The premise of this book was good. However, I found it a hard book to finish. The story line, although good, moved very slowly.

This novel hit the nail on the head with a powerful message that everyone should listen to. As individuals marry each other, what happens to each of the individuals as they combine their lives? Do they give up a part of themselves, do they relinquish total control as trust should be part of their marriage or do they maintain their own identity and honesty takes center stage. There are a lot of things that come into play when two individuals marry and they start their lives together. Trust, honesty, communication, their personality and their past are a few of the major ones. As I read this novel, I found myself thinking about individuals in my own life and how this novel relates to them. What kind of reality would they be living if they found themselves alone without their spouse? Would they be able to carry on without much interruption in the life that they had before? Would ghosts start coming out of the attic, making the individuals wonder about their past lives? Do they begin to realize that they were perhaps too comfy in their relationship and don’t know how to handle all the new responsibility? It’s something we all should be thinking about and this novel brings that to light.

When Nina discovers that her husband Finn has died, it comes as a shock. With two children to care for, Nina doesn’t worry about the future as she feels that their lives will continue to run just as they have before. There will be money from insurance and they have accumulated assets throughout their marriage, these will keep the family up and running. It sounds good but then reality comes creeping in and Nina realizes the truth. When the children’s school calls, telling her that they are behind on payments and that they need their money immediately, Nina is confused. Finn was always been on top of the financials for the family and she feels that these payments must have slipped his mind. He has been extremely busy; his new business is taking up most of his time and energy. When the money transfer doesn’t go through that Nina initiated to the school, Nina finally talks to their accountant and realizes that there is no money. She is also told of a huge debt that her husband owes, one that he hid from her and now she is in charge of paying it off also. What happened? Where did all their money go? It’s monumental when the family begins to lose everything they have acquired over the years and they find themselves facing a new situation. It’s an eye-opener what this family goes through as they try to make sense of their current situation and deal with the death of their husband and father. I felt for them as they questioned their future and they try to make a go-at-it. I really enjoyed this novel and I think what their family went through is a reality check for its readers. 4.5 stars
I want to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for sending me a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I did not finish this book. I got about 15% into it and realized that I was forcing myself to read it. I just didn't connect with it. Sorry.

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Personally I can't get enough of Amanda Prowse, and may have overdosed a little on her books. Another highly emotional story, leaving me wanting more. One of the best I've read so far!

Nina's husband Finn has been tragically killed in an accident, throwing her life into utter turmoil. Her two sons, Connor and Declan doted on their father and they all lived a comfortable life of luxury in Bath, in a beautiful farmhouse, private school for the boys, luxury cars, and the finer things in life. All a long way from Nina's childhood on a council estate in Southampton. Marrying the self made Finn, who told her she wouldn't need to ever worry about money, hunger, discomfort, displacement or finances ever again, was a relief to Nina after her hard upbringing. Finn took control of all the household finances; mortgage, banking, credit cards, utilities etc, leaving Nina with no need to longer stress about money.

However, she realises she's lost without her husband. He was the bread earner with his own construction company, whereas she stayed at home and looked after the house and the boys. Since getting married to Finn and moving to Bath, Nina became socially isolated. Initially because she felt uncomfortable among the seemingly confident, wealthy, well spoken, educated and polished ladies at the school gates, refusing invitations to parties and BBQ's, until the invitations dried up. Then because she became comfortable just living within the family unit.

She had no idea of their finances or the business - that was Finns responsibility. Which sounded liberating, but she discovered was actually a burden, and that the security she craved was all now just a false facade. After losing her husband and then everything else that made up her world, Nina must relearn how to take control and be responsible for her life, as well as her children's well being.

The Art of Hiding is a thought provoking story of a woman who lost her husband, but in the aftermath started to find herself again and learnt to be independent and self sufficient without hiding behind her husband. Although she loved her husband vey much, during their marriage she became wholly reliable on him to take care of everything, apart from taking care of the running of the house and sorting the boys out. Her life was based on outside perceptions; that because they seemed to live a lifestyle straight out of a glossy magazine, that everything was perfect. It wasn't, it was a false facade, and people can hide and keep things secret from loved ones. Albeit it seemingly with good intentions.

This is a great book that forces you to think and re-evaluate your entire life and will be an insightful lesson for many women. So many meet a man, who then becomes their husband, but in the process lose themselves. The husband may not necessarily be controlling or cruel, but if anything at all happened to him, his wife may be left unable to cope in the real world without him. Many women give up or forget their own dreams and aspirations, to give themselves wholly to the family unit. I'm not suggesting this is a bad thing. For many families this works. My own mother was a house wife, but still had her own independence and life. However, for some women it makes them too reliable on their husband and makes them almost a shadow.

Hopefully this book will make some women conclude that no matter how much they love their family, they need to retain some independence and control parts of their own life. Not every woman needs to be an ultra alpha female, but as a minimum they should retain some strength of independence and be knowledgeable about the families finances and the household affairs, and be assertive in demanding to have access to the family's accounts and to work if they so wish.

All in all this is a powerful book with a lot to say. The author can certainly take readers through a gauntlet of emotions; sadness, pity, laughter, joy, pain, despair but also happiness and hope. The emotions and sensitive subject of grief was handled well and true to life.

The characters are portrayed realistically. Nina's sister Tiggy may appear hard at times, but is a product of the environment she lives in. Whereas Nina was the same as Tiggy, before she met Finn, and then became cocooned from the hardness of life. The change we see take place in Nina as she reasserts herself and starts growing in confidence, is like watching a flower blossom. It's almost like she never believed she was good enough to have the lifestyle she enjoyed in Bath, and so stayed away from people. Whereas back in Southampton she begins to shine again.

I enjoyed the message that money and material goods can't buy happiness. Agreed. Although in many cases, they can certainly make life easier! Some beautiful and true friendships are made, and these are shown to be based on people and not things, material possessions or what people are deemed to be "worth". It does appear to be a book that it is all about what happens below the surface and not what is on show. Many of the wealthy characters are shown to be shallow and uncaring, only interested in how much money people are worth, where they live, what car they drive etc. Whereas the most caring people are the ones who have the least and who try to help as much as they can. Which is slightly - there are many genuine and decent wealthy people - over generalizing, but shows what's really important in life.

This book will make you think and analyze your life. Would the people in it still be there for you if you were left with nothing? Are you there for other people? If your other half wasn't there one day, could you manage to cope on your own and find the strength to carry on? What is most important to you?

You will likely spill a tear or two in parts, but this book is still incredibly uplifting and shows just how the human spirit can overcome adversity and find the courage and strength necessary to carry on.

Thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Amanda Prowse for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest and unbiased review.

This was a quick and easy read. Enjoyable but predictable. If you've been reading what I would call "deep" books, this would be a nice break. Shows the strength we have within us if forced to find it.

Yet another Amanda Prowse winner. This book is unbelievably sad and heartbreaking, following one family's journey along an emotional rollercoaster of loss, learning and discovery. It is well written, as always and despite not going through the same challenges you really relate to the characters and situations so I found myself really drawn into the story.

Slightly predictable as when Nina's wealthy business husband dies after road accident she finds herself in a financial mess and has to return to her home town. The transition to poverty is swift and she and her two sons find it extremely difficult to adjust and reconcile themselves to their new situation . The book relates how they manage to come to terms with their new circumstances. What amazes me is how quickly this is achieved, especially the eldest son who is an angry teenager, they seem bounce back from a few pounds to being solvent. There was no resort to expected benefit claiming or maybe the food bank and I was surprised that the officialdom from their past hadn't caught up with them. However it is a good read and one does find oneself rooting for the family and hoping they carry on forging a future for themselves in reduced circumstances.

Really enjoyed reading this book. I could totally get the characters and where they were coming from and found it quite an emotional read. (I am a soft touch though). In today's world I suspect this type of bereavement and the questions it can leave unanswered are affecting more and more people too, sadly. Would definitely look for more of Amanda Prowse's books

I really enjoyed this read and devoured it in a day. I really felt for the main character Nina and I wanted her to get through her horrible situation. It didn't feel too dramatic or predictable it was realistic which I think enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

My one criticism is I felt like there was only half a story, I felt like there was more to tell, more challenges to overcome.

Thanks to NetGally, Lake Union Publishing and Amanda Prowse for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A nice easy read for the beach but rather predictable as to what was going to happen!

This is the second book I've read by this author, and like the first, I thought the writing itself was good, but I just couldn't connect with the subject matter. The plot follows a woman and her two sons as they cope with the loss of the husband/dad as well as finding out that he has left them bankrupt. This has the potential of being a really gritty and inspirational story, but not so fast. The family are actually multi-millionaires and by "bankrupt" it really just means that they have to move into a sensible size apartment and the mom has to get a job. So basically it's a story of how hard it is to live a middle class existence. Yeah... no sympathy from me.

This is the second book by Amanda Prowse I have read recently, and I will definitely be reading more. I found myself itching to pick up the book and couldn't wait for my breaks to read some more. I found the storyline and characters relatable to a degree, and could empathise with their situation and the determination to overcome the aftermath of the death of the head of the family. A brilliant read.

The book moves along smoothly. Widow lost her husband and moves her family to poor town. She needs a job and money soon. While I enjoyed her story, there was nothing exciting to look forward to in the next chapters....

This was a confusing book for me. Nina has the perfect husband,kids,home and life.Then her husband dies and everything crumbles.

I hated Finn from what we see of him,Nina seemed weak and one dimensional at the beginning but she does get better and I loved the sister's relationship.I just never really connected with the characters.

It was nice seeing Nina's growth but it was fairly hollow.

The Art of Hiding by Amanda Prowse was captivating from the first few lines of the book, all through to the end. It tells the story of a woman who finds herself going from being the top of the social circle, with two kids in private school, with a beautiful house to run and wonderful husband, to a widow who quickly learns that things are not as they seemed before her husbands death. To make matters worse, as her life unravels she is forced to make some huge changes in her world, including moving her children from their much loved home to the home of her youth, that she could not get away from fast enough. What appears at first to be utter disaster, turns into something that no one could have expected. I was not 100% happy with how the book was wrapped up, but overall, this was a book worth reading and sharing with others!

This is the first book of Amanda Prowes' I have read and it most certainly won't be the last. The Art of Hiding tells the story of Nina who has the perfect life with her husband Finn and two sons, or so she thought. He husband Finn is tragically killed and her who works comes crashing down. Her and her sons have to leave their home and all the luxuries they are accustomed to to move back to the town where Nina grew up. Nina has to struggle on her own to provide a life for her and her two boys whilst dealing with her own grief and the loss of everything she was used to.
I read this book in one night it was that good, the writing is brilliant and all of the characters were so lifelike I could picture them all. Amanda has done a fantastic job of telling the story in such a way that I could picture everything from the opulence of the house to the way the children looked.
I am now going to read every book Amanda has ever written.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

When I received a notification from NetGalley that I was auto approved for this book, I thought it sounded intriguing, so I accepted it. And I'm glad I did. It's a bit depressing at times, but ultimately quite uplifting. Nina's perfect life comes crashing down around her when her husband is killed in an auto accident. As if losing her husband wasn't enough, she soon learns that his business was in financial ruin, and before she has time to prepare she and her two sons are suddenly homeless and broke. Nina transitions from living in a huge house of splendor, ferrying her sons back and forth to their exclusive private school and spending her days mindlessly spending money left and right to living in a tiny flat in a bad neighborhood, getting a job, walking to work, and learning to live on a tight budget. It's hard on her, and hard on the boys. But along the way Nina learns to appreciate life and the small joys that come with it if you can keep your mind from being closed off. I enjoyed taking the journey with her, and watching her blossom from pampered housewife to confident working woman. The characters were all well written, with the boys being realistic kids. I loved how Nina and her sister reconnected, and there were a few times when I laughed out loud at their conversations.

A really nice story about loss and love and learning to pick yourself up and find happiness in everyday life.

Firstly thanks, as always, goes to NetGalley, and the publishers, for allowing me a pre-release copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ok. So, I was pre-approved for a review copy of this novel. For some unknown reason, I thought this book was a psychological thriller and I was really looking forward to seeing it. It starts quite promising as Finn McCarrick tragically dies in a car accident, leaving his wife, Nina, to snap out of her self absorbed, over priveleged bubble and break the news to their two sons. However, it turns out that Finn has some secrets. His business has gone bankrupt, with the family home mortgaged to the hilt, Finn has left his family broke. Broke to the tune of almost eight million pounds. There is then a hint, just a small suggestion, that there may have been something more to Finn's "accident" than first meets the eye. This is where I started to get excited. But, as the novel continues to catalogue Nina's woes, frustration starts to set in as nothing really is happening, although I felt compelled to keep reading as I was sure it was just waiting to really pick up. At about half way in I was, if I'm honest, getting bored. Nina was still broke, she'd moved from her mansion in Bath to a pokey little flat on the outskirts of Southampton and she was doubting her whole life. But, to be honest, it was getting dull. The star count for my review was going down by the page. By this point it was going to be lucky if it got two stars.

At about the half way point, I decided I'd take another look at the description. It turns out that I was mistaken and it wasn't a thriller at all - simply a tale of Nina's life falling apart at the seems as she realised the last few years had been based on lies. So now, looking at the novel in a different light, and just because I hate to abandon a book part way through, I continued to read.

As it turns out, the more I read, the more I was starting to feel for Nina and her sons. And the more I found myself rooting for them, willing them to pull themselves back up. In the end, it happened to be a really good book. And, purely because the author managed to not only keep me interested enough to want to carry on reading, but actually make me enjoy a book that I was really quite disappointed with at first, I must say it really does deserve it's four stars.

So, just how disappointed was I? Well, I was really looking forward to reading a thriller (the fact that that's not what I got is entirely my own fault!), I was rather disappointed that that wasn't what I got. Particularly as the speculation into the circumstances of Finn's accident gave the novel so much potential to go down the thriller road - could it have been suicide, could it have been something more sinister? On that, we'll never know. But, overall, it was a really enjoyable read so hats off to Amanda Prowse for managing to change my mind for me.

A well written, sometime moving book and, yes, I'm glad I read it.