This book gave me some much needed laughter. A touching story of friendship, love, loss and family.
Thank you to the author Amanda Prowse, netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the arc book.

This story is about life, childhood friendships, dreams that have come true, others that remain at our fingertips not yet in reach. To loves that we had and lost, and loves that have started to blossom. From being a child to having a child of your own, too expecting another child all while not knowing if you're doing the correct thing, questions, doubts and never stop believing in yourself. It's sad and uplifting, and it has all the feels.

3.5 stars

I really wanted to like this more than I did, but I found myself having trouble connecting. It was well written, and emotional. I do of course recommend you read it yourself (when it releases) as I'm sure it will appeal to most readers. I received a review copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The story starts out and is very depressing. I almost stopped reading it a couple of times. The 2nd half of the book picked up, but it was very predictable.

What a beautiful Down to Earth Book very sensitively written about subjects that even in today's so called Modern World many people find hard to discuss even when those events are happening or have happened in their own lives! I cried & I laughed with Nick & his best mates Eric & Alex, I both laughed & I'll admit cried even more with Nick & his son Oliver over the loss of the big love in their joint lives Kerry! I got very annoyed at Nick's Sister in law Di, I wanted to shake her at times or slap her her face , others will realise why when they read this Book & I highly recommend that lots of you do.
So thank you Amanda Prowse for a truly wonderful read.

Nick's life changed early, when he was just a teenager, and he found out his beloved Kerry was pregnant. He had planned to go to university, but that wouldn't happen under the circumstances. Instead, he decided to go to work to support his new family at the biggest (pretty much only) employer in their small town. Now, eighteen years later, his son is ready to go off to university, and his wife is dying of cancer. He's still at the same job, and he's just not sure how he's going to navigate through everything, get on top of the bills, and carry on without his beautiful wife. This story is sad in places, uplifting in others, and so full of what real life brings. I found it insightful as Nick wrestled with problems and triumphs, situations we all go through, as we try to find our own happiness and also keep a balance in our relationships with family and friends when they may not agree with you. I was inspired by his determination to live his own life in spite of what others think. And I cared about what happened to him and those around him. This is a "real-life" story, and I highly recommend it. (I did receive an advance copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

Amanda Prowse does the seemingly impossible and makes a story about a young widower upbeat, inspiring, and even funny.

Nick and Kerry were high school sweethearts who married sooner than planned when their son, Oliver, was on his way. Nick gave up his dreams of university, and went to work for the local manufacturer. Shortly after Kerry dies after a long illness, Oliver leaves for university, forcing Nick to deal with two losses.

He has both the support and the eyes of the whole village upon him. Nick navigates some sticky situations with grace and humor, learning how to better deal with his son and bitter sister-in-law. Intermittent flashbacks to his childhood shows the solid base his mother and lifelong friend, Eric, have provided.

The Light in the Hallway will make you squirm, laugh, and cry, and enjoy nearly every minute of it. (And, yeah, Shit Sticks!) #NetGalley #TheLightintheHallway

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Nick has lost his wife to cancer and is left mourning and raising his teenage son. How he , his son Oliver and the rest of the family cope with the loss and try to build a new life is the subject of the novel. At the end of each chapter, there is a flashback to Nick’s own childhood. I found the book extremely predictable, one knew pretty much from the beginning how it will all pan out. No more than three stars for me.
Thanks NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced copy.

Amanda is one of my favorite authors. I never need to read the synopsis because I just know I want the book! The story is really about Nick and his teenage son, Olly, navigating their way through their grief. Nick’s wife and Olly’s mother, Kerry, dies near the beginning of the story. Nick and Kerry were relatively happy. They married young when Kelly was pregnant but they were in love. Olly finds her death particularly hard because he wants nothing to change. Simply beautifully written.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A tale of life, love & death. This book pulled me up short a couple of times and I had to put it down. Father and son struggle to come to terms with the loss of their wife & mother respectively. I’m sure there’s a lot of folks out there that can relate to this even without the tragic loss. Recommended read.

The Light in the Hallway is a beautiful story of love, self doubt, and redemption. On one hand the story of three friends who grow up middle class, learning what is really important in life. The friendship is carried through adulthood. When one of the friends loses his wife to cancer while in his thirties, he faces the unhappiness of his college age son who thinks he should devote his life to him. He soon realizes that what he is asking his father is unfair, but not before Dad has to face some serious soul searching, Amanda Prowse develops wonderful characters for all of us to identify with and love. A feel good story....curl up and enjoy!

This is a touching story about a father and son learning to live again after the loss of a wife and mother. Oliver, the son is 18 and about to go off to college, while his Dad struggles to adjust to his new normal. WIthout giving any spoilers I'll say the ups and downs they experience along with the love and support of family and friends, they made new lives for themselves. This is a sweet story of new beginnings without forgetting what came before

This book was an emotional roller coaster. The emotions started within the first few pages. It made you laugh as well as cry. First book I have read from this author and it was a decent quick read.
I received this book from Netgalley and I am leaving an honest review.

This is my first book by Amanda Prowse, and I was very impressed. Nick has just lost his wife to cancer. He and his son, Ollie, must move on with their lives and emotionally deal with all the changes. This touching and soul-searching story also includes flashbacks to Nick’s life as a child that give insight into his parents and friends. The characters and storyline are very believable, and you can’t help but feel touched by each character’s circumstances. Consider reading this book. I definitely recommend it. I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Nick's wife Kerry passes away in the very first chapter and the rest of the book walks us through the struggles both Nick and his son Olly endure after her passing. This book was unique that I felt like a fly on the wall watching Nick trying to find his place in life after Kerry dies. I read it in one afternoon so much that it kept my attention through out but let me also say that this is a sad story of two boys hurting. Thank you to Netgalley for our ARC.

Nice feel good book. It flowed very well. was easy to read. Nice characters. Good storyline. What’s not to love.

This is a delightful read, both joyful and gut-wrenchingly sad.
The title refers to Nick’s childhood home’s hall light which always throws out a big welcome to those coming up the path. But more than that, it is “a beacon, a sign of the life that lay behind the door, the promise of a warm welcome, a cup of tea, company, home.” For me, this description is a metaphor for Amanda Prowse’s writing. Reading one of her books is like slipping your feet into your comfy slippers and curling up in your favourite chair. She writes about everyday people facing life’s challenges, and has this incredible ability of writing totally familiar, real and believable characters. But while her writing is cosy, it is certainly never mundane. And she doesn’t romanticise life, but lays it on the line, warts and all.
The Light in the Hallway is about Nick, who has just lost his wife to cancer, and their son, Oliver. Oliver moves away to university while they are both still trying to get to grips with their loss. The story also takes us back to happier times: Nick’s boyhood in the early 1990s which he shared with his two best friends. I loved these glimpses into the past, which centre around one summer holiday during which Nick, Eric and Alec build a bicycle from an old bike frame – and a bicycle multitool becomes their most precious possession. As a keen cyclist this added another compelling dimension to the story, and Half Bike as the boys called their beloved bicycle was a character all of its own.
Amanda Prowse draws her readers right into the heart of her characters’ lives so that we rejoice for them and cry with them. I relished Nick’s great friendship with his old mate, Eric, and warmed enormously to the likeable, straight-talking Bev. And I would love to meet Nick’s wonderfully generous mum; she’s just what everyone needs in a mother.
Despite being very sad sometimes, this was such a feel-good book. It’s also very funny in parts, especially the boyhood humour and pranks repeated in adulthood. I was in hysterics when Eric covers the conference room seats with bin bags when schoolboy friend Piss Pants Will - now an important banker - comes for a crucial meeting.
The Light in the Hallway is all about families and love and friendships. It’s also about healing and dealing with the difficulties life throws at us. I particularly loved reading about those (mostly) halcyon days of the young boys with their bike, and seeing how they later faced the trials of adulthood.

Publisher’s description: When Nick’s wife Kerry falls ill and dies, he realises for the first time how fragile his happiness has always been, and how much he’s been taking his good life and wonderful family for granted. Now, he suddenly finds himself navigating parenthood alone, unsure how to deal with his own grief, let alone that of his teenage son, Olly.

In the depths of his heartbreak, Nick must find a way to navigate life that pleases his son, his in-laws, his family and his friends—while honouring what Kerry meant to them all. But when it comes to his own emotions, Nick doesn’t know where to begin. Kerry was his childhood sweetheart—but was she really the only one who could ever make him happy?

And in the aftermath of tragedy, can Nick and his son find themselves again?
************
Amanda Prowse’s books always make me run the gamut of emotions, and “The Light in the Hallway” is no exception.

Only in his mid-30s, Nick loses his childhood sweetheart to cancer just as his son Oliver is about to go off to university. He and Olly are devastated, and even though Nick and Kerry’s marriage was not perfect, Nick is lost without her and needs to learn how to navigate life without Kerry and face the loneliness of his newly empty nest.

With Kerry’s voice in his head as a guide, Nick faces the trials of when and how to move on if that’s even possible for him to fathom. He seems to disappoint Olly and his sister-in-law at every turn, and he finds himself the victim of bad timing over and over.

The story unfolds with alternating chapters between now and the “summer of absolutely brilliant” (1992), so we learn as we go how Nick became the man he is today.

This book is an emotional, heartbreaking-to-happiness journey worth taking.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. This title is scheduled for release on November 11, 2019.

The Light in the Hallway is a sweet story about Nick and his son, Oliver, after the passing of Kerry, Nick's mom. Both father and son are grieving in their own ways, and the months after Kerry's passing are difficult on their relationship. Throughout the story, Nick remembers the days of his youth and the friendships that he held dear. Nick ultimately finds happiness in his work and his life with friends and family outside work. This book is quite predictable, and the story is not especially original. It will appeal to female readers looking for a light read with a satisfying ending.

When I first read the book description, I thought that I had enough drama in my real life to be reading about someone else’s fictional suffering. Yet I decided to give the first chapter a chance. About 12 hours later, I was finishing the last chapter, after a journey through pain, grief, longing, recovery, redemption and hope. The setting of the story may have been foreign to me, but the feelings conveyed by the nicely written prose are universal. A great read, a great comfort.