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ClareR (6238 KP) rated Amazing Grace Adams in Books
Feb 27, 2023
As she rushes to get her daughters very expensive and very tiny birthday cake to her ex’s house (where she’s living), she abandons her car in a traffic jam and decides to walk there - and it’s a very hot day.
The story alternates between the present day, and the events leading up to when she met Ben and back to the present day. Within these flashbacks are the reasons why Grace is struggling with her life. None of these events are helped by the fact that she’s clearly not medically in a good place. Peri-menopause has a large part to play in her interactions with others, and how she’s coping at work and home. And other factors are revealed along the way.
Grace isn’t having an easy time of it, and all those things that could go wrong, have. I seriously felt like dragging her along to the chemist, forcing her to wait for her prescription (she has got one!), and slapping that HRT patch on for her myself! Not a solution, but a big help!
It’s so good to see more women being represented in literature in their mid to late forties now. And talking about the fun and games that is the perimenopause! Grace’s complete loss of self-confidence could be put down to it - although all the things going on with her daughter and husband could also be contributing factors!
I rather liked Grace, and I did a silent cheer every time she stood up to someone who deserved it! There are some really funny bits in amongst the more sombre parts.
This book is well worth a read!!
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Ada: Legend of a Healer in Books
Apr 27, 2018
There's just one problem: There's a man who wants to find her and use her as his personal fountain of youth.
Reviewing self-published books is a tricky business. There's a wide range of them: the really crappy ones that make the editor inside me want to cry, the mediocre ones that are just missing a story, and then the occasional gem that I'm so glad I managed to get my hands on. I've had one or two other gems: Ada makes the list, and is pretty high up on it.
I loved Ada's story. I read it almost completely in one sitting. I liked Ada, and admired her will power and strength. We didn't see eye to eye on everything, and I thought she was immature and disrespectful at times, but I could still relate to her well enough that I couldn't hate her for it. About halfway through the book, some characters were introduced that I didn't expect to stay in the story, simply because of the way they were brought in. But isn't that the way our lives work? We meet someone and aren't sure if we'll ever really see them again, but they end up as our friends, and sometimes it's someone really special? That was Ada and Daniel. Daniel is going to have to be added to my list of literary crushes. Not only is he good looking, he's a "bad boy" and a sweetheart at the same time. And he's got a delicious smile. And he does Parkour. And he's French.
The writing was clear and descriptive and easy to understand. It wasn't perfect and there were a few irritating sections with poor grammar, but it didn't distract from the overall piece enough to bring down the star rating.
One of the things I really liked was the pacing. Sometimes a book has an interesting plot, but it takes way too long for things to actually happen that you fall asleep, or have to read an entire series just to get the same amount of plot you're looking for in a single novel (coughtwilightcough). The pacing was really fast in Ada, almost to the point where I wished it was just a little slower so I could really concentrate on what Ada was thinking and feeling.
There was one very tiny part that I didn't like. At one point, Ada tries to practice healing herself, so she takes a pair of scissors to her arm. I thought this was completely inappropriate and very risky, because through Ada's interior monologue, it almost seemed to show self-cutting in a good light. Yes she was practicing healing herself and learning to ignore pain, and trying to figure out her power, and Ada thought it through well enough that the reader would understand why she was doing it, but it just seemed bold and risky. Because of that, I wouldn't want young young adults to read it—I feel like it would make them uncomfortable. I also can't help but wonder what kind of influence that will have on young readers.
Scattered through the book were some truly beautiful illustrations. I found myself flipping through them and just staring at them. They have a pen-and-ink with watercolor sort of feel to them: very lose and impressionistic, almost dreamlike, but with wild pen and scratches thrown through to add definition. Here are two of my favorites (very poor quality photos, though, so I apologize ahead of time).
All in all, I was very pleased and excited about Ada: Legend of a Healer, and I can't wait for the next book in the series.
Content/Recommendation: Some swearing, small reference to self-abuse. Ages 16+