A sensitively written story of pregnancies and miscarriages. Well researched and well written, the reader shares the ups and downs,, tears and laughter. Interwoven with this, there are the problems with having a stepdaughter staying for an extended period which causes many frustrations and resentments. A very plausible and enjoyable novel.

I found The Idea of You by Amanda Prowse to be one of the emotionally intense books I have read in a long time. I read it in exchange for a review. It was alternately heart wrenching and heart warming. Lucy is a successful career woman who is longing for a husband and family. Luckily she meets and marries Jonah, the man of her dreams. Starting a family is harder than they hope.
I was devastated for Lucy as she lost her babies. There was one particular scene that resonates with me, Lucy was in a coffee shop reading that paper when she breaks down crying over an article about abusive parents who killed their child. How awful that that precious gift sometimes goes to the wrong people. Lucy's husband does all he can to be supportive while dealing with his own sense of loss. An additional strain on their marriage comes in the form of Jonah's teenaged daughter from a previous marriage. Jonah does not know her well as they divorced before her birth. Teenagers are notoriously difficult and this one is no exception.
Lucy has a lot to cope with as she finds her way to happiness in the life she has. She learns that families come in lots of shapes, and not only in the ways we plan.

A story of longing and loss that really touched a nerve with me. Lucy Carpenter is desperate for a baby of her own after meeting her husband Jonah, however she suffers loss after devastating loss.

Amanda Prowse has delicately touched on the heartbreaking subject of miscarriage as you follow Lucy throughout this novel. I was really able to sympathise with Lucy as she went through each loss of the baby she longed for and I was desperate for her to succeed in having a viable pregnancy.

This story is really quite beautiful and shows Lucy’s determination to keep going and appreciate the fantastic life she actually has.

Another great read from Amanda Prowse and I really enjoyed this book which also bought tears to my eyes at several points.

Heartbreakingly Beautiful, 5 stars 🌟 :

A touchingly beautiful emotive journey of a woman's longing to become a mother and her ultimate acceptance of a different life than the one she had always dreamed of.

The clever use of personal letters at the beginning of each chapter provides a powerful insight into the main character which added to the depth of emotion in the story.

Ms Prowse has managed to cover the heartbreaking devastation both adoption and miscarriage causes to all parties involved. However, The Gift of You, provides an sympathetic, insightful understanding as well as cleverly showing how a teenage decision both consciously and subconsciously impacts the way you live your life and the relationships you have with those closest to you. Ms Prowse wrote wonderful 3D characters and portrayed Lucy's relationships with her family and her wonderfully understanding husband, except perhaps when it comes to his daughter from his first marriage, with a wonderful depth that made you really care about all the characters and wishing for a HEA.

This was my first experience of Ms Prowse work and Wow I was not disappointed although I would recommend you keep a box of tissues handy!

Fyi I received my copy from NetGalley however, this does not influence my opinions.

I have never read a book by Amanda Prowse, I had this through netgalley, this was my first but it will not be my last, I loved it.
Lucy and Jonah were real people living real life, they were so ordinary and nice, they could've been friends of mine, they were in my mind even when I wasn't reading. Lucy wanting a baby, I could feel all her emotions, "the ups and downs". Camille, Jonah's daughter comes to stay, the timing wasn't perfect, but Lucy accepted her and tried to be a good step mum, while desperate to have a child with Jonah. The letters from Lucy were beautiful; I didn't know who they were for at first but once it clicked, I was even more drawn in. Well worth a read, it will stay with me awhile before I can read my next book.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a beautifully written, emotional story with a few twists and turns.
Highly recommended

Amanda Prowse indicates at the start of this book via the dedication that she has personally suffered miscarriages and she restates this in the acknowledgements. Her personal experience has driven her to write this novel about 39 year old Lucy, who would love to have a child with her new husband Jonah. Jonah already has a teenage daughter by his first marriage so he is maybe not as desperate to start a new family but supports Lucy in every way he can as she has repeated early miscarriages. The main strength of this book is the way in which the author gets into Lucy's head as she questions the reactions and motivations of those around her and, indeed, her own responses and emotions. Camille, Jonah's 16 year old daughter, comes to stay with them for an extended visit and Lucy tries desperately to befriend her but her efforts seem to be rejected by Lucy and often misunderstood by her husband, or is this all part of Lucy's emotional response to what her body is doing? There is insight here into the experience of miscarriage, step-parenthood and relations with ones own parents as an adult. Everything is neatly resolved by the end of the book and the ending was perhaps a bit too speedy and happy. I had not read any of Amanda Prowse's work before and I do think this was a well written book although it is not my preferred genre.

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book grew on me. From the beginning, I wasn't expecting to like it. It seemed very surface level/chick lit, and Lucy didn't seem like a character that would develop well. She is your typical, hard-working career woman who just can't have at all. Her relationship with Jonah was not very fleshed out - we didn't get to hear about their courtship or why they were attracted to each other. In fact, it felt like a missed opportunity to have the book begin the day they met, only to fast foward through their relationship and marriage.

However, I did enjoy Lucy's relationship with Camille and how that developed throughout the book. I thought the author did a good job foreshadowing the twist/ending, and once that came up in the book I become more invested. Although I hesitate to call this a light read, as the subject matter is very emotional, it is a quick, casual read.

This is a very emotional read, especially for anyone sensitive about fertility issues or unexpected pregnancies. The beginning of the book has a somewhat shadowy feel to it. Lucy is a strong, self sufficient woman but she is also human, convincingly portrayed. A true hero.

Finding love unexpectedly, she is nearing the closure of her window for naturally becoming pregnant. She has tough choices to make regarding her career. Overall, her life is good and she is fairly happy. All marriages have difficult times, sometimes more when children are involved.
Raising a teenager will always be a challenge, perhaps more so as a step parent.

Written both as current events and with additional insight into Lucy's thoughts, in the form of letters to a baby. There is more to the story than can be seen on the surface. Relationships will continue to evolve.

Although the beginning has that darker, less satisfied feel, the ups and downs of the entire book will leave you feeling hopeful. I voluntarily accepted and reviewed this book via Netgalley.

The Idea of You explores the lives of Lucy, a just married career woman, and Jonah, along with Jonah's 16 year old daughter from a previous marriage. While Jonah is the father of Camille, the 16 year old, he actually was divorced from her Mother before she was born. Lucy longs for her own child and although becoming pregnant is easy, she is unable to keep the pregnancy and has suffered miscarriages. She is obsessed with wanting a child and it influences every aspect of her life. Career, inter office friendships, her marriage and her feelings of inadequacy and jealousy of her stepdaughter. However this story involves growth and the examination of things that shape us as a person and influences our behavior and feelings, the past meeting the future.. It is well written, and carries the reader along with tantalizing glimpses of its unfolding. You care how the characters react and how their lives will resolve and as always, you wish for them happiness and fulfillment. Keeps you engaged and filled with hope.

I love this book and it actually me to tears, that never happen. The writer made me so invested in the characters life. This was a treasure to read.

A heartrending story which anyone who has suffered miscarriage or the loss of a child will identify with many sad and poignant passages. The main character, Lucy, is desperate for a child whilst being newly married with the added pressures of being in her early forties and having to cope with a teenage step daughter and an acerbic mother. Lucy's marriage nearly disintegrates and her past catches up with her but running alongside the sadness is hope and ultimately joy and reconciliation but from unexpected sources. A roller coaster of emotions but wonderfully written and draws the reader in from the start.

I received this e-book to read and review The Idea of You by author Amanda Prowse. This is the first book I have read by the author Amanda Prowse. The book description sounded interesting but vague. When I started reading the book I wasn't sure if it was starting in the present, the past pr the future. I didn't figure out that it was about the past until over half way through the book. I think that with the author doing the prologue like this when you start with chapter 1 you are distracted with moving forward with the book. As you are trying to figure out the prologue. That being said I think that its a great story idea and even with being fiction I think many readers could feel like its a work of nonfiction. The author did say with every story she writes there is a little truth in it. After you get halfway through this book the stories and plot seem to pick up speed and flows very well. I was glad that I stuck with this book, its a great read and can remind readers that they we cant change the past. But we can make sure others learn from our past mistakes. and look towards the present and future.

Brilliant book. Excellent main characters and plot. I would recommend this book.

As I read this book and followed Lucy's journey through miscarriages and heartbreak, I found myself, on many occasions, moved to tears. It was beautifully written and so moving, throughout. A very emotional subject, written about with feeling and encompassing the wider issues which surrounded the extended family. To say I 'enjoyed' a book with such sad subject matter, seems strange but it definitely moved me and gave me a deeper insight into something which I personally, have had no experience of.

I finished The Idea of You a few days ago but I have found this review quite hard to write. Yesterday was Mother’s Day in the UK and I thought about this book a lot, thinking of the women who would be struggling with the day, thinking of babies that they hadn’t got to hold in their arms.

Lucy is aware of her clock ticking when she meets Jonah, he is slightly older and has a teenage daughter from a previous relationship. They fall in love and get married and both agree that they want to have a baby and are overjoyed when Lucky quickly falls pregnant. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be and Lucy lost the baby with an early miscarriage. Subsequent pregnancies ended the same way, each time breaking Lucy’s heart in two.

Since I finished this book I read that the author has personal experience of miscarriage and this did not surprise me, the way that Lucy feels after each loss is so raw and real and I know that many readers have shed many tears reading The Idea of You.

But that doesn’t mean that The Idea of You is a depressing read, there is a lot of love and courage and inspiration in the book. When Lucy’s stepdaughter comes to live with them she struggles with the relationship while at the same time coping with her losses. Lucy has to find an inner strength that she didn’t know that she had while coming to terms with what is happening and things that happened in her past. There is a lot of healing in this book.

What I liked was that this book didn’t have your typical happy ending that so many other books would have, yet the ending is still happy. Whether you have experienced miscarriage or not, this book will give you plenty to think about.

Thank you to Amanda Prowse and her publisher, Lake Union, for the opportunity to read and review The Idea Of You.

Thanks to Net Galley for inviting me to read this beautiful story by Amanda Prowse who is a new author for me. I was immediately drawn to Lucy who was recently hurt by her boyfriends breakup with her and marrying her cousin. Lucy is feeling like her chances for marriage and motherhood are quickly passing her by. All of her friends have babies, which Lucy desparately wants, when suddenly she meets Jonah at a christening, who sweeps her off her feet and they get married. Finally feeling happy she looks forward to having children but is devastated in losing a baby at her first try. Lucy's husband has a teenage stepdaughter Camille who comes to live with them for the summer and tensions begin to mount and events happen that reveal secrets from the past. This story tore at my heart, brought many tears, and some of my own memories, yet is is heartwarming in the way that Amada Proswe writes with a section interspersed throughout of how Lucy writes a letter to the daughter she wants that is heartfelt. There are many moments of joy, and hope among the struggles that make this book one I highly recommend for any women who has wanted children.

This is the first Amanda Prowse book I have read, and I find that it is her 16th novel, so I have a lot of catching up to do as I absolutely loved her style of writing. The book flowed beautifully and I couldn't wait to reconnect with it each time I put it down, it was like catching up with an old friend.

Although Lucy has a very successful career, her love life hasn't been so good. With an ex who is now married to her cousin and no suitable man on the horizon it seems she has no chance of a baby of her own. Until she meets Jonah.....

I felt so much for Lucy during this book, not only for her personal struggle but when Jonah's daughter arrives I think i would have walked out almost immediately. Seemingly pushed out of her own home and every kind gesture she makes turned against her. Throughout the book there are letters that Lucy has written which give another insight into her struggle. So much depth achieved by so few meaningful words - with fully rounded characters that you can identify with.

Although not a "happily every after novel" in lots of ways that satisfied me more as it was a real true to life tale. It would have been easy for the writer to do the usual tying up of loose ends - but I loved it even more for its raw honesty. So many difficult subjects are dealt with in this book with sensitively and honestly.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Negalley for an advance copy of the book for review.

There is such poetry and emotion in this book. A typical example is this view on babies born too soon – “The little promises made of love that grew wings and took flight before they had a chance to become anchored in this world.”

So much heartbreak, so much loss, so much anticipation, so much hope and despair. The MC’s idea of a baby and the subsequent child and woman she would grow into is idealistic. She cannot see beyond the pink bows, and laughter and cuddles, to the reality of actually having a child. That is, not until her stepdaughter comes to visit and she sees that parenting, for all its wonder and joy, can be full of heartbreak and conflict and unfulfilled expectations. Lucy imagines all the good things about being a mother and it takes her stepdaughter to make her understand the reality.

The hook this story hangs on is Lucy’s desperation and determination to become a mother, the yearning to have a child of her own, with all its and downs, hardships and joys. The inevitability of events is heart-wrenching, and as the story unfolds and the reader sees what none of the main characters can, makes what happens all the more poignant.

The novel is laden down with guilt and remorse, longing and sadness, brief joy and the desolation of loss – “the feel and memory of this baby girl would weigh her down for eternity”. How beautiful and how sad.

But despite its subject matter, I felt uplifted and hopeful at the end, and thoroughly enjoyed the emotional journey this book took me on.

Best get the tissues out, though.
I cried. A lot!

Wanting a child with your husband is a reasonable desire and Lucy wants a baby very badly. She and Jonah conceive three times, with each conception ending in miscarriage in the first trimester. Lucy is heartbroken. Jonah is upset but already has a teenage daughter from his previous marriage. His teenage daughter comes for the summer at Lucy's urging, but things are not so great between Lucy and Camille. Learning to live together proves challenging.
I definitely relate to wanting a child so badly. I felt that I could not bear to live if I did not have a child of my own when I first married at age eighteen. I now realize that I could have lived a fulfilling life without children, but the young me did not feel that way. I did have a miscarriage scare when I was early in my marriage and it was devastating to me. I became absolutely hysterical once I was away from the doctor. I really enjoyed this book and I felt it handled infertility and adoption well, but I am very emotional and I cry while reading many books and seeing movies, and I only cried once briefly during the reading of this book. I just felt that the author did not quite hit that deep part of me that completely connected with the characters, Lucy and Camille in particular. I really liked Lucy. I felt great empathy for Camille. I just felt something was missing in the emotions of the characters. I needed MORE. The final portion of the book seemed to cover too many loose ends in a quick fashion and left some important details out.
I highly recommend this book and think readers will anxiously return to finish the book as I did. I give this book a 4 star rating.
I received a copy of this book from netgalley and I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.