I was a bit disappointed in this book. The characters are well written, but the story felt too predictable for me. I wanted a twist, or some drama, but it just felt a bit too safe. Good book, and I would recommend it, but not my style of writing.

The Art of Hiding was a great read, showing money really can't buy happiness. It showed the struggles of a mother and her son's coming to terms with loss in their own ways.

I liked the characters. They were very well fleshed out, even the children. Which doesn't always happen in novels. I found this book difficult to read, only because I was in tears throughout. I enjoyed it to a degree, but I think that I just wasn't in the right headspace to read such a heartbreaking novel.

Nina has it all - husband, two healthy sons, a fabulous home and has never needed to work outside the home. Until the day her husband doesn't come home. From then on she has to fight to keep everything together for the boys while coming to terms with the fact that she is on her own.

I wasn't quite sure about Nina at first; the sort of woman it is difficult to like but as the book progressed I found myself rooting for her and wanting her to get her life back together. Don't get me wrong, things are far from perfect but just like real life it is amazing what we can handle when we have to. An enjoyable read that I will be recommending

The Art of Hiding was just ok for me, it started out interesting and fast paced, but by the middle of the book it started to get slow and predictable.

Amanda Prowse fans seemed to devour this book but I wasn't impressed. Whilst grief in real life is all consuming, in a book constant comparisons to the before/after scenario is a bit repetitive. It appeared to be padding the story out.When 2/3rds of the way through, Nina gets a job,. I thought it might pick up but unfortunately the author didn't take full advantage of the situation. The ending left questions unanswered and I wasn't sorry to leave Nina behind.

This is a well written story about life and the importance of family.

I received an advanced copy and I voluntarily leave my own opinion

This was a strange read, not at all what I was rxpecting. I started it, then put it down. I picked it up again and was glad I did. It isn't one of my favourite books, but it isn't one of the worst I've read either.

I’ve read so many non-fiction books this year and I almost forgot what reading fiction is like.

Amanda writes about a young widow (Nina) who has her lifestyle disrupted when her husband dies unexpectedly.

I was initially irritated with Nina…how can you have no idea about the financial situation of your household? Her naivety annoyed me but as I kept reading the book, I ended up empathising with her.

It is a well written story and I enjoyed the book club questions at the end of the final chapter.

Favourite Quote: “And just because so many people say it is, doesn’t make it a fact. It’s just one of those things that is said so often that people believe it, like the misconception that all bats are blind.”

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my review. Nina McCarrick's biggest problem is navigating the power moms at her son's fancy prep school, and it us until she gets a phone call that changes her life. Her husband has died and that is just the beginning of the life-changing problems and decisions that Nina has to navigate in The Art of Hiding.

Amanda Prowse has a way of drawing a reader into her stories with plot lines that make me wonder how I would react if I was in a similar situation. At times, I didn't feel that Nina's character was as believable as I thought she should be, so I gave it four stars instead of five, but this is a very compelling story.

I have never thought about the “what ifs” of my relationship. I never thought of “what if my SO died“. I also never thought of “What if he was hiding debt from me“. After reading The Art of Hiding, I did start thinking about the “what ifs” and discussed them with him. Luckily for me, he is not the type to hide anything from me. I am also not the type of person, like Nina, who is not involved in any of the household finances. So, if something did happen, nothing would blindside me like it did Nina.

The plot of The Art of Hiding is Finn dying, Nina finding out about the debt and Nina going back to Southampton. A place she escaped from when she married Finn. But, there is also the plotline where Nina finds herself and that is what made this book so enjoyable for me. Nina had to go through so much to be happy. Her journey to get to that point was both heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time.

While this book is labeled as women’s fiction, it is not chick lit. I can’t stress that enough. In my eyes, women’s fiction is a huge step away from chick lit. In chick lit, the heroine deals with whatever life throws at her in unrealistic ways. In women fiction, the heroine deals with life’s trials as a normal person would. This is what I liked about The Art of Hiding. Nina’s issues are something that could happen to anyone. The situations that she finds herself in has happened to people in real life. It is that connection that made me like this book.

Nina had a lifestyle that most people only dreamed about. She had a beautiful house and expensive cars. Her children went to an exclusive all boys school. She took vacations to exotic locations. I mean, she had a lifestyle that I wished I had. Then Finn died and her world crumbled. She finds out that he was in debt and that everything is being repossessed. Not only the house and cars but everything inside the house. Her boys were kicked out the exclusive school due to nonpayment of tuition. She did what anyone would do in that situation, she reached out to her sister for h help. With her sister’s help, she packed up what she could and moved back to Southampton. She moved into the flat (apartment) that her great-aunt had occupied and she tried to get back on her feet.

I could go on and criticize why Nina seemed to falter in the middle of the book. I could but I won’t. If I were in her shoes, I would have gone into shock too. I mean, within days, she was homeless and had no money. She could not wrap her head around what happened. Guess what, she deserved to wallow in her grief and anger for a bit. The only thing that was keeping her going were her sons. She had to be strong for them because, guess what, their world shattered too. They lost their father, all their possessions and their house.

The end of the book was heartbreaking and happy. I had tears in my eyes when Nina reflected on her year and how far she had come.

4 stars

Summary:

The Art of Hiding is a story about one woman’s journey after finding out she is destitute after her husband dies. This book is beautifully written with a great plot. I would highly recommend The Art of Hiding to everyone.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: mild language

I would like to thank Amanda Prowse, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review The Art of Hiding

All opinions expressed in my review of The Art of Hiding are mine and mine alone

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

This is only the second book that I have read by Amanda Prowse. I really enjoyed the first book but after reading the first chapter of The Art of Hiding I had to add Prowse to my list of favorite authors. In the first chapter Nina is in the car trying to talk to her teenage son. I felt as if Ms. Prowse had recorded conversations I had with my own teenage son; I felt like she was writing about us. I quickly followed her on social media and added her to my favorite authors on Goodreads. The Art of Hiding is a story of how Nina and her two boys, used to a very posh and comfortable life are dealt crushing blows, one after the other. They have to rebuild their lives, starting from nothing. Ms. Prowse tells her story so vividly I felt like I was watching a movie. Looking forward to adding all of Amanda Prowse's earlier books to my reading list.

Following the death of her husband Finn, Nina finds out that the family is bankrupt. She and her two sons need to move out of their home and leave their comfortable life to start again in Southampton. Nina needs to rediscover herself, her independence and her self-belief. The boys need to start again in a new school, make new friends and come to terms with their new reality.
This book makes you think about what is important. Although Amanda Prowse does not sugar coat the issues this is a nice story about love and resilience, friendship and what makes us happy.

I received a copy of this novel via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've had quibbles with some of Prowse's characters in the past but I always look for her books because she's a great storyteller. This time she's addressing how a woman picks herself up and moves on when she loses everything- her husband, her money, her perceived status. Nina has to keep it together for her kids, who of course have their own problems in dealing with the deal of their father. We've read some of this before but Prowse has such a nice way with words and creates such wonderful flawed characters (making them so real!) that it feels fresh. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm looking forward to her next book!

Wonderful insight into modern life the importance of family and being true to yourself regardless of the material world we live in.

I've read a couple of Ms Prowse's novels and none of them have disappointed- this one included. Watching Nina's struggle (and her children's especially) to come to terms with what has happened is quite emotional, but yet is full of hope. Nina begins a journey of self-discovery that is uplifting and, as the blurb says, "empowering".

Nina discovers that money isn't everything, whilst at the same time realising that the lack of it has very serious repercussions. She also discovers that love can be quite a fluid thing when it is based on less than sound foundations.

A story about lIfe and how you react to all the conflicts ,lost
A mother with 2sons who suddenly lose her husband and life as she knew it.

Nina had the perfect life. She lived in a beautiful house, had plenty of money, had two sons doing well at an exclusive private school and she had Finn -a loving successful husband who took care of everything. When she gets a call to say that there has been a serious accident involving her husband her perfect life comes crashing around her ears.

It seems Finn wasn't as successful as she had thought. Before his 'accident' he was about to go bankrupt ( there is nothing proven that it wasn't an accident but...) Suddenly from having everything they could want, Nina and the boys find themselves with no home, no posh school and it quickly becomes obvious that they have no friends either. Thanks to Nina's sister being in contact with a distant uncle, they find somewhere to stay but how do they learn to live again?

Gradually Nina begins to realise that her relationship with Finn had stopped her from growing up and painfully accepts that she needs to stop hiding and become her own person.

I have read a number of Amanda Prowse's books and enjoyed them. I found this an enjoyable read but for me it lacked something of the magic that made some of them unforgettable. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for giving me the chance to read & review this book

3.25 Stars* (rounded down)

Everything in Nina McCarrick’s life is going swell. She loves her life, her husband and her sons, Connor and Declan, who go to a posh school system. Her husband’s job is uber-successful and they live a grand life. And then it all comes crashing down. Literally. Nina gets a phone call. One no one ever wants to receive. There has been an accident. Her husband, Finn, is gone. And as it turns out, he wasn’t uber-successful after all. Unbeknownst to her, he had lost his business, and he had amassed a ton of debt. As in Eight-Million Pounds of Debt. And Nina had no idea whatsoever. And now, she is left to clean up the mess and start over. Yet she has no job or education and has no idea what to do.

Moving away from their old life and finding a job is the only way. With more than just a bit of resentment, Nina and her boys return to Nina’s rundown hometown, and to her sister, Tiggy. It is there, that Nina finds more than she bargained for. Left with no choice, Nina finds strength and resilience and a sense of self.

Amanda Prowse’s “The Art of Healing” is a sweet, well written, easy to read novel about family, loss and healing.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Amanda Prowse for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Published on NetGalley and Goodreads on 8.20.17.

*Will be Published on Amazon on. 8.22.17.

'The Art of Hiding' is a compelling story, sensitively written, with Amanda Prowse's customary observational skills and descriptive depth. The transformation of the characters during their passage through difficult experiences, sudden change, betrayal and deception, loss, grief and growing up is carefully depicted, and the pace keeps the reader eager to discover the eventual outcomes.
Highly enjoyable and sympathetically evocative.