Saving Graces: Grace Notes, Book 3

I have never once written a review where I hoped with a bit of desperation that the author would read it. I have in fact stopped writing reviews somewhat disenchanted with the genre I love. I have those authors I follow who write perhaps a book a year and they don’t disappoint. That leaves a hole with little to fill it often which brings me to this author. I was hesitant to read the first book in the series. In full transparency, I’m not a fan of country music. I immediately thought it was going to be something like much of what I read in this genre devoid of diversity and tepid or outlandish in its approach to lesbian sexuality. Yes there are people that write lesbian romance as if they were not queer or have little to no understanding of the heat that can be generated in a lesbian and/or queer bedroom. This author suffers from no such fallacy. The first book didn’t disappoint and yet there is still such seismic growth in this third installment. The standout is the ferocity of the characters, three dimensional, beautifully flawed, and lovable beyond measure. It’s the natural humor the author possesses never trying too hard, but leaving the ready laughing out loud. The second book, I was more of a student, learning and loving the journey. Even for those of us that identify as queer, many of the identities today, we are learning along with everyone else. It was a sweet revelation, and still I thought longingly of Savannah and Brynn wishing they had more of a central role.…

I danced around reading the Grace Notes books for a while, thinking from the description “nah, the whole white country music star thing wouldn’t appeal to me”. How wrong I was. All three books were incredibly satisfying, moving (I choked up even in the last paragraph of the last page of Saving Graces), and full of heart. I read all 3 books in the span of 4 days, unable to put them down. These are beautiful romances, with insights about healthy love, being willing to risk the life you’ve known for the life of your dreams, the importance of communication, and what “happily ever after” could look like in the real world. They’re also about friendship (especially Saving Graces), about family (especially Graceless), and about how we honor what we’ve lost while living here and now. They’re also about the world we live in today - what it means to be queer, how we share ourselves, what we stand for, the difference we make for others. They’re also incredibly hot. BTW - for anyone thinking “I don’t want to read another story about cis white lesbians” - while the main characters of Falls From Grace are cis and white, these are pretty diverse stories that center an array of queer and BIPOC voices, and I still recommend them.

Okay, this trilogy destroyed me. I feel like I am going through a grieving process to accept that I finished them. (Though I still have the novellas left, which I am so grateful exist.) I read the three books in, I think, a bit under 2 weeks, and I have to say I missed out on a lot of sleep and food because of them, but it was totally worth it. I went to sleep reading them, sometimes still trying to ignore the clock glaring at me around 5 am and still fighting to stay awake. (I mostly work late shifts, so it’s not a tragedy, though.) Then waking up and swapping breakfast time for reading instead, before rushing to work. I repeat, it was totally worth it. I love all these characters so much, and this is definitely my favorite trilogy I have ever read. Every book in it is just as amazing as the first one. SPOILER ALERT: I fell in love with Rosalie and Kinsey too. My only grief is that part of me will probably forever mourn that 17- and 18-year-old Rosalie and Savannah couldn't give themselves a chance. With the ending, finding out that Rachel is alive, I cannot help but wonder even more: if Rachel didn’t disappear and this tragedy/trauma didn’t affect them all differently, would they have eventually fallen for each other in peace with time? I know they are fictional characters, I am sane I swear, but I just finished reading like 10 minutes before writing this, so they are REAL right now and, again, it’s still hard to accept it’s over. It gives me hope though that the…

I really enjoyed the series. All three were great stories and all together they worked really well. I however NEED to know what happens after this 3rd book. I don't want to give any spoilers but I hope the ending is the start of another book that gives us all the answers about the 2 people arriving at the end. How did everyone handle them coming back. Did everything turn out ok?? Please don't stop here.

I love everything by this author. It's laugh out loud funny, heartfelt, and relatable. The characters are amazing. Can't wait to read all of her books. The entire series was AMAZING!