This was a slow read for me. But then it picked up. This is a story that will stick with me for a good bit if not forever. I felt Lucy's anguish, I understood Jonah's hesitancy, and I can only imagine the thoughts of Camille. It all came together beautifully and just the way I would have imagined the story to end.

I was instantly hooked and could not put the book down. I truly loved this story and every single character Amanda Prowse brought to life. I really liked the writing style, I found myself quickly absorbed in Lucy and Jonah's world. The Idea of You is an emotional rollercoaster of a read and I will be reading more from this author.

Thank you!

This was a nicely written, melancholy story. Truly something that I will think about for years to come.

It always amazes me when I see that Amanda Prowse only self-published her first book in 2011. I’ve read so many of her books that it feels like she has been around forever! Sixteen books and six novellas later she is firmly ensconced in the UK market with her own unique take on modern life and relationships.
Lucy is at the wrong end of her thirties when she is unceremoniously dumped by her long term boyfriend – for her cousin! Soon she hears that they are married and expecting a baby. Everything that she has always wanted in life and it has been denied her. After a chance meeting at a friend’s christening Lucy finds her own Mr Right and after a whirlwind romance finds herself with a husband and living in a new house.
As Lucy and Jonah struggle to become parents, Jonah’s teenage daughter Camille comes to live with them reminding Lucy of everything that she can’t have. Beautifully written this is a story that veers from heartbreak to elation. Prowse is a master at capturing the essence of an emotionally charged situation and transferring that to the page. Be prepared to laugh and to cry but you won’t fail to be entertained.
Supplied by Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

A poignant tearjerker tackling the grief of miscarriage, the often difficult nature of step relationships and teenage pregnancy. that many people will be able to relate to in one way or another.

A set of letters from Lucy are printed throughout the story that tease as to their possible recipient, Eventually these, alongside the story, build to a reveal of her own deep secret which having added to her personal anguish soon becomes an experience with which she can bond with and help her step daughter.

** spoiler alert ** Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read & give my honest review

Such a fabulously written story, that is about a women who desperately wants to become a Mom.
You journey with her through the ups & downs of trying to conceive & the joys of being pregnant, to the heartbreaking miscarriages she suffers.
This story certainly pulled on my heart strings. Make sure you have a few boxes of tissues ready when you read this amazing but truly heartbreaking story!!

This is the second Amanda Prouse book I have given up on, she is clearly not an author for me.
I found the main character, Lucy, quite irritating: surely no one would expect to immediately get on with a sixteen year old step daughter?
In both books (the other book I abandoned was The Food of Love), the emotional heartstrings were tugged so blatantly they nearly snapped. This book should come with a health warning so no woman who has recently had a miscarriage picks it up.
On the positive side, the author does write very evocative descriptions of rooms, going into detail of the furniture etc.

In past years, the topic of miscarriage was largely avoided because as a society, we just didn't quite know how to handle the issue. A book such as The Idea of You may help to enlighten us all. Personally, I have never experienced a miscarriage, but know many women who have gone through this. This book has opened my eyes to the tragedy felt by parents at losing the hope of a child. We don't always get what we want in this life, but it is important to find a way to keep moving forward.

Probably 2.5? I really liked it for a while, but the last 20% was a struggle. It was just too over-the-top happy ending for my liking. And for a while before that the story took a turn I wasn't super excited about. I would give Amanda Prowse's other books a chance though.

(I will be posting a review on blog on April 11th.)

As a person who found love in later life,I immediately identified with the protagonist. However,I as I didn't have the desire for children, I had to rely on the author to steer throughout the rollercoaster ride to become one. She dealt with subject delicately and with compassion. The end was realistic,not conveniently wrapped up. Sometimes you have to accept what you have and appreciate what life has dealt you. A thought provoking read.

Thank you Netgalley for yet another fab book to read by this talented author.
Amanda , I don't know how you do it book after book - but your writing is amazing, even a topic as sad as this had me wanting to read on and on into the small hours.
The Idea of you tells the story of Lucy and Jonah - as Lucy reaches her 30's she is desperate to get pregnant and enjoy a child with her husband Jonah - however getting pregnant and staying pregnant is not as easy as they would hope. This book deals with the sensitive subject of Miscarriage and how it effects familes and relationships. Then they invite Camille to stay with them - Jonah's daughter from a previous marriage - thinking having a step child living with you would be easy, Lucy is eager for her to live with them - before realising it reminds her too much of everything she doesn't have herself with Jonah.
This book is a very modern day story which is why i feel it will be super popular! You did it again Amanda xx

Wow! A fantastic book and the first of many I now plan on reading by this author. It's a real page turner, I couldn't put it down. The story was easy to get into, the characters were equally likeable and it was easy to empathise with the situation the characters found themselves in. Highly recommended.

received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The story centres on Lucy. Approaching 40 her boyfriend leaves her for her cousin. Shortly after she meets and not long after marries Jonah. Lucy and Jonah really want to start a family but for Lucy to carry a baby to full term is a lot harder than she imagined. Then Jonah's teenage daughter Camille comes to stay which adds another layer to the story.

I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down. I loved the writing style of this author. It was so easy to read. It is a highly emotional book and having been in the characters position myself I could totally relate to the story. I will definitely be checking out more books from this author.

I received a free copy of this book through Net Galley. I liked this book much more than I originally thought I would. Being childless and not by choice, it struck a lot of nerves with me. However, the writing was good, the characters were all well done, and the UK setting lent a bit of an exotic locale. I liked Lucy. Her relationship with her husband was exceptional. A bit predictable and pat here and there, yet there were some very tender moments. The ending wasn't the perfect present wrapped up in a bow. That would have been an insult. I would recommend this book, it was sweet and sad and lovely.

The Idea of You was the story of Lucy Carpenter, a newly married almost 40 year old who wants nothing more than to share in a pregnancy and the birth of their child with her new husband. As she knits little garments, while losing each pregnancy, she wonders if there will ever be a child to wear them. A beautiful story of how love can bring a family together in it's darkest moments.

This book just did not do it for me, unfortunately. I found it melodramatic and never became invested.

Let me start off by rewriting the blurb for this book: 40-year-old Lucy, recently married to successful car salesman Jonah, is upset when her new stepdaughter moves in for the summer, interrupting her desire to conceive a healthy baby after several miscarriages.

By ten percent in, I was bored and wanted to move onto another book. There's a "twist" near to the end of this one that the book builds up to through little asides. I wasn't impressed. I think I was supposed to be more so, but I hadn't realised that there was a mystery, so I was kind of like "oh okay cool."

I honestly just could not with Lucy. She makes me feel like a bad person because I should be sympathetic towards her, but I instead thought that she was melodramatic and selfish, always caring about herself. I can in no way relate to the pain of a miscarriage. But her friend could! And when her friend mentioned that she had had a miscarriage, Lucy's like "I don't care." Ugh.

Camille was the saving grace of this book and the one thing that made reading this not a complete drag. She's a teenager and she's very true to character. Her background ties into the way she acts, and I loved seeing her change around different people. She's melodramatic, too, just like Jonah and Lucy are, but she owns it. She works it. She is it. Lucy and Jonah are pretending to act like adults while secretly being super melodramatic which was boring.

I swear, the author mentioned at least ten times that Jonah likes soft rock and Lucy likes eighties. It was cute the first time. It was cute when Camille then joked about it. It was aggravating the third through tenth times. There were a lot of factors like this (I get it, chicken Kiev is a family joke...), a lot of tropes that were just endless. Poor Lucy, poor Lucy, poor Lucy. I want to see her stand up and appreciate something for once or do something good for the world other than bemoaning her life.

If you've been trying for a child or have considered adoption, this might be for you.
Maybe even if you're a mother you'll have more of a heart or this than I did. If not, then I don't recommend this.

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

The Idea of You is a book with a nice idea, but is lacking a good follow through. I longed for substance and character development. The writing style leaves something to be desired. Had Amanda Prowse geared her novel more toward a Christian Fiction audience it might have been better. At least then the reader would be prepared for the mediocre inspirational writing that genre tends toward.

This story line is very emotional considering the statistics of women who suffer miscarriages. Amanda has written it in a powerful and heart wrenching way that only she can do. Lucy is a very talented woman, just approaching 40 and from the start you know that what she really wants is a baby before her time clock spoils things for her. Very little is referred to her previous 39 years but the reader is informed that not all was well there either in the baby and love stakes. Lucy is a career woman who has made it high up and is respected but she has difficulty watching others bring their newborns into the office to put them on display proudly and has to walk away as though totally disinterested. The reader is also informed of the previous boyfriend who did not want children under any circumstances who has dumped her, then married her cousin Davina and then very proudly they have produced a baby. Oh so traumatic. I found the christening scene a little on the way out side but instant love does happen. Lucy marries Jonah but because of her previous relationship and the fact that she keeps on having miscarriages things are not what she really wanted. Enter Camille, Jonah's 16 year old daughter, who comes to stay with them and puts even more added pressure on to the relationship. The family life with her sister and mother brings even more reality to this whole scenario. All the way through the book I wanted to give her a hug and tell Lucy that it would be alright in the end. I adored the ending as I am a complete and utter softy. Once again Amanda Prowse has shown how much she relates to everyday situations and she tells her stories from the heart.

A sensitive and thought provoking book, covering putting a child up for adoption and miscarriage, not for the feint hearted.
A tough read at times but beautifully handled.

The Idea of You is a poignant story about love, loss and hope.

Lucy Carpenter is a very modern woman. She is highly successful in her line of work — she is both respected and admired. But, Lucy secretly longs for a different life, and as she reaches the grand old age of forty, she evaluates her life and finds it wanting. She wants a husband and a family. And then along comes Jonah. At last, she has found her 'perfect' man, now all she needs to feel complete is a baby. But Lucy's journey to motherhood is a difficult one, and she fears that having a baby of her own may be nothing more than an unreachable dream

The Idea Of You is a poignant look at one woman's journey to conceive and carry a child to full term. For any woman who has suffered a miscarriage this is an emotionally charged read, as Lucy tries to come to terms with her loss.

This is a heartbreaking story, which had me in tears more than once. It is beautifully composed, and all the characters are well-rounded and believable. A wonderful story with a bittersweet conclusion.

I Highly Recommend.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for review consideration.