Amazing Grace Adams is amazing. A brilliant portrayal of midlife menopausal stress, family drama, love and loss. Haunting, with dark humour, honest and so much heart.

This is one of those thought-provoking books that make you laugh and cry at the same time. Really well written, and touches on some painful and emotional issues. It’s about love, grief … and life. Highly recommended. If this is a debut I can’t wait for the next. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this fabulous book.

I started this book on holiday and although not my usual holiday read I actually really enjoyed it. I felt I could relate to Grace in so many ways. Who hasn’t been stuck in traffic? Life totally spiralling out of control and just wanted to abandon their car . I know I’ve been there but never had the courage to do it. Well Grace does and then the story develops by telling you how she met her husband. Had her daughter got to mid 40’s and her life is crashing all around her.
It’s beautifully written and takes on many issues that woman are experiencing in their life. Work, motherhood , wife and perimenopause. You want her to succeed and I actually shed a few tears while reading. I would highly recommend this book.

Grace Adams - perimenopausal, estranged from her teenage daughter Lotte and trying to carry a Love Island-themed cake across North London - isn't feeling particularly amazing. As Grace's turbulent Falling Down-style day unfolds, layers of her past are stripped away, encouraging the audience to warm to her - this fascinating person who started out as a prizewinning, polyglot 'superwoman' and TV personality, and ended up as a largely invisible mum who ''missed the boat' when she got pregnant and had to take a chance on her daughter's father, eking out a living translating terrible books and waiting for him (and her daughter) to leave her. But something still feels unexplained...well.

Two thirds of the way through the book, there is a painful twist that some readers may find upsetting. I thought this was very assured for a debut novel and the author has clearly worked hard to create something seamless and beautiful out of painful material. Rest assured, there are some laugh-out-loud moments too and you'll be rooting for Grace and her family by the time you reach the end!

An absolute joy to read but it made me sob ! I would recommend it to friends but I think you need to be made of strong stuff for it not to break your heart !

Quite a read …. Touching on some very relevant emotional subjects this book tells you the story of Grace husband Ben and daughter Lottie … going between past and present the reader is taken into the highs and lows of Grace’s life. A good book that will resonate with many

3.5 stars


It took me a while to warm to Grace, but with each new layer of her story, I did warm to her.
Some genuinely warm, and moving moments amongst the chaos of getting a cake across London.
At times it felt too busy, but overall it hits the mark.
A fab debut.

Initially I thought this was going to be a perimenopause story, then it becomes apparent that to add to her woes Grace has a teenage daughter who knows best and is getting herself into a pickle. Not content with those two horrors the author piles on the disasters with a failing marriage and past trauma. So it is not a feel-good story, perhaps if you are weeping your way through your forties and fifties this may make you think that your life isn't that bad - although go and get that HRT, it really does make life better! OK - life advice over and back to the book - not a pile of laughs, but a touching story of families, love, grief, frustration and jealousy.

This book is an emotional roller coaster and sometimes it became so intense I wanted to get off. You will not get to the end unscathed! I'm amazed that this is Fran Littlewood's first novel,
All the characters are so relateable, as are their relationships. This would be an amazing bookclub choice.

This book was brilliant and had me in its grip from the very first page. Grace and Ben are multi-linguists and first meet at a competition for polyglot. Coming first and second respectively they decide to share the top prize of a weekend in Cornwall. Their mutual attraction is evident from the start and they go on to form a relationship. The novel covers their lives together and the tragedies they have to try and cope with. At the same time there's a parallel story of Grace's battle with the symptoms of menopause and how it affects her ability to cope. Beautifully written and descriptive. Highly recommended. Can't wait to read more from this writer.

Really really enjoyed this. Sad, funny and touching. A moving story that keeps you entertained right to the end.

Many thanks to NetGalley, and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for a free ARC of this book.

A fantastic read!

First up, I have to say how amazed I am that this is a debut novel. I cannot wait to see what this author writes next. Amazing Grace Adams is a powerful, moving, riveting, and wholly believable novel about a woman who feels she has become invisible as she hits perimenopause and both her husband and daughter reject her. As soon as I read the book description, I thought of the movie Falling Down, and—indeed—this film inspired the idea behind this book. However, this story is told in a unique voice and perspective and comes alive in its own brilliant way.

‘Grace is hot. There’s the sun, like boiled breath, on the roof of her car but it’s more than that. This feeling from nowhere that she’s been set on fire from the inside out.’ … this opening line sets up the scene wonderfully, and when Grace ‘breaks’, the tension is delightful.

In many aspects this novel offers a quiet commentary on the sad state of modern society, especially in relation to victim blaming. Happily, it also shows the kindness of strangers—both older and younger, and even a teen boy, which I found incredibly heartening in a time when all the news seems to show us are endless stabbings and assaults. As well as the obvious angst in this story, the reader is also treated to the most wonderful humour and lively dialogue.

If you enjoy reading about love, loss, grief, life’s ironies, family drama, woman power, and ultimate redemption, then you’ll adore this book. Because it takes a deep look at the human condition, this is a novel that people from all walks of life will relate to on some level. If I could, I’d give ten stars for this amazing story. I can see this becoming a huge hit and definitely a tale made for adaptation to the big screen.


***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.

I cannot believe that this is a debut novel, it is beautofully written with an utterly compelling storyline and well developed characters that were all beleievable, relatable and some of which I adored. I read this book in one sitting and I didn't want it to end.

A book I read in a day - quite fittingly as the basic premise of the story takes place in a single day, in fact, it’s one of the worst days of Grace’s life.

The story is told over the course of her day, the day of her daughter Lotte’s 16th birthday, a day when Grace’s world imploded around her. Whilst the day continues, the story is told from previous times in the life of Grace and occasionally from her husband Ben’s point of view as well. This backstory covers their initial meeting, the follow up and then a life changing event that brings them back together. The story also includes a life changing event that signals the start of the end for their marriage.

Reading this book made me want to cheer, scream and cry at different times. In fact, one part made me cry and I didn’t even realise until I get the tears on my cheeks.

Beautifully written and told, no wonder this book is being described as a book to watch for in 2023. Read it and find out why.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review..

There are moments in ‘Amazing Grace Adams’ when it’s difficult to believe that this is Fran Littlewood’s debut novel, so adept is she at managing a complex timeline as she tells the story of mid-forties Grace and her fractured family. Whilst the central narrative focuses on Grace’s frustrating journey to deliver a birthday cake to her estranged sixteen-year-old daughter, Lotte, now living with her father Ben, we learn of key moments over her whole life so that we can understand her irrational behaviour.
Grace is very angry: so angry that she abandons her car in the middle of a traffic jam, that she steals a golf club and weaponizes it, that she shouts at strangers. She is also very sad, sad enough to sit down on the pavement and sob, sad enough to prostrate herself outside Ben’s flat, sad enough to beg Lotte for forgiveness publicly.
As we discover all the reasons why Grace cracks on a hot Saturday in north London, we feel for her more and more. The author writes about the family with huge sympathy. Some might label Lotte as an obnoxious teenager but there is far more to this vulnerable girl than a stroppy stereotype. Ben, too, makes mistakes but is ultimately honest and supportive. Grace does not have a ‘nightmare’ family and this makes her breakdown all the more credible and moving.
I would be surprised if anyone picking up this novel is not drawn into the narrative, given the author’s skills of characterisation and setting. It’s easy to appreciate Grace’s frantic feelings, her obsession with her cake mission and her despair. And there are many humorous moments when the reader wishes they could be a little more Grace as she dares to say what many only think!
Without giving away a key aspect of the narrative, it’s a shame that the final school meeting and its aftermath in the corridor is so unbelievable. Nowadays, the situation would never be handled in this disorganised way. Reality has been sacrificed to ensure that a specific plot line works. That apart, this is a novel which is likely to appeal to anyone, who recognises the ‘…crazed truth that no matter how hard they try, mothers feel they have failed their kids, that they are not good enough, not quite up to the job.’ It also reminds us of the importance of communication, no matter how painful. But never in a preachy way.
My thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

In places funny, in places tragic. I think this book will resonate with many 40+ women. It felt very frantic and almost voyeuristic to watch Grace's life imploding, and in that respect I found out quite a difficult read. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What an emotive read, especially for a woman hitting perimenopause!
Grace Adams' life seems like it is unravelling, and though the story is set on one particular day, we revisit key moments of her past to piece together the times in her life which led her to the situation she has found herself in on that particular day.
She's your average mid-40s woman, embarking upon the changes that occur midlife for us, except so much has happened to her along the way, it's not smooth sailing at all.
Faced with a failing marriage, a wayward teenage daughter, and a huge personal loss, Grace is losing grip on reality as she fights to right the wrongs she feels she has instigated.
I felt myself get teary as I read, racing through the pages, needing to know what was happening and why.
It truly highlighted the lack of support many women face when dealing with grief and the monumental changes that life brings us as we age.
Honestly, Grace Adams, you are Amazing, thought you chose some interesting ways to show it!
Many thanks to NetGalley, and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is, to me, about how society fails women. It fails to support them when awful things have happened in their lives and instead punishes them when they fall apart. A difficult, painful and triggering read. Devastatingly sad. This book covers death of a child, mental health problems, marriage difficulties, and abuse. I found myself reading it with increasing horror and anxiety.

A highly recommended read, I can see why it is considered to be 2023’s fiercest debut and perhaps, book of the year! Grace has had enough so she abandons her car in a traffic jam. I really resonated with Grace as how many of us sometimes wish we could just walk away from our lives, even for just a short time - I know I do! However, instead of walking away Grace walks towards her life and tries tries to put it back together.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin and the author for the opportunity to read this relatable book.

A most unusual book. The writing was touching and evocative, but I found it difficult to read due to the constant jumping from one period of time to another.. I think, like Grace, that I would have been tempted to get out of the car and leave it in the middle of the traffic jam..
Thank you for the chance to read and review this book.