I received this book complimentary from NetGalley but all opinions are my own. 
Ah this was sweet. I didn’t love it but I liked it. It was sweet and well written. Nick, Kerry, Bev, Olly, Eric and Jen were all lovely characters with good depth and interesting. Di was a nightmare. Agh. Other than Di, it was good!

The light from the hallway was a powerful book full of feelings and emotions. It is a heartfelt story about a father and his son, and how they are trying to continue with their lives after the wife and mother passed away. 
It was interesting to read about the husband, we get the see how a husband feels and acts after losing the love of his life. The flashbacks to the past, to Nick’s childhood, let us build his story and his character. At first, I did not care for the flashbacks but they were sweet and fun and I loved his friendship with Eric.
The way the story is written wraps you up and captivates you; many scenes just water your eyes and knot your throat. It lets you see how grieving can be and I liked how Nick thins about it, and how confused he is by what is right or what other people say its right. Ollie was an interesting character, but I couldn’t fully connect with him, maybe I am being harsh, but he was immature, and I know, I know he lost his mother, but he acted like he was twelve sometimes. At the end, there is a huge development from the characters and the story and it was ok. 
Overall, I liked it. Although it was not an easy read because it is not sugarcoated; it talks about dead, it talks about flawed, real people and that is one of the reasons I liked it. I will definitely keep my eye on Prowse’s books.

The Light in the Hallway by Amanda Prowse was a slow read for me, it took a lot longer to finish and seemed to drag at times. I found the book to be beautifully written and had plenty of backstory on all of the characters to give a real sense of knowing them, the story alternated between present day and the summer the main character was ten. The setting is a small town and the majority of the characters are around from that summer at ten to the current time. This book deals with the huge loss of a wife/mom/sister/daughter and how everyone adjusts, not always at the same pace and definitely not with the same expectations of how things should be handled going forward. Amanda Prowse writes about family drama that is full of emotion and she is quite good at it, this book is no different, it will tug at your heartstrings.

An emotional, heartbreaking, yet hopeful tale of loss, moving on and family. This is the story of Nick and Kerry, and then Nick when Kerry dies. Her death means something different to everyone close to her and Nick has to absorb their grief, as well as his own. His son Olly, is his greatest concern.

The book explores Nick's past life to illuminate the man he's become, and explain his attitude towards losing his soulmate. There are many poignant moments in this book, as you would expect, but also lighter, happier events, to symbolise that life goes on. 

For me the title 'The Light in the Hallway', symbolises comfort, the dark can be frightening, but less so if you can see some light, close by. The light is also a symbol of hope, something to work towards and get you through the dark days of grief.

The characters are realistic and easy to empathise, you understand Kerry's family's reaction to him trying to move on. Ultimately, this is a positive, uplifting story of the importance of family and the resilience of humans.

I received a copy of this book from  Lake Union Publishing via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading this book. The character development is good as a father and son explore how to relate to each  other and extended family after the death of their wife/mother. The questions of what the new normal is, how does life go on, how grief is dealt with, and how long before new love can be considered. Life transitions are navigated with sub themes of sacrificial love, growing up, and community development.
 #goodreads

Another good book by Amanda Prowse. An emotional and heart wrenching story about love and loss. It didn’t have a great deal of content however I liked the main concept of the storyline and enjoyed the characterisation.

Having lost a spouse at 38 years old, I could completely relate to this story.  The is an emotional roller coaster of guilt, fear, sadness, love, loss and how it takes it’s toll on a person.  Time is so precious.  If you want to read a life lesson story, The Light In The Hallway is as realistic as it gets and depicts life after loss quite accurately.  Who decides the grief rules?  What’s right and wrong?  When has enough time evolved to move on?  How can people judge not having ever been in the same circumstance?  Loss in the same family can be very different for each family member. 

Nick looses his spouse and life rolls on, even when he hopes it won’t.   His son Ollie is dealing with his grief in his own way.  I loved that Nick was strong enough to move his life forward even when his son and sister in law didn’t agree and laid guilt on him for wanting just  a little happiness for a change.  I also enjoyed that the author created a marital relationship that was far from perfect, making the story all the more effective.  This one is real life folks.  Great read

Amanda Prowse always delivers books which make my emotions feel strong: laughter and tears. I feel and am with the characters every step of the way and that is way I love her books. Another great read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

I read The Art of Hiding by the same author and mostly liked it except for some one dimensional depictions of rich people in the book. Here, again, the story follows the death of a spouse, but this time the husband is the widower who has to move on with his son. The writing is good, so the choice comes down to where you are as a reader. Pick this one up if you're in the mindset for an emotional read. Steer clear if you're looking for escapism. 

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another great read from Amanda Prowse! Through the trauma of Nick’s Wife, Kerry passing, he has to work out how to live without her all while supporting his teenage son. There are complications and difficulties along the way but Amanda deals with the subject of grieving and coming to terms with their loss so well. This discusses both Nick’s grief and that of his son but also the interactions from other family members, who aren’t always supportive!

The story is told through Nick’s past and present, there are tears and laughter along the way, but it concludes as a life-affirming and hope-filled book.  

A great story that kept me involved from the very first page.

I have never read a book by this author before, and wow, it was absolutely amazing. 

It was an emotional read at times, heart wrenching, made you laugh and cry at the same time. I just loved the characters, the plot, and just all around everything about this book.. I will be finding more books by her and diving into those as well.. 

Thank you for the chance to read this book..

Dramatic and heartbreaking look at life after a tragedy, how those who are left behind must figure out how to cope with life now that their loved one has passed.

This is an interesting book about how Nick and his son Ollie cope after his wife's death from cancer. Nick struggled as a single parent and Ollie also struggled with the thought of his Dad finding a girl friend.
Also had flashbacks to Nick's childhood and his 2 friends he spent time with, in a small village. Highly recommended  and thanks to Netgalley for an Arc.

The Light in the Hallway was gifted to me by NetGalley. 

Amanda Prowse dives deep into the live of a man and his son after the loss of his wife. Real life relatable topic with relatable characters.

Wow, Amanda Proswse, has done it again! The Light in the Hallway.. has it all, friendship, marriage, parenthood and moving on. Nick has such amazing ties to his best friends growing up and his wife & son. The author develops both relationships beautifully by going from present to the past. Nick’s wife, Kerry is at the end of her fight with Cancer and Nick has to face his life without his wife and navigate through all the changes. What I loved about this story was that it was so honest, so raw and from the husband’s perspective. Nick had to learn to lean on people, develop new relationships and set a future up for himself. This was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star read for me and I would recommend this to other readers.
The Light In the Hallway was gifted to me by Netgallery

I'm normally one of Amanda Prowse's biggest fans, but unfortunately this just didn't hit the mark for me.  I struggled to connect to the characters and lacked the compulsion I normally have to read it one sitting, or even long sittings. 

Without any real character connection I just didn't really feel their ups and downs. 

At times I was engrossed, at others not so much. My favourite parts was the story of the summer when Nick and his friends were about 8, that formed a key part of their childhood.  I loved those sections, wished they were longer, as I really loved young Nick, Erik and Alex and their attempts to build Half Bike, with Erik going through such a tough time as a kid. 

But those adults, I think its because they have stayed in the same small town all their lives, and I'm from London and travel a lot, I just felt so far removed from their day in day out drudge of life, that the book fell short for me I'm afraid.

A wonderful book and well written. When a mother and wife passes away everyone’s life is in turmoil.  Reading how this father and son pull themselves together even with it’s ups and downs is inspiring,  Have never read this author but I’m now looking forward to reading more by her!

Nick is dealing with his wife's illness and had to deal with his young son.
Amanda Prowse shows how to deal with life itself.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. Being from a small Yorkshire town myself, I could identify with not only the location but the characters. I swear they were plucked straight from my childhood. I especially liked how we got chapters from 1992 and present day. It gives us much more insight into the characters and what they have been through to arrive where they are. 

It is impossible not to fall for Nick who has recently lost his wife and is struggling with how to be a dad while also managing his and his son's grief. It is an honest account complete with failings, ie just because someone is suffering grief it doesn't mean they know how to behave or what is expected of them. Nick is coping, the best way he can. It is so much more though than a book about grief, its about friendship, love, tolerance, new beginnings and hope! Hope you like it has much as I did.

The Light In The Hallway is the story of a man’s grief when he loses his wife to cancer. Not only does Nick have his own feelings to deal with but also the grief of his ‘half man/half boy’ son. Olly is eighteen and on one hand, an independent university student but also a child desperately missing his mum.

Nick finds that there are unwritten rules about how a bereaved person should act. He stumbles along trying to find some sort of normality but realises that his actions are scrutinised by his wife’s relatives, work colleagues, neighbours and to some degree his own son. He has imaginary conversations with his late wife Kerry who urges him to move forward and be happy. However, in a small town where everyone knows each other…it is easier said than done!

I have read many books about the effects of grief but usually looking at the subject from a woman’s perspective, so this book was a refreshing change.
I loved Nick’s honesty towards his marriage and he doesn’t put Kerry on a pedestal. He acknowledges that if he hadn’t married and become a parent so young, his life could have been very different. He is also aware that his wife made mistakes in the marriage which made life hard for both of them.

The story is interspersed with chapters going back to Nick’s childhood and growing up with his two best friends. Life seemed very simple for the three lads who are presented with a Half Bike at the beginning of the school holidays by Nick’s father. He knew that a project like collecting parts and assembling a fully working bike would be a really useful life lesson for the young boys.

There is tremendous warmth, humour, and compassion in this story. I liked Nick but found all of the characters endearing and they each had their own story to tell. This is not just a story about grief but also deep friendship, family loyalty, and new beginnings. I loved Treacle the dog who gave enormous comfort to Nick (even if she did steal the Christmas turkey!)

I highly recommended this book especially if you have recently lost a loved one. It shows that grief affects people differently and the only way forward is to just do your best.