. And maybe it will help others understand just a little of what it's like to go through The Change, and maybe, just maybe, you'll give us a little Grace.

Debut novel about a woman who is desperately trying to get a birthday cake to her daughter’s 16th birthday party in time despite so many roadblocks and situations that delay and prevent her from getting to the party on time. While I appreciated the writing technique of multiple timelines and how the “now”
Is one day bit by bit, this one didn’t land with me. I think the author took on too many directions and didn’t create characters that I really cared about - which is necessary when characters are struggling. There was a lot going on - too much - so much so that I didn’t feel much about any of it. There’s lots of fun writing which I always appreciate. Thanks to Henry Holt and Co for the copy.

This is a book I will remember for a long time. Grace Adams is every woman. Her story resonated with me at a deep soul level. I think everyone should read this book.

Faced with a failing marriage, an angry out of control teenage daughter, and a floundering career, Grace Adams’ life is in a free fall. On the hottest day of the year, Grace sets out to make amends with her daughter by bringing a perfect birthday cake to the 16th birthday party she wasn’t invited to, and ultimately completely loses her shit.

Alternatingly funny, moving, and heartbreaking, the story is told across multiple timelines, each one revealing a bit more about what led Grace Adams to the break she’s currently experiencing.

Though the structure was a bit confusing for me, I struggled a bit to keep track of which timeline we were in, I think it made sense given the disjointed state of Grace’s mind on the pivotal day she finally unravels. So much has happened to her, and all of it right there, top of mind, breaking her open.

Midlife is a tough time, the most unhappy time in a woman’s life as quoted by The Guardian, and those of us in this stage will likely identify with the feelings of being invisible, lost, and irrelevant, along with the unnerving physical symptoms of perimenopause: heat flashes, exhaustion, brain fog.

Amazing Grace Adams is an amazing story about love, grief, and hope. You’ll find yourself rooting for Grace and her family until the very last page.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House, and Fran Littlewood for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.