Such a powerful debut! I enjoyed that it told the story of Grace's life in several stages; it was layered and raw and vulnerable. Thank you for the ARC!

Take a menopausal mum. Add a sixteen year old with secrets. Throw in an indiscretion or two
and then keep adding heartbreaking hit after hit after hit. Amazing Grace Adams is just that. It’s a one-sitting read (you won’t be able to put this one down) and is, spoiler alert, a complete tear-jerker. Without a doubt the best book I've read this year.

When I first started Amazing Grace Adams, I got stuck in to the first few chapters and enjoyed them. But as the book went on, and moved back and forward to different times, I started to lose track of it and struggled to enjoy.
I did read it to the end but was not as engrossed as I was at the start.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Grace Adams, the protagonist, is a woman of a certain age - menopausal. A very topical subject and one I can relate to being of the same age.
The book takes place in a single day, but is the story of Grace’s adult life. It starts on a hot summers day, when Grace snaps - she’s simply had enough. I was hopeful for a strong newly found confident woman that would find her own solutions to her current life.
There is an element of owning her own destiny and a discovery of self following the breakdown of her marriage and estrangement from her teenage daughter and a bereavement that she has not previously acknowledged after years of guilt.
The journey of self discovery is either very haphazard akin to burnout or one of no matter how low Grace is knocked down, she gets right back up and keeps going.
This is a book who may be enjoyed by readers of women’s fiction, particularly those who are perimenopause or menopausal who may relate to some of Grace’s emotions.

With thanks to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and #NetGalley for this preview read of #AmazingGraceAdams.

Unexpected! What starts off as a witty funny book takes a really deep turn which threw me completely! But in a good way! Loved to see the menopause subject broached and a 40something heroine!

I didn’t know anything about this book before I started reading, but I’d heard rave reviews from people whose opinions I respect, so I expected to love it. And I really did.

I was gripped from the start and finished it on holiday, ignoring my friends (and surrounding kangaroos!) because I couldn’t bear to put it down until I got to the end. And then, of course, I was sad it was over.

Amazing Grace Adams is funny, smart and warm (and sometimes distressingly hot) and so relateable that I will be recommending it to all my friends of a similar age. Can’t wait to read what Fran Littlewood writes next.

This novel encapsulates the experience of a certain-aged woman perfectly. From invisibility to rage, Amazing Grace Adams portrays menopause and what it is to be a woman with searing honesty.

Grace Adams life is falling apart and we n one afternoon she tries to put it right.
Told in present day and two other flashback timelines we slowly start to unravel what has gone wrong in Graces life and how’s she’s got to the point where her daughter doesn’t want to speak to her and is going through a divorce.

This is an emotional story with characters it took me a while to warm up too. I liked some of the humour in the book I especially loved the Juliet Bravo reference.

Overall I thought it was a decent debut with some really sad moments in the book that was balanced out nicely with the humour.

Thanks to #Netgalley , #PenguinRandomHouse and #MichaelJoseph for this arc.

Grace Adams has had enough, and frankly I don’t blame her. She’s gone from being “Polyglot of the Year”, to the mother of a 16 year old who won’t speak to her, and her husband (Ben) has just served her with divorce papers. She feels like she’s losing her mind.

As she rushes to get her daughters very expensive and very tiny birthday cake to her ex’s house (where she’s living), she abandons her car in a traffic jam and decides to walk there - and it’s a very hot day.

The story alternates between the present day, and the events leading up to when she met Ben and back to the present day. Within these flashbacks are the reasons why Grace is struggling with her life. None of these events are helped by the fact that she’s clearly not medically in a good place. Peri-menopause has a large part to play in her interactions with others, and how she’s coping at work and home. And other factors are revealed along the way.

Grace isn’t having an easy time of it, and all those things that could go wrong, have. I seriously felt like dragging her along to the chemist, forcing her to wait for her prescription (she has got one!), and slapping that HRT patch on for her myself! Not a solution, but a big help!

It’s so good to see more women being represented in literature in their mid to late forties now. And talking about the fun and games that is the perimenopause! Grace’s complete loss of self-confidence could be put down to it - although all the things going on with her daughter and husband could also be contributing factors!

I rather liked Grace, and I did a silent cheer every time she stood up to someone who deserved it! There are some really funny bits in amongst the more sombre parts.

This book is well worth a read!!

Not amazing at all!

I was irritated after reading the first couple of chapters. What woman decides to abandon her car in the middle of the road because she’s having a meltdown? This is how we are introduced to Grace, mother of Lotte and sort of wife of Ben Kerr.

The storyline of the novel deals with a problem that fortunately, does not occur too often in schools (or if it is – is hidden) a teacher grooming a pupil. However, to get to this Fran Littlewood chose the route that seems to become popular – jumping from one timeline to another. Sometimes, writing like this is easy to follow, not so in this book. I found it very distracting.

Rony

Elite Review Group received a copy of the book to review.

What a book! Heartbreaking, tragic, frustrating, intense all in equal measure. A very accomplished debut.

I absolutely raced through this debut novel, loved the storyline, loved the delivery, loved the dry humour involved! 45 year old Grace Adams has been pushed to the brink by EVERYTHING - husband has left, teenage daughter isnt talking to her but is clearly in trouble, her body is betraying her, and her jobs are about to come to an end. Honestly, with all that against her, its no way she's ended up in the situation she's in.

The book opens with Grace trying to get to the fancy bakery to collect a Love Island birthday cake for her 16 year old Lotte - the cake is going to be the thing that brings them back together and make Lotte realise Grace isnt so different from her after all. But there's gridlock in North London, Grace sees red and decides to abandon the car in the middle of the road. Her journey sets off a chain of events that spirals out of control but there's no going back - Lotte will get her cake!

I really felt for Grace - her life used to be so different, she was a TV personality in her 20s, had a good life and good friends- but the plate spinning has come to a head and she has exploded. I liked the insights into her life - particularly the deep cleaning as a means of work avoidance, that was a bit too close to home!

I will recommend it to anyone - particularly women in their 40s who can empathise with Grace

I saw a lot of hype about this book, and it is so worth it. It is the story of Grace, who is having a tough day. All the action plays out over the one day, but with plenty of lookbacks, so we end up getting the key events in Grace's adult life. The writing is shatteringly real, and you feel every emotion. The journey she takes is like a pilgrimage - you so want things to work out for her. Even though the story is challenging it is also humorous - I loved some of the interactions, for example the scene in the cake shop - you can so see yourself in the same situation.

This story starts with 45 year old Grace abandoning her car in a traffic jam and having bit of a breakdown, as she desperately tries to take a birthday cake to her estranged daughter for her 16th birthday.

As we read on we are taken back and forth through events, over the past 16 years, that precede that day and we gradually find out why Grace is in this predicament.

This is a powerful book, which highlights some important issues, including relationship breakdown, mental health and perimenopause as well as some others, which would be spoilers to reveal! Grace is grappling with a lot, which is sadly the case for lots of women and I can imagine lots of readers will relate to her. I really enjoyed Amazing Grace Adams and look forward to reading more from this author!

After a depressing start this got worse.
I found Grace annoying, the way she always went on about being so old; I’m twenty years older than her, and I don’t feel like that yet!
As it went on, I was despairing of the stupid things she did, she who’s a supposedly intelligent woman. It felt like a long read, and became a bit of a chore. I eventually realised why Grace was so UNamazing, but it all just depresses me even further, if she’d been more likeable, I might’ve had more sympathy for her.
But I must say, the short scene in the Tube had me cheering!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book for review.

The story is told two decades apart as a comparison. Twenty years ago Grace was an amazing polyglot who had the world at her feet . Fast forward and everything is falling apart. Family drama, a pending divorce and being on the brink are just a few of her problems. I actually bonded with Grace and her rising doom. Life is full of regrets but these mistakes are what make us who we are. Highly entertaining.

Unfortunately a DNF for me. I tried to keep going with it but I just couldn’t keep connected to the characters and it felt like a chore to force myself to read it. Others may like it but the style just wasn’t for me.

This book started off interesting and I like the writing style. However the further I got into the book I started to get irritated by Grace and felt some aspects were not believable.

I did enjoy this story, so nice to relate to someone that is of a similar age to me, Grace is stuck in traffic one day and suddenly decides to get out and walk away.
This book was funny in parts and very moving but there was a little bit too much going on. I got frustrated with her daughter and wanted to shout at her myself.
Overall a good story but I struggled to keep up with everything

I'm not sure I'd describe Grace as amazing, at times I actively disliked her. But overall we do see a whole character, trying to live the best life she can, separated from her husband and with her teenage daughter having abandoned her a short while before. Grace's life may be unravelling and she makes some questionable decisions on the day she snaps, but as the layers are unpeeled and the story revealed we see a mother coping in the worst circumstances. By finally accepting what happened the family can move on together. Emotional, hormonal and honest. #netgalley #AmazingGraceAdams