I moving story that tells the story of a family that was broken alert and managed to pull back together. The struggle of everyday life and the strength that it takes to live it.

I enjoyed this book but I will admit I was very frustrated by the fact that Nina knew absolutely nothing about the household finances. While the story was frustrating at times, I was rooting for Nina and her children to end up happy.

"I thought I had more time"
As a reviewer I have praised books for plot, for characterisations and for descriptions of surroundings, this book made me realise that I needed to add another category: emotion.
The author had me right from the start as she described exactly how it would feel to lose a beloved husband, then watch, as the life you thought was yours, splintered before your eyes, until you weren't even sure you knew that husband at all. Unfortunately though, Nina McCarrick couldn't just hide under the covers, she had two very sad boys to bring through this catastrophe with her.

I really felt for Nina at every turn and Ms Prowse perfectly describes the dilemma between Nina's own emotions and her love for her boys, who needed her support more than ever. She is forced to return to a downtrodden area of Southampton and struggle to do everything she could to restart their lives together.
Her sons, Connor, who's 15, and 10 year old Declan, are great kids (thankfully) and Declan, in particular, has an upbeat attitude and a quirky sense of humour:
'I don't mind where we live, Mum, but I don't want to go anywhere really cold, like the North Pole.' (loc 1906).
The boys must make the difficult move from a private school to the state system. I know someone who did this and it's not easy.

My one criticism of this book would be the portrayal of the wealthy people who had children at the private school were Connor and Declan had studied since early childhood. Some wealthy people are very nice, honestly. But Nina's circle were the meanest, self serving people I've ever come across!

I actually read this book without looking at the synopsis, which in my opinion, gives too much away. Of the three Amanda Prowse books I've read, this was definitely my favourite.

Also read:
The Food of Love (4.5 stars)
Poppy Day (4 stars)

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC digital copy of this book.

Nina is a rag to riches story. She grew up poor, married rich, and now spends her days being a mom, wife, and home keeper. That is until she gets the call all wives and husbands dread. Her husband has died in a car accident. And in the midst of trying to navigate life after, Nina finds out they are broke. Completely bankrupt.

She then uproots herself and her two boys to her hometown. They go from living in a mansion to living in small flat. Not only is Nina finding herself needing a job for the first time in her adult life, she is dealing with the emotions of her sons. This is a story of moving on after your world is swept from underneath you.

The Art of Hiding was well written. I enjoyed the protagonist and found myself imagining how it would feel to be in Nina's situation. Very well written and will be recommending to friends.

Proves that we don't know anybody as well as we think we do. Everybody has a secret some, are just more life defining than others. I liked the way the author handled the very delicate, often volatile interaction between mother and son and the two sisters. I also shows that people can conquer adversity as long as they play to their strengths and take their family along with them.

A big thank you to Amanda Prowse, Lake Union, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

This book is a little out of my comfort zone, and that's okay-because I LOVED this story! There were so, so many life changes of the heroine that were easily parallel with my life: the sudden loss of a supportive loved one; being strapped for cash; being forced to uproot your child; looking for a job and feeling too old or unqualified I ran the gambit with her. And the ending! Oh what a tear jerker and I don't often let myself cry with books. Prowse, you not only found my heartstrings, you played them like a Stradivarius. Kudos on another well written novel.

This is one of those books I wasn't sure about at first. Almost sacred to start it and no reason why.. Perhaps because I was would it would be depressing.
Wrong. It was griping. The author has a way with words that hold you in thrall and made me not want to put the book down until I read those two words, the end.

The Art of Hiding is a drama story about a woman who learns her that her charmed life was not what she thought it to be. Nina came from a poor area and had little money and all that changed when she married Finn McCarrick. Since then she became a homemaker and has lived the perfect life. She has a big house in an upscale area, everything she could possibly want, and their sons, Connor and Declan, go to an expensive private school. Her perfect life is shattered when Finn dies in a car accident. Shortly after the funeral, Nina learns that Finn had been hiding their very big financial troubles. They haven’t been paying the private school fees, they are in debt by a huge amount of money and the debtors will be taking their house and possessions. Since Finn managed all the money, Nina had no idea that they were in such debt and is unprepared to deal with her current situation. She and her boys have to take their few remaining belongings and move into a small apartment in the poor area where Nina grew up and where her sister, Twiggy, still lives. Nina has not worked in years and has no college education and now she is struggling to find a job. The boys have gone to same school their whole lives and now they have to attend a new school. Worrying about income, budgeting, cost cutting, and trying to lift the boys’ spirts become a daily part of Nina’s life. She does have the support of Twiggy and the sisters start to reconnect after the distance and Finn had kept them apart. Nina learns that in becoming the perfect wife to Finn, she lost some of herself. The family has to adjust to their new lifestyle and maybe in the process can have a happier life.
The story has great characters and well-described settings, but got slow about halfway. The story had a fast pace until they moved into the apartment. At that point most of the story was about Nina’s endless job hunt and the boys moping, which got boring. I also found that Nina had no idea about the debt a bit hard to believe. Although she did not manage the money, that high amount of debt is very hard hide. The characters were well written. Nina realistically dealt the huge changes to her life and was worried about her boys more than anything. The boys and Twiggy were also well written with distinct personalities. The author did a good job describing the house, apartment, and neighborhoods. The story has no violent and no racy scenes. The story does not have a cliffhanger ending. I disliked another book by the author, The Idea of You, but I gave this book a chance and liked most of this book. Fans of family and marriage dramas would enjoy this book.

I could not put this one down! I found Nina and her situation so relatable and became so emotionally connected to this book. I loved the entire book from start to finish.

When your life falls apart and your hero is no longer, the only one remaining to rescue you, is yourself. Unfortunately, Nina learns this lesson all too well when her husband dies and her life, as well as her children's, are irrevocably changed. A bit depressing, but also inspiring, Prowse paints Nina's story in a way that both warns against giving away your dreams and yourself, yet also uplifts as she mantras you can do anything you set your mind to do. Realistic in true Prowse form, this is one to keep you on your path, whatever that may be.

This was a book that had me determined to get to the end quickly! I couldn't wait to find out how Nina and her children's lives were going to turn out. I could feel her confusion and frustration of being left in the dark by her husband. I could feel her fear as the life she knew unraveled so quickly. Tiggy was a great character, the family member that says it like it is, but will always pick up the phone when called. I found the characters to be well written and they quickly became people that I was interested in.

*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.*

Amanda Prowse is one of the few authors that I don’t bother reading the blurb for, I know that I want to read her book and will enjoy it so I tend to go into them blind. And I quite like that, it means that there’s no judgement or preconception about the book that I am about to read.

I’m not sure whether that was a good idea for The Art of Hiding though. I found myself frustrated at times by how predictable it was, but reading the blurb I now see that I would have known it before I read the book if I’d read the blurb. Because once Nina’s husband died it was pretty obvious that her wonderful lifestyle with her huge house, nice car and private school for her kids wasn’t going to last, and sure enough it didn’t.

Having grown up in poverty Nina can’t help but feel like a failure when she ends up back in the council estate that she grew up in, suddenly aware of how much she relied on her husband, he handled all the finances and she hadn’t had a job since her eldest son, now a teenager was born.

As usual for an Amanda Prowse novel, The Art of Hiding is an easy read that takes the reader on a journey into somebody else’s world. All of the characters are well written I felt able to identify with them all. Although she annoyed me a bit I was definitely rooting for Nina as she manages to pull herself together. I particularly enjoyed her relationship with her elder son and how it evolved through the story,

Not her best book but The Art of Hiding by Amanda Prowse is still a really good read.

The problem with this book was that it stayed with me as I started the next one! I just couldn’t seem to get the characters….and not just the main one…out of my head.


Stay-at-home wife and mum Nina’s life is shattered to smithereens when her husband, Finn, is tragically killed in a car accident. However, the gaping wounds of her loss have salt cruelly rubbed into them when she discovers Finn left her with millions of pounds of debt. Gone are her rich lifestyle and all its trappings, gone is the posh private school for her children, gone is her mansion of a house. With few, if not no, options left to her, she is forced to return to the council estate in Southampton, where she grew up and where her sister still lives, not only to try and make sense of what has happened but to work out how she is going to feed, clothe and house her family.

This is an excellent story with a plot and characters that ooze credibility on every page. It’s a story of tragedy and loss, enlightenment and achievement. It was my first date with this author, and I’m already lining up a few more. I’ve read many a good book, but few imprint themselves in my mind enough to distract me in my subsequent read, so, Ms Prowse, I can confidently say: job jolly well done.

Couldn't put this book down. A story of riches to rags, the characters were so well described I was drawn into their lives. Would definitely read another book by this author.

I was a bit disappointed in this book. The characters are well written, but the story felt too predictable for me. I wanted a twist, or some drama, but it just felt a bit too safe. Good book, and I would recommend it, but not my style of writing.

The Art of Hiding was a great read, showing money really can't buy happiness. It showed the struggles of a mother and her son's coming to terms with loss in their own ways.

I liked the characters. They were very well fleshed out, even the children. Which doesn't always happen in novels. I found this book difficult to read, only because I was in tears throughout. I enjoyed it to a degree, but I think that I just wasn't in the right headspace to read such a heartbreaking novel.

Nina has it all - husband, two healthy sons, a fabulous home and has never needed to work outside the home. Until the day her husband doesn't come home. From then on she has to fight to keep everything together for the boys while coming to terms with the fact that she is on her own.

I wasn't quite sure about Nina at first; the sort of woman it is difficult to like but as the book progressed I found myself rooting for her and wanting her to get her life back together. Don't get me wrong, things are far from perfect but just like real life it is amazing what we can handle when we have to. An enjoyable read that I will be recommending

The Art of Hiding was just ok for me, it started out interesting and fast paced, but by the middle of the book it started to get slow and predictable.

Amanda Prowse fans seemed to devour this book but I wasn't impressed. Whilst grief in real life is all consuming, in a book constant comparisons to the before/after scenario is a bit repetitive. It appeared to be padding the story out.When 2/3rds of the way through, Nina gets a job,. I thought it might pick up but unfortunately the author didn't take full advantage of the situation. The ending left questions unanswered and I wasn't sorry to leave Nina behind.