A nice easy read for the beach but rather predictable as to what was going to happen!

This is the second book I've read by this author, and like the first, I thought the writing itself was good, but I just couldn't connect with the subject matter. The plot follows a woman and her two sons as they cope with the loss of the husband/dad as well as finding out that he has left them bankrupt. This has the potential of being a really gritty and inspirational story, but not so fast. The family are actually multi-millionaires and by "bankrupt" it really just means that they have to move into a sensible size apartment and the mom has to get a job. So basically it's a story of how hard it is to live a middle class existence. Yeah... no sympathy from me.

This is the second book by Amanda Prowse I have read recently, and I will definitely be reading more. I found myself itching to pick up the book and couldn't wait for my breaks to read some more. I found the storyline and characters relatable to a degree, and could empathise with their situation and the determination to overcome the aftermath of the death of the head of the family. A brilliant read.

The book moves along smoothly. Widow lost her husband and moves her family to poor town. She needs a job and money soon. While I enjoyed her story, there was nothing exciting to look forward to in the next chapters....

This was a confusing book for me. Nina has the perfect husband,kids,home and life.Then her husband dies and everything crumbles.

I hated Finn from what we see of him,Nina seemed weak and one dimensional at the beginning but she does get better and I loved the sister's relationship.I just never really connected with the characters.

It was nice seeing Nina's growth but it was fairly hollow.

The Art of Hiding by Amanda Prowse was captivating from the first few lines of the book, all through to the end. It tells the story of a woman who finds herself going from being the top of the social circle, with two kids in private school, with a beautiful house to run and wonderful husband, to a widow who quickly learns that things are not as they seemed before her husbands death. To make matters worse, as her life unravels she is forced to make some huge changes in her world, including moving her children from their much loved home to the home of her youth, that she could not get away from fast enough. What appears at first to be utter disaster, turns into something that no one could have expected. I was not 100% happy with how the book was wrapped up, but overall, this was a book worth reading and sharing with others!

This is the first book of Amanda Prowes' I have read and it most certainly won't be the last. The Art of Hiding tells the story of Nina who has the perfect life with her husband Finn and two sons, or so she thought. He husband Finn is tragically killed and her who works comes crashing down. Her and her sons have to leave their home and all the luxuries they are accustomed to to move back to the town where Nina grew up. Nina has to struggle on her own to provide a life for her and her two boys whilst dealing with her own grief and the loss of everything she was used to.
I read this book in one night it was that good, the writing is brilliant and all of the characters were so lifelike I could picture them all. Amanda has done a fantastic job of telling the story in such a way that I could picture everything from the opulence of the house to the way the children looked.
I am now going to read every book Amanda has ever written.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

When I received a notification from NetGalley that I was auto approved for this book, I thought it sounded intriguing, so I accepted it. And I'm glad I did. It's a bit depressing at times, but ultimately quite uplifting. Nina's perfect life comes crashing down around her when her husband is killed in an auto accident. As if losing her husband wasn't enough, she soon learns that his business was in financial ruin, and before she has time to prepare she and her two sons are suddenly homeless and broke. Nina transitions from living in a huge house of splendor, ferrying her sons back and forth to their exclusive private school and spending her days mindlessly spending money left and right to living in a tiny flat in a bad neighborhood, getting a job, walking to work, and learning to live on a tight budget. It's hard on her, and hard on the boys. But along the way Nina learns to appreciate life and the small joys that come with it if you can keep your mind from being closed off. I enjoyed taking the journey with her, and watching her blossom from pampered housewife to confident working woman. The characters were all well written, with the boys being realistic kids. I loved how Nina and her sister reconnected, and there were a few times when I laughed out loud at their conversations.

A really nice story about loss and love and learning to pick yourself up and find happiness in everyday life.

Firstly thanks, as always, goes to NetGalley, and the publishers, for allowing me a pre-release copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ok. So, I was pre-approved for a review copy of this novel. For some unknown reason, I thought this book was a psychological thriller and I was really looking forward to seeing it. It starts quite promising as Finn McCarrick tragically dies in a car accident, leaving his wife, Nina, to snap out of her self absorbed, over priveleged bubble and break the news to their two sons. However, it turns out that Finn has some secrets. His business has gone bankrupt, with the family home mortgaged to the hilt, Finn has left his family broke. Broke to the tune of almost eight million pounds. There is then a hint, just a small suggestion, that there may have been something more to Finn's "accident" than first meets the eye. This is where I started to get excited. But, as the novel continues to catalogue Nina's woes, frustration starts to set in as nothing really is happening, although I felt compelled to keep reading as I was sure it was just waiting to really pick up. At about half way in I was, if I'm honest, getting bored. Nina was still broke, she'd moved from her mansion in Bath to a pokey little flat on the outskirts of Southampton and she was doubting her whole life. But, to be honest, it was getting dull. The star count for my review was going down by the page. By this point it was going to be lucky if it got two stars.

At about the half way point, I decided I'd take another look at the description. It turns out that I was mistaken and it wasn't a thriller at all - simply a tale of Nina's life falling apart at the seems as she realised the last few years had been based on lies. So now, looking at the novel in a different light, and just because I hate to abandon a book part way through, I continued to read.

As it turns out, the more I read, the more I was starting to feel for Nina and her sons. And the more I found myself rooting for them, willing them to pull themselves back up. In the end, it happened to be a really good book. And, purely because the author managed to not only keep me interested enough to want to carry on reading, but actually make me enjoy a book that I was really quite disappointed with at first, I must say it really does deserve it's four stars.

So, just how disappointed was I? Well, I was really looking forward to reading a thriller (the fact that that's not what I got is entirely my own fault!), I was rather disappointed that that wasn't what I got. Particularly as the speculation into the circumstances of Finn's accident gave the novel so much potential to go down the thriller road - could it have been suicide, could it have been something more sinister? On that, we'll never know. But, overall, it was a really enjoyable read so hats off to Amanda Prowse for managing to change my mind for me.

A well written, sometime moving book and, yes, I'm glad I read it.

Found this book easy to read and found I wanted to get to the end to find out what happens to the main character . Light reading and fairly good pace - plausible plot. Quite thought provoking generally. Shed a few tears at the end. Not a classic book of literary fiction but a good read. Did find that I was skimming some of the "memories" I'm afraid. But all in all it was an enjoyable read.

Thanks for the auto approval and copy of The Art of Hiding. Unfortunately I'm not sure it is for me; although it is very well written and emotive it isn't a subject matter I would necessarily choose to read about and as such I am struggling to connect with the book and I'm not sure I'd be able to fairly and accurately review.

The story is solid enough. Nina's husband dies and she realizes their life together was a sham. Broke, in terrible debt, she is forced back to her old hometown and poverty. Her 2 kids are kicked out of their posh private school and forced to go (gasp!) to PUBLIC. Nina is helped along the way by her sister Tiggy, and even the flat they rented cheaply and easily is from an uncle. That's family support. Yet Nina acts like she has no one. Had they ended up in a homeless shelter I'd have understood her despair. Nina knew the collectors were coming out to her mansion and instead of packing things up and sending them to free storage offered by one of her husband's friends, she cries and whines and drives around NOT doing anything...and sure enough, they show up and take everything of value. Really Nina? It didn't occur to you to take ALL the jewelry, the valuables easily carted and pawned? Yeesh. While the story had some humor,, and was interesting enough, I just found myself irritated by how dumb about life she was. Yes, she was young when she married, and her husband took care of everything. But she wasn't living in a bubble so I assume she knew how the world worked, even just a little. There is a lesson here, and boy did I get it. Over and over and over. Things are just that, things, and nothing matters more than family. Not a bad read, but not the best story I've ever read.

An absolutely stunning and heartfelt read! Thoroughly enjoyed it. Very emotional at times. Highly recommended.

The Art of Hiding really makes you think about what makes you happy. It's not necessarily the treasured possessions that we surround ourselves with, it's the people with whom we share our life and experiences. Nina was just another of her husband's treasured possessions and she was so busy being a wife and mother that she ended up being a ghost of herself. It took the tragedy of losing her husband and going back to basics for her to really start living.

MY REVIEW OF “THE ART OF HIDING’ by Amanda Prowse
I appreciate that Amanda Prowse, author of “The Art Of Hiding” has written a modern-day thought-provoking novel. The genre for this Novel is Literary Fiction. The timeline for his story is in the present. This story reminds me of “rags to riches to rags” story.
The author describes her characters as complicated, complex and confused.Nina McCormick, came from a different lifestyle than the one she has once she gets married. Nina came from a modest and struggling home to a very comfortable lifestyle, an enormous house, exclusive schools for her boys and a privileged status. Unfortunately, her husband dies in an accident. Nina finds out that her husband had many secrets that he hid from her. Not only do Nina and her boys struggle with the loss of her husband and their father, they find out that they are left bankrupt, and have to leave everyone and everything behind.
Nina returns to her childhood neighborhood, and she and her sons struggle to survive and make ends meet. Nina has the emotional support of her sister, and realizes that she has to control her life.
It is a rude awakening to Nina. Nina questions her relationship to her husband, and the reason he was hiding so many things from her. Nina has to learn to have self confidence and become independent.
The author discusses the extremes of poverty and wealth. Does being wealthy make one happy? Does being wealthy provide you the security of friends and family? Can physical objects that wealth can buy provide happiness? Can you be happy if you are financially struggling? What is important to make one happy?
Amanda Prowse describes the importance of a support system, family, friends, working towards a goal, love and hope, and believing in yourself. I found this was an emotional novel, which made me think about many things, and I would recommend it. I liked Nina’s children’s growth and change in attitude. I received a copy of this ARC (Advanced Reading Edition) for my honest review.

This is a novel that will stay in your mind for a long time. The main character is well drawn, the plot is plausible, and extremely well written. Nina is suddenly, and very shockingly widowed. It then transpires that her husband has been keeping deep dark secrets from her.
They are bankrupt, her house and furniture is repossessed and her and her sons have to move back to an area where she used to live. A huge comedown, and feeling humiliated, she reconnects with her sister, and finds out she has great courage, and tenacity. Nina is a wonderful character, and when I had finished this book, I didn't really want to part from the characters in it.

I for some reason could not really relate to the main character Nina, in this book in the beginning. I found her to be so involved in what she possessed that she did not draw me in. It was not until tragedy strikes that I found myself drawn into her world and the obstacles that she overcomes for herself and her family. Her portraits of the people were real to me after this point. A well written book about how life can change in an instant.

Excellent book. Great main characters and a real page turner. I loved the plot and would recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a story of battling against adversity, discovering inner strength and learning some life lessons along the way. If you are looking for some holiday reading this is a good choice.

Amanda Prowse writes vividly about family trials and tribulations and one could almost believe that she is writing from personal experience - hopefully not in this case though! A family full of grief, not only for the loss of a beloved husband and father but also for the sudden change of lifestyle brought about through no fault of their own. Shock coupled with the upheaval of leaving behind an upmarket lifestyle fills the pages and leaves the reader full of sympathy, and admiration for Nina who works hard to bring some form of normality to her two boys. A thoroughly enjoyable novel - well worth reading