thislemonreads's review against another edition
3.0
Didn't know a lot about Grace Kelly; this book has made me curious to research her now, to determine how much I agree with the author's interpretation of her life. Satisfying pool/beach read that I picked up at Friends of Maui Library's shop for a quarter (!)
fairybookmother's review against another edition
3.0
The first half of this was so good, nuanced and detailed with a lot of sparking humor. I love fiction about Hollywood and the behind the scenes glimpses it gives, but this book fell apart halfway through for me. The characterization of Grace Kelly did a complete turnaround and felt unrecognizable from the character introduced to us in the beginning. Tonally, the book felt like a completely separate title halfway through, and it left me a little disappointed.
Thank you to Netgalley and Berkeley for the review copy!
Thank you to Netgalley and Berkeley for the review copy!
basicbsguide's review against another edition
Sadly a dnf. This is so well researched but unfortunately could not keep my attention.
emisallbooked's review against another edition
4.0
The Girl in White Gloves is a historical fiction novel about Princess Grace Kelly. The original Meghan Markle, Grace Kelly was fulfilling her lifelong dreams of becoming a star actress in Hollywood when she fell in love with the crown prince of Monaco and had to give up her Hollywood career for the crown. In this book we get a first-person perspective of Grace Kelly’s life that shows that perhaps marrying the prince isn’t all its cracked up to be.
Grace Kelly is a figure I didn’t know much about, so I enjoyed getting to learn more about her life. I thought Maher did an excellent job bringing her to life, showing her as a woman struggling with balancing everyone’s expectations of her against what she actually wanted out of life. I also loved the parts of the book about her Hollywood career, it seemed like she rubbed elbows with everyone who was anyone in Golden Age Hollywood and it was fun to read about what those relationships might have been like.
The novel is structured to jump around in time, going between Kelly’s later days as princess to the beginning of her acting career. I’m not usually bothered by multiple timelines but in this case, there didn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason to the jumps so I just didn’t think it added much to the book. There were also occasionally scenes where it wasn’t clear who was talking to whom, or the transition between settings wasn’t clear which caused me to go back and reread sections. However, these small issues weren’t enough to detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. I feel like Maher did justice to Grace Kelly’s short and tragic life, and I would definitely recommend this book to those of you that love Golden Age Hollywood and strong, independent women.
Grace Kelly is a figure I didn’t know much about, so I enjoyed getting to learn more about her life. I thought Maher did an excellent job bringing her to life, showing her as a woman struggling with balancing everyone’s expectations of her against what she actually wanted out of life. I also loved the parts of the book about her Hollywood career, it seemed like she rubbed elbows with everyone who was anyone in Golden Age Hollywood and it was fun to read about what those relationships might have been like.
The novel is structured to jump around in time, going between Kelly’s later days as princess to the beginning of her acting career. I’m not usually bothered by multiple timelines but in this case, there didn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason to the jumps so I just didn’t think it added much to the book. There were also occasionally scenes where it wasn’t clear who was talking to whom, or the transition between settings wasn’t clear which caused me to go back and reread sections. However, these small issues weren’t enough to detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. I feel like Maher did justice to Grace Kelly’s short and tragic life, and I would definitely recommend this book to those of you that love Golden Age Hollywood and strong, independent women.
campreadkarin's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
alexiachantel's review against another edition
4.0
I adore old movies and To Catch a Thief has always been a favorite. So this somewhere in between biography and fiction view of Grace Kelly's life was fascinating.
Stylistically, I didn't enjoy jumping timelines from her early acting life to her married life as Princess of Monaco. We already know how her life ended. But I could hear her voice, and the voices of the various actors that appeared in her life, and couldn't put the book down.
Stylistically, I didn't enjoy jumping timelines from her early acting life to her married life as Princess of Monaco. We already know how her life ended. But I could hear her voice, and the voices of the various actors that appeared in her life, and couldn't put the book down.
wintermote's review against another edition
2.0
I had trouble with the way/timeline this story was told. I had trouble following the storyline and understanding why it was told in the order it was. It also didn’t have much action so it was like a fictional biography—I was expecting more of a story. So, this book just didn’t appeal to me—the writing was good.
aud02's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
aublar's review against another edition
4.0
I know I should review this book on what it actually was and not what I wanted it to be but I’m having a hard time with that. I had really really high expectations for this one based on how much i liked the author’s previous work and another book I read recently where Grace Kelly was a side character (Meet Me in Monoco).
I just wanted there to be more sparkle to this book. I thought Grace was a little bit of a flat character and the book was a bit of a downer. I didn’t actually know much about her personal life before reading this so maybe I was expecting more of a fairytale than true life. I just didn’t love how it went back and forth in time, the 1950s chapters talking about all her hopes and dreams for the future especially around love and then switched to the 1970s chapters where the reader saw how those dreams went unfulfilled.
I also wished there was a bit more historical description in the novel. Finally towards the end there was a conversation amongst some of the characters about some then-current events, but the book didn’t FEEL like the time periods in which it took place which is what i want out of my historical fiction and even biographical fiction. It just wasn’t sweeping, epic, romantic, or the like.
That being said... if I had known more about Grace’s life before reading book so I knew what to expect and if I hadn’t have anticipated this book as much as I did I would have liked it much more because it was well done. It was well researched and very thorough. The pacing was pretty good and it was easy to keep track of the characters. I would actually encourage anyone who is interested to go ahead and read it. I would give it 3.5 stars but I’m rounding up for 4.
Content warning: a lot of mostly closed door romance
I just wanted there to be more sparkle to this book. I thought Grace was a little bit of a flat character and the book was a bit of a downer. I didn’t actually know much about her personal life before reading this so maybe I was expecting more of a fairytale than true life. I just didn’t love how it went back and forth in time, the 1950s chapters talking about all her hopes and dreams for the future especially around love and then switched to the 1970s chapters where the reader saw how those dreams went unfulfilled.
I also wished there was a bit more historical description in the novel. Finally towards the end there was a conversation amongst some of the characters about some then-current events, but the book didn’t FEEL like the time periods in which it took place which is what i want out of my historical fiction and even biographical fiction. It just wasn’t sweeping, epic, romantic, or the like.
That being said... if I had known more about Grace’s life before reading book so I knew what to expect and if I hadn’t have anticipated this book as much as I did I would have liked it much more because it was well done. It was well researched and very thorough. The pacing was pretty good and it was easy to keep track of the characters. I would actually encourage anyone who is interested to go ahead and read it. I would give it 3.5 stars but I’m rounding up for 4.
Content warning: a lot of mostly closed door romance
joanneadams54's review against another edition
4.0
Good historical fiction about Grace Kelly. Kind of sad.