I raced through this absolutely beautiful book and highly recommend it. A story of relationships not only between people but also with music, I loved the writing and characterisation and didn't want this book to end. Following Grace as she negotiates her complex love life and powerful relationship with music, the book skips in time to show us Grace's teenage years at music college and the difficulties she faced there that have followed her throughout her life. Thank you so much NetGalley for the chance to read this wonderful book.

This book is great! The character of Grace really draws you in and makes you feel warmly and empathetically towards her. It's not a typical girl romantic 'happy ending' but that possibly makes it more enjoyable, you feel Grace is surrounded by the people that she deserves to be. There are also strong lessons in female friendship and valuing other women as well as looking after and believing in ourselves.

This is a truly beautifully crafted book. The writing is evocative, sympathetic and yet not in any way mawkish. The characters gradually build up as the story unfolds.
Grace is one of those people who exists in a vacuum, focussed on working hard at her luthier business, assisted by the lovely Nadia with whom we empathise, finding her way through a difficult life at age 17.
Nicola's lover David, a married man, comes across as self centred and egotistic, but charming nevertheless. As indeed does the sweet elderly gentleman , Mr Williams, who plays a much bigger part in the story than we first expect.
The story has many twists and turns, dwelling on relationships ,forgiveness and new beginnings.. The writing is super. I didn't want the book to end,
Thanks to Net Galley for a review copy.

The blurb about this novel compared it to ‘Eleanor oliphant is completely fine.’ While both are tales of new lives and redemption, this is less quirky and profound, and more like chick lit.
Having said that, I enjoyed it in the final analysis. Much of the novel feels quite ‘girl meets (married) boy, girl loses boy etc, but the plot does come together and the last third is much more interesting, pacey and touching. I also found all the musical parts interesting (Grace plays and makes cellos).
I’m not sure I ever loved or believed in the the characters (as I did Eleanor Oliphant) but it’s a diverting read and well-written.

This novel provides an insight in to the world of musicians and their instruments, particularly those of the string family. It was of special interest for me as I have a nephew who plays the cello. The book is also about people growing and getting stronger, adapting to changes of circumstance, particularly the main character Grace. At first I found her a bit soft and easily led, but gradually she sorted herself out and found her own voice. In many ways this a heartening and heart-warming tale. Recommended.

This book was a grower for me. I found it uncomfortable reading in the beginning. It starts with Grace who is in a relationship with a married man, David, who for 8 years assures her that he will leave his wife once his children are grown. Her life revolves around him, seeing him when he can fit her into his schedule, whilst trying to run a business as a luthier, building and repairing string instruments. One event, which inadvertently leads to David saving someone's life and making him a viral hero, blows everything apart in Grace's life.

Grace has a catastrophic reaction to her situation, and the story develops as she rebuilds her life with the assistance of a troubled teenager Nadia, and a wonderful old man called Mr Williams.

This book was a poetic symphony, with the rise and fall of the story reaching a crescendo at the end in a way that I did not anticipate at the beginning.

I grew to love this book the further I got into it, and I am so happy I received the opportunity to read it via Netgalley and courtesy of Simon & Schuster UK in exchange for an honest review.

This is just a lovely book where you get to know Grace and her struggles in life and throughout the book she hits a low (very low) only to overcome them in a satisfying way. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and completed it in two sittings. Just wonderful.

I did enjoy this book but I found it to slightly drag in the middle, and some of the technical terms for the instruments and music etc washed over me. However, I did enjoy reading Grace's story and I loved the ending of the book, as everything was wrapped up beautifully. I thought the characters were very well drawn, too.

I loved this book. Graces story is so beautifully written and the beautiful places the story is set in add to it. I loved the theme of music and musical instruments throughout. This is a story about love, friendship and friends. It is also about living life to the full and realising your own self worth. It is a wonderful book that I would definitely recommend and will remember.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This is a wonderful music filled book. Gracie is passionately in love with David but her life as a musical instrument maker and repairer is turned upside down when a good deed by David thrusts him into an unwanted public spotlight. Gracie is knocked sideways by the truth revealed about David. She is lucky to be supported by an old friend and a young employee. We are lucky to be on this journey with Gracie. I loved the music part of it even though I am not a classical music fan. It's a lovely story.

What an inspiring book, Grace Atherton is about to find the people she can rely on. A great read about pulling yourself up from rock bottom and putting yourself back together again . A fascinating insight into the art of creating musical instruments and music, family and hope.

A well written and hypnotic book showcasing a story that is captivating, powerful and one that reveals the real and ugly nature of life and love. This story doesn't leap out from the pages but instead sees you quietly observe Grace's journey in a hauntingly raw manner as you witness the layers of her character peel away revealing an honest and broken soul in desperate need of repair. Only on the edge of losing everything can a person begin to heal and repair producing a story of courage and brutal honesty that leaves you championing Grace on from the sidelines.

I particularly enjoyed the unlikely friendship between Grace, Nadia and Mr Williams creating an odd dynamic to the book that is both unexpected and enjoyable. There's a steady rhythm to the flow of this book that glides like the bow across a cello creating a piece of work that feels artistic in merit and execution. Grace as a character, in all her flawed glory, has stayed with me since finishing this book which I feel is a testament to the power of the writing and I am very much looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton is a heartbreakingly, beautiful tale about relationships, the resilience of love, and the acceptance of loss all set to the backdrop of romantic cities and the arts.

Grace, a former musician with a traumatic musical schooling experience, enjoys a quiet life repairing instruments in a small English town. After a chance meeting a man named David, Grace and David are mad for each other and enjoy a long-distance relationship. One casual day while waiting for the Paris Metro, David performs a heroic act that catapults him to social media hero status which then turns the spotlight on his life. This turn of events showcased to Grace that things are other than what they seem. Leaning on unlikely acquaintances who become close friends, Grace attempts to unravel the truth while also attempting to live her life the best she can.

I enjoyed reading The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton. It was very well-written with well-developed characters. It wasn’t a typical love story but instead lent itself more to love, joy and happiness being partaken in many different forms. I’d really like to see what Grace does next; crossing my fingers that there will be a book two.

I received an advanced review copy (ARC) of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Grace is worthy of the time you will spend with her and such a great character!

Harris takes us on a gentle but complex and uplifting emotional ride. Her descriptions were beautiful, without being too twee.

The narrative is pleasing and enjoyable, a great feel-good read.

Love this one!

In this novel about shared partners, Grace is a wonderful character who believes she's found the love of her life with one drawback - he's married to someone else. Life goes on and Grace runs her cello making and instrument repair business with the help of a teenage prodigy and a courteous old man until the music stops suddenly and everything Grace holds dear is destroyed. The writing is engaging and the themes are handled well. I really enjoyed this book and I definitely would recommend it wholeheartedly. I would also recommend that readers listen to Libertango in various incarnations before reading "Grace".

I chose this book as I quite liked the description, a romantic story in Paris with violins and music? Sounds lovely. Although the book didn't grip me straight away, I got into it pretty quick and by the end, I loved it.

But the thing I loved most, was the way Ms Harris describes. I felt like I was right there in Paris with Grace and David, I was nestled in amongst the music lovers in Cremona, I was along side Grace in her Violin shop.

The story was quite beautiful, but the character who stole my heart wasn't Grace as you might expect, but Mr Williams. I'd actually love to read more and see where the characters have ended up.

I still can’t quite get over how much I loved this book. As in read it from end to end and lost a Sunday in the process, loved it. And that was made all the better because I didn’t expect to even like it very much. The Eleanor Oliphant parallels put me off, and I expected heavy music analogies that I wouldn’t be able to follow. Instead I discovered a beautiful story, highly evocative in its descriptive style, and a heroine in Grace who is contrastingly high in EQ. It’s a story about triumph, strong women and relationships in an incredibly real, relatable way. Grace reacts to her story’s twists and turns in such a believable way, and I as the reader, felt them in a very visceral way. Thought-provoking but incredibly easy to read, I enjoyed this book more than anything I’ve read in a very long time.