Saving Grace

by Jane Green

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

Kirkus Reviews likened Saving Grace to 1950s All About Eve, my favorite film and therefore prompted my interest. Going in I was a little wary, but was still too intrigued to pass up. Happily, "a dark romance, recalling All About Eve, where intimacy masks betrayal" is a very apt description.

Fond of:
Well developed characters. Beth and Grace have the perfect Margo Channing/Eve Harrington relationship as Grace takes Beth under her wing and slowly realizes that not all is as it seems.
Had great build-up and was fast-paced.

Not Fond of:
Predictable. Granted it is pretty clear from the cover that Beth will back stab anyone in her way, but I could guess what the next page would hold before turning it, i.e. Grace's slip ups were due to Beth's conniving mind.
I wasn't crazy about the relationship between Patrick and Grace, it felt rushed, unbelievable and didn't think it added much to the story.
At the end of All About Eve, a girl has snuck into Eve Harrington's dressing room, posing with her award trying to encompass the aura of the new star.

The last lines of the film are:



Addison DeWitt: And what's your name?
Phoebe: Phoebe.
Addison DeWitt: Phoebe?
Phoebe: I call myself Phoebe.
Addison DeWitt: And why not? Tell me, Phoebe, do you want someday to have an award like that of your own?
Phoebe: More than anything else in the world.
Addison DeWitt: Then you must ask Miss Harrington how to get one. Miss Harrington knows all about it.

I share this because like at the end of All About Eve you are reminded that people are not always what they seem and the idea of "will stop at nothing" is a bit creepy. I feel this describes Jane Green's novel well. All in all, Saving Grace was a decent read, I just wish the ending had been a little more satisfactory.