[.ca] Restoring Grace (ISBN 0312358776)

Well done Katie!:
Much of life is unreliable and disappointing - but Katie Fforde books don't fall into this category. Katie does have somewhat of a regular format - protagonists that seem ill-suited, but turn out to be perfect. And there's never any London glamour and glitz. But another always-present element of the Fforde formula is sold writing, great plot lines, witty (yet believable) dialog. Restoring Grace is no exception - in fact, its one of the best of her books, certainly the best one of recent years. That's not to say that Paradise Fields or Highland Fling weren't good, they were - but Restoring Grace is fabulous. So, what's it about? Grace has been left at odds - her ex-husband has left her with a nice bed, great linens, and a historical house that's rotting away, requiring repairs far beyond her marriage settlement or her meager earnings as a wine writer. Ellie is an artist with a handsome, charismatic boyfriend - who has no interest in becoming a father. Which is problematic, since Ellie is pregnant and determined to have the baby. Ellie and Grace fall together and discover some potentially valuable paintings in Grace's rotting home. Along the way, they also discover a surly-on-the-outside, solid-gold-at-heart local land developer and a prickly-on-the-outside but (yes, here it comes) solid-gold-at-heart art restoration expert - and you know where this is going, but the fun is all in getting there. Add in Grace's horrid siblings, very weird ex-husband (what DID she see in him), ex-husband's first wife, ex-step-daughter - well, a cast of characters that goes on and adds to the humor of the story. And as the extra icing on the cake - Flynn (surly land developer) is really the best "leading man" Fforde's written in years. His character (and attractiveness) just leap off the page. A must read, whether you're a long-time Fforde fan or just discovering her for the first time.