I’d like to thank Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘An Ordinary Life’ by Amanda Prowse in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Molly’s in her 90’s when she begins to write a letter to Joe, the son she gave up for her sister Joyce to take care of. When she reaches her 94th year she has a stroke and falls down the stairs and as she lies in a hospital bed her only regret is not finishing the letter telling Joe about his father.

‘An Ordinary Life’ is the wonderful story of a strong young woman, the love of her life and the son she could never publicly acknowledge. It’s been beautifully written in the style Amanda Prowse is superb at with characters that have depth who I’ve enjoyed reading about. It’s a remarkable story that gives an account of the devastation caused by WW2 and the bravery of those who fought for the freedom of their country. It’s an exceptional novel that kept me enthralled from page one and that had me in tears at the conclusion. Thank you, Amanda, for writing such a heart-warming, emotional and thoroughly enjoyable novel – I loved it.

The story begins with Molly at 94 planning to write a letter to Joe telling him the truth of her life and his but she falls down the stairs and has a stroke and we go back to the beginning near the end of the war when Molly is 19 and plans on having a career in government as a translator. Fate intervenes when she meets her best friend's brother, Johan, and they fall quickly in love. Johan is killed in a friendly fire incident and Molly realizes she is pregnant. She plans to have her child and raise him herself but her mother will have nothing to do with her or the baby and neither will Johan's family. In order to get her son, Joe, out of London and keep him safe during the war she puts him in the care of her sister, Joyce. From then on Molly leads anything but an ordinary life. She goes on a mission for the Resistance in France, she works as a liaison for prisoners of war in England and then eventually in a records room at Barts Hospital. But overall she still loves Johan and her son is a shining light in her life.

I adored Molly. She had gone through so much and could have been jaded and wounded but she still managed to live a good life. Everyone needs a sister like Joyce, always having Molly's interest at heart and loving Joe as much as Molly. Sometimes the skips in time were a bit confusing, trying to orient to another age and more members of the family but it no way detracted from the joy I felt at the good moments and the heartbreaking moments in her life.

This is a fairly new author to me and I have enjoyed reading her past books and look forward to so many more.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union for my copy.

This is the first Amanda Prowse book and I can assure you that it won'y be my last.

An Ordinary Life tells the story of 94 year old Molly's life from the war and her experiences right through to present times. I felt for Molly and loved her character so much and I loved that Prowse did such a great job telling about Molly's struggle with her mental health.

It isn't often a book makes me cry but this one had me in floods especially the ending.

I highly recommmend this and will definitely buy this one for my personal library.

I am excited to be taking part in the #BlogTour for Amanda Prowse's beautiful, heartfelt and poignant story AN ORDINARY LIFE.

Having not read Amanda Prowse before I had no idea what to expect, apart from what the premise outlined that had initially drawn me to the book for it's wartime subplot. And yet I wasn't prepared for the emotions it evoked in me. I can see why she is such a high-rated author as she has that ability to draw you in and make you feel as if you are the main protagonist with all her experiences of love, life and loss. I was initially drawn to this book for his historical fiction aspect but it's the easy contemporary style that leaves you feeling emotive.

AN ORDINARY LIFE is about one woman's extraordinary life that was anything but ordinary. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry and it will make you feel. It spans the years from 2019 to 1943 and throughout the years to the present day again. It is a tender tale, a beautiful story that is both heartfelt and heartbreaking...and it is about a secret carried over seven decades.

Christmas Eve 2019: Ninety-four year old Molly has a secret. A secret that she has carried for seventy five years and now she is the only one remaining that knows of it. She knows that at her age time is no longer on her side and this secret which she carries, she knows the time has come to impart that knowledge to the one whom it affects the most. Her son. And so she begins a letter but is unsure where to start. And then she sees another envelope marked "Private Correspondence" that spoke of the news the recipient never got to read and a tear escapes her eye. She places her unfinished letter to her son with the other aged envelope in her book "The Study of Flora" and sets it aside for a moment until she can gather her thoughts. A quick cup of tea and then she will finish it.

Molly carries the delicate teacup along the half-lit hall of her cosy cottage. She knew every nook, every cranny and every nuance of this house she purchased seven decades ago for her a little Joe. But her socked feet misjudged the two hundred year old staircase and she clutched her little teacup to her chest as if her life depended on it - it had been her grandmother's teacup - as if protecting it was of greater importance than any attempt to protect her aged bones. And as her frail body descended, she felt her head hit every step as she thumped her way down. The only two thoughts in her mind were - "This was my grandmother's teacup!" and "This may be how I die but I must finish my letter!" This, she thought before she drifted into dark oblivion.

It was her granddaughter Frances who found her and as Molly tried to tell her and the paramedics about her letter, she found her voice could only utter grunts and sounds. Now Molly finds herself in a hospital bed having suffered a stroke that has taken her words from her after a fall that has broken her body...but her mind remains alive with memories... And the thought that she must finish that letter.

London 1943: Nineteen year old Molly Collway works as a translator of both German and French for the Ministry of Information in her bid to help the war effort. She hopes this position will be a stepping stone to a career in Diplomacy although her family would rather she settle down with a nice young chap and have babies. But Molly wants more from life than domesticity. That is until her best friend Geer drags her along to a dance one evening and introduces her to her handsome brother Johan. As soon as their eyes meet, Molly forgets everything else and sees only him. They dance as if no one is watching, as if they were the only people in the room.

Time is short, as it was in wartime fraught with stolen moments, and Molly and Johan's was just that. A lieutenant in the navy, Johan is stationed in a secret location, though he assures her he is quite safe as he remains on English soil. The couple share only a handful of moments together before it is all tragically torn apart. But not before one stolen moment together that she now treasures - the memory of Johan's touch, his kiss and the feel of their nakedness.

But Molly while has no time to mourn, her mother has no time for her grief. She returns to work hiding a secret from everyone...except her sister Joyce, who urged her to tell their mother before she guessed. But too late, Molly returned home from work with a backache that lead to her locking herself in the bathroom and giving birth to her beautiful son who she named Joe, after his father. Her mother was shocked at the shame that Molly had brought on their good family name and told her that she nor the baby were not welcome under her roof. Molly's plan had been to save enough money to see her through her confinement and return to work whilst acquiring someone to look after Joe in her absence.

But things change. Especially in wartime. Molly soon found herself without a job and no way of taking care of Joe. So she decided on a temporary solution while she saved enough for her and Joe to live a comfortable life. She asked her sister Joyce to look after him and keep him safe until after the war when living in London was no longer a risk. It seemed the ideal solution...for now.

The remainder of the war saw Molly become an undercover operative with the French Resistance until she realised the danger before becoming a POW liaison officer for the duration of the war and beyond. Once the war was over, Molly decided a move to the countryside would be a far better life for a child and bought a cottage in Chelmsford in Essex. She decorated Joe's room in shades of blue and suspended her father's wooden airplanes from the ceiling...and prepared to welcome her son home at last. After nine months growing and blooming under Joyce's loving care, is this finally to be her's and Joe's happy ever after?

Without giving any spoilers away, suffice to say Molly's life continues throughout the years from post-war Britain to the sexual revolution of the 60s, the decadence of the 70s, the changes of the eighties, the losses that came with moving into another century up until her fall on Christmas Eve 2019. She changes as the times change and she loses many people she has held dear...including her beloved sister Joyce. Leaving Molly the only one remaining who carries the secret. And now, it seems she may never finish that letter that was so important to her.

Molly's story, her secret, her life...is anything but an ordinary life. It has known tragedy, heartache, loss, grief and pain but it has also known love, happiness, hope and even contentment. Her story is one that will touch you and leave you with tears of sadness as well as happiness.

AN ORDINARY LIFE is definitely a tale of a life that was anything but ordinary. It is a tale of reflection and of acceptance that is both emotive and compelling from beginning to end.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it...with tissues!

I would like to thank #AmandaProwse, #RachelsRandomResources, #AmazonPublishingUK and #Netgalley for an ARC of #AnOrdinaryLife in exchange for an honest review.

An Ordinary Life is the story of Molly Collway at 94-years-old remembering what a life she lived. This book takes you through her love, her careers, WWII, and the life after.
Amanda Prowse writes about family and the life sacrifices that either binds the family together or tears them apart. The love that binds you together with family and friends, or can tear you apart. She touches on homosexuality, childbirth and being single, depression or PTSD and so many other common society issues.
Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a preview copy of An Ordinary Life.

Readers who enjoy WWII stories will find this heart warming story a worthwhile read. Molly does not have an ordinary life as the title suggests. She steps out in a brave manner to help during the war as a translator and then assists the resistance. After the war she does her part helping but life is not always what ones expect. This dual time novel makes for an interesting read.

Christmas Eve, 2019: Ninety four year old Molly lies in her hospital bed. A stroke and a fall may have broken her body - but her mind was alive with memories.

London, 1940's: Molly is a bright young woman, determined to help the war effort and keep her head up despite it all. She meets and falls in love with a man who makes her forget everything with one dance. But war forces her to make an unforgettable sacrifice, and when she''s brought to her knees by a daring undercover mission with the French Resistance, only her sister knows the secrt weighing heavily on her heart.

Lying in her hospital bed, Molly realises she has not been able to fulfill a promise she made a long time ago. We go on a journey with her asshe reminisces about events that took place in her life. This is an emotional story about love and loss. It's descriptively written with a steady pace.

I have just finished reading An Ordinary Life by Amanda Prowse

An Ordinary Life is a Historical Fiction, with the main character Molly starting off the story at age 94. The story is based primary in England during war time

This really was not a good fit for me, as I found the writing and story to be almost geared for Young adults. I could not get into the characters and had a very difficult time finishing the book. It is rare for me to not want to finish a book once I start it.

I did only finish it, as I committed to a review. It is getting good reviews overall, so I am sure many readers will find it appealing.

Thank You to NetGalley, Author Amanda Prowse, and Amazon Publishing UK for my advanced copy to read, and review.

#AnOrdinaryLife #NetGalley

'When you're young, or just younger than we happen to be, it seems unthinkable that you will ever become the older people around you. I think the older you get, the more invisible you become'

Molly is 94 years old and on Christmas Eve 2019 she settles down in bed to write a letter that she should have written a long time ago, a letter revealing a secret that she has kept hidden for more than seventy years, but she never gets to finish it as she decides to go downstairs and, in a lapse of concentration, she loses her balance and falls down the stairs, resulting in a stroke and some broken bones. Now, lying in a hospital bed, all battered and bruised, she reflects back on her life, the man she met and fell in love with during WW2, the huge sacrifice she made and the secret she's held close all these years, the content of which, it seems now, will never be revealed.

There is nothing ordinary about the life of Molly Collway, who witnessed and dealt with so much tragedy and loss within a very short space of time during the war, making the ultimate sacrifice and then keeping it secret for such a long time, standing by the promise that she made to her sister until she thought the time was right. The story is told over two timelines, starting in 2019, then going back to 1943 where Molly begins her story in war torn Britain, reliving the trauma that many people can relate to during those terrible times, and hoping that future generations will never experience these atrocities in their lifetime. Amanda Prowse, once again, writes with dignity and compassion, a tale of love, loss, hope and adversity, creating real characters that, for the time that I was reading this book, I felt like they were a part of me. It is such a poignant tale and in true Prowse fashion, I was reduced to tears on more than one occasion, the quote at the beginning of my review really hit a nerve and I was a complete mess for a whole day. It's an exquisite piece of writing that deserves way more than the maximum five stars I am able to honour it with.

I'd like to thank Amazon Publishing and Netgalley for the auto approval. I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

Molly Collway is in hospital after a stroke and a fall. The elderly lady's thoughts go back to her life, one that seems ordinary but, in reality, was anything but.

In the 1940s, Molly meets Johan de Fries, a handsome naval officer, and is swept off her feet. Their love affair is brief as he has to go away on a training exercise. Molly then finds herself having to make the hardest of decisions, involving a sacrifice that only her sister, Joyce, can truly understand.

Posted briefly to France on a dangerous mission, Molly is scarred by what she sees, yet her love for her family and one person, in particular, keeps her going.

The scars of her wartime adventures leave Molly struggling and she takes a while to recover, but her life becomes rich in ways she could not have imagined. Now, lying in hospital, memories threaten to overwhelm her, the truth she wanted to voice for so long frustratingly out of reach.

This is a lovely yet bittersweet story, shot through with family life, decisions, and raw emotion, and felt very believable. Molly's journey, her struggles with mental health, the life she carves out for herself after the war, the family that grows around her, all relate to a person that deals with the various challenges life presents.

Molly is a force of nature but very real, never wavering in her love for those closest to her heart. The ending is tinged with sadness, and yet seems perfect. Whether her family comes to know the truth or not no longer seems important, but there is a sense of closure.

I was sent an advance review copy of this book by Amazon Publishing UK, in return for an honest appraisal.

Wow! Five star, five tissue read! Predicting best seller... Love, loss and so much more. Did Molly live an ordinary life, or so much more? No spoilers from me. If you enjoy historicals set during WWII and even if you don't I think this was a beautiful, heartfelt story. I say read it!

Molly is 94 and she's dying. She hasn't lived an ordinary life- not at all. This sweeps from the 1930s when she was 19 until the present and tells her story in a straightforward way. The WWII generation dealt with an incredible amount of loss and Molly was no exception. She lost her love, she lost, well, no spoilers from me. She also steps up to help the war efforts, first as a translator and then on missions to assist the resistance. And she works with POWs after the war. Post War life is not as easy for her as one would wish. Her story is well done- she's sympathetic and realistic. Prowse is a good storyteller so you'll be turning the pages. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of historical fiction.

I loved, loved, loved this emotional and heartfelt story of family dynamics, tragedy, love and forgiveness. I loved the development and growth of all of the the characters as the book progressed from World War II up to the present day.

The story begins in the present day when 94-year-old Molly Collway suffers a fall and a stroke. As she lies in her hospital bed unable to speak, except for the words "igloo" and "paws," she recalls her past beginning from the time she was an 18-year-old working as a translator during WWII. The story takes a lot of twists and it is really an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this wonderful book.

London, 1940s. Molly is a bright young woman, determined to help the war effort and keep her head up despite it all. Life becomes brighter when she meets and falls in love with a man who makes her forget everything with one dance. But then war forces her to make an unforgettable sacrifice, and when she’s brought to her knees by a daring undercover mission with the French Resistance, only her sister knows the secret weighing heavily on Molly’s heart.

Now, at the age of ninety-four, lying in her hospital bed, Molly can’t escape the memories of what she lost all those years ago.

Will she be able to find peace—and finally understand that what seemed to be an ordinary life was anything but?

When I started reading this, I did not think that I would love this book. It was such a beautiful and heartfelt story; I was so lost in Molly’s story that I did not even realize how the time flew and within a few hours I had finished reading it.

Often when we come across stories of people during the World War II, we hear and read examples of sacrifice, courage and exceptional strength through their actions. This story is no different.

This book takes us on a journey through Molly’s story. It covers the different experiences and emotions that one faces in life such as love, loss, grief, anger, joy and hope. Faced with some of the toughest decisions she did experience some emotional breakdowns but with every challenge or circumstance that Molly faced, she just grew stronger and never lost hope.

What’s amazing is that Molly considers her life ordinary but for us readers, it is far from that. In fact, I found her life both extraordinary and inspirational!

I would highly recommend this historical fiction to everyone! It is definitely worth reading!

Thank You NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for this ARC!

What a beautiful story! It really makes you ponder on what would be considered an "ordinary life" and the little things we take for granted. Molly lived through so much in this story but she knew the importance of family was everything.

This particular novel stood out for me, as firstly, I had read one of Amanda’s novels before and enjoyed it and also this one is initially set in WW2 which I always enjoy reading about.

An Ordinary Life is all about Molly. A 94 year old woman who is stuck in a hospital bed after having a fall. A suspected stroke has left her unable to speak and there is an important letter she wanted delivered before she passed away but she never finished writing it. Instead we are given the privilege of seeing Molly’s life through her memories.

This is an emotional, moving story filled with love, loss, drama, tears and laughter and everything in-between. It is about strength and hope and how one person can be stretched to the limit and still survive. This book will have you sobbing your heart out one minute and crying tears of joy the next. It is a rollercoaster of emotions and the best way to describe it is bittersweet.

The character of Molly shows us every emotion a human goes through in life; love, pride, jealousy, grief, sadness, joy, anger…the list goes on. She is one of the most rounded characters I have read in a long time and her pure raw emotion makes her easy to relate to, even to someone who hasn’t grown up during a war or suffered that much loss. Molly is a beacon of hope, she shows us that even the strongest fall but that it is possible to get back up again with the right help.

This was such a beautiful story of a life which Molly sees as just an ordinary life but to us it seems far from ordinary. But, then I guess, to Molly and millions of others during the war it probably was just An Ordinary Life.

I don’t usually read fictional WW2 stories as I love hearing about the true stories so much more but this one was so well written. It flowed really nicely and the timeline was not complex or confusing due to the dates written at the beginning of the chapter. However, I do recommend having tissues to hand when you read this.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ – highly recommended if you like your WW2 dramas or if you are into emotional stories.

On Christmas Eve, 2019, 94-year-old Molly lies in a hospital bed with a broken body but a mind that's alive with memories. She recalls her life in 1940s London where she met and lost the two loves of her life and lived an adventure she wants but can't forget. Today, she's considered an ordinary woman, but that's enough for her. Does it matter if anyone else knows the reality of her life?
This book made me laugh, cry, feel afraid, and rejoice. To me, any book that makes me feel is a success! I couldn't believe all the drama and trauma Molly had to experience, but the tragedies did make her stronger as she leaned on her family.
While there are some potential triggers in this book - profanity, sexual content, war violence, mental health challenges, adoption - Amanda Prowse has a way of weaving a tale that's historical, entertaining and real. I appreciated that she included a mostly realistic look at mental health challenges, too.
I would definitely recommend this book and read other books by the author.

An Ordinary Life was one of those books that tugs on your heartstrings from the beginning until the end. Great story line. Wonderful characters. Contrasts perceptions and behaviors over the years. Highly recommend this WWII historical fiction.

Definitely a story that pulls at your heartstrings.
Beautifully written historical novel.
Main character, Molly, has so much going on and tries to make the most of what she has. She has so many secrets that take a toll on her emotionally, physically and mentally.
The duel time line of present day to London in the 1940’s was very well done and keeps you engaged.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

What a wonderful book this was! So much more than historical fiction, more than a romance, it is the life story of a woman who lived a full, sometimes happy, sometimes sad life.

An Ordinary Life spans 76 years of Molly's life, starting with a remembrance at 94, then going back in time and tracing the intervening years. Molly's first job, first love and childbirth. It was a difficult time back then, and her mother was unloving and unsupportive of the baby, so she turned it over to his sister to raise as her own.

Molly's career follows a unique path as well, leading her into danger, heartache and mental illness. Through it all, Molly remains strong and lives a long life. She survives her siblings and cancer. There are secrets that follow her throughout her life.

I connected with this book on an emotional level, doesn't happen to me very often. It is a book that I'd consider reading again, and that almost never happens. Highly recommend.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.