I was really shocked that I didn't get into this at all and normally Amanda is one of my favourite authors.

A desperately sad story that really makes you think about the impact of loss on people and their journey through it. Although it was an enlightening read it was not particularly enjoyable given the subject.

This book really moved me. It was tough to read in some spots, especially since I have small children at home. But it also drew me in right away. The characters were well developed and you really get a sense of knowing them. Excellent writing style. Would definitely recommend!

Another outstanding book from Prowse.

When an incident occurs on a family boat in Bermuda, Rachel is left feeling broken and desolate.

The letters from her house keeper back home, Ce Ce begins the path to recovery.

Raw, beautiful and Prowse at her best.

Keep the tissues handy.

When I first read the summary of this book I wasn’t sure I wanted to read it. I had read two other books by Amanda Prowse previously and though I liked them (3 stars each), I didn’t love them. I was concerned that this would be an average book about difficult subject matter and that would make it hard to get through.

I should not have worried. Yes, it is a difficult subject and incredibly sad, but it is not a mediocre book. It was well-written and engaging. At first, I was annoyed by the MC, Rachel. Her sadness was overwhelming and I felt she wasn’t fair to her husband. However, considering what she had been through, I couldn’t blame her. I can’t even imagine her sorrow.

As the story progressed and you saw her struggle with her grief, I started to understand her better and really feel for her. I even became defensive of her when certain people said things that were insensitive or hurtful. I wanted to help her through her misery. I wanted her to find her way back.

Cee Cee’s story is equally compelling. Throughout the book there are letters that Cee Cee writes to Rachel that tell her story. She is writing these letters in an effort to help Rachel through her grief, as parts of her life parallel Rachel’s. I don’t typically enjoy stories written in letter format, but these letters were able to draw me in and I wanted to know more.

I really enjoyed Cee Cee as a character and feel that her sections in the story were needed to temper the sadness of the rest of the book. Her story isn’t a happy one, but it has a different feel to it. Cee Cee’s story felt like she was making herself feel better by telling it, sort of her way of finally releasing her sadness. Rachel’s parts felt much more like she was drowning in her sorrow and struggling to find a way back. I think without Cee Cee’s letters, much of this story would have been difficult to read.

I’m so glad I decided to read this book. It was just excellent. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Prowse’s future work.

This has got to be one of the most heart wrenching books that I have ever read. A story of the ultimate loss, that of a child. Rachel and James are out on their boat with their 7 year old son, Oscar, when they find him missing. What happened to him in the middle of the ocean? This is a story of profound grief. How do you recover and can your marriage survive such a loss? A loss like this either brings you together or it catapults you into despair. This story is incredibly well written. I felt their pain and anguish. My heart cried for these parents. The characters are so believable and true to life. You will feel so many emotions. I highly recommend this heartfelt read. Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon publishers UK. All opinions are my own. You will need a box of tissues for this one.

The Coordinates of Loss was a wonderful book. The characters that Amanda Prowse has created are so real and their heartache leaps up off the page and grabs you. The raw emotion had me in tears as I lived Rachel's despair and descent into numbness. You feel the wedge that is created as both Rachel and James try to cope in their own ways with the unthinkable loss of their young son Oscar. And we could only hope to have someone like the wise Cee-Cee in our lives to bring us comfort in our darkest times. I had trouble putting this book down. Although heartbreaking, I couldn't wait to read what was next for Rachel and James as they navigated this new life that they never asked for and did not know how to build. I would highly recommend this moving book. Thank you NetGalley for my advanced reader copy.

When Never Comes held me emotionally captive, savoring the way this beautiful story evolves, losing sleep, loving each page. When Never Comes - a perfect title, tells the heartbreak of Christy-Lynn's painful life as a child of an addict. She runs away from every terror, every hurt she ever experienced, every joy she never had. It begins with the panic of that dreaded 2:00 a.m. phone call. Her marriage to the famous author Stephen Ludlow was over, he was found dead in a car accident, a semi-naked blonde next to him. Christy-Lynn is numb, she barely escapes the media frenzy and runs away again, to try and find out what happened, not knowing how, just knowing she has been blindsided and needs to get out of town where she is not known. Alternating chapters rich in detail tell about her past childhood, and how the present day Christy-Lynn tries to figure out how to live. She is facing new challenges of who she is, stuffing down the hurt, the endless raw grief holding her hostage, hoping she can find love ... answers to put the past behind her and the closed doors. My heart just raced, holding my breath, I loved this book that brought back some of my own memories... like the cover of this book, a dreamy one.
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This is another hit for Prowse and easily met my expectations, given how moved I was by her previous work. The story is compelling and the characters feel real and engaging. A truly worthwhile read!

On a lovely, sunny day on their boat in Bermuda, Rachel and James awaken to find their 7-year-old son missing. As the search continues they try to wait and hope. This is a story about love, loss, and forgiveness. Amanda Prowse does a good job leading us through the stages of grief that the parents experience. The grayness of each day after their son’s disappearance is a stark contrast to the blue sky's and clear waters of Bermuda.

We never meet the missing boy, Oscar but learn about him through flashbacks of various events. The grief of the parents is described in raw clarity that borders on being uncomfortable for the reader. The sadness seems overwhelming. The second-guessings that all parents do in questioning whether they've done the right thing is very honest and accurate. The parents are guided in their grief by their housekeeper. She's lived through the loss of a child and helps them as no one else can.

There were a couple of times in the middle of the book that seemed to drag but otherwise, this is a very open and emotional look at two people facing horrible loss. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Some stories make you ache deeply inside with loss, and this is one of them. A story with timeless themes, written with an deft hand for emotion and sense of place, this story will stay with you long after it is over. Rachel Croft and husband James awake one morning on their boat to discover their son is simply vanished from his onboard bed while at sea. The reality of what has happened takes little time for the authorities to pronounce, but the acceptance of it is another thing entirely. Rachel cannot accept, cannot move on, cannot cope. James picks up the pieces to continue working, as financially it is imperative. Rachel seethes. How can he? . Can Rachel and James save their marriage? Only their housekeeper Cee-Cee can speak to Rachel's state of mind, as she too once lost a son. Can Cee-Cee help Rachel heal? Can a mother ever move beyond such a loss? Does time truly heal a broken heart? #TheCoordinatesOfLoss #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley Amazon Publishing UK and Amanda Prowse for this copy. My review is my honest opinion of this book.

This has been the most heart wrenching book I have ever read in my whole life. I’ve read books that took my breath away and made me shed lots of tears, but this one made me feel such heartbreak for each character. It’s a very sad story of the loss of a child and trying to move on. It’s written in such a way that you feel like you are right there with the characters. You feel all of the pain they feel. You better have a good stash of tissues handy when reading this one.

I had to put this book down quite a few times and do something else because of the subject matter. It made me cry and then I could not see the words. It actually made me weep tears from the gut. Big ugly tears of terrible pain. It is told with such realism and in ways that you won’t soon forget. Losing a child is the most painful feeling in the world. Nothing can erase that pain. No words can make it easier. You just have to hope that you can find peace in your life and learn how to move forward with life and be happy.

Rachel and James are the parents of Oscar. Oscar is the child who went missing in this story. Fell off of their boat and vanished. How do you recover from that kind of loss? If you can it will take many years. Then you are just moving past the pain and living life as best you can. They both blamed themselves and each other for Oscar’s death. It was so sad seeing them trying to move on alone. Without each other. Yet you understand why they need this. Though I kept thinking that they needed each other to lean on. To be there for each other. To heal together.

Cee Cee was my very favorite character. She was their housekeeper and loved Oscar like he was her own child. She went through so much pain in her life and losing Oscar was like the last thing she could take. She tried to help Rachel move forward. She was there for her through so much. Writing her stories for her and sharing her life, her pain, her heartache. She was there for James too. Rachel and James loved Cee Cee as if she was their family and she was. I really loved Cee Cee. She was such a kind person. She was so full of wisdom and love and empathy. She deserved a happy life and she had that with Rachel, James and Oscar.

I do highly recommend this book. Even after all the tears and heartbreak, I truly do. It was beautifully written. Loveable characters. Written with such meaning. I honestly don’t see how Ms Prowse wrote this book the way it is without shedding some tears herself. I’m sure she did though, tears that is. It’s really a beautiful book even through so many tears. So many times putting it down and collecting myself. Even my hubby said I needed to stop reading it because he hates to see me cry for any reason. But it was so worth every single tear. It’s hard to explain exactly how this book made me feel. I lost a baby and this sums up that feeling so well. The heartbreak and pain never leaves. You just learn how to live...

I gave this a 5 star. For the beautiful characters. For the story itself. It’s worth more though. It really is. I have not taken this long to read a book in so many years. It’s very good.

To be perfectly honest, this book is the saddest book I have read all year and yet there is something quite touching about it.

Rachel and James love their life in Bermuda. They have an adorable seven-year-old son (Oscar), a beautiful home, and the perfect life. The story opens with the family spending time out on their boat and enjoying some quality time together. That is until the morning they wake up to find Oscar missing, and life would never be the same.

Finding a way to push through the pain of losing a child is unimaginable to me. My heart went out to both Rachel and James, whose pain and disbelief shattered their perfect world. I found it interesting how different their paths were during this horrific time. Everyone heals differently and what works for one may not work for another.

I absolutely loved CeeCee! She is an amazing, wise, insightful woman. I loved her storyline and how Amanda Prowse weaved in her story along with Rachel and James’s story. I would love to say more about CeeCee, but I think this story should unfold naturally without knowing too much going into it, so I have chosen to be very vague.

My advice to you would be – grab yourself your favorite beverage, a large box of tissues, and settle in for a difficult yet touching read!

I thought this one would be hard to read because of the subject matter, and it was painful. At the same time, the story is absolutely beautiful. The past and present weave together, joy and grief, the best and worst of people.

When Rachel Croft wakes up on her family’s boat in Bermuda, it’s to sunshine and yet another perfect day…until she goes to wake her seven-year-old son, Oscar. Because the worst thing imaginable has happened. He isn’t there.

In the dark and desperate days that follow, Rachel struggles to navigate her grief. And while her husband, James, wants them to face the tragedy together, Rachel feels that the life they once shared is over. Convinced that their happy marriage is now a sham, and unable to remain in the place where she lost her son, she goes home to Bristol alone.

Only when she starts receiving letters from Cee-Cee, her housekeeper in Bermuda, does light begin to return to Rachel’s soul. She and James both want to learn to live again—but is it too late for them to find a way through together?

What a tragic and heartbreaking tale of loss, that in some places is almost too much to bare.
Rachel and her Husband are so believable and relatable that this novel runs true to life, and highlights the issue that many people have to deal with.
Sensitively handled but no less sad for it, I went through every emotion following this upsetting but hopeful plot.
The setting on the boat is isolating and brightens considerably when Rachel moves to England, despite the bleak weather.
The characters are prefect, so human and all at once likeable but annoying.
The plot is unbearable but compelling, very sad.
Amanda Prowse does it again with this book, highly recommended.

I found the content of this book to be heartbreaking. It was truly a sad story and every parent's nightmare. Once something like that happens, where do you go from there? This story is one example of where you go and how you heal. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

Amanda Prowse always delivers such incredibly emotional stories. She makes you feel with intensity and her writing is filled with passion. There were so many heart-wrenching moments in The Coordinates of Loss. You could feel the depth of pain from each character. My heart broke for both Rachel & James. There were moments of hurt and anger toward Rachel and some of her decisions. I was hopeful for an ending of peace, love, and togetherness. I enjoyed Cee-Cee and everything she brought to the story. Her friendship and love gave so much added love to their family and was instrumental in Rachel and James’ healing.

The audio is amazing. I love that the author narrates her own story. You can feel all of the emotion poured out into the story.

A heartfelt story about the hardships of loss and the process of grieving and healing.

This book’s title gives you a not so subtle hint about what the novel is about. James and Rachel Croft are living the dream life that most will never expect to have, with a big house, a servant and a yacht on the island of Bermuda. Both of them adore their precocious son Oscar, so both are devasted when Oscar disappears from the yacht during what was supposed to be an ideal getaway. Rachel, to me, handles her grief histrionically and will not be comforted. James seems stoic, continuing to go to work and to try to reason with Rachel that Oscar is indeed gone from their lives even though there is no body and no funeral. The housekeeper and nanny Cee-Cee was not only my favorite character, but she was also the one who offered the most practical advise to Rachel, having been through the loss of a child herself. This is not a book to read if you yourself are in the throes of despair caused by a recent loss. However, it does deal with grief in a manner which will make you think and consider the blessings you have in your life and how things can change quickly. I recommend this book to any reader who enjoys fiction that seems heartbreakingly realistic, although the circumstances of the family was a quite a bit above average for the regular person.

This is a story which will stay with you for awhile. Wonderfully written and beautifully descriptive of the heart-rending loss Rachel and James suffer when early one morning their beloved seven year old son Oscar mysteriously disappears off their boat. A long weekend outing off the coast of Bermuda turns into the most painful episode of their lives as they endure the horror and devastating loss which ultimately pushes them apart as they each try to come up for air and relearn how to live again without their son. Believable characters and dialogue. Written in such a way as to allow you to feel their tragedy, but from a slightly removed distance, which made it much easier to read and not sob along with them. My favorite character was their housekeeper/nanny Cee-Cee, who had suffered the loss of a child early in her life and who helps both Rachel and James with her lovely memories of Oscar and her hard-won insights into the lessons of loss. Magnificent. So glad I was able to read this.

Make sure you have Kleenex ready when you read this book!

I've read most of Amanda Prowse's books, and have enjoyed them all. This one is no exception. It's a heart breaking story that deals with loss, and how we can come out stronger after. It made me cry buckets, and I enjoyed every minute of it.