The Girl In The Corner by Amanda Prowse
Published by Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: ebook 11th December 2018, PB 20th December 2018
320 pages
Genre: Womens Fiction/Contemporary Romance
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in return for my unbiased review. Amanda Prowse is fast becoming one of my top authors this year - if you haven't tried her work I definitely recommend her to you. My only word of warning is that you will probably need a tissue to wipe your tears at some point through her books. She certainly knows how to hit you right in the feels.
Book Description:
From bestselling author Amanda Prowse comes the poignant tale of a woman who has always been there for her family. But will they be there for her?
Rae-Valentine and Howard were childhood sweethearts. They’ve shared twenty-five peaceful years since they were brought together by Dolly, Howard’s larger-than-life sister. But now, on the night of their wedding anniversary, Howard reveals a shocking betrayal that leaves Rae reeling.
Heartbroken, she takes Dolly on her would-be anniversary trip to Antigua and the two women drink and dance and talk like they haven’t in years. But in the break from real life, Rae realises her choices have always been made for her, and suddenly she’s questioning not only her fragile marriage but also her one-sided friendships. Is she really the pushover everyone else sees?
When Howard comes looking for reconciliation, Rae has a choice to make: keep the peace, as she always has, or put herself first for once and find out who she really is.
My Review:
Rae-Valentine has always felt overwhelmed by people and places in her life, right back to her early childhood when her gregarious sister took centre stage and all the limelight. Never one to rock the boat she heads off to secretarial college on the advice of her parents, even though she would rather have gone to catering college and learned to cook. There she meets Dolly who's loud and confident and singles Rae out from the class to be her new best friend. Opposites attract and all that. Dolly is desperate to date her brother's best friend so pairs Rae up with her brother so they can double-date - and the rest is history. They click instantly and get married soon after, aged just 18.
25 happy years and 2 kids later, Rae and Howard are still together and celebrating their silver wedding anniversary with all the family. That is until the party's over and Howard breaks down with a confession which rocks Rae's whole world. With a trip of a lifetime to Antigua booked, Howard insists that Rae goes ahead with the trip accompanied by her best friend Dolly, citing work commitments with the family restaurants as the reason for him not being able to go.
On this trip Rae spends many hours looking back over her life, wondering how things have ended up the way they are. Why can't she be brave like everyone else and reach for her own ambitions? Why can she not be selfish just for once and stop being a doormat for everyone to wipe their feet on? She realises she needs to get a backbone - but doing it is far more difficult than making the decision. Especially once she's back in the routine of the UK and at the family's beck and call.
What will it take for Rae to finally step up and speak out? Can she do it or is she destined to watch her dreams slip from her fingers time after time until it's too late?
I definitely recommend this book to women across the age groups - you will at times want to give Rae a good shake and a strong talking to, at others you will want her to tell Dolly to butt out and others you will just want to hug her and share a box of tissues as you have a good old weep together. By the end of the book I loved Rae-Valentine but it was one hell of a journey through the pages of her life to get to where she needed to be.
Rae-Valentine has always felt overwhelmed by people and places in her life, right back to her early childhood when her gregarious sister took centre stage and all the limelight. Never one to rock the boat she heads off to secretarial college on the advice of her parents, even though she would rather have gone to catering college and learned to cook. There she meets Dolly who's loud and confident and singles Rae out from the class to be her new best friend. Opposites attract and all that. Dolly is desperate to date her brother's best friend so pairs Rae up with her brother so they can double-date - and the rest is history. They click instantly and get married soon after, aged just 18.
25 happy years and 2 kids later, Rae and Howard are still together and celebrating their silver wedding anniversary with all the family. That is until the party's over and Howard breaks down with a confession which rocks Rae's whole world. With a trip of a lifetime to Antigua booked, Howard insists that Rae goes ahead with the trip accompanied by her best friend Dolly, citing work commitments with the family restaurants as the reason for him not being able to go.
On this trip Rae spends many hours looking back over her life, wondering how things have ended up the way they are. Why can't she be brave like everyone else and reach for her own ambitions? Why can she not be selfish just for once and stop being a doormat for everyone to wipe their feet on? She realises she needs to get a backbone - but doing it is far more difficult than making the decision. Especially once she's back in the routine of the UK and at the family's beck and call.
What will it take for Rae to finally step up and speak out? Can she do it or is she destined to watch her dreams slip from her fingers time after time until it's too late?
I definitely recommend this book to women across the age groups - you will at times want to give Rae a good shake and a strong talking to, at others you will want her to tell Dolly to butt out and others you will just want to hug her and share a box of tissues as you have a good old weep together. By the end of the book I loved Rae-Valentine but it was one hell of a journey through the pages of her life to get to where she needed to be.
About the Author:
Amanda Prowse is an International Bestselling author who has had twenty novels published in dozens of languages. Her chart topping No.1 titles ‘What Have I Done?’, ‘Perfect Daughter’ and ‘My Husband’s Wife’ have sold millions of copies around the world.
Other novels by Amanda Prowse include ‘A Mother’s Story’ which won the coveted Sainsbury’s eBook of the year Award and ‘Perfect Daughter’ that was selected as a World Book Night title in 2016. Amanda’s latest book ‘The Coordinates of Loss’ went straight to No.1 in Literary Fiction when it was launched. She has been described by the Daily Mail as ‘The Queen of Family Drama.'
Published by Lake Union, Amanda is the most prolific writer of bestselling contemporary fiction in the UK today; her titles also consistently score the highest online review approval ratings across several genres.
A popular TV and radio personality, Amanda is a regular panellist on Channel 5's ‘The Jeremy Vine Show' and numerous daytime ITV programmes. She makes countless guest appearances on BBC national independent Radio stations including LBC and Talk FM, where she is well known for her insightful observations and her infectious humour.
Amanda's ambition is to create stories that keep people from turning the bedside lamp off at night, great characters that ensure you take every step with them and tales that fill your head so you can't possibly read another book until the memory fades...
Other novels by Amanda Prowse include ‘A Mother’s Story’ which won the coveted Sainsbury’s eBook of the year Award and ‘Perfect Daughter’ that was selected as a World Book Night title in 2016. Amanda’s latest book ‘The Coordinates of Loss’ went straight to No.1 in Literary Fiction when it was launched. She has been described by the Daily Mail as ‘The Queen of Family Drama.'
Published by Lake Union, Amanda is the most prolific writer of bestselling contemporary fiction in the UK today; her titles also consistently score the highest online review approval ratings across several genres.
A popular TV and radio personality, Amanda is a regular panellist on Channel 5's ‘The Jeremy Vine Show' and numerous daytime ITV programmes. She makes countless guest appearances on BBC national independent Radio stations including LBC and Talk FM, where she is well known for her insightful observations and her infectious humour.
Amanda's ambition is to create stories that keep people from turning the bedside lamp off at night, great characters that ensure you take every step with them and tales that fill your head so you can't possibly read another book until the memory fades...
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