Amanda Prowse is an author I very much enjoy reading. Her books are written about characters who feel very real and familiar. I found this book difficult to put down once I had begun reading. Molly is an old lady who suffers a stroke at the age of 94 years and as she lies in the hospital bed is reliving the story of her life in her mind. This story begins at the time of the second World War. It is both unexpected and yet lovely. At times I was elated for her and at others I shared her sadness. The ending did leave me with mixed feelings, which I won't share as this may spoil it for others reading the book. Please do read it and remember to value your family.

An Ordinary Life, by Amanda Prowse

I think this book is a wonderful tribute to those who died during ‘Exercise Tiger’ on 28th April 1944 in Devon.

This book gave me so much to think about, lots of characters, relationships with a backstory of the times they’re in.
War time was flooded with secrets one way or another, whether linked to the atrocities that come with war or those closer to home and more personal.

This story is set in the Second World War. It tells of a family, it’s dynamics and stays with Molly, sharing her story, from age 18- 94
I’ll try not to drop any spoilers.

I felt this book was written differently to the authors previous books . I don’t know how it’s different, I can’t quite put my finger in what it is.
What I can tell you is that it made me laugh and cry a lot.
I found myself caring about the characters and thoroughly enjoy their adventures along the way.

I had no idea what to expect when I started reading this as I never bother to read the blub on the cover of any of amandas books, shes yet to write one I haven't enjoyed and this one certainly doesnt dissapoint. Molly is a phenomenal character and someone I could relate to on so many levels. I loved to concept of the sotry, with it starting at age 94 and then going back to the first world war when Mollys life became anything but ordinary. I always find that Amanda is so gifted in the way she manages to portray the complicated family dyniamics and emotional baggage that her characters have. There's no fakeness or unrealistic situations to try and get your head around. I also love that theres no really awkward sex scenes with dodgy descriptions of body parts to endure, only suggestion and I really enjoy that.
I found the story fascinating and enthralling. The timespan intreguing and the end frustrating because I simply didnt want it to end. I hope there is another glimmer into the lives within the cover, maybe a short story or two?
This was the perfect antidote to a year of chaos and confusion and feeling like things are pretty rough. To read what families had to endure, how mental health support was unheard of how limited life could be really puts things into perspective. I have an elderly grandmother who was evacuated as a child during the war and I often, whilst reading this was thinking of her and what her childhood was like and how different her life could have been if she was any older.
It really is a beautifully told story of love, selflessness, hope and determination. One I have already recommended to friends and family.

Oh my, Amanda really does know how to tell a story! Here, we start with Molly struggling to write a letter for her nephew, who in truth is her son which has been keep a secret for over 70 years! Molly has an accident and we then learn of her Ordinary Life, which is no Ordinary life at all. I was engrossed all the way through from 1943 to 2019. At the end of the day a mother's love is everlasting.

Prowse has a way with her prose. In her latest book she pens a poignant story of Molly’s life. Molly’s story is told after she tumbled down the stairs at 94 and there is something she needs to complete. To tell a close relative the truth. Readers then travel through Molly’s life and the one special love she found, ever so briefly. I loved the connection between Johann and Molly. Molly was forced to make tough decisions and live with them, but her extended family were close to comfort her. The ending was perfect.

Such a lovely read of family, friendship and loss in a few different ways. Amanda Prowse always manages to write the type of book that’s impossible to leave down so I’m glad I wasn’t working today or I couldn’t wait to get to the finish. I got this as an arc to read and the opinions expressed are entirely my own views and are completely unbiased.

Amanda has once again penned a best seller. A lovely easy to read story that has love, secrets, friendships and strong family ties.

Once again I was overjoyed to be able to have an Amanda Prowse novel in my hands. I never find out what her novels are about, I never have to, as they are always a wonderful read, and this is no exception.

Although a bit of a different era for her story to be set, we do begin in present time and only travel back to wartime to understand the varied life that the now 94-year-old Molly has led.
Molly lives alone and has a fall whilst writing a letter to her son which she so desperately wants him to read. We soon realise that this is no boring old lady with a normal life. This really makes you think about people in general, and the elderly, what they have lived through and the experiences they have had. Do you ever wonder what they’ve seen, lived through, experienced?

Molly has had the most interesting life, full of sadness, yet full of so much good. Losing her one true love before they got a chance to make a life together, Molly loses more than her partner, she loses her best friend and a life with a loving family.
So beautifully written, the story of how Molly selflessly puts her son first in all that she does, seeing her life take a turn that she could never have imagined. The book was also a surprise to me when Molly’s story became one of bravery, secrecy, lies and deceit and even death. At more than one point I was holding my breath wondering what was coming next.
The things she has seen.... yet this loving lady never gets her true happily ever after. No one compares to her lost love; however, she manages to surround herself in many loving family members... if only they truly knew her story...
Let’s hope her son finds that letter. And knows the connection was real.

I absolutely loved this book, and I am so grateful to have taken a trip back in time with this wonderful author. You can’t judge a book by its cover - and there’s certainly more to this book than you think, and more to the lovely Molly.

Once again thank you to Amanda Prowse and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this tale of a true wartime hero.

An Ordinary Life is so far removed from ordinary it might be titled An Extraordinary Life. Nevertheless, it is a beautifully written and at times heart-breaking, wrenching and warming. It made me feel for the characters, most impactfully Molly. She was no ordinary person and lived no ordinary life, If there is such a thing.

I enjoy historical fiction and the WWII sub-genre particularly. I've read many books set during this time period and have found them all enjoyable. AOL, though, was very special. The sacrifices Molly made over the course of her life and career and the compartmentalized way in which she kept her own confidences, was inspiring. Wanting only the best for her "nephew" and willing to do virtually anything to make sure he had all the advantages a stable home life could offer, was foremost in Molly's mind and guided the majority of her major decisions.

She led a daring and unconventional life for the time. A working woman with a career mindset was unusual to say the least. Unmarried, with no plans to become involved in a relationship that would result in marriage was also outside the norm. Although sometimes, the universe has its own designs and Molly falls in love, almost at first sight. But it was not to be . . . however the love endured throughout her long life.

The ending was one of the most poignantly written that I have read in a very long time. I hope I go in just that way.

Read this wonderful book. You won't be disappointed.

Another great book by Amanda Prowse! Loved this one from the first page until the last. As always, her books hook you from the very start and keep you reading until the end. I’ve read many Amanda Prowse books and this one might be my favorite!
Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Molly's story will stay in my heart forever, it's so beautifully written and I felt everything she went through. I cried on many occasions reading her story and sobbed at one particular chapter. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

I have just read two books by Amanda Prowse back to back and while I raved about the other one I’m not so keen on this one. I think I’ve reviewed one of Prowse’s novels before where there is a historical aspect to it and I’ve struggled with it. While the characterisation is as strong as usual in her novels and I fell in love with Molly and her family. On the negative side though I felt the bulk of the novel, set in the 1940’s just didn’t ring true. Characters spoke about their feelings and self esteem in a way that people just didn’t back then and the use of modern day colloquialisms meant I was constantly finding things that stood out like sore thumbs and it broke the flow of the story.
The section in France was wonderful and has Prowse’s usual fast paced and taut writing which made me gasp out loud more than once.
Don’t get me wrong, I read this in a day and stayed up late to finish it and it is an enjoyable story but for me, it just fell short compared to the authors other novels.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have liked everything this author has written and this was no exception. Great storyline, great characters. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

I'm never disappointed by a book written by Amanda. She has that unique way to tap into your emotions like nobody else can. I'm always left numb but uplifted by her books and this is just as powerful. This is a truly an incredible life of a remarkable woman spanning the decades. I love storylines set around the war but this book comes back to the present day, which is truly a bonus. Loved it from start to finish.

What an absolutely beautiful book this is.

Molly is a character that will stay with me for a very long time. As soon as I started reading her story, she instantly captured my heart.

The book starts at the end of Molly’s story then goes right back to the beginning where it all begins. Such a great layout to the story and as you follow Molly through her life, you soon realise the strength, warmth and love radiating from this lady, as well as the heart ache that she goes through. It’s so beautifully written that I felt completely lost in the whole story and could actually visualise everything that was going on.

It’s really hard to give this book justice without giving anything away, but I can assure you that it’s one of the most touching books I’ve read in quite a while. The ending to this book is simply beautiful.

This book is a bit different to Amanda Prowse's usual genre and is more of a historical fiction novel. I started to read the book, and through certain events, I thought it would be another predictable book like many others in this era, but I was wrong!

I really enjoyed this book. The character of 'Marvellous Molly is very well drawn and I empathised with her. It is a story of family, war, tragedy, hope, loss and love.

Highly recommend!

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!
There was nothing ordinary about the life of 94-year-old Molly, Marvellous Molly, or M, to those who loved her.
But who would think it of an elderly woman, quietly going about her life?
As she lays on her hospital bed we are taken through her story, spanning from the midst of World War 2, up to the present day,
Molly, as many women did, stepped up in WW2, working hard to bolster the efforts of the country, both in legal, some illicit ways.
Along the way, she fell in love, but sometimes, fate has a nasty way of dashing all your hopes and dreams.
I really don't want to give away any spoilers, but let me just say, Molly's story, her secrets, and how the story ends, really touched me.
The vivid setting descriptions written by Amanda Prowse, the words used to convey the emotions of the characters, all worked, and I was hooked all the way through. What a heroine, Marvellous M!

Thanks to NetGalley, and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Do you ever stop and look at an elderly gentleman or lady and wonder what filled their life? Was it family? A career? Did they love? Were they loved? Did they travel? We often just see a wrinkled face and rarely stop to wonder what precious moments a senior has experienced. Amanda Prowse, in her endearing novel, ’An Ordinary Life,’ writes to prove that we should never, ever judge a book by its cover. Especially when it comes to our fellow human beings. Those wrinkles are earned and there’s always a story behind them.

Eighteen year old Mary (Molly) Colloway’s life was anything but ordinary. When she meets her best friend’s brother, Johan, in December 1943, it’s love at first sight. Although they only had a few days together, he leaves her to guard something precious. When he breaks her heart, her sister, Jocelyn, comes to her rescue. Offering to lighten Molly’s load, Jocelyn agrees to keep a secret enabling Molly to throw herself into her career helping in the war effort. Her job at the Foreign Office in the translation department has equipped Molly to join the Resistance and her bravery helps save countless lives. As she reminisces about her 94 years from her hospital bed, Molly realizes that she truly has had an extraordinary life. The burden of secrecy, in retrospect, is what has enriched her life.

I love stories such as this that feature strong women who are brought to their knees and due to circumstances forced to dig deep and draw on strength they didn’t know they possessed. In doing so, they make the best of a bad situation and, in many cases, find that the whole experience has enriched their life. Molly, the youngest in a family of five, lost her father to cancer when she was a child and has lived with a bitter, resentful, and emotionally distant mother. Rather than dwell on her wretched home life, Molly grabs the first opportunity to move out and move on with her life. Each time Miss Molly falls into a huge pothole of devastation and sadness she claws her way back to life and happiness through sheer determination. Central to the theme of this wartime love story is love, loss, secrets and the necessity of creating one’s own happiness in the midst of a world at war. Prowse deftly invites readers into the protagonist’s inner circle and allows them to experience the joy and sadness that shape who the characters are and what they represent. This is more than a wartime romance, it’s about character building in spite of our circumstances and creating a lifetime of memories by putting one foot after another, one day at a time. I read an interview with Prowse where she describes how she has a ‘whoosh’ moment where the concept of the book, almost fully formed, comes to her and she has to immediately write it down detail by detail before it gets lost. I love when authors share the writing process with their readers! Here’s to many more ‘whoosh’ moments, Mrs. Prowse! The world needs more of your books.

Thank you to Amanda Prowse, Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to read this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Well what isn't there to love about this story, as always Amanda Prowse weaves a wonderful story from the offset with characters that are relatable and jump off of the pages.

We meet Molly towards the end of WW2 as a young lady working to support her family. As we jump between her memories and present day we discover how her decisions have influenced her life and get to see if she would have done anything differently given the choice.

I loved this story, it was aptly named as all Molly was ever aiming for was an ordinary life. Once again Amanda Prowse has delivered a wonderful story that must hooks you in and leaves you frantically turning the pages to see what comes next.

This is the first time that I have experienced Amanda Prowse's work and I am quite surprised that I haven't tried it before.
Set in the times of World War Two, we join Molly as she looks back at her seemingly ordinary life.
While the storyline and the plot seemed a bit predictable, I absolutely adored the author's style of writing. The story is rich in vivid imagery and effortless descriptions which added a. lot of depth to the narrative. Amanda Prowse has an exceptional way with words while penning down human emotions and she has captured its complexities extremely well.
However, the story ran slightly longer than I would have preferred. I felt that the chapters towards the end could have been shorter as the general idea of her life was already conveyed by then.

Though, each decade of Molly's life is captured quite well, I would have preferred more attention given to her relationship with Joe. Perhaps, the depiction of Molly sharing a few tender moments with Joe as he grows up, would have made it a better read for me. I found myself quite restless at the sudden mention of all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and it made me feel a bit disconnected from the story though I understand the author's intention of wanting to depict the changing times of Molly's life.

Overall, its a nice tale of courage and emotions. Though, predictable and on the longer side, Molly's life did draw me in and I would recommend it for a quick one time read for the beautiful way it has been written.