💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
Word on the street is that this book has one of the most jaw dropping first chapters ever and I can confirm it’s true!!! I went in blind (because apparently that’s the cool thing to do ;)) and I was not prepared for what happened. Please know there are several trigger warnings for this one, which I’ve listed below for those who need them. I think there’s a fine line between going in blind and protecting your mental health. This was a tough one to rate for me. It’s a fantastic debut, beautifully written and definitely unique, but I didn’t love any of the characters (except Henry) and the story left me feeling pretty depressed most of the time. There were some red flag moments I didn’t agree with and I really needed more from that ending. That said, the way it explores grief and loss is unlike anything I’ve read before. I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.

📚 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
🤰🏻Motherhood journey
❤️‍🩹Dealing with grief
🔺Love triangle
🖤Moral dilemma
🤐Secrets
🎭Family drama
💕Second chances
🔄Dual timeline

⚠️ 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: Child death, Death, Grief, Infertility.

❤️‍🩹𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾❤️‍🩹
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

💕Q U O T E: “𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝑔𝓇𝒾𝑒𝒻 𝒾𝓈𝓃'𝓉 𝒶𝓃 𝑜𝓎𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇--𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃'𝓉 𝓈𝓌𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑜𝓌 𝒾𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝑜𝓁𝑒.”

🙏Thank you St. Martins Press for this free eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.💕

Finding Grace is a debut novel with an emotionally charged premise: a husband, Tom, loses his wife and daughter in a tragic suicide bombing while on a Christmas trip to Paris. Just days later, he discovers that their surrogate is pregnant. Years pass, and through a mistake at the egg donor business, Tom learns the identity of the woman who helped bring his child into the world—Grace. What follows is a journey of love, grief, and unexpected connection.

The first half of the novel is compelling and easy to read, drawing readers into Tom’s heartbreaking loss and the fragile hope that follows. The setup is powerful, and the concept holds so much potential. Unfortunately, the second half of the book loses some of that emotional momentum. Once Tom meets Grace, the pacing becomes rushed, and the character development starts to thin out.

Grace and Tom’s relationship moves quickly, and I found myself wanting more depth and realism in their connection. Some side characters—particularly Tom’s friends—felt unnecessary or underdeveloped, and their involvement in forcing certain plot points (like how Tom tells Grace the truth) felt a bit contrived.

While the characters were just okay for me, and the emotional weight of the story didn’t fully land in the latter half, the book still had an interesting premise and an easy-to-follow style. As a debut, it shows promise, and with more focus on character depth and pacing, Loretta Rothschild’s future works could really shine.

I really enjoyed this book! The cover caught my eye and at the end of the story, I understood why it fit so perfectly.

This heartwarming story centered around grief & new beginnings with a handful of twists and turns that I didn’t expect. The twist at the end of chapter one, however, was the best and most shocking by far. I loved watching Tom navigate through life and I appreciated that it was told from Honor’s POV in order to add an extra layer of detail.

The ending was a little bit of a dud and you certainly had to suspend reality for some of the story (especially since the book seemed to aim for realism). Because of that I took off one star, but overall it was a good read that I would recommend.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Loretta Rothschild & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

Wow the end of that first chapter!!! Crazy and not expected at all! I really loved this story and the relationships between Tom, Collette, Henry, Grace, and their friends. I can’t go into much about the story because it would give it away so just pick it up and start reading! It’s just that good! 4.5 stars!

It's hard to write a summary of this book without spoiling anything, and it probably is best to go into it blind.

This story starts with a big event, and it was very interesting, especially at the beginning. But I also really struggled with it because the story uses a plot point that absolutely makes me crazy. The whole story hinges on a character telling a lie and then continually lying even when they had multiple chances to come clean and tell the truth. And I just get so frustrated with stories like this. The main character was not very likeable, and I really had a hard time stomaching his deceitful actions or finding any sympathy for him.

Still, even though I was frustrated, I did stay engaged with this story and wanted to see how it played out. So it was still probably worth the read, and I give it 3 stars for that.

I'm so glad I read this one completely blind without expectations and that would be my advice to other readers. The plot is unique and inventive as well as the point of view. In fact it's so cleverly written, I was surprised and very impressed to learn it's a debut novel. Kudos to Loretta Rothschild...you have a very promising future as a writer and I'll be watching for more from you in the future! My thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing a review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

FINDING GRACE tells the story of a young family impacted by unimaginable tragedy, propelling the plot in ways that I never imagined, for better or for worse. And as I write my review, I am so very conflicted. There is much to like about this debut novel by Loretta Rothschild, but quite a bit to dislike in equal measure. I debated on whether to include spoilers, but finally decided against it.

FINDING GRACE is without a doubt a moving, beautifully written novel. It explores the depths of grief and the life one is forced to live in that precarious world of “before the tragedy” and “after the tragedy,” where everything is defined within the parameters of “if only” moments.
Character development is solid, and I truly enjoyed the beginning of the book very much. I also thought the choice of narrator being our protagonist, Honor, added a brilliant touch to the novel. As I reached the midway point, however, the storyline dragged a bit for me. The pacing at times felt uneven, with certain sections lingering longer than necessary, which slowed the momentum of the story.

And as the story progressed and grieving widower Tom started making very questionable choices, my interest waned. It became very difficult to sympathize with him as his relationship with our other protagonist, Grace, grew into love. Grace, a wonderful and truly lovely character, deserved better. And I’m a person who adores happy endings, but I felt this ending was too neatly tied up, with one character in particular being rewarded for very bad behavior. Actions have consequences, and sometimes endings must reflect this life lesson in lieu of happily ever afters.

Will I read a book from this author again—most definitely!! Rothschild’s writing is gentle and sincere, and I truly look forward to seeing what she writes next!!

I want to thank NetGalley, Loretta Rothschild, and St. Martin’s Press for gifting me the ARC of FINDING GRACE! It was such a privilege to read this before publication. And I appreciate you trusting me with an honest review!

What an amazing debut!
Family, love, twists and turns will keep you at the edge of your seat from the very beginning! Honor and Tom have a daughter Chloe , who is their world. They are spending the Christmas holidays in Paris and that’s when the emotional roller coaster begins. The story is told from Honor’s point of view and we meet their friends and family throughout the story. There is so much going on in this book and it’s so hard to share without giving anything away.
Have your tissues ready and be prepared to not be able to put this book down!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this digital advanced copy. These opinions are my own.

This book engaged me and kept me interested. It was well written. However I felt the husband should have taken more ownership and showed more character development. Then I would have loved it. But I still enjoyed it.

Finding Grace grabbed me from the first chapter. My review will skip a description to avoid giving away the essentials of the plot. The characters are beautifully developed and the story is original, poignant, thought-provoking, and completely engaging. Themes of love and loss, grief, and starting over touched me. One of my best books of 2015, this one is a keeper.

2025 Debut Authors are delivering!!
And here's another knockout!

Everyone was right - go in blind. Avoid spoilers or detailed summaries. Just know this: Finding Grace is wholly original, beautifully written, morally complex, and completely unforgettable.

Rothschild hooks you with a shocking first chapter and doesn’t let go. Her choice of narrator (within the story, not just audio) is unique—one I found compelling, though I understand it might not resonate with everyone. Personally, I loved it.

Tom, the MMC, definitely tested my patience, but by the end, I understood the complexity of his choices. The story wouldn't have been the story if he had made different decisions, and ultimately, I loved the story.

🎧 Narration Note: Fiona Burton is terrific. She brings emotional depth to an already charged story. Her performance lets the characters’ rawness truly shine.

Final Verdict: 👍 Emotionally rich, thought-provoking debut that doesn’t shy away from complexity. I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time. Great book club or buddy read selection!

The first chapter of this book was INSANE. I really loved not the narrator was honor. While I guessed the final twist about Midway through the book, I still found this really enjoyable to read and think that it was a great debut novel.

Honor cherishes her daughter, Chloe, and would give anything to have another baby, including using a surrogate and donor eggs. When tragedy strikes their family, the remaining members have to pick up the pieces and in doing so, make some questionable choices that will forever impact their lives.

I struggled with this book. The writing is very well done, the story is excellent, and it is entirely unlike any other book I have read. However, the miscommunication trope is my biggest pet peeve. Without giving away any spoilers, Tom's inability to just say what needs to be said made me crazy throughout. I think the story could have been told without leaning into that so much. I will absolutely read more by Loretta Rothschild because even the parts that annoyed me didn't outweigh the beauty of the writing. If the miscommunication trope doesn't bother you, this is a must-read. If it does, be sure to read whatever Rothschild writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of Finding Grace.

I was, quite frankly, blown away by this book as it is a debut novel. The premise is totally unique to me, the characters are very well developed, and the storyline was tight without unnecessary wandering. I was totally drawn in by the first chapter, and I finished this book quickly. It is a novel about sudden loss, navigating grief, and surprising second chances at happiness. I am not going to give anything away by spoilers, but would encourage anyone who think the themes are of interest to explore this book. Highly recommended. It is a very accomplished debut novel. My sincere thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin's press for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I’d been hearing a lot of buzz about this new release, and it definitely had me excited to pick it up. I’m not sure what I was expecting exactly, but the book turned out to be quite different from what I imagined.

I’d heard people rave about the twists and turns—and while there is a major twist at the end of the first chapter that genuinely made my jaw drop—the rest of the book didn’t feel as twisty as I anticipated. The writing was solid, but the story itself felt a bit too uncomfortable for me to fully enjoy. The premise was unique and intriguing, but it centered around a lie that had to keep escalating, which ended up being more unsettling than entertaining. Most of the book was fine, but the ending felt unrealistic and a bit underwhelming.

Maybe I’m in the minority here, but despite all the acclaim and glowing reviews, this one just didn’t quite land for me. It was okay, but not a standout.

This book started out amazingly strong — the first two/three chapters had me on the edge of my seat. Then, it just stalled for me. I could not connect with the characters and the storyline had been done before and did not feel fresh. I’m an outlier here as most of my book club has raved about this novel and it was a BOTM pick for June.

I was sucked into this one from the first explosive chapter, but ended up not loving it. It’s hard to explain why without spoilers. Giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️ because it did keep me reading and it’s set in London.

Part of the problem is that I didn’t like the husband Tom, a lying cringey man-child who it’s hard to empathize with. The reader is held in his outrageous con for so long that the ending is anticlimactic - I wanted to rewrite it from about the midpoint to make it more plausible and interesting. I did enjoy the London setting and chuckled at some of the preschool politics, plus the way Honor stayed involved in the story was novel.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advance copy of this book.

Finding Grace begins with an event so traumatic that I had to put the book down for a couple of weeks in order to give myself time to mentally prepare for the rest of the book.

Luckily, the trauma dies down as the book progresses. It's hard not to spoil this book by describing it. This book is the kind of book with some morally grey areas. Our main character, Tom makes some questionable decisions at the start of the book that he cannot seem to find his way out of. While he is dealing with the emotional fallout from the sudden events at the beginning of the book, this doesn't excuse the fact that he continues to dig himself deeper by continuing to lie as the book goes on.

While it feels like the majority of this book was supposed to be a romance, I couldn't help but feel a sense of impending doom because of both the beginning and because of Tom's lies. They do finally reach a head at the 80% mark of the book.

The resolution of Finding Grace is somewhat quick and somewhat satisfying. I somehow found it both predictable and twisty and was left not knowing how I really felt about the plot once I finished.

This is certainly an original and surprising read and I am intrigued by this author and what she has coming in the future.

The book I read and the blurb did not align. I felt a trigger warning would've been super helpful to the reader. I had a very difficult time with the plot and character arc as soon as I realized how the story was playing out. Because I feel the blurb and the book I read do not match and I don't give spoilers in my reviews there is not much I can say that would not divulge the plot.

If you want a book with secrets, betrayal, surprises, and a twist or two this might be for you..

I usually read the synopsis before starting a book, but for this one — skip it and just dive in. Trust me, going in blind makes the experience even better.

This book has it all: complicated relationships, tough choices, intense emotions, and a twist that hits early and hard. It’s nearly impossible to talk about without giving something away, but if you like stories about marriage, friendship, fertility, grief, and messy, real-life emotions — you’ll love this.