This book is spectacular. It had me hooked from literally the first sentence and from there I was totally under its spell. A fantastic debut!! I can't wait to read more of Loretta Rothschild's work!!

I don't know how to rate this book. I thought it was one kind of book, but then it turned into something I was not expecting. And not in a great way.

I'm not going to spoil anything, which will make this a short review. This is a book about grief, love, and family. It's also a book about lying and gaslighting, but the main characters don't seem to be too concerned with that. This book could have gone so many places and made the reader really think about things like loss or surrogacy. It could have been some psychological thriller with a twist you'll never see coming.

Instead, the part you never see coming happens in the first chapter and the twist at the end is more of a what just happened...and why? Surprise! It's a romance after all! The first chapter really started the book with a bang and then it just got icky.

I may not be the reader this book was looking for.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Finding Grace is an original debut that packs an emotional punch. The second chapter brings a devastating, unexpected twist. I had to stop, re-read, and make sure what was happening was actually happening. What follows is a twisty, mysterious, tense story of constructed realities, lies, love and family drama. This wasn’t totally what I expected it to be, which isn’t bad because it kept me guessing and engaged with the story. I thought I knew where the twist was heading, but I was pretty off base, and I liked that about this reading experience.

It’s hard to share much about this book without giving the whole thing away, but I will say there are some heavy topics, so tread lightly. Overall, I think this is a strong debut, and I really enjoyed the writing. The narrator is unique and haunting. This will be a polarizing book — I feel like there will be very few “it was fine” readers. People will either love it or hate it and for that reason I think it would be an excellent choice for book club.

It took me until the first twist to get into the story and then I couldn’t put it down because I had to know what was going to happen.

I have to be honest—I really struggled with this book. The concept is definitely interesting: the narrator is dead, which immediately caught my attention. But the execution just didn’t work for me. The biggest issue was the narration itself. Tom’s voice and emotions are being told through his wife, Honor, which felt really strange—especially when it came to emotional depth and inner thoughts. How does she *really* know what he’s thinking or feeling? It pulled me out of the story more than once.

What made it even more distracting was how the narration would switch—sometimes within the same chapter—from Honor to Tom to what felt like the author’s voice. By the time I got to chapter 9, I was completely lost in the shifting perspectives. I found myself rereading passages just to figure out who was talking.

If I set aside the confusing narration, at its core, this is a love story. But was it unique or emotionally moving? Not for me. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, and finishing the book felt more like a chore than something I enjoyed. I know this style might work for some readers, but personally, it just wasn’t for me.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for their generosity in allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed Loretta Rothschild’s latest book, Finding Grace, very much. Being so much more twisty and turny than I had expected, it left me transfixed throughout. That being said, I plan to reread it as soon as I can to hopefully answer so many questions that I have now that I’ve finished. Very enjoyable!

Talk about starting with a bang. If you want a book that’s going to hook you in from the get-go and deliver a gut punch at the end of each chapter that forces you to turn the page, look no further. I thought this was going to be a family drama, a story of coping with grief in an unusual way. No. This reads like a thriller of the best kind. A love triangle with an ever-present ghost. The entire time, Tom, the MC, is just digging his grave. Every time you think it couldn’t get worse, the author ratchets it up another notch. Simmer simmer simmer, boiling poor Tom alive.

The less you know, the better this book will be. Do not read the synopsis. Do not read the reviews. Just pick up this book and trust.

Holy moly does this give you a heck of heartbreaking jolt at the end of Chapter 2. I'm not often left with my jaw hanging open and caught off guard, but this did that. This is a story of love and loss, the playing out of the adage of familiarity breeding contempt within a marriage and doing the wrong thing for the right reason and/or the right thing for the wrong reason. So much goes very wrong here, but there is no intent to harm. I truly felt bad for Tom. He had so many opportunities to make things right, but his little untruths or omissions of information piled up until he couldn't get out from under them. I wanted to shake him time and again and tell him to suck it up buttercup, get the truth out there sooner rather than later, and let things organically go from there. It's the only way he had o move forward, but fear and, let's face it...selfishness...prevented him from doing so. When things finally did all come out, there was a giant cleanup on Aisle 7 needed and not too many inroads back to happy ever after.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Literary Fiction

This is the author’s debut novel with an unusual perspective and deep emotional resonance. The book's synopsis gives a brief overview of what to expect, but it's just a taste of the story. I won't say more, as I think it's best if you read the story without spoilers. Fortunately, the synopsis itself doesn’t spoil anything.

The novel depends a lot on character development. The characters, be it Grace, Honor, or Tom, are all given their due, and throughout the book, we see a lot of character growth in them. Their relationships give the story lots of dramatic and emotional weight.

This is a beautifully written debut novel. Loretta Rothschild’s prose is lyrical, making this character-driven story a pleasure to read. I’d expect nothing less from literary fiction. I think the author has delivered in that aspect.

There is a bit of mystery surrounding the characters, especially Grace, and this makes the plot more interesting. It is indeed one of the slow-burning varieties, but that is not a bad thing. The novel exhibits several important themes that many readers could relate to, like grief, loss, healing, and emotional connection.

The narrative structure alternates between the present and the past, which enhances understanding of the characters and their perspectives. With the gentle pacing, it feels like peeling layer after layer from the story until reaching the core. Finding Grace is undoubtedly among the best stories I have read this year.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC of this book.

Wow! This was probably the best book I have read in 2025. I could not put it down and when I put it down - I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I do fear describing it could spoil it for others,. But I loved how the story was told — effortlessly woven from the past to the present. I also found all of the characters super likable and I was rooting for them all.

This was an odd book. It took me several false starts to actually get into it because it's so dang sad. I mean, the main character, a thirty-three-year-old mom and her four-year-old daughter are blown to smithereens in a terrorist attack in Paris in the first chapter, so it's all downhill from there.

As it turns out, the woman, Honor Wharton, who oddly narrates the story from the afterlife, wanted a second baby and ended up using a donor egg and a surrogate. The embryo is viable and grows into a baby, Henry, who's born after her death. Honor's grieving husband, Tom, raises their son by himself.

Then, through a strange mistake, he meets Grace, the egg donor. They start dating and he doesn't tell her that she's Henry's egg donor. When his and Honor's jealous friend Lauren exposes it, their engagement implodes. They do get back together, though, and Grace is pregnant with a girl, just in time for a happy ending.

I just... don't know about this one. The characters frustrated me. Honor obsessed over a second baby so much that she barely paid attention to the great kid she did have. Tom worked a hundred hours a week at his hedge fund, despite having enough money to retire comfortably. I wanted to slap them both!

And I'm not sure the medical aspects were accurate. Would doctors really remove the ovaries of a thirty three year old just because of uterine fibroids? That doesn't seem realistic to me. Overall, this was a less well-done, British version of The Lovely Bones.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free review copy.

4.5 Stars rounded up

I really liked this book that, to me, was more of a story about living with grief and moving on from a tragedy—with a touch of romance. Finding Grace follows Honor, who seems to have it all until a devastating event changes everything. Years later, one decision sets off a ripple effect that intertwines two women’s lives in unexpected ways.

Blending emotional depth with a gripping moral dilemma, this debut novel is both moving and thought-provoking. My only critique is that the ending felt a bit rushed, but overall, it’s a beautiful, compelling story about love, loss, and second chances.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press & Macmillan Audio for the e-arc & ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and MacMillan Audio for the digital copy of this book and audiobook; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The publisher synopsis was sufficiently vague, because this book was written in such a unique way that to say certain things would give away a major plot point. So, I will try to do the same. The first few chapters of the book reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, but I won’t tell you what parts–sorry!

I didn’t quite connect with the characters in the book, but I was still compelled to find out the whole story. Red herrings, Maguffins, this book has it all. It definitely will make you react emotionally. What emotions it evokes depends upon how much you like how the story unfolds. I really can’t figure out how to tell you about this book without giving spoilers.

The audiobook was narrated by Fiona Button, who did an excellent job. I would definitely listen to another book narrated by her.

Very impressive debut- such a unique structure and plot device. Had to find out what happens. Interesting characters and journey.

Beautiful. Tragic. Heartwarming. Gut wrenching.

A fresh reminder not to take anything for granted. A reminder that grief isn’t cyclical and no one person’s experience is the same. A reminder that you never know when it’s the last everything with someone.

I read and listened to this book and it was a top read so far of 2025. Bring all the tears and laughter, this will stick with me.

Finding Grace was an unexpected, unique story starring Honor, her husband Tom, and Grace. The book started off with a bang, but I'll avoid a plot summary because it's best to go into this one blind and uncover the surprises for yourself.

I noticed a decent number of reviews commented how they disliked the characters, but I enjoyed them for all of their flaws. The biggest microscope was set on Tom, and yes, he made a lot of impulsive, dumb decisions, but I can more or less see why he took the path that he did. In addition to being a great look at character growth, this book focused a lot on grief and how it settles into your daily life. Even if years go by, the loss never really goes away, and I enjoyed following these characters as they all dealt with this in their own manner.

Such an interesting book & really different from what I expected. The book summary isn't wrong, but it is a little misleading. So, I guess, sliiiiight spoilers ahead?

The book started exactly as I expected, then very much veered away quite suddenly. I won't say how, but, wow, it got me.

The narration style was a touch odd. For the most part, I really liked it, but it could be weird. Really insightful and beautiful, but odd. Same with the plot. It had me low-key stressed, especially the closer to the end we got. Almost manic.

But, despite all that intensity & oddities, it was a reflective book with moments that really gave me pause (in a good way) and made me think about moving on & grief.

Many thanks to NetGally and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

Wow, what a debut novel! The author did such a great job crafting the characters and the story.

It's virtually impossible to say anything about the plot without giving spoilers, but suffice it to say that the POV is quite unique. The narrator, Honor, draws the reader in immediately. I loved all of the relationships, and watching them unfold over the multiple timelines was incredibly touching. The overarching theme of parental love is portrayed incredibly well, and I had to stop, breathe and wipe away tears several times. The romantic relationships played out really well too. And the friendships in the story were incredible - between couples, between women, between son in law and mother in law...phew! Honor, Tom and Grace are the main characters, but I actually loved the characters of Annie and Colette the most. They felt like real people to me. This book really had all the feels.

I have to say that when the "villain" of the story is revealed, I was truly shocked...maybe I am just too naive. Gasp!! And Tom makes some very questionable choices throughout the story, which make it really hard to sympathize with him. But that all contributes to the plot line and it really was done well.

I would definitely recommend this! 4.5 stars!

Dynamic debut that starts with a bang! I went into this story blind, basically knowing that there was an infertility storyline, and I encourage everyone to do the same. I expected a quite different book after reading the first two chapters. This is a well written, emotional, character driven story that involves heartbreak and grief but also second chances. However, I did not like any of the characters, especially the main male character, Tom, which detracted from my overall enjoyment of the book. Tom makes a series of blunders and many of his choices had me covering my eyes, imagining the train wreck ahead. I also disliked Honor so that made me less invested in the story overall. Despite that, I still very much enjoyed the writing, the emotions this story brought out, and the different ways people handle grief. This book has been getting a lot of early positive buzz and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Addictive, memorable, and frustrating in the best way possible — I loved this book!

I was hooked from the very beginning and loved the emotional rollercoaster that this story took me on. I felt every emotion on the spectrum.

The fact that this is a debut is phenomenal. I can’t wait to read more from this author!