It took a little while for me to warm up to this book but then I couldn't put it down. The heroine, Thomasina, is called by the derogatory nickname of Hitch because of her disabilities. She lives on a farm in England which is also a bed and breakfast, and spends her days doing chores, preparing the place for guests, and tending to her beloved chickens who are her only real friends. She dreams of faraway places but has no hopes of realizing her dreams.

When Grayson Potts books a room at her family inn, her life changes in a way she never could have imagined possible. Grayson has also lived a life on the outside because he is different than most people.

As their relationship grows they must overcome family issues and many other obstacles and learn to trust each other in a world that has always ,marginalized them for being different. Nothing goes smoothly for them as they reach for the courage to live their dreams.

This book gives a fascinating view of the daily lives of people struggling to keep their farm going, as well as a very unusual relationship between two people you normally wouldn't see as the main characters in a story. I enjoyed it tremendously.

Tomasina, nicknamed Hitch due to the botched repair of her cleft palette, was born with multiple issues. She knows she is not like others. She is relentlessly teased and bullied through school. Her brother, Jonathan, graduates from college and decides to leave England to live in America and work with horses. Her cousin, Emery, has come to live with them and work on the farm. He is also very verbally abusive to Hitch. The farmhouse is also used as a bed and breakfast and one day Grayson shows up to stay a couple of days while attending seminar. He is fascinated by the quiet and the farm life and never makes it to his seminar as he spends the time with Hitch showing him how a working farm operates. What will happen when he has to go back to his life in London? The story deals with abuse and addictions so that may be an issue for some readers. I found the story pulling me in and I wanted to read right to the end to see how Hitch might become more able to stand up for herself and overcome the verbal abuse that ruled her thoughts.

Amanda Prowse does it again.

Hitch was born different, with a cleft pallet and club foot she has always known she was different and never felt beautiful. Living on her family farm with her Mum and Dad sheltered and loved by her parents, but as she grows up Hitch wants to spread her wings and move in from the protective wings her parents have wrapped her in, unsure how to do this she continues with life on the farm. One day the game n has a new guest staying at the B&B Mr Grayson Potts, a straight talking never lying banker from London, Hitch and Grayson have an instant connection and fall in love.

This book had me crying tears of joy and sadness in equal measure, wrote beautifully and compassionately a gem of a book and another great by Amanda Prowse.

3.5 stars.

Hitch, (her real name is Thomasina ) lives on a farm in the UK with her parents who shelter and protect her from the outside world because of her disabilities. But Hitch doesn't want to be protected. She wants to experience the world and fall in love. When a boy named Grayson comes to stay at the family's B&B, something beautiful and amazing happens. These two lost souls come together. This is such a sweet, heartwarming, sad, but uplifting novel. It reminds us to look past the surface to find the beauty hidden within all of us.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Lake Union for the opportunity to read this lovely book. All opinions are my own.

I've read a number of books by Amanda Prowse and they are always thoughtful, engaging and moving. The Things I Know was no exception. The story was engaging from the start and the characters felt real, as did the dialogue. I liked the element of mystery interwoven into the story and the romance felt natural. Recommended!

The book pulls you in with emotive language making you really feel the protagonist's feelings . The book starts in an unusual way using "hitchs" diary extracts to enable you to get to know her, the way this continues through the book is fab.
I love how the author threads hope through the book, the setting of Hitchs life is beautiful and how it ends is everyone's dream...it is described so vividly that I almost felt THERE.
I think readers will love the book as it is so relatable and uplifting. I could not put it down... A very well written book.

I absolutely love Amanda Prowse! This did not disappoint - a beautifully written, heart warming story which as always, is so real and touches you very deeply. I would absolutely recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful story that touched my heart, I cried and laughed throughout. I have read all of this authors books as I love her style of writing and she writes stories that a real life. Another amazingly beautiful story.

In Amanda Prowse's The Things I Know, Hitch is an awkward girl who wants more in life than solely working her family's farm. When her brother, Jonathan, leaves for America and Grayson comes to give a training in the area, Hitch comes to learn that there is more to life than tending chickens, and she wants a piece of it. She also learns to value herself in the process.

Although Prowse's story is sweet and the characters are credible, I found it to be simple and the plot to be a bit slow. The characters were developed in a thoughtful manner, and I found them likable, but the plot line remained flat over the course of the story.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book.

This is the first book that I have read by Amanda Prowse and I am happy to be able to say that I really enjoyed the book and will be reading more by her.

I used to live on a farm so I can relate to having animals and chores every day and dreaming of being in other places. We used to have chickens and named each and everyone of the animals so I had to smile when I read that Thomasina (Hitch) did the same thing.

This was a really touching story that shows that you may be a little different but you want and enjoy the same things as everyone else. We all have our quirks but we are all alike in so many ways.

Thomasina ‘Hitch’ Waycott loves living and working on the remote family farm and B&B. But she also wants more. To see the world. To own her own home. To fall madly in love.
But those are fairy tales, and if her life is a fairy tale, then she’s the ugly duckling. Her deformed lip, her crooked limbs and her weak heart have kept her from taking chances. But that’s about to change.
When Grayson Potts comes to stay, he’s unlike anyone Thomasina has ever met. He’s aloof, eccentric and exceptionally kind. He’s also totally unconcerned with the physical flaws that have always defined Thomasina.
The two form a bond that neither has had before. It’s possible that it could become something more, but Thomasina also wonders if it’s too good to be true. By putting her heart on the line, Thomasina may open herself to heartbreak. But she may also open herself to so much more.



Hitch – Thomasina – has lived on a somewhat rural family farm for her entire life, taking care of the animals and the family B&B. When her younger brother Jonathan leaves for a job in America, Hitch feels her dreams to explore life outside of the farm disappear. At first it seemed like perhaps she had some intellectual issues, but as the book went on it seemed her disabilities were mainly physical but the way her parents and others treated her also led her to have ways about her that were outside the norm. The characters in the book that showed how Hitch was negatively treated most of her life were important because they represent society at large, and for the most are able to act badly with impunity because they are “normal”.

Mr. Grayson-Potts comes to stay at the B&B, and when he and Thomasina meet they develop a relationship. As he lives in London with his alcoholic mother who he promised to take care of, it’s a long road the couple have to go down if they have a chance to make their own happiness. Neither has had a true romantic partner before, mainly due to both of them being different than most people. Hitch’s deformed foot and poorly corrected harelip, and Gray’s social and emotional difficulties have kept them from reaching for the dreams in their hearts. Together they have a chance to realize those dreams, but perhaps it’s too late to break from what they’ve lived for so long.

The ending seemed a little predictable and wrapped up quickly in a neat bow. There is a lot of lovely description of the area in the book, and the author has a wonderful writing style.

This is the best book Amanda has written as this was something everyone could understand, you didn't have to live this to be able to relate. I just loved these two characters who were so well matched in every way so worked so well together. I felt that this story was told in such a way that it would teach some who read it how to be a nicer person. Thank you Amanda for sending me your book to review, it has now been passed on to my friends.

The Things I Know is beautiful story.
It tells the story of Thomasina and Grayson. The author has really added to her story by having Thomasina write in her journal at the end of each chapter. This was another lovely thing about this story.

Amanda Prowse has a real has an amazing talent when writing, and her characters make you really "feel" for them and you are drawn in.

Thomasina has some disabilities, and still lives with her family, but is wanting more. Then she met Grayson, who saw Thomasina in her heart and not in her disabilities.
This is a love story that will have you crying, smiling and all things in-between.
The characters and story could be a real life story. I very much enjoyed this story and look forward to more in the future from Amanda.

Delightful romance that takes you on an emotional journey that has you cheering and crying for the main character. Thomasina has felt for a long time that she doesn't fit in. At school she was never asked to join in or had any real friends. Borned with a birth defects made her a little different from the other children. They called her Hitch from a cleft lip surgery that went wrong. Now in her twenties she still living at home on her family farm. Her days seem simple full of chores and sameness day in and day out.. Her parents still she her as a child. Yet she knows what she wants. "I know I want a boyfriend " "I know I want my kitchen". All this changes when Grayson Potts is a guest at the family's bed and breakfast. Grayson is someone who understands her totally and understands what it like to be along. Fallow along as these two young people learn to stand on their own two feet and voice their wishes. Amanda Prowse thank you for writing a love story where two people with learning disabilities find love and find happiness. As a mother with two Asperger's sons it made my heart sing.

I liked the premise of this book. I'm a sucker for the supposed "ugly duckling" getting her happily ever after, especially with someone as perfect for her as Grayson is. I loved the realistic challenges and triumphs this book portrayed. All in all, a good read!

Hoo Boy...this is not necessarily the type of book that I thought I would connect with, but having read other books of Amanda's...I decided to give it a whirl. THIS WAS SO VERY GOOD. I loved the characters; the push and pull of living an everyday life and yet wishing for more spoke to me on so many levels. The flawed humanity, the love of animals, the uncertainty of what was to come; all of this and more pulled me in, and this was one of those books that provided a truly satisfying wrap-up.

Thomasina was born different. A cleft lip, a twisted hand and a foot that makes her limp. She does have a greatest parents and brother whom love her very much. It's the other people. They're the ones that call her unpleasant names and tease her. Bullying is always so hurtful.
She's twenty-four, still helping on her family's farm that has been there's for generations. She's lonely. She wants a boyfriend, a home of her own, independence.
Then Grayson arrives, he's staying in their guest room at their B&B. He is there to attend a meeting to do with the banking he works at.
Thomasina and Grayson form a connection. They seem to be able to fill the empty spaces that each has.
This is a story of love, forgiveness, determination and strength. Mostly it's a story of family. Wonderfully written, tender, lovely. A must read!

A love story with a difference, a main character that you root for.A heartwarming and emotional read. Once l got into this book l didn't want to put it down. Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to enjoy this book.Amanda Prowse is a great author.

Thomasina “Hitch” lives and works on her family farm. She was born with several birth defects that have led her to a lonely life. She has so many dreams but has not been able to fulfill them. Then Grayson Potts comes to stay at the farm. He is a little on the strange side, but is very interested in Thomasina. He listens to her and encourages her to open up more. Thomasina’s journey takes many twists and turns, but it is wonderful to see her conquer some of her fears and goals towards the life she wants. I fell in love with this heartwarming and courageous character!

This book is a gentle, perhaps predictable, love story of two gentle young people from disparate backgrounds who both have disabilities. Hers are physical, his are emotional. She is country girl who lives on the family farm, he is city born and bred. Her family is loving, if over-protective, his mother is bitter and controlling. Both feel they want more out of life, but don’t know how to change their circumstances.They meet when he arrives at the farm as a bed and breakfast guest who is to give a talk in the nearby town. They feel an instant attraction that quickly becomes a bond as they encourage each other to reach out for the lives they want, rather than the lives that they feel trapped into living. Both begin to gain self-confidence, but then circumstances intervene. Will they be able to succeed in living the lives they have only dreamed about, or will the complications destroy their new self-confidence?