This was better than I expected. Makes you want to be a writer. The big family reveal toward the end felt a bit rushed and unbelievable. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

In all honesty, I picked this book because I thought the protagonist, Sara Grayson, was a lesbian. Aside from one very minor character, the book is pretty straight. Given that I didn't realize this until I'd read 1/3 of the book and considering that I finished the book, it's heteronormativity should not be held against it ;)

The plot is fairly simple: a privileged white woman isn't living up to her potential until circumstances force her to make some some changes. Will she succeed? What really elevated this book for me was the use of humor and clever writing. I was a tad disappointed when a romance was introduced, as it struck me as mundane and unnecessary. I much preferred Sara's relationships to the other characters.

I'd consider this a definite step above a beach read, but still light enough to get through pretty quickly. As I mentioned, I really enjoyed the humor and the various characters. I also liked the settings of NYC, Maine and London. Made me a little jealous, in fact!

I think this funny, breezy, feel-good novel will appeal to a lot of female fiction readers.
#NetGalley

I absolutely loved this! It was a fun read but not necessarily a light or “beach” read. There was some heavier stuff, but it was so great. I laughed out loud and cried at times. I love the mystery interwoven throughout the book. There was just so much…from grief and loss to mystery to friendship, family and love. I enjoyed it very much and cannot wait to buy copies to share.

What a promising, delightful debut.
I stayed deep into the night just to finish it and I just planned to start it and see what is it about.
The story made me laugh, felt sadness, I was amused and entertained through. The characters were nicely built, everything was going in perfect pace and the settings were wonderfully described that I had no difficulties imagining them. Cant wait to see what Joani Elliott will bring to us next. I will definitely read it.

Great story by Joani Elliott. I love the Audacity of Sara Grayson. Great beach read and warm your heart up book .

As someone who spends a fair bit of time writing (and has unfinished novels and novellas on the computer), I could totally relate to the sense of dread Sara feels when given the task of writing her late mother's final novel.

A few things that had me hooked:
The quotes used to open each chapter. So many resonated with the writer in me.
The characters, especially Sara.
The author's choice of locations with their distinct descriptions. (I adored Maine when I visited and have London on my 'bucket list' for future travel.

Within the overarching plot of Sara writing her mother's novel, there are also themes surrounding love, relationships with family, embracing your calling even when terrified, and even a bit about trusting others.

While I still give this 5 stars for being a delightful read (and providing those quotes that spoke to me), I did have times when I wanted to hop into the story and give Sara a good shake to wake up and get past the obstacles she is creating for herself. Her self-absorbed walk through life can grate on the reader. That her own mother felt the need to hide her own romantic relationship to avoid upsetting her adult daughter seemed over the top. Then I thought about a few people in my life that are also quite self-absorbed and require 'special treatment.' That made the character flaws in Sara easier to tolerate.

I absolutely loved this book and all of the characters. There was so much depth to this story focused on the craft of writing and family. Sarah stopped writing after her famous author mother’s publisher harshly criticized her first book. When Cassandra dies, she leaves an unfinished fifth book in her most successful series which she designates Sarah as the writer in her will. With the support of her sister, Anna-Kath, Sarah takes on the challenge, but must delve into some family secrets before she can accomplish her goal. At the beginning of each chapter is a quote about writing from famous authors which truly enhanced the story. I can’t say enough about this book, and thank NetGalley for the ARC.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

An enjoyable read by Joani Elliott. This was a fun read about self discovery and perseverance. It was funny, the pacing was good and the characters were a joy to read about. It’s a nice read with a happy ending. I would describe this book as charming.

I will not be giving this title a full review, as the publisher has chosen to continue giving white supremacists a platform that they absolutely do not deserve. This is nothing personal against this book in particular, but the publisher has shown a pattern of putting out books I have no interest in ever reviewing.

Well, it's probably going to be an unpopular opinion, but I didn't really enjoy reading this book. I feel bad saying this because I am a writer and the story has relatable elements. I won't say I disliked the story because it seemed like an endearing story, the plot is interesting, touching, at times. But I didn't enjoy reading it mainly because:

The main protagonist is annoying.

The story lacks interesting situations & dialogues, which makes it painfully slow and repetitive.

It talks about some secrets but after a certain point, I stopped caring about the secrets.

Things I like: the bonding of Sara and Anne. And the way every chapter starts with lovely writing quotes.

Overall, I am disappointed.

Thank you, Netgalley for the review copy.

Such a witty story with lovable characters! I'm absolutely recommended that my book club read this because I know that they'll love it!

Thank you Netgalley, Post Hill Press, and Author Joani Elliott for this ARC.

First, let me say, this is not at all the kind of book I read. I thought I'd try it because I really enjoy non-fiction humor and funny cozy mysteries, but this was not at all my cup of tea. However, I can see why readers of this genre would love it--it has it all: romance, mystery, thrill, crime (sort of), emotional back stories and relationships, tension, etc.

Sara Grayson’s mother is the famous best selling author, Cassandra Bond. When she dies her will stipulates that Sara is to write the fifth and final novel in her Ellery Dawson series. Sara is an annoying character, self absorbed, unobservant, seemingly uninterested in her family and in a slump after a divorce. Once I’d got used to her character I really enjoyed this novel. There’s a few complicated family mysteries along the way and many of the supporting characters are more complex than I expected. There’s a bit of humour and I really liked the literary quotes at the start of each chapter. An entertaining read.

I found this book to be very entertaining and engaging from the beginning. Sara was a very likeable character and I liked how everyone around her encouraged her to be the person she was meant to be, even if that mean confronting her with things she didn’t want to hear or deal with. It was also nice to see that despite doubting herself at first, she still gave all she got to the writing and the people around her. I also liked how every chapter started with a quote other authors.

I would definitely recommend this book!

The Audacity of Sara Grayson was a difficult read, primarily due to Sara's personality. The number of times she crumbled over an innocuous comment or even the suggestion of one drove me crazy. Everything had to be all about her all of the time - her mother had to hide the seriousness of her long-term relationship from her because she couldn't get over the comments he made (years ago) to help her edit her book. Everyone else in Sara's life knew all about Cassandra and Phil and their relationship, but Sara had to be kept in the dark because she couldn't handle it. It's only one example of the insanity this family supposedly deals with to keep her happy.

Besides my deep dislike of the main character, there were too many storylines to be fully explored within the confines of the main plot. The mystery and family drama was always secondary to Sara's selfishness. There were so many chapters about her bad eating habits, writing process, and overwhelming emotional reactions, with almost nothing about everything else going on in the background. In the end, it left the resolution feeling shallow because too much focus was placed elsewhere in the story.

My favourite character, by far, was Nik. He was a breath of fresh air when he finally showed up. Complex and interesting, he started to make the story easier to read. Unfortunately, this ended up making all the other characters seem more one-dimensional. For someone with very little going on in her life, I don't know where Sara found the gall to be condescending towards Nik, knowing absolutely nothing about him, but she did a great job of playing the pretentious outsider to his ignorant townie. Once everything was cleared up, she still made assumptions about him and his past and treated him poorly when all he did was bend over backwards to support her.

I pushed my way through this one, but I'm not sure it was worth it.

Meet Sara. She has my dream job as a Hallmark greeting card creator. She’s a little all over the place and was left with her mother’s book to finish. Kinda Evelyn Hugo-esque! I loved it so much!

Joani Elliott's "The Audacity of Sara Grayson" was a sweet, summer read...esp. for the wannabe writer!

While I considered the story itself traditional and predictable Chick Lit, I *loved* how Elliott introduced excellent writing advice, as well as, suggestions for books about writing.

And don't think because I said it was traditional and predictable Chick Lit that it means I didn't find it interesting and fun! I love a pink cover. (Though the term Chick Lit irritates me to no end.) This novel has family drama, a hint of mystery, and, of course, a delightful love story.

If you're a reader and writer who loves a cozy summer indulgence, you must pick up Joani Elliott's "The Audacity of Sara Grayson."

Thank you to NetGalley and Post Hill Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I don't think there are really words to perfectly sum up this book. It's really about one woman's journey to find herself with some serious trial-by-fire!

Sara's famous suspense novelist mother dies of cancer, and leaves a bombshell in her will: she didn't finish the final book in her current (and by far most popular) series. Furthermore, she has chosen Sara herself to write it!

Sara is sure that her mother must be joking; after an attempt to write a novel a decade earlier that did not get great feedback from her mother's editor, she decided that fiction wasn't for her. In fact, her big writing assignments currently are writing greeting cards and product descriptions. However, when the publisher expresses the same doubts Sara herself has, she boldly decides that she's going to write this book and show them all--including herself. During her writing process (on a very tight deadline), she uncovers a lot of truths about herself and her family--including some things from the past that her parents had gone to great lengths to keep buried. She also finds love again (her ex-husband was a total twatwaffle who was a perpetual failson with many failed "start-ups").

I really enjoyed this story. Sara was an extremely likable and relatable character, and going on such an intense journey with her was amazing. I really related to her feelings of inadequacy and insecurity, especially about her writing. Failing is hard, and getting back up after "failing" is a lot harder. It was easy to root for her along the way, and I especially loved how she spontaneously agreed to write the book after someone told her she couldn't, even though that person was agreeing with her own inner thoughts. I can definitely relate to some impulsivity due to anger!

Overall, this was a good debut novel, and I would definitely recommend this book. This book leaves you with a warm feeling that is going to stick with you!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Sara Grayson always wanted to write, and she does–as a greeting card writer. She could never live up to the success of her world-famous mother. But when her mother dies and specifies in her will that Sara is to write the much-anticipated final book of her mystery series, Sara starts to wonder if she can actually do it. As she throws herself into the writing and the world her mother created, she discovers that there’s more that could threaten her mother’s legacy than just this one book.

This is a great summer reading choice if you love books about books with a little side of humor and romance.

What would you do if your mom died and she left the final installment of her highly anticipated book series all up to you? (You’ve never actually written a book before.) Welcome to Sara Grayson’s life. Well, that’s one part of it, at least.

Sara quickly learns (or, rather, is reminded) that writing a book is not an easy process. You have to give so much of yourself to it. She learns not only about her writing but about herself and uncovers some deeply buried family secrets in the process. What happens when you find out things that your parents were hiding from you your whole life and they’re both dead? Ask Sara.

This one took a while for me to get into. It just didn’t pick up for a while for me, personally. But once it did, I was hooked. I couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed that it had a little bit of everything. There was a romance subplot (and I mean subplot, like it was one of the least important parts of the book but I cherished it anyway). There was a suspense aspect to it and there were so many twists and turns, I never knew what to expect next. When things started to look like they were going in one direction and it was smooth sailing, there was another thing that happened to shake things up. That definitely made me fly through to the end.

I had some trouble connecting with Sara in the beginning. To be honest, she kinda annoyed me. She was so wrapped up in everything going on in her life that she didn’t bother to really ask about anyone else’s or be involved beyond the surface, then had the never to wonder why she wasn’t in the loop. She was so comfortable with her assumptions about everyone else’s life and how it was so much better than her own because she’d gone through tough times. Not to downplay her experiences because they were rough -- losing both parents and going through a divorce -- but like… babe, other people have issues too. I definitely started to like her more when she started to break out of that.

Part of what made the book so enjoyable was seeing the character growth Sara had and knowing the journey she went on to get there. Overall, I give this book 3 stars! Shoutout to NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of this book which is on shelves now if you’re interested in reading it yourself!