I enjoyed reading this book. The character development is good as a father and son explore how to relate to each other and extended family after the death of their wife/mother. The questions of what the new normal is, how does life go on, how grief is dealt with, and how long before new love can be considered. Life transitions are navigated with sub themes of sacrificial love, growing up, and community development.
#goodreads

Another good book by Amanda Prowse. An emotional and heart wrenching story about love and loss. It didn’t have a great deal of content however I liked the main concept of the storyline and enjoyed the characterisation.

Having lost a spouse at 38 years old, I could completely relate to this story. The is an emotional roller coaster of guilt, fear, sadness, love, loss and how it takes it’s toll on a person. Time is so precious. If you want to read a life lesson story, The Light In The Hallway is as realistic as it gets and depicts life after loss quite accurately. Who decides the grief rules? What’s right and wrong? When has enough time evolved to move on? How can people judge not having ever been in the same circumstance? Loss in the same family can be very different for each family member.

Nick looses his spouse and life rolls on, even when he hopes it won’t. His son Ollie is dealing with his grief in his own way. I loved that Nick was strong enough to move his life forward even when his son and sister in law didn’t agree and laid guilt on him for wanting just a little happiness for a change. I also enjoyed that the author created a marital relationship that was far from perfect, making the story all the more effective. This one is real life folks. Great read

Amanda Prowse always delivers books which make my emotions feel strong: laughter and tears. I feel and am with the characters every step of the way and that is way I love her books. Another great read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

I read The Art of Hiding by the same author and mostly liked it except for some one dimensional depictions of rich people in the book. Here, again, the story follows the death of a spouse, but this time the husband is the widower who has to move on with his son. The writing is good, so the choice comes down to where you are as a reader. Pick this one up if you're in the mindset for an emotional read. Steer clear if you're looking for escapism.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another great read from Amanda Prowse! Through the trauma of Nick’s Wife, Kerry passing, he has to work out how to live without her all while supporting his teenage son. There are complications and difficulties along the way but Amanda deals with the subject of grieving and coming to terms with their loss so well. This discusses both Nick’s grief and that of his son but also the interactions from other family members, who aren’t always supportive!

The story is told through Nick’s past and present, there are tears and laughter along the way, but it concludes as a life-affirming and hope-filled book.

A great story that kept me involved from the very first page.

I have never read a book by this author before, and wow, it was absolutely amazing.

It was an emotional read at times, heart wrenching, made you laugh and cry at the same time. I just loved the characters, the plot, and just all around everything about this book.. I will be finding more books by her and diving into those as well..

Thank you for the chance to read this book..

Dramatic and heartbreaking look at life after a tragedy, how those who are left behind must figure out how to cope with life now that their loved one has passed.

This is an interesting book about how Nick and his son Ollie cope after his wife's death from cancer. Nick struggled as a single parent and Ollie also struggled with the thought of his Dad finding a girl friend.
Also had flashbacks to Nick's childhood and his 2 friends he spent time with, in a small village. Highly recommended and thanks to Netgalley for an Arc.

The Light in the Hallway was gifted to me by NetGalley.

Amanda Prowse dives deep into the live of a man and his son after the loss of his wife. Real life relatable topic with relatable characters.

Wow, Amanda Proswse, has done it again! The Light in the Hallway.. has it all, friendship, marriage, parenthood and moving on. Nick has such amazing ties to his best friends growing up and his wife & son. The author develops both relationships beautifully by going from present to the past. Nick’s wife, Kerry is at the end of her fight with Cancer and Nick has to face his life without his wife and navigate through all the changes. What I loved about this story was that it was so honest, so raw and from the husband’s perspective. Nick had to learn to lean on people, develop new relationships and set a future up for himself. This was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star read for me and I would recommend this to other readers.
The Light In the Hallway was gifted to me by Netgallery

I'm normally one of Amanda Prowse's biggest fans, but unfortunately this just didn't hit the mark for me. I struggled to connect to the characters and lacked the compulsion I normally have to read it one sitting, or even long sittings.

Without any real character connection I just didn't really feel their ups and downs.

At times I was engrossed, at others not so much. My favourite parts was the story of the summer when Nick and his friends were about 8, that formed a key part of their childhood. I loved those sections, wished they were longer, as I really loved young Nick, Erik and Alex and their attempts to build Half Bike, with Erik going through such a tough time as a kid.

But those adults, I think its because they have stayed in the same small town all their lives, and I'm from London and travel a lot, I just felt so far removed from their day in day out drudge of life, that the book fell short for me I'm afraid.

A wonderful book and well written. When a mother and wife passes away everyone’s life is in turmoil. Reading how this father and son pull themselves together even with it’s ups and downs is inspiring, Have never read this author but I’m now looking forward to reading more by her!

Nick is dealing with his wife's illness and had to deal with his young son.
Amanda Prowse shows how to deal with life itself.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. Being from a small Yorkshire town myself, I could identify with not only the location but the characters. I swear they were plucked straight from my childhood. I especially liked how we got chapters from 1992 and present day. It gives us much more insight into the characters and what they have been through to arrive where they are.

It is impossible not to fall for Nick who has recently lost his wife and is struggling with how to be a dad while also managing his and his son's grief. It is an honest account complete with failings, ie just because someone is suffering grief it doesn't mean they know how to behave or what is expected of them. Nick is coping, the best way he can. It is so much more though than a book about grief, its about friendship, love, tolerance, new beginnings and hope! Hope you like it has much as I did.

The Light In The Hallway is the story of a man’s grief when he loses his wife to cancer. Not only does Nick have his own feelings to deal with but also the grief of his ‘half man/half boy’ son. Olly is eighteen and on one hand, an independent university student but also a child desperately missing his mum.

Nick finds that there are unwritten rules about how a bereaved person should act. He stumbles along trying to find some sort of normality but realises that his actions are scrutinised by his wife’s relatives, work colleagues, neighbours and to some degree his own son. He has imaginary conversations with his late wife Kerry who urges him to move forward and be happy. However, in a small town where everyone knows each other…it is easier said than done!

I have read many books about the effects of grief but usually looking at the subject from a woman’s perspective, so this book was a refreshing change.
I loved Nick’s honesty towards his marriage and he doesn’t put Kerry on a pedestal. He acknowledges that if he hadn’t married and become a parent so young, his life could have been very different. He is also aware that his wife made mistakes in the marriage which made life hard for both of them.

The story is interspersed with chapters going back to Nick’s childhood and growing up with his two best friends. Life seemed very simple for the three lads who are presented with a Half Bike at the beginning of the school holidays by Nick’s father. He knew that a project like collecting parts and assembling a fully working bike would be a really useful life lesson for the young boys.

There is tremendous warmth, humour, and compassion in this story. I liked Nick but found all of the characters endearing and they each had their own story to tell. This is not just a story about grief but also deep friendship, family loyalty, and new beginnings. I loved Treacle the dog who gave enormous comfort to Nick (even if she did steal the Christmas turkey!)

I highly recommended this book especially if you have recently lost a loved one. It shows that grief affects people differently and the only way forward is to just do your best.

When Nick Bairstow’s wife, Kerry, passed away, he was truly lost without her. Their 18-year-old son, Oliver, was angry and frightened after losing his mother, and Nick had no idea how to help him reconcile his feelings and still carry on with his dream to attend university. Kerry’s sister Diane is heartbroken and hostile, pitting Olly and Nick against each other, while Nick’s best friend Eric is his rock, supporting him and being by his side whenever needed. The ties that bind friends and family together can often be wrapped too tightly, and Nick must learn how to renegotiate his relationships with everyone now that Kerry is gone.

I enjoyed this story of renewal and hope, with Nick balancing between the idea of starting over and keeping things the same for Olly’s benefit. I liked seeing Nick grow and change into a more confident man, finding a way to honor Kerry’s memory while still forging ahead and facing new opportunities head on. The story alternates between present day and 1992, the summer that Nick, Eric, and Alex spend building Half Bike and playing Petunia in the wading pool. The Light in the Hallway is both reality and metaphor, and serves to underscore Nick’s loss of Kerry and everything she was to him.

I always enjoy this author, she writes about real people with real feelings that we can all relate to. Excellent characters and very true to life. A heartwarming read with a excellent story to tell

This book made me both laugh and cry. It made me want to put it down as it provoked strong emotions, but I just couldn’t put it down and I had to keep on reading.
Nick and Kerry fought the battles that came with being teenage parents but the biggest battle they could not win.
Left as a single parent to his son 18-year-old Olly, Nick must adjust to life as it is now. The loss that they have both suffered challenges their relationship and changes it as Olly becomes a man. Olly whilst still dealing with his grief embraces his new life at University meeting his own special person.
We get to follow Nick’s childhood back in 1992 whilst also following the present day. Family relationships are explored, and the true bond of friendships are seen.
These characters are so realistic I found that there were ways I could relate.
In life we follow different paths and never know when we may take a turn that we maybe shouldn’t.
Whilst moving and sad there most definitely was light at the end.
Thankyou to both Amanda Prowse and Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

I didn’t enjoy this book :( I was hoping for me letters and connections from then to now. I felt the grief Rosalyn was going through but didn’t like that most all of her story was about Dash. I did learn about the caves and people being in them during the war and thought that was interesting.