My Husband’s Wife by Amanda Prowse

This is the first novel of Amanda Prowse’s I’ve ever read, but I guarantee you it won’t be the last. My Husband’s Wife is the very definition of a page-turner: once I started, I didn’t want to put it down.  I was consumed with the need to read as much as possible, only stopping when my Kindle powered down, or when I was so tired I couldn’t keep my eyes open for one more second. I’m no stranger to getting caught up in a story, but I can honestly say it was the first time in many, many years that I fell asleep with a book (or rather, Kindle) slipping out of my hand. But who needs plenty of sleep when you’re in the middle of reading such a fantastic story?

Before I get into any of the more solemn aspects of the story, I have to say I absolutely adored Naomi and Leona! To say they’re “mischievous” is putting it mildly sometimes. I had more than one laugh out loud moment when it came to those two, and I could so easily picture them in my mind. They were truly delightful to read about.

Having read the cover and the synopsis, I knew from the start that Rosie’s husband was going to leave her; it was just a matter of when it would happen. So I had an attitude towards Phil from the beginning, even more so after seeing that Rosie was so likable and loving towards her family. I felt very protective of Rosie early on, for reasons I won’t spoil in this review, and I despised Phil for leaving her. (Even more so for his timing, but I won’t go into that, either.)

Rosie’s heartbreak and disillusionment are painful to read about. She’s completely shattered and struggling to cope. Rosie is grieving and longs for things to be like they used to be.  None of it feels over the top, or too dramatic. Prowse wrote these passages beautifully; the emotions are raw, conflicted, and always feel very true-to-life. Just when you think nothing else can happen to make things worse for her, something happens to make her feel even more alone. Without going into any details, there are few key devastating moments Rosie goes through that really riled me up, and a few more names were added to the list of characters who disgusted me by doing Rosie wrong.  She also had her champions—more than one that surprised me in some way— and found out some much-needed truths along the way.

As for the ending? Let’s just say I was very happy with it, and finished reading with a smile on my face.

If you’ve never read Amanda Prowse before, treat yourself to a copy of this book. I think you’ll be glad you did. It will likely cause you to stay up too late reading it, but it’s definitely worth the lost sleep—this is a Book Worth Reading.

I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Head of Zeus via Netgalley.

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Author: Amanda Prowse
Title:  My Husband’s Wife
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publication Date: October 1st 2016 by Head of Zeus
Rating: 4 stars

About the Book

Once a week, Rosie Tipcott counts her blessings.

She goes to sit on her favourite bench on the north Devon cliffs, and thanks her lucky stars for her wonderful husband, her mischievous young daughters, and her neat little house by the sea. She vows to dedicate every waking hour to making her family happy.

But then her husband unexpectedly leaves her for another woman and takes the children. Now she must ask the question: what is left in her life? Can Rosie find the strength to rebuild herself? More importantly, does she even want to?

About the Author

AMANDA PROWSE was a management consultant for ten years before realising that she was born to write. Amanda lives in the West Country with her husband and their two teenage sons.