Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Art of Hiding. I voluntarily chose to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Nina McCarrick is living an idyllic life with her husband Finn and two boys, but what happens when the hidden truth turns the woman's world upside down? Will Nina be able to cope with the fallout, for the sake of her boys?

The biggest problem that I had with The Art of Hiding is Nina's obliviousness to her true situation. Having been raised in poverty, Nina would have never taken someone else's word regarding finances. She would have squirreled money away, keeping a plan in place for "just in case". That being said, the reality of starting over and living life paycheck to paycheck is so realistic for many. The author did a good job of bringing that aspect of the story to life. The other part that bothered me had to do with the predatory aspect of the creditors. I doubted the totality of what they were able to accomplish, as it is unrealistic the scope of what they were able to do and what little they left for Nina and her boys. The Art of Hiding was a quick read and those who like stories about strong and determined women might find it to their liking.

Having requested this book a number of years ago, I’ve only just realised I’d not got round to reading it. I found it to be a very well written book that at times actually had me a little emotional. The topic of homelessness is often covered in books and the decent from wealth into poverty is a common theme for a storyline. I found that the art of hiding covered these topics off exceptionally well, better than any other book I’ve read on the subject. I genuinely empathised with the characters and found the story to be realistic and relatable and I have definitely been left with lots of things to think about. Overall a really enjoyable book!

Unfortunately, I read this book back in 2017 but completely forgot to upload a review on here, so can't remember exactly what I was going to say about it!

I read most of amanda books i love her writting style i pull into the story hook from first few words a great read lovely warm real characters a great book

Because this was a story of unimaginable pain I felt pretty depressed whilst reading. Obviously, I knew from the get-go that tragedy would befall the protagonist. While I was rooting for this woman to overcome pain and anger, I had a difficult time feeling the story. I enjoy Prowse as an author, but this particular story has been done time and again. Another chapter and I would find myself questioning, have I read this already? Overall, it was just OK.



*Apologies for the overdue review. Thank you for the e-Galley.

Nina's life is all that she ever dreamt. A loving husband, two wonderful boys, a nice and quite luxury house, and her husband's wealthy business. After all the tragedy in her early years, she had twisted around her fate.
Until the day the most terrible thing happens. Finn is gone, and a lot of what she thought her life was, is gone with him.
Will Nina and her sons be able to go back to living a fulfilled life? Will she have the strength needed to survive her loss?
This is a very well written and inspiring book. The story might be thought as a predictable one, but the writer's pen turned it into a beautiful one, in which values, love and faith made the difference.
Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sorry for late review - just catching up after a busy 12 months. Loved this book a lot - this author always delivers great books - never disappointed - a great story with great characters and really well written. Will definitely read more by this author and thank you for the read. Much appreciated.

Another wonderful but deep book by Amanda Prowse whose books make your spine tingle and give you goosebumps. Just wonderful.

It's not my usual read but the blurb caught my attention.

This book had a good storyline, a woman brought up on a council estate (like many of us, nothing wrong with that!) and put into a life with lots more luxury. Then it's all gone, and we have her story start.

Didn't totally grip me but finished it in end.

A story of love, grief, and strength. After Nina's husband is killed in a car accident her entire life - which he sustained - unravels, as she finds out they were bankrupt and she's losing everything. She has to pull herself together and build a new life for her and her children. It's an emotional premise.

I was a little frustrated by how clueless Nina seemed to be. It's not just that she hasn't had a career due to being a mom, I totally get that - but she also apparently doesn't understand bills, or opening mail, or ever calls or husband. I just couldn't connect to someone so totally out of touch with the realities of adult life and doesn't have any understanding of the family finances at all.

I loved the side characters, who seemed more realistic than Nina herself. Nina does eventually redeem herself with introspection on how money changed her, and reflection on the important things in life. Overall an interesting read, but not particularly gripping.

This is an interesting story about love and grief. Overall, I wasn't wowed by any of the plot-points or the characters, but the exploration of grief was handled well.

I really wanted to get into this book but it just was not for me. it started off slow and was hard for me to get into. i was able to read about 3/4 of it before putting it down. i will try to get back into it another time.

At the beginning of this novel, main character Nina's husband dies in a car crash - and she comes to realize their financial situation is not at all what it seemed and has to reinvent and create a new life for herself and their two sons. Much of the book was pretty depressing but it was hopeful at the end. A quick read. 3.5 stars.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I just had a hard time getting invested in this story. I tried a while back & tried again recently. Thank you for the opportunity to be an early reader.

Amanda Prowse is the queen of emotional women's fiction and this book is a shining example of that. Nina's life changes when her husband is killed in a car crash, but it soon transpires she didn't know him as well as she thought she did. After returning to the estate she used to live on, it's time for Nina to finally take charge and make a life of her own. Once again, Amanda Prowse creates a character you invest everything into, in the hopes that she will get to where she needs to be. Nina is plucky and likeable from the moment you first meet her and I enjoyed getting to know her throughout the story. Amanda Prowse writes with great emotion and sensitivity to create an unforgettable tale of starting over.

An interesting read but I found it frustrating. I did not like Nina's character as she seemed very clueless. I get that spouses can hide a lot from each other but she just seemed like she had no clue that something was wrong. She had not called her husband at work for weeks? If she was a stay at home mom would she not have seen mail from the boys' school regarding the payment? I did not like her obsession with things. Until she lost it all she was very superficial. Maybe if I had read this at another time I would not have thought so deeply about her superficialness but with the state of the world during the virus outbreak, I found it hard to like.

I did enjoy the fact that the audiobook was read by the author herself.

I have read another book by the author and thoroughly enjoyed it. I will continue reading this author.

We never know when our world is going to come tumbling down around us.
The person that you love is not who you thought they were, and life will never be how you knew it.
Nina loses her husband suddenly in a car accident and is left alone with their two boys to bring up.
Ridden with debt she has to go back to her roots and moves onto a rundown estate in Southampton.
Her boys, Connor and Declan have never had to live like this. Struggling with their grief they have to deal with the loss of their father, their family home, their School and their friendships.
This is a period of self-discovery, exploring feelings and the repairing of family relationships.
Amanda Prowse’s books never disappoint and always remind you of how life can change in the blink of an eye.
Most definitely a page turner for me.
Many thanks to Amanda Prowse and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

Lovely, emotional, and thought provoking. It's a bit of a riches to rags (well, not quite rags) story. The main character is very hard to identify with at times, but I still found myself rooting for her. The older child was quite bratty throughout most of the book. They're all going through something awful, but there were times I wished Nina would call him out on his selfishness! The disrespect he showed her bothered me, but he evolves during the story along with the rest of the characters

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for The Art of Hiding by Amanda Prowse. Nina believes she has a great life. She is a stay at home mom/wife living in a big house with two boys and a wonderfully successful husband. She wants for nothing, but then her husband is killed in a car accident and the rest of her life comes tumbling down. She learns her husbands business is in bankruptcy and she is losing everything. She moves her family back home to her hometown where she learns that money cannot buy happiness.

A cute, moving story about what really matters in life..

This book had a good premise, and I was prepared to get involved in a fairly dramatic story, but in the end was left feeling unimpressed. Overall, it was a bit disappointing, and I walked away dissatisfied. I was very bored and had a hard time staying in the story.