*Book provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

This book follows Nina McCarrick and her family and starts with a real tragedy. Her husband Finn is killed in a car accident and now now is left alone with her children Connor and Declan. Of course these boys suffer as well and they miss their dad a lot.

Things get worse, because Finn had a secret. They have to move out of their family home, the boys have to leave school and Nina has to find a job. That’s not easy though and most people are not on their side. With her sister Tiggy’s help they fin a way, but they have to move away.

Tiggy’s and Nina’s relationship is not easy, things have been tense ever since Nina met Finn. The two of them finally get to talk properly and Tiggy opens Nina’s eyes. Nina grows with every chapter and learns a lot about her past, but also things for her future.

This is a very poignant story about love, family, grief, loss, friendship and much more. I really enjoyed reading about Nina and her sons, these scenes were by far my favourite.

This is not my fave Amanda Prowse book, but I still loved it! She always manages to include all the feelings and emotions, it’s close to life and she touches controversial and delicate topics every single time.

Another touching story, wonderfully written and full of heart!

Rating: 4.5/5

In The Art of Hiding, Amanda Prowse tells a story of a woman who seems to have lost almost everything. Nina has come from a poor background but has been caught up in the love and promise of nice things and a worry free life from her husband Finn. When her husband dies in an accident she has two sons, a fifteen year old and ten year old, and she is about to find out all the things that Finn has been hiding from her.

Nina and her boys have lived in a large house, the boys have gone to an elite school and Nina has never worked since marrying Finn. She has been safely ensconced in her large house taking care of all the needs of her boys and husband. Now according to her sister that is not really healthy and as the days unfold, Nina's sister Tiggy just might be right. Where are those rich women when Nina's world falls down around her. Well like rats leaving a sinking ship - they are gone.

When Nina returns with her two boys to her home town, it is really, really tough. Declan the ten year old is in shock, Connor her fifteen year old is by turn sullen with flashes of caring at odd times. Nina needs a job, but... how many jobs is she qualified for? Well very few or none actually.

The neighbourhood is a far cry from what they have been used to, but step by step they all make their way. Nina has guts and aided by her sister Tiggy she slowly finds her way forward. She begins to examine her life and choices, who was she... who is she now? It is difficult, her boys are struggling as you would expect, they are all grieving. But there are unexpected offers of support and the people they meet are quite different to those they once knew.

This is a very realistic story of grief, shock and loss. Of being thrown in the deep end with the choice of sinking or swimming. It is about family and what it means to have true friends and the place of money in happiness.

I really liked the book and found myself returning to it any moment I had.

The Art of Hiding by Amanda Prowse is a wonderful story of a woman finding her inner strength and confidence after a tragedy rocks her family. It was hard to put down, it pulled me in from the beginning. I loved following Nina's life after the death of her husband.
This was my first time reading a novel by Ms. Prowse but it will not be my last!

First experience reading Amanda Prowse. The plot is familiar & predictable. Prowse is at her best when exploring the complex emotions Nina experiences when her whole world collapses & she must be strong for her sons, and with her portrayal of the sisters' thorny history & revitalized relationship. Despite its lack of surprise, the story is lovely.

I am giving The Art of Hiding 5 stars because the story hooked me from the first page and I had trouble putting it down. The story is of a family that has it all, but then tragedy strikes and it is incredible to go along with them as they learn a new normal. I felt so much empathy for their situation and loved the way the author took us along for, what I believe, were very real reactions to a sudden change in circumstance. This book has some sad moments, but for the most part, is uplifting and encouraging. I would have some tissues for the last chapter, but not because you will be crying from sadness, but more for overall positive changes in each character and their journey. This is my second book by Amanda Prowse and I will certainly be looking for more by her in the future.

This was a well-written, moving book. Nina has an amazing life. A stay at home mom of two boys, she loves her husband and the home they bought and decorated together. Then her husband, Finn, dies in a car accident and she finds out he has been keeping secrets from her - the business has gone under and they are bankrupt. She has to find a way to crate a new life for herself and her sons. She learns lessons of confidence and inner strength and what really matters in life. This was a very emotional story and I found it hard to put down. I look forward to reading other books by this author.

I enjoy reading fictional books that make me think about what is important in life. Amanda Prowse’s newest book, The Art of Hiding really highlighted that notion about what is important. The main character Nina thought she had a perfect life, a beautiful house, plenty of food and money, a great husband and two boys. Until her husband Finn dies and Nina’s house of cards falls apart. She and her boys are left destitute with nothing. Nina needs to be strong for the boys and strong for herself as they rebuild their lives.

The beginning of the book was so hard to read. Amanda Prowse words evoked such horror and immense sadness. I found myself both sad and mad at the same time. The small steps Nina takes and the slow growth of surviving day to day brought relief. It is a gift to be able to write in such a way that the emotions of the main character are mirrored by the reader.

The Art of Hiding by Amanda Prowse is a great read.

Living large. The estate, huge house, best private school for their two sons, owning a company and money in the bank. That illusion quickly fades with the death of her husband. Then the fairy tale unravels and ugly reality takes its place. Sometimes reality is so much better and makes you stronger...
Gripping look at grief, struggle and finding yourself. Sometimes slow moving, always emotional, stimulating and inspiring. Loved the motivational support offered by Tiggy and Gilly. 
Voluntarily read ARC, through Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing, for honest review.

I loved this very well written book. I found the character to be very real, and the storyline realistic. I was drawn into the storyline from the beginning. The book is fast paced, engrossing, and at times a tearjerker. I love stories like this with a character that makes their way through hard times and comes out on the good side.

The story begins with Nina dealing with the grief of suddenly losing her husband and their perfect life. Nina soon comes to find that the life she had was based on a false reality, and now she'll have to find a way to just survive financially and emotionally.
I thought there were some parts of the book that portrayed Nina as a strong enough person - she moved her 2 boys and herself back to the place and life she grew up in. A far fall from their grand home and lives, Nina shows some grit in dealing with the situation while helping her sons cope with their grief. The one thing that really was disappointing was that it seemed like Finn, the deceased husband, never ended up with enough fault being attributed to him. By Nina or her sons. The story did pretty well in describing the changes in circumstance, although some things worked out rather more neatly than they likely would in real life. On the plus side, I was very happy that there wasn't some romance novel ending.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in return for my honest opinion.

Amanda Prowse is certainly a gifted writer, giving us an emotional story we can feel and experience along with the characters. For me, though, it lacked a little oomph, some sort of bang or twist to shake me out of the doldrums.

When we meet Nina, she is the quintessential pampered, wealthy housewife. Her sole purpose in life is to dote on her husband and children. While Nina's character and her predicament is handled well and is mostly believable, I found her unlikable. Not only is she pampered, but she is also naive and, I'm sorry, stupid. In this digital age when banking is a click away, she doesn't even know the password to their checking account, much less any savings and investment accounts they might (should) have. She is absolutely, utterly, in the dark about her household finances and situation, relying on her husband to manage everything. And, apparently, she is totally content with this setup.

Then her husband dies and Nina discovers her pampered lifestyle has come to an end. Getting to this discovery, and some resulting action from Nina, is dragged out. We spend a lot of time grieving first. Don't get me wrong, this is handled well as far as the writing and emotional level, but, for me, the story felt stagnant, with a lot of emotion but every little movement.

The second half of the story finally has Nina getting herself together and making life choices for herself and her children. Here we find that Nina has a bit of a lucky charm, as coincidences work in her favor and her children's rebellion is barely a blip in the reality of teenage angst.

In the end, there are no surprises in this formulaic story. And we never learn whether the husband was a sociopathic control freak or a loving husband who got it all wrong. But maybe leaving us to wonder was the plan here.

I enjoyed this story.......all the characters were very real. There a few coincidences that I thought stretched the imagination just a little too far but it was a good story.
Nina living in a beautiful large house, two sons and an adoring husband wants for nothing and tends not to mix with others because she is totally content. But then disaster strikes and Nina has to fend for herself and the boys......of course she survives but the way she does, her determination to and her realisation that money isn't everything makes for a very good read.

Well I thought I wanted to read this book until I got partway through and realised that it was what I think people probably call 'chicklit', which is not a genre that I'm interested in.
It was certain well written and crafted in a way that leads the reader nicely through the story.
However I made a mistake in selecting it and did not really enjoy it much at all.
So in fairness to the author I am not going to criticise it and will just say that it will probably suit those who like a story about life destroyed by disaster and then rebuilt through personal resilience.

I received a copy of this book as an auto-approval from NetGalley in exchange for my review. This is the second book by Amanda Prowse I've been given the opportunity to read. I'm not sure at this moment in life I would have picked this book as I've been stuck in a thriller mood lately. I am however glad I gave it a shot.

How would you cope if everything you thought about your life was a lie?

There's Nina, who is a housewife and mother of 2 boys, Connor and Declan. She is busy with life surrounding the activities of her sons and husband, Finn. When her husband dies in a car accident her world is thrown into turmoil. What will she do? She doesn't work a job, and hasn't for years. Her family has lived a rather extravagant lifestyle. She knows nothing of their finances and is totally shocked when their lawyer informs her after her husband's funeral that they are broke. Not just broke, but owing eight million pounds of debt. She doesn't understand any of it because her husband said nothing about any of this to her. So Nina and her sons have to start from scratch, leaving behind their monstrous home and the boys private school to go back to the town where her sister lives.

This book shows you the trials of this family trying to rebuild their life after experiencing one upset after another. With help from her sister, Tiggy, she proves that she can overcome. Nina has great strength even though she thinks she doesn't.

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. You know when you have both a good laugh and a good cry, it's a good book. It was well written and I look forward to another by Amanda Prowse.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this opportunity.

A beautifully written book. This story really tugged at my heartstrings. That's not to say it is a necessarily sad book, just that it was real. The book depicts circumstances that could happen to anybody, and illustrates the hidden strengths that we all possess. An excellent read.

Actual Rating: 4.5 stars

This book was fantastic, even better than Prowse's previous novel that I read, "The Idea of You". We follow Nina McCormick, a rich housewife, whose world gets turned upsidedown when she gets a calls that her husband is dead, and that catastrophe amplifies even more when she learns that they're bankrupt and losing everything (including their luxurious home). As a [now] single mother of two boys, a ten yo and 16 yo, she has to come through the pains and understandings of parenting these children to be the best men they can be.

All the while Nina is questioning who her husband actually was, and examining their marriage in a different light because of the things that were revealed after his death. There's also a delightful sisterhood between her and the older sister Tiggy, which was messy but ultimately protective and supportive.

One thing that I was so glad of, was that there was no love interest; Nina was just her own independent women, and she didn't need a man to provide/guide her children. I went into this book, perhaps expecting a romance of sorts, given the history of Prowse's previous books, however, the way that the story progressed, focusing on the mother-son and sister relationships was the better way to handle the plot of this.

Nina as a character is so relatable and I truly connected to her, which is what makes a book shine. However, at the same time I was so frustrated with how blind and naive she could be to her relationship to her late husband Finn. He was a controlling, money-lusting man, who wanted to mold Nina into this perfect little housewife that was oblivious to the pressure of the dangers facing their family.

In all, this is a beautiful story of loss, motherhood, and the value of family. It could be described as a family drama, a from riches to rags type of book. You would do yourself a favor picking this up, once you do, you won't stop reading until the last page.

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

Having read one other book by the author I thought I'd try this one but the title and the description promised much more than the book actually delivered.

I think this is one for fans of Amanda Prowse and those who are happy to plod along with a domestic drama in which nothing really goes on with very little to grip you but everyday life. As I prefer a drama that takes me out of the humdrum and into the 'Wow! That really happened?' I would have to say that this book was definitely not for me. I skimmed most of the last third.

Amanda Prowse broke me down with the beginning of The Art of Hiding, but by the end of the story put my roller coaster of emotions back together again! This story deals with traumatic loss and learning how someone dear and close to you could have hidden so much from you.

This story hit so close to home for me and was heartbreaking and challenging to read at times. BUT, it was needed it is such a great story that reading what the main character, Nina, goes through is most likely every married woman's worst nightmare come to life. I loved how Prowse gives Nina the perfect ending in the story!

Thank you Amanda for a great, soul searching story that I needed to read even though, at times, it was hard for me to feel the strife that challenged the main characters in the story!

Wonderfully realistic! So often, this type of book has stereotyped characters - the beautiful, poor, unfortunate, grieving widow and her adorable kids have to make their way in the world without their father and husband, who was everything to all of them.....until a handsome guy who she either dislikes at first, or only thinks of as a friend, finally rescues her from a situation and declares his undying love for her and they live happily ever after - I'm so happy this was different! I won't give away any plot twists, but I can actually see this story happening in real life.
Each main character has dimension, but I really liked Nina.
She wasn't perfect, but I could identify with her and how she reacted to her situation and I admired the way she handled her children.

<i>'Nina McCarrick has it all: a loving husband, two beautiful boys, a well-appointed home and more time than she knows what to do with. Life is perfect. Until her husband, Finn, is killed in a car accident and everything Nina thought she could rely on unravels.'</i>

I was given an ARC copy from NetGalley in return for my honest review.

I give it 2.5 stars. A bit boring for my tastes but not horrible.

The Art of Hiding did have a few inspiring moments, but for the most part it was just 'meh' for me. I really don't think I am the target audience for this book. It wasn't a bad book but I was never really able to connect with Nina, the main character and all. I mostly found her naive and annoying. The fact that she had absolutely no knowledge of their family finances and didn't even have access to bank account passwords seems unrealistic in this day and age. And that her husband, who supposedly loved her, would leave her and their children in this situation with no warning of what was going on makes him seem more like a controlling jerk than a loving husband and father. The most interesting character in the whole story was her sister Tiggy.