A tragicomic character that middle-aged women can celebrate . . . It's a tale of giddy love, thwarted ambitions, devastating loss, the dangers of 21st-century adolescence, the horrors of the menopause and how badly language can let us down . . . Littlewood writes with ferocity and compassion about Grace's all-too-believable agonies and the impossibility of spinning all the plates that modern life expects us to manage. Read it and weep (then cheer)

Hugely enjoyable. Compelling, funny and poignant. I devoured it

All hail Fran Littlewood and the truly amazing Grace Adams

An absolute gut punch of a book that throbs with all the rage of a middle-aged woman who refuses to go quietly

I just adored this beautiful debut novel! Funny, moving and at times absolutely heart-breaking, it had me captivated until the very last page. An unforgettable read

Amazing Grace Adams takes readers on a rollercoaster ride of female rage, loss and resilience. A rip-roaring, empowering story of redemption, discovery and starting over. And the more emotional moments are peppered with so much humour, you find yourself laughing and crying at the same sentence. Amazing Grace Adams is a glorious tragicomedy. The characters are wonderfully drawn and you'll applaud Grace for her amazing fortitude, compassion and warmth. Littlewood flips the stereotypes of menopause and middle age into something women can aspire to

I loved it. Vivid, visceral and incredibly emotional. I laughed and sobbed

Rarely have I felt more seen than by this book

Readers will relish the letting loose of one woman's long-suppressed righteous rage . . . Spectacular

Explores motherhood with wit, warmth and wisdom. Extraordinary

An exacting and brilliantly structured novel about love, grief, hope lost and then found again. I rooted for Grace from the first sentence

Women in their 40s everywhere will be wondering 'how did she get into our heads?' Funny and moving

The 10 Best Feel Good Books of 2023

Fran Littlewood has written a magnificent novel. Grace Adams is everywoman-filled with promise, trepidatious in love and eventually, a besotted mother. Amazing Grace Adams is a fully realized story of catastrophe and joy, grief and love, and the hidden chambers of the human heart that carry the best and worst of our experience. A stunning debut

Full of depth and honesty

From the first hot minute when Grace Adams, stalled in traffic, stuck in her car, simply opens the door and walks away from it all-into her day, the single day that gathers all her days up to this tipping point at the middle, she had me. How Life in the middle of our lives breaks us open-and apart-and then open again. I finished her story on a plane above the country, so full, and in tears. "Ma'am?" my seat-mate asked, "are you ok?" "Oh, yes," I answered. And gave him this book'

A redemptive story of womanhood, motherhood and marriage. You won't forget Grace Adams in a hurry

Brilliant . . . a story of a midlife heroine seeking redemption and so much more

I can't remember the last time I read a novel with such unbridled enthusiasm. Amazing Grace Adams is a raw, uproariously hilarious portrait of parenthood, love, and family; it's also a profound examination of the way language can both save us and fail us when we need it the most. I'd walk across London on the hottest day of the year with Fran Littlewood-hell, I'd walk anywhere with her. I'm begging you: read this book

I laughed, I cried ugly tears, I rooted for Grace Adams. It broke my heart then reassembled it - as only a fabulous novel can

An incredible debut. Grace Adams is fighting back and her story is both powerful and heartbreaking. I recommend.

Hugely accomplished. You'll laugh, cry and nod in recognition. Properly amazing

This is a redemptive narrative, conveying the complex midlife crisis, with humour and hope

Family dynamics are well observed in a Falling Down-inspired tale of a mother's menopausal rage. Grace Adams is certainly a fighter

Grace and her family feel brilliantly, dramatically real and believable, and she becomes a heroine to take to heart

Honest and relatable

An uplifting tour de force with a heartfelt message that will make you laugh and cry. It's the perfect January read. In her amazing Grace, Fran Littlewood has created an unforgettable heroine

A surefire literary hit . . . destined to be a Hot for 2023 phenomenon

Hotly anticipated

We promise you'll rage, cry and laugh

Winn's finely accomplished debut novel is a rare thing, an intoxicating romance and an impossible-to-put-down war story in one . . . Winn captures the war as it looked, sounded, and smelled, but the ultimate death-defying acts here are in literature, breathtaking bravery, and love

Powerful, deeply imagined . . . One of the wonderful aspects of Winn's debut is that, just when you think you've settled into a tender literary novel, its revelations and surprises begin to unfurl at an impressive pace that reads more like a thriller . . . Winn's battle scenes are hair-raising and terrifying, but her portraits of Sidney and Henry are intimate and evocative . . . A love story that's hard to forget

An epic sweep and an incredible intimacy that makes In Memoriam feel vividly alive...this is a book filled with death and suffering, but also with life and longing. War is hell, yes, but somehow love endures. You read it with your heart in your throat, and your knuckles white. The debut of the year.

Fast-paced and gripping, this debut brings fresh eyes to bear on the incomprehensible carnage that decimated a generation...a moving elegy for lost youth

I'm still recovering from Alice Winn's phenomenal debut novel, and I know that many others will be feeling the same...Winn's characters will go down in literary history

an impressive blend of madcap action, moving meditations on loss and some spicy sex scenes.

This is my standout debut of the year: a page-turning, heart-thudding story of love and war that will burrow deep into your psyche.

Cinematic in scope and emotionally intimate, it viscerally describes the violence of conflict, while beautifully capturing the brave hopefulness of the duo's relationship.

In Memoriam is utterly compelling. These young men live and love with a bright urgency, even as their world burns. Alice Winn has written one of the finest debut novels I have read in years. Her inventiveness, deftness of touch and command of period detail suggests this book marks the start of a truly first-rate career

Funny, poignant and beautifully observed

Straub writes beautifully and amusingly . . . hard to beat for sheer charm and gentle wit

Smart and entertaining

Hugely talented . . . intelligent holiday reading

Warm and big-hearted . . . leaves you smiling for days

Straub writes with such verve and sympathetic understanding of her characters . . . Reading this novel has all the pleasures of reading one of Anne Tyler's compelling family portraits

It's the beautifully drawn, vibrant characters that make this smart, compelling novel so irresistible

A funny and insightful look at love and relationships

A smart, cool sensibility

Lovely, satisfying

Smart and fresh, offering new insights into the lives of people all around us

Thoughtful and hilarious

It would be easy to compare Straub to other masters of the genre like Meg Wolitzer or Jennifer Egan, but she's already a master in her own right

Emma Straub is such a funny and brilliant writer and this time-travelling tale is a charming exploration of what it would be like to find yourself younger and surrounded by the people you love when they're still at the height of their power

Wise and often hilarious

Readers will devour this witty and warmly satisfying novel

A precise and observant writer whose supple prose carries the story along without a snag. Straub's characters are a quirky and interesting bunch . . . it's a pleasure spending time with them

Devilishly observed

Sprinkled with humour and insight

Straub is consistently excellent