This is one of those heartfelt stories that is so nice to just spend a day with the characters. Very enjoyable read!
#netgalley #amazonpublishing #amandaprowse

#TheDaySheCameBack#NetGalley
This is the first book I have read by Amanda Prowse. When Victoria's grandmother passes away, a lady comes to the funeral claims to be her mother Sarah. This turns Victoria's world upside down because she always had been told she had died. Victoria's life changes as she leads all the secrets, and not always for the better. It gives you glimpses into all three lives thAt allows you to understand the love behind the relationships of all three generations. Will Victoria have a relationship with her mother ? Will Victoria let the love for her grandmother overdue the secrecy ? This book is a very emotional read. Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the free ARC of The Day She Came Back in exchange for an honest review.

I would give this 3.5 stars. I had never read a novel by Amanda Prowse before and this won't be my last. I really enjoyed this in both print and audio. The author did a great job narrating the audio.

This story pulled me in right away and I couldn't put it down. I think the description of the house and Victoria's relationship with her grandmother were what drew me in, initially. At about the time when Victoria is betrayed, I felt the same, and the pace slowed for me because I did question some of the decisions of characters. It just didn't feel completely realistic. However, I appreciated that the messiness of relationships and the conflicting feelings someone can have for the same person seemed very true to life. Also, sometimes people have to make heartbreaking decisions. This story deals with moms and daughters, love, loss, betrayal, hope, reconciliation, and the times when reconciliation and full understanding are not possible. While the author does tie things up in the end, I appreciated that she did not give the false sense that Victoria immediately overcame her feelings and that she could easily forgive all that had happened to her. Overall, I enjoyed this and would recommend it.

I missed ‘the girl in the corner’ but now I have it on my tbr list as this novel was wonderful. A young emotionally vulnerable but so perfectly human teenager, Victoria, meets a woman at her grandmothers funeral. Victoria’s parents died, so why is this woman claiming to be her mother? Dealing with the onslaught of grief for her beloved grandmother, Prim, can Victoria trust this woman, let alone love her? You tear up, you smile and you feel the emotions down to your toes. Couldn’t get enough of this wonderful character Victoria.

Oh I do love an Amanda Prowse novel! Her writing always finds a way to reduce me to tears (snivelling wreck!) and I always end up with a smile at a satisfying outcome. There is always a sense of humour and her characters are relatable. Lovely- read it!

Rating: 5 glowing stars

Amanda Prowse, where have you been all my life? Thanks to a review from a Goodreads friend, I decided to request this book from Netgalley. My friend Sandy posted a glowing 5-star review, and I completely agree with her assessment. In “The Day She Came Back”, Ms. Prowse has written a fantastic book about family interactions, and how secrets always seem to find a way of coming out.

Victoria is only eighteen when her grandmother, Prim suddenly passes away. Victoria thinks that she is now alone in the world. She has no siblings and both per parents and grandfather had already died. Imagine her surprise when her mother showed up for Prim’s funeral! Victoris did not believe who she was at first because her beloved grandmother had told her that her parents had both died of drug overdoses.

That is the launching point for this family drama. It is a drama without ever being overly dramatic. The characters are written with such precision. I would like to meet any of them in real-life. They are not perfect, but who is? Victoria struggles to wade through her grief about the loss of her grandmother. She is also trying to come to terms with the lie that she’d been told all her life. She is struggling to move into a self-sustaining adulthood without a whole of support. Luckily she has a best friend, Dashka. I loved that she had Dashka to rely on. Everyone needs a bestie like that!

Victoria struggles to trust this new woman, Sarah, who says that she is her mother. Slowly, they work on forming a new relationship. Prowse poignantly delivers Sarah’s story. How she fell deep into the valley of drug abuse, and the effort it took to climb out of that valley. She shows how hard it is to try to regain what had been lost. It is not a happy-go-lucky story, but it is oh so good, and it felt so REAL. Please do not pass this by as being just as another ‘been there done that’ drug abuse redemption story. This is so good on so many levels.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good book. That is it. Read this if you love a good book. Now I am off to read more of Amanda Prowse’s prior works. I think I have some real treats in store for me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. These are my honest thoughts.

Victoria is devastated at the loss of her grandmother. She is thrown for a loop when a women, claiming to be her mother attends her grandmothers funeral even though she thought her mother was deceased. As she continues digging into her grand mothers past she is now learning that there are some big secrets her grandmother has been keeping. Deciding if these are secrets she wants to uncover is her biggest question.

Amanda Prowse is a new author for me. The Day She Came Back is a family drama involving Victoria who was raised by her grandparents after the death of her single mom. She is extremely close to her beloved grandmother, Prim. When Prim unexpectedly passes away, 18-year-old Victoria is devasted. How will she survive all alone?? Or will she???? I will say that the author provides a twist that made this book more appealing to me. The characters and their relationship with Victoria proved to be another plus for me. All in all, this was a solid family drama.
I received an arc from Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK in exchange for an honest review.

Amanda Prowse has once again written a beautiful moving novel.I was drawn in by the characters the story as with her other books I shed a few tears.A book I will be recommending.#netgalley#amazonuk

Victoria has led a very love filled relaxed life in Epsom, Surrey brought up by her grandparents after being told her mother, Sarah and father, Marcus are dead. Prim, Victoria's grandmother, will never speak of Marcus, blaming him for causing her daughter's death by introducing her to drugs. When Victoria comes home one day and discovers Prim has passed away her world turns on its head and she is left alone, the closest she has to family now is her best friend Daksha, who rallies round as best she can, always with the offer of a cup of tea not far away. On the day of Prim's funeral a woman turns up, claiming to be the mother that she thought was dead. Victoria cannot understand why Prim, the one woman she thought she could trust, would lie to her, but to ever be happy again she needs to find out why. Can she ever trust anyone again?

This was another amazing read from the author, with my emotions on a roller coaster. Amanda Prowse at her best!

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher / author for the ARC copy, in return for an honest review.

Amanda Prowse has done it again. I so enjoy her books, I haven't read them all (yet) but the ones I have read have been about ordinary people thrown into extraordinary circumstances and how they cope with the changes those new circumstances bring to their lives. This is in that same mold. The protagonist, Victoria, is a bit younger than her main characters usually are, and I did have to remind myself of that at times when her actions or reactions seemed a bit over the top. Not so unusual for a teen after all. The backstory is told through a series of letters between Victoria's mother and grandmother, and Victoria's struggle to come to terms with what she sees as her betrayal by both women is at the heart of the story. Beautifully written, and I was able to listen to much of it on audiobook, also beautifully narrated by Amanda Prowse herself.
My thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

Loving grandmother Primrose passes away leaving Victoria to learn that everything she knew about her family to be true, including that her mother passed away when she was a little girl, is not. In the days following the funeral, she has to learn to stand on her own - and make decisions about her crush, understand the friendship with her childhood friend. She struggles with not letting the past and emotions from the lies of her childhood, and moving forward and embracing what the future holds.

I did enjoy the description of Oslo, and learning more about that life. I had a hard time really liking this book because it did not flow for easy reading. This review is in exchange for my review from Netgalley.

From the first time I read Amanda Prowse, I was hooked. I find myself completely enthralled with her descriptions and her characters and the way she tells her stories, and The Day She Came Back is no exception.

When I read the description for this book, I was expecting it to be about the development of the relationship between Victoria and Sarah. While we get some of that, it is so much more, and the book is better for it.

Victoria is 18 years old, so just out of school, just starting to figure out her way in the world, when Prim passes away. All of her life, Victoria has mourned her mother, who Prim and Victoria’s grandfather had told her had died from a drug addiction right after Victoria was born. Now Victoria is facing the world alone, without the grandmother who raised her. When Sarah shows up at the funeral claiming to be Victoria’s mother…let’s just say all hell breaks loose.

Amanda Prowse is a master at making her readers feel every emotion. Victoria is devastated, betrayed, angry, sad, rebellious, wanting to know everything but fearing the truth. She lashes out, she falls apart, she doubts everyone and pushes away her closest friends, she falls apart some more, and then we get to watch her put the pieces of her life back together, with a little help from her friends who she could never really push away. What Victoria realizes is that she is not alone, and that is the most important thing.

I loved the story development, the picturesque descriptions of Prim’s garden and where Sarah lives in Oslo. The characters feel like people I would know and love. While this story is centered around Victoria and Sarah, the supporting characters really perfect it.

Gerald is described by Victoria as being Prim’s 74-year-old boy toy. He’s fun-loving, caring, loyal, and treats Victoria as if she is his own granddaughter. Even after Prim dies, he tells Victoria that she can count on him, and he doesn’t disappoint. I can picture him as this dapper gentleman with a bit of a wicked side. At one point in the story he tells Victoria, “…don’t tell a soul, but it was one of the best evenings I have had in an age! One minute I am in my pyjamas with an Agatha Christie in my palms, and the next I am toting a pistol at a rave! How many members of the bowls club can say the same thing?” And he never ever turns his back on Victoria.

Daksha is that ride-or-die friend who knows all your flaws and loves you anyway. I have one of those — honest to a fault, will tell me when I’m being dumb, and supports me no matter what. And I love the way Daksha and Victoria interact: “You were an arsehole….And I have to ask, are you now cured of this arseholeness, do you think?”

I won’t give away how the book ends, but know that this is more about the journey than the ending, and it is about the unconditional love we find from the people who truly matter to us.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. When I first began reading this book I thought I might be a little too old for it. Victoria and her friend were talking about traveling and boys and it felt that I had experienced those things such a long time ago that I wasn't sure I would be able to relate to the book. As I continued to read, I realized Victoria's feelings were ones anyone could relate to. The book was so well written I felt like I was a part of her journey of heartbreak, understanding and forgiveness, of realizing the importance of the people in her life and being grateful for their support.

I felt that this book was a little drawn out. Not quite what we're used to with Amanda Prowse books. It was pretty straight forward and fairly predictable, which Is what usually keeps me interested. It is an easy read and good if you like a single plot.

What a wonderful book.
I didn't know what to expect from one chapter to the other.
I felt upset at the loss of Prim, but then hurt about the lies she had told.
I could have shaken Victoria getting involved with Flynn and agreeing to the party.
I was happy that she had such a good friend in Daksha
I was so glad she visited Oslo.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and as I didn’t know where it was going it made me look forward to going to bed early as I was eager to continue reading it.

The Day She Came Back
by Amanda Prowse

I can see why Author Amanda Prowse has an amazing following. This book is a beautifully written and definitely character driven and I loved this book. This book is definitely an emotional read with a deep and emotional storyline that I was completely immersed into. Really happy to have had the opportunity to read Prowse - book is so well written I loved reading this. Thank you for the emotional charged story that had an amazing dialogue, Prowse is the master of human relationships and all cure for all wounds.

This was my first time reading Amanda Prowse. I enjoyed the book - engrossing and engaging. I did feel it was a little geared towards YA - but especially during these trying times - nice escape and not heavy. Recommend!

Can you imagine being told one thing for the duration of your life so far, only to then be told that it was a complete lie? I don’t mean being told that your favourite Teddy has been binned, despite being told that it was in the loft, or some other not so important lie. I’m meaning a massive, your mother is dead, oh wait….she’s not, type of lie. I cannot even begin to think about how Victoria felt after being betrayed by the person she trusted the most.

Obviously there are two sides to every story, and the reasons behind the betrayal become a lot clearer as the storyline progresses. However, being the cynic that I am, i couldn’t quite see how the lie was justified at all. Yes, Victoria’s grandmother had her best interests at heart, I’m not disputing that at all, but to say that her mother was dead when she wasn’t, is a step too far in my eyes.

Just to clarify, my points so far are not spoilers because they’re in the blurb….just incase anyone was thinking that I had ruined the book!

I’ll give Victoria her due, I certainly couldn’t have done what she did by meeting up with the new found person in her life. Then again, I can definitely see how being intrigued about any information she could have been given, would have been enough to go through with it.

For a young adult, Victoria seemed to have a good head on her shoulders….well, until the one night where she didn’t. Don’t blame her though, grief does weird things to your mind! What I am curious about though, is if Primose stayed alive, would Victoria be able to forgive her? Was the death of her grandmother enough to build the bridge between betrayal and moving on?

Betrayal is such a personal thing, something which nobody can truly understand unless they are the people, or person, going through said thing at said time. Nobody has any right to tell you how to feel, or that your feelings are unjustified all because they are different to how they would act. The thing is, with a topic so deep routed such as this, surmising our own reactions to it would be nion impossible because, think about it; if Victoria struggled to work out what to do and she was slap bang in the centre of everything, how would we, people who are outsider’s looking in, manage to work it out?

What I loved most about this book was the way in which Amanda Prowse made her characters come to life, and the way in which she believed in their journeys. A lot of the topics discussed in this book are ones of the quite serious nature. Topics which need to be fed well in order to be believable and realistic, and I felt that Amanda Prowse went above and beyond to make that happen. Now, I’m not entirely sure whether the author has been through similar things in her life, however I felt like she had a connection to her characters that comes with understanding what they are going through or what they have been through. That sort of understanding comes with life lessons and not through Google – I may be wrong though! Either way, I truly felt what Amanda Prowse was trying to convey. I would even go as far to say that it was magic.

‘The Day She Came Back’ is a wholesome, enlightening, thought provoking, hopeful read that takes you down paths you probably never expected to go on. The beauty of this novel is the sense of being understood, something that is so simple to say, yet one of the most complicated things to do. Amanda Prowse nails it, brilliantly.

I really enjoyed this. Great characters that really came to life. The story of Victoria's journey following the death of her Grandmother was just beautiful - moving and heartbreaking. Highly recommended.