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wordsofclover 's review for:
The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton
by Anstey Harris
4.5 stars
I received a free digital copy of this book from the publishers/author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Grace Atherton’s life is a bit unusual in that her long-term boyfriend is actually a married man with another family, and she spends her time making beautiful violins and cellos. She’s also a fantastic cellist but has a paralysing fear about playing in front of other people. When one small act ends up turning Grace’s life and future plans upside down, she must find the strength within herself to continue on and triumph.
This is the type of book that I knew would be a really enjoyable read, and one to really set me off on a good path for my 2019 reading year. However, I never would have guessed that Grace would burrow her way into my heart the way she did, and utterly charm me with both her personality and her music.
Grace isn’t typically a character you should like - she’s knowingly going out with a married man, who has children with his wife. Yet, there’s something about both Grace and her relationship that is utterly charming. Grace isn’t conniving in any way, she just happened to fall in love with a married man - and the pair were reunited in a grief so early in their relationship, it cemented them together for years to come, even if that relationship is one that not everyone understands.
When Grace was sad and heartbroken in this book, i felt sad and heartbroken. I really felt like i was seeing her come alive in the pages, and her every emotion touched me deeply. I haven’t had a connection like that with a character in a while, and I don’t know why it happened with Grace as we’re very different people but it did. And it meant that my reading of this book was throughly heightened.
I loved that Grace was a violin and cello maker. it’s honestly near something I’ve thought about, but the processes that Grace describes about her art during the book were genuinely fascinating. Music is a huge part of this book, and I felt like I could hear music all the time when i was reading. This book should come with an automatic soundtrack but there is one on the author’s website for those who do want to hear the Libertango for themselves.
I do think the first half of the book could have been tidied up a bit as I would have liked less of the first half and more of the second half with Grace finishing her cello and going to the competition. The first half was just a little bit too drawn out for me, and so the second half was just a tiny bit rushed which was disappointing for me as I was loving Grace’s newfound confidence at the competition, and the various people she gathered around her.
I received a free digital copy of this book from the publishers/author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Grace Atherton’s life is a bit unusual in that her long-term boyfriend is actually a married man with another family, and she spends her time making beautiful violins and cellos. She’s also a fantastic cellist but has a paralysing fear about playing in front of other people. When one small act ends up turning Grace’s life and future plans upside down, she must find the strength within herself to continue on and triumph.
This is the type of book that I knew would be a really enjoyable read, and one to really set me off on a good path for my 2019 reading year. However, I never would have guessed that Grace would burrow her way into my heart the way she did, and utterly charm me with both her personality and her music.
Grace isn’t typically a character you should like - she’s knowingly going out with a married man, who has children with his wife. Yet, there’s something about both Grace and her relationship that is utterly charming. Grace isn’t conniving in any way, she just happened to fall in love with a married man - and the pair were reunited in a grief so early in their relationship, it cemented them together for years to come, even if that relationship is one that not everyone understands.
When Grace was sad and heartbroken in this book, i felt sad and heartbroken. I really felt like i was seeing her come alive in the pages, and her every emotion touched me deeply. I haven’t had a connection like that with a character in a while, and I don’t know why it happened with Grace as we’re very different people but it did. And it meant that my reading of this book was throughly heightened.
I loved that Grace was a violin and cello maker. it’s honestly near something I’ve thought about, but the processes that Grace describes about her art during the book were genuinely fascinating. Music is a huge part of this book, and I felt like I could hear music all the time when i was reading. This book should come with an automatic soundtrack but there is one on the author’s website for those who do want to hear the Libertango for themselves.
I do think the first half of the book could have been tidied up a bit as I would have liked less of the first half and more of the second half with Grace finishing her cello and going to the competition. The first half was just a little bit too drawn out for me, and so the second half was just a tiny bit rushed which was disappointing for me as I was loving Grace’s newfound confidence at the competition, and the various people she gathered around her.