Member Reviews
Yet another fantastic read by the lovely and talented Amanda Prowse. As always Amanda writes movingly and her prose is beautiful and heartfelt,
With characters you care about from the outset, ‘The Girl in the Corner’ is both heart rending and hopeful. Whenever I read a book by this skilful writer, as many times as she breaks my heart, she also somehow manages to pick up the pieces and put them back together again.
A heartachingly beautiful read that I highly recommend. 5 stars.
Very readable, delightful characters, wonderfully real. Full of family drama with both laughter and tears that just makes you keep on reading right to the end, which is anything but predictable. A tonic in these troubled times and a lovely escape from the real world.
Thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable love story with wonderful characters that really came to life. Very unexpected ending. Read the book in one sitting.
This was an ok read, yet thought provoking too, but I was left feeling like nothing much really happened. The story is primarily about a woman finally putting herself first and finding the strength and courage to take control of her life. Even the ending seemed rather rushed when something actually began to happen. In truth, I was a little disappointed.
What a family, what characters, not sure how i feel about the book. I enjoyed reading it but made me feel a bit sad as the characters are so true to life and not really a happy, feel good book and the end was inevitable and good for her at last!
Rae-valentine has always lived according to everyones rules. She was overshadowed by her sister Debbie Jo, who was an entertainer and dancer, all their lives. She left home for school and met her best friend Dolly who also was a vivacious character and Rae was happy to go along in her slip stream. She married Dollys brother Howard and Dolly married his best friend Vince so life was all tied up in a neat bow. Rae had no decisions to make. Married life went on with children and a successful family business and Rae becomes all things to all people.
On the night of their 25th wedding anniversary Howard makes a confession which blows everything apart and makes Rae question everything. Where is her place in the world? Has she ever followed her dreams? Why is she always the girl in the corner? She heads away on their anniversary holiday and brings Dolly to help her sort it all out but does Dolly really help?
I loved this book. It asks all the questions that we all have. Do we just drift along in life? Do we lose ourselves in everything else? Do some people shine while others just look on? How does Rae resolve it all?
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for granting me in and ARC in exchange for an honest review.
If you enjoy character driven books, you would really like this. Rae-Valentine discovers her husband has cheated on her and this basically tells the story of how she deals with this information and what she discovers about how she feels about herself and her life up to this point. I think ahyone could find themselves in this position, so this was a totally relatable book.
Another terrific read from Amanda. There are so many ‘Girls in the Corner’. Life is good. Life is calm. Everyone is happy then in one evening everything changes & the ‘Girl in the Corner’ has to dig deep & find new depths within herself she never knew existed.
This is another read which many people will be able to identify with. Truly an emotional rollercoaster
This is a true and honest review in exchange for an advanced copy from NetGalley
An emotional read about a woman who thinks she has the perfect life, more than she deserves, but is betrayed and has to rethink everything. The characters are written well and are full of colour and life. Our heroine starts out quiet and grey, but in the end realises what she thought was everything, was not who she could really be.
I've read all of Amanda Prowse's books and this was my least favourite.
I did enjoy it enough to continue and I found the characters relate-able and engaging but I wasn't staying up late to finish this book- not sure what it was really but I found it slightly boring and not a page turner as some of her others.
Pull out all the tissues for this one girls. I was glued to this book and read it almost in one sitting mostly because it really was striking a nerve with me. I have never wanted to reach out and shake some sense into a somebody in a book more than I have with the main character, Rae. This is a story that could happen to anyone which is why it had such an impact on me. Amanda Prowse is a wiz at creating real life situations and filling them with so much emotion and drama. Pick this one up if you're up for a good cry!
An easy to read, but touching, book. I thought this had good characters and written from an interesting perspective (from a fellow girl in the corner!)
This is my first book by Amanda Prowse and I was very interested to read it. I was not disappointed! It is a very easy and fun read.
Another fabulous book by Ms Prowse Perfectly developed characters playing out a bittersweet tale of a shy young girl through to her middle age and how she finally found her voice. Could not fault this book in any way.
I love Amanda Prowse and her gift of writing that draws you into the story and brings the characters to life . This is s book of love , heartbreak and self discovery .. my thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my opportunity to read
An interesting read about the quiet ones who so want to be someone else,while overlooking their own good qualities and dampening down their own dreams.
Another book that pulls your heart strings. I am sure many of us have felt like girl in the corner. This books shows that we dont have to be and sometimes it's not a bad thing. Life can change us sometimes for the better and when it does we find a strength we didnt know possible. A really heartbreakimg but heartwarming book. I loved it
An easy read about a rich woman who finds her 25 year marriage wasn’t as solid as she believed. Again the protagonist has ample money to take an expensive trips with her long-time friend who happens to be sister to her cheating husband. Mainly froth with some interesting observations such as the sister defending her brother and making Rae-Valentine question where her loyalties lay.
Another cracker from Amanda Prowse. I thoroughly enjoy her writing about ordinary people with ordinary lives where I feel I know them. This book didn’t disappoint- all the characters were well observed and real.
I was excited to read this latest novel by Amanda Prowse having been lured by the attractive cover design and the very relatable premise of a woman who feels the need to re-evaluate her whole life, following her husband's guilty admission of his betrayal.
In the opening chapter, we are introduced to sixteen-year-old Rae-Valentine Pritchard, who is quiet and shy, when she meets the very confident, loud and gregarious Dolly Latimer, at College. The two girls quickly become best friends and are inseparable teenagers, laughing and joking their way through life. Dolly arranges a double date for the two of them, her brother Howard and his friend, Vinnie. Rae and Howard, so in love, get married two years later.
From her modest life in the suburbs to a splendid Georgian house in North London, Rae is now a devoted wife and mother to daughter Hannah and her son, George. Following a surprise party in celebration of their silver wedding anniversary, Howard confesses to a shocking betrayal of their marital vows that totally shatters Rae. She is forced to take stock of her position as wife and mother and also her role as a general dogsbody to the Latimer family restaurant business. Will her relationship with her best friend Dolly be affected?
Rae starts to think about all her teenage dreams that she once had - training as a chef and island-hopping in Greece. Can Rae give up on her shattered marriage, live life for herself, and be the real Rae-Valentine?
The planned anniversary celebration trip to Antigua still goes ahead, however, Dolly travels with Rae, instead of Howard. Dolly's divided loyalties and a handsome and friendly, young barman are just the starts of matters becoming even more complicated. In Antigua, Rae contemplates the possibility of continuing with her marriage and what this might mean for her friendship with the enthusiastic Dolly. A reconciliation with Howard may be much more difficult than everyone thinks.
This is a wonderful story for anyone who has always felt that they were 'the girl in the corner' at every social occasion or even for just being the quiet and reserved middle child in their own family, with which I can personally identify. Amanda Prowse has a lovely writing style that captures Rae’s tormented soul beautifully. I also liked the way other issues were explored, in particular, Rae’s parents and sister, Debbie-Jo, who felt like the humble relations compared to the wealthy and successful Latimers. Howard’s betrayal is the catalyst for
all of the years of unspoken emotions, forcing Rae to face her feelings of being second best in the Pritchard family.
The Girl in the Corner is a hugely compelling, mature and thought-provoking piece of women’s fiction. Well paced from the very beginning and quick to get into the heart of the story, the novel has great depth and plenty of humour, however, I thought the ending was slightly rushed.
Overall, The Girl In The Corner is a well written, emotive book about love, loss, friendship, family and following your dreams that I highly recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an advance copy of this book.