Can you imagine being told one thing for the duration of your life so far, only to then be told that it was a complete lie? I don’t mean being told that your favourite Teddy has been binned, despite being told that it was in the loft, or some other not so important lie. I’m meaning a massive, your mother is dead, oh wait….she’s not, type of lie. I cannot even begin to think about how Victoria felt after being betrayed by the person she trusted the most.

Obviously there are two sides to every story, and the reasons behind the betrayal become a lot clearer as the storyline progresses. However, being the cynic that I am, i couldn’t quite see how the lie was justified at all. Yes, Victoria’s grandmother had her best interests at heart, I’m not disputing that at all, but to say that her mother was dead when she wasn’t, is a step too far in my eyes.

Just to clarify, my points so far are not spoilers because they’re in the blurb….just incase anyone was thinking that I had ruined the book!

I’ll give Victoria her due, I certainly couldn’t have done what she did by meeting up with the new found person in her life. Then again, I can definitely see how being intrigued about any information she could have been given, would have been enough to go through with it.

For a young adult, Victoria seemed to have a good head on her shoulders….well, until the one night where she didn’t. Don’t blame her though, grief does weird things to your mind! What I am curious about though, is if Primose stayed alive, would Victoria be able to forgive her? Was the death of her grandmother enough to build the bridge between betrayal and moving on?

Betrayal is such a personal thing, something which nobody can truly understand unless they are the people, or person, going through said thing at said time. Nobody has any right to tell you how to feel, or that your feelings are unjustified all because they are different to how they would act. The thing is, with a topic so deep routed such as this, surmising our own reactions to it would be nion impossible because, think about it; if Victoria struggled to work out what to do and she was slap bang in the centre of everything, how would we, people who are outsider’s looking in, manage to work it out?

What I loved most about this book was the way in which Amanda Prowse made her characters come to life, and the way in which she believed in their journeys. A lot of the topics discussed in this book are ones of the quite serious nature. Topics which need to be fed well in order to be believable and realistic, and I felt that Amanda Prowse went above and beyond to make that happen. Now, I’m not entirely sure whether the author has been through similar things in her life, however I felt like she had a connection to her characters that comes with understanding what they are going through or what they have been through. That sort of understanding comes with life lessons and not through Google – I may be wrong though! Either way, I truly felt what Amanda Prowse was trying to convey. I would even go as far to say that it was magic.

‘The Day She Came Back’ is a wholesome, enlightening, thought provoking, hopeful read that takes you down paths you probably never expected to go on. The beauty of this novel is the sense of being understood, something that is so simple to say, yet one of the most complicated things to do. Amanda Prowse nails it, brilliantly.

I really enjoyed this. Great characters that really came to life. The story of Victoria's journey following the death of her Grandmother was just beautiful - moving and heartbreaking. Highly recommended.

This is my first time reading this author and wow. This story is about Victoria who finds out after her grandmother passes that the mother she had been told died is alive and well. Victoria learns through a series of letters what transpired before she was born to make the situation what it became. The tears flowed reading about Sarah's addiction and heartbreak.

Due to her mother's death, a young girl is brought up by her well meaning grandmother only to discover the truth that her mother is actually alive. Interesting story although somewhat predictable due to the title of the book. Enjoyable descriptions of England and Norway made it a better read.

Thanks to Amazon Publishing and NetGalley for a digital advance reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

A moving story of a young woman who learns at her beloved grandmother's funeral that the mother she thought had died when she was an infant is very much alive and now wants to reconnect with her. Victoria had lived her eighteen-year-old life believing she was raised by her wonderful grandmother Prim because her mother had died when she was only three months old. This fact was her identity and she still grieved that loss all these years later. Most of the novel deals with Victoria's adjustments to learn her mother is alive, to determine why her cherished grandmother lied to her, her false assumption that she has no family, and her long-time crush on a popular high school boy.

This well-written novel with likable characters is a step above predictable chick-lit. If you're looking for an emotional story that will have you dabbing a tissue at your eyes as you consider what it means to be a mother and what you will do for your child's happiness, you will enjoy The Day She Came Back. #TheDaySheCameBack #NetGalley

The Day She Came Back by Amanda Prowse was an awesome book and just what I needed to read to help me survive the Covid-19 pandemic. Thankfully so far I have avoided catching the virus but have been really bored having to stay home and not be able to go out when I want to and travel when I want to. So what else is there to do but read. And I have read a lot of books during this time. Some good and some, well, not. But when I started The Day She Came Back I knew this was going to be one of the good ones. I had not read this author before but will definitely look for more of her books now. The story was about a young girl who was raised by her grandmother who comes home one day to find her grandmother had died. She had grown up being told that both her mother and father were dead so this left her all alone. She goes through a whole range of emotions and reactions to her grandmother’s death and is visited by a woman who turns her life upside down. Watching her go through the trauma and growth that occurs as she figures out what her new life will be really held my interest. I would definitely recommend this book.

I received an ARC of this captivating story. A complex tale of family, and decisions made that change another person's life. I really enjoyed this surprising story.

This is the first book I have read by Amanda Prowse and I cannot wait to read more. This book keeps you wanting more. It is about Victoria, a girl that just graduated from high school and can’t wait to travel the world with her best friend. She live with Prim, her grandmother whom has raised her since birth, as her mother died during childbirth. Prim is cool, an awesome grandma to live with. They drink tea together, read books, etc. Then one day, while Victoria is out, Prim passes away. At the funeral she sees a strange woman lurking around. Then back at the house she sees the same woman in the garden.
I really enjoyed The Day she came Back!

This was my first book read by this author & what a great surprise. Families are the best stories - everyone has secrets & this one doesn't disappoint. I love the relationship between the characters.
Thank you Amanda for this wonderful free book. I definitely will be reading your books.

This book was a huge disappointment for me. I only finished it to be able to review it. While the premise was interesting, the prose was boring and entirety predictable.

Well, The Day She Came Back, Amanda Prowse's latest novel, is another blockbuster read for me!

In the opening chapters the reader gets to meet eighteen-year-old Victoria and her Nan Primrose, who prefers to be called Prim. When Prim passes away, a mysterious woman turns up at her funeral, but who is she? Victoria's mother died years ago - that's what Victoria had been given to understand, anyway. What then follows is Victoria's search for the truth and her struggle to trust and forgive.

As ever, Amanda Prowse did not disappoint with this poignant novel of heartbreak, secrets, trust, discovery, grief, and forgiveness. With other ingredients such as betrayal, addiction, and moving on added into this stylish literary cocktail, I couldn't put this one down once I had turned the first page.

A brilliant novel that I could really relate to, it was also deeply moving. I felt great empathy for the characters, especially Victoria herself. It was a beautifully written story about how fragile stability can be and starting over when your very existence has been upended. A mature and thought-provoking piece of women’s fiction, it was well paced from the very beginning and quick to get into the heart of the story. The Day She Came Back certainly ranks very highly with me and I recommend it to fans and new readers alike. I know that books like this one make my reading days quite perfect. The conclusion was the icing on the cake in this compelling literary delight. 😋

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Amazon Publishing UK via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Victoria lives with her grandmother, Prim after the deaths of her parents. She is at a turning point in her life as she prepares to graduate and take a backpacking trip abroad with her best friend. Unexpectedly Prim passes away. Now Victoria must grow up quickly as she is rather naïve of the ways of the world. A mysterious woman comes to Prim’s funeral and claims to be the mother that Victoria has been told passed away years ago. Not having much trust in people at this point, she must figure out who has told the truth….her beloved Prim or the mysterious woman who has just arrived. I enjoyed this book very much.

Also reviewed on B&N

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for my copy to review on netgalley. Ive read and loved a few of Amanda’s books. She is a fantastic author who captures the essence of family.

This is a tale of loss,love,forgiveness and family. Can lies be forgiven? Especially ones that threaten to change everything? Can a new future be formed and can Victoria find who she really is to live a full life.

Written with emotion and sensitivity this is a beautiful book. As someone whos adopted it resonated with me a lot.

Published 7th July

Wow what a powerful book. A story of addiction, love, loss and trust.....A story of losing a family and then finding out the mother was still alive coming to terms with the lies told....I loved how the story evolved and reading Victorias journey throughout

A beautifully written and emotional story, which really draws you in, and wanting to read more. Nice easy read, with a lovely storyline and loved how it concluded too.

This was my introduction to this author and I really enjoyed it! Victoria is an intelligent, kind, and generally what one might classify as a "good girl". She lives with her grandmother, who raised her, and has an awesome best friend named Dakshi. However, when her grandmother unexpectedly dies and a stranger shows up claiming to be her dead mother, Victoria sort of goes off the rails. I felt her reaction was quite realistic and I liked that the author took you through her thought process as she went through the stages of grief while at the same time working through her confusion. I loved the author's description of Prim's house, as well as the description of Oslo (it makes me really want to visit it. The ending felt almost a little too neat, but I'm glad the author waited for the epilogue to make it reality, because then it really would have felt like everything resolved too quickly. Making it an epilogue allowed her to add several things to show us the adult Victory grew into. I loved the image of being on top of Ekeberg and being able to look down and gain perspective being used as a metaphor for Victoria to gain perspective on her own life and what her mom and grandmother had to go through. While I don't often read books in this genre, I really enjoyed this and will definitely be looking into more books by this author.

Thanks to the author, #NetGalley, and #AmazonPublishingUK for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

An intriguing story about a young girl’s life turned upside down when the mother she has believed died when she was a baby turns up very much alive. This forces Victoria, who is dealing with the grief of losing her grandmother (her only family) to face up to the fact that her grandmother had been lying to her all he life.
She is of course both angry and confused. Can she accept that this stranger is her mother and allow her into her life. This situation throws up so many interesting dilemmas.
How refreshing that this story is told in a linear way, no jumping backwards and forwards in time, but how disappointing that the final chapter pulls everything together into a happy ever after ending

I have read all of Amanda Prowse's books and loved them but I'm not sure about this one. If it had been written by a different author I would have said it was a very good book. But Amanda has set the bar very high and for me this one just didn't hit the mark. It was a good story but I just felt that there was something missing from this author's usual story telling

While I didn't find the story line to be particularly compelling or surprising, I did enjoy some beautifully written phrases and the character development. This is a story of a young woman, Victoria, who, after the sudden death of her grandmother, finds herself to be alone in the world. Until, that is, the mother she had been told died shortly after her birth, comes back into her life. The unfolding story of what led to the fiction of her mother's death and the subsequent reentry is not surprising but along the way, realistic emotions are depicted in a moving way. There were some situations in the books that did seem quite out of character for Victoria. I did find the description of Oslo to be quite beautiful and have added to my list of cities to visit. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC in exchange for this review.

Another fabulous read by Amanda.I lover her books this one loved the grandmother and granddaughter story.