"Loretta Rothschild’s debut novel has one of the best first chapter cliffhangers ever…and then it just keeps getting better. It’s inventive, tender, heartbreaking, redemptive—and it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year." —Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Shocking, stylish, elegant and twisting. Finding Grace is a truly stunning debut." —Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of All the Colors of the Dark
"This poignant novel combines a tale of love, loss, and fate with a thread of increasing tension as the story builds to its inevitable outcome. Hand this one to fans of Jodi Picoult and Anna Quindlen." —Booklist
"Emotionally charged...the novel’s examination of love and family will leave readers with plenty to chew on." —Publishers Weekly
"A blend of romance and mystery...Rothschild's depiction of a man desperate to protect his burgeoning love is compassionate and lived-in." —Oprah Daily
"Rothschild begins with such a gasp-inducing twist that it’s almost impossible to describe…This engrossing read will have you furiously flipping through the pages to find out what happens next." —Real Simple
"Full of wisdom and unexpected twists and turns." —The Daily Mail
"I can't remember the last time I read a book so wholly original that it also manages to feel like it's always existed. How is it not already a part of our zeitgeist, one of those watershed books people try to imitate for the next decade but never succeed in eclipsing? That enviable balance of blockbuster plot and literary elegance. Such a clever concept, such a whip smart voice, such perfectly rendered characters, all bound together by a theme as simple and utterly, relatably human as Finding Grace. An absolutely powerhouse debut that I will be thinking about for a good long while." —Julia Whelan, bestselling author of My Oxford Year and Thank You for Listening
"Finding Grace is, at its core, a love story...with the wit of a Bridget Jones installment wrapped up in a broader exploration of grief—and with plenty of unexpected turns." —Town & Country
"Finding Grace feels like a movie, with characters and scenes that explode off the page and a propulsive plot that had me in a chokehold. I raced through this emotional story of love, grief, second chances, and moral ambiguity, laughing and weeping along the way." —Carola Lovering, bestselling author of Tell Me Lies
"Loretta Rothschild's debut novel, seemingly effortlessly written, is the darkest beach read imaginable, with a protagonist that no reader could predict." —Plum Sykes, bestselling author of Wives Like Us
"What an incredible debut! Finding Grace is a rare joy. Gripping and compelling, with characters you love and care about. Clever, smart and compassionate. A veritable power house of a novel!" —Imogen Edwards-Jones, Sunday Times bestselling author
"Finding Grace is elegant and propulsive, emotionally rich and psychologically astute. With an arresting narrative voice and layered, intimate storytelling, Loretta Rothschild's debut is a life-affirming exploration of the aftermath of tragedy, and love in all its forms." —Roma Downey, actress, producer, and author
2025-05-03
The past and present lives of two women intertwine in this novel about motherhood.
Honor Wharton, her husband, Tom, and their young daughter, Chloe, have just arrived in Paris to celebrate Christmas. But even with the festive atmosphere, Honor can focus on only one thing: their surrogate, Jess, and whether the embryo transfer has been successful. Honor’s desire for another baby is so all-consuming that it has led to intense friction in her marriage, which comes to a head the morning after they arrive in France—during a fight, Tom says he won’t continue to pursue conception if the current transfer fails. Soon after, in a truly shocking reveal, readers learn that Honor and Chloe have died. When Tom, in a thick haze of grief after burying his wife and daughter back home in London, is told that their surrogate is pregnant, he decides to raise the baby alone. Four years later, Tom and his son, Henry, have made a quiet life for themselves when Tom accidentally receives a letter which reveals the identity of the anonymous egg donor who helped create Henry. Arriving at the address on the letter, he meets Grace Stone, a wine-shop owner and widow who looks remarkably like his deceased wife. Narrated by Honor, who’s able to observe the world from a limbo state, the novel does little to capitalize on its initial emotional impact, falling into a sluggish plot that centers Tom—an unlikable character who makes frustratingly bad decisions at every turn. The author’s attempt to concoct a love story between Tom and Grace falls flat. Tom’s growing obsession with a woman who is Honor’s doppelgänger feels unintentionally macabre, and his constant lies and emotional manipulations—he continually hides their shared history from Grace—are disregarded in favor of a neatly wrapped ending that is undeserved.
A missed opportunity.
