I received a copy of "The Art of Hiding" from NetGalley for an honest review. I wish to thank NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Amanda Prowse for the opportunity to read this book.

This was a nice and light book - perfect for a summer read. It had a good story and was definitely entertaining. It made me think and appreciate my life several times.

This is a recommend!

Nina is born into poverty and then she meets and marries a very very wealthy man. She lives in the lap of luxury until one bad day where everything goes wrong. Finn gets killed in a car accident which could be on purpose or not and leaves Nina with her 2 kids and a mountain of debt. Because Finn took care of everything this leaves Nina with no place to go and all of her possesions repoed. This book started like another book that I read a while ago and I kept wondering if I was reading the same book over but it was a different book.

It was good and it drove home a lot of really good points about life in general and Nina of course makes it and learns all of her life lessons.

Nina McCarrick is living the perfect life and has the perfect home and family. Nina is standing at her son's game when her whole life changes. Her husband has died in a car accident. Then she finds that they are completely broke and bankrupt. In no time at all the house is gone, Finn's business and all they know. She has two sons to take care of and feels overwhelmed. Had no idea what was happening before the phone calls came. She takes the boys back to where she grew up. Her sister is there to help. They can rent an aunt's house. With time Nina finds a job and life starts to move forward again. She and the boys are able to grow closer and hard as it is they learn to live a new life.

It looked as if Nina and Finn McCarrick had everything going for them: his construction business, two great sons (a teenager and a 10-year old), a lavish income and the lifestyle it buys (house, cars, trips to exotic and faraway places, etc.), the perfect marriage and family life. Then, everything suddenly falls apart, as Finn dies in an auto accident. Nina finds out soon that Finn has leveraged everything they own into his bankrupt business, and, before she has time to absorb this news, everything (their house, the boys’ prestigious school, their money, etc.) is gone, repossessed by creditors to apply to the many, many debts the construction company owed to creditors. Nina and her sons, amid their grief over Finn’s death, go from being fairly well off to starting life anew under much different circumstances. A relative offers them a small placed to live, and Nina and her sons move in to a much, much smaller and shabbier house. Nina begins a long, drawn out job search, while her sons try to adjust to their new situation. The author has covered their first difficult days in their new life, moving from having had everything they could want or need to living on the edge of poverty.

This is a wonderful story of a strong woman, Nina, and her equally resilient sons. During her marriage to Finn, Nina gave up herself to Finn’s wants, needs and wife’s image. Now, Nina realizes that she must be the one in control, if she and her sons are to survive this ordeal. It was fascinating to watch her growth, as well as that of her sons. Initially, the younger son, despite his younger age, seemed more adjusted than the older teenager, who felt he had lost everything and everyone he felt dear to, except for his mother and brother. Still, as the story progresses, you can see his growth and maturity emerge into what will be a well-adjusted, conscientious, caring young man. There were some things that I found a little bit beyond belief, however: suddenly finding a place to live that her relative agreed to, finding a job—or, rather, having someone design one for her, all three falling into a different yet still comfortable lifestyle, etc. However, this is fiction, and strange things happen in fiction—things that often defy belief. I found all four characters, Nina, her sons and her ever-helpful, stand-by-you-through-thick-and thin sister, interesting and fairly well done. I was expecting a romance between Nina and someone she meets in her new settings, but that did not occur, leaving the book focus on how Nina made a life for herself and her sons after the tragic events that occurred. This is a book that I will not soon forget. It is a pretty serious read, that definitely brought home the fact that money does not buy everything and that things can change totally with one simple action or event. I received this form NetGalley to read and review.

Nina lives in a beautiful house and leads a privileged life. Then tragedy strikes and she looses her husband and a whole lot more. We are taken through Nina's journey as she reconnects with life, her sons, her sister and her new neighbourhood. Nina is a true heroine because she learns a valued lesson about money and happiness. When she truly starts to find herself, she starts to live again. An uplifting novel. I liked the honesty between Nina and Tiggy, showing a relatable relationship between sisters. I would recommend this book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book. I would read more by this author.

Great book! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommend!

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Nina lives in a large house with her husband and two children, but after an accident leaves her a widow and single mother, information comes to light that leaves her family's finances in ruin. Moving back to the rundown estate she grew up in. Slowly, trying to hold her family together Nina does everything she can to keep her, and her son's heads above water.
I don't usually pick this sort of book, but I enjoyed it. Nina was brilliantly written, her pain seemed to almost leap off the page, and I found myself cheering her on for all of the small steps she took towards a better future for her family. The actual events of the story are believable, maybe not 100% relatable with the amount of debt, but everyone can understand the rabbit hole that is all to easy to fall down when it comes to trying to keep everything normal while slowly racking up more and more debt. The story shows just how much family means, not money the bring to the table, but the support they offer.
4/5 stars

.Nina was brought up in poverty with her sister Tiggy in Germany and after the death of her mother they moved to England but were still living in poverty. Then Nina met Finn and now she has it all A beautiful house, two lovely boys and a successful husband. The boys go to an exclusive school and she is about to find out just how accomodating both the school and the parents are. Finn dies and suddenly she is no longer able to stay in the life she had created for herself and the boys. She moves back closer to her sister and begins to pick up the threads of their relationship. She has to get a job and the boys have to adjust to a new school and life without their Dad and the trappings of luxury.
The book charts their progress throughout the early days and shows that money doesn't always guarantee happiness. It also shows how adjustable we can be to whatever life throws at us and come out the other side better people.

The premise of this book was good. However, I found it a hard book to finish. The story line, although good, moved very slowly.

This novel hit the nail on the head with a powerful message that everyone should listen to. As individuals marry each other, what happens to each of the individuals as they combine their lives? Do they give up a part of themselves, do they relinquish total control as trust should be part of their marriage or do they maintain their own identity and honesty takes center stage. There are a lot of things that come into play when two individuals marry and they start their lives together. Trust, honesty, communication, their personality and their past are a few of the major ones. As I read this novel, I found myself thinking about individuals in my own life and how this novel relates to them. What kind of reality would they be living if they found themselves alone without their spouse? Would they be able to carry on without much interruption in the life that they had before? Would ghosts start coming out of the attic, making the individuals wonder about their past lives? Do they begin to realize that they were perhaps too comfy in their relationship and don’t know how to handle all the new responsibility? It’s something we all should be thinking about and this novel brings that to light.

When Nina discovers that her husband Finn has died, it comes as a shock. With two children to care for, Nina doesn’t worry about the future as she feels that their lives will continue to run just as they have before. There will be money from insurance and they have accumulated assets throughout their marriage, these will keep the family up and running. It sounds good but then reality comes creeping in and Nina realizes the truth. When the children’s school calls, telling her that they are behind on payments and that they need their money immediately, Nina is confused. Finn was always been on top of the financials for the family and she feels that these payments must have slipped his mind. He has been extremely busy; his new business is taking up most of his time and energy. When the money transfer doesn’t go through that Nina initiated to the school, Nina finally talks to their accountant and realizes that there is no money. She is also told of a huge debt that her husband owes, one that he hid from her and now she is in charge of paying it off also. What happened? Where did all their money go? It’s monumental when the family begins to lose everything they have acquired over the years and they find themselves facing a new situation. It’s an eye-opener what this family goes through as they try to make sense of their current situation and deal with the death of their husband and father. I felt for them as they questioned their future and they try to make a go-at-it. I really enjoyed this novel and I think what their family went through is a reality check for its readers. 4.5 stars
I want to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for sending me a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I did not finish this book. I got about 15% into it and realized that I was forcing myself to read it. I just didn't connect with it. Sorry.

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Personally I can't get enough of Amanda Prowse, and may have overdosed a little on her books. Another highly emotional story, leaving me wanting more. One of the best I've read so far!

Nina's husband Finn has been tragically killed in an accident, throwing her life into utter turmoil. Her two sons, Connor and Declan doted on their father and they all lived a comfortable life of luxury in Bath, in a beautiful farmhouse, private school for the boys, luxury cars, and the finer things in life. All a long way from Nina's childhood on a council estate in Southampton. Marrying the self made Finn, who told her she wouldn't need to ever worry about money, hunger, discomfort, displacement or finances ever again, was a relief to Nina after her hard upbringing. Finn took control of all the household finances; mortgage, banking, credit cards, utilities etc, leaving Nina with no need to longer stress about money.

However, she realises she's lost without her husband. He was the bread earner with his own construction company, whereas she stayed at home and looked after the house and the boys. Since getting married to Finn and moving to Bath, Nina became socially isolated. Initially because she felt uncomfortable among the seemingly confident, wealthy, well spoken, educated and polished ladies at the school gates, refusing invitations to parties and BBQ's, until the invitations dried up. Then because she became comfortable just living within the family unit.

She had no idea of their finances or the business - that was Finns responsibility. Which sounded liberating, but she discovered was actually a burden, and that the security she craved was all now just a false facade. After losing her husband and then everything else that made up her world, Nina must relearn how to take control and be responsible for her life, as well as her children's well being.

The Art of Hiding is a thought provoking story of a woman who lost her husband, but in the aftermath started to find herself again and learnt to be independent and self sufficient without hiding behind her husband. Although she loved her husband vey much, during their marriage she became wholly reliable on him to take care of everything, apart from taking care of the running of the house and sorting the boys out. Her life was based on outside perceptions; that because they seemed to live a lifestyle straight out of a glossy magazine, that everything was perfect. It wasn't, it was a false facade, and people can hide and keep things secret from loved ones. Albeit it seemingly with good intentions.

This is a great book that forces you to think and re-evaluate your entire life and will be an insightful lesson for many women. So many meet a man, who then becomes their husband, but in the process lose themselves. The husband may not necessarily be controlling or cruel, but if anything at all happened to him, his wife may be left unable to cope in the real world without him. Many women give up or forget their own dreams and aspirations, to give themselves wholly to the family unit. I'm not suggesting this is a bad thing. For many families this works. My own mother was a house wife, but still had her own independence and life. However, for some women it makes them too reliable on their husband and makes them almost a shadow.

Hopefully this book will make some women conclude that no matter how much they love their family, they need to retain some independence and control parts of their own life. Not every woman needs to be an ultra alpha female, but as a minimum they should retain some strength of independence and be knowledgeable about the families finances and the household affairs, and be assertive in demanding to have access to the family's accounts and to work if they so wish.

All in all this is a powerful book with a lot to say. The author can certainly take readers through a gauntlet of emotions; sadness, pity, laughter, joy, pain, despair but also happiness and hope. The emotions and sensitive subject of grief was handled well and true to life.

The characters are portrayed realistically. Nina's sister Tiggy may appear hard at times, but is a product of the environment she lives in. Whereas Nina was the same as Tiggy, before she met Finn, and then became cocooned from the hardness of life. The change we see take place in Nina as she reasserts herself and starts growing in confidence, is like watching a flower blossom. It's almost like she never believed she was good enough to have the lifestyle she enjoyed in Bath, and so stayed away from people. Whereas back in Southampton she begins to shine again.

I enjoyed the message that money and material goods can't buy happiness. Agreed. Although in many cases, they can certainly make life easier! Some beautiful and true friendships are made, and these are shown to be based on people and not things, material possessions or what people are deemed to be "worth". It does appear to be a book that it is all about what happens below the surface and not what is on show. Many of the wealthy characters are shown to be shallow and uncaring, only interested in how much money people are worth, where they live, what car they drive etc. Whereas the most caring people are the ones who have the least and who try to help as much as they can. Which is slightly - there are many genuine and decent wealthy people - over generalizing, but shows what's really important in life.

This book will make you think and analyze your life. Would the people in it still be there for you if you were left with nothing? Are you there for other people? If your other half wasn't there one day, could you manage to cope on your own and find the strength to carry on? What is most important to you?

You will likely spill a tear or two in parts, but this book is still incredibly uplifting and shows just how the human spirit can overcome adversity and find the courage and strength necessary to carry on.

Thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Amanda Prowse for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest and unbiased review.

This was a quick and easy read. Enjoyable but predictable. If you've been reading what I would call "deep" books, this would be a nice break. Shows the strength we have within us if forced to find it.

Yet another Amanda Prowse winner. This book is unbelievably sad and heartbreaking, following one family's journey along an emotional rollercoaster of loss, learning and discovery. It is well written, as always and despite not going through the same challenges you really relate to the characters and situations so I found myself really drawn into the story.

Slightly predictable as when Nina's wealthy business husband dies after road accident she finds herself in a financial mess and has to return to her home town. The transition to poverty is swift and she and her two sons find it extremely difficult to adjust and reconcile themselves to their new situation . The book relates how they manage to come to terms with their new circumstances. What amazes me is how quickly this is achieved, especially the eldest son who is an angry teenager, they seem bounce back from a few pounds to being solvent. There was no resort to expected benefit claiming or maybe the food bank and I was surprised that the officialdom from their past hadn't caught up with them. However it is a good read and one does find oneself rooting for the family and hoping they carry on forging a future for themselves in reduced circumstances.

Really enjoyed reading this book. I could totally get the characters and where they were coming from and found it quite an emotional read. (I am a soft touch though). In today's world I suspect this type of bereavement and the questions it can leave unanswered are affecting more and more people too, sadly. Would definitely look for more of Amanda Prowse's books

I really enjoyed this read and devoured it in a day. I really felt for the main character Nina and I wanted her to get through her horrible situation. It didn't feel too dramatic or predictable it was realistic which I think enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

My one criticism is I felt like there was only half a story, I felt like there was more to tell, more challenges to overcome.

Thanks to NetGally, Lake Union Publishing and Amanda Prowse for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.