The Idea of You by Amanda Prowse follows the marriage of a 40 something couple , Lucy and Jonah, who are trying to have a baby. The novel explores fertility issues and their effect on a marriage. It also shows the mother's frustration and despair after a miscarriage. To add frustration to an already difficult situation the husband's daughter ,who is sixteen, comes to live with them. Jonah has a child and Lucy does not. This adds tension to an already emotional and stressful situation. I felt the pain and weariness the main character felt while trying so hard to conceive. I also felt her frustration when her step daughter came to live with them. This novel delves into real life problems and illustrates just how difficult life can be . I enjoyed reading this book. It was well written and very easy to follow

The book I would like to share today is The Idea of You by Amanda Prowse. What drew me first to this book was the beautiful cover. I think it was really well designed and already gives you an idea of what the book will be about in some ways, before you even read the synopsis. 

With her fortieth birthday approaching, Lucy Carpenter 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…

The Idea of You is a poignant tale of life hardships. As I mentioned above, just by looking at the cover I knew the storyline would involve an emotional rollercoaster. And Amanda Prowser did not disappoint. From the get go, we get an insight of Lucy's life as a child, and her desire to be a mother at 40. Although Lucy is very successful in her career, she longs to start a family. Lucy meets Jonah, who is seven years older and whom she marries after shortly dating. The Idea of You is the love story of Lucy and Jonah, and their journey to start a family of their own. Amanda Prowse takes us through the struggles Lucy encounters as a newly wed, as a new step-mother to Jonah's teenage daughter Camille, and as a woman in her 40s trying to conceive. The novel is filled with moments reflecting the couple's trials and tribulations, which make it so much more relatable, as we can all relate to some degree to their struggles, and have compassion for their journey. As in every couple's journey, secrets unfold, threatening Lucy's present happiness. 

I loved how connected I was to the characters. Although never having been in their situations, I couldn't help but feel compassion for what they were going through, as I was imagining myself in their shoes. The Idea of You is a deeply moving read, and does a great job of capturing its audience's attention and carrying them through an emotional journey that comes with the topic of marriage and family dynamics, and most of all miscarriage. The reason I could not give it a 5 star, was mainly due to the fact that the storyline was a bit foreseeable. Yes, every emotional moment was well written, and brought you closer to the characters, but at the same time, it is hard to not know how the book will end.

In the end, this is a lovely read. Fans of Prowse will delight in this new book, and those, like me, who never read any of her books before, will still enjoy turning the pages.

Thank you to NetGalley, and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC of The Idea of You by Amanda Prowse, in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy all Amanda Prowse books and this one was really great too. It was a real insight to the problems a lot of women have trying to have a baby. I was in tears at the end. Would highly recommend this book.

This is the first book I have read by Ms. Prowse and I will be reading more. There was a true sensitivity to her writing that made you really feel what Lucy was going through. Her desire to be a mum was stymied by other plans God had for her and Jonah. The stress of that then throw in a step-daughter and you have a bigger challenge. A tough subject to write about but Ms. Prowse did it well. Thank you for Ms. Prowse and NetGalley for the chance to read and review "The Idea of You".

Somehow, I am only now reading my first book by Amanda Prowse. "The Idea of You" is haunting, in just the right way. She takes a personally difficult subject matter, miscarriage, and treats it simply and compassionately. Her characters are likable, relatable, and easily accessible. I enjoyed this book, and found myself thinking about it quite a bit, even when I wasn't reading.

Quite a sad melancholy book, not one to read if you're feeling down in the dumps. Wasn't overly fond of any of the characters. I did chuckle a couple of times though so not all doom & gloom.

Not a light beach read. Sadly, deals with a subject that is close to home for so many. People in similar situations will likely find comfort from reading Lucy and Jonah's story. Knowing it could happen to others may get someone through such an unexpected and life-changing experience.

This story about wanting something that you can't have and how it takes a toll on your emotionally and physically is captured wonderfully.

I got this on my Kindle from NetGalley a while ago, and I thought it would be a more lighthearted read for evenings. It is not lighthearted at all. Prowse tackles several difficult phenomena in one extended family, and it was not an easy read. However, I'm glad on two counts: the story's resolution was satisfactory, and it was not as predictable as one might think. I glad to be introduced to Prowse, a British women's fiction writer. Her work is probably more similar to the depth of Jane Green, while not as heavy as Jodi Picoult.

This was my first ever novel written by Amanda Prowse, and I thoroughly loved it. Again this was a book that I finished quite some time ago. I've never personally had issues that Lucy faced conceiving however, I have experienced the loss of pregnancies. Beautifully written and if you haven't taken a moment to read novel please add it to your must-read list.

great read awesome writing i really enjoyed this author and this book i would reccomend to other for sure

The Idea of You is a beautiful story about issues that many women today face. It's relatable on many levels, and approaches difficult subject matter with sensitivity and grace. I will definitely be reading other work written by Amanda Prowse!

This totally sucked me in. I basically read the entire thing in one go. The characters were quite easy to relate to. The sadness of their struggle with infertility was so real and well written. I felt like I was there with them, sharing their pain and frustrations, but also their continued hope for the future. When the teen daughter moves in for the summer, their lives change drastically. It's a compelling read. I definitely recommend it.

The Idea of You is the story of newly-married Lucy Carpenter who is desperate to become pregnant with husband Jonah. Jonah has a teenage daughter from his previous marriage but Lucy is still waiting to meet her. She envisions being the perfect step-Mum but teenage girls are difficult and she struggles to form the bond she’d hoped for when Jonah’s daughter Camille comes to stay with them.
Struggling with her new role as wife and step-mother whilst trying to get pregnant, Lucy begins to question her relationship with Jonah and feels her husband and the baby she so badly wants slipping away from her. Haunted by secrets and relationships from her own past, Lucy is at a loss over how she can fix things.

The Idea of You just wasn’t for me. The subject matter is sensitive and something a lot of women will be able to relate to but I just wasn’t able to connect to the characters or their journey.
I found Lucy to be very childish and annoying. I also felt it was obvious where the story was going.
One good thing about Amanda Prowse books is how realistic they are. Whenever I read her books I feel like I could be sat there listening to arguments/conversations of a real-life married couple. It was the same when I read The Food Of Love. And while it is good that she can write like this, I couldn’t help but feel that this story was a little flat. I expected The Idea of You to be highly emotional but it just didn’t get there with me.

A well-written story but just wasn’t for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, Amanda Prowse and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Very realistic experience about the longing for a child, the struggle in family relationships, and the pain of giving up a child for adoption.
Beautifully written. A little slow at times, but it speeds up as it goes on, and I was glad I read it when all was said and done.
I would like to read other books by this author as a result of reading this.

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for letting me read and review this book for free.

Lucy is 39, desperate for a man- then she meets Jonah Carpenter at a christening and after a whirlwind romance, they get married and start trying for a baby. In Lucy's eyes everything is perfect, although Jonah has a 16 year old daughter from a previous marriage. He still wants to start a new on with Lucy.

And with both of them in their forties, it's better late than never!

This is where the story takes a heartbreaking turn, and the author really understood how the characters felt because the story felt so real. I felt like I knew them and it hurt. Lucy suffers from several miscarriages throughout the story and each one was more painful than the previous one. To me, it wasn't the fact that she lost the baby that upset me, it was the fact she lost hope. It doesn't help that Camille, Jonah's daughter is now living with them, either.

Lucy is a very fragile character- she gets upset and jealous easily, and when Jonah tells her this she gets defensive. However, the notes between her and her lost baby really reveal her heart and also made a lot more sense after a huge secret is revealed.

As a reader, you know something happened to Lucy in her teens- it's how the book opens- but you don't know exactly what. It's both shocking and sad.
It was a good read, and I flew through the story. I wanted to know what would happen to Jonah and Lucy.

This is the first Amanda Prowse novel I've read and I really liked it!

3.5/5 stars!

Good book, a bit different than I expected, but a great read. Characters were well developed and the author definitely had the reader engaged and rooting for different ones in different situations. Overall, I would definitely recommend.

This was a very moving story, although the characters were a bit annoying at times. I liked the style of writing and Amanda is very good at the tear jerkers. Personally I didn't think this was one of her best, although it was still a good read

I liked this novel. It was well written and engaging and I liked Lucy, the main character. Lucy has experienced several miscarriages and whilst she is wrestling with that, she and her hsuband welcome his teenage daughter Camille to live with them. This throws up all manner of adjustments and problems and had me changing my opinions throughout.

This is a great read if you like family based drama and stories that really get into the character's mind. My only bugbear is that Prowse overused the phrase "The girl" when referring to Camille. Once or twice is enough to make an impact, but 20 odd times is overkill. Apart from that, a very good book. I'm glad I stumbled across this author because I will definitely seek out more of her books.

Thanks to Netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I would say thus is a very middle-of-the-road story for me. I did finish the book, but I wouldn't aim to recommend it to people. I like the authors writing which is why I gave it three stars.