Amanda Prowse has done it again, this book will not fail to disappoint your fans. The Art of Hiding will test your emotions to the limit, you will feel for the main character and wonder what is going to happen to her next. This book makes you really think about what is important to you I love and in life. Fantastic. Looking forward to the next masterpiece.

A powerfully written book about strength in the face of adversity; discovering what's really important when the chips are down and most importantly - family and the ties that bind. Beautifullly written with a depth of feeling that moved me to tears. Do not read this book without a box of tissues but do read it

Loved this book. Third book by Amanda Prowse I have read and enjoyed. Written with feeling. I felt for Nina but great to see her triumph over adversity. A lovely heart warming story with some parts that make you think about the power of money in life.

This was a powerful and moving book and I couldn't put it down. Amanda Prowse described the loss of a loved one and its effect on a family in a thoughtful manner. Her writing is so well done and the characters are described down to the smallest nuance. I sometimes felt that I was with them as they went through their daily lives. Something similar happened to someone I know, and I wondered as read this book if this is how she felt as she dealt with the shock and then the realization that nothing would ever be the same again.

Nina McCarrick thinks she has a perfect life. She has a big house, a doting husband and two sons who go to an exclusive private school. All is well until one day her husband Finn is killed in a car crash. She finds out his business is bankrupt and she owes more money than she'll ever possibly have. When Nina's house is repossessed, she and her children go back to the working class neighborhood in London where she grew up and where her sister Tiggy still lives.

Nina has no job, and no job prospects. She has a little money she found, and that's about it. She has to figure out not only how to survive, but how to thrive. Not only for herself, but for her shell- shocked children who have never known a life without luxury and now have to share a room and scrimp for every penny.

The journey Nina goes on to make their lives over is fascinating. It's a powerful lesson on society's focus on possessions and things, and whether they really enrich our lives as much as we think they do.

I highly recommend this book. It's a great read and a book that makes you think.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Art of Hiding gave me thought that didn’t quite meet what the story actually interpreted, but in a good way. Hiding is representative of so many things so it was nice to have my view changed which made it more interesting. Amanda Prowse gave an interesting view of how a fairytale life is not always where you want to be and the real dreams are there to be achieve.
Thank you NetGalley for this chance to be enlightened!

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story is about Nina who lives a luxurious life with her husband and two sons. They own a massive house with a swimming pool. The two children attend a private school. Then one day her world is blown apart when Nina's husband Finn dies leaving her with a mountain of debt. Nina has to rebuild her life all the while questioning if she ever really knew her husband at all.

This is not the first Amanda Prowse book that I have read. I find her books very easy to read and a lovely change to my normal genre of psychological thriller. I really enjoyed this story. I was at first worried that the story would be a bit depressing but once I started reading it I didn't feel that at all. I did question some of the decisions that Nina made. I was unsure if she did not take advice she was given because she was burying her head in the sand or just that she was consumed by grief. I would highly recommend this book and should I ever be stuck for something to read I will definitely seek out more of Amanda's books.

I enjoyed this book and was fortunate to be pre approved to review it.
It is about the personal and family adaptations and growth that Nina, along with her two sons Connor and Declan, have to undertake after the death of Finn, Nina's husband, in an accident.
He had his own construction business and the family lived a lavish lifestyle until his accident, then their lives dramatically change, and Nina and the boys are forced to move out of their luxurious home into a small apartment.
The book explores how they cope with the major changes in their lives, Nina having to find a job and think about the cost of everything, and the boys having to leave their exclusive private school and join the mainstream school system, also having to leave their friends. It shows how attitudes can sometimes quickly change in a negative way towards those who become less fortunate, and have a downward change in social status, and how happiness and security is measured in material items, from the car you drive, the type of home you have, down to the model of mobile phone you use.
It is a well written account of how current issues can affect a family, including house repossession, seizure of personal goods, and the danger of running up large debts leading to personal and corporate insolvency. It studies the affect of issues such as these on a single person and also on a family level, and the stresses that can be caused, but it also looks in a positive way at the steps that can be taken to address these situations, even if it means living a totally different kind of life.
I am looking forward to reading more from this author, thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The art of hiding is another classic Amanda prowse which centres around Nina who has been left widowed and destolute following the death of her husband. This is an emotional family drama which was uplifting

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing for pre approving me to read The Art Of Hiding by Amanda Prowse.

Not many books have really touched me to the point of feeling the pain of the characters but this book did. Nina and her 2 sons are left with broken hearts and pocketbooks after her husband Finn was killed in an auto accident. It will touch you deep in your soul as they struggle to survive. Makes you realize this could actually happen to any of us.
Happiness is something that we have to look for daily in all sorts of ways and this story shows that you have to make the best of what you have.

Another great read from Amanda Prowse, she just always seems to get it right and produces great book after great book.

The Art of Hiding explores a woman's courage and determination for herself and two boys to survive when her affluent world suddenly crumbles dramatically.
When Nina's husband Finn is killed in a car crash and discovering he had massive debts, she discovers a new strength and purpose in herself desperately trying to find somewhere to stay and a job.
I like the way Nina and her sister Tiggy bond after having had a difficult relationship in the past, and reading how their relationship develops. Also, from bad beginnings, her relationship with her two boys grows closer.
the book is enjoyable to read, with some well drawn characters and light humour in places, though it did seem a little drawn out in places.
I love reading Amanda Prowse books and would recommend this inspirational story.

I have to say that I was disappointed in this book. It is well written, the characters are well formed and indeed it is a pleasant light read. Nevertheless it is a cliched story. From riches to rags makes good in the end. There is nothing there that makes this stand out for me from others of the same ilk. The interesting parts for me were the relationships between mother and sons, these I felt were well handled but for me the book gave me nothing else.

This is the second time I've tried to read an Amanda Prowse book and unfortunately the second time I've failed. Sadly I just don't think I'm the right reader for her work. Thanks for the opportunity!

This is my first book by Amanda Prowse and I was pleased to find it a compelling and easy read, not sappy at all, with genuine and sympathetic characters. Nina is suddenly widowed and worse, finds herself penniless and homeless with no job skills and two sons to raise. I was sympathetic with her plight and also incredulous that she was such a Barbie wife and so unwittingly clueless to her privilege and isolation. From here it becomes a belated coming of age story.

Nina married very young to a glamorous rich man who promised her the moon and assured her that from then on, he’d do all the worrying for both of them. After his death she slowly realizes that she was “so nervous of portraying the wrong thing, I became a cardboard-cutout wife, safe, vanilla, two-dimensional…it was a hard thing to process.” She has no where to go but back to the working-class neighborhood where she had come from and Tiggy, her estranged sister becomes her closest ally, who tells her “I think happiness lies in being content now – right now! Every day! That’s not to say you can’t plan and work for change, but if you are constantly waiting for happiness to start, waiting for the change that will make it happen, then you just might miss some really good days along the way.”

The deep hole that Nina and her sons have fallen into is one they slowly and painfully inch their way out of. From abundance they meet cold and hunger and with no job or job skills, Nina has few choices and is forced to hawk priceless personal possessions. Her sons who have attended the same posh school from the beginning, are suddenly starting a new school with commoners. I agonized with Nina as she labored to protect her children from the direness of their circumstances and keep them safe and though it all come to terms with the loss of her beloved husband and help her sons grieve for their dad.

The book doesn’t wrap up with a happy-ever-after ending but it doesn’t end on a note of hope. Nina has made a circle of friends for the first time in her married life and realizes that “her happiness is never going to be found in things; it was waiting for her, right here, in people.” She has a job, hopes to study nursing and knows it doesn’t matter what other people think. It’s what she thought that counted.

What a truly wonderful, thought provoking book. It is beautifully written so that you are totally absorbed into the story from the get go.

Briefly, the book is about a woman who falls on hard times and learns the true value of life not in "things" but in people and living life to the full with your family around you. This topic is so relevant now with so much emphasise in society on material things including where you live, what you drive and even where your children go to school with less emphasise on who you are and how you treat others. This book portrays this perfectly.
I am not a mother myself but I really felt the love the main character had for two sons and the determination to protect them.

This book really touched me and I smiled to myself on a number of occasions (I'm sure I must have looked like a mad woman on the way to the work on the bus!)

Brilliant book to read if you are looking at becoming a minimalist and want to lead a simpler life or if you just want to read a fabulous book that will make you smile!

Nina McCarrick's life is perfect. Then her husband is killed in a car accident and everything Nina relied on unravels. She's alone, bereft and facing a mountain of debt. With Nina's life of luxury gone, she wonders if she ever knew the man she married. Nina has to return to the rundown council estate and the sister and the sister she thought she had left far behind.

This is a beautifully written book with characters that are realistic, and it deals with real life experiences. Nina is such a strong character and I found myself really feeling for her and her two sons struggling to make a new life together. It's fast paced, easy to read book. It's filled with a range of mixed emotions, from anger, heartbreak, love, faith and loss. Have the tissues handy.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and the author Amanda Prowse for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Smashing...simply smashing!

Every once in a while we stumble across a read that is not the norm for us, and I have to admit this is not my typical read, however the timing was right when I fell across the book and I just had to read it; something in the description just resonated within me. Talk about having your emotions and heart yanked right out of you...Ms. Prowse did a wonderful job and the feels...oh mah dayum the feels. Nicely done!!

An ARC was generously provided in exchange for an honest review of which this is both honest and completely voluntary.

I'm sat on the sofa on holiday, in front of open patio doors, trying to hide the tears just in case people walk past wondering what on earth has happened. That's my first thought about The Art of Hiding; make sure you've got some tissues handy because if you don't shed a tear or two (okay, okay, so maybe a few more), then you have a heart of steel.

I couldn't help but root for newly bereaved Nina, and not in that repressed way either; I'm talking American game/chat show encouragement with the hollering and whooping. Plagued by insecurities and doubt, she transforms herself from the vacuous 'yummy mummy' (I apologise, I hate that turn of phrase too!) to a thoroughly likeable, strong woman. Actually perhaps it is a little unfair to brand her that way in the first place; she essentially doesn't change, it's her persona that undergoes a transformation brought about by the death of her husband Finn and the subsequent events. I'm assuming that it's this ability to tap into everyday characters that makes Amanda Prowse fans keep coming back for more, certainly it's a major part of the appeal to me. The fact that I can easily identify with those presented to me makes me become more invested in their journey; I do actually care about what happens to them. Coupled of course with a style of writing that is well structured and controlled, which in this case makes The Art of Hiding a pleasure to read.

I enjoyed the way the novel entwined the grief of the family, together with their strength and the working through of the relationship between Finn and Nina. The question surrounding the death of Finn and whether the weight of what he was hiding bore any relation to it, was handled with sensitivity and honesty. It would be all to easy to blame him, but he's written in such a way that, particularly by the end, it's clear to see why he did what he did even if we don't agree with it. The family dynamics are realistic too; her two boys were delightful and once again I felt slightly envious of my lack of a sister with the bond shared between Nina and Tiggy.

So once again Amanda Prowse shines with The Art of Hiding - a terrific (if slightly emotional) read.

The Art Of Hiding by Amanda Prowse - wow it's a book that will blow your socks off! It will cause you to re-evaluate your life. It is a powerful contemporary read about grief and the resilience of the human spirit. I just could not put it down.
Lead character Nina was realistically drawn. Her emotions, following her loss, were spot on - grief brings tears, anger, a crushed spirit and shows you what you are really made of. I empathised with her character, recognising the conflict of tears versus anger. Her interactions with other characters were a joy to behold. She was the perfect mix of shy and vulnerable, and tough and gutsy. I loved her.
Grief hurts. It crushes spirits. Every day is a struggle. "Carrying on was what was required for all those who got left behind." Grief brings our true spirit to the surface - do we crumble or survive?
Family matters much more than stuff. Sometimes it takes a crisis to bring our focus to what is really important. The novel shows how stuff alters our focus and how relationships can suffer. Stuff is just stuff. Family matters. Family are "Bound by love, blood and shared history." No matter how they have been apart, family have the ability to pick up where they left off because of shared memories.
The novel explores the foundations on which we build our lives. There is the study of show and appearances. Those whose focus is wrong, whose foundations are built on wealth tend to keep what they have. They use people. In contrast, those with little give what little they have to help others. There is a sense of community. They care about people. The foundations of those who have less, are built on solid ground - they are built on relationships. "Happiness was never going to be found in things; it was... in people."
The novel is about true friends. There are some beautiful relationships built on people and not possessions.
The reader sees the awakening of characters, who blossom and become the person they were meant to be.
I found The Art Of Hiding such a powerful read. It really 'spoke' to my heart as I 'lived' the novel through the eyes of Nina. It is a novel that will move you emotionally. You will marvel at how much strength is left when you get to the end of yourself.
A wonderful study of grief, character and the resilience of the human spirit.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

"The Art of Hiding," is another fantastic novel from Amanda Prowse, in fact it's my favourite one yet. Like her other books, this focuses on how an ordinary family's life get turned upside down. When Nina's husband Finn dies in a car accident she realises he has been hiding all his financial troubles from her. With Nina and her two sons losing everything they know including their house, school and friends, can she now become to breadwinner and provide for her family? The characters were all believable and the heartwarming story full of hope and determination. Highly recommended.