When Nick Bairstow’s wife, Kerry, passed away, he was truly lost without her. Their 18-year-old son, Oliver, was angry and frightened after losing his mother, and Nick had no idea how to help him reconcile his feelings and still carry on with his dream to attend university. Kerry’s sister Diane is heartbroken and hostile, pitting Olly and Nick against each other, while Nick’s best friend Eric is his rock, supporting him and being by his side whenever needed. The ties that bind friends and family together can often be wrapped too tightly, and Nick must learn how to renegotiate his relationships with everyone now that Kerry is gone.

I enjoyed this story of renewal and hope, with Nick balancing between the idea of starting over and keeping things the same for Olly’s benefit. I liked seeing Nick grow and change into a more confident man, finding a way to honor Kerry’s memory while still forging ahead and facing new opportunities head on.  The story alternates between present day and 1992, the summer that Nick, Eric, and Alex spend building Half Bike and playing Petunia in the wading pool. The Light in the Hallway is both reality and metaphor, and serves to underscore Nick’s loss of Kerry and everything she was to him.

I always enjoy this author, she writes about real people with real feelings that we can all relate to. Excellent characters and very true to life. A heartwarming read with a excellent story to tell

This book made me both laugh and cry. It made me want to put it down as it provoked strong emotions, but I just couldn’t put it down and I had to keep on reading. 
Nick and Kerry fought the battles that came with being teenage parents but the biggest battle they could not win. 
Left as a single parent to his son 18-year-old Olly, Nick must adjust to life as it is now.  The loss that they have both suffered challenges their relationship and changes it as Olly becomes a man. Olly whilst still dealing with his grief embraces his new life at University meeting his own special person.
We get to follow Nick’s childhood back in 1992 whilst also following the present day. Family relationships are explored, and the true bond of friendships are seen. 
These characters are so realistic I found that there were ways I could relate. 
In life we follow different paths and never know when we may take a turn that we maybe shouldn’t.
Whilst moving and sad there most definitely was light at the end.
Thankyou to both Amanda Prowse and Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

I didn’t enjoy this book :( I was hoping for me letters and connections from then to now. I felt the grief Rosalyn was going through but didn’t like that most all of her story was about Dash.  I did learn about the caves and people being in them during the war and thought that was interesting.

I enjoyed this page turning book. It was well written. Glad that I read it. Will be checking other books by this author.

Amanda Prowse is the Queen of emotions. Her words had the power to make me smile with tears falling down my cheeks. Each words grasped my heart in a vise, wrenching my emotions.

Nick and Kerry ajad been love with each other for most of their lives. They had a son Ollie. Very soon, Kerry died. And the father and son had to deal with their loss and apin and find a way to live their lives. 

Ms. Prowse is phenomenal, she could make me feel every word of her book. The story had all the emotions packed in its pages. It was about life's choices along with its moments of joy and sorrow. It was wonderful to see father and son forging a new bond, a new reality to their lives.
A beautiful read, indeed.

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. To me, a mark of a good story is one that makes you laugh and makes you cry and this certainly hit the mark. Beautifully written with a real human feel. I couldn’t put the book down and enjoyed every minutes reading it.

This was a realistic look at what happens to someone’s life when they suffer a devastating loss and must move on.  Nick and Kerry were childhood sweethearts and have a teen son named Ollie.  When Kerry gets cancer, everything goes downhill quickly and Nick has to say goodbye all too soon.  He is not ready to let go of Kerry, nor is Nick ready to help Ollie deal with the loss of his mother.  The story is a sad, portraying the emotional journey that one takes after loss.  Nick and Ollie are trying to find themselves and who they are supposed to be without Kerry.  I really liked the flashback at the end of each chapter to 1992, a year when Nick was working with his friends to build a bicycle out of spare parts that they find.  The story was slow-paced and not terribly interesting at times, but it did offer a fascinating and well-done character study of the main characters going through some complicated problems like dating, going to college and dealing with in-laws.  I knew the ending was coming, with everything all wrapped up a a bow and all issues resolved, but it seemed to come too fast, so it wasn’t very realistic.  This book is contemporary fiction and will appeal to fans of modern fiction that tugs on heartstrings.

You will need a box of tissues with this book, but it was SO GOOD. Such a good cry. The story was beautiful.

The Light In The Hallway is another triumph for Amanda Prowse. She shares will us characters dealing with unexpected events that life has thrown them. This story seems very real and very likely is to many people. Amanda Prowse made us feel all the feels with this one!

My mom and I did a buddy-read of this book by Amanda Prowse. I have to admit that it started out slow for me, but it picked up in the second half of the book and I was glad I finished it. When Nick lost his wife and soul-mate to a devastating disease, he was left feeling empty and unsure of how to move on with his life. Different people in his life made sure he knew what the “appropriate“ behavior for a grieving widower is. As Nick struggles to please everyone by behaving the way they think he should, he realizes he has forgotten to care for his own needs. This was a very realistic look at how loss can make people behave in different ways, and how they move on with their lives after the loss of a loved one.

Despite the inherent sadness of the book I did enjoy this read - it had a lovely soft pace and the story pulled you along. It was vaguely unbelievable, not only sadness and joy but rags to riches felt a little bit too much at times, but overall a good holiday read and I would recommend it.

A new favourite author alert!!!

I adored this book. I find it funny, although felt there were too many flashbacks. Very touchy and good characters.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC copy

I have no words!  This is a heartbreaking tale of widower Nick who is lost without his wife and his journey of getting by without her.

A very moving story of how life moves on after a terrible loss.  When someone you love dies, the loss can leave you feeling alone and unable to move through the pain.  Amanda Prowse has done an excellent job of letting the readers feel this family's grief while they try to live the rest of their lives without the anchor provided by their wife and mother.  You will definitely be sniffling by the time the book ends.

Thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. 

This is my first Amanda Prowse and I can't wait to read her other books.  

This was a fantastic family drama and I found myself engrossed in it to the point where I couldn't put it down!

How do you go on with life when you lose the one thing you have loved more than life itself?

I was an emotional wreck reading this - the ups and downs are tiring and so worth it.

Amanda Prowse is such a wonderful writer and I love her work.
It is such a treat to read anything from her.

In The Light in the Hallway, Amanda Prowse introduces a 35-year old widower Nick Bairstow. His wife Kerry has recently died and Bairstow is floundering with finding a way of life where his first love and young wife is not making dinner or parenting their son Oliver, about to go to university. There is no light on in the hallway, no life in Nick or in his home until other possibilities emerge in unexpected and wonderful ways -- Nick grows up, says what he means to say, and takes risks that he never dreamed to find himself doing, hearkening back to the best summer of his life when he was 10 and he and his best friends built a bike from scratch, explored the world, and had each other's backs when the unthinkable hit them square in the face. The characters are vivid, the events twisty and interesting -- and I loved the way Prowse pulled together the two story lines of past boy and present man.

I love this lady's writing.  She writes slice of life stories - raw, ugly, truthful, but beautiful stories.  There is no over the top, drama for drama's sake.  She just tells it like it is.  Life isn't always pretty.  It's messy and awkward, but it can be really good too.  I know when I crack open an Amanda Prowse book, I'm in for a treat, and this one was no exception.

The Light in the Hallway by Amanda Prowse is the first book I have read by this author, it will not be my last.  Amanda Prowse wrote a wonderful story which drew me right in, making me forget everything else and did not let me go until I turned the last page. Wow what an emotional read.  The author really hits on loss, grieving and learning how to live again and she does it with sensitivity.  This book is very well written the characters well developed and believable.  This is a story that will stay with you for a long time after you are done reading it.  Make sure you have Kleenex handy.  I am looking forward to reading more of this authors books.