The Joy and Heartbreak of First Love

Overall 4.5 stars
Performance 5 stars
Story 4 stars

This is my first book by Autumn Grey and what a story it was! Sol and Grace's journey was filled with joy, heartache, and so much emotion. It had the all consuming beauty and elation, as well as the gut wrenching heartbreak, that comes with first love. Sol and Grace have just finished high school and are still trying to figure out and become the people they want and feel they need to be. Autumn Grey captured the confusion and fear during this vulnerable time of growth and maturity so well. Yes, our characters make some poor decisions. Yes, they act rashly and impulsively. As readers/listeners we may not agree with their actions, but they are completely understandable and relatable. My heart broke as these two struggled with their feelings and convictions. Every shared moment and touch is bittersweet with the knowledge that Sol has chosen to become a priest. His actions overall were selfish to me, but the conflict of his heart felt true. Grace knew what the outcome would be from the start, but she continued to hope and it was both frustrating and heartbreaking. She grew so much throughout the book though and as the story came to a close, I was proud of her for choosing herself, even if it broke her heart.

Teddy Hamilton and Morae Brehon were fantastic as Sol and Grace! Teddy Hamilton especially couldn't have been more perfectly cast! They both captured the innocence and vulnerability of young love so well. Their performances displayed so much emotion that I'm convinced that the story was 100 times more impactful on audiobook than it would have been by reading the book itself. Definitely recommend the audiobook and it's so worth the credit!

There isn't a major cliffhanger at the end of the book, but listeners/readers should note that this is trilogy and the story is not over yet. I'm anxious to get to book 2, Disgraceful, and see where Sol and Grace's story goes.

5 people found this helpful

Bella

This book was ok...if your in high school Or college..Love the was Solomon puts God 1st... But the romance part was not what I expected 😕

2 people found this helpful

This book is a longwinded S L O G....

I don't understand this book or even these two main characters.

The prologue starts out with us knowing Sol and Grace have an affair. We also know that he went through with his schooling to be a priest, so the books entire 'will they won't they' doesn't work, and the pay off of them getting to their 'moment' after all the hours and hours and hours of not even slow burns made me abandon the rest of the book after 7 hours.

The first few hours learning about their history was sweet. They essentially grew up knowing each other but when they became teens, they really got into their draw to one another that had been there since they were ten years old. Okay, nice.

But these two young adults are teens. And a lot of the tense moments they have are just cut off for no reason other than drawing out the story. I mean come on, they make out in a truck, are stopped and then its a week later. Sal takes her underwear off in a confessional and then they go get Chinese food and have their fortunes read. WHAT??!!!

I don't really care for Grace. I find her bland and passive. I don't really like the way the book frames black women. I find it funny that Grace's mother appears to be the only black person in the story Grace seems to know and interact with. I REALLY laughed at that point when her mother told her after a black kid mocked her for her lighter skin (you know, because it's not like black people don't have all hues in their family) that she could be whatever. There is no way a black mom would set her black daughter up like that.

I also really didn't understand the relationship Grace's mom had with her parents. I don't buy that her parents told her to get an abortion. A conservative/religious black family wouldn't do that. That felt odd.

Sol is a whole other mess. His is a conflict that I would have been interested to explore, but he gives so many mixed signals to Grace, you end up not liking him and feeling all his attention to her is totally self-serving.

I don't care about his friends or the other characters. They seem to only be here to accent the main characters.

I wish this story were more concentrated. It's pointlessly long. Like there was a point early on when they were talking about going to a concert, then 3 hours of story later I was wondering what happened to that concert, only to find out they had not gone to it yet, because in over 3 hours of book, it's only been a few days!

The characters don't seem to follow up on their romantic encounters. The night when Grace and Sol get blocked from going all the way in his truck, the story then starts the next day with no immediate urgency on that encounter. Its like the teens turn off their lust right after nothing happens. Ha! Does this writer know teens at all!?

That is done a LOT in this story.

This story had more than enough hours to earn my interest and if that couldn't be done in 7, then it's not doing its job.

4 people found this helpful

Excellent - beautifully done, narrated

As you can tell, reviews are not my forte, this was a great story, well done - and I think much more rationally dealt with. Very thankful that this was dealt with openly regarding struggles of priests when they are deciding finally for their vocation - and I am glad this decision process and relationship was shown. God gave him Grace period - and forsaking that gift - God shows us which vocation we are made for - it's not always our narrow view. BEAUTIFULLY DONE!!!! FIVE STAR PLUS

1 person found this helpful

Such a good read.

I was hooked from page one! What an amazing love story! Cant wait for the next book.

1 person found this helpful

Aching First Love

Ahh what a story…There are demons and angels waging war between Sol and Gracie’s feelings for each other and it’s hard to tell who’s winning. They’re so young and so in love and yet so lost. This story is beautiful and the characters are so layered. The pull between these two is undeniable yet they get in their own way because they’re caught up in what they want to be apart and together - ensnared between the pressure of their young lives and their young love. Everything about this book is so relatable and speaks to all kinds of emotions we all face in our lives at one point or another. I read the book and listened to the audiobook. The narrators did a good job overall with the audiobook. Do listen to or read this story - it’s worth it.

Quite a storyline

My goodness, so much going on in this book; and all of the emotional turmoil is more than one can handle; love the narrators even though Morae’s male voice leaves a lot to be desired but on point with female characters. There was some humor scattered about in the story which helped break up the downers. Didn’t realize this was a series. Can’t wait to start the next book.

beautifully heartbreaking

Desolate ● Grace Trilogy Book 1
@autumngreywrites
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a forbidden, friends-to-lovers romance. Sol plans to go seminary in the fall after high school graduation. He's had feelings for Grace since they were kids, but never discussed it.They finally act on their feelings, but must keep it a secret because of Sol's plans to become a priest.

This book tore my heart out. Sol had a plan for his life, but Grace came through and made him question everything. I felt for him being conflicted about his life choices & for Grace for constantly preparing for things to end.
This book was so beautifully heartbreaking & scandalous, yet steamy and romantic. We are left with a cliffhanger for book 2!

As a side note, this was my first audiobook featuring Teddy Hamilton & oh. em. gee 🥵🥵 He has THE sexiest voice!

Worth the credit

I wasn’t too sure about this book when I started it because the characters seemed a little young. But the more I listened the more I came to understand and love the story. I look forward to the next book in the series to find out what’s going to happen.