from the first chapter i was intrigued with this novel. Tom's choices throughout the book were frustrating at times, but I think it was still a well-crafted debut. The narration was unique and beautifully written, unlike anything I've read before.I wish Tom had made different choices, as his ending felt a bit undeserved and too neatly wrapped up. However, I understand the reasons behind his actions. Overall, it was an ok read

The writing is both lyrical and grounded, with vivid descriptions that evoke a strong sense of place and atmosphere. Whether it’s the quiet introspection of the main character or the dynamic relationships she forms, Rothschild’s words draw the reader in, making them feel like a part of the story.

The characters in the novel are multi-dimensional and authentic, each carrying their own struggles, flaws, and desires. Their interactions feel genuine, and the way Rothschild explores their growth over the course of the book adds depth to the overall narrative. The relationships—whether familial, romantic, or platonic—are central to the story, and Rothschild handles them with sensitivity and insight.

It is definitely more character driven than plot driven for most of the book.

Wow. I could not put this book down. It starts out with a bang and I found myself going back to make sure I had in fact read it correctly. From there I was absolutely hooked.

The narrator is at first surprising, but very quickly turned out to be one of my favourite characters. A twisted, yet unexpectedly tender point of view which added an extra layer of suspense, and honestly quite a bit of anxiety. At times I was unsure whether to laugh, cry, smile, or scream - at Tom specifically - which made for a page turner!

What an impressive debut! Filled with likeable and unlikeable characters, this book is heavily character driven. It focused on emotional themes such as trauma, loss, and grief. Fantastic debut.

Finding Grace felt like a literary novel that ended quite like a romance novel. I liked the premise and really liked the narrator's POV. I wish there had been more establishment of the main characters before the first big plot twist.

Finding Grace centers on Honor and Tom, a couple trying for another baby. However, Honor’s obsession with being a mother to another child has blinded her to the family already in front of her.

This book has a wild plot twist that I never saw coming. I can’t share it without totally giving away the plot, but it made for an interesting read. Unfortunately, this plot twist should could with some serious TW, so I’m unsure how that will be marketed.

This is not my typical book, but I enjoyed it for the most part. I feel it really jumped the shark at the end and made a poignant book feel much less so.

While I didn’t particular love any of the characters, I did really enjoy the writing style and would read this author again.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC!

What a wonderful book this is!
I loved reading this story through the author’s brilliant choice of narrator.
Brava, Loretta Rothschild!

A book with lots of twists and turns making it a perfect read while on a beach or on vacation. The proganist’s dilemma kept me engrossed till the last page.

Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild is an amazing debut novel that I highly recommend. From the first chapter, I was drawn into the story, captivated by its unique and fun narration style. There’s not much I can say without revealing the first big twist, but the book unfolds in a way that kept me completely engaged.

The characters’ dilemmas and decisions were real and thought-provoking. While some moments were deeply emotional and difficult to read, the overall experience was enjoyable and absolutely worth it. The novel balances deep, raw human experiences with a compelling story that feels both moving and immersive.

If you enjoy books that challenge your perspective while keeping you hooked with fascinating characters and an intriguing plot, Finding Grace is a must-read. I’ll be eagerly awaiting what Rothschild writes next!

Finding Grace grips the reader's attention by the first chapter. It was so unexpected that I raced through this novel. I found the POV to be unique and the writing to be well done, but I had trouble connecting with the MMC and understanding his choices. I am also ultra-sensitive to some of the subject matter, so I likely judged this book harsher than the average reader.

Narration performed by Fiona Button was outstanding.

I received an ARC and ALC from St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After 10 days…I finally finished this book.
I think I do have a love-hate relationship, because at sometimes all I could think was ‘this is so boring’, ‘when will this end’, ‘such dramatic characters’, and at the near rare moment I felt like, ‘maybe it’s a beautiful love story’, ‘I like the way the characters are portrayed and drowned in each other’.
On the other hand, this book is a weirdo, the point of view, and plot twist, the breakups, the tingling ropes of who did that what happens to the—etc.
Thank you, NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Finding Grace is a heartbreaking novel.
Honor and her husband have a beautiful daughter named Chloe. Honor wants another baby, her marriage is strained due to infertility issues.
Complex relationships, emotional, unforgettable characters that kept me captivated.
Love, raw emotions, grief, secrets kept. A story that will pull on your heartstrings.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Finding Grace was a totally unique story for me. Honestly, based on the cover alone, I may have never picked it up, but once I saw Jodi Picoult's endorsement, I knew I needed to get my hands on it. I could not turn the pages fast enough, I was completely engrossed. Some of the early reviews had me expecting something a bit different, but I agree with the blanket advice to go into this blind. A strong debut and I will be excited to read more from Loretta Rothschild in the future.

1.5 stars

This really disappointed me. I don’t think this book was for me.

I was expecting more from it because the first chapter actually made me go, "Hahh??!!" The ending of that chapter came out of nowhere. I thought the book would be gut-wrenching and emotionally devastating, but instead, it went downhill from there.

I didn’t like Tom’s character. Honestly, I didn’t like any of the characters in this book. That made it even harder to stay engaged.

This book made me lose interest and drained my motivation to finish both this book and another one I was reading. It took me a long time to get through it.

Note: Thank you to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! What a great debut. Honor is married to Tom and they have a daughter. When tragedy strikes can life go on? The novel involves infertility, egg donation, surrogacy and secrets. Secrets that can tear the ones you love apart.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this novel but I loved it. It was a unique narration of the book. A very fast paced book because you really want to know what is happening. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the arc copy.

I liked this, and I found the tension in this book to be very good. Rothschild had a really good writing style and it carried this book. I really enjoyed it

Went into this book without knowing much about it, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.. well it does revolve around something that changed the course of this family’s life, it is also about love, redemption, family, and emotions

Get ready for a really wild, deeply emotional ride with this story of the most profound loss imaginable. The first chapter will make your jaw open and hit the floor and will take the wind out of you.
As husband and father Tom begins to right his life again, another surprise is on the horizon which will carry the book to the end. It's important to not say too much to give the reader the full impact of this story, so I will leave it here.
It is a raw emotional drama with such difficult themes like loss, grief, infertility and secrets that are right on the surface but yet untold. This was hard for me because Tom is such a good guy, level headed and is a people pleaser. At the same time, I understood his need to fill his life again with love. Having Honor narrate the story was also a good choice the author made because she gets so much clarity to her life and regrets especially discovering her mother's secret which allows Honor to forgive but there were times, Honor wasn't a likeable character and I felt like Tom put up with a lot of unnecessary selfish nonsense.
I liked the side characters of the Sunday Blues group who care about Grace like a daughter and all of Tom's friends who are like an extended family for him and little Henry. That was gratifying because in times of loss, there need to be supportive people in your life. The author did a terrific job building those storylines. I would have liked to have seen more bread crumbs and build up to the Laurie character's behavior to make the end of the story have a greater impact for the reader. It seemed to come out of the blue. A reader likes to say "I had a feeling that was going to happen!"
And towards the end, the movie Notting Hill came to mind which kind of had the same boy meets girl, feel good until it crashes down and then boy seeks girl out on a car ride through London.
The overall message to take away from this story is to show appreciation the people in your life and don't squander time away from them with unimportant things because in a moment, it could all be lost. An amazing debut!

What a fantastic debut! I went in pretty blind to this book, but had seen a few great reviews so was really curious to see what this was all about. And it ended up being a complicated literary love story and unlike one I had read before.

Before diving into things, I do need to warn that there is quick, yet traumatic and shocking scene right in the first chapter that I was not ready for, but sets the course of the rest of the novel. I don’t want to share too much as to spoil the gist of the story, but know that it is quite sad and tragic and I am happy to share more if needed!

Anyways... this book was written like a literary fiction where it really explored a lot of profound and discussion worthy topics like grief, fertility, the power of relationships, fresh starts, hope, but also had the elements of a messy romance and some mystery. It did take me a little bit to really get into the groove of the story and become hooked + the narrator/ POV was interesting too and took some time to adjust to. But I think that made the story feel unique and I did end up enjoying this perspective and voice.

Now, don’t also go in expecting to like all the characters and their actions because oh my gosh some times it felt like watching a train wreck! There were so many moments where in my head I was like "no don't do it!" and then of course they did it and it created more tensions and drama. At one point this book became so addictive that I couldn’t put it down because I just needed to know what how things would eventually transpire.

As for the ending it was both chaotic, but also a little moving and optimistic. I am am still a bit torn with how I ultimately felt about how things ended up, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed this and think others will too!

Finding Grace gave me icky feelings through pretty much the entirety of the book. The narrator of the book is Honor, but she's telling the story of her husband as a dead person, because she and her daughter are killed in a terrorist attack at the end of the first chapter. Quite frankly, I didn't like Honor when she was alive, brief introduction that it was, so I probably wouldn't be fond of her being the storyteller. Except she is, and the story is about her husband Tom falling in love again after being a sad sack for almost five years. Grief is normal, what he does is not. At first I wanted to root for Tom, because surely Honor's replacement won't be as snotty and cruel as her. Except for Tom gets a letter in the mail that reveals the egg donor that produced his son Henry via surrogate, and he can't resist seeking her out. And he falls head over heels for Grace, who is a doppelgänger of his dead wife. Which his and Honor's friends can't help but see, and doesn't feel wrong at all. Of course, on the wrongness scale, it doesn't come anywhere close to the fact that Tom never tells Grace (who seems to be the most likeable character in this book and grieving the loss of a spouse of her own) that the reason he met her is because he found out it was her egg that produced Henry. Even though Tom is genuinely in love with her, at the point where he keeps actively lying to Grace, I couldn't help but think that he and Honor deserved each other. Not surprisingly this eventually blows up in his face, but I won't spoil how it plays out. Do I like stories where someone is able to find love again after the loss of a significant other. Definitely, and some are really well done. But I just didn't like these characters, I didn't like it being told from the perspective of the dead spouse, and I didn't really love how the story played out. It creates a sense of suspense, but I guess I like the more romantic genre angle. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.