I have read all of Amandas books so far and they never disappoint.Rae is an ordinary housewife who seems to have it all but does she.I loved this book and always look forward to a new Amanda Prowse book.Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

Whenever I read an Amanda Prowse book I feel a connection with the characters, they feel like family and friends because it is the normality that shines through.
This book is no exception.
It is another emotional, true to life story told in a realistic and well written style.
Highly recommend it!

Amanda Prowse knows how to tell a story and to get you really involved with the characters. This is no exception. I really enjoyed this read and had a heartfelt longing for the main character to come through life's adversity's. I would recommend this book and everything Amanda Prowse has written.

Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
As always excellent attention to detail this is a book that will stay with me for years to come.
Can highly recommend

When and how do you turn into a shadow, a girl in the corner? After 25 years of a seemingly happy marriage, Rae-Valentine is used to "doing" for everyone else - until several life changing events help her to realize that it is time to stop pleasing everyone else, and to step out of the corner.

Amanda Prowse has never disappointed, and this book is no exception. She is the master of taking very true to life situations, adding very believable characters, and coming up with something completely compelling.

Rae was the ‘invisible’ girl, content to watch from the sidelines, until she meets her best friend Dolly who is the antithesis of her, full of life and daring. Rae can’t believe her luck, and even more so when Dolly introduces her to her brother Howard who completely sweeps her off her feet. She can’t believe she has married in to this rich, dynamic family where her sister in law is also her best friend, and they all work together.

Moving on to their 25th wedding anniversary and Rae’s world is turned upside down. Can their marriage survive the storm? Does she want it to? Totally compelling reading.

Wow! I was blown away by this book. An honest look at life and marriage where people can settle because they think it makes life easier rather than being true to themselves and shining. This book was great read and I was sad to come to reach the end of the book.

Haven't all of us at some time felt like the girl in the corner? The one left behind, the one without the confidence to put themselves forward, the one who always puts others before herself. That's Rae-Valentine Pritchard.
Shy, reserved Rae-Valentine meets larger than life Dolly Latimer at college and from that day forward their lives are entwined through the marriage of Rae to Dolly's Brother Howard who in Dolly's eyes is perfect and can do no wriong.
Dolly and Rae remain best friends for over twenty years until Howard makes a shocking confession on the day of his and Rae's Silver Wedding Anniversary.. From this day forward things can never be the same in the Latimer family and Rae finds herself torn between heart and head and doesn't know which way to turn. Should she , for once, do what's the best thing for her or act in the interests of the stability of her family and her relationship with the pushy Dolly?
I loved Rae's character and I found myself rooting for her to put herself first for a change and at the same time i wanted to shout at her and shake her and bring her to her senses.
This is a story of friendship and love and finding the balance between being who people expect you to be and loving yourself enough to be who you really want to be.
Another fantastic read from Mrs Prowse.

The only author who can have me blubbing when I least expect it. What happens when our picture perfect image of life is shattered and we realise that beyond the catalyst , the picture was not nearly as perfect?
Rae-Valentine, the girl in the corner, realises life was not as rosy as it seemed and this comes with a realisation and the continued struggle to find herself - a search that has taken most of her life and has never really ended.
Wow! Loved it! Couldn’t put it down! Amanda Prowse books almost form part of the tapestry of our own lives, in so many ways. In their entirety or in some small part, we relate, we laugh and cry along with them.

Superbly written, another winning read from this fantastic author who brings the characters and locations to life with her brilliant descriptions. Rae-Valentine, was always at everyone's beck and call but she was happy with her life even though she secretly knew that she hadn't reached her full potential or fulfilled her dreams. Little did she know that on the evening of their silver wedding celebrations her husband would blow her world apart with a confession that couldn't be unsaid or forgiven. I read the book in two sittings and it has been one of my most memorable reads of the year.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

Rae-Valentine Pritchard was sixteen when she became best friends with Dolly Latimer at college. Dolly hero worshiped her big brother Howard and decided that Rae would be his perfect girlfriend. Dolly`s matchmaking worked and Rae married Howard when she was eighteen.

Twenty five years later Rae was happily to Howard and they had two grown-up children Hannah and George. Howard had taken over the family run chain of restaurant's and Rae was run off her feet doing errands for the business as well as caring for her elderly parents

On the night of Rae`s twenty fifth wedding anniversary .Howard confessed to an affair with one of his waitresses. Devastated Rae took Dolly on a holiday to Antigua that Howard booked for their anniversary. During the holiday Rae realised that cracks had slowly appeared in their marriage. Rae remembered that she wanted to be a chef and contemplated leaving her marriage to start a new life. When Rae tried to discuss this with Dolly, she iadvised her not to think about the affair and hopefully she would forget. Upset Rae realised despite being best friends Dolly would always support her brother rather than her.

When Howard decided to join Rae in Antigua she was presented with the dilemma of staying in her safe, glamorous life or following her own dreams.

The Girl in the Corner had a great cast of characters. I liked Rae, Hannah, her parents and the exuberant Latimer clan. I liked Dolly who was overbearing but ultimately her actions were based on love. There were scenes in this book which were hilarious and me laugh out laugh. Such as when dolly asked for a bus ticket (you have to read the book to find out) and when she did a wee in the boat in the middle of the ocean,

I cried when Rae`s mum died after a stroke and it made me remember the moment my Mum died In hospital. The only thing I disliked was the abrupt ending based on what could of been a split of the tongue.

However I would love to read a follow up in Rae and Hannah`s stories in the future. I enjoyed this book but it was not as good as the coordinates of Love.

The Girl in the Corner is a myriad of stories meshed into one single narrative. It's about a wife who Immersed herself in her husband's family, only to discover he's a serial cheater and everyone but her knew it. It's about her domineering best friend, estranged older sister, her children, and the death of one of her parents. Rae finally finds her voice at the end of the book, after her husband's endless deceit has been revealed. She walks out of her life to discover what is ahead in her new life. She progresses from being a wallflower to a willful woman.

I've loved Amanda Prowse since first reading Poppy Day. The girl in the Corner does not disappoint. Rae-Valentine will stay with me for a long time. A must read

Amazing heartwarming and emotional story. The authorauthoraways delivers a fantastic story with lovable characters

This was an entertaining, well-written book. Rae-Valentine is celebrating her 25th wedding anniversary when her husband reveals a shocking secret. Instead of going on his anniversary gift of a trip to Antigua with him, she takes her best friend, his sister. Now she has a chance to step back and re-evaluate the direction her life is taken, and maybe make some changes. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

Rae-Valentine and Howard were childhood sweethearts. They have shared twenty five years together since they were brought together by Howard’s sister Dolly. On the night of their wedding anniversary Howard makes a shocking confession which leaves Rae-Valentine feeling betrayed. Heartbroken, she takes Dolly on her anniversary trip to Antigua and Rae starts to realise that all her choices have always been made for her and she starts to question her marriage and her friendships. When Howard comes looking for reconciliation she has a choice to make, keep the peace or finally put herself first for once.

A beautifully written book with out loud laughter at times, however I also found it very a very emotional read and I admit I was in tears at times too. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing Uk for an advanced copy of the e-book for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a review.
It took until the end of the book for Rae-Valentine to listen to her heart. It would have been nice if more chapters were dedicated to the after affects of her finally being her own person.
But the book was a nice read and kept me reading. Not the authors best book but still pretty good.

A 5* again for Amanda Prowse's new book The Girl In The Corner, which although I have the paperback on pre-order for 20th December, I could not wait to read it and so have downloaded it via NetGalley and read it already.

"Rae-Valentine and Howard were childhood sweethearts. They’ve shared twenty-five peaceful years since they were brought together by Dolly, Howard’s larger-than-life sister. But now, on the night of their wedding anniversary, Howard reveals a shocking betrayal that leaves Rae reeling. When Howard comes looking for reconciliation, Rae has a choice to make: keep the peace, as she always has, or put herself first for once and find out who she really is.".

This is an absolutely delightful tale of truth for all those women who have never got over the fact that they were 'the girl in the corner' at every school disco, birthday party, family event or even just being the quiet middle child in their own family home, and I can actually identify and empathise with all of the above situations. In fact Amanda has once again written this book and aimed it straight at my heart. Oh my goodness Rae-Valentine could have been me desperately searching the room looking for someone, in fact just anyone, to approach her and make her feel as if she can be seen.

There are plenty of laughs along the way, mostly from Dolly who I would love to be my friend for an evening (anymore than that and I am sure I would die from laughing or embarrassment!). My favourite moments were at the check-in desk and I still giggle to myself now sometimes about her insistence on "What flavour pizza was it?!). However, Dolly was first and foremost Howard's sister and this irritated the hell out of me because she literally was the only friend Rae-Valentine had and was wavering over where her loyalties lay.

The family characters that plump out the story were great and I wanted to shake Rae-Valentine's parents and make them wake up and see her and TELL her how clever and smart they thought she was and that they knew she was special, knock her sister Debbie-Jo off her pedestal especially as she had started her self-doubt by telling her that if you are not the star who stands out in the middle of the room you might as well be like furniture, the girl in the corner, hug her children Hannah and George for being so lovely, but don't get me started on Howard!!! I changed my mind along the way of what advice to give Rae-Valentine if I was her friend, but my over-riding thought was don't settle for "this will do" because life is short so you need to live it to the fullest and take chances. She craved a title that was more than daughter, wife, mother, auntie,dogsbody, she wanted to be defined by something other than her relationships, she wanted a title that was hers and that she had earned, not acquired, like traveller or chef.

I can always empathise with the characters in Amanda's books but Rae-Valentine really got to me and this could have been my story in places, I howled in places and re-read several of the pages/chapters because I could see myself in her so much. It reminded me of the moment I knew my own marriage was over 15 years ago, it wasn't the fact he wasn't 'making me happy' anymore that was the problem, it was the fact living with him was 'making me unhappy'.

The Girl In The Corner is a story of how someone can find themselves at any age and it is never too late to be the person you were always meant to be before life, love, loss and loyalty came and tripped you up. "Before that I was just a girl in the corner, faded into the background, and it wasn't nice; no one wants to be like that, like furniture!" The ending was superb, another Mandy Masterpiece.

As I have come to expect from Amanda Prowse, this book is character driven and as you read, you really do feel that the characters are living, breathing people that you completely relate to. The women are particularly vivid in their portrayal and I was quick to identify the Rae Valentine and Dolly in my own family.
This book raises questions how much of ourselves we give to our relationships and, on occasion, how much we give up for them and how much we find ourselves hiding behind them.
Every family has its own dynamics and this novel perfectly explores how that molds who we become, whether or not it is the same as who we thought we would be. It is seemingly a gentle read but raises some thought-provoking issues.

I have enjoyed many of Amanda Prowse's books and this is no exception.Its a story of marriage, friendship and loss. I really liked the main characters and thought they were brilliantly described and developed throughout the story. The growth of Rae-Valentine as she comes to terms with her husbands betrayal is very real.. The choices people make for the sake of the others despite their own needs not being met is hard to bear but is also what makes this story poignant and ultimately uplifting. Another great book from this writer of realistic life situations.