It is impossible to summarize the plot (even vaguely) without spoilers, so I will instead touch on some themes found in the book and my overall reaction.

First, the writing is lovely and the narration by Fiona Button is excellent. FINDING GRACE is a predominantly character driven story dealing with some heavy topics. Themes of infertility, loss, deception, and redemption run through the entire book. There are moral choices that will leave you questioning right and wrong and wondering what you would do when the line between them is irrevocably blurred.

Loretta Rothschild’s debut is unique in that the major plot twist comes early on. It’s what happens next that kept me engaged. It’s best to go into this book blind, but with the understanding that it covers some difficult ground.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

What do you do when you lose the two most important people in your world? You want to die but find out that you have a baby on the way to live for. Themes of surrogacy, egg donation, grief. The story is beautifully written and told from the dead wife's perspective. Narrator was great.

Oh goodness, I really liked this book. I knew there was going to be a twist at the end of the first chapter, and indeed there was, and I loved the way it set up the narrative for the rest of the book. I was impressed with the way the narrative flowed, the point of view masterfully weaving together past and present. There were things that happened in the book that made me inwardly scream at the MMC, but the author also managed to make his choices have fidelity in the world he had created for himself. I always worry about whether a book with an unusual premise (like this one) will live up to its promise, and I believe Finding Grace did.

I received an advance copy of this audiobook for review. The description interested me, but it was the sudden turn of events at the start of this book that hooked me. I don’t know that I’ve ever read a story that has shocked me to my core like this one did. I just had to know what happened, and I must say that I was very happy with where this story ended.

I have had the ALC of this book in my NetGalley app for several months (thank you Macmillan Audio!) and I didn't reread the synopsis before starting the book today. That turned out to be a good move because going in blind was the best choice for this story.

The first 10 minutes of this audio had me SHOOK. I was absolutely invested in the story and couldn't stop listening for the rest of the afternoon. There are hilarious one-liners, absolutely heartbreaking scenes, characters that you want to root for but that do some very questionable things, and one very lovely poem you'll want to frame and put on your wall. The ending of this story had me reeling!

The narrator, Fiona Button, gave a wonderful performance. She delivered all of the emotion and humor of the story and really made me connect with the characters. There were several moments when I gasped or laughed out loud, and that is rare! This story is delivered from a unique perspective and Fiona's performance made it such an enjoyable listening experience.

4 stars. To keep this short and spoiler free; -this is a truly unique debut (you’ll just have to read to find out) that explores parenthood, love, loss, grief and tragedy. You’ll feel all the feels, good and bad, while reading as it’s a slower, character-driven novel that follows how these individuals attempt to work through crisis after the fact. Listened on audio releasing June 10, 2025.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book had me bawling within the first 15 minutes—Finding Grace is an emotional rollercoaster from beginning to end. Loretta Rothschild masterfully crafts a story that pulls at your heartstrings with every chapter. The character development is truly outstanding; I felt deeply connected to so many of the people in this story, hence me heartbreaking for them all and feeling their angst about past secrets and how they are going to cause so much pain.

The audiobook narration adds another powerful layer. The narrator’s English accent and delivery were spot-on, capturing every nuance of emotion in a way that made the experience even immersive and hard to stop listening too.

If you’re looking for a story that will move you, stay with you, and maybe even break your heart a little, this is it. I this is so hard to write without spoilers but prepare the tissues and dive in.

This book had me gasping to myself on public transit while I listened to the audiobook version read by Fiona Button, who proved to be a delightful narrator. While motherhood-centered thrillers aren’t always my favorite, the premise of this one was unique enough to keep me interested throughout.

I was immediately taken in by the cover art and the intriguingly vague plot synopsis for this domestic thriller debut by Loretta Rothschild. I’m afraid my review will have to be just as vague as the plot synopsis because I would hate to reveal basically any details about the story and risk depriving any reader of the carefully plotted, deliciously twisty journey they’ll take while reading this unique thriller. I highly recommend going in blind to preserve the suspense.

Tom is our dubious protagonist. He’s deeply engulfed in grief, but he makes some absolutely insane decisions throughout the novel that make it somewhat difficult to root for him. There are a few instances of too-coincidental and slightly melodramatic occurrences to further the narrative and a TON of instances where the characters could have saved themselves a lot of grief by communicating better (or at all).

Overall, this was a juicy and enthralling thriller that I recommend listening to on audio!

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to be an early listener of this upcoming title!

What if the happiest time of the year turned into the worst time of your life?
For Tom, his life turns upside down as a bomb takes out his wife and daughter. But a strange taste of fate greets him a couple of weeks after this tragedy, which might turns his life around.

It's me, hi. I'm the outlier, it's me.

Everyone loves this book and I can somewhat see why. It's emotional, it's different, and the writing is very strong, especially for a debut novel. I really liked how it started out and was shocked almost immediately. However...I absolutely despised the male main character Tom. I mean I loathed him.

It's difficult to give a complete review because anything I would say about why I hated Tom goes deep into spoiler territory and since the blurb doesn't go there, I won't either. Suffice it to say, I found him to be a total gaslighting liar and couldn't move past it. The ending is trite and silly and wraps everything up way too neatly.

I listened to this partially as an audiobook and read the print copy for the rest. I actually liked it better in print because the author's choice of narrator within the plot (not the person who read the audiobook) was really strange and felt occasionally creepy and occasionally eye rolling.

Like I said, many people have really loved this book and I'm an outlier because it didn't work for me. I do think it would be interesting to have as a book club choice because there's a lot to talk about and debate.

There is so little that can be said about this story that isn't a spoiler. Some things I loved are that the story pulled me in right away. The audio narration was excellent, I loved the London setting, and the premise felt fresh and unique.
My one complaint is the repetitiveness of Tom choosing not to tell Grace the truth over and over. That got frustrating. Also, the ending felt a bit too tidy for me personally.

I appreciated that the story was told from Ana’s point of view, who is Tom's first wife. Even though the main focus is on Tom and Grace, Ana’s perspective added depth and complexity to the narrative. Understanding her struggles and motivations helped convey the emotional weight of the plot, making her feel more like a fully developed character rather than just a supporting role.

Finding Grace is a compelling blend of love, secrets, and what-ifs that kept me flipping the pages. Loretta Rothschild skillfully weaves the complex tapestry of Honor's life — from her joyful days with her daughter Chloe to the aching desire for another child. The shocking event that rocks their world hits hard and changes everything, prompting decisions that echo through their families for years. The characters are layered and relatable, especially as old loves and new passions collide. I appreciated the emotional depth and the way Rothschild explores the consequences of choices made in desperation. That said, some plot points felt a bit predictable, and I wish certain twists had been more surprising. Overall, a heartfelt read with enough intrigue to keep you hooked — even if not everything wraps up perfectly. Three stars for a story that gently lingers in your mind afterward.

Thanks to MacMillan Audio & NetGalley for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book's opening chapter reveals a narrator who is deeply annoying and self-involved, and then seemingly destroys the entire novel right out from under the reader. The end of the first chapter really packs a wallop! It threw me for a loop, so I guess I can understand why the publisher is keeping it under wraps.

<spoiler>That said, the rest of the book, though voice-acted wonderfully by Fiona Button, suffers from a fair bit of glurge. Honor, from her perch in the afterlife, watches her husband and new baby, birthed via surrogate via donor eggs, for 5 years until a truly unlikely "clerical error" from the agency that provided the eggs creates a situation that Tom cannot hold himself back from: finding the egg donor who *just happens* to live nearby, despite her having donated in Italy.

The rest of the novel involves Tom falling for this woman, Grace (Honor and Grace? Srsly?), who is studying to be a master sommelier, but of course NOT telling her of her unique connection to him and his child. It's kind of infuriating, but since we are watching through the lens of Honor's watchful heavenly gaze, it's OK, I guess.

Tom is, by turns, castigated and buoyed by his semi-idiotic friends throughout this process, and at one point there is a BIZARRE plot device that seems to have been enacted simply to create a window for the BIG FIND OUT and then is barely referenced again. But while *I* would have dined out on this situation IRL for many months if not YEARS, Grace is very, very close to sainthood, as she would have to be to ascend to the mantle of the now-canonized Honor (while Honor herself cops to her tiresome behavior in her last months on earth, clearly no one in Tom's inner circle thought she was a PITA), and she is full of deep wells of understanding and, well, grace. Oh, and did I mention she looks EXACTLY like Honor? That's not weird or anything, right?

This is a fine book if you are OK with suspending your disbelief on a number of levels, and can endure a fair amount of Fated Love Story shit. It ticks all the second chance romance boxes, but the irksome part is that Grace has few, if any, flaws.</spoiler>

It is well-written overall, which is worth something, but taps out at a solid 3 stars.

Let's start this review mentioning that this cover is beautiful. It really drew me to request the ALC from NetGalley. I decided to jump in without reading the summary, and man was that an interesting way to enjoy this novel. Please read TW or CC if you have anything specific you choose not to read about as there are many within these pages. There are cliffhangers, meet cutes, family dynamics, reflections, all told from the MC who only is present in the first chapter. To say this book was wonderful is a slight against the book, it was everything I wanted and needed it to be. There was so much the author added that would make this one a perfect read for book clubs. So much discussion from talking about egg donation, to middle age dating, to sharing secrets that aren't yours to discuss. It is messy, it is surprising, it is a debut! Place this one on top of your pile this summer, you'll be glad you did! Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the review copy.

A striking and emotionally resonant debut.

"Do you come from Heaven or rise from the abyss?"
- Charles Baudelaire, Hymn to Beauty

It’s best to go into "Finding Grace" knowing as little as possible about the plot. Narrated by Honor - mother to Chloe, wife to Tom, and anxiously hopeful that their surrogate’s potential pregnancy will bring them the family she longs for - the story takes a gut-wrenching turn early on that completely upends expectations. What begins as an exploration of parenthood and marriage quickly transforms into something far more profound.

Tender, raw, and at times deeply uncomfortable, this is not a light read, but it is a rewarding one. While the ending was a bit too obvious and wraps up a bit too abruptly, the emotional honesty throughout the novel more than makes up for it. At its core, "Finding Grace" is a striking and emotionally resonant story about grief, redemption, and the many forms love can take.

Author Loretta Rothschild's prose is luminous -measured, elegant, and emotionally precise. She writes with the confidence of a seasoned author, blending psychological insight with lyrical clarity, making this an incredibly promising debut.

The audiobook, narrated by Fiona Button, is superb. Her warm, understated performance adds depth and authenticity to an already powerful story.

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"Finding Grace" is slated to be released on June 10, 2025.

So I’m not sure how to do this review without giving the whole thing away??!!

I will say that there were significant occurrences within the very first few minutes of the book, that to me, changed the whole trajectory. BUT… that’s NOT what actually happened. Instead, the entire book was narrated by one of the people affected.

It was VERY DIFFERENT, and not at all what I was really expecting!

That being said, there were quite a few triggers in this one… Difficult relationships with parents. Difficult relationships with partners. Friends who go the extra step… and then some… but may expect extra things. 😮 Egg donations. Surrogate mothers. Thoughts of suicide.

If you are ok with all of this, please DO give this one a chance!
Again, very different. Very original. And yet, disturbing all the same!

Additionally, this looks to be a DEBUT NOVEL for this author! Very intriguing!!

4 solid stars for me!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

#FindingGrace by #LorettaRothschild. Narrated beautifully by #FionaButtons.

*** THIS ONE HAS NOT YET BEEN RELEASED!! *** LOOK 👀 FOR IT ON JUNE 10, 2025!!! ***

Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for an ARC of the audiobook, in exchange for an honest review.

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Thanks so much for reading! And if you ‘liked’ my review, please share with your friends, & click ‘LIKE’ below… And, let me know YOUR thoughts if you read it!! 📚⭐️

There is potential in this, but wow more edits were needed.

The entire foundation of the plot makes no sense. There is an event lazily used as a plot device that is never explained in more depth and then a "clerical error" that has about 0% chance of happening in reality. This is compounded by Tom acting like a dingus at every turn and weirdly, his friends often enough encouraging it. I also had no emotional investment in these characters or their relationships, all of which felt shallow.

But also... why is the publisher being weird with the synopsis? <spoiler>Honor, our narrator, dies in the literal first chapter! </spoiler> My rule of thumb is it's not a spoiler if it happens within the first 10% of the book, so I'm not sure why the publisher decided to actively misrepresent the book to potential readers.

The narrator is <spoiler>dead, </spoiler>I think that's important to forming your decision to read this or not.

Complaints aside, the writing itself was generally decent, the story raised (though did not explore) a lot of interesting ethical questions around fertility/death/parenthood, and Fiona Button is a stellar audiobook narrator. I maintain the book needs further revisions, but given that this is a debut I will still look out for more from Loretta Rothschild; parts of this story were very compelling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the audio-arc.

Wow what a page turner!
This was a unique reading experience and will leave your jaw on the floor. There are some themes that might be triggering so please check those out.

Fiona Button does a wonderful job bringing this story to life.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this audio production.

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
WHAT WE DO NEXT RIPPLES THROUGH TIME, and we are never making decisions that only affect ourselves. That is my takeaway from this novel. It absorbed me! I was completely engrossed in its moving concepts from cover to cover. Loretta Rothschild understands originality in dramatic arc, narration, and in implementing themes.

Honor is consumed with having a second child. She has a beautiful daughter, Chloe, and a handsome, overworked husband, Tom. In Tom's eyes, this should be enough. They've tried everything the medical world can offer to conceive a child, and Tom is tired of it eclipsing their marriage. When a tragic event changes the trajectory of their family. Years later, Tom makes a decision that will have the lives of two women forever intertwined. Can the consequences of secrets kept still birth redemption in the end?

The plot line of this novel tracks like a roller coaster. The synopsis is vague because there are so many inciting incidents, moral dilemmas, and complexities! Every decision made and step taken matters. What we do next ripples through time, and we are never making decisions that only affect ourselves. Rothchild's choice of narrator is brilliant and bold. I couldn't get through this story fast enough. It needs to be a movie.

Fiona Button's voice acting proved to be crucial to this novel. Not only is she able to capture each character distinctly, but she captures them to the core. Loretta Rothchild's writing fuels Fiona Button's realism. Knowing what I know about Rothchild's chosen narrator, I wonder how this book would land in paper form.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Loretta Rothchild, Fiona Button, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to engage with this audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.