From bestselling author Kristin von Kreisler comes a poignant, uplifting novel of one woman's journey to healing, and the surprising soul mate that helps guide her there. Lila Elliot knows she's lucky. A shooting rampage at her office left several colleagues dead and others seriously wounded. Lila's injuries will heal in time. Yet though she gratefully retreats to her best friend's house to recuperate, Lila can't quite move past her fear and anger. Being drafted into caring for Grace--a shaggy, formerly abused golden retriever--only adds to her stress. Lila has been terrified of dogs since childhood. But Grace, like Lila, needs time and space to recover.

Grace keeps her distance, sensing Lila's wariness, and only perks up for Adam, the neighbor who rescued her. Though struggling to make sense of her recent tragedy, Lila, an accomplished artist, begins to see beauty in Grace's wisps of fur and haunted eyes. As Adam points out, Grace, too, has suffered through no fault of her own. And in helping Grace to trust, Lila is being gently nudged toward the courage she needs to do the same.

Rich in warmth and humor, An Unexpected Grace is a story of compassion and connection, and of finding that what truly makes us whole again may be the love we give away.

I picked An Unexpected Grace on Netgalley cause it seemed like it might be a good read, and truly it was. It's one of the only books that focuses around dogs where the dog doesn't end up dead in the end. I wished there'd been a real answer about what caused the shooting, despite all of Lila's searching. They never went to see the girlfriend, and never really got anywhere with that part of the story - yes, Lila started healing because of Grace, but she never got the answer that she so desperately wanted. As a reader, I certainly wanted to know.
I also wanted to see more of Adam and Lila building an actual relationship that we got an itty bitty glimpse of in the end. I just wanted more, in all aspects of the book.