Madeline grew up in a household where money was tight. Bare necessities were met, but there was no thing left for anything extra. She made up her mind that she wanted a challenging and well paying career. And she'd achieved it. Madeline was very happy with her life. She was about to move to Los Angeles permanently.

A family crisis has upset the order of her life and she has had her eyes opened to a number of things that she's missed. She's not upset with any of the choices that she's made up to now, but maybe her life isn't exactly what she wants going forward.

This is a book that highlights the decisions that women made about how they lead their lives. I have made decisions not all that different from Madeline's and like her, I've been happy with my life. The book might cause readers to reexamine their own lives.

I did find the first part of the book confusing because of similar names. But keep on going - all is explained.

I can't think of a better way to start a new year than with a new book from Amanda Prowse. I've had This One Life on my kindle for a little while but I knew I was going to struggle with reading and focus through December, so I decided to wait before starting it. I can never read Mandy's books with anything less than clear focus. They deserve that, at least.

So I picked up my kindle on New Year a Day and instantly fell into Madeline's story. Mads is a complex and conflicted character, and I really felt for her; so torn between worlds. My emotions were all over the place. Marnie and Dougie tugged at my heart with their tender love. Jimmy had me swooning. Trina and Mads reminded me of me and my childhood bestie, Nicole, with their bond like sisters. And then there's Edith. How could anyone not fall head over heels in love with Edith? She is everything I ever dreamed of having.

The tension and drama in this book is a little higher than most of Mandy's books, but that is in no way a bad thing. It made it hard to put down. But there's still every single ounce of the family, love, and heart that you expect in an Amanda Prowse book.

What a start to my reading year!!

A very big 4.5⭐️

Set in dual timelines, it felt a little slow to come together but when it did I was anxious to see where it went. This will definitely stir the emotions, tug at the heartstrings. What would you be willing to give up for the perfect life? And, can it really be perfect knowing what you gave up? We have a few clues at the end of the book but, I wish there was an epilogue fast forwarding a year or two and tying it all up in a neat little bow.

A dual timeline story follows Madeline, who is determined to leave her past behind and make a career for herself. When an event means she is called back to her past, can she unpick her emotions and combine her two lives?

A difficult book for me to review, as I really didn't like Madeline at all, she was incredibly hard to relate to. I loved the little girl, who brought innocence to the story, and I totally understood Trina's feelings. I found it a very hard book to read, but definitely an interesting examination of family relationships.

To begin with I found the story a bit confusing as it was told in alternating chapters of now and eight years ago. But it all made sense as I got into the book and it ended up as a lovely heart-warming family story which is what we expect from this talented author. Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review. Five stars from me

2⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced copy of This One Life.

Madeline has always wanted better for her life and she had big dreams and she is determined to let anyone or anything stand in her way. When her mother has a heart attack it shakes up her world and makes her start thinking about the choices she has made in life and if she is truly happy.

I really wanted to like this book but I really did not like the female main character Madeline at all. She came off as very selfish and had a very superior attitude throughout the entire book. The way the book jumped back and forth made it feel like the storyline was very disjointed. I also felt like the book drug on a little too long. I liked the idea of the book but felt like the execution could have been better.

Madeline didn't have much growing up, but she had an abundance of love from parents Marnie and Dougie, who both only wanted what they thought was best for her but, as the years went by, she wanted more for her future than the life she was accustomed to. She had a good job and was about to move to LA to pursue her dream, then her mother became ill and everything that Maddie had worked so hard to escape from, including a decision she'd made seven years earlier, made her question whether what she was doing was right and what did it mean for those loved ones that she was leaving behind?

This One Life is the latest family fiction by this fabulous best selling author who, as I've said before, puts pen to paper and creates a work of art. Told over two timelines; the present day and eight years earlier we learn about Madeline's life and why she made the decisions that bring her to where she is today. Coming from a similar background to Madeline, I can see her reasons for wanting better, but family and friends have always come first for me, so abandonment would never be an option, having said that, that life is not for everyone and, with all said and done she really did love her family, she just didn't think she could have it all. This is a thought provoking story with many moral dilemmas along the way, highlighting the lengths someone will go to in order to be happy, the consequences faced and the long term ripple effect these will have on the ones we love.

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

This one life is a story about growing up and finding your identity seperate to your family, story switches back and forth which can be hard to follow.

This one was a hard one for me to read - I found myself loving the overall message of the book - you only get one life so you really need to make sure you are happy, but the characters I just did not feel anything for. Madeline I just didn't like - I didn't connect with her at all, and the jumping back and forth into the past didn't really do anything for me to like her, either. I did however enjoy the ending and how it shows it's not all one size fits all - sometimes you really don't need to be like everyone else - you can make your own path.

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Madeleine, lived an unconventional life, but it worked for her. When her past catches up to her, and she sees, all that she has and had, it makes her think about her future. Is there a way to blend the past with her future, can she make it work now when she couldn't back then, so many questions she discovers she has. But only she can make the decision of what to do going forward, if she is willing to take the time to make things right with some people, she might see a way to blend the past, with her future, and find the life, she always dreamed about but knew it was what she wanted.
A book about discovering who you were, what you have now, and do you want to take that leap of faith, to have a future, that just might be the best for everyone. It made for a great read.
I received an ARC from Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley.

Thank you NetGalley, Lake Union Publushing and Amanda Prowse for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a hard one for me. I struggled with getting into the book and considered stopping several times. I wasn’t drawn to keep reading with this book like I often am.

I think it being told in 3rd person was part of the issue. Another part may have been not really loving any of the characters other than Edith.

Madeleine was a tough character for me to connect with. I respect everyone’s personal decision on “having it all”, even beyond that situation she seemed very materialistic and self absorbed.

Tropes:
Closed door, zero spice.
Complicated family dynamics.

What would you do? Madeline is admittedly not the most likable character in a Prowse novel but she's one who is thought provoking. This is very much a novel about decisions and consequences. She's worked hard to get where she is. An unplanned pregnancy led to the birth of her daughter who has been cared for by Madeline's mother as Madeline worked her way to what she's got ahead of her- a new job in the US. in Los Angeles. But it's not so simple especially since her mom is ill. No spoilers from me. As always Prowse's storytelling will have you turning the pages. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A fast read.

This is probably a 3.5* but since I have given 4-5* to her others I just can't bump it up.

Madeleine is brought up with so much love, her parents are hardworking and respectful of each other and even though they are poor the important thing is that she is loved. Madeleine wants it all, a perfect apartment, the perfect job and a big bank account so turns her back on her parents to pursue a career in design but when she is 20 she finds out she is pregnant and this is a glitch in her plan as she never wanted to be a mother. When her mother, Marnie, insists on raising her granddaughter with complete transparency things start to feel off. Edith spends most of her time with her grandparents and weekends with her father, Jimmy, with Madeleine making rare appearances. I didn't like Madeleine for the most part probably because I just didn't understand her motivation. As she is preparing to move to LA her mother becomes ill and things start changing and it just wasn't believable to me.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Lake Union for providing me with a digital copy.

Madeleine is not a particularly likeable character. She’s a highly driven single woman who has made some hard decisions fir herself, always true to her goal of being successful in her career. Neither romance, nor impending motherhood, nor loyalty to her parents can turn her head from doing what is right for herself.

Some years after she’s made a life altering decision, Madeleine needs to return home and eventually face the repercussions of a choice she made earlier in her life. Choices are never simple although it seemed more cut and dry for Madeleine than it would have been for me.

This was a quick and painless read but just didn’t leave me with much. I couldn’t identify with any of the characters- they were all extremely true to themselves from beginning to end. Yet I did question the plausibility of a pregnancy hardly showing right up until the end. What I did finally come away with is that other people’s decisions have to be right for them even when I don’t agree.

Not a bad book. Not a great book. My first Amanda Prowse read and I would definitely try another. It will be available on January 7, 2025. You might enjoy it Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

My thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘This One Life’ written by Amanda Prowse in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Madeleine is finally moving to LA and getting the fancy-pants job she’s been dreaming of. It isn’t until her mother is taken ill that she wonders about the decisions she made eight years ago. Did she even consider the repercussions they’d have on her loving parents Marnie and Doug and her friends Trina and Jimmy, or was she selfishly thinking only of herself?

Amanda Prowse has only gone and done it again! ‘This One Life’ is a wonderfully emotional story that tells of the affinity between family members as Madeleine asks herself whether she can have everything that she wants without it affecting others. This is a beautiful story written with poignancy and understanding as Madeleine reminisces on the decisions she made eight years ago. She finally realises what’s most important is that you have just one chance in this life and you need to make the most of it. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this remarkable novel that’s been a pleasure to read.

This is a book about consequences. How any decision we make can affect our families and the people around us. Madeline grew up on the side of town where you just get by. As an adult she wants more and leaves that life to pursue her fortunes. Then a complication happens and she must decide if she should go home or keep pursuing her dream. What will her decision cost her? Can women have it all?
This is a story that will make you think of your own life and the decisions you have made? Different decisions could have meant a different life? Do we ever know if we made the right choices or do we just make peace with our choices we made?

Thank you to #NetGalley, #AmandaProwse, and #LakeUnionPublishing for a copy of this book.
#ThisOneLife

This is a good story about finding the path you are meant to follow in life. When Madeleine was young, she faced a situation that would change her life forever. Now, 8 years later, she has some decisions to make about what’s next. I enjoyed this story and look forward to the author’s next book!

Madeline has fought poverty, worked her way up in life and is very close to having her 'dream life'. She has now been given the opportunity to move to the States and pursue her dream job. To do this, she needs to leave everything behind - something she's more than happy to do, until her family suddenly needs her. Will she chose herself or her family? Her old life or a new?

Will we judge her? Most certainly.

Will we want to be like her? Also, most certainly.

Would we have chosen the same as her? Then? Now?

The moral dilemmas posed in the story are astronomical - but perhaps would have been less so if Madelaine had been male?

Thought provoking and increasingly emotional as more of the past is revealed.

Quotes from the ARC (so may not be in the final version):

--> [...] how she had been the girl who wanted more, while he [...] only wanted enough
--> ‘Don’t you want more?’ [...] ‘I think’ – he paused – ‘that I don’t want more necessarily. I only want enough, and I know that enough will make me happy.
--> ‘Someone once told me to remember that no story is about how it starts, but always about how it finishes.’
--> [...] one thing she had learned was that things didn’t have to be perfect or everlasting, they only had to be enough.
--> I just want someone who is going to show up, someone who instinctively knows what I want and when I need it, and who just shows up!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. This was a very good story about the choices one woman has made in her life and the questions she has to ask herself after some events happen that changes the situations. She felt a little selfish to me and I didn't catch the main conflict until later in the story... can't say it or it will be a huge spoiler.

Another thought provoking and emotional read from this author who always writes about real people and situations and gets to the heart of human emotion. The message in the book is that life for some people on the outside might not be the same as it json the inside and not everything is as it seems.