`This book was emotional from the start. I laughed, cried and got angry. I loved it and was sad when I was done!

Nina McCarrick has it all – a wonderfully loving husband, financial security and two children, 15-year old Connor and 10-year old Declan. Her perfect family and perfect life is shattered in one instance, when her husband, Finn, meets with a fatal accident. Since the news of his death, their whole world came spiraling down; as if it were in free fall.

As soon as the funeral is over and she’s coming to terms with her loss, her world collapses all over again. Nina learns that her husband’s business was under a mountain of debt and suddenly she finds herself faced with bankruptcy and eviction from their palatial house. With her back to the wall, no roof over her head, and no help from neighbors; she is forced to withdraw her sons from one of the most prestigious and premiere schools and relocate.

Due to lack of options, she decides to move to Southampton, where she spent her childhood. It was as if her life had gone backwards. While growing up, she and her sister Tiggy, faced numerous hardships; predominantly a financial crunch. After marrying Finn, she wore her wealth like a suit of armor – it offered protection from all that frightened her growing up. She had felt any worry over her financial future slip out of her life, and pleased by the fact that her kids would never know the hardships she had faced. Finn insisted on dealing with all the finances, which she welcomed as a pleasant change, from having to watch every penny and wondering what the future held.

As she reaches Portswood, and sees the dilapidated run-down apartment (which she rented from her cousin Fred), her will and external façade, which she was putting on for the boys, starts to crumble. Anger and hatred towards Finn start creeping in her mind. She was unsure of the man she had been married to for all these years – the man who consigned them all to live in a downward spiral over which she had no control. The man she thought she knew inside out and back to front had so many secrets. Finn had promised her a life free of worry, a good life for her and their children. Finn had lied.

As Nina struggles to rebuild a life for themselves, with the meager amount of cash she had; she is left questioning the true foundation of her marriage. Tiggy offers her support in all forms, for which she is very grateful. However, she parallely has to deal with the boys who, apart from grieving for their father, now have to cope with a completely different surrounding and financial situation. Declan is sweet and malleable. Connor, on the other hand, is a typical disgruntled and complicated teen. His mood and treatment of her continue with its highs and lows.

Nina searches for a job, and sends in applications to any and all kinds of adverts, but finds herself lacking in every aspect.
While she was married to Finn, she had no inkling of the external world. He controlled her and he was so good at it that she didn’t even notice. He built her a palace and gave her money and she filled it with lovely things. In the process, she lost herself, her confidence and her zest for life. She was nervous to mingle with people, constantly worried about portraying the wrong thing. She became the cardboard-cutout wife.
She’s left to question herself, “What had she done in her life other than marry well?”

People who live with extreme stress and cannot see any way out fall into two categories. The first are those who fall apart externally, seek help and battle it publicly. The second are those who don’t do this and can’t; they keep it bottled up inside and become skilled in the art of hiding. Finn fell in the latter.

But, Nina doesn’t give up. With determination, courage and faith; piece by piece she starts assembling the puzzle of their lives and things start changing ever-so-slowly. The situation into which they were forced was shaping her children, especially Connor, in a positive way. Hardship eroded his sense of haughtiness and a nicer, humbler boy started emerging.

With emotional support from Tiggy and her new found friends, and as her life starts taking some form of shape, Nina realizes that happiness can never be built on the foundations of wealth or on materialistic things. Happiness was waiting for her, in her people. She just wasn’t able to see it.

Happiness lies in being content – and in the present. If you’re constantly waiting for happiness to start, waiting for the change that will make it happen, then you might just miss some good days along the way.

This is a story of living after a tragedy, picking up the pieces of your broken life and finding happiness and contentment in the present. It is also about hope, survival and finding the inner strength and confidence to deal with life and its setbacks.

A brilliant inspirational read, which also emphasizes the need for financial independence.

One day Nina is married to the man of her dreams, living a wonderful life with Finn & their two boys. Then, when Finn is killed in a car wreck, her entire life crashes down around her. Her husband had been shielding the truth about their finances from her, and she is shocked to discover that everything is going to be reposessed, the boys kicked out of their fancy private school, and she is shunned by people she would normally call friends. In order to survive, Nina has to go back home... the one place she never wanted to see again.
For me, the book was very depressing, but at the same time it was also very realistic. The author did a good job of accurately portraying what it is like to live with no money, no idea what way to turn next, no hope for the future. The book did end on a happy note, and I feel that overall it is a very good read.

This was an emotional and ultimately uplifting book about loss, the meaning of happiness, and staying true to oneself. I'll be honest, this was not an easy book for me to read. The majority of the book was incredibly depressing and gut wrenching, and I had to step away often to collect myself. This is not a reflection on the writing at all, but rather a testament to the strong emotions it evoked. The premise of this book will feel familiar and is similar to other books I have read before, but it's the brutal honesty and rawness that sets it apart. Amanda Prowse really drags you through the ringer with this one, but it makes those glimmers of hope so much more rewarding and fulfilling.

Nina's journey through this book is so heartbreaking, but so very relatable and possible in this fragile life. You grieve with her as she comes to terms with her new normal, and you rejoice with her as you see her grow and become the strong and independent woman and mother that she buried deep inside years ago. Hearing her inner monologue of fear and self doubt was difficult, but so necessary to her transformation. As a mother myself, I found the scenes with the boys especially painful as I imagined being thrust into this horrific situation. Certain scenes had me silently weeping, but as I stated before, this is ultimately a story of hope and renewal. Is it easy? No, not at all, but few things in life (if any) ever are. This is my second book by the author and both times she has struck a nerve so deep that I'm certain this book will stay with me for quite some time.

This book was a perfect read for the beach, airplane trip or in my case a rainy day! It's a. tale we all are familiar with - wife and children left stranded when the husband/father dies. The characters are interesting and easy to feel for., and there are enough twists and turns to fully keep one's attention. A very good fun read

The art of hiding secrets by Amanda prowse is a lovely story that tells how a mother copes after loosing everything. Trying to shield her boys when waiting for the inevitable to happen and protect the memory of their father who has left them to deal with the heartache of a crumbling life.
Nina has it all, married to Finn who owns his own construction company, she lives a privelledged life with the big dream house, 2 boys Conner and Declan in an exclusive private school and never wanting for anything .. a far cry from the poverty stricken upbringing she had with her sister Tiggy, both of which she's left behind. Nina s life is perfect until that fateful day ....
Standing on the rugby pitch of the boys school wondering why husband Finn hasn't shown she gets a phone call that changes her entire world. Finn has been killed in a car crash. Devastated and filled with grief Nina doesn't realise this is just the start of a spiral of events that will bring her world crashing down.
For you see Finn had lost it all .. his company, the house and was millions in debt which he had been keeping all a secret for some time from Nina. Was his death an accident? How will she tell the boys it's all gone ? And how will she cope having to return to her childhood town and sister Tiggy who she has treated apallingly, basically abandoning when she found wealth.
I've never read an Amanda prowse book before and I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I couldn't put it down hoping for Nina to succeed and waiting to see what would happen next . I really felt for her as a mother desperately trying to shield her children from awful circumstances and still add a positive to their situation when all she wants to do is crumble herself . This is a great story about triumphing against all odds and finding out on a journey of self discovery that what you thought was perfection and happiness maybe wasn't that wonderful after all.
Would really recommend this, its a great story.

DNF @33%. I was auto approved for this title, and was only trying to,read the description when it ended up on my start reading list. This isn't a book I would have chosen based on the blurb, but I figured I'd give it a try. I just couldn't get into it and found myself skimming through. I didn't like Nina. I guess the title is perfect for her., as she seemed to hide rather than confront or fix her problems. I wasn't interested enough to continue.

This is a very good book, with several of life's lessons along the way. Nina has it all. A fabulous mansion-type house. A handsome, devoted husband and two sons in an exclusive school. Then in an instant it is almost all gone. Nina and her two sons Connor and Declan learn the hard way that money doesn't buy happiness. The characters are very well developed and the story believable. I would love to know what happens next in their lives. I even found Nina's sister, Tiggy, interesting. I definitely would read another book by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review. I will recommend this book to family and friends.

Nina McCarrick is living the perfect life of luxury and opulence with her beloved husband Finn and two sons - Connor and Declan. Tragedy strikes, when her husband is killed in a car accident. His death uncovers a mountain of debt that Finn was under, leading to drastic changes in Nina and her children´s lives. The Art of Hiding, deals with these changes in a postive manner, and we see the ways that Nina changes from a timid, retiring housewife to a strong and capable women, able to look after her sons and see the true nature of happiness.

This was my first novel by Amanda Prowse and I look forward to reading more of her novels in the future. Thankyou to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for letting me read this novel early in exchange for an honest review.

What happens when your life changes drastically from one day to next? How do you move forward and reinvent yourself? Was everything you took for granted just an illusion? These are questions Nina has to face when her husband dies and she is left to confront a new reality with her two son. The book has moments of despair as Nina's world unravels and she wonders what was true in her marriage and how she could have made different choices in the past, and uplifting moments as we see her pick up the pieces and create a new reality with her family. The book deals with issues that I could relate to as a woman and a mom, and its strength was in its portrayal of family dynamics. The portrayal of rich people in the book felt one-dimensional, as if being rich automatically made people mean, shallow, or self-centered. I think the themes of the book would have been better served with a more nuanced portrayal of society and class differences.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had never heard of this author but was given a chance to review this book after I requested it. I guess the description pulled me in, but I'm not really sure why, since it's hardly an uplifting-sounding book. I'm not going to lie, the first third to half of the book were tough to read: usually I read books all at once, but I had to take breaks because this book was really depressing for a while. Nina must learn to triumph -- and it's hardly a spoiler to say that she does -- but it took a while.

But this book really causes you to think about what you would do in her shoes. I'm not a parent, have always worked to support myself, and I've been single for a considerable portion of my adult life (although not for the last 4 1/2 years). But it's still quite sobering to think about what you would do if your partner died and you found out you had no money, no job and no home. Nina eventually figures it all out, and not in a Hollywood easy-solutions kind of way, and by the end, I had confidence that I would too if it (shuddering) were to ever come to that. I will read this author again -- I see she has many books from which to choose -- and even though it was set in England, I didn't find it too British to enjoy.

I received this book for free from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.

I received a copy of "The Art of Hiding" from NetGalley for an honest review. I wish to thank NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Amanda Prowse for the opportunity to read this book.

This was a nice and light book - perfect for a summer read. It had a good story and was definitely entertaining. It made me think and appreciate my life several times.

This is a recommend!

Nina is born into poverty and then she meets and marries a very very wealthy man. She lives in the lap of luxury until one bad day where everything goes wrong. Finn gets killed in a car accident which could be on purpose or not and leaves Nina with her 2 kids and a mountain of debt. Because Finn took care of everything this leaves Nina with no place to go and all of her possesions repoed. This book started like another book that I read a while ago and I kept wondering if I was reading the same book over but it was a different book.

It was good and it drove home a lot of really good points about life in general and Nina of course makes it and learns all of her life lessons.

Nina McCarrick is living the perfect life and has the perfect home and family. Nina is standing at her son's game when her whole life changes. Her husband has died in a car accident. Then she finds that they are completely broke and bankrupt. In no time at all the house is gone, Finn's business and all they know. She has two sons to take care of and feels overwhelmed. Had no idea what was happening before the phone calls came. She takes the boys back to where she grew up. Her sister is there to help. They can rent an aunt's house. With time Nina finds a job and life starts to move forward again. She and the boys are able to grow closer and hard as it is they learn to live a new life.

It looked as if Nina and Finn McCarrick had everything going for them: his construction business, two great sons (a teenager and a 10-year old), a lavish income and the lifestyle it buys (house, cars, trips to exotic and faraway places, etc.), the perfect marriage and family life. Then, everything suddenly falls apart, as Finn dies in an auto accident. Nina finds out soon that Finn has leveraged everything they own into his bankrupt business, and, before she has time to absorb this news, everything (their house, the boys’ prestigious school, their money, etc.) is gone, repossessed by creditors to apply to the many, many debts the construction company owed to creditors. Nina and her sons, amid their grief over Finn’s death, go from being fairly well off to starting life anew under much different circumstances. A relative offers them a small placed to live, and Nina and her sons move in to a much, much smaller and shabbier house. Nina begins a long, drawn out job search, while her sons try to adjust to their new situation. The author has covered their first difficult days in their new life, moving from having had everything they could want or need to living on the edge of poverty.

This is a wonderful story of a strong woman, Nina, and her equally resilient sons. During her marriage to Finn, Nina gave up herself to Finn’s wants, needs and wife’s image. Now, Nina realizes that she must be the one in control, if she and her sons are to survive this ordeal. It was fascinating to watch her growth, as well as that of her sons. Initially, the younger son, despite his younger age, seemed more adjusted than the older teenager, who felt he had lost everything and everyone he felt dear to, except for his mother and brother. Still, as the story progresses, you can see his growth and maturity emerge into what will be a well-adjusted, conscientious, caring young man. There were some things that I found a little bit beyond belief, however: suddenly finding a place to live that her relative agreed to, finding a job—or, rather, having someone design one for her, all three falling into a different yet still comfortable lifestyle, etc. However, this is fiction, and strange things happen in fiction—things that often defy belief. I found all four characters, Nina, her sons and her ever-helpful, stand-by-you-through-thick-and thin sister, interesting and fairly well done. I was expecting a romance between Nina and someone she meets in her new settings, but that did not occur, leaving the book focus on how Nina made a life for herself and her sons after the tragic events that occurred. This is a book that I will not soon forget. It is a pretty serious read, that definitely brought home the fact that money does not buy everything and that things can change totally with one simple action or event. I received this form NetGalley to read and review.

Nina lives in a beautiful house and leads a privileged life. Then tragedy strikes and she looses her husband and a whole lot more. We are taken through Nina's journey as she reconnects with life, her sons, her sister and her new neighbourhood. Nina is a true heroine because she learns a valued lesson about money and happiness. When she truly starts to find herself, she starts to live again. An uplifting novel. I liked the honesty between Nina and Tiggy, showing a relatable relationship between sisters. I would recommend this book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book. I would read more by this author.

Great book! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommend!

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Nina lives in a large house with her husband and two children, but after an accident leaves her a widow and single mother, information comes to light that leaves her family's finances in ruin. Moving back to the rundown estate she grew up in. Slowly, trying to hold her family together Nina does everything she can to keep her, and her son's heads above water.
I don't usually pick this sort of book, but I enjoyed it. Nina was brilliantly written, her pain seemed to almost leap off the page, and I found myself cheering her on for all of the small steps she took towards a better future for her family. The actual events of the story are believable, maybe not 100% relatable with the amount of debt, but everyone can understand the rabbit hole that is all to easy to fall down when it comes to trying to keep everything normal while slowly racking up more and more debt. The story shows just how much family means, not money the bring to the table, but the support they offer.
4/5 stars

.Nina was brought up in poverty with her sister Tiggy in Germany and after the death of her mother they moved to England but were still living in poverty. Then Nina met Finn and now she has it all A beautiful house, two lovely boys and a successful husband. The boys go to an exclusive school and she is about to find out just how accomodating both the school and the parents are. Finn dies and suddenly she is no longer able to stay in the life she had created for herself and the boys. She moves back closer to her sister and begins to pick up the threads of their relationship. She has to get a job and the boys have to adjust to a new school and life without their Dad and the trappings of luxury.
The book charts their progress throughout the early days and shows that money doesn't always guarantee happiness. It also shows how adjustable we can be to whatever life throws at us and come out the other side better people.