You can always count on Amanda Prowse to take you on a deep, thoughtful emotional journey. This book proves that theory. At a very young age Nick and Kerry found each other and thought they were in it together forever though it meant their original dreams were forever altered. They had each other and their beautiful a sweet delicious little boy that meant the world to them. Unfortunately their forever was cut short after a horrible cancer diagnosis. Is there any other kind?? Nick and Ollie are trying to deal with life after death. They are both stuck, but in different ways. Nick is trying to do the best he can for a very closed off son. And so begins a journey of the two of them, their family and friends trying to find a whole new normal and create new and love filled lives, because that is what Kerry wanted! Keep some tissues nearby when reading! Enjoy this beautifully written story that is so very real, true and a testament to love and the human experience.

WOW another great book by Amanda Prowse, that delves into the characters emotions in a heart wrenching way that me laugh and cry. I couldn’t put this down and read it in one sitting!!

The story starts with Nick rushing to the hospital to say goodbye to his wife Kerry, she is dying of cancer. They were childhood sweethearts together at 16 and have an eighteen year old son Oliver.

Nick is trying to carry on with life and be supportive to Oliver who goes away to Birmingham University, but he is also struggling to come to terms with losing his mother and feels like his dad is trying to move on too soon.

Loved that at the end of each chapter we go back to the summer of 1992 where Nick and his closest friends Alex and Eric bond whilst building a bike. Their strong friendship carries them into adulthood.

Even when I was not reading this I was thinking about the characters. It made me think about what Nick was going through and I could see how hard it would be for Kerry’s family to see him moving on. All of the family are affected in different ways.

I cannot recommend this book enough, there is light and darkness In this story but it also portrays hope and the opportunity of a second chance of love. I was routing for Nick and was over the moon with the ending.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

I laughed and I cried reading this book. It's rare for a book to stir such strong emotions in me. I absolutely loved reading every single minute of this book and will miss it now that I have finished.
I took Nick to my heart, and really felt what his character went through. I loved reading the book in the present and in the past, and loved seeing the friendships grow.
This just might be my favourite Amanda Prowse book so far, and I've read a lot of her books. I decided this was a 5 star read by the time I had read 9% of it.
Thank you to Amanda Prowse, and netgalley for the advanced copy of this book.

Endearing story of how a man copes with losing his wife to cancer and wanting to do right by his son and his family and the in laws. This story is told in two parts - Nick growing up and Nick the man. He has good friends growing up that stayed with him as a man and helped him cope. Otherwise, the man feels so torn. Its so worth the read.

I liked the idea of this story. I struggled with absorbing it as I was reading it. Unfortunately it wasn’t holding my interest and I gave up about a third of the way through

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Nick has just lost his wife after a long illness. Now he and his son need to put the pieces back together. This is a beautiful story of showing two men trying to move on and learn about each other along the way. A great read.

Amanda Prowse does what she does best in this novel. She writes sensitively about human relationships. In this case she deals with the emotions of a father and son left behind when their wife and mother dies young. It is a well observed story that has an uplifting end.

The Light in the Hallway has a slow and sad beginning. Nick’s wife (his high school sweetheart) dies of cancer in the first chapter. Nick is struggling especially about how to help his 18 year old son, Olly. Olly moves away to university shortly after the death. Nick manages to begin to put his life back together but at every turn he seems to do something that annoys or offends Olly. I feel like the end was a little too wrapped up with a bow. Things turned out well without any real stress or difficulties to reach the ending. I’m glad that I didn’t give up on the book. If you find it slow, stick with it. I will say it wasn’t at all what I thought from the Amazon description.

This book was so heartwarming and emulated that what is simple in life is the best appreciated, such as love and friendship. Nick and his love for Kerry was evident and he knew that she wanted him to live his life. I was happy that he found Beverly. The boyish joy and friendship between Nick, Eric and Alex was a cause to be celebrated as they reveled in just being boys in a small town where imagination needs to be utilized. I also liked that Nick realized his own potential and that he could succeed beyond his expectations.

Another great read from Amanda. The book is told in two times Nick, Eric and Alex are best friends and we read about their times together as young boys and also what happens to them as men. It’s easy to be drawn into their lives and all the ups and downs along the way just how life really is. I really felt for Nick and how he coped with the tragedy and problems he went through. Although this is just a story the way Amanda writes she brings it to life. I highly recommend this book.

THE LIGHT IN THE HALLWAY
BY AMANDA PROWSE

This is a great story about a man who loses his wife to cancer when they are only in their thirties. Don't worry she is already dying in the beginning second chapter so you really don't get to know her. Nick and Kerry have been together since they were sixteen and Kerry got pregnant with their now teenager son Oliver who also leaves Nick for university right after Kerry dies. I did feel bad for both Nick and Oliver. They both are trying to carry on with their lives.

Nick is more of a main character than Oliver is and I felt bad for him because he is left to live in the same house without his son or his wife where memories lurk around every corner. By marrying Kerry Nick gave up on his chance to go to university and fulfill the big dreams both he and his own dad had for him. Nick isn't sorry.
The small town life has everybody knowing everything about everyone else's business.

What worked for me is that Amanda Prowse writes really warm and lovable characters. Nobody is mean and there isn't any crime in the town where this story takes place. The story takes place in the present because people are using cellphones and texting. Its alternating chapters take place in 1992 when Nick is only twelve and he and his two mates build a bicycle to share that they call half bike. That is because Nick's father gives Nick a half of a bike. Alex and Eric help Nick build the bike that they all share.

I felt bad for Eric because although I said there are no mean characters, Eric's mother is mean to her son Eric. We never meet her. We just hear about her from Eric. She runs off with Dave the milkman and she either doesn't want Eric to live with her or is to caught up in her new life to keep her promises to Eric and he doesn't live with her long after they move. Eric moves back to town and lives with his dad which makes Nick happy.

These characters are all charming and I got the feeling that money was tight. Nick's mother is very kind and is always feeding Eric when they are in the 1992 timeline. Nick in his adult years is just trying to move on and he gets a hard time from Kerry's sister Di and Oliver for having a girlfriend.

All in all a lovely story that gave me hope that we can move on if we lose our significant other. It is quaint that the young Nick and his two sidekicks are able to entertain themselves without spending any money. If you are in the mood to spend some time with some endearingly and very kind people, then this is your book. I really loved it and thought it quite charming..

Thank you to Net Galley, Amanda Prowse and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own

Quite sweet story boy meets girl, they get pregnant and married
Have baby boy live happily ever after?
No wife dies and this is a story of how a son a father and all the family navigate their own grief whilst being very aware of how others feel they should behave

This book had me balling my eyes out in the first chapter.
while it is heartbreaking it is also a heartwarming story about grieving, love and essentially finding a way to carrying on living. Beautifully written as all of this authors books are.

My 5* review for The Light In The Hallway by Amanda Prowse.

Another brilliant heartbreaking and heartwarming book from Amanda Prowse. This is perfect to snuggle up with on cosy nights in, as it will break your heart, warm your heart and make you laugh in equal measures with this lovely story about an ordinary family who face tragedy and struggle to carry on when life pulls the rug out from under your feet.

I am not giving anything away by telling you the book is about a father Nick, his wife Kerry who is dying and his teenage son Ollie. It is a refreshing change for the story to be about a widower and son dealing with grief and emotional turmoil and is both tender and endearing as well as refreshingly honest about what a loss can do to a whole family and small northern community.

I loved the way the book went back to 1992 which was apparently "the best summer ever" when Nick and his friends Alex and the hysterically funny Eric with his wonderful Yorkshire humour (and way of calling his mates by girls names e.g. Wendy or Shirley, when he wanted to wind them up), built a bike from the frame up. The Raleigh multi-tool kit gifted by Nick's dad to him, played a lovely poignant part to their friendship and was so reminiscent of how things were back in the 1990's when everything was treasured when you literally had nothing...... not even a whole bike haha. I must just mention Nick's sister Jen too, whose character I loved.

Learning to live and love again after the end of a relationship and dealing with teenage boys is obviously something Amanda is familiar with because it was all so honestly written, with a sprinkling of humour, plenty of emotional moments and all beautifully tied up with a ribbon at the end, with a final chapter.

My final overall lasting memory of the book is the truth that "Life is a gift and we have to live it the best we can. We owe it to everyone who no longer has a life" which Nick says to Oliver when they visit his Mum's grave together, and which enables them both to learn to love and live again.

Another great one from Amanda Prowse, she totally nailed it to wrap everything from friendship, loss, forgiveness, love and moving on into one story.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

I'm pretty sure I fell a little bit in love with Nick as this story progressed. The story was told through two points of view, back when Nick was a 10 year old boy and the present when Nick is going through a critical time of his life as he tries to navigate life as a new widower with a son. I thought it was a well-written story and found myself in tears as I got towards the end of the book. I felt that Amanda Prowse did a great job of conveying the emotions of all the characters in a realistic and appropriate manner. I've never read anything from this author but I will definitely look for more of her books.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest opinion and I'm really glad that I got a chance to read her story.

When Kerry does nick and Oliver have to learn a new way of life despite wanting to live in the past. She Oliver goes off to college Nick is alone and when the opportunity of a new relationship comes Oliver doesn’t want him to move on. This is a story about moving in and living instead of living in the past. A sweet story! Thank you NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

Nick’s wife is dying and he can face this but their teenage son just can’t. Soon nick is having to deal with the families and friends trying to help while navigating his own grief and that for his son.
An emotional read which was beautifully written and made you think about life and your own loved ones. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

"Do things your way and at your pace. This is your journey, no one else's"
This is the second book I have read recently with a male lead whose wife has passed away. But in this book, the husband and son have had time to prepare for the coming death.
This story examines Nick's grief at losing his wife, but also his realisation that just because she is dead, doesn't mean he is. This leads, as expected, to major conflict with his son and in-laws. Using flashbacks to when he was growing up and lessons he learnt from his dad and close friends, the choosing of paths which lead you in a different direction than what you had planned, we get to understand his way of thinking.
A sensitive topic handled beautifully and with such care. I closed the book thinking what a great person Nick is. I think he is so far my favourite male character of all the Amanda Prowse books I have read. He truly deserves the ending his story got.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to experience this book.

A moving book full of raw emotion. We meet Nick and his son Ollie when they are facing the loss of his wife/Ollie's mum. The feeling of life as you know it being ripped away is so strong and that feeling of not quite being able to reach one another just when it is what you most need is just beautifully portrayed. This book does deal with loss but also change, in other forms, as well as exploring relationships between family and friends.
I loved the flashback to Nick's time as a child and they mirrored some of those adult feelings really well. I felt that I wanted more of Eric and Alex. Perhaps we might see a book for them in the future ???
Another thought provoking read, full of human emotion from Amanda Prowse.