Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Amazing Grace Adams

i really enjoyed this book, it took me a while to get through it though but I couldn’t put it down in the last third. i really like her writing style and the characters were very interesting, albeit flawed. there were a few plot twists that i didn’t see coming, and definitely would urge people to check up on some of the content warnings because they kinda come out of nowhere

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fkshg8465's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Rounding up to a four. The books starts out in a way I’m thinking or going to be cute. It’s anything but. It’s arduous, and I was annoyed for a big part of it because it seemed like everything was being dragged out too slowly between the three timelines. But when evicting was finally revealed, I realized it needed to take ask this time.

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laheath's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was not what I expected, but so much more! It rotates among three time periods, 20+ years ago when Grace met her husband, 4 months ago when her life really took a downward turn, and present time when Grace is simply trying to get a cake to her daughter's 16th birthday party. Surprisingly, it wasn't difficult at all to keep up with the different time periods. It began as a familiar story of a middle-aged, perimenopausal woman who decided she was fed up with the everyday nuisances of her life, i.e., the things women are expected to put up with, and instead was going to take action rather than tolerate them anymore. There are several funny anecdotes about her standing up for herself, but as the story continues, it becomes more serious, and heartbreaking in ways that any mother could imagine. She learns more about herself and her family, and how she could have handled things differently without taking the blame for everything. As other reviews have mentioned, it did seem like the author tried to put a lot of issues into one story, but at the same time, combined with the flashbacks to the other time periods, they actually worked to explain Grace's situation. Wonderful debut and great cover!

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camchorse's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

2.5

Fran Littlewood's debut book uses a triple timeline format to chronicle what has led Grace Adams to the place of desperation she now finds herself in. Her daughter's 16th birthday has given her a reason to prove that she is still amazing and worthy of love. Unfortunately, despite Grace's best intentions, her journey to help her daughter celebrate her birthday is riddled with a series of unfortunate events.

The timeline jumps back and forth between 2002, four months before now and now. The previous time periods explain how Grace has ended up in her current predicament. I found the frequent jumping back and forth to be a little confusing. I could not always keep the details straight and the some of the situations Grace found herself in seemed to be far fetched.

Readers who enjoyed Where'd You Go, Bernadette? and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine will likely enjoy this one too. I found myself feeling impatient with the chaos surrounding Grace whether it was warranted or not.

Be sure to check the trigger warnings before reading this one.

Thanks to the Macmillan Audio Influencer Program for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

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kellyloubishop's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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readwithsabs's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Sadly this one was not for me. It was a slow long drawn out read. I had committed to 50% read before I knew I was not going to love it. I think the main reason it didn't work for me is because the author simply tried to tackle far too many sensitive themes ans in my opinion not in any great detail, therefore did not do any of them well. It was incredibly melodramatic with an unlikeable protagonist in Grace Adams and her teenage daughter Lotte. Told in present day with flashbacks to storytell how the events of Grace's past have effected her and bringing it around to her current situation.

I guess the author was trying to explore the importance of womanhood and all the nuances around being a strong woman.

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