Review: 'Saving Grace' by Jane Green (2014)

Grace Chapman has the perfect life, living comfortably with her husband, bestselling author Ted, in a picture-perfect farmhouse on the Hudson River in New York State.Then Ted advertises for a new assistant, and Beth walks into their lives. Organized, passionate and eager to learn, Beth quickly makes herself indispensable to Ted and his family. But Grace soon begins to feel side-lined in her home - and her marriage - by this glamorous, ambitious younger woman.
Grace becomes increasingly distressed, as nobody around her believes that Beth could mean any threat.Is Grace just paranoid, as her husband tells her, or is there more to Beth than first thought? Then an unexpected email from Beth's former employer changes everything. What is Beth really capable of? Can Grace get her life back? And what if she realizes it's no longer the life she wants?
Jane Green is one of the queens of the women's fiction world, if you ask me. She has been writing for years and her 16th novel was released a few months ago. Earlier this year, I was really excited about the opportunity to read and review my first Jane Green novel, 'Tempting Fate'. I ended up loving the novel and Jane's amazing writing style and couldn't wait for her next book. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to receive a review copy of 'Saving Grace' (which has such a lovely cover) and kept my fingers crossed for another fabulous Jane Green reading experience!
Grace Chapman appears to lead the perfect life being married to best-selling author Ted Chapman. Together they have a beautiful daughter, an amazing home, and in front of the cameras they appear to be a simply wonderful couple. However, behind closed doors, Ted isn't the kind and calm man he appears to be, he's the opposite. When his trustworthy long-term assistant Elaine decides to quit her job due to family issues, Grace knows she will have to find a new PA as soon as possible, if she doesn't want Ted's behaviour to get even worse. Luckily, she bumps into Beth who is looking for a job and she turns out to be everything Grace could have hoped for: Beth is organised, motivated and will do anything to make Grace and Ted happy. But then Beth slowly starts to take over everything in Grace's home. When Grace is unexpectedly diagnosed with bipolar disorder, her world seems to completely fall apart and somehow Beth is the one left standing, ready to take over Grace's life...
Another great read from Jane Green! It took a bit of time before the story really got going, in my opinion, but when it did I just didn't want to put it down. Grace is a wonderfully warm main character whom I couldn't help but root for, even though I did sometimes feel like jumping into the pages of the novel and slapping her for not undertaking any action. While I easily warmed to Grace, I immediately developed a sense of intense dislike towards Beth. I love how Jane Green manages to convey these emotions towards her characters with her words; it makes the reading experience even more enjoyable. 
The plotline of the novel really captivated me, even though it is slightly dark. The idea of someone being out to steal your life, driving you to insanity, making you feel as if everything and everyone is slipping away from you... I don't even want to imagine what that would be like, and Jane Green managed to portray it in a very realistic way. Aspects which I also really enjoyed were the gorgeous scene setting of the novel (Grace and Ted live in a stunning place called Sneden's Landing) and the (hopefully!) delicious recipes at the end of each chapter. Overall, 'Saving Grace' is a stunningly captivating, slightly dark, emotional read; another great novel by a wonderfully talented storyteller. Rating:

9/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.