#BookReview: Saving Grace by Jane Green

Reviewer: Samantha

I received a review copy

Summary:

Grace and Ted Chapman are widely regarded as the perfect literary power couple. Ted is a successful novelist and Grace, his wife of twenty years, is beautiful, stylish, carefree, and a wonderful homemaker. But what no one sees, what is churning under the surface, is Ted’s rages. His mood swings. And the precarious house of cards that their lifestyle is built upon. When Ted’s longtime assistant and mainstay leaves, the house of cards begins to crumble and Grace, with dark secrets in her past, is most vulnerable. She finds herself in need of help but with no one to turn to…until the perfect new assistant shows up out of the blue.  To the rescue comes Beth, a competent young woman who can handle Ted and has the calm efficiency to weather the storms that threaten to engulf the Chapman household. Soon, though, it’s clear to Grace that Beth might be too good to be true. This new interloper might be the biggest threat of all, one that could cost Grace her marriage, her reputation, and even her sanity.  With everything at stake and no one to confide in, Grace must find a way to save herself before it is too late.
Powerful and riveting, Saving Grace will have you on the edge of your seat as you follow Grace on her harrowing journey to rock bottom and back.

Review:

When I first finished this book, I thought it was awesome. And then I thought how I would describe this to my mom and friends, and little things started to bother me. I’m happy that while I was reading I was invested and emotional and totally zoned in on Grace and Ted. But those little things poke at me, which is why I’m rating this 4 instead of 5 stars. The writing is fabulous and vivid, as I tend to expect with Jane Green, and while the plot line isn’t what I would call original, it still made for a compelling story. But there is obviously a huge issue here, with Beth trying to take over Grace’s life, and a few holes showed to me that I can’t get past. First is probably the therapist she sees, that puts her on a trillion different meds. It was confusing that she didn’t confide in anyone what his diagnosis was until it was too late, but I can get past that. But the doctor is never followed up on. What happened to him? Who hired him? How did he get involved? And I hate giving away a lot in my reviews, but there is a certain situation Ted and Beth find themselves in (well, Grace finds them) that I’m still confused about. Grace says one thing, Ted and Beth say another – I have no idea what really happened, and I thought that was a pretty big deal. If you like happy endings you might not like this one. Beth’s situation at the end still boils me to think about it. So while I enjoyed it while reading, if I put more thought into what I was reading, I felt a little unsettled. Still a good read, one that makes you want to do the obvious – check references to those you invite into your home – and I’m  curious to read some other reviews of this one!

4 stars