More than just a love story, Shelle Sumners’ debut novel Grace Grows is an incredible journey of self discovery and tremendous growth by lead character, Grace Barnum. To read my review in its entirety, please click HERE. ( )

I won this book through the first-reads program, and am quite looking forward to listening to the songs that Ty wrote in the book.

[b:Grace Grows|13538826|Grace Grows|Shelle Sumners|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1333050608s/13538826.jpg|19097935] is a story of... growth, as one would expect. The book is a romance, but one often thwarted. Grace, the protagonist, fights her burgeoning love for the spontaneous Tyler Wilkie. Tyler is a musician, newly becoming famous; Grace is more far-sighted, more pragmatic - yet she can't fight these feelings.

While the book is your typical romantic fare, it is written in a lively voice and is infused with some great classic rock. So much music is in the book... there's a playlist, and the songs in the book actually have been recorded. How cool is that?

I'd recommend it as a great summer read, a fun beach read, and something I could easily see being put on the silver screen. It's a fun book, and although the characters annoyed me at times - just communicate!!! - without a certain amount of misadventure the plot just wouldn't move. Also... great taste in books, Ms. Grace Barnum. Editors will surely rejoice. ( )

I chose this book because it was published by one of the "Big 5" NY publishing houses, and because I enjoy quality women's fiction. This is a first novel by this author, and the plot sounded intriguing. The narrator (I listened on Audible) had a pleasant voice, and did a great job.

The main female character, Grace, is a textbook editor in NYC, and has a live-in boyfriend who's a really nice guy. Her life is upended when she encounters a dog-walker in the stairwell of her building who she cannot forget about. Said young man, Tyler, a struggling musician who's new to the city, feels the same way about her. What starts out as a friendship develops into something more. That sums up, in a few sentences, a story that took the author over 300 pages to tell.

Everything takes sooooo looong. I found it difficult to root for Grace because she's wishy-washy, and in women's fiction, I like to be on the female lead's team. I also like some conflict, some important reason why the guy and the gal can't get together, or why the woman can't evolve. Other than Grace's emotional stagnancy, and a boyfriend her mom really likes, I couldn't see any strong reason why Grace and Tyler didn't just get together in the first fifty pages. But several hundred later, Grace is still hemming and hawing, even though Tyler has been in love with her from the start. Although his career flourishes, Tyler's character doesn't change at all.

I admire a classic story arc - the three act structure where, somewhere near the last quarter of the book, a big obstacle threatens to ruin everything. I kept waiting, but it never happened.

I'm still scratching my head, wondering why a big press got behind this book. It did, however, have a "gimmick" - songs, written by Tyler, are interspersed throughout the story. Grace reads us the lyrics, and then we hear Tyler singing them. I understand there is actually a soundtrack for the this book available. To, me, all the songs sounded pretty much the same with different lyrics. Alas, the gimmick didn't improve the pacing of the story, which lagged severely in a number of places.

I've heard it said the best stories read like real life with the boring parts taken out. Apparently, this author never heard this piece of advice. ( )

*I won an ARC of this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway*

I have to say that once I started reading this book, I got a bit obsessed with it. I couldn't seem to put it down for long.

In some ways this book reminds me a lot of YA books I've read, although the characters are a bit older (27 at the beginning of the book.) I say that because it deals a lot with Grace growing up and learning what she wants out of life and facing some of her fears. I found it immensely refreshing to see these themes in a book with characters that aren't teenagers, because for a lot of us, these realizations don't come until we are older.

Overall, I really liked the characters in this book. Grace is our first person narrator and I liked her right away. She seemed to have a need to be in control of the situations she finds herself in. She likes her life neat and orderly. Then she meets Tyler and her life starts to get much messier than she had ever planned.

Tyler and all of the side characters in the book are well done and I think they all had their own unique personalities.

There were times when I wanted to smack Grace because I just felt utterly frustrated with her and some of the decisions she made. Normally that might make me take away a star in the rating, but I found myself so involved in the book, that I'm not sure that it even mattered.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It had flaws, but I was so glued to the story that I had no trouble overlooking them.

One another note, the music that accompanies this book is absolutely lovely! ( )

The first thing that struck me when I saw Grace Grows was the excellent idea on the front and back covers. The ARC copy I received has the usual testimonials you see, but this time they are with a twist – they’re written by people at the publishing house. Such an awesome idea. The people have spoken – this is one of the sweetest stories you’ll read for a very long time.

Before you think, ‘Ugh, I don’t like sweet and it’s probably all predictable anyway’ – STOP. This is not to a formula. Grace Grows takes the formula, adds reality, twists and the most lovable hero for a long time. People, it’s that good. I can’t recommend it highly enough – and you’ll see why it’s quirky, funny and gorgeous from the first line, “The first time I met Tyler Wilkie, I was dressed like a call girl”. Now, Grace, our protagonist is actually a textbook writer/editor, so we know that this is probably wrong for a cautious young lady who carries the world in her named bag (Big Green) and lives a safe life with her boyfriend in New York.

The first time we meet Tyler, he’s walking a bunch of dogs that can’t get their feet wet. Why? Because he’s a struggling musician trying to make it big in New York.
The immediate chemistry between Grace and Tyler should cause the book to carry a warning for electric shocks but Sumners teases things out. She tells us how gorgeous Tyler (Ty to his friends) is, writes his songs in full (complete with Ty’s lack of knowledge of your/you’re) and taunts us with ‘oh so close’ moments.

Then Grace’s life begins to unravel and her cautious, predictable life ends in a heap. Even though Grace’s pain seeps through the pages, this is where things become exciting for the reader as the plot becomes unpredictable. Things happen in the wrong order and it looks like Grace will never admit her feelings for Ty. I haven’t seen such an edge of your seat relationship since Carrie and Mr Big. Both Grace and Ty’s parents are quirky and/or memorable – Grace’s mother is an uptight lawyer while her father is a world famous artist who has premonitions – but only about Grace. Ty’s parents aren’t averse to smoking the odd banned substance, but their love is palpable as they work together as florists. It’s these little touches that make Grace Grows sparkle – and plants the book firmly in your memory.

Sumners has an incredible talent for feelings – I haven’t had a crush on a book character for a long time, but Ty would be the type. But as we know so much about Grace and have suffered with her, I can’t crush on him because he just belongs with Grace.

I read this for so long that the bath water went cold and I didn’t finish my lunch. It’s that addictive!

Thanks to Allen & Unwin and The Reading Room for the ARC copy.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com ( )