Member Reviews
This book follows 3 generations of women from the same family: Olivia (the grandmother), Hope (the mother), and Dylan (the daughter). Each woman is struggling with their own sense of self and selfishness. They use and abuse each other to further their own means without much regard for anyone else. This journey ultimately leads to Graceland in Memphis, TN; significant for each woman if their own way. When shit finally shits the fan and many lives not just the lives of the 3 women are in a state of upheaval and potential ruin, they finally start being honest with themselves and each other. Finally able to start the process of healing and becoming a less dysfunctional family.
Did not find any of the characters very likeable overall, things wrapped up a bit too nicely without much consequence for the different stunts each woman pulled. There was several pieces of dialogue that could be considered quite offensive to readers and it was very unnecessary as it didn't further the plot or character development.
I wasn't certain what to expect. from Graceland by Nancy Crochiere, but I love a good road trip/adventure story. This was so much more than I'd expected, going above and beyond the normal tropes, and growing into a wonderful exploration of multiple generations' relationships, truth and lies, love and pathos, politics and being oneself. Hope, main protagonist, chases her mother Olivia and her daughter Dylan from Boston to Graceland despite having sworn off Memphis years before, trying to beat them there before old secrets are revealed. Olivia, an aging star, has her own reasons for returning to Graceland, beyond meddling in her her daughter and granddaughter's relationship, while Dylan is determined to find and face her father, who she's never met. A spattering of Elvis mania only adds to the hilarity of this delightful book.
Thank you for providing me with this ARC from NetGalley.
The book centers on three different point of view perspectives: the grandmother, daughter, and granddaughter. Olivia's (grandma) last wish before she passes is to go and visit Graceland one last time and recount her memories with Elvis during her younger years. She brings Dylan, her granddaughter, on this adventure as her dad (who she has never known) will be in Memphis during the time, that Olivia wants to go to Graceland. However, her mom, Hope, does not agree with this. She had a pact with someone that she would never return to Memphis and Dylan's dad would not find out who she is.
After Dylan and Olivia have left for Memphis, Hope trails behind them with her cousin, who she is very good friends with. The two of them try to catch up to Dylan and Olivia, but not without trouble and problems.
Reading this book was very fun and engaging, it felt like there was something for everyone. Especially since there are three different perspectives. Some of the twists, I had never figured out and was shocked by reading them. The plot of the book is very good as well, you get to see the characters mature and develop as the book goes on. Every character would get on my nerves, but then soon after, they would make up for it. It is definitely a fun read for when you are going on a road trip for whatever reason. Even a road trip like the one in the book would be fun! Even though, that would definitely be different circumstances.
I give the book 4/5 stars, the only thing that happened which I disliked was that there were moments, which seemed to not aid the conversation a long. All in all, I liked this book and would highly recommend it to a friend.
Graceland by Nancy Crochiere is a fantastic read.
A humorous, quick and fun read with characters that were easy to get invested in.
This book is a classic delight that is a road trip where the journey is about so much more than the destination.
This novel is so incredibly compelling, heart warming, brilliant, beautiful and left me feeling all sorts of things.
I enjoyed the light-hearted moments and funny situations.
I loved the dynamic of the daughter, mother and grandmother.
They were an absolute blast. I loved following their journey and seeing their story unfold. Feeling everything they were truly feeling.
A compelling story of adventure, acceptance, forgiveness and grace.
Overall, I was really impressed with Crochiere’s writing and in short, this book made me feel all the things.
An endearing and sweet novel, this is Nancy’s debut novel, and I absolutely loved it.
"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
Thank You NetGalley and Avon for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I absolutely loved this book!! What a cute, fun, family adventure. Graceland is about three women, grandmother, mother, and daughter; all on a journey to find out the truth. Dylan wants to meet her father, Hope isn't looking forward to going back to Memphis, and Olivia just wants to visit her favorite place, Graceland. I loved the dynamic of daughter, mother and grandmother. Kept me guessing the whole time but also such a heartfelt story. I am so glad I was able to read this and look forward to reading more by Nancy Crochiere.
I found this book to be very poorly written with next-to-no character or plot development. Don't spend your money on it.
"What we keep hidden doesn't heal. It festers." Is one of my new favorite quotes.
I adore this book. I am a huge fan of Elvis. I was skeptical of a fictional book that included him, but this was great. The songs mentioned were great because it's like I was in the story singing along with them. The facts used is also one of the reason why I love this fiction book. She did her research and included it into the fictional story. I love that.
This book just flows so well. I could not put this book down. I wanted to know what was going to happen next and I NEEDED to know what had happened in the past. All the characters in the story were enjoyable, and she portrayed the ugly characters so well as intended.
Great character development. Fast paced, easy, fun read. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fun read. This is it. Well done!
Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Nancy Crochiere for an ARC copy for an honest review. My review can be found on Goodreads. I will also be sharing this book to a Facebook reading group I am in called Book Lovers Café.
Graceland by Nancy Crochiere (coming October 4, 2023)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
This is a great story about family dynamics, travel, and the desperate need to return home. I completely love how we get to experience not just one main character, but three, find themselves along the trip. Each character has a major attitude issue, and to watch them realize they have a problem, as well as take the steps to change it, was really amazing for me. I would’ve preferred the ending to be a little more thorough, especially between Hope and Aaron, but at the same time, I feel like the story ended exactly where it should’ve been. It’s a wonderful book, and I was lucky enough to receive an ARC through NetGalley. I definitely recommend that everyone read this book!
I truly enjoyed this book. I was not expecting to like it as much as I did. I loved that you got to see the 3 different points of view in this book. At the end you got to see why Olivia was the way she was which was really like. It definitely made her much more likable.