Restoring Grace

April 17, 2006
This lighthearted British romance has all the elements of a modern fairy tale: a huge, empty, centuries-old house left by a godmother, an evil older sister and a beleaguered (former) stepdaughter. But despite the fairy tale trappings, the heart of the book is the very modern friendship that develops between the house's inheritor, Grace Ravenglass (or Soudley—she's recently divorced), and the house's lodger, Ellie Summers, newly pregnant with her irresponsible boyfriend's child. Together, the two women and Grace's ex-husband's daughter, Demi, form an unlikely family in the rundown mansion. Between overtures from kind Irishman Flynn Cormack, Grace deals with problems domestic and familial: dry rot, pressure from her sister to sell the house, and recently discovered painted panels that may be worth a fortune if she can get them restored. Ellie works to make their cold, ramshackle home more livable, in the process discovering a love interest, while Demi deals with adolescent resentment toward her parents, both busy with new romances. It's amusing and gratifying, with an ending worthy of a fine murder mystery, in which all the characters gather in one room and the pieces are precipitously wrapped up with a round of happily ever afters.

June 15, 2006
Grace lives on a lovely but crumbling English estate. Newly divorced, she has no prospects for getting the money it will take to repair the dry rot that's threatening to ruin the house. Ellie, a newly single and pregnant artist, has nowhere to live. When Ellie tries to sell Grace a painting of the house, the women form a fast friendship and quickly realize they can help each other out if Ellie were to move in. Then Ellie uncovers antique wall murals in the house that could be valuable, and unexpectedly falls for the restoration expert on whom she calls. Meanwhile, Grace finds herself attracted to the handsome new stranger in town. "London Times" best-selling author Fforde ("Paradise Fields") has crafted another charming, lighthearted romance that belongs in most public libraries, especially where Fforde's others novels have been popular." -Rebecca Vnuk, River Forest P.L., IL"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2006
Fforde's novels are such a comfort, much in the same way that old-fashioned cozy mysteries are. Nothing too terrible happens, and the world is all right in the end. Her plucky, resourceful women are always up to the challenge, whatever it might be. " Restoring Grace" fits the pattern. Grace, Ellie, and Demi are a bit wobbly on their own, but when banded together they can surmount all obstacles. Neglectful mothers, bad divorces, unplanned pregnancies, greedy relatives, even dry rot all lose their power to ruin lives when faced by these three gals. When the intrigue associated with mysterious hidden paintings and covert romance is added to the mix, there are enough plot entanglements to keep the reader happily occupied until, as always, everything is sorted out. Fforde also writes with a chipper upbeat Britishness that adds to her novel's quotient of amusing diversion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)