I finished this book in less than 24 hours as I simply couldn't put it down. I now have a massive book hangover. I'm feeling quite stressed, as this book is something I can really relate to and I'm having trouble separating the story from reality. I feel like I have taken Nina's journey with her!

An incredible book, full of heart, it feels more like an autobiography than fiction, but made riveting reading. Amanda Prowse you have done it again. An easy 5 stars from me.

What a wonderful read!! I had no preconceptions before trying this book. I had not read any other books by Amanda Prowse but based from this reading I will certainly be looking out for more.

It tugs the heartstrings in all the right places, the drama, excitement and story builds up little by little but it is worth engaging. I could not put it down and once started I had to finish it. A wonderfuls story about loss, sadness and how it can affect all aspects of your life and building back up from the feeling of despair and realising that as much as you may hate hearing it at the time everything will be ok.

Getting to know the family within the books was the best part for me and my one and only issue (not really issue but something I missed.) I would love to have had a bit more information from when they lived in Denmark, maybe seen a bit more of this culture showing up especially in Tiggy.
I also must admit as we didn't get to know Finn as well as we could have, I didn't really feel for him they way I should, my heart definitely was with Nina, Connor and Declan.

The story itself never felt rushed and I really enjoyed slowly getting to know all the characters. My favourite was Declan with his optimism being something we lose as grown ups so it was nice to read about. Overall the story was heart wrenching but true to life. I am also really happy Nina did not end up with the guy as is quite common, my favourite part was where she admitted she needed to live life by herself to move on and realise what she needed before she could meet anyone else. It really brought the story to life for me.
Amanda dealt with all the stronger issues really well and portrayed the children's behaviours amazingly. I would most certainly recommend to friends and I think I will suggest this to my book club on goodreads as it is a good story but it also makes you appreciate the smaller things in life too. And this is definitely something we should all do!

How one's life can be turned upside down at a moment's notice. Nina, the wife of property developer Finn, is accustomed to nothing but the best, a far cry from her early years . Then she grew up in a poor area of the city, was never quite the same as the other girls at school, never had quite the right clothes and was mocked for her accent. Now she has it all. Beautiful house, two lovely sons both at Private school, a smart car, flowers delivered weekly.
And then.
Her husband is killed in a car crash. She discovers that there is no money, that his business had gone bankrupt, that the house and contents can be taken away immediately by leery bailiffs (just doing their job)
Nina's journey from here is compelling and poignant. She gathers up her boys, sets off with the sister she has had so little contact with, and somehow makes a new home in the part of the town where she grew up. It's all very different, no income, charity shop clothes, awn brokers, but she comes through. She nurtures the boys through a change of school, through a change of home in a very loving way, despite the horrors that she is going through herself.
Gradually she sees that there is a light at the end of the terrible tunnel of self doubt. Desperately trying not to wonder if Finn had run the car off the road on purpose, she begins to develop a new self, one that is not controlled but free. Her new job empowers her. Her relationship with her sister improves.
It is such a well written book, and one does feel that this is maybe a situation that the author has been through herself.

When we first meet Nina it is quite obvious that while her life looks perfect, she is definitely not comfortable with it. 

She tries to make herself invisible. Her husband takes care of everything on the financial front and she spends her days shuttling her boys around and making sure her house is immaculate.

When her husband is killed in a car crash her world is wrenched apart and as the song says, You find out who your friends are! And in this posh little section of Bath, she could just have well died herself. There is no help from friends, there is no one coming to save her. She must start over and discover who she is without her husband.

Amanda's books are relatable. The struggles and the strength of her characters are real and very empowering.

There was heartbreak, anger, and loss but there was also hope, love and faith.

Netgalley//Lake Union

Much depth and beautifully written. Not too many surprises, might have liked to have seen more evidence of independent women but situation and subject matter I guess makes that difficult. Overall a good solid read. Great cover in keeping with AP brand.

The second I saw this book was available for download I knew I had to have it, so pressed the buttons without even reading the blurb. About a month later I was finally ready to read it, had cleared my schedule to allow time to be drawn into hopefully one of Amanda Prowse's immersive stories and started it.

Within a chapter I thought I'd just look at the blurb just to see what sort of book I had let myself in for this time, what huge topic was going to be tackled as is often the case by the author and I will freely admit my first impression of the blurb and the initial part of the story was that I have read many books on this sort of them.

So then I was wondering, ok I have faith in the author and I am interested in whats happening so lets see how it proceeds. Well yes to be honest I've read the husband dies leaving a huge financial mess behind story before and how the rich family pick themselves up from it...

...but before long I realised exactly why I was reading this one, and its due to the depth of emotions that the author is able to display, the real nitty gritty of the situation, the horrifying realism and thoughts that any finding themselves in Nina McCarricks' position would be feeling. all has such a ring of truth about them.

Yet within this there were also the small moments that make a person smile, a throwaway comment from Declan who is ten, and a thoughtful gesture from Connor who is 15, that give a bit of light relief, and offer a momentary release from the tension of their lives.

For Nina and her family have to learn how to adjust and for Nina this is hard as she didn't really do much in her old life, and now suddenly has to be everything to her children and try to earn money too. Her job search is something many people will be familiar with. It strikes me just what an isolated life Nina had and it was interesting to see how she would deal with many unfamiliar circumstances.

I read The Art of Hiding in about 4 straight hours with only brief breaks from it. At times I found tears were near the surface especially in the early part of the book, which for me shows how emotionally involved I was with this family from a relatively early stage. This book took me on a journey that I am entirely glad I took, it really does highlight the differences in lifestyle between the rich and poorer, as well as how in extreme circumstances you can deal with situations so far out of your own comfort zone.

Although not my favourite book by this author, it is still a very accomplished story that was gripping to read and easily up to her normal standards.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I would like to thank Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Art of Hiding’ by Amanda Prowse in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Nina lives a comfortable life in Bath with husband Finn and sons Connor and Declan but when Finn dies in a car accident she discovers that Finn’s construction company has financial problems, their home is repossessed and the bailiffs take all their possessions. Nina is forced to rent a flat in a run-down part of Southampton where she grew up with sister Tiggy and make a new life for herself and her sons.
Amanda Prowse has been a favourite author of mine for years and each time she brings out a new novel I hope it will be as good as the others. ‘The Art of Hiding’ does not disappoint as it contains love, despair and hope in equal measure. I felt deeply for Nina, praying that her boys would accept their situation and make new and stronger lives. As I continued reading I disliked Finn for putting his family in the position of having nothing but the clothes they stood up in but, as Connor described it, his dad was ‘skilled in the art of hiding’, thinking it was up to the man to deal with finances and the woman to cook and care for her family.
Thank you, Amanda Prowse, for giving all your readers another remarkable and tremendously enjoyable novel. I can’t wait for the next one.

A wrenching story of loss and rebuilding life. Of searching through the dross to see what foundations were there - and weren’t there. It wasn’t a pleasant read, and at times I skimmed through it, because it felt such a downer. I’m glad I finished it though, and was glad for the real-life growth of the protagonist.

This book was so beautifully written that it broke my heart. Very, VERY few books actually make me cry and not just feel sad and this book made me feel like I was watching a heartfeld movie.

It felt so real, so alive that it was almost unbelievable. Completely recommend. Thank you to netgalley and the publishing team for letting me read this for an honest review. It did not disappoint.

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. It was an absolutely great book. Very well written, great storyline and characters. Make sure to have a tissue at the ready, it was heartbreaking at times. Definitely worth 5 stars and more. It was hard to put this book down. Amanda prowse has outdone herself yet again.

Oh WOW I can see why author Amanda Prowse has a legion of fans, what a gifted story teller she is. I was expecting a compelling read, but no way was I expecting such an emotive and powerful one, the author certainly knows how to write a story that will pull on the most hardened heartstrings. It's going to sound cliched but I really didn't want to put this book down as I was so caught up In Nina’s story.

Nina appears to have it all, the dream home, holidays in exotic places, her children go to private school and the most difficult decision she has to make is what to have for tea. Life often deals a cruel hand and when her husband Finn is killed in a car crash, Nina is left with a mountain of debt and life changes for her in the most dramatic way. The Art Of Hiding follows Nina on her journey of self discovery and what a powerful and very “human” story it is.

Beautifully written with characters that are so incredibly real, dealing with “real” life situations The Art Of Hiding made for a compelling read. I must applaud Amanda Prowse on her ability to create such wonderful and believable characters, Nina for instance is a character with immense depth and strength and I found myself drawn to her, as she struggles to make a new life for herself and her two son’s I felt so many emotions that truly added to my enjoyment of this novel.


Amanda Prowse tells a remarkable tale but also a thought provoking one with a valuable lesson, society today is very much focussed on possessions, who has the biggest television? the newest phone? The Art Of Hiding very much shows there are far more important things to value in life, family, friends a roof over our heads, everyone would be a lot happier being content with what they've got instead of striving to have the very best. This is a story of grief, relationships and redemption and so much more. I would certainly recommend this book and I'm so glad I've found a new author’s books to read, and I'm thrilled to see I have a big back catalogue of books to read by Amanda Prowse, some of which I ordered as soon as I finished The Art Of Hiding.

My review will be edited and edited prior to publication on my blog

I've read a lot of books by this order but this is not one of my favourites. A family are left destitute but the children still have phones and an ipad which I think is unrealistic. I felt the book was a little bit twee and it was obvious that everything was going to turn out alright in the end.. the book is seen from the perspective of a very wealthy woman who loses everything so perhaps I can't relate to that? She did come from a very poor background which you would have thought would help. The older boy is a typical teenager and I would have thought the younger was about 5 to begin with but he is actually 11.. There isn't much detail about the transition from a top fee paying school to a local comp in a very rundown area - I would have thought they would have been eaten alive. That said I suppose it is still worth reading if you like this author.

Accidentally selected this book by clicking on a 'You're pre-approved for The Art of Hiding from bestselling author Amanda Prowse' e-mail. Never intended on selecting this.

I'm genuinely not sure what was worse - the lack of character depth, or my complete and utter disinterest for the main character and her "plight"

Everything starts off fine for Nina, the nearly perfect housewife, never having to care about a bill, spending what she likes. When she gets that call from the hospital that her husband has been involved in an accident her world is turned upside down.
My first thought was how could Nina have been living in a bubble for so long? How can anyone not know or have some understanding of the family finances? I couldn't not know what goes on in our house.
After Nina and her boys are forced to move miles away in a grotty flat on an estate, she really does come into her own. We find out the true Nina and who she is, what she's made of.
A fantastically written novel by Amanda Prowse, highly recommended if you are looking for a book on love, loss and courage.

This book is a sob fest and should be read with a box of tissues next to you . The characters are amazing and The author wrings every last emotion out if you

Another fantastic read of Amanda's, she takes subject that affect women every day and deals with them in a heartwarming loving way, making them an uplifting read, this one was no exception and I'm not ashamed to say I shed a few tears

Amanda Prowse is a brilliant story teller, she writes from the heart as if the events in the book are happening to her and this book is no exception. Its a riches to rags story about the strength of a newly widowed mother who will do all she can to support her children even when her life is falling apart with grief and anger. I loved this book and can highly recommend it.

Another good story from Amanda Prowse. In this one Nina is left bankrupt after the death of her husband. She and her 2 sons are forced to leave behind their luxury lifestyle and private school, and return to the run down area of Southampton, where Nina grew up. It is both heart breaking and uplifting, with some great characters. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.

Nina is living a wonderful life, rich husband and two great boys. Until her husband dies and she is left with nothing! How could that have happened!?
Captivating, heartfelt and filled with emotion that leaves you thinking. Keep the tissues near by.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.