REVIEW: FALLEN FROM GRACE BY LEIGH SONGSTAD

Synopsis

Expensive cars... Penthouse apartments... Exclusive clubs and endless money... By day, Judas Woods practices Law in New York City.

By night, he’s forced to portray a playboy image he despises. Past resentments his father holds against him have made Judas a prisoner in his own life. Just as he is ready to give up on life, he meets her—Grace Winters. Beautiful, intelligent and way out of his league. Years have passed since the tragic accident that destroyed her family in just one night, and Grace Winters has finally found her new normal. Congressman Ellis Randall is charming, charismatic, flawless...and he wants to marry her. Things are perfect.

Almost too perfect…
When Grace meets the enigmatic and troubled local bad boy, Judas Woods, she is swept into a whirlwind affair of passion, desire, and secrets. What is Congressman Randall hiding? And can Grace trust the bad boy she is falling hopelessly in love with?

Our Review---

Fallen From Grace is quite an interesting book. For most of it, I was sincerely peeved. The decisions the characters make were ridiculous and frustrating. But then again I thought the words Gossip Girl (and I watched every episode of that insanity) so the life of the Upper East Side is still contrived and all about who the power players are. 

Judas is a man who has been living well, not for himself for a really long time. I personally called him a pussy more times than I could count in the first 25% of the book...because really? Stand up for yourself, buddy! But...he does some redeemable things to make me think he might turn out alright. He is also a charmer of the nth degree, so there are some fun times with him. Yeah..he definitely let guilt rule his decision making and we don't really even get to know WHY he feels responsible for a while so that was a little frustrating. He has lots of good guy qualities so I couldn't figure out why his dad was such a dick and Judas would do dickish things.

Now, then. Grace. What can I say about Grace. Well. Turns out, I ended up disliking her more than I thought I did Judas. Simply because she is one of those that makes all this STUPID decisions based on what she thinks will make everyone else happy. Gah. She was somewhat irritating, but there is one particular trope that just grates on my nerves. Cheating. There. Do with that what you will! Grace, Grace, Grace. Your instincts are screaming at you...why do you refuse to listen? WHO let's a man determine things like you do? WHY, Grace, why?

There were a few pacing issues in the first half of the book that I have issue with. I liked what the author was trying to do, so I don't dispute that it was a good effort...but for some it might be confusing to go back and forth in time in some random places. This smooths out by 30% or so, so I did enjoy the story much more after the initial chapters. Courtney will attest that I, too, had some issues with pacing and the (what I call) insta-love connection. It distracted me and the insta-love didn't feel as authentic as I wanted it to. Some of the switches from scene to scene were jarring to me and I felt, by the end, that I still had lots of questions about these characters.

The later parts of the plot are much more developed, and have some mystery and suspense...so I would say that is my absolute favorite, and what helped me like the story that much more. The later parts also make the idea of their relationship about 1,000x more believable so that was nice too..because I was skeptical at first! Yes, the last part definitely found a rhythm and a pace that worked far better than the beginning, for me. 

Courtney: 3 1/2 Stars

Shelley: 2 1/2 Stars

 

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About the Author

Leigh Nicole Songstad found her love for writing during her college years while earning degrees in Political Science and Human Services. She lives in The Black Hills with her husband and their three children. With many more characters and stories patiently waiting on her hard drive she hopes to continue writing, for as long as God allows.

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