Wrecked. That is how I feel after finishing Grace Note,
the seventh (and final?) book in Bengtsson’s family saga/romance dramedy
series. Following the large, close-knit McKallister family, the books have
chronicled the high and lows of each sibling, including how each has navigated
the aftermath of a traumatic incident. Grace Note finally delivers the story of
Grace, the youngest of the seven siblings, along with Rory, the homeless boy
who captured her heart when she was just sixteen.
Grace note
(grās nōt)
noun
1.
An extra note added as an embellishment or decorative flourish;
not essential to the main melody
As the youngest in her family, Grace was largely shielded
from the horrors of her eldest brother’s kidnapping and the media circus that
followed. But she wasn’t untouched by the tragedy. More than a decade later,
her brother now a world-famous rock star, and she an aspiring songwriter, Grace
has an encounter with a street musician – one that changes the trajectory of
both their lives.
“You know what I think?” he
said, smiling shyly?
“No.”
“I think you’ve been sent
here to destroy me.”
“Or…” I offered up a more
complimentary scenario for myself. “Maybe I’ve been sent here to save you.”
A muscle in his cheek
twitched, and I caught the faintest dash of despair in his eyes. “I wish.
You’re about a decade too late.”
Rory has lived his life being bounced from one foster
home to the next - until life on the streets becomes preferable to the dangers
behind the closed doors of his foster homes. Rory is still dodging the
predators as he survives by playing drums on an assortment of overturned paint
buckets, earning enough money to keep himself fed. It’s while playing his drums
outside the arena during a Jake McKallister concert one night that he meets
Grace. And while their time together may be short, their connection is cemented
and can’t be broken – even if it should be.
“Everyone leaves me, Grace.
Everyone. That’s why I’m here in this place now. No one ever wanted me, and now
I’m eighteen. I have no family. Until you surprised the shit out of me on the
path outside, I was all alone. So trust me when I say, I’m not the wild card
here. I’ll just keep holding on and holding on” – his voice cracked – “until
you leave me.”
I loved watching Grace as she took steps to establish her
own identity outside of her family. She was compassionate, a bit of a
daredevil, and had a mile-wide stubborn streak. And Rory… it was Rory’s story
that wrecked me. He’d spent so many years just surviving; there was no room for
the luxury of dreams. Until Grace. Until another member of the McKallister clan
also reached out a hand, and he dared to hope for more. But even as Rory reveled
in the possibility of more, his past was closing in, ready to snatch it
all away and strip away everything and everyone he’d allowed himself to care
about.
I’d gone into this
relationship with Grace with the mindset to hold on for as long as she’d allow
me to, but after sampling her family, I didn’t want to just get by, like I’d
been doing my whole life. I had to fight if I wanted to secure the girl, the
future, and the family I’d always wanted.
Bengtsson crafts a story that feels so rooted in reality
and emotion that it’s impossible not to be gutted by each new revelation, and
each heartbreak. She has a way with dialogue that burrows into me and makes
itself at home. The serious conversations, the laugh out loud banter – every
word feels meaningful and perfect. Told in past and present chapters, in dual POV,
Grace Note showed the entirety of Grace and Rory’s relationship – from its
promising (but ultimately doomed) beginning, to its tragic end, to a reunion
and the revelation of secrets long held.
This series has been a favorite for several
years and I have gone through tragedy and triumphs with these characters. Each
story has stayed with me long after I turned the final page, and Grace Note
will be no different.
THE CAKE SERIES
Titles are linked to my reviews
Book 1: Cake
Book 2: The Theory of Second Best
Book 3: Fiercely Emma
Book 4: The Newlyweds
Book 5: Rogue Wave
Book 5.5: Hunker Down with the McKallisters
Book 6: Next in Line
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