Amanda Prowse is one of my favourite writers. I always enjoy her books and this one certainly didn't disappoint.

Book Review: The Art of Hiding by Amanda Prowse
Review by Dawn Thomas

290 Pages
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Release Date: July 18, 2017

Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Literature, Family Dynamics, British

Nina is a wife and mother. While watching her oldest son’s rugby game, she receives a telephone call that her husband, Finn, was in a serious car accident. With one telephone call Nina’s whole life changes. One day, they are a happy wealthy family, the next it is all gone. Finn’s business is bankrupt and she now owes 8 million pounds.

Nina has no idea what to do but before she can dwell on the situation, bill collectors arrive and begin boxing up anything of value in the house along with the car. She starts calling friends but word is out that she has no money. No one wants anything to do with them. Nina and the boys have nowhere to go. No one is willing to help so as a last resort, Nina calls her sister, Tiggy. Luckily, a flat is available in her hometown of Portswood.

With the little bit of money she has, Nina rents a van to drive them and their few meager belongings to Portswood. When they arrive, they realize just how far they really have come. Nothing will ever be the same again. Nina learns the truth about her friends and family but more importantly, she learns about herself. This is a story of survival and the real meaning of relationships. It shows how fragile life can be. The story is written in third person present tense. It is well written and characters are developed.

This shows you that you really don't know another person at all. But you can adapt when you need to .

want to start off by saying that I started this book some time last year, and had to stop because I became so disinterested in the storyline. However, since I’m trying to get through all of my NetGalley requests, I decided to pick it back up since I did get over halfway through and figured I could probably finish it fairly quickly.

That being said, there were aspects of the book I enjoyed, and some I didn’t. I found the whole concept very compelling. It’s got to be so earth-shattering when the life you’ve lived has come to a complete stop. Not only did Nina lose her husband, but she lost her livelihood and everything that she once thought to be necessary. Throw in a teenage boy and a younger one, then you got so many layers of stress that must be so hard to deal with.

The love found between Nina and her boys was absolutely charming and I loved the arc they all seem to make by the end. Most of it seemed realistic and very fitting to the storyline.

So what was wrong with the book? There were a number of slow chapters around the middle of the book to start with. Due to this being more character-driven than plot-driven, it makes sense that there will be some lull periods, however, as a reader who likes a balance of both character- and plot-driven storylines, it was extremely hard to continue caring about what was happening. This may sound a bit insensitive since life isn’t always exciting and sometimes can be sad, but there was just something about this big lull in the plot that was off-putting for me.

Another part that could have contributed to my not fully enjoying the story was the interaction Nina had with other people. Not only did I get rather tired of an exhausting yelling back and forth scene that happened toward the end, I also found her interactions with mostly everyone a bit unnatural. This, of course, could be because she has not had proper interactions with other adults too often when she was married. However, it was hard not to be bothered on how fake their conversations felt.

Overall, this was an “okay” read for me. It certainly wasn’t the worst book I’ve read, but it wasn’t the best either. I would probably recommend The Art of Hiding to those who enjoy character-driven novels about a family whose life got turned upside down.

Takes hiding to a new level, good exciting read without being too heavy

We all wear masks, but sometimes we don't realize how think they are. When Nina's husband dies suddenly, her world is shattered. In a matter of days, her life is turned upside down. She is forced to rediscover herself and rip away her mask in order to build a new life for her family.

This book is the epitome of “money does not buy happiness”.
For Nina McCarrick’s it takes losing her husband and the posh life he provided, for her to realize how true that is.

Nina, loves her life, she loves her husband, her two children Connor(15) and Declan (10), she loves her very expensive massive house
and all the things endless money buys to complete this ideal picture.
One dreadful phone call and her world collapse. Her husband is gone and with him all the money. Unbeknown to Nina they are
in big financial troubles and she needs to leave it all behind and try to survive with her two children.

The book is uplifting, extremely well written and easy to read. The characters are relatable and well developped.
This book will provide an instant appeal to any soccer mom, housewife that spend her days taking care of her husband and children.
One cannot but wonder “what would I do if I were to get That phone call?” “am I hiding in my own life ?"


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

This is the first book I have read by Amanda Prowse, and I must say, I could not put it down. The suspense and intrigue kept me captivated throughout the book. I was on the edge of my seat. When Nina's life got turned upside down, I felt like I was right there with Nina every step of the way. I am definitely looking forward to reading more books by this author.

As my ex-husband used to say, it takes two to tango. The Art of Hiding is yet another version of one-sided, one-dimensional story. It all about 'boo hoo' poor woman who has been 'lied to' for a very long time.

I am sorry, but where was her own brain. If not for her own sake, then for the sake of her children, she should have been more alive, more involved... However, Nina was very happy hiding. She hid from everything: people, troubles, every day life. She was very happy being swallowed by her routine of housework, pick ups, flower arrangements and baking... And reckoning was cruel.

Yes, this story does have a happy ending. Nothing lasts forever, even bad things. However, I found this book extremely naive, if not stupid. The main character's negligence and ignorance drove me crazy. Living in 'neverland' is all nice and good but honestly, not in 21st century...

The writing is nice enough, but the story is not my cup of prosecco.

This was an emotional book, yes, one that was well written and real in it's prose.

This is the only book I've read by Prowse so I had no idea what to expect and was taken in by the story she wrote about Nina and her kids, who have to face the challenging changes to their lives upon her husbands death and learning that not everything was as it seemed.

Maybe it's me, it probably is, but I just can't wrap my head along the fact that Nina just allows herself to be headed along into a shiny bright new life free of choices upon marrying. I don't understand how anyone allows for someone else to make all the decisions and this was an issue I had as I kept reading this story. For me the fact that she allowed her husband complete control of any big decisions that involved both of them, became a sour note and I didn't connect with her.

What I did connect with was the story of losing someone you loved and having to find the strength to live and not be weighed down with the emotions everytime the memory of that person comes to the surface. I connected with her relationship with her sister as through this terrible time, find each other again after being apart, again due to Nina relinquishing control of her own life.

Truly a great and emotional book that made me rethink about some things in life.

Review: This is lovely book. Our man character has to face relaity when she loses her husband. It is family drama at its best and very character drivein. I enjoyed it.

This story was OK, but I feel it is one I have read before - at least the concept wasn't new. The characters were OK, and the story was too, but it isn't a book I particularly enjoyed.

A lovely, heartfelt book on coping with family loss, parenting teenagers and starting again. When push comes to shove money and the things that money buys don’t matter much ;( a little yes)!). What does matter is family, people who can properly help you and your own strength to pick yourself up and start again. Well worth the read.

My thanks to the Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review. I gave this a 4 star or 8/10.

This story relates the life of Nina and her two sons following the death of her husband, their father who was killed in a car accident. As Nina's life unfurls in front of her eyes, she begins to realise that she had been living her life as a lie. Nina needs to become the strong one in the family know, the person to hold the family, what's left of it as a unit.

I do not want to say too much about the book as I don't want to spoil it for others. As I was reading the book I was ambivalent about it, it was similar in lots of ways to others that I've read in the past not in content as such, but it wasn't completely gripping me. However, as I neared the end events began to happen that piqued my interest and I found that I didn't want to put it down as it had drawn me in.

I would recommend reading this story with tissues to hand as you might need them. I found myself sat on a local supermarket car park crying as I read to the end of the story. I then felt the need later that night to tweet @MrsAmandaProwse to let her know that I hated her for making me cry!!

Overall this was a bittersweet tale, that will make you wonder what you'd do if you found yourself in Nina's shoes. Don't get me wrong at times I felt like slapping her for the way she'd acted while her husband was still alive. If you like thought provoking contemporary reads then this is the book for you.

Feel free to tweet Amanda Prowse if you hate her too for making you cry. :-)

A harrowing story of a family whose life is changed in an instant. Loved the writing style and was hooked from the beginning. Will definitely read more by Amanda Prowse.

This is not the type of book I usually read, but the story pulled me in straight away.
Nina has the perfect life, a beautiful home, 2 children in a prestigious private school and a husband who provides everything. When her husband Finn dies in a car accident Nina discovers her life is not all that it seems. The story that follows is one of despair that leads to hope, it really pulls you in and makes you consider what you would do if you were ever in this situation.

This book was a bit slow for me & too “putdown-able”, I’m afraid. Not a total miss but was hoping for a hit. Will check out more by this author and keep my eyes peeled for future. Thanks for this ARC!

The Art of Hiding is an emotionally gripping family drama about a mother dealing with the shock of her husband's sudden death (car accident) and trying to help her sons through the grieving process while also dealing with the subsequent loss of their home and affluent lifestyle. I truly enjoy novels about mothers and what they must overcome in different sets of circumstances, so this one was right up my alley. I received an advance reader copy from Net Galley and read it quickly, but somehow failed to review it until now (Feb. 2018). I found the story of this particular mother, who had concentrated on her bringing up her sons while her husband handled the business side of things, to be very inspiring. Her husband's death leaves her with many questions, yet she must move on and find a way to support herself and her sons. The writing was engaging and the story was quite believable. At times, I would have liked to know more about the main character's life before her husband's death - why she didn't keep more of her own identity and who her friends were - but overall, I really liked this story and would recommend it to others.

This starts out with one of the worst things imagineable happening but what follows shows determination, strength and courage and a family pulling together and realising what’s important in life. A lesson for us all. It certainly made me think. Well worth a read.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review, which has not altered my opinion of the book at all.

I attempted to read this book, but have since come to the conclusion that this is not the book for me. I didn't enjoy the first few chapters of this book and honestly I don't think I could get through it. For someone who is much more interested in adult fiction and romance, it might be more up their ally, but for me it just didn't work.