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Finding the Grain
When Augusta "Blue" Riley's parents are killed by a tornado in her last month of high school, Blue is thrown into a world where nothing is what she expected. She moves from her farm in Alabama to North Carolina to be near her aunt and attend college. Interesting classes and the love of sorority girl Grace Lancaster help Blue let go of her grief. But her world is shattered again when Grace abruptly leaves her. Blue quits college and hits the road. For nearly twenty years she moves from town to town, job to job, woman to woman—always the first to move on—until Blue comes back to the farming life that shaped her childhood. Mississippi Delta farmer Preacher Rowe and his invalid wife Mary put Blue to work plowing the fields and helping in the house. Eventually, Preacher teaches Blue the art and craft of fine woodworking and for the first time since her parents death Blue takes control of her life. The pull of the mountains brings Blue back to North Carolina where she opens a woodworking gallery. When her lost love walks in the door the strength and serenity Blue thought she found is put to the ultimate test. Wynn Malone was born and raised in rural Alabama, where she spent most of her childhood roaming around outside, fishing, and occasionally smoking rabbit tobacco. As a federal employee in natural resource management subject to the whims of Washington politics, she is constantly reminded of the value of patience and perspective.
400 pages, Paperback
First published February 10, 2014
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248 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
June 15, 2017
An absolute must read of a story! interesting,good storytelling from beginning to the end...articulate and descriptive about the characters' habits/needs and insightful...highly recommend
November 8, 2016
Two girls, Grace and Blue, meet at college in 1978 and fall in love with each other. Prejudices on homosexuality typical of that time and powerful family pressure on Grace doom their budding relationship to failure. Twenty years will pass before Grace and Blue eventually will meet again as women and will have a second chance to build a new life together. End of a fair. That’s the romance part of this book.
But this book is far more than this. It is an inner journey inside Blue.
At the college, Blue falls deeply for Grace. Even against her own will, because while the brain suggests that their love story will result in separation, the heart rules.
She falls so deeply that Grace remains in her heart even after their separation and will haunt her life for a very long time, preventing her both to have another solid relationship and to settle in a place to live.
Blue is a very human character, she is tridimensional, real. She is motivated by her deep hurt and even if she is, at heart, a good person, she makes mistakes. She let herself have sexual relationships without love, with women involved in other relationships, with married women, with chance acquaintances. She looks for love and for career, but she is unable to find them. And it’s bitter, but everything feels so true. I totally identified with her.
When an author writes about failure in the right way, the story becomes rich and truthful.
And then there is the healing.
It comes from an old couple. With them, Blue learns again to be herself, she learns again to love and to be loved. And gradually she is reborn. It’s utterly touching. It’s beautiful. Love is not only romantic, it has so many forms.
To me, the greatness of this book is Blue’s fall and getting up.
I think in real life, after such an inner healing, the natural result would have been a new relationship, more significant than the old one.
As Helen Keller said so greatly: "When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us."
So I’m not supporting the thesis of this story that there is only one love possible. But this is a story of a second chance, and I am not contrary a priori.
I think, however, that the love story could have been better. Maybe with less sex and more feeling. The romance part falls a little bit short. I could not really see why the young Grace has been so important for Blue. It seems like Blue idealizes her a big deal.
For me, Grace lacks insight and it’s a pity because she could be a wonderful character as well if we could really get what she was feeling.
This book is different, original and deep. My advice is :don’t miss it.
Edit: Amber Benson, the Tara of Buffy, narrates the audiobook. She is wonderful, great!
But this book is far more than this. It is an inner journey inside Blue.
At the college, Blue falls deeply for Grace. Even against her own will, because while the brain suggests that their love story will result in separation, the heart rules.
She falls so deeply that Grace remains in her heart even after their separation and will haunt her life for a very long time, preventing her both to have another solid relationship and to settle in a place to live.
Blue is a very human character, she is tridimensional, real. She is motivated by her deep hurt and even if she is, at heart, a good person, she makes mistakes. She let herself have sexual relationships without love, with women involved in other relationships, with married women, with chance acquaintances. She looks for love and for career, but she is unable to find them. And it’s bitter, but everything feels so true. I totally identified with her.
When an author writes about failure in the right way, the story becomes rich and truthful.
And then there is the healing.
It comes from an old couple. With them, Blue learns again to be herself, she learns again to love and to be loved. And gradually she is reborn. It’s utterly touching. It’s beautiful. Love is not only romantic, it has so many forms.
To me, the greatness of this book is Blue’s fall and getting up.
I think in real life, after such an inner healing, the natural result would have been a new relationship, more significant than the old one.
As Helen Keller said so greatly: "When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us."
So I’m not supporting the thesis of this story that there is only one love possible. But this is a story of a second chance, and I am not contrary a priori.
I think, however, that the love story could have been better. Maybe with less sex and more feeling. The romance part falls a little bit short. I could not really see why the young Grace has been so important for Blue. It seems like Blue idealizes her a big deal.
For me, Grace lacks insight and it’s a pity because she could be a wonderful character as well if we could really get what she was feeling.
This book is different, original and deep. My advice is :don’t miss it.
Edit: Amber Benson, the Tara of Buffy, narrates the audiobook. She is wonderful, great!
July 17, 2016
Finding the Grain is a fine read with a great bunch of believable, three-dimensional characters. The book can be divided into three parts: Grace, Blue in-between, Grace again. In the first and third parts we follow the love story of Blue and Grace. The second part is about the life's journey and personal growth of the main character Blue (to paraphrase the quote: finding and following the grain in her own wood). I am looking forward to more good stories from Wynn Malone. She has already published a novel Blown Away, written under the pseudonym Perry Wynn (too bad it was not released as an e-book).
April 11, 2014
I can't remember the last time it took this long to read a well written book. Over the past two weeks life kept getting in the way of quality reading time so my mixed feelings for Finding the Grain may be my fault and not the authors.
I feel like I have spent a lifetime with Blue Riley. She is both charismatic and single minded. She knows what she wants. She wants Grace. When life steps in to keep the love of her life out of reach we readers spend the next twenty years watching Blue bounce from one job to another, from one life to another until she finds her focus, strength and wisdom working for Preacher and Mary.
I struggled to stay positive that love would prevail for Blue. If the authors intent was to show the frustrations and stalled life not fully lived when you miss out on true love then she succeeded admirably. As a mother I could relate to Aunt Julie worrying that Blue was throwing her life away by refusing to get a decent education and career. If Blue was my niece I would be shouting here, I will pay for your education, just move on already.
I was impressed with the authors ability to shake me from the standard happy romance and make me see that love is not always easy. Sometimes it takes a lifetime to achieve our dreams. There can be HEA, it just takes different paths for different people.
I feel like I have spent a lifetime with Blue Riley. She is both charismatic and single minded. She knows what she wants. She wants Grace. When life steps in to keep the love of her life out of reach we readers spend the next twenty years watching Blue bounce from one job to another, from one life to another until she finds her focus, strength and wisdom working for Preacher and Mary.
I struggled to stay positive that love would prevail for Blue. If the authors intent was to show the frustrations and stalled life not fully lived when you miss out on true love then she succeeded admirably. As a mother I could relate to Aunt Julie worrying that Blue was throwing her life away by refusing to get a decent education and career. If Blue was my niece I would be shouting here, I will pay for your education, just move on already.
I was impressed with the authors ability to shake me from the standard happy romance and make me see that love is not always easy. Sometimes it takes a lifetime to achieve our dreams. There can be HEA, it just takes different paths for different people.
June 21, 2014
Finding the Grain is very similar to another good read, Gerry Hill's At Seventeen in plot. Same rich girl/poor girl premise, same finding-your-soulmate thing but she's expected to marry into money (and men), same decades long separation, etc. etc. But, At Seventeen feels so lightweight, so genre lesfic compared to this. Finding the Grain is so much more. It is still primarily a romance, but it is also about heartbreak, separation and a possible chance at reunion. It is about finding love, and losing it. It is about letting life's fickle turns take you every which way instead of grabbing it by the horns and making your own way. Its about making choices and sometimes, not making them but taking the easy way out. But It is also about forgiveness and second chances and the possibility of HEA--but only if love is strong enough to overcome fear and anger.
Blue is a tomboyish farm girl who lost her parents to a tornado. This tragic turn of events also caused her to lose the farm and the only home she's ever known. Her aunt offers to put her through college, but on her terms. Blue reluctantly agrees. But while there she meets a sorority girl, Grace who seems to act differently from the rest. They fall in love. But Grace isn't strong enough to defy the threats of her parents to withdraw financial support. She ends their relationship and leaves Blue for a European job.
This book follows Blue all they way--from her journey to, away from, and back to the one she believes is her one true love. The journey is long--literally as the book is over 400+ pages, but it is never boring. The romance is very well developed. The chemistry between Blue and Grace make their scenes together sizzle. There is a blue period--when heartbreak causes Blue to go adrift--where she just goes wherever her wanderlust takes her and then runs off whenever something goes wrong. I must admit I almost skipped this book because most reviews seemed to indicate that this part would overwhelm the book. It didn't. It lasts 20 years in book-time but It only took up a third of the book in terms of number of pages. So no need to worry, we get a lot of Blue/Grace time in the first third and again in the last third of the book and it's totally worth the wait--tons of delicious tension and angst await the patient reader! Going back to the blue period, it is not at all depressing or even boring. I enjoyed reading about the different places Blue drifted into and the different people she met--lovers, friends, even surrogate parents. The author's prose is very descriptive (especially re:outdoors) but not overwrought. The book is mostly from Blue's POV, but the author lets us get to know Grace so well, one can't help but fall in love with her too.
One other noteworthy aspect of the book is how realistic it feels, as if its not fiction. Like real life, Blue's life turned out to be a mess. Even when they reunite, the odds for a HEA were very remote. The incredible baggage both of them carry seemed impossible to overcome. But like life, books can be full of surprises. :)
5 stars
Blue is a tomboyish farm girl who lost her parents to a tornado. This tragic turn of events also caused her to lose the farm and the only home she's ever known. Her aunt offers to put her through college, but on her terms. Blue reluctantly agrees. But while there she meets a sorority girl, Grace who seems to act differently from the rest. They fall in love. But Grace isn't strong enough to defy the threats of her parents to withdraw financial support. She ends their relationship and leaves Blue for a European job.
This book follows Blue all they way--from her journey to, away from, and back to the one she believes is her one true love. The journey is long--literally as the book is over 400+ pages, but it is never boring. The romance is very well developed. The chemistry between Blue and Grace make their scenes together sizzle. There is a blue period--when heartbreak causes Blue to go adrift--where she just goes wherever her wanderlust takes her and then runs off whenever something goes wrong. I must admit I almost skipped this book because most reviews seemed to indicate that this part would overwhelm the book. It didn't. It lasts 20 years in book-time but It only took up a third of the book in terms of number of pages. So no need to worry, we get a lot of Blue/Grace time in the first third and again in the last third of the book and it's totally worth the wait--tons of delicious tension and angst await the patient reader! Going back to the blue period, it is not at all depressing or even boring. I enjoyed reading about the different places Blue drifted into and the different people she met--lovers, friends, even surrogate parents. The author's prose is very descriptive (especially re:outdoors) but not overwrought. The book is mostly from Blue's POV, but the author lets us get to know Grace so well, one can't help but fall in love with her too.
One other noteworthy aspect of the book is how realistic it feels, as if its not fiction. Like real life, Blue's life turned out to be a mess. Even when they reunite, the odds for a HEA were very remote. The incredible baggage both of them carry seemed impossible to overcome. But like life, books can be full of surprises. :)
5 stars
August 18, 2025
4.5
Wouh. I read this one in less than 20hours!
Many writers in the F/F romance genre try to address the rekindled-love storyline. And in my opinion, many fail to tell a believable and organic story. I mean, obviously, it must be incredibly hard to tell a love story over a time span of 20 years, right? Do you tell it from the start? Do you only hint at the past?
That is what makes Finding the Grain impressive. Because it is a complete success. It is indeed pretty similar to At Seventeen by Gerri Hill, which absolutely blew my mind too. In Finding the Grain, we get to know about everything, and that makes it a very compelling and emotional read. Not only do we get to read about how Grace and Blue meet, how they fall in love, how they love grows, how they break apart, and come together again in the future, we also read about Blue during the 20 years in between. Admittedly, there were times I almost skipped some chapters because I was so impatient for Grace to be back in the picture, but I think those chapters were essential to understand how Blue struggled through the heartbreak and tried to find herself again.
The supporting characters, especially Mary and Preacher, are absolutely lovely. They made the book even more touching than it already was!
Blue and Grace are attractive, and beautifully vulnerable. Even though Grace is infuriating for taking so damn long to break free from the expectations of her family and follow her heart, I couldn't help but feel her pain. I think that the 20 years they spent apart were far worse on Grace, who had to live a lie, marry a man she didn't love and lead a life that was a farce, than it was on Blue, who at least spent 20 years experiencing what resembled freedom.
The love story in itself is wonderful. Great chemistry from the beginning. Great emotional connection. Great sex.
My only complaint would maybe be about the heaviness of the book, overall. It's basically angst the whole time. In the beginning, there was this terrible feeling of foreboding that kept me from really enjoying even the lighter moments of the story. The break up is heartbreaking, as expected.
When 20 years after, they reconnect, it's still really hard to read. Barriers are still keeping them from being really together, and they take their damn time pulling their s*it together.
The ending is really rushed and the Epilogue only hints at their happy ending.
I finished this book with a heavy feeling in my chest. Like I had been hurting for a whole day and the ending had hardly helped the pain. This book deserves a sequel with a lot more fluff!
Wouh. I read this one in less than 20hours!
Many writers in the F/F romance genre try to address the rekindled-love storyline. And in my opinion, many fail to tell a believable and organic story. I mean, obviously, it must be incredibly hard to tell a love story over a time span of 20 years, right? Do you tell it from the start? Do you only hint at the past?
That is what makes Finding the Grain impressive. Because it is a complete success. It is indeed pretty similar to At Seventeen by Gerri Hill, which absolutely blew my mind too. In Finding the Grain, we get to know about everything, and that makes it a very compelling and emotional read. Not only do we get to read about how Grace and Blue meet, how they fall in love, how they love grows, how they break apart, and come together again in the future, we also read about Blue during the 20 years in between. Admittedly, there were times I almost skipped some chapters because I was so impatient for Grace to be back in the picture, but I think those chapters were essential to understand how Blue struggled through the heartbreak and tried to find herself again.
The supporting characters, especially Mary and Preacher, are absolutely lovely. They made the book even more touching than it already was!
Blue and Grace are attractive, and beautifully vulnerable. Even though Grace is infuriating for taking so damn long to break free from the expectations of her family and follow her heart, I couldn't help but feel her pain. I think that the 20 years they spent apart were far worse on Grace, who had to live a lie, marry a man she didn't love and lead a life that was a farce, than it was on Blue, who at least spent 20 years experiencing what resembled freedom.
The love story in itself is wonderful. Great chemistry from the beginning. Great emotional connection. Great sex.
My only complaint would maybe be about the heaviness of the book, overall. It's basically angst the whole time. In the beginning, there was this terrible feeling of foreboding that kept me from really enjoying even the lighter moments of the story. The break up is heartbreaking, as expected.
When 20 years after, they reconnect, it's still really hard to read. Barriers are still keeping them from being really together, and they take their damn time pulling their s*it together.
The ending is really rushed and the Epilogue only hints at their happy ending.
I finished this book with a heavy feeling in my chest. Like I had been hurting for a whole day and the ending had hardly helped the pain. This book deserves a sequel with a lot more fluff!
June 22, 2019
I felt like I lived those 24 years with Blue, gotten my heart broken by Grace for over 2 decades. But also fell in love with Grace like it was my own heart bearing all those emotions. I enjoyed it all, except for the underwhelming ending. It was beautiful, bittersweet confession, but such short ending for the journey I felt I'd gone through with Blue.
But my gosh, what a journey, beautiful love stories: the people Blue met along the way, Mary and Preacher are such treasures.
I did get frustrated with Blue's life choices, but that's what made it unpredictable. I'm glad I decided to give this a go.
But my gosh, what a journey, beautiful love stories: the people Blue met along the way, Mary and Preacher are such treasures.
I did get frustrated with Blue's life choices, but that's what made it unpredictable. I'm glad I decided to give this a go.
March 17, 2025
I liked a lot about this novel. It felt different in a genre where novels sometimes bleed together, telling the same story over and over again. And this novel is hard at times. Angsty for sure, the way most good slow burns are. But it also felt much more realistic, too.
My one complaint with the novel is the dialogue. It felt very old-fashioned, I guess. In a way that didn't seem believable. Every character spoke the same way. And that way kept me at a distance from them as individuals. I know Wynn Malone is covering a lot of ground and several decades, but the writing and the way the characters spoke didn't seem to change with the times.
My one complaint with the novel is the dialogue. It felt very old-fashioned, I guess. In a way that didn't seem believable. Every character spoke the same way. And that way kept me at a distance from them as individuals. I know Wynn Malone is covering a lot of ground and several decades, but the writing and the way the characters spoke didn't seem to change with the times.
October 7, 2014
The beginning was a bit shaky for me (but what do I know, right?)... and that nicked off bits from the 5th star, so it's not quite a 5 but it's close. Lotsa drama, so much that I grit my teeth sometimes. I like the fact the instead of typing "After 20 or so years..., " the author painted the story for us.
We have Augusta Blue Riley trying to get to where she thought she always wanted to be before she lost her parents.
Enter Grace Lancaster, the straight sorority sister, who disrupts Blue's life and eventually captures her heart.
All signs point to 'trouble' but Blue dismisses them and goes head first towards an expected, but still painful, heartbreak which throws her off-course and the real story begins.
Decisions and mistakes were made. Ties were severed. Dreams forgotten. Feelings and principles set aside. But at the end of it all, whether she's angry or depressed, Blue's thoughts go back to one name.
We have Augusta Blue Riley trying to get to where she thought she always wanted to be before she lost her parents.
Enter Grace Lancaster, the straight sorority sister, who disrupts Blue's life and eventually captures her heart.
All signs point to 'trouble' but Blue dismisses them and goes head first towards an expected, but still painful, heartbreak which throws her off-course and the real story begins.
Decisions and mistakes were made. Ties were severed. Dreams forgotten. Feelings and principles set aside. But at the end of it all, whether she's angry or depressed, Blue's thoughts go back to one name.
October 17, 2016
This is a gem of a book. While it features a romantic relationship that takes up a huge part of the main character’s life and mind, it’s actually more like an episodic coming of age story.
I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Amber Benson and I highly recommend it.
Full review here: http://www.thelesbianreview.com/findi...
I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Amber Benson and I highly recommend it.
Full review here: http://www.thelesbianreview.com/findi...
April 30, 2021
This book was awfully unbalanced
I had to bully myself through the first third which felt awkward from the beginning to the years of drifting. I didn't feel the love between the main and was overdosed by the angst and waste.
This part was soso two stars.
The second third, the healing arc in a farm with two beautiful aging souls was soooo great, a 4 stars for me.
The last part was a no surprising very long in the making coming out and cleaning up once life ... and it was... mostly boring.
Though the growth of the Blue character is interesting if an awfully slow process. It's not counterbalanced by the other character that felt more like a dreamed match than a true match.
As usual in writing, there is a difference between telling something to your readers and making them feel it. I couldn't get a feel on the Grace character, couldn't grasp why she was such a big part of the other character and that lost me.
I had to bully myself through the first third which felt awkward from the beginning to the years of drifting. I didn't feel the love between the main and was overdosed by the angst and waste.
This part was soso two stars.
The second third, the healing arc in a farm with two beautiful aging souls was soooo great, a 4 stars for me.
The last part was a no surprising very long in the making coming out and cleaning up once life ... and it was... mostly boring.
Though the growth of the Blue character is interesting if an awfully slow process. It's not counterbalanced by the other character that felt more like a dreamed match than a true match.
As usual in writing, there is a difference between telling something to your readers and making them feel it. I couldn't get a feel on the Grace character, couldn't grasp why she was such a big part of the other character and that lost me.
December 17, 2024
Reread. God this book is good. Wynn Malone is really interesting as dropping this book then peacing out and I wish there were more books from her.
August 26, 2022
Eureka!
I've been searching high and low for sapphic romance that is well written, well plotted and believable, has depth, and pulls at the heartstrings. This one checks off all the boxes. Marvelous story.
Now for the bad news. It was a one-hit wonder. Wynn Malone published it in 2014 and hasn't written another book since.
But it's reassuring to know that gems like this are out there, waiting to be found. The search continues....
I've been searching high and low for sapphic romance that is well written, well plotted and believable, has depth, and pulls at the heartstrings. This one checks off all the boxes. Marvelous story.
Now for the bad news. It was a one-hit wonder. Wynn Malone published it in 2014 and hasn't written another book since.
But it's reassuring to know that gems like this are out there, waiting to be found. The search continues....
December 8, 2014
I have to say, this book strangely moved me. It was unexpected really. Let me start off by saying that I was born and raised in the south. A South that is full of contradictions, breathtaking beauty, kindness, complexity, and wondrous disappointment. I'm sensitive, okay prickly, about the brainless preconceived notions people make, sometimes say, or write about a place that raised me to be who I am.
But writing a story set in the South is no easy task. Communicating the nuances, descriptions, drama and unique humor to a broad audience that mostly has no idea what life is really like, and generally no interest in finding out, has to be daunting. The author’s vision has to be good enough to make a story and then effectively transcend the limitations and blind spots of the audience. Historically though, it filters out the great stories and storytellers. I’m happy to report Wynn Malone is a great addition to this group.
This story started in college with a really strong, sweet connection. I liked Blue and Grace very much. Personally, I believe character names matter, and both Blue and Grace live up to their namesakes, in very big ways.
Some choices were made that crushed the light out of Blue and she entered her dark period →heartbreak. She became something other than herself, in every imaginable and unhelpful way. Leaving college, going from job to job and woman to woman, Blue was a numbed out shell of her true self that even she didn't like, using societal injustice and bad luck as her rationalization. I have to say, the middle of this story was tough to witness, much like watching a friend going through something painful and making mistakes while finding their way. I had to grit my teeth, really, watching as Blue compromised herself. If her Auntie Julie, Preacher, or Mary hadn't been saying to her what I wanted to verbalize myself, the frustration would have been too much. "You are meant to be something besides a love-scorned drifter. It's beneath you." If you can remain non-judgmental during this 20+ year 'phase' you might understand, sooner than I eventually did, why this dark journey was necessary.
Eventually, Blue made her way back to North Carolina and all the important stuff she’d been missing. Accidentally almost. Both sides of this difficult pairing were well described. Not sure until the very end which way this was going to tip. Nothing was typical about how this story was told, which is what I would expect from a Southern author, because nothing fits inside a box if you really know the South.
But writing a story set in the South is no easy task. Communicating the nuances, descriptions, drama and unique humor to a broad audience that mostly has no idea what life is really like, and generally no interest in finding out, has to be daunting. The author’s vision has to be good enough to make a story and then effectively transcend the limitations and blind spots of the audience. Historically though, it filters out the great stories and storytellers. I’m happy to report Wynn Malone is a great addition to this group.
This story started in college with a really strong, sweet connection. I liked Blue and Grace very much. Personally, I believe character names matter, and both Blue and Grace live up to their namesakes, in very big ways.
Some choices were made that crushed the light out of Blue and she entered her dark period →heartbreak. She became something other than herself, in every imaginable and unhelpful way. Leaving college, going from job to job and woman to woman, Blue was a numbed out shell of her true self that even she didn't like, using societal injustice and bad luck as her rationalization. I have to say, the middle of this story was tough to witness, much like watching a friend going through something painful and making mistakes while finding their way. I had to grit my teeth, really, watching as Blue compromised herself. If her Auntie Julie, Preacher, or Mary hadn't been saying to her what I wanted to verbalize myself, the frustration would have been too much. "You are meant to be something besides a love-scorned drifter. It's beneath you." If you can remain non-judgmental during this 20+ year 'phase' you might understand, sooner than I eventually did, why this dark journey was necessary.
Eventually, Blue made her way back to North Carolina and all the important stuff she’d been missing. Accidentally almost. Both sides of this difficult pairing were well described. Not sure until the very end which way this was going to tip. Nothing was typical about how this story was told, which is what I would expect from a Southern author, because nothing fits inside a box if you really know the South.
June 18, 2018
Audiobook: I purchased the audiobook on audible and it was so good. The narrator was amazing. I made my wife listen to it as well as she had never read the book. I know this isn't the right way to describe the book, but I feel like this was the lesbian Forrest Gump.. written by the lesbian Margaret Mitchell. Not in the way that Blue is Forrest but in the way 1 person (Blue) kind of wanders through life incomplete... not knowing what to do... but the journey allows her to touch so many lives. It may have just been me, but even the narrator sounded emotional a few times while reading it. Why Mitchell you ask? Okay maybe you didn't but I will tell you anyway. Because we have all been patiently waiting for another book.... that hasn't come. Just one amazing book. I follow Malone on Twitter just so someday I may see an update she has written another book. Still waiting.. Read it or listen to it.. either way it is an amazing book.
I have had this book for a while but always found an excuse to read a different book on my list. This book is a rare find in lesbian fiction. This book is packed with feelings. That is the best way I can describe the book. I went through a range of emotions while reading. Smiling and hoping for brighter days for Blue, shaking my head and wishing Grace could be stronger...braver. Wishing Blue could be more stable, I found myself both loving and disliking many characters at different points in the book. It felt like reading something real, something that doesn't leave you after a couple of days. I hope to read another book from the author soon.
I have had this book for a while but always found an excuse to read a different book on my list. This book is a rare find in lesbian fiction. This book is packed with feelings. That is the best way I can describe the book. I went through a range of emotions while reading. Smiling and hoping for brighter days for Blue, shaking my head and wishing Grace could be stronger...braver. Wishing Blue could be more stable, I found myself both loving and disliking many characters at different points in the book. It felt like reading something real, something that doesn't leave you after a couple of days. I hope to read another book from the author soon.
August 3, 2015
This book has a very good start. The carachters and their love story are sufficiently detailed to be believable.
The first half of the book remminds me a bit to "Brokeback mountain": two sweet carachters that have a lot of chemistry, that fall maddly in love, but their love story does not last long. They are condemed by "Society", and they are forced to live sepparate lives.
The second half presents a different story and a very different ending. It is this second half that raises most of my doubts. I don't understand why the author provides so much detail of the live journey of Blue and we get no detail at all of Grace's live until the very end. Besides, the long and solitary journey of Blue does not work for me. I find it too long and with many episodes that bring little added value to the story.
It is probably a beautiful story that gets a bit too long to end.
The first half of the book remminds me a bit to "Brokeback mountain": two sweet carachters that have a lot of chemistry, that fall maddly in love, but their love story does not last long. They are condemed by "Society", and they are forced to live sepparate lives.
The second half presents a different story and a very different ending. It is this second half that raises most of my doubts. I don't understand why the author provides so much detail of the live journey of Blue and we get no detail at all of Grace's live until the very end. Besides, the long and solitary journey of Blue does not work for me. I find it too long and with many episodes that bring little added value to the story.
It is probably a beautiful story that gets a bit too long to end.
June 27, 2015
This is not just a story of love but true love. There is much to enjoy about this story and the characters. Particularly her aunt, Preacher, Mary, and of course Grace. How the story unfolded and the description of the characters and the places were so vivid that I could not help myself but fall in love. I rode the rollercoaster of highs and lows. I laughed and cried as the author took me on this wonderful and scenic journey that I will not soon forget.
January 5, 2020
Boy, I struggled with this and had to remind myself it was a different time. Grace's character worked my every nerve. I didn't like her at all until 95% of the book was gone. Then I reluctantly accepted her and kept it pushing. Blue Riley took heartbreak to the next level. I can't relate. And her love for Grace worked my nerve too. She deserved much better. But the heart wants what it wants. Also the book was too long. It's an okay read.
April 16, 2014
Enjoyable romance read, especially the journey the two characters go through. The story just makes you wanting to keep turning the pages to find out whether Blue and Grace will get together or not. Check out written reviews by other people which are great.
May 6, 2019
You know ... I enjoyed this one quite a bit. The road trip aspect to Blue’s story, the people she met along the way and how she grew and found a version of herself she was happy with was a ride I was happy to go along with.
There were certainly times that I thought her patience with Grace was misplaced, and I can’t say I was mad about her character, but Blue figured she was the one she couldn’t get over.
I enjoyed the temporal shift in the writing, the narration was good too, and the meandering and lucky way that Blue landed on her feet made for an interesting tale.
There were certainly times that I thought her patience with Grace was misplaced, and I can’t say I was mad about her character, but Blue figured she was the one she couldn’t get over.
I enjoyed the temporal shift in the writing, the narration was good too, and the meandering and lucky way that Blue landed on her feet made for an interesting tale.
April 29, 2020
DNF- couldn't get into this one, maybe I will try to finish later
December 1, 2020
A nice book to read. Engaging as well!
July 7, 2022
This is one woman's amazing life journey. How her encounters and experiences have shaped her choices in life. It is a very colorful and emotional story. My heart ached for Blue especially after every encounter with Grace her one true love. Grace is always trying to please others and follow the rules while denying her true self. I found it very moving and beautifully written. The narrator Amber Benson did a super job with the Alabama accent as well as making all the characters unique.
June 17, 2014
Life isn't always about how successful one is in the classroom or how well that translates into a successful career or how much money is in the bank account, rather it should be about seeking happiness and that is exactly what Finding the Grain gives the reader as Wynn Malone beautifully builds Blue Riley's life from the debris of a tornado that leaves her an orphan. What I truly love about Wynn Malone's writing (and if you haven't read her work under Perry Wynn I highly recommend that as well) is that it isn't superficial. The reader isn't just going to get the girl meets girl, girl loses girl and then magically girl gets girl back to live happily ever after. With Finding the Grain, the reader gets the hardships that individuals must struggle through in order to find the path they are meant to live. A path some people sacrifice for the easy way- doing what is expected of them instead of doing what brings passion to their life. From the very beginning the reader is giving the idea that Blue has an unrecognized gift to work with wood. It allows her to connect with other people, to connect with her family and her past, and to connect with her passion. With all the very realistic pressures of life that passion gets lost and through the ins and outs of trial and error the reader shares in Blue's journey of making mistakes and growing from them. It takes her a lifetime to find that passion again, but when she is on that road her life becomes richer and her relationships become more meaningful. I am glad that Malone has followed her passion the same way Blue has and shared yet another wonderful must read story with the readers looking for a meaningful well written story.
April 10, 2022
After her parents are killed by a tornado, Blue Riley moves from Alabama to North Carolina to be near her aunt and attend UNC. It's there she meets Grace, a wealthy sorority girl. In spite of their different backgrounds, the two feel a pull toward one another made complicated by the expectations of Grace's family.
This book spans about a 30 year period, from the college years in the early 1980s through to the first decade of the 2000s. It's a lengthy second chance romance told from Blue's POV, and the impact of the early breakup on the next decades of Blue's life, which have her quitting school and drifting from place to place and woman to woman, until she finds an anchor living with an elderly couple where the husband teaches her furniture making. After she opens a business in NC, Grace re-enters.
The author takes her time with Blue and in the last third, with Blue and Grace. The writing is strong, especially descriptions of the outdoors.
I have to admit that second chance romances are my favorite and this one was highly engaging and made me tear up from time to time. I had some initial reservations about Blue's thoughts about how people in the South reacted to the Civil Rights movement ("everyone got mad"), but that seemed to be outweighed by her sensitive depiction of Preacher and Mary, the elderly African American couple. Even a book written only 8 years ago doesn't have the consciousness about race that one would expect now, and that's the case with this book. Even so, it's a wonderful read.
This book spans about a 30 year period, from the college years in the early 1980s through to the first decade of the 2000s. It's a lengthy second chance romance told from Blue's POV, and the impact of the early breakup on the next decades of Blue's life, which have her quitting school and drifting from place to place and woman to woman, until she finds an anchor living with an elderly couple where the husband teaches her furniture making. After she opens a business in NC, Grace re-enters.
The author takes her time with Blue and in the last third, with Blue and Grace. The writing is strong, especially descriptions of the outdoors.
I have to admit that second chance romances are my favorite and this one was highly engaging and made me tear up from time to time. I had some initial reservations about Blue's thoughts about how people in the South reacted to the Civil Rights movement ("everyone got mad"), but that seemed to be outweighed by her sensitive depiction of Preacher and Mary, the elderly African American couple. Even a book written only 8 years ago doesn't have the consciousness about race that one would expect now, and that's the case with this book. Even so, it's a wonderful read.
May 26, 2021
DNF
I tried. I really, really tried. I'm a little over two hours in and I keep looking at how much longer. 12 and half hours more to go and I can't do it. The book is boring to me. I have no idea why Blue puts up with Grace's antics. What is it about her that Blue is drawn to? And I'm guessing that Blue is going to be chasing Grace the entire book or be hung up on Grace the whole book and I can't listen to that for over 14 hours.
As an aside, Wynn Malone's writing skills are good. I don't like this particular story, but I can tell she is a good writer. So, I'm going to search for another book by this author.
I tried. I really, really tried. I'm a little over two hours in and I keep looking at how much longer. 12 and half hours more to go and I can't do it. The book is boring to me. I have no idea why Blue puts up with Grace's antics. What is it about her that Blue is drawn to? And I'm guessing that Blue is going to be chasing Grace the entire book or be hung up on Grace the whole book and I can't listen to that for over 14 hours.
As an aside, Wynn Malone's writing skills are good. I don't like this particular story, but I can tell she is a good writer. So, I'm going to search for another book by this author.
September 21, 2021
I loved this book. I bonded with the main character right away since I am the same age. I lived through many of the same issues and in the same timeframe. I knew what it was like. I was on the edge of my seat with the roller coaster of emotions I experienced. I loved the parts where the narrator had a hitch in her voice during the most emotional parts. I felt like she was crying with me. I had a most beautiful experience believing it would all work out in the end, almost as if it could right the wrongs that I myself experienced. I can’t really explain it. I won’t say what happens but believe me, it’s worth the ride.
December 27, 2014
I really enjoyed this story. Having grown up in Alabama, I was a little reluctant. Most authors don't quite get it right. But the story had a nice, slow easy feel. It wasn't written in "southern drawl" which most authors writing about the South use, which drives me crazy.
The authenticity of the characters was immediate and she drew me in really from the beginning. A grand love story which wasn't really finished even when the book ended.
The authenticity of the characters was immediate and she drew me in really from the beginning. A grand love story which wasn't really finished even when the book ended.
June 17, 2022
"My Grace Lancaster had finally shed the skin of deceit, and she had done it for me..."
I really love a second chance book.. And this book was wonderful.. A read not only about second chances.. But also about Blue finding herself, and Grace coming to terms with who she really is, and finally having her happy ending..
I loved this book. But than I could imagine! I'm happy to have discovered this reading.. It was intense, it really impressed me.
I really love a second chance book.. And this book was wonderful.. A read not only about second chances.. But also about Blue finding herself, and Grace coming to terms with who she really is, and finally having her happy ending..
I loved this book. But than I could imagine! I'm happy to have discovered this reading.. It was intense, it really impressed me.
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