If the description had been clearer, I would have known that this book would not be for me and would never have read it. From the description it sounds like a story about a woman struggling to balance work, marriage and kids. This is where I am in life. I was very excited to read it. Instead I get a story of a childless early 40's career woman who, recently married to a divorced man, has miscarriage after miscarriage, has very unrealistic expectations of her relationship with her teen stepdaughter she is just meeting, and acts like a child herself a great deal of the time. The description should be changed to give potential readers a better idea of what the book is really about.

A heart rending, cathartic read for anyone who has personal experience with miscarriage. Lucy dreams and plans for a baby to have her dream deferred each time. True to life, each miscarriage becomes harder for Lucy because she can't express her grief for a pregnancy she's never revealed. Each pregnancy loss becomes a stigma as joy becomes less for each plus sign that she fears to share and the heartbreak from the first sign of red. Life continues, people talk about pregnancies and parenting woes as women become defined by their maternal status. So heartbreakingly real, I would read for a while and take a breather to keep from dealing with my own tears and loss. I was relieved for Lucy's happy ending and the high note the book ended on as the book after also dealing the stigma of teenage pregnancy. A good read that will make you judge your words to female friends about motherhood and what secret battle each woman may be facing on her own. My voluntary review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

marry her cousin. She is sad because she wants a baby so much and feels that now she will never have one. A successful business woman, Lucy would trade it all to be a Mum. Right now, she is attending the christening of a friend’s baby when she meets a chatty guy named Jonah Carpenter who starts to come on to her.

Two years later and Lucy and Jonah are celebrating their wedding anniversary and waiting for their baby to be born. Jonah is sure that Lucy won’t want to return to her job no matter how much she says otherwise. But their joy turns to sadness when Lucy loses the baby. Her grief is enormous.

As the weeks go by, Lucy endures the worry of whether or not she will ever be able to keep a baby to full term. Having learned knitting from her grandmother, she enjoys making beautiful baby clothes and hoping to see her baby wear them one day.

When Camille, Jonah’s teenager daughter, comes from France to live with them in the UK, things get a bit difficult as Camilla appears to only want her father around and not Lucy. Lucy tries hard to friend Camille but it’s not easy. In the meantime, she has her own heartache trying to become a mother.

The story follows the family as they learn to adjust as a family. But when Camille surprises them with some news, many things change.

This is a very good but heart-wrenching story guaranteed to grab the reader and keep them enthralled.

Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This isn't my kind of book so I'm not reviewing it. It arrived on my shelf as an auto-approved book but I wouldn't have chosen it to read otherwise.

I was interested as soon as I read the Prologue! A heart wrenching look at motherhood, miscarriages and having it all.

Lucy has it all. Great career. Great apartment. Great wardrobe. But the one thing Lucy wants is a baby. And time is running out, when she meets and marries Jonah.

As they try time and again to have a baby, it is just hearbreaking.

As Lucy struggles with miscarriages and with the strain on them as a couple she hopes that she and Jonah have a strong love that can withstand the pain, frustration and feelings of failure she deals with.

As Jonah's teenaged daughter comes to stay, things get tense. She isn't nice to Lucy and as hard as Lucy tries, she can't get through.

I did enjoy the questions that arose on having it all.

Always a pleasure to read Amanda's books! Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Lake Union Publishing!

A heartwarming and very upsetting novel - very raw, and I imagine for those readers with children, a very close to the bone novel.
Amanda writes each word and wrings out those emotions and tears with each and every one. It's a difficult novel to read and I found myself welling up on more than one occasion. Miscarriage, the desire to have a child - powerful and extremely difficult to go through for any one but this novel really shines the light on the wealth of emotions. It's a novel to hug, think about and then go hug your children and remember that a battle to have a child, to keep a child is a battle for everyone involved.

4.5 Stars!

I really enjoyed The Idea of You by Amanda Prowse, because the realistic struggle with infertility that she presents is quite accurate. The main character has the new challenge of step-motherhood, in addition to the continued pressures of a successful, high-stress career. The mysterious prologue is what peeked my curiosity, and drew me into this powerful read. I recommend keeping a box of tissues handy, because sobbing during almost each and every chapter is inescapable.

Lucy Carpenter's prince charming did not surface until she was in her late thirties. She fell madly in love with Jonah, which led to a quick, private wedding ceremony, and a happily ever after that she never thought possible. Lucy and Jonah want to have a baby, however, their successful conceptions have always led to miscarriage. The strain on their marriage is heartfelt, however, the deep love they share pulls them through time and time again.

Jonah's 16-year-old daughter Camille comes to live with them during her summer break. She is quite a handful and she does not treat Lucy with respect or kindness, even though Lucy goes out of her way to make Camille feel comfortable. Their new normal only contributes to the unhappiness and sadness that Lucy is living through. Overtime, Lucy and Camille are able to bond, and a secret from Lucy's past is the catalyst to their newfound relationship.

This is an emotional and heartrending novel. Only a few books have ever caused me to be contemplative and overwhelmingly raw, and The Idea of You is one of those books. Don't pass up this well-written narrative.

Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

I usually read crime thrillers but occasionally like a change and this book was a really good read.. A novel about love., loss and regret has you gripped from the start until the finish and I would definitely recommend this book.

Another fantastic read from Amanda . I love all her books and this is no exception . A book of love, loss and family I could not put this down . I related to certain parts of the story towards the end through personal experiences . This book made me smile and made me cry but above all it's a book that makes you remember to appreciate what you have in life and to be thankful . My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my arc copy which I have chosen to review

This is a story which will bring you to tears and make you want to hug your children. After reading "The Idea of You" I feel so blessed to have my family and can’t imagine what it must be to not being able to get pregnant. Amanda Prowse story about Lucy is very sensitive and shows that it’s a battle for every one involved. Highly recommended!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing!

I won't be able to review this book as it is about miscarriage and that's too emotional for me right now

Amanda Prowse does it again, a novel full of life, heartache and love. Lucys struggles to conceive while simultaneously trying to forget about a secret past and dealing with a step daughter who hates her and has her own issues drew me in completely and I finished the book in one sitting.

Lucy Carpenter is approaching forty & thinks she finally has it all: a wonderful new husband, Jonah, a successful career and the chance of a precious baby of her own. Life couldn’t be more perfect.
But becoming parents proves much harder to achieve than Lucy and Jonah imagined, and when Jonah’s teenage daughter Camille comes to stay with them, she becomes a constant reminder of what Lucy doesn’t have. Jonah’s love and support are unquestioning, but Lucy’s struggles with work and her own failing dreams begin to take their toll. With Camille’s presence straining the bonds of Lucy’s marriage even further, Lucy suddenly feels herself close to losing everything
I have heard lots of good things about the author’s books but this is the first I’ve read but I’m now hooked.
An unputdownable book, that takes you on an emotional roller coaster. A lovely story which I can highly recommend

4.5*. A hard but brilliant read which takes you on a real roller coaster of all the emotions. Such a difficult subject matter, wonderfully written. Lucy's story was just beautiful, a woman desperate to be a mother. One to recommend. My thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Another excellent book from Amanda Prowse. The characters are brought to life and feel like friends and you can tell the book is written from the heart.
Amanda always gets to the heart if the subject and you can see the story all around you in real life, the suffering and dilemmas that real people are facing.
This book will stay with me long after the last page has been turned.

This book made me bawl my eyes out from chapter three and onward. Never have I ever cried so much from a book. I don't even cry during movies and it takes books like the fault in our stars by john green to make me cry. I BAWLED this entire book. The reactions I felt to this book are so very real. I have never experienced anything from this book besides being a mother. But oh man I can only imagine the pain of these characters. I feared these things when I got pregnant. And still it's a very real thing for so many families. I did enjoy the happy ending as well but this book tore my heart out over and over again. I stayed up late when I had to work early the next day to finish it because I had to know there was a happy ending.

Title: The Idea Of You
Author: Amanda Prowse
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:

"The Idea Of You" by Amanda Prowse

My View:

A good read that covered 'parenthood and family.' The author gives the reader quite a story that dealt with Lucy, Jonah[newly married] and Camille who was her step-daughter[coming to live with them]. But for some reason or another Camille took a instant dislike toward Lucy. Now, why was that? I found this read very tear grabbing with all that came out of this very intriguing emotional read. The characters were developed but also complex and complicated with human needs and wants. The author brings all of this out in such a unique way giving the reader such a heartbreaking read that you could feel as you are drawn into this emotional story. Will this marriage be able to stand against all of the trauma that they were going through especially with Lucy wanted most of all to become a mom? From the letters from Lucy's POV being full of emotions and then finding out what was the reason for them being presented was so very important and the up and down of feelings were so very important in this read. How was Lucy's relationship with her mom and sister? Were these insecurities and conflicts normal for Lucy and Camille? Yes, there was heartbreak with devastating effects of the ultimate loss, but also there was 'love, hope, courage and family.' I found that this author delivers to the reader not only the right characters to deliver such a important story but also does a wonderful job at giving the readers the right words that could only help one truly understand just what one goes through at a time like this. What will happen as this family has problems with 'anger, guilt, pain, and past secrets that will come out ['is what they don't have worth risking losing what they do have?']
and threaten all that this marriage as been built on? This is where I say you will have to pick up this emotional and challenging "The Idea Of You" to see how well this author presents it all out to the reader to see what Lucy gets as the end. This author really works this story so well with covering the subjects: 'miscarriage, [suffered a loss or infertility], teen pregnancy and relationship breakups.'

By the end the reader will gets a 'poignant love story that carries hope, love and forgiveness for all if it can only be accepted' as this love grows ever so stronger as it is given and received so freely. This is definitely a wonderful story of the ray of hope, happiness and love that needs to be heard every single day!

Thank you to Netgalley, lake union publishing and Amanda Prowse for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review. This novel was well done by this author!

So you pretty much know from the blurb where the story is going and if you have read anything by Amanda Prowse before you also know there's a good chance of tears. For some reason I didn't really take to Lucy and Jonah and it probably saved me from tears at their situation. That said I still found I was gripped by this emotional story and I'm sure it will be well received by fans of Amanda Prowse's previous books.

This is a new author for me and I really enjoyed it. Amy is turning forty, and like most women, it’s her time for reflection. She’s married to the love of her life, has her dream job, and desperately wants to become of mother. Her husband, Jonah has a daughter from a previous marriage that he rarely sees. When her stepdaughter comes to stay with them for a while, Amy learns more about herself, her marriage, and her job, and relationships with her family. She questions her priorities and finally reveals a secret that she has never spoken of to anyone. She is on an interesting journey that many women will be able to relate to.