[Review] Finding Grace - Loretta Rothschild

Summary: Honor seems to have everything: she adores her bright and beautiful daughter, Chloe, and her charming, handsome husband, Tom, even if he works one hundred hours a week. Yet Honor’s longing for another baby threatens to eclipse all of it―until a shocking event changes their lives forever.

Years later, Tom makes a decision that ripples through their families' lives in ways he could never have foreseen. As the consequences of that fateful choice unfold, two women's paths become irrevocably intertwined. But when old love clashes with new, who will be left standing? And what happens when your secrets come back to haunt you?

Blending a page-turning moral dilemma with satisfying emotional poignancy, Finding Grace is a sweeping love story that explores the price of a new beginning, how the ghosts of our past shape our future, and whether redemption can be found in the wreckage of what we've lost. (Pub Date: Jul 08 2025)

3.5 rounded up to 4.

Did I cry in the beginning of this book! Actually, I had already forgotten what the book would be about except for the general idea, so I wasn't ready for the even that really causes everything. That is, a terrorist attack that isn't explained as the book goes, because the focus is on how Tom, having lost his wife and child to it, will cope—or not.

I'm not super sure why I chose this book. For a while I was actually afraid I'd find it too much for me, because I was sure that with a cover like that it would fall into literary fiction. Despite how the beginning held the potential for a thicker plot, it doesn't. In fact, as we go, it checks most boxes for a romance. Unfortunately, that may disappoint some readers. Although it was good for me that it didn't go the literary fiction route, I wasn't expecting it to become just another romance after such a build up.

Don't worry, it's not a bad last quarter. It's just lacking. Moreover, we follow Tom through the eyes of his late wife, who is the narrator. But Tom isn't a likeable character, as bad as I felt for all he must go through. He doesn't do a single thing to redeem himself either. It's not that I was cheering for his love story to go bad. No. I wanted a reason to cheer for it. Or rather, to cheer for him. Because the more I wanted for Grace to get a happy ending, the more I thought he wasn't the one for her. 

As you can see, as a romance, this isn't the most satisfying read. However, it does grip you for the suspense. You want to know how things will happen. What now? Will he, will she, who will? I don't know if this was supposed to be a thriller, but that's how I ended up feeling. It was a true page turner for me. And the enjoyment I got from this was superior to most books I read this year. I didn't know this author, but Loretta Rothschild had me. Her style is amazing. 

Even if the plot goes a little south, get this book for the gripping writing. Don't miss it!

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Rating: 4 out of 5.