This was my first book by Ms. Prowse and what an emotional journey she took me on. The book starts off with quite a sad event that changes our heroine's life irrevocably. 
 
Thanks to her husband, Nina has to learn the hard way that the life she and her boys have been living is not what they thought it was and when they move back to Nina's family home their new reality begins.

I loved this book so much. The writing is beautiful while the characters are well developed and the story moves at the right pace for what the characters are experiencing. Nina has to really step out of her comfort zone to now be the bread winner for her family and we see her grow and change into a strong woman that can do anything she sets her mind to.

The author allowed me to feel a variety of emotions and that's one of the things I love best when discovering a new to me author...someone that has the ability to escape my everyday life with the beauty of their words. This is a book that everyone should read and take this journey of growth and love with Nina McCarrick.

Well Amanda has gone and done it again (no surprise there though). Fabulous book full of her usual treats. 

Nina has the perfect life until  her husband Finn and he dies in a car accident, from there her life of luxury disappears, questions are asked and her life begins to unravel making her question who was she even married to and did she even know him at all?! It’s about loss and grieving and family and secrets and lies (what more do you want?).

Fantastic book I couldn’t put it down, read it in one sitting and refused to budge to do any other task but get a cup of tea! A must read!!!

This is yet another page turning book by Amanda Prowse.  Talk about pulling at the heart strings!  Each book that I read by this author leaves me eager to read the next.  

A beautifully written story of loss and family relationships.  I loved the characters but couldn't tell you who my favourite was, as all had their own problems to overcome.  I am not going to write what the story is about as I do not wish to spoil for others, but I do highly recommend.  

My thanks to Amanda Prowse, Netgalley and the Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.  This is my honest review.

Nina McCarrick is living her dream life. She is married to a loving and hard working husband, she has 2 adoring sons, and they live in a beautiful big house where all their needs are taken care of. When her husband is killed in a car accident she discovers he had been living a lie and they are essentially bankrupt. She and her sons are forced to move out of their home and say goodbye to their luxurious lifestyle. Nina goes back to her humble beginnings and realizes that what she had previously taken for granted may not have been so important after all.

This was my first book by Amanda Prowse and I very much enjoyed it. All her characters were relatable and, for the most part, likeable. Given how much emphasis is placed on "keeping up with the Joneses" and the constant need to have the next new iPhone it was refreshing to read what could happen when those things are suddenly out of reach. I loved Nina's character and how she spoke to her boys. She dealt with an impossible situation with grace and an optimistic outlook and I loved her for it. I'm looking forward to reading more from Amanda Prowse.

I believe the biggest take away from this book is that things are just things. Family and love should always be what matters most!

Nina has a perfect life with a beautiful family and house. Her husband Finn swept her off her feet when she was 18 and has never had to work a day in her life. Her boys Connor and Declan attend a prestigious school. They have a house with a pool, fresh weekly flowers and dream holidays. 
Finn dies and Nina's world is thrown over. It is so much more than loosing her husband as she is loosing the only life she now knows. She worries how her and her boys will cope. She find support in her older sister Tiggy, who she has grew apart from since starting her life with Finn. She helps her to start a new life where her old one was tarred with hard memories as a young girl.

*I won this book off of Netgalley for my honest opinion* 

This book is about a woman who identified herself as only a mother and wife. She finds herself a widow with a mountain of debt she did not know existed. This is a story about a woman who came from poverty, married into money, and then ironically, circles back to how she was raised. Only this time, she has to figure out how to navigate a world she hasn't lived in years with two young sons who just lost their dad. It is an inspiring story to read about how to overcome seemingly tremendous circumstances.

I found the tone of the storytelling engaging.  The voices resonate and leave a lasting impact.

I really enjoyed this book. Very empowering for women!

This is a great story which really pulls your emotions in all directions.
The only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is because some of the characters are just too perfect when required.
A one sitting read.

gripping. what does it mean to be rich? does it mean you have a lot of money and possessions? or does it mean you've deep and satisfying relationships? added to my rather long list of books i'm scouting for by author in airport and train bookshops (the only places i really get to browse bookshops, sadly.)

Although I have heard of Amanda Prowse this is the first book of hers that I have read and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Nina has led a very closeted and privileged life, and then one day it all ends in the death of her husband. She has to move, explain to two children why their life is not the same anymore and find some money for them to live on.

Whilst this is a sad tale there was enough of a glimpse of fabulous human relationships that helped Nina to keep going. I loved her sister Tiggy who really begins to come through for her and maybe has always been there for her? The meeting at the school and the "friends" from her old life were all portrayed brilliantly.

I found the circumstances that Nina finds herself in to be quite thought provoking. The children's voices in the story were true to life and poignant. The whole book is written in a easy reading style, like someone is retelling it to you in person. I couldn't wait to get back to it to find out what was going to happen next.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book for review.

Overall, the book was a good read. I did get frustrated over how clueless Nina seemed. I believe that has she been stronger and not as clueless, I would have enjoyed the book that much more. It does make you step back and think about what your values are.

I really wanted to like this book; the synopsis promised more than I received.

Nina is a wife and mother who suffers a great loss. In the course of the novel she goes from poor to rich to poor.

Yes, there is s great financial lesson here but that’s not what I read fiction for.

Another great novel from Amanda Prowse.
Great characters that you can't help but get involved with. 

Thank you to Netgalley for an early read. I will continue to look out for this author again in the future.

Gilded Cages Are for the Birds

After writing a negative review for The Idea of You, I decided to throw caution and read another one from Amanda Prowse. The Art of Hiding was a pleasant surprise.

Imagine being holed up in a gilded cage by a husband who wants nothing more than to over-provide for his loving wife and children? Your life is an envied and idyllic one. You want for nothing and everyone wants what you have.

Until the day when your husband is the victim of a tragic accident and you realize that he was, financially speaking, in way over his head. You are in shock and in the blink of an eye left with nothing with two young boys to take care of.

Talk about starting from scratch.

Enter Nina McCarrick, thirties, no prior job or work experience to speak of. Nina comes from poverty but she fell for Finn McCarrick at an age where she would have just been starting her life. Instead of questioning the merit of a husband who didn’t want a working wife and the long term implications of being dependent, Nina was all too happy to hand over her identity to a man who wanted to sequester her away in a castle built by his own two hands. Don’t judge her too harshly though because Nina’s backstory is a tough one.

The story really begins with Nina’s awakening and her return to her impoverished roots and subsequent climb back out while providing her boys with sorely needed and so far lacking, life lessons. Prowse paints a realistic depiction of a woman who loses all monetary footing but holds onto that shred of critical hope that lights her way forward. Told with honesty and a healthy dose of reality, we feel for Nina’s struggles as well as those of her children but can clearly see the ways in which her life becomes better than it ever was before once she learns to stand on her own two feet. 

The Art of Hiding is a fairy tale in reverse.

BRB Rating: Read It

Ms. Prowse has an art for story telling that draws you in to become one with the characters.  I couldn't put this book down until the very end.  I had to be there with Nina as she struggled and overcame each of the obstacles that surfaced with her husbands death.  A must read.

The main character, Nina defines what it means to be a mother fighting for her family with every being in her body. I loved this book from the moment I started reading it and didn't want it to end! Nina battled through issues that occur on a daily basis for most families but never lost sight of the love and protection she had for her children. The author, Amanda Prowse has a real passion and art for storytelling and she never seems to fail to deliver to her audience. Another wonderful read from a wonderful author

The Art of Hiding by Amanda Prowse

Genre: Women's Fiction

The Premise:

Nina is a wealthy stay-at-home mom raising two boys.  When her husband dies she learns that her husband has been hiding their money trouble from her and that they are in fact bankrupt.  Nina must deal with her grief and anger while learning to be independent and take care of the boys.

How far I got:

Just under 5 chapters - 27%

Strengths:

The writing was great.  You could feel the devastation and heartbreak that Nina and the boys experience with the loss of her husband and their dad.

Why I stopped reading:

I could not stand Nina.  Nina was a ball of self-doubt and lack of confidence.  While this is okay, I prefer that the women I read about to grow and deal with the situation at hand. I kept waiting for Nina to do this and the two times she did I got excited. And then her lack of confidence kicked in again and it was more self-doubt, self-pity, and fear.

I wasn't so fond of Connor either. Connor is Nina's oldest son.  He definitely had the teenager attitude going for him.  But I think what bugged me about him was Nina's interactions with him. Nina had this whole "why does my teenager hate me?" thing going on and I wanted to yell "Because he's a teenager! He's supposed to hate you. He's trying to find out who he is as a person."

The (not so subtle) commentary on class. Nina grew up poor so was happy to give Finn (her husband) full and complete control of the finances (her name wasn't even on the deed to the house).  When flashing back to her childhood, it shows her family as being rude (aka blunt) and messy while as an upper-class adult she's polite (aka doesn't speak her mind for fear of being offensive) and clean. Nina feels like she doesn't fit in in either society but doesn't seem to make any effort to do so, just feels left out.

What other reviews say:

Some say that this book is disappointing. Others say that the last few chapters (and also Nina's sister) are what makes this book good (or tolerable). There are also several that say it's a fantastic, heart-felt, heart-warming and emotional read.

Decide for yourself:

Click Here to buy The Art of Hiding from Amazon.

3/3.5*

I've had this book sitting waiting for me for a while................

Honestly it kind of was not one that I requested to review. Funny story. I had an email from NetGalley featuring this book. I thought the cover was pretty, so I clicked on the link to go to NetGalley to read more about it to see if it might just be what I would like, or not. Well, when the link opened up for my NetGalley account guess what???? It was sitting in my shelf saying I was auto-approved and ready to read it. Say what? I didn't request it? Well then, ummm, ok....now I have this book waiting to be reviewed and I wasn't even sure if I would want to. I don't know about you but honestly, I hate having books sit on my NetGalley shelf. I request, I read, I submit review. Done. But nope, now I had one sitting there waiting for me. After it jumped to the "books older than 3 months" category, I knew I couldn't take it any longer. It was time, like it or not I was diving in.

As we drove to visit family for Thanksgiving, I turned on my device and searched for the copy, opened it and began. I wasn't quite sold right away. This isn't a rosy, Happily Ever After story where good conquers evil people. I love Happily Ever After. Yes, I read plenty of suspense, emotionally tugging stories too but I just wasn't feeling it for this one. Well, again without really knowing what I was reading except a mom going to have to pick up the pieces in her life, I kept turning pages. Don't get me wrong in the tone of my writing voice, I actually was pleasantly surprised that I was enjoying the writing style. In a way I could relate to some of the insecurities of Nina in her life. Not that I live in a mansion and send my boys to prep school that costs a fortune or such. But just the normal personal insecurities that I think anybody has (of course they're all dependent on the individual), so I liked Nina.

Then the sorrow hit. It hit hard. Nina's husband, Finn, is killed in an accident. Ok, it was an emotional weekend last weekend and reading this with all the emotions and memories I'd been thinking about just about had me turning off the book because I just couldn't deal with reading about that loss right then. My cousin was killed a year ago in an air medic flight crash and it was a couple days past the year anniversary. Add to that, about a year and a half ago was another event that almost had my world crashing down. So to say this was very personal and hitting close to home is very true. But I just am not the type of person to agree (well I didn't really request the book but you know) to something and not follow through. So I kept going. Ugh, it was tough. Tough because of the memories and the loss and pure sadness that Nina and her two boys were experiencing. But at the same time, I did like the writing. It was raw and full of healing as the story progressed. 

I'm going to be honest here...I was skimming and skipping sections here and there. Trying to be fair in my review mindset but my emotions were on a different level. There's loss of love, home, everything around you of monetary value, even friendships and acquaintances. But the thing that kept me going was I needed to know how Nina survived. Did she survive? How did her boys survive? Did she heal? Or was she stuck and angry about all the circumstances that were her life now? So I did, I finished it. I actually really liked the ending. I think if I was in a little bit different mindset I might have enjoyed this more and rated it higher. If you're looking for a book with plenty of struggles and problems and straightforwardness then this is for you.

So my conclusion...I will not click on links in emails if I am not 100% sure I will want a book. I will go straight to NetGalley and search the book. Hee Hee!!! 

Content: I prefer clean reads, no sex, no swearing, and happily ever after. Although there was no sex in the book, there was quite a bit more swear words and the Lord's name spoken in vain than I prefer. The 'F' & 'D' words were the chosen ones.

I received a review copy from the publisher, Lake Union Publishing, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!