The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton by Anstey HarrisMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Musical - literally - and highly predictable, but still an enjoyable story.
Plot: Grace is in love with David. Things get complicated. Grace seeks solace in her instrument-making, and the company of a headstrong teenager and an elderly man. There is intermittent David-drama.
The drama level is pretty high here, and even though I basically predicted everything, it still caught my breath to actually read the way it all played out. It's lucky there are so few characters because they all have their own stories and we're given enough detail and time to get attached. I definitely got attached. Not so much to Grace, who annoyed me a lot, or David, who is a scumbag who calls Grace 'darling' and 'sweetie' and other equally eye-roll-worthy names waaaaaay too many times, but mostly to Fiery Nadia and Nice Guy Mr Williams. These two are the real MVPs.
So the story is sweet and dramatic; highly predictable but nevertheless enjoyable.
The writing is unique. I am on the fence. It's beautiful and elegant, and contains some really beautiful phrases, but it's also full of an insane amount of detail regarding music and instruments and honestly, it was pretty much lost on me. I appreciate the attempts to describe, but I basically had no clue what I was reading. Oh well.
I was also incredibly bothered by how many times the author used LITERALLY (hence my cheeky opening line) because it was overused and, in some cases, incorrect. This is one of my pet hates.
I was torn between 3 and 4 stars for this one but I nudged it up thanks to my love of everything French and how this book catered to it. I loved reliving my own memories as the author described places I myself have been. Ah, such fond memories.
If you're looking for a sweet little contemporary with elegant language, attention to detail and cosy settings, this is the book for you. It's quite lovely, and I'd recommend for an easy, light-hearted page-turner.
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