She’s taking her life back, one step at a time…
Grace thought she had it all. Living in the beautiful village of Little Ollington, along with head teacher husband Mark and gorgeous son, Archie, she devoted herself to being the perfect mum and the perfect wife, her little family giving her everything she ever wanted.
Until that fateful day when she walked in on Mark kissing his secretary - and her perfect life fell apart.
Now she's a single mum to Archie, trying to find her way in life and keep things together for his sake. Saturday nights consist of a Chinese takeaway eaten in front of the TV clad in greying pyjamas, and she can’t remember the last time she had a kiss from anyone aside from her dog, Becks…
Grace’s life needs a shake up – fast. So when gorgeous gardener Vinnie turns up on her doorstep, his twinkling eyes suggesting that he might be interested in more than just her conifers, she might just have found the answer to her prayers. But as Grace falls deeper for Vinnie, ten-year-old Archie fears that his mum finding love means she’ll never reconcile with the dad he loves.
So when ex-husband Mark begs her for another chance, telling her he’s changed from the man that broke her heart, Grace finds herself with an impossible dilemma. Should she take back Mark and reunite the family that Archie loves? Or risk it all for a new chance of happiness?
A funny, feel good romance about finding your own path and changing your life for the better – readers of Cathy Bramley, Jill Mansell and Josie Silver will love this uplifting read.
I'm always delighted to be able to feature debut novelists on Hair Past A Freckle but it's particularly special to be hosting the blog tour for Amazing Grace, the first book by my fellow blogger, Kim Nash today. Many thanks to Kim, Hera Publishing and Rachel Gilbey from Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me and for my advance ecopy of the novel received through Netgalley.
Since the breakdown of her marriage, Grace has forgotten that the first person she needs to love is herself. Her young son, Archie and her dog, Becks (named after David Beckham) are understandably the centre of her world but she has neglected herself. Her friend - the irrepressible Monica is fortuitously on hand to dispense some much needed practical advice. Her overhaul of Grace's appearance is a huge success but her attempts to fix her love life, less so...
It's just as well then that Grace has somebody else trying to guide her there and it means Amazing Grace becomes more than a romantic comedy. Grace's mum died twelve years ago but she still watches over her daughter and at times we hear directly from her. I must admit that there were parts of the book where I had to put my own scepticism to one side but that's fine, I have to do the same when reading a supernatural book so it never became a problem for me and I really enjoyed how the story featured a mix of humour and more poignant moments.
Grace's luck definitely seems to be turning when Vinnie turns up on her doorstep to - as she explains to her neighbour - have a look at her bush! The scenes where Grace accidentally comes out with an embarrassing innuendo are hilarious and so relatable. Fortunately, Vinnie isn't scared off and it's clear that he is equally as smitten as Grace is. Vinnie is gorgeous, kind and funny so it's not surprising that Grace quickly falls for him and Becks soon gives him the seal of approval. Likewise, Vinnie's family all welcome her and it's wonderful to see her begin to regain her self-belief. As a single mum, however, Grace can't just think of herself and has to consider Archie's feelings too. Vinnie also seems to be hiding something from her - after being so hurt by her ex-husband, Mark, can she really trust a man again?
The course of true love never runs smoothly of course, and before long Grace has a real dilemma on her hands. Mark wants to try again and she knows Archie would love to see his parents reunited but everybody around her can see how much she lights up when she talks about Vinnie. Readers will inevitably hope that she chooses the man who makes her happy but as a mum it's natural that she is prepared to put her son first - and Archie is such a lovely boy, anybody would want what's best for him. Unfortunately his father is less principled than Grace and is prepared to use his son to get what he wants. He is such a loathsome, narcissistic character but as is typical with people like this, able to turn on the charm when it suits him and even Grace begins to wonder if he really has changed.
Amazing Grace is such an emotive read, the light-hearted romantic moments are balanced by some really touching scenes which moved me to tears and there are a few parts which raised my hackles too - Mark certainly causes more than a few problems for Grace. Kim Nash writes with a truly empathetic perceptiveness which brings all of her characters to life and ensured that I became invested in their lives. Amazing Grace is an enjoyable, heartwarming and insightful book, I thoroughly recommend it.
Amazing Grace is published by Hera Books and can be purchased from the following;
Don't miss the rest of the blog tour, details are below.
About the Author
Kim Nash lives in Staffordshire with son Ollie and English Setter Roni, is PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture and is a book blogger at www.kimthebookworm.co.uk.
Kim won the Romantic Novelists Association's Media Star of the Year in 2016, which she still can't quite believe. She is now quite delighted to be a member of the RNA.
When she's not working or writing, Kim can be found walking her dog, reading, standing on the sidelines of a football pitch cheering on Ollie and binge watching box sets on the TV. She's also quite partial to a spa day and a gin and tonic (not at the same time!) Kim also runs a book club in Cannock, Staffs.
Amazing Grace is her debut novel with Hera Books and will be out on 10th April 2019.
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