Nick's wife Kerry passes away in the very first chapter and the rest of the book walks us through the struggles both Nick and his son Olly endure after her passing. This book was unique that I felt like a fly on the wall watching Nick trying to find his place in life after Kerry dies. I read it in one afternoon so much that it kept my attention through out but let me also say that this is a sad story of two boys hurting. Thank you to Netgalley for our ARC.

Nice feel good book. It flowed very well. was easy to read. Nice characters. Good storyline. What’s not to love.

This is a delightful read, both joyful and gut-wrenchingly sad.
The title refers to Nick’s childhood home’s hall light which always throws out a big welcome to those coming up the path. But more than that, it is “a beacon, a sign of the life that lay behind the door, the promise of a warm welcome, a cup of tea, company, home.” For me, this description is a metaphor for Amanda Prowse’s writing. Reading one of her books is like slipping your feet into your comfy slippers and curling up in your favourite chair. She writes about everyday people facing life’s challenges, and has this incredible ability of writing totally familiar, real and believable characters. But while her writing is cosy, it is certainly never mundane. And she doesn’t romanticise life, but lays it on the line, warts and all.
The Light in the Hallway is about Nick, who has just lost his wife to cancer, and their son, Oliver. Oliver moves away to university while they are both still trying to get to grips with their loss. The story also takes us back to happier times: Nick’s boyhood in the early 1990s which he shared with his two best friends. I loved these glimpses into the past, which centre around one summer holiday during which Nick, Eric and Alec build a bicycle from an old bike frame – and a bicycle multitool becomes their most precious possession. As a keen cyclist this added another compelling dimension to the story, and Half Bike as the boys called their beloved bicycle was a character all of its own.
Amanda Prowse draws her readers right into the heart of her characters’ lives so that we rejoice for them and cry with them. I relished Nick’s great friendship with his old mate, Eric, and warmed enormously to the likeable, straight-talking Bev. And I would love to meet Nick’s wonderfully generous mum; she’s just what everyone needs in a mother.
Despite being very sad sometimes, this was such a feel-good book. It’s also very funny in parts, especially the boyhood humour and pranks repeated in adulthood. I was in hysterics when Eric covers the conference room seats with bin bags when schoolboy friend Piss Pants Will - now an important banker - comes for a crucial meeting.
The Light in the Hallway is all about families and love and friendships. It’s also about healing and dealing with the difficulties life throws at us. I particularly loved reading about those (mostly) halcyon days of the young boys with their bike, and seeing how they later faced the trials of adulthood.

Publisher’s description: When Nick’s wife Kerry falls ill and dies, he realises for the first time how fragile his happiness has always been, and how much he’s been taking his good life and wonderful family for granted. Now, he suddenly finds himself navigating parenthood alone, unsure how to deal with his own grief, let alone that of his teenage son, Olly.

In the depths of his heartbreak, Nick must find a way to navigate life that pleases his son, his in-laws, his family and his friends—while honouring what Kerry meant to them all. But when it comes to his own emotions, Nick doesn’t know where to begin. Kerry was his childhood sweetheart—but was she really the only one who could ever make him happy?

And in the aftermath of tragedy, can Nick and his son find themselves again?
************
Amanda Prowse’s books always make me run the gamut of emotions, and “The Light in the Hallway” is no exception.

Only in his mid-30s, Nick loses his childhood sweetheart to cancer just as his son Oliver is about to go off to university. He and Olly are devastated, and even though Nick and Kerry’s marriage was not perfect, Nick is lost without her and needs to learn how to navigate life without Kerry and face the loneliness of his newly empty nest.

With Kerry’s voice in his head as a guide, Nick faces the trials of when and how to move on if that’s even possible for him to fathom. He seems to disappoint Olly and his sister-in-law at every turn, and he finds himself the victim of bad timing over and over.

The story unfolds with alternating chapters between now and the “summer of absolutely brilliant” (1992), so we learn as we go how Nick became the man he is today.

This book is an emotional, heartbreaking-to-happiness journey worth taking.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. This title is scheduled for release on November 11, 2019.

The Light in the Hallway is a sweet story about Nick and his son, Oliver, after the passing of Kerry, Nick's mom. Both father and son are grieving in their own ways, and the months after Kerry's passing are difficult on their relationship. Throughout the story, Nick remembers the days of his youth and the friendships that he held dear. Nick ultimately finds happiness in his work and his life with friends and family outside work. This book is quite predictable, and the story is not especially original. It will appeal to female readers looking for a light read with a satisfying ending.

When I first read the book description, I thought that I had enough drama in my real life to be reading about someone else’s fictional suffering. Yet I decided to give the first chapter a chance. About 12 hours later, I was finishing the last chapter, after a journey through pain, grief, longing, recovery, redemption and hope. The setting of the story may have been foreign to me, but the feelings conveyed by the nicely written prose are universal. A great read, a great comfort.

This gut wrenching story will have your emotions all over the place. Nick takes us along his journey as he triumphs over the tragedy of losing his wife and dealing with the fall out as it affects his son. It is a well written story that puts you front and center to the drama as it unfolds in the story that you are sure to remember well after reading. I voluntarily agreed to receive an ARC of this book for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book, it was very enjoyable. I found the plot line engaging and the characters believable.I love Amanda Prowse and this is another brilliant novel! I will be recommending this book to friends and family.

“The Light in the Hallway” by Amanda Prowse

Amanda Prowse is the author of many novels based on strong women as her main characters in her storyline. While the message of the light in the hallway is poignant around the story of one woman in the novel and how the light was always inviting to those coming home or dropping by for a visit. It is a story how it stopped being lit due to an unplanned event in her life that affected so many, but mostly her husband and son.

This is a novel about her husband and son and how they move forward over time. While they are surrounded by many strong women, and even meet ones of their own along the way, it is really about how the two men find their way in the world despite the fact that they never remembered to turn on the hallway light so they were never coming home to a dark, sad or lonely home. It is a story of how they healed and went on with their lives, never forgetting the woman who always turned on the hallway light, and yet found other ways of doing so themselves.

It is a novel about family, first and foremost. About healing and finding a way to move forward after tragedy and when things happen in life one was never planning, but how you make the best of those situations and grow from them. It is about the support from their friends and family and learning what is the right path for themselves, even when some may disagree. But most of all, it is a story of love and all its many facets and how, in the end, that may be the most important aspect in life.

Rating: 4.5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



** I chose to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. All words, thoughts and every aspect of the review is my own.

I love the fact that all of Amanda's books are so very different. I don't know how she does it but this is yet again another lovely story with characters that are so true to life and who make you care deeply for them. A tale of childhood sweethearts who marry but have their future together cut short when the wife dies of cancer at a young age. The story is told from the perspective of the widowed husband, Nick and their son Olly and their journey following the death of the woman they both loved so much. Emotions such as grief, anger, regret and guilt run through the pages as the pair deal with heartache in their different ways. Olly is just starting at university so father and son being separated as they deal with all of this is an additional strain on their relationship. Interspersed with the sadness, however, are chapters telling of Nick's childhood with his 2 best friends - together, the 3 Amigos - dealing with one particular summer - the 'best summer of their lives'. There is humour and poignancy and a wonderful sense of innocence which I found very moving and nostalgic. The fact that they boys continue to be best friends even into adulthood lends an even more enjoyable aspect to the story. The conclusion is excellent leaving a feeling of happiness and fulfillment upon turning the final page. I loved it! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in return for my unbiased review..

Another great read from Amanda Prowse. A sensitive subject that is beautifully written. It will pull at your heart strings & take you on a tale of sadness, forgiveness & happy ever afters

Heart wrenching Amanda Prowse has written another beautiful tear jerker.A father and son cope with the death of their wife, mother ..A path of learning to live again find joy .A big box of tissues needed.#netgalley#amazonuk

At the beginning of the book, you know that Kerry is dying, and that the love she shares with Nick is special. It’s what happens to Nick (and their son Olly) after Kerry dies is what’s at the heart of this latest offering from the queen of emotion, Amanda Prowse. This book is full of raw emotion; the pain of losing a loved one, the heartbreaking journey that grief can take you on, and the emotions every parent goes through when their child grows up and doesn’t need their parent anymore. This had me crying regularly. Amanda knows how to pull you into the human story of her characters and lets you feel their pain with them. But there’s always positivity in her books, and this one is no exception. You walk with Nick (and Olly) as they find their new normal, and adjust to life without Kerry. And this book is laced with humour, just at the right moment. A lovely read about love, grief, friendship and family.

The Light in the Hallway is a very well written book. The plot deals with the loss of a wife and mother. And the husband and son dealing with their grief. A very believable story and characters. I received a complimentary copy of the book and this is my unbiased review.

Thanks to netgalley for a chance to read this book.

When Nick’s wife Kerry dies at the age of thirty-five from cancer, he and his eighteen year old son Olly struggle to come to terms with her death. This a story of grief and life’s struggles to move on and carry on living a life.

This is a lovely and emotional story, The Light in the Hallway. It is the story of Nick who is thirty five, his wife Kerry, has just passed and he is now alone in the house with his eighteen year old son, Ollie. They spend time trying to make everything new and cope with their loss. Ollie heads to university and Nick starts to move on with his life which includes his mum, sister, Kerry's mum and sister and life long friends and fellow colleagues at work. The story is sweet, a tearjerker and will give you hope in friends, family and those who can love you. Loved it! Thank you. #netgalley #thelightinthehallway #lakeunionpublishing

Whenever I pick up an Amanda Prowse book, I know that I am going to find myself engrossed in the story and so it was with The Light in the Hallway. I always find that there is something about her characters which I find so relatable. She writes about her characters with great insight into their emotions so that it's hard not to be touched by their situations. Her characters are ordinary people, like people you may know and that's what makes her books so addictive. The situations they find themselves in are situations you will identify with, may even have been in yourself.

Nick married Kerry when they were both in their teens with a baby on the way. He gave up his dream of going to Uni, going to work for a large local employer. Despite this, he has few regrets and a happy life with Kerry and their son Oliver. When Kerry dies in her mid thirties at a hospice, Nick has to cope with losing the love of his life and working out how he and Oliver will move forward. The first chapter was heartbreaking to read and Amanda Prowse was really spot on with showing not just Nick's grief but the way Kerry's death affected all her family. The unspoken rules of what was and wasn't allowed for the newly bereaved were a bewildering maze for Nick to negotiate. The difficulties of how to keep connections in a family when the person who connected you is gone were clear as was the hurt and anger sometimes felt.

Not only was there a big hole in his life from the loss of his wife, Nick also had other major changes to cope with as their son, Olly, moved away to University. I think many parents will identify with the worry over their child not settling at Uni and feeling overwhelmed. This was another loss for Nick albeit in a different way. Throughout the book it was lovely to see the bonds between father and son grow stronger despite the physical distance between them and despite some other challenges.

Each chapter ends with a scene from 1992, a year when Nick and his lifelong friends Eric and Alex were building a bike. But more than that, they were building lasting friendships and learning skills and attitudes which would stand them in good stead for the future. They learned about what really matters in life, they learned to take pride in their work and they learned how to value things. I loved this insight into Nick and his friends as young boys and you could see the good men they would become.

The light in the hallway of the title was both an actual and metaphorical light, shining a welcome and lighting the way. As with all Amanda's books, I was completely caught up in the characters' lives and all that was happening and simply could not put the book down, devouring it in only two days. The Light in the Hallway is a heartfelt, emotional and hopeful story and one I loved!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I really like this author and yet again she has written a great book. I was an emotional wreck reading this.

I was on an emotional roller coaster while reading this book. I lost my daughter seven years ago and this book revived some of my grief. Grief is a process though and this author captured that. I will definitely be seeking more of her work.
Many thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Amanda Prowse never fails to deliver a real story with real people and real issues. As always her way of writing draws you in from the first page and makes the reader feel part of the story.
Heartfelt, moving and hopeful this book was excellent. I just could not put it down.
I particularly loved the relationship between father and son during their difficult times and the relationship between Nick and his two best mates.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for giving me an ARC in exchange for my independent review.