This is such a sweet and beautiful story. It is amazing that through their grief Jess and Ryan were able to find one another and build a lovely family. This inspiring story will bring audiences to tears as they experience Jess and Ryan's hardships and how they work to overcome them.

I enjoyed this book. The author’s writing is authentic and open, we are lucky she shares so openly her experiences. There are some nice tips and greater understanding to be gleaned from within the book.

I enjoyed this story of a blended family. I loved that the author was truthful and didn't shy away the not so pretty. It was real and they showed the good and the bad.

Author Jessica Ronne has been a favorite FB page to follow since I heard the powerful story of how she and her husband found each other after the loss of their respective spouses to cancer. Melding two families together became a new adventure, complete with all the requisite highs and lows.

Having 8 kids in one house can be exciting as well as exhausting, as the Ronnes share their challenges, successes and unique perspectives. I laughed, cried and gathered useful tidbits from their amazing family in "Blended With Grit and Grace." If you're looking for a book that is an unexpected break from many parenting/family books and one that will challenge, encourage and inspire, then this book is for you.

I loved how Jess and Ryan each had a turn to share their feelings on a myriad of topics from grief to emotional struggles to parenting a special needs child...there's so much good stuff here. You will want to share this book with everyone you know! If you're looking for more, Jess also has another book by the title "Sunlight Burning at Midnight."

I was an early reader, thanks to the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This is a remarkable book, and, for me, a good book to read when I’m feeling like my life is hard (it's not!). I so appreciated the honesty and vulnerability of the author. If you’re the kind of non-fiction reader who wants easy answers or self-righteous polemics, go elsewhere. You’ll be disappointed. But if you're interested in being inspired by how two really smart parents work together and separately to blend their families after unspeakable tragedies, and keep on learning and stretching and eating dinner together (!) as they grow and change and see new possibilities and new complications, this book will take you on a wonderful journey. Life is messy, and it takes both grit AND grace to make it work!

The heartwarming story of a blended family who, with, as the title says, a bit of grit and grace (God's and their own), worked together against all odds to not only survive but flourish through grief, special needs, and typical family struggles. Their tale is inspiring by itself, but this books is also full of little bits of wisdom and even recipes for your own family to use as well.

A beautifully written memoir/self-help book. Reading everything from the recipes to the Ronne's own input on everything from the tragedy of loved ones battling cancer, blended families, to navigating teen years on top of an honest talk of taking care of our own mental health is the authors invitation to being part of their story. Jessica was very real and smart; honest stories about the struggles in her families life mixed with a wonderful, underlying sense of humor welcomes you to take helpful hints into your own life or just settle in with an excellently written good read. Thank you for giving me the chance to get to know this family...I read this from Netgalley and all I had to do was offer my honest opinion in review form. Here it is :)

Jessica Ronne doesn’t know me, and probably never will. I feel like she’s one of my friends though. I have a blended family through divorce/remarriage. My story is vastly different than hers, yet I found myself taking notes and telling my husband, “we really need to do this”. I appreciated all the different viewpoints her husband added in at times, and the recipes she included will very likely be attempted in my kitchen soon. This was an excellent book, and very well written!

Started very slow and not enough details to get you interested to then allow you to pay attention to the details involving what it takes to make this family. I read 26%, but then stopped due to lack of interest. Unfortunately this book isn’t for me.