I bought four French grammar workbooks in my first month of learning. Two of them still have blank pages because the exercises felt like busy work that did not stick. One made the difference.
Practice Makes Perfect stands out for one reason
The exercises in this series build on each other instead of jumping around topics. Unit eight assumes you remember unit four, which forced me to actually learn the material instead of just completing pages. The answer key explains why wrong answers are wrong, not just what the right answer is.
Grammaire Progressive du Français has better explanations but harder exercises
This workbook includes more context for each grammar point, showing how native speakers actually use the constructions. The downside is that exercises assume more vocabulary than most beginners have after three months of study. I use it now but wished I had started with something simpler.
What I learned about workbook selection
Schaum's Outline felt too academic and Collins Easy Learning felt too simple. The workbook that matches your actual level matters more than reviews or popularity. I spent fifteen minutes in a bookstore comparing the first chapter of each book to my current abilities before buying, which saved me from purchasing another book that would sit unused.