Amanda Prowse

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2 stars!

Born a little bit different “like someone held the instructions upside down or lost a part when they opened the box”, Thomasina “Hitch” Waycott just wants to find love and be loved. Born with a cleft lip among other deformities, she learns at a very early age that words hurt. She lives on a farm/B&B with her parents and brother, who gets to experience things Hitch can only dream of. Until she meets a handsome stranger, just a little bit different. show more

You will fall in love with Thomasina as you see her struggle and grow. Your heart will break with her as you see kids and adults can be cruel. You will watch this caterpillar grow into a butterfly as she opens her eyes and finally sees the people around her. But, all the while, you will cheer for her to get what she wants. This book is full of wonderful characters, realistic situations, transformations all the way around. I hope this book makes you look at people who are different in a whole new light.

For me, this book is reminiscent of “Eleanor Oliphant” with its quirky characters. But this book was so much more relatable for me. Thoroughly enjoyed this read, my first by this author, and look forward to reading more of her books.

I received an ARC of this book. Opinion is mine alone. show less

Amanda Prowse is an author I have been meaning to read for a long time and so I jumped at the chance of reading her latest book, The Things I Know. I am, of course, kicking myself for not reading her work before as I absolutely loved it.

It's the story of Thomasina Waycott, known to everyone as Hitch. Why the name? Well, she was born with several medical problems such as a cleft lip, a foot that makes her walk on tiptoe and a weak heart, but it's the cleft lip that earned her the nickname as show more it formed a sort of hitch. In a way, it's a bit of a mean nickname but it's all she's ever known and even her parents use it.

Hitch dreams of another life, one where she is allowed to be free of the day to day constraints of her family's farm. She loves the farm, particularly her beloved chickens (one of the chicken scenes made me cry!) but she longs to have her own set of cake tins, ones she can fill with cakes made with love for a man, and a family of her own.

Until Grayson Potts turns up in her life, it's just that, a dream, but he makes Hitch feel as though she can achieve anything. The way they feel about each other is just wonderful and somehow Prowse manages to make those feelings mean so much and come across perfectly, rather than them coming across as twee.

I loved Hitch, but I really loved Grayson. I loved that he saw beyond Hitch's physical issues, that he saw underneath the surface to the person beneath. Grayson's also one of life's misfits and he's the perfect match for Hitch. Their growing mutual affection just melted my heart.

At one point when I was reading I thought to myself how beautifully simplistic it was. This is the scene, when Grayson, a Londoner, experiences the country air and the space, and I thought it was really lovely:

"Weaving along the country lanes, Hitch glanced to her left, taking in the sight of Grayson Potts with his head leaning out of the open window as the wind lifted his hair, eyes closed, shirtsleeves rolled above the elbow, and with an expression that looked something close to bliss. He reminded her of Buddy [her dog] when he was allowed to travel up front. There was something about this man - and curiously, she suspected that the magical thing was how he made her feel about herself."

I was captivated by this wonderful book. I adored the way Grayson stood up for Hitch, much more than he would for himself, and also the way that Hitch blooms and changes over the course of the story. They both have their family demons to deal with and what could have made them stronger as a pair sometimes threatened to pull them apart. However, I was very happy with the ending and I shall say no more!

So, what do I know after reading The Things I Know? I know that although this was my first Amanda Prowse book, I seriously hope it won't be my last. I know it's a beautiful story of love, family, overcoming doubts and problems and finding ways to be happy. And I know that I thought it was fantastic. show less

The Day She Came Back is another wonderful story from author Amanda Prowse. Her publisher has written, “. . . Amanda writes stories of ordinary women and their families who find their strength, courage and love tested in ways they never imagined.” And her superpower is that she makes these ordinary women extraordinary, the women you want to meet, the woman you want to be.

Victoria has led an ordinary life, rather small and narrow, but has felt loved, happy and protected. Raised by her show more elderly grandmother, Prim, with only one really close friend, Daksha, an ordinary job in a shop, and the usual teenage girl crush on the jock at school, Flynn, who doesn’t even know she exists. School is over, she’s eighteen, and looking to expand her horizons, starting with a year of travelling and adventure with Daksha. Victoria is happy. Well, happy enough. Her mother is dead, and Victoria never knew her. She’s dreamed of that mother she never knew, of a miracle where her mother just shows up and says, “Hey, I’m your mother. I’m not really dead after all. I’m here, and I love you.” But that’s not going to happen. Or is it?

Victoria is in town kind of flirting with Flynn who has suddenly noticed her. She delays going home because this time with Flynn is so new and scary – and a little bit exciting. But when she finally get home and pops to the garden room ready to tell Prim all about it, she discovers Prim in her favorite chair, passed away.

Prim is literally the only family Victoria has. Daksha is possibly the best friend ever and her family is there for Victoria, but it’s not quite the same. Flynn starts paying a lot of attention to her, but she’s afraid to enjoy it, wonders why he says he likes her now, and has no experience whatsoever with the hazards of young love. And most shocking of all, she sees a woman lurking at the edge of Prim’s funeral. A woman who comes to the house afterward and says, “Hey, I’m your mother, I’m not really dead after all. I’m here, and I love you.”

What happens next in this book is a heart-wrenching, heart-warming journey with Victoria as she works her way through all of this. It’s part coming of age, part learning to grieve, part finding out about secrets that could change her life forever. Having her mother now – if this woman is in fact her mother and not just someone trying to take advantage of her – is wonderful, right? Yes, certainly, maybe, but then why would Prim have told Victoria her mother had died? Prim was always, always, always there for her, but if she lied . . . ?

Wonderful story, wonderful characters, wonderful author, made me laugh and cry and love Victoria so much. Thanks to the author and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of The Day She Came Back. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it. All opinions are my own. show less

**Some Spoilers Ahead**I really hate giving books bad reviews, but I wouldn't be a decent reviewer if I didn't give an honest review. So, here it is: The title of the book, The Art of Hiding, is appropriate - I'm sure there was a cohesive plot hidden somewhere, but I couldn't find it. Don't get me wrong - I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't.

In the first chapter Nina's husband Finn is killed in a car accident. Without preamble of any sort, we're supposed to feel sorry for show more her and her over-the-top wonderful life. We're told the boys go to a prestigious school, they have a fantastic home and everything money can buy; but we're not shown anything of their life together. Without that, it's really hard to feel compassion for Nina and her family.

Especially since she's apparently a complete idiot. There - I've said it. She reminds me of those long ago films where the man marries a featherhead and tells her: "don't you worry your pretty little head about it, I'll take care of everything." Apparently, this is how Finn treated Nina, and she believed it. And where did it get her? ￡8 million in debt. How? How can anyone be that far in debt and be so stupid as to not know it? Finn must have been a master of controlling his emotions, because Nina. Had. No. Clue. None whatsoever. No idea they owed anything.

So now she's out on her ear, no home, no prestigious school, and begging his family for a place to stay. Of course, they have no room for her. What kind of people are they? They basically tell her to go live on the street with their nephews; their brother's children - one has to wonder about the kind of relationship they had with him in the first place. They didn't care that their sister-in-law and her sons were thrown into the street. Didn't try and find a place for them anywhere. It was just, 'sorry, you're on your own!' I'm surprised they even showed up for the funeral.

I also thought that it didn’t ring true that balliffs would enter a house with only a minor present. I’m pretty sure there are laws against that. But even this scene was, again, over the top. A blender? Really? How much could they get for that? ￡10? What's next, shampoo? I get that the author was trying to show us how truly destitute Nina was, but I have a hard time believing that a man who supposedly loved his family wouldn't have hidden money somewhere, or that Nina, having grown up in poverty, wouldn't have done so herself. Also, I don't know how it works in the UK, but in the USA creditors cannot take life insurance policies (they can try, but the funds cannot be diverted unless they're specifically written for the purpose of debt payments - so Nina should have at least had something from the life insurance. (Now, if she were on the lien, maybe - but since everything was in Finn's name, probably not).

This had to be one of the most depressing books I’ve ever read. I slogged (literally) through it and just couldn’t like Finn or Nina. Finn because he seemed like a royal ass - keeping things from her and not even trying to provide for her in the event something happened (as it did) - and Nina because she seemed a total idiot. The boys seemed to bounce back unreasonably quick from the loss of their father and the only life they’ve ever known. They went from being rich to poor and it was like, ‘Whatever. What’s for supper?’ Most kids having gone through this would be rebellious or in therapy. These kids went from being rich to poor with barely a problem between them. It just didn't seem realistic.

I never felt a connection with Nina, Finn or the boys, and unfortunately, the book never seemed to touch me in any way, and that's the sad thing. All it really did was ensure that I will never read another book by this author. Two stars for the writing. show less