I start off by saying that I have loved all of Amanda Prowse’s books so I get really excited when a new one is out. They put me through the wringer emotionally but her stories are so well written and researched that I know I am in for a good read.

I can only describe her latest the Coordinates of Loss as heartbreakingly beautiful. Full of raw emotion, this story carried me along a journey in such a way that I felt I was there living every exhausting moment. Dealing with the highly sensitive horrific subject of losing your child must be one of the most painful experiences imaginable yet Amanda has expressed this in eloquent words that explore overwhelming grief, kindness and love that is needed to heal the fractured lives of those left behind.

Rachel and James are living a wonderful life on the Island of Bermuda that is until their beloved 7 year old son Oscar disappears from their boat. They are then faced with extremely dark times that alter their lives forever. A form of peace comes from their housekeeper Cee-Cee who offers them comfort and understanding through her own life stories. Cee-Cee is my favourite character with her kind heart and wise words she shone through the pages of this book.

This story for me is about healing and allowing you time to grieve and learning to love life again. Beautifully written and highly emotive with tears shed it is a fabulous read.

Many thanks to Net Galley for the ARC digital copy, this is my own review.

When you loose your child or baby in death the pain is beyond acceptable. It stays with you like an open wound no matter how you get on with live.

But loosing Oscar in the way this happened was heartbreaking for me to read.
Funerals are closure, acceptance.....even if your emotions and heart doesn’t want to accept it, you know in the recess of your mind, they won’t be there any more. Only in our memories.

I felt for these parents, I ached to hold them, to give them comfort.
The horrendous event they’ve both gone through.

When they separated for a while I was annoyed. I fully understood and I 100% understand wanting to get your own space and grieve.
This could have easily happened to us.

But it takes all your willpower and the love of your husband and the love for each other to actually stay together.

When there is blame, no matter if unfounded and irrational it’s rational to the person going through it. It’s very easy to blame.

The love that these two had for each other although apart was so heart splitting for me to read, I had tears pouring down my face. I couldn’t see the writing.

I took a break to make a cuppa but I just had to carry on reading.

This is the beautiful craftsmanship of Amanda Prowse. When she puts pen to paper you just know that you can’t leave that book there. It eventually has to be read. It will keep calling you despite the fear of another good cry or a whooping jump in the air because all has worked out fine.
The beauty of this authors reads is that I never know if the ending is going to be Happy ever after, or, not what you were expecting but the ending is just as satisfying even if it did leave you in a blubbering mess.

So, so good.

Truly gripping story of loss and friendship. Loved the emotion that this book pulls out of you and the empathy it made me feel for Rachel and CeCe.

So much of this story deals with loss. Rachel and James lived a life of luxury in Bermuda, until one day they lost their son. Rachel spirals downward into a pit of depression while James becomes remote and detached. Their housekeeper, Ceecee copes as well as she can. Rachel goes back to England for an extended time as each tries to recover. In the end, the story is resolved satisfactorily.

One of my absolute favourite authors.
This book takes you on such an emotional journey.
I absolutely loved it

I have read a number of Amanda Prowse books and as with all the others, I simply could not put this book down. It was an extremely sad book at the start and I eagerly wanted to know what happened with Rachel and James. I highly recommend anyone to read books by Amanda Prowse, you will not be disappointed. This was another book that I wanted to keep reading until I had finished

I would like to thank both NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Coordinates or Loss’ by Amanda Prowse.

Amanda Prowse has done it again and written another fantastic book. I have read many books by Amanda Prowse and have never been disappointed and reading her lastest offering was no different.

It’s unimaginable what it is like to lose a child. The story is about grief and how Rachel and James cope with it or not.
It is written in such a way that it touches every emotion- it’s raw and heartfelt

Oh my goodness, absolutely brilliant, very sad but a great story that gets you involved with all the characters straight away and I have nothing negative to say about this book.

I have read nearly all of Amanda's books but this is way up on the top of my list, a fantastic page turner and I just love the way Amanda writes.

A brilliant but lovely ending to a fantastic book, well done Amanda and I look forward to your next masterpiece.

What happens when you lose a child, the story of what happens to a family when they lose their son, a story of how it effects the whole family.
As usual dealt with in a heartwarming heartbreaking way that only Amanda Prowse knows how to write, really enjoyed it as I knew I would

4* Time Heals Stars

This is by no means a good feel happy story. I found it a bit depressing and very sad. The story is told from Rachel’s POV and centres around the death of her and her husband James seven year old son Oscar, who mysteriously disappeared from their yacht in Bermuda. Their grief and heartache is paramount throughout the story as they both try to piece back together their lives. I struggled to like Rachel in the beginning as she was quite bitter and selfish in the way she abandoned James to grieve alone without any compassion to how he was feeling.

Cee-Cee their housekeeper was a breath of fresh air in the story and brought some comfort and calm to the life of Rachel by means of written letters providing love and hope.

The author’s writing is very heartfelt and the story was beautifully written.

I breathed a great sigh of relief when I read the epilogue. It was a much-needed end to a highly emotional read.

Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy for me to read and review.

This book will tear out your heart and leave you with sadness and grief that are overwhelming. With beautiful strokes Amanda Prowse takes you into the beautiful, happy family of Rachel and James and their 7-year-old son Oscar. They have a wonderful life on the island of Bermuda. Then they take the boat out for a three day trip. Having a great times on their first night out Rachel and James put Oscar to bed, have a few drinks and upon awakening find that Oscar is gone.

The grief that encompasses the couple is devastating and the entire book is the loss of their son and learning to live with the loss. Their housekeeper, Cee-Cee, who has lost a son of her own is a source of strength for them.

Though difficult to read this is a beautifully written, insightful, and very likely a true rendering of the all-encompassing grief a couple might feel upon the loss of a child. I admire the way Amanda Prowse was able to describe the process.

Thanks to Amanda Prowse and Amazon Publishing UK through Netgalley for an advance copy.

Amanda Prowse keeps them coming with another beautifully written novel, again about love, and mostly, loss.
This story starts off with a tragedy (be warned!) and continues along the path of heartbreak. Rachel suffers the unthinkable loss; one of her 7-year-old child, and she blames herself. Sadly, she blames her husband James more, and this is a struggle for them both.
They have the perfect life in Bermuda, a beautiful house, a boat, and a maid. However, none of this matters when they lose their child. Rachel goes to pieces and her relationship with James falls apart. She is understandably blinded by her grief. They are both completely at a loss as to how to deal with this new life they have; but moreover, they struggle with how to deal with each other through their grief.
Rachel moves home to the UK and seeks solace in her family and friends. She leaves behind James and their much-loved housekeeper and friend as she continues through the haze of her constant pain and loss. The story continues through letters written to Rachel by their friend and housekeeper CeeCee, which I found interesting and a nice side story. These letters ground Rachel a bit and keep her involved with her history and her old life. She and James stay in touch, even though it’s painful and at times heart wrenching when they are talking, and while Rachel reexamines her life. At some points I did wonder which way it was going to go for them. As she finds her way, will she stay in the UK surrounded by family and friends, old and new, or return to her lost love in a place she sees her lost son at every turn?
There are many tearful moments in this book and my heart ached for both Rachel and James, and Rachel’s parents. I kept thinking, we will get closure now and find out what happened... I’ll leave it to you to read and find out. I’m still sad for them after finishing the book but have a nice feeling that things can and will improve.
“Time heals, time heals....”
A huge thank you to Netgalley, Amazon UK Publishing and mostly to Amanda Prowse for the privilege of reading this ARC.

If you are looking for an uplifting holiday read, this isn't it! The book follows the grief of a woman who has lost her child in an accident. It's poignant and utterly heart-wrenching in places. The journey through the grieving process is long and hard and the only slightly positive part comes right at the end of the book. It's well written and thought provoking.

Amanda Prowse never fails to get me out of a book slump. Another absolute gem of a book and so beautifully written.

This book deals with the loss of a child and the massive effect on all those who knew him.

Seven year old Oscar goes missing from a boat but his body is never found. His parents, James and Rachel, had been living an idyllic life in what seemed like paradise. The loss of their son impacts on their relationship, in part because Rachel can’t accept that her son is dead. James, on the other hand, deals with his grief by trying to lead a normal life.

Oscar had been cared for by a Housemaid/Nanny, Cee Cee, who has dealt with a similar loss in the past. Through letters Cee Cee writes to Rachel, we learn how she coped.

This book, as with Amanda Prowse’s other books, is written with such empathy and depth of feeling that it brought tears to my eyes. I highly recommend it.

Having received this book from netgalley to review I was thrilled.I am a huge fan of Amanda's and this book didn't disappoint.It was a sad story line being mum to two kids and putting myself in the moms position but Amanda dealt with it brilliantly.Keep writing Amanda your books are getting better I will be putting a review on Amazon thanks.

The Coordinates of Loss was a far more emotionally charged book than I was expecting and it was quite sad in a lot of places. The issue of losing a child affected me more than I thought it would and I found myself thinking of it a lot during the short pauses when I wasn't reading the book. The way the story moved forward kept me engrossed and the way the main protagonist engaged with her former housekeeper/maid was very well done. Despite the differences in their cultures, their common bond was heartwarming. It is a great read although difficult in places due to the subject matter (however I'm soft hearted so probably affected me more than it would most people). The writing I thought was excellent and therefore a solid 5 Stars from what is now one of my favourite authors.

Amanda Prowse is my favourite author and as always she hasn’t disappointed me with this fantastic book.

What an emotional rollercoaster. Be warned you will need a box of tissues close at hand as this is such a sad story.

As with all of Amanda's books I was drawn in from the very start and couldn't put this down. So beautifully written with fantastic characterisation. I don't have children myself and couldn't imagine how it would feel for this to happen to me but with Amanda's skilful writing, I could so clearly identify with Rachel and the emotions she feels throughout the book. I really enjoyed the story of Cee Cee and found her story and letters so moving.

I would give this more than 5 stars if possible. An incredible story of loss, grief, love, family and hope which I found so moving and touching. A wonderful story which will stay with me, I can't recommend this book enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Croft lives a seemingly idyllic life on the island of Bermuda with husband James and their little boy Oscar, but life as they knew it is shattered in an instant when Oscar disappears from the family’s boat on a sailing weekend. Whether he has fallen overboard or decided to swim alone and got into difficulties, there’s no way of knowing - he is simply gone one morning, lost at sea.

Although we never do really find out what happened to Oscar, this isn’t remotely a mystery story or anything of that ilk - it’s about Rachel (and to a lesser extent James) and how they cope - or don’t - with the loss of their child. I did want to know what had happened to him... but the uncertainty makes it, if possible, even harder for Oscar’s family. Lacking any hard evidence that Oscar has indeed drowned - although that’s by far the likeliest scenario - Rachel concocts increasingly implausible theories about how he could have survived. It’s an unimaginably horrible situation for everybody concerned and the rawness of Rachel’s pain is devastatingly conveyed.

This makes for difficult reading. The loss of a child is never going to be an easy subject to read (or write) about and Rachel’s experiences after losing Oscar are painful, as she struggles to navigate her grief and find some kind of a way to go on living. Her only comfort comes from their Bermudian housekeeper Cee-Cee, who has suffered her own losses and is able to use her wisdom to help Rachel in some way, mainly through letters she writes her.

Amanda Prowse deserves great credit for unflinchingly portraying Rachel’s reactions and emotions, and the effects on others, in a very believable way, particularly compared to certain books (which shall remain nameless) in which protagonists in broadly similar situations - where a child has disappeared - behave in frankly incredible and implausible ways.

This is certainly not a light read - it’s harrowing at times, most of the time in fact, which is inevitable given the distressing subject matter. But it’s also compelling as we follow Rachel’s story from despair to hope. The telling of Cee-Cee’s story adds a further dimension too and there was a genuine flavour of life in Bermuda.

A very well written book which felt insightful and truthful.

Such a wonderfully written book on such a sad topic of child loss... you are brought through every emotion of each character. I felt like I knew each character personally and could feel each step of their journey alongside them. Yet again another wonderful book from Amanda Prowse.