Just when I think I have read the best Amanda Prowse book ever, I pick up another and send the jury back out. Amanda Prowse has an unparalleled understanding of a multitude of potential personal situations and really gets to grips with human emotions. I didn't read any of the blurb before reading The Food of Love, and I guess I should have guessed by the title, but before picking it up I had no idea what this book was about. What I could guarantee was that I would be in for an emotional read, so with tissues at the ready I turned the first page.

Freya and Lockie seem to have it all. A longstanding marriage and two beautiful confident girls...or so it would appear on the outside. So when Freya is called to school about her youngest daughter, Lexi, she is astounded to be confronted by a concern about Lexi's weight. Her daughter is happy and healthy, how rude of the teachers to insinuate such a thing! The seed, however, has been sown and as Freya notices more about Lexi she sees what others can see...her daughter is dangerously thin. So the battle begins...

Amanda Prowse has done it again! Aside from the fact that she made me cry, which I have to say is pretty much a given, she has gone straight to the heart of the matter, ripped the heart out and laid it bare for all to see. I really don't know how she does it, to choose a challenge in someone's life and lay it out so explicitly and emotionally. Although it felt like the Sword of Damocles, and I almost dreaded the end of each chapter, I loved the way that each chapter ended with a countdown, and I didn't know what it was counting down to but whatever it was I was powerless to resist hurtling towards it at the speed of light.

The emotion and feelings in this book are oozing out of every page and at times I felt like my heart was fit to burst. I think for me, one of the most powerful messages in The Food of Love is that we often don't see what is right in front of our eyes, especially when it relates to our loved ones. I do believe that we actually see into each other's souls when we love someone so we don't see them fading before our eyes. It shocks me now to look at photos of my loved ones in the last months of their lives, as I really didn't see them looking as poorly as they do in the photos.

I urge you to read this book; if you love someone open your eyes and look at them outside as well as inside. I wish I could give more than 5 stars to give some idea of how amazing The Food of Love is but don't just take my word for it, read it for yourself (with a pack of tissues handy, of course).

I don't usually quote passages from a book, but one beautiful sentence stood out so much for me that I just had to share it here as a closing thought:

Beauty is on the inside, beauty is goodness and it is nothing to do with a number or a dress size or a shape.

Well said, Mrs. Prowse, well said indeed!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Thoughtful/ emotional......loved it and recommended it to a friend struggling to understand her niece with an eating disorder.

This is a brilliant, fantastic story and I couldn't put it down. The storyline, I imagine does happen and I felt I was reading about a real family. We have mum Freya, dad Lockie and daughters Lexie 15 and Charlotte 17. Lexie develops anorexia and the whole family is torn apart. Freya, Lockie and Charlotte all feel as though they are responsible for Lexie having the illness. I would thoroughly recommend this book. Please have a tissue ready!!

Although this book is about an eating disorder this is not the only matter the book discusses. It is about the emotional effect this has on the whole family. I did not realise how everyone within the family is effected. Amanda Prowse writes with knowledge and emotion.. I really enjoyed this book, however I'm still crying. Read it with a large box of tissues.

Best by far from this Author; a definite MUST READ!

I will start this review by stating that I am already a HUGE fan of Amanda Prowse. So when I was given the opportunity to review this book I was delighted; and I was not disappointed. This is, without a doubt, her best book so far, and I still can't stop thinking about the characters and the storyline.
Having literally just finished "I won't be home for Christmas", I expected this to also be of a similar ilk, as I find Amanda's writing to be either chick-lit (which I love) or moving, emotive and tear-jerking ("3 and a half heartbeats", "What have I done"). This book was absolutely the latter style. And some!
The Braithwaites are an 'ordinary' family. Okay so we may criticise Freya, the Mother, as she is a little smug regarding her perfect family at first, but in reality she is justifiably grateful for what she has, a loving husband and 2 teenage girls who do well in and out of school. That perfect life becomes rocked by an evil illness that cripples family life. Each of them struggle in their own way with how anorexia is taking everything from them, piece by piece.
Initially, Freya is in denial that this could happen to them. The story is told from her perspective, however, wonderfully written, it also captures how this illness affects every member of the family unit. These parents love their daughter so much, and I'm sure we can all relate, that in fact, they are not helping her, at least initially, as Freya certainly fails to accept that her daughter is grasped by this chilling disease. Dad (Lockie) is stronger somewhat, but this is also killing him, seeing his daughter fade away and feeling helpless. Freya struggles and I wanted to shout at her to listen to Lockie, but I fully got that she wanted to protect her baby........Lexi's sister Charlotte also becomes the victim as she is neglected and life inside the Braithwaite's home becomes a difficult place to be.
This story educates; even if you have knowledge of this illness, it certainly made me think..... how we speak to our kids, especially girls. Did Freya plant a seed in her daughters mind the way she acted, or would this mental illness have taken its victim in Lexi regardless of her upbringing? You find yourself inside the head of Lexi, understanding and sympathising with how out of control her thoughts and feelings had become.
The characters in this book are entirely believable, which I think is difficult to achieve in such a harrowing story. The author just keeps getting better and this book is up there with one of the best I have read. The story will stay with me for a long time, at least until I become engrossed in her next book!

Another beautifully written tear-jerker from Amanda Prowse. A heartbreaking story about anorexia and the effects on not only the sufferer herself but also the wider family. You will need tissues, lots of tissues.

This is the first book I’ve read by Amanda Prowse. And even though I’ve been hearing nothing but praise for this author over the last two years I’ve been blogging, I just never seemed to get around to reading any of her books until now. I’d seen a lot of hype for The Food of Love so where better to start than with this.

As the book description say’s Freya has the perfect family, a loving husband and two beautiful teenage daughters until everything is turned upside down when Lexi develops an eating disorder. I’ve never had experience with eating disorders but having 3 children ( 2 teenagers and a nearly teenager ) this is something that as many parents would probably agree with plays on my mind so I was really interested to see how the author dealt with it. What I found was that Amanda Prowse deals with it sympathetically, its an emotional story that drew me in completely and sometimes I forgot it was just a story.

The characters come alive in this book, it’s so easy to imagine and picture the scenes as you read through. Each character feels real and reading how they go from a loving family to a family faced with such sadness and turmoil, how each one copes with Lexi’s illness was just heart breaking but eye opening as well.

You can really tell the author has done her research for this story. This isn’t a story just about Lexi who has anorexia, this is a story about a family, each one deals with it in a different way and each family member is affected in a different way. I really felt for mum Freya, as a mum you feel it is your job to protect your children and even when it is something out of your control the guilt that a mum feels is horrendous and all you want to do is protect and please your child. I really felt like I connected to Freya, having had a child go through a horrendous illness everything Freya was feeling and trying to do resonated with me.

This is a story that will stay with me for a long time and one that I highly recommend.

As with previous books I have read by this author I was drawn in straight away. Excellent characters that you care about and root for. Amanda Prowse is an excellent storyteller. Highly recommend The Food of Love.

A three and a half star rating.
A normal, happy family or is it? That's what it looks like from the outside. Mum, Freya, dad, Lockie and their two teenagers Charlotte and Lexie. All is going well until Lexie becomes anorexic. A harrowing story with plenty of detail of what happens, what it is like to have share a house with someone suffering from this illness. The reader almost feels they are living there too as there is so much information about what goes on. I realise we are meant to sympathise with everyone but this family was really annoying - so many pages where one of them was "shouting" (even before their troubles began), "yelling", "screaming", "screeching" and banging things around. Freya who thinks she knows best about everything, even more than the experts, refusing to listen to anyone else when she should have got a grip. This book is a definite eye opener to an awful situation that you wouldn't want anyone to have to go through, so this book is worth reading for that alone.

I found this to be a fantastic story line what a brilliant read

A sad tale of problems in a family. I don't think I would have chosen to read this subject matter but I like other books written by the author and had a review copy, so I finished it. I found the mother to be very irritating in not having realised the effect she was having on her child, but I have to say that the author has this spot-on as I have found exactly the same in real life. So an uncomfortable read, and I didn't expect the ending to be positive. If you are interested in the subject matter, this is a very well-written book and I would recommend it. Perhaps it is one of those books that should be issued to new parents?

This is a totally and utterly compelling read.
My heart broke for all those involved in this mental health story of anorexia.

For Freya the Mum. An excellent Mom who continually questioned herself. Going over the fact that maybe in some way she was to blame. What she said? What she did? The anguish that brought her was very much a Mother's emotional state with anything affecting your child.
The denial, then, the acceptance followed by "I can sort this, I'm her mom"

Lexi was a sweet child, being in the throws of anorexia did change her nature right away it was also picked up by the school. Then, of course Freya's denial surfaced.

Lochie her husband and father to Lexi and their other daughter, came across as a really excellent hands on father.

From all intense and purposes this family unit was majority very good, communication was excellent. But living with anorexia makes a person devious but not of they're own making.

The mental anguish that Lexi went through brought me to tears. Mental health thoughts/beliefs are immensely misleading to the norm. You get a distorted view. And that's what Lexi had.
Looking in the mirror wouldn't tell her that. The brain plays tricks.

Lexis sister I really felt for. Sometimes she had to take a back seat. Oftentimes seeing to herself. Thus the neglect she felt at times she understood but of course at times resented.
The main focus was on getting Lexi well.

The entire story had an impact on me. How we see food.
Bulimia, Anorexia and overeating. It's not the food is it, it's the mental way we control it.
"It" controls us, not us controlling it.

People find it difficult to understand but once you've read this book written in such a way you are looking in through the window at this family it takes on a complex view.

So touchingly written. It broke my heart.

What a fantastic read!

This book starts very gently with the initial snapshot of a happy family, almost too good to be true, setting it up for a gigantic body blow. This comes by stealth into the cosy family unit in the form of an eating disorder and worms its way to its heart, showing the pernicious effects on everyone involved, not just the victim. The novel traces the path from ignorance, incomprehension and avoidance to realisation and misery, and is at times harrowing and heart-wrenching, both for the family and the reader. The pace and tension is maintained by a nameless clock counting down the hours to create a sense of urgency throughout the second half of the book and ratcheting up a sense of panic that this disease may not actually be cured. I found myself drawn into the family and their individual experiences throughout this turbulent assault on their lives, finding myself caring about what would happen to all of them in the gripping final chapters. An absorbing read.

The Food of Love by Amanda Prowse is the emotional story of one family’s struggle as one of them battles anorexia. Freya Braithwaite is a freelance food writer and seemly has the perfect life. She is still desperately in love with her husband, Lockie, of 19 years. Her eldest daughter, Charlotte, is ready to take her exams and head to university. Her youngest daughter, Lexi, who despite her struggles with dyslexia, seems to be doing well. Until one day when Freya is called to Lexi’s school and the principal informs her that she suspects Lexi is anorexic. Soon the family is thrown into the battle for Lexi’s life where food is her enemy as well as her cure. Will Freya be able to help Lexi? Will Lexi be able to overcome the powerful hold that anorexia has taken over her life?
The Food of Love is a powerful and emotional story about the struggles and dangers of anorexia. The book explores the mental thought processes and the distorted thinking involved. The story also explores the impact the disease has on the loved ones and their lives. The Food of Love is an emotional, shocking and eye-opening story. My heart ached as I read Lexi’s tearful pleas and promises to stop and get help. I cried when the family was at a fork in the road and a difficult choice to make. I wept at the end. I highly, highly recommend it.

The Food of Love
is available on Amazon
in paperback, on the Kindle and Audiobook
as well as Barnes and Noble
in paperback and audiobook

Such a captivating and heart-wrenching book, I could not put this book down! Yet another brilliant read from Amanda Prowse.

The story takes you through how eating disorders affect the whole family and not just the one person.

This is one of the saddest stories I have ever read. Very true to life and shows the difficulty of dealing with mental problems, especially when related to a basic requirement of life. The devastating effect it has on the lives of all the family and the strength required to come out the other end are clearly shown. An amazing book which must have been very hard to write.

An exceptional insight into the eating disorder: Anorexia.
For parents with teenage children, especially girls, this highly educational book serves as a wake-up call. Our obsession with diet can easily go horribly wrong as it does for Lexi's family. The author's analogy that more teenagers and adults can name more diets than they can Government Cabinet members sums up the state of affairs. Everyday our newspapers contain details of another diet, carry adverts of Size 0 models, and contain news items on the extent of obesity. But little column space is devoted to eating disorders. Coverage of that topic doesn't sell newspapers.
The novel is based around a very ordinary family. One that most readers will easily identify with. A family which is to be tested to the very limit and beyond and it could happen to any of us. The book is an excellent read with very believable everyday characters. Amanda Prowse creates a wonderful and recognisable character in Freya, Lexi's Mum. (Albeit that at times Freya is frustrating as she instinctively lists the ingredients of every meal in her head! She is also guilty of not listening to teacher advice.)
As a male reader, I could easily identify with Lockie, who was my favourite character. And I thought he was the most objective of Lexi's parents at trying to deal with the crisis.
An excellent and educational novel which I recommend without hesitation to other readers.

Well, this book left me emotionally exhausted. It explored the topic of an eating disorder, something I knew little about, never having encountered a sufferer of this illness, and left me with an understanding and compassion for those who are affected. I started the book thinking that it was going to be almost like a fictionalised text book and perhaps a bit boring as a result but I soon became involved with the characters, some of whom I found to be absolutely infuriating at times. Perhaps not my favourite of Amanda Prowse's books, but certainly well worth reading.

Think this book is aimed more at mothers. I enjoyed it well enough but I probably would not have purchased it.

I really liked the way that Freya, the mother was portrayed as a flawed character who made some really bad decisions. I found it frustrating that Freya didn't act as I would have done but then realised that the fact I believed it was a real person who had chosen the wrong course was testimony to the excellent quality of the writing. I have personal experience of this issue through a friend of mine and I can tell you that while every case is obviously different, the parallels to my friend's situation were absolutely 100% accurate. The author must have done a considerable amount of research to portray it so well. 5 Stars all the way for me.