What a heartwarming story from Amanda Prowse. I really enjoyed reading this book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I have to say this though, Victoria, dearest taking drugs isn’t written in anyone’s DNA, it all amounts to the poor life choices we make and our inability to cope with things when trouble comes knocking on our doors. It is never easy seeing a dead person especially a loved one you had left alive a mere couple hours ago. For this lonely young lady who had just lost the dearest to her heart, she was reeling from her pain, and lashing out at those closest to her was the only way she could find to deal with her grief. It created a gulf between her friends and she was adamant it was better that way. Her life was in a spiraling twister slipping away faster and faster as she tries to deal with her grief and betrayal. When she hit rock bottom as she came crashing down, what she saw made her think twice of the path she was on. The picture she saw was indeed scary, for her life had become a nauseating mess and she was heading in the wrong direction. A heartwrenching and emotionally tense drama, with deep emotions on every page.

My 5* review of The Day She Came Back by Amanda Prowse.

"When her loving, free-spirited grandmother Primrose passes away, Victoria is bereft, yet resilient—she has survived tragedy before. But even her strength is tested when a mysterious woman attends Prim’s funeral and claims to be the mother Victoria thought was dead." So Victoria is left pondering how do you forgive the family that lied to you, and love the mum you never had?

At only eighteen Victoria is just finding her way in the world and about to go on an adventure with her best friend Daksha when suddenly the rug is pulled from under her and she has to question everything she was told growing up and wonder if her whole life has been built on lies told by Prim.

This story again takes you on a wonderful emotional rollercoaster filled with grief and sadness, but also love and joy and the slow burning of new relationships (with a few disastrous ones along the way).

It is obvious from her books, that Amanda Prowse has a wonderful understanding of how complicated families can be, and explores beautifully relationships with an undercurrent of secrets and lies. The book highlights the fact that understanding the idea that very often love was at the root of all the decisions that are made in our children's lives, is what will ultimately lead to a happy ending.

I enjoyed getting to know and visualise Oslo, Norway through Amanda's writing and I have popped it on my "must visit" list. Another Beaut Amanda x

Victoria is eighteen, about to travel with her best friend and a little nervous about leaving her beloved grandmother Prim behind. Our opening quickly establishes the loving relationship Victoria has with her grandmother, and alerts us to the fact that there are no other family members in this relationship. So it is something of a shock at the end of the opening chapter when Victoria returns home to find her grandmother dead in her gardening chair.
What follows clearly establishes the shock and upset you might experience at the sudden death of a family member. Victoria sleepwalks through the days immediately following the discovery, unsure how to feel or act now her only living family member has left her.
You can only begin to imagine the maelstrom of feelings experienced by Victoria at this point. So when, at the funeral, a woman turns up who claims to be Victoria’s mother it really is hard to know what to think/feel.
The book follows Victoria as she takes on this news and tries to work out what to do. She has always been told her mother died when she was young, so it’s understandable to see her upset/anger/confusion/excitement at this point. She takes the decision to find out more, and then we watch as these two start to unpick the choices that led them to the position they are in, and to try to work out how to move forward with this new information.
I loved reading this, even though it was heavy on the emotional elements that in real life are so confusing. The author depicted the mix of emotions so clearly, and it was hard to feel anything other than understanding and compassion for each of those involved.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this in advance of publication in exchange for offering my honest thoughts.

The Day She Came Back by Amanda Prowse is a beautifully written and moving tale that tells the story of eighteen year old Victoria as she tries to come to terms with the devastating loss of her larger than life grandmother, Prim, who has raised her since she was a baby following the death of her mother.

But to her shock, on the day of Prim’s funeral, Victoria encounters a woman who claims to be her dead mother, sending her life spinning into turmoil. Is this woman really her mother? And if so, why did Prim lie about her mother’s death for so long? Struggling to come to terms with not only Sarah’s presence, but also the fact that her whole life has been based on a lie, Victoria is unable to bring herself to trust anyone, least of all this stranger who has come into her life.

Amanda’s writing has an authenticity to it that brings these characters vividly to life, resonating with me so much that I felt every emotion right alongside them. And even in the short time we had with her, Prim was a character who struck a chord with me, reminding me of my own grandmother who I never ever saw without a hair out of place, remaining beautiful right up until the day she died. My Nan also used to eat every last bit of a piece of fruit like Prim did (core and all!), which as a young child impressed me far more than it probably should have! So I felt Prim’s loss as keenly as the young Victoria did, especially as I was the same age as she was when my own grandmother died.

So the tears began to fall early, with the story taking hold of my heart and refusing to let go until the final page had been turned. The Day She Came Back is a book that will cause your heart to ache, with a strong cast of supporting characters who you can’t help but fall in love with. Victoria herself is often immature and doesn’t always do the right thing, but in spite of all that, I felt for her and the predicament she found herself in through no fault of her own.

The story moves from England to Norway, a place the author obviously knows well, the city of Oslo brought so vividly to life it almost felt as though I was there. As the truth of the past is slowly revealed, Victoria and Sarah try to pick up the pieces of their lives so they can move forward to a better future. But will Victoria ever be able to forgive not only Sarah but her beloved Prim for hiding the truth from her? And is it ever possible to forgive a family who has lied to you for your whole life?

I don’t know how she does it, but Amanda Prowse’s writing blows me away with how she somehow manages to get deep into the core of each of her characters, empathising with them in ways not many authors are capable of. She has written yet another beautiful, emotionally resonant and poignant read that will stay with me for a long time to come.

The Day She Came Back is a powerful story of love, loss, family secrets and forgiveness. A sometimes dark, often emotional, but ultimately uplifting read that I would highly recommend.

Amanda Prowse, a totally competent and reliable writer...if you want to be sure that you are going to settle down and enjoy a good read she is the perfect choice. As always with this author’s stories you quickly believe in the characters and like people in real life they often act with good intentions which sometimes don’t work out quite as well as hoped, it’s reassuring to read about people who mess up for the very best of reasons....don’t we all! Luckily as this is fiction we can be assured with Amanda’s feel good in the end writing that we can feel good in the end. Thank you Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing Company and Net Galley for the chance to read and review this book. I liked this book, but I would classify it as young adult-the main character is only 18. It is still a very good story, just maybe for the younger crowd. Victoria has been raised by her grandmother, Prim. She has been told her mother passed away when she was just a baby. After Prim dies, Victoria is confronted with some family secrets. Along the way, she makes some young adult mistakes, but finally comes to terms with the big changes in her life. Recommend for all readers that like young adult novels.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. It is the first book I have read from Ms. Prowse and I was excited given the praise she has received for her previous novels. I will have to trust her legions of fans because this book left me wanting. I finished it and I did find sections compelling, but it is predictable and inauthentic. To make it work she asks the reader to take a huge leap of faith concerning Primrose’s age when Sarah was born and that the lies she spun were her only choice. The amount of ink spent on the obviously disastrous relationship with Flynn was a mistake IMHO. There were so many other choices and this one is tawdry and cheesy.

Sweet Victoria had no idea what was coming the day she paused outside of the sports store to do a little flirting. That was the last time she had a "normal" afternoon. Prim did all she could protect Victoria from the truth, but eventually time ran out and Victoria found out everything. This is a very interesting book and really has you questioning the ethics of protecting someone by telling lies. Is it better for the person or does it prolong the devastation? You will love this book.

Victoria's world is being torn upside down with the death of her beloved grandmother...until her dead mother shows up at the funeral. Such a great book with characters whose pain is so real and raw. I would definitely recommend this one.

This book was not for me, I'm afraid. I found the narrative a bit too sentimental and angst ridden and I ended up actively disliking most of the main characters, especially Victoria and her dreadful posh time-warped grandmother, Prim; despite my misgivings, however, Ms Prowse's storytelling was strong enough to carry me through to the end, (which is a good thing, as I hate giving up on a book) and I enjoyed the final chapters, which were set in Oslo.

I understand that many readers genuinely love an emotional family novel and they will probably lap up 'The Day She Came Back', but this is just not my genre - as I've now discovered.

Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing, to Ms Prowse and to NetGalley for allowing me to read and leave an honest review.

Victoria has been raised by her grandmother since her mother died of a drugs overdose when she was a baby. As she finishes school and is about to embark on a gap year, her beloved grandmother dies and her life is thrown into turmoil. Everything she thought she knew is called into question and she makes some very dubious decisions as she battles with one crisis after another.
Amanda Prowse is a skilled author whose characters are so real that you get a sense of being part of their story. I've read many of her books and have enjoyed them all. Victoria is a frustrating character and her grief makes her behave totally out of character, which sometimes felt a little too far-fetched. There were many times in the book where her actions tested my patience and, rather than sympathy, I felt irritated by her.
The ending of the book tied everything up, perhaps a little too neatly, and readers are given a glimpse into Victoria's future.

Brilliant story of grieve and anger and how it affects you and the things you do. To find you had a mother after your life so far you have been told she died is going to mess with you, this follows how she deals with it and the future. Lovely story and well written.

For the first few pages I thought I was going to be disappointed with this story as it seemed a bit tame but a couple of chapters in and I was hooked. A story of teenage angst really and a lot more to follow. A good read.

When it comes to stories about love, loss, addiction and family drama, Amanda Prowse really is unsurpassable as an author. She writes from the heart, and you can tell from her writing that she really wants to connect with her readers and that's what sets her books apart from others.

In this book, we find Victoria, a young woman not yet out of her teenage years living in Epsom with her grandmother, Prim. Oh what a character Prim is. I absolutely loved her. Prim and Victoria have a very special bond, because you see, Victoria's mother died when she was just a baby, leaving Prim to raise her. Or so we're told.

When Prim dies, suddenly and unexpectedly, Victoria's world is shattered. Her only comfort is her best friend, Daksha who is also an absolute joy. Victoria is faced not only with her grief from losing her grandmother, the person she trusted more than any other, but also with a devastating revelation on the day of Prim's funeral. A revelation she could never have imagined, and must now face head on.

I really did love this book. My thanks to the author and to Netgalley for the advanced copy. My review is on Goodreads and Amazon UK

5☆ An Utterly Compelling, Poignant and Engrossing Story, I Couldn't Put Down!

I'm a huge fan of Amanda Prowse's books and once again she has written a Poignant, Utterly Compelling story of Betrayal, Trust, Heartbreak, Secrets, Discovery, Grief, Forgiveness, Addiction, Starting Over and Moving On.

I don't want too go too much into the plot as the blurb sums it up far better than I could, plus I don't want to risk giving anything away.

The Characters are beautifully observed, complex yet relatable and Prowse has this way of making her Characters spring to life on the pages.
Victoria's Character will get under your skin, she's 18, lost everything she ever cared about and then she's thrown head first into the most shocking of discoveries, that will change her life and everything she has ever known forever! My heart broke for her.

THE DAY SHE CAME BACK is a totally absorbing read that's beautifully written, an
engrossing storyline and will tug at your heart strings.
Amanda writes the most  mesmerising and amazing stories, she makes you feel every single emotion in one book. Trust me when I say I hardly ever shed a tear not even watching films, but Amanda just has this way of making me feel those raw emotions.

As I said before I'm a huge fan of her books, and if you haven't yet had the pleasure of reading her books.
I highly, highly Recommend you Start with this one!

Thank you to BOTBS Tours for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

The story 'The Day She Came Back' by Amanda Prowse has so many layers to it, I just couldn't put it down.

After the passing of Victoria's grandmother, Primrose, it becomes apparent that she kept many secrets. One being that Victoria's mother, is not dead, as she was lead to believe! Suddenly her life is turned upside down as she struggles to deal with a maze of questions, amidst the secrets and lies of her family's past history. The lives of Victoria, Primrose, Sarah and Daksha intertwined with devastating effect.

What follows is an emotional read, highlighting the lengths some people will go to protect the ones they love. Who can Victoria trust? Why is everything she thought about her life, just one big lie?

4 star review for Amanda Prowse book, "The Day She Came Back".

This is a story about finding out your family has lied to you about secrets in your life. Can Victoria forgive her family and move on to live a happy life? How do you forgive loved ones that have lied to you?

I highly recommend this 4 star book.

Victoria’s early life was difficult. Her father died before she was born. Her mother died from an overdose when she was a baby. Her grandmother has raised her and been her support system. Victoria comes home from running errands to find her grandmother died. The shock of being entirely alone overwhelms her. With help she manages to plan the funeral. Victoria notices a strange woman at the cemetery then sees her standing in the yard. This woman tells Victoria that she is her mother. Disbelief and anger overwhelm her. Victoria has to process all this new information.

Amanda Prowse does a fantastic job taking the reader into Victoria’s wide ranging emotions. Victoria has so much to reconcile. This story deals with abandonment, coming of age, and relationships. The storyline is well developed and the characters are compelling. As the book concludes, the author gives insight Into how Victoria moves forward and the course of her life. It is rewarding to see her life’s progression.

This is a wonderful book showing that it is possible to forgive transgressions, create relationships, and strengthen friendships.

Victoria has been brought up by her grandmother who she calls Prim. She has always yearned for her mother and felt the gaping hole in her life. When Prim sadly passes away,Victoria is desolate, she has no family left. At her grandmother’s funeral she sees a woman standing back from the crowd. Again at the funeral gathering at her grandmother’s house she sees this woman in the garden. When she tells her she is her mother,Victoria’s world collapses again.
Has Prim lied to her all her life Or is this woman a fraud? Victoria has to find out no matter how difficult it might be.
I loved this book. It was happy and sad at the same time. So many lost years between mother and daughter.. Great characters, great story. I’ve read a few of Amanda’s books and they are such a good read.