The Seasons of Grace by Dave O. Dodge

Release: September 15, 2021
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Glue Pot Press
Source: Suzyapproved Book Tours
Find it at Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle

The Seasons of Grace is an unauthorized tale of Grace Metalious and her desire to tell the stories that no one dared to tell before that time. From small-town life in New England to the hustle and bustle of New York City and to the unforgiving film studios of Hollywood, Grace’s story unfolds. This is a classic scenario where art imitates life and so does this story. The young author is coping with literary and financial successes. The author, without realizing it, was creating her own Peyton Place where she herself had to live.

No novel had achieved greater recognition than her first. One out of every 29 Americans had read Peyton Place. They would dog-ear the pages, underline their favorite passages, and stuff them in the back of a drawer to conceal them from the prying eyes of others. This novel was a true sensation in both the literary world and helped form popular culture as we know it. The legacy is lastly and continues to this day.

About the Author:

Born and raised in New Hampshire, Dave has always had a wanderlust for travel and adventure. From a young age his desire to expand his world beyond New England has brought him around the globe and back. His career has been as diverse as his travels.

He has always had a passion for the arts, from community theater, local television, and film work to writing. This has been his secret obsession and hobby. His professional background has run the gambit from Visual Arts to Public Relations and Marketing.

As a travel writer and international guide, he currently makes his home in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.

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The Seasons of Grace Review:

Let me preface by saying that I love soap operas, and I had seen nearly all the episodes of “Peyton Place” TV series when it aired on one of the retro channels. Hence, I was fascinated by Grace’s life right from the get-go to wonder how someone with an idyllic small-town life wrote a larger-than-life book and made it a success.

The whole wrote Grace so realistically that I felt various emotions towards her while reading. In the beginning, I was rooting for her as she went to New York and got a taste of success. Later, I despised her for how she treated George and her affair with TJ. And again, I was rooting for her. Grace’s life is fascinating, and I kept wondering what would happen to her. Even the supporting cast like George, Laurie, Jacques, and especially Rita was entertaining.

However, I did feel that the pace slowed down in the second half. Some chapters go on without anything new, like TJ and Grace’s arguments, how they deal with pressures for a sequel, and how they break up and make up. Also, I was keen to know what happened to Barbara and William, but they just disappeared after the first 20% of the book. It would have been nice to see them appear in the latter half, as they started this book with a bang.

Apart from that, I loved this book! Of course, I am more biased because I loved the primetime soap and was excited to read about the author’s life. Overall, “The Seasons of Grace” is a charismatic book about a woman who tried her best to handle the pressures of success, and I admire how the author executed it.