What do you think?
Rate this book
What Would Grace Do?: How to Live Life in Style Like the Princess of Hollywood
Find your inner a modern-day guide to the classic beauty and timeless style of the Hollywood starlet and real-life princess Grace Kelly.
Grace Kelly set a standard for elegance that continues to inspire women. Model, actress, socialite, and princess, Grace did it all and made it look utterly effortless. What Would Grace Do? is a treasure trove of biographical information as well as advice, including modern lifestyle tips and even how to plan a royalty-worthy cocktail party. Now any woman will be able to handle careers, cashmere, family, and ball gowns with the same irresistible charm, elegance, and grace.
Grace Kelly set a standard for elegance that continues to inspire women. Model, actress, socialite, and princess, Grace did it all and made it look utterly effortless. What Would Grace Do? is a treasure trove of biographical information as well as advice, including modern lifestyle tips and even how to plan a royalty-worthy cocktail party. Now any woman will be able to handle careers, cashmere, family, and ball gowns with the same irresistible charm, elegance, and grace.
- GenresNonfictionSelf Help
240 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2012
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 20, 2020
A rather informal use of writing. The book is built on a curation of sources which are written in a style similar to a blogpost or magazine... The author points out aspects of Grace Kelly’s life and characteristics of Grace as a person, which honestly don’t do her much justice. After finishing this superficial book, I ended up disliking Grace Kelly due to how she is portrayed in this particular book. She comes across as being quite promiscuous.
I don’t really understand why there is so much focus on Grace’s love life and the vast extent of infidelity (from her side!) that seemed to play a role in her romantic relationships. Yes, the author did mention great characteristics of Grace Kelly. For example, her perseverance, charm and kindness. However, when the author then focuses on her sexual appeal towards a large quantity of men and her adultery while being married to Prince Rainier of Monaco, I just feel uncomfortable.
To conclude, this book wasn’t my cup of tea and isn’t nowhere comparable to ‘What Would Audrey Do?’, which exudes elegance. Therefore, I will most definitely not think ‘What Would Grace Do?’ when faced with an obstacle in life or having to make life-changing decisions.
I don’t really understand why there is so much focus on Grace’s love life and the vast extent of infidelity (from her side!) that seemed to play a role in her romantic relationships. Yes, the author did mention great characteristics of Grace Kelly. For example, her perseverance, charm and kindness. However, when the author then focuses on her sexual appeal towards a large quantity of men and her adultery while being married to Prince Rainier of Monaco, I just feel uncomfortable.
To conclude, this book wasn’t my cup of tea and isn’t nowhere comparable to ‘What Would Audrey Do?’, which exudes elegance. Therefore, I will most definitely not think ‘What Would Grace Do?’ when faced with an obstacle in life or having to make life-changing decisions.
July 10, 2020
I'm being a little generous with 3 stars because this book was suuuuper sexist and old-fashioned. This book thrives on telling girls we need to be perfectly dressed, perfectly coiffed, and perfectly made up with perfect, sweet, kind female manners. Maybe 2.5 is a little more accurate. Still, sexism aside, there were some fun tidbits and it's all for the love of Grace, a truly remarkable star that we can all look up to.
March 4, 2022
This would be closer to a 1.5. I rounded up because I did like the first couple of chapters, which covered Grace Kelly's early years + some tips for career, setting and meeting goals, and not letting naysayers get you down. I also got a cocktail recipe out of this book which is always a plus. But I feel I'm probably being a little too generous with my rating. The lifestyle and general style tips were often contrived. I also disliked the general cutesy tone of the book ("our Gracie" wore me down quick), plus it read more like a gossip rag in a lot of places. (I especially hated all the unnecessary comparisons between Grace and Princess Di / Marilyn Monroe. WTF?) I ultimately felt this book was a pointless exercise.
Purchased at BookPeople in Austin, TX (one of my favorite bookstores ever).
Purchased at BookPeople in Austin, TX (one of my favorite bookstores ever).
May 16, 2013
It's no secret that I have a thing for royalty. I also long for days-gone-by, and simpler times. So, I was a natural choice to review "What Would Grace Do?: How to Live Life in Style Like the Princess of Hollywood."
This was not your typical book -- not really a biography, but several snippets about Grace Kelly's life, along with lessons from that life on how we can live more like she did. There are sections on Grace's movies, marriage, children, fashion, and more.
The books reads easily, and has a bit of an unusual voice (it will refer to Grace as "la Grace," "our Gracie," etc. -- and often throw in a comment followed by "Clever Grace!" or something to that effect). It was just a bit too-too, yet I'm thinking perhaps it was written this way in an attempt to channel the 1950s? The two-color drawings illustrating the book definitely hearkened back to that era.
I would say that if you're a Grace Kelly fan already, you'll probably know much of the info this book contains. However, I didn't know much about Grace before reading this -- my main memories of her were of the times she and Princess Diana met; both during Diana's engagement (remember, it was the night when Di wore the "scandalous" low-cut ballgown?), and again during the honeymoon, shortly before Grace's tragic early death in a car crash (eerie similarity with Diana!).
Grace sounds like a pretty typical '50s era movie star. I was interested to read that the people of Monaco, home of her husband Prince Rainier, didn't seem to be too taken with her. Neither, for that matter, did her husband. I was impressed with how she still stayed in her marriage though, and attempted to make the best of the situation. I recalled that her children had turned out to be less-than-perfect, what with the girls partying and marrying playboys, and the son being a playboy himself before finally marrying a bride who seemed less than thrilled with the arrangement -- a la Grace?
Grace also sounded a bit promiscuous, though, which was sort of a downer. And majority opinion seems to be that she spoiled her kids. So will I be considering what would Grace do? when making life decisions? Eh, probably not. But if you are a Grace Kelly fan, this would be a quick, fun read.
This was not your typical book -- not really a biography, but several snippets about Grace Kelly's life, along with lessons from that life on how we can live more like she did. There are sections on Grace's movies, marriage, children, fashion, and more.
The books reads easily, and has a bit of an unusual voice (it will refer to Grace as "la Grace," "our Gracie," etc. -- and often throw in a comment followed by "Clever Grace!" or something to that effect). It was just a bit too-too, yet I'm thinking perhaps it was written this way in an attempt to channel the 1950s? The two-color drawings illustrating the book definitely hearkened back to that era.
I would say that if you're a Grace Kelly fan already, you'll probably know much of the info this book contains. However, I didn't know much about Grace before reading this -- my main memories of her were of the times she and Princess Diana met; both during Diana's engagement (remember, it was the night when Di wore the "scandalous" low-cut ballgown?), and again during the honeymoon, shortly before Grace's tragic early death in a car crash (eerie similarity with Diana!).
Grace sounds like a pretty typical '50s era movie star. I was interested to read that the people of Monaco, home of her husband Prince Rainier, didn't seem to be too taken with her. Neither, for that matter, did her husband. I was impressed with how she still stayed in her marriage though, and attempted to make the best of the situation. I recalled that her children had turned out to be less-than-perfect, what with the girls partying and marrying playboys, and the son being a playboy himself before finally marrying a bride who seemed less than thrilled with the arrangement -- a la Grace?
Grace also sounded a bit promiscuous, though, which was sort of a downer. And majority opinion seems to be that she spoiled her kids. So will I be considering what would Grace do? when making life decisions? Eh, probably not. But if you are a Grace Kelly fan, this would be a quick, fun read.
April 1, 2015
By no means a good book in any way! I paid £2 for this book from a discounted bookshop and to be honest even that is too expensive for this.
From the title you can tell this will be a different way of looking at a persons life, but quite frankly the tips read more like a blog someone has put together!
And I could not get over the glowing referrals to "our Gracie"! This author put grace kelly on a pedastool which made the book boring to read.
As for the biographical nature, the details are sparse, and lacking the details which would make a person want to buy the book in the first place.
This book is bests avoided. And don't get me started on the lack of photographs of Grace Kelly especially in the fashion section! (Which also avoided any mention about her hair and makeup)
Altogether a rather disappointing read!
From the title you can tell this will be a different way of looking at a persons life, but quite frankly the tips read more like a blog someone has put together!
And I could not get over the glowing referrals to "our Gracie"! This author put grace kelly on a pedastool which made the book boring to read.
As for the biographical nature, the details are sparse, and lacking the details which would make a person want to buy the book in the first place.
This book is bests avoided. And don't get me started on the lack of photographs of Grace Kelly especially in the fashion section! (Which also avoided any mention about her hair and makeup)
Altogether a rather disappointing read!
October 17, 2023
It's a nicely written book, but the only place where it stumbles is how it glosses over Grace's not-so-graceful actions. Ideally, I'd like to give it 2.75 stars.
While I really enjoyed reading snippets about Grace Kelly's life, I felt that the author, at times, portrayed Grace as this 'Not-Like-Other-Girls' type.
Some parts of it, I liked. Like the aspect about Grace's hustle and dedication? I loved reading how she went about it.
But the other parts? Like how men would fall for her and the glorification of extramarital affairs? It felt like the author was blinded by her love for Grace Kelly. It would've been an even more fun read if she added more nuance to Grace's personality.
While I really enjoyed reading snippets about Grace Kelly's life, I felt that the author, at times, portrayed Grace as this 'Not-Like-Other-Girls' type.
Some parts of it, I liked. Like the aspect about Grace's hustle and dedication? I loved reading how she went about it.
But the other parts? Like how men would fall for her and the glorification of extramarital affairs? It felt like the author was blinded by her love for Grace Kelly. It would've been an even more fun read if she added more nuance to Grace's personality.
November 17, 2024
Having been a fan of the golden age of Hollywood, I was excited to read What Would Grace Do? I received this for Christmas 2022 and started to read it in February 2023. It’s taken me until now November 2024 to finish.
The book was extremely slow in parts hence the 3 stars. Not a book I would read again sadly.
The book was extremely slow in parts hence the 3 stars. Not a book I would read again sadly.
May 19, 2024
Writing the phrase "intellectually less capable Diana", in reference to The Lady Diana, is insane.
August 7, 2015
I would normally give this book 3 stars, but I could tell the author had a passion for, and cared about the topic. So I give her an extra star for putting her all into it.
The fonts and colors were done beautifully. But some of the advice inside got a little too preachy for me. Still a great book for any Grace Kelly fan!
The fonts and colors were done beautifully. But some of the advice inside got a little too preachy for me. Still a great book for any Grace Kelly fan!
July 28, 2013
I absolutely adore Grace Kelley so getting to read about her lifestyle and the way she lived, is my cup of tea. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in style, fashion, or the good old classics!
December 2, 2014
While I already knew a lot about Grace's life and was not particularly looking for a biography, I thought this book would be better suited for it. Much of the advice seemed dated and quite frivolous. The writing was also a little annoying, "la Grace" or "Gracie" was a bit much.
January 2, 2014
The author seemed quick to buy into rumors about Grace. I also didn't like the sections that pitted her against Marilyn and Princess Di. A fun read, though, and early on McKinnon offers some good advice regarding success/career goals.
December 8, 2014
Completely ridiculous and damaging for any impressionable young ladies actually seeking advice. There is a section about how to seduce your married co-star. Really??!?!
March 29, 2015
It started off well. I liked learning about Grace Kelly's childhood, but it went downhill from there.
July 15, 2015
It's okay but it runs into problems when using her movie characters to give advice. Grace is different from the characters she plays.
September 14, 2017
Enjoyed this more because I like Grace.
May 15, 2013
Tips on how to live life as a princess.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews