This is a bit of a rollercoaster as we follow Lucy through the anticipation of  having a baby. Beset by multiple miscarriages she finally comes to terms with not having her own child. Along the way there are a few twists.

My "baby" is just getting ready to head to college, and this book really hit home. I remember longing for a baby and wondering if I would ever get pregnant. Having children is a wonderful blessing, and this novel's heroine, Lucy, desperately wants to have a baby. When her teenage step-daughter comes to live with Lucy and her husband, it becomes an even more difficult situation. The book is realistic in that there are no easy solutions to life's challenges. This book was a real tear jerker for me, and I highly recommend it.

When I scrolled through Amanda Prowse's list of books on Goodreads, I felt very late to the game. Prowse has a huge following with a gazillion great reviews. As a result, I dove in to her latest novel, The Idea of You, with some high expectations.

The Idea of You tells the story of Lucy, whose pride in her successful career is tempered by tragedy in her personal life. Lucy's husband ran off with her cousin, leaving Lucy heartbroken and wondering if she'd ever be a mother. She feels pangs of jealousy when she visits friends whose family rooms are destroyed by youngsters, only to return to her own home full of perfectly plumped pillows.

Prowse was named "Queen of Domestic Drama" by the UK's Daily Mail and considers it one of her finest moments. I definitely could not think of a better way to sum up The Idea of You than calling it a domestic drama.

This sub-genre of Woman's Fiction isn't the best fit for me - I felt like it was an endless string of dialogue, feelings, and emoting. However, Prowse certainly is a master of the style and her characters and story of The Idea of You felt exceedingly real.

The narrative was well done I simply wasn't pulled by the plot as some may be. The characters seemed rather one dimensional to me

I hadn't read any books by Amanda Prowse before reading this. It is very well-written and the text flows well. The characters are believable and well drawn.. You feel that they are people you might know and this makes the book easy to read.
This is the story of a forty year old woman and her desperate desire to have a baby with her new husband despite suffering several miscarriages. Her life is further complicated by a high-powered job and a visit from her husband's 17 year old daughter. 
Add in a secret from the past and a bad relationship with her own mother and the whole thing becomes highly charged with emotion.
I enjoyed reading this book but didn't really feel all of the emotion, probably because I have never experienced any of the traumas Lucy had. I would certainly recommend it to friends and look forward to reading more by the same author. I would have liked to give 3 and a half stars

Interesting story, brilliant writing and although it is something I wouldn't normally choose - I'm really glad I read it!

At first, The Idea of You starts out like it will be a generic, British chick lit novel but it wound up surprising me and became a poignant story about motherhood. Lucy has finally met the man of her dreams and has a great marriage and a great job, but she wants a baby. As she and her husband are trying, her 16-year-old step daughter comes to spend the summer with them and Lucy is thrown for a loop at her first turn as a “mother”. I really enjoyed how the relationships in the book matured and progressed and how while there was a nice ending, it wasn’t an ending that was wrapped up in a neat little bow, resolving every little issue in the end.

A sweet and kind of sad chick lit novel. I was a bit thrown at first at the contrast between the tone of the writing (light breezy chick lit) and the subject matter (miscarriage, frought stepmother-stepdaughter relationship, and more), but the book really grew on me as I read it, and I found myself moved at the end. 3.5 stars.

I really hated how pathetic the main characters were. I managed to finish it but it was hard work.

Great read 
Would recommend 
Keeps you involved and part of the story

This was a very thought-provoking read that was beautifully told and very heart-warming. The issue of infertility is sensitively explored. I would definitely recommend this book.

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book was not my typical read. I wanted to give it two stars since it really lacked any sort of excitement that made me want to keep reading.  I settled on three stars because it was well written. This books is about a second marriage where the couple is struggling to conceive. Added to the mix of already heightened emotions is the husband's teenage daughter from his previous marriage. This book focuses on relationships, miscarriages and teenage pregnancy.

What can I say about this book?  I absolutely loved it. I'd lost my reading mojo lately due to illness but this book has well and truly helped me get it back.  

Reading "The Idea of You" I could well and truly relate with Lucy and her struggle to 'start the race'.  The pressure that women find themselves under to have the norm of a husband and children made Lucy an extremely likeable character.  

Lucy's struggle to conceive with her husband Jonah along with her tumultuous relationship with her stepdaughter Camille make for a truly heartbreaking and bittersweet read.  

I'd have loved for a different ending but at the same time it reflects upon a situation that some couples unfortunately find themselves in.

I couldn't recommend this book enough.  A great job by Amanda Prowse who is becoming one of my favourite authors.  I can't wait for the next book.

This was a very well written book, but unfortunately was not appealing to me. The author did a fantastic job portraying the struggle of the main character, Lucy. The story was heart-wrenching. If you are ready for an emotional story, this book is for you!

4 stars and 2 Hankies

Lucy had a baby when she was a teenager and gave it up. Now, in her late thirties, she is desperate to have another child with her new husband, but biology is not cooperating. Heartbroken, she is trying to hold it together and get used to her step-daughter’s arrival in her home and life. 
The Idea Of You is an emotional story of what it truly means to be a mother and the different ways we show our children love. The scenes between Lucy and her mother are heartbreaking where the scene between Lucy and her step-daughter, Camille, warmed my heart. The last third of this book will definitely make you cry, so have a box of tissues ready.

The eternal question of can a modern woman truly have it all. This is an emotional book but it's well done and not dreary or depressing. A thought provoking read

TW: miscarriages 

This book so beautifully sums up motherhood, the pains, losses, and joys that come along with it. Lucy Carpenter, newly remarried to her wonderfully loving husband, Jonah, and feels like her biological clock is running out at thirty nine. She has a fabulous career that anyone couldn't help but be envious of. However, all she wants most desperately is to become pregnant and carry to term a baby, so that she could complete her family.

When Camille, the rebellious teenager, who's the daughter from Jonah's first marriage, comes to live with them, Lucy feels like her world is starting to tilt out of orbit. There are so many new things that she has to deal with, all of the teenage drama and woes, and also the fact that Camille being the only and favored daughter starts creating a wedge between her and Jonah. 

From there the story takes it to a roller-coaster of ups and downs that made you cry your eyes out or laugh until your stomach hurt so much that you can't breathe. Probably the most emotionally touchy thing was when the letters were revealed at the end of the story, it made me actually ugly cry. All in all it's a beautiful and poignantly written of a women's journey to motherhood. While I have no personal experience in that area, I just couldn't tear my eyes away from all of the hormones that were going on (ha!)

One of the fascinating contrasts that I noticed was the extremely slow budding relationship between Lucy and Camille compared to the whirlwind of a romance between her and Jonah. Fast forward to the ending though, I thought that it tied loose ends and wrapped up perfectly, which is always an added bonus.

The only problem is, I can't quite decide if this book was my cup of tea. It was great while I was reading it, but after I felt the acute disappointment that this just isn't my type of story afterall. I think that's an important realization that I needed to make personally, but I still would hope that this book gets into the hands of someone who needs it.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.**

Another fantastic book by this amazing author.
I was hooked from start to finish.

This book made me cry!

The Idea of You by Amanda Prowse is the only book I've ever read which has made me cry. I'm not normally someone who shows their emotion when reading but this tipped me over the edge. It was wonderfully written and having already read 'Food of Love' and knowing how that was written, I knew this was going to be a sad story particularly knowing the subject would be miscarriages.

Great read, and once again Amanda Prowse has managed to tactfully broach a difficult subject without glamorising it or undermining the difficulties some women go through when they're trying to conceive.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.