An Ordinary Life
From the bestselling author of The Girl in the Corner comes a tale of love, loss—and one last extraordinary dance.
Christmas Eve, 2019. Ninety-four-year-old Molly lies in her hospital bed. A stroke and a fall may have broken her body—but her mind is alive with memories.
London, 1940s. Molly is a bright young woman, determined to help the war effort and keep her head up despite it all. Life becomes brighter when she meets and falls in love with a man who makes her forget everything with one dance. But then war forces her to make an unforgettable sacrifice, and when she’s brought to her knees by a daring undercover mission with the French Resistance, only her sister knows the secret weighing heavily on Molly’s heart.
Now, lying in her hospital bed, Molly can’t escape the memories of what she lost all those years ago. But she is not as alone as she thinks.
Will she be able to find peace—and finally understand that what seemed to be an ordinary life was anything but?
My Thoughts
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Amanda Prowse is without a doubt one of my absolute favourite authors, so when given the opportunity to read and review An Ordinary Life I was incredibly excited!.
Mary (Molly) Colloway has had anything but an Ordinary life. When she is introduced to her best friends brother Johan in December 1943 it is love at first sight. Despite only knowing one another for a couple of days, Johan leaves her in possession of something precious. When Johan ends up breaking her heart, Molly’s sister Jocelyn steps in to help, and decides to keep a secret to enable Molly to continue pursuing her career within the Foreign Office in the translation department. This later enables Molly to join the resistance and in doing so saves an endless amount of lives.
When Molly later reminisces over her life whilst laying in her hospital bed, she realises that over the 94 years of her life she has had a remarkable life. And the added secrecy she kept throughout her life certainly added to the enrichment.
This book is written beautifully and really draws you in from the start. The characters that Amanda has created are authentic and relatable, and you really feel yourself connecting with them throughout the story. I loved the way in which Molly’s story was told, allowing insights to her younger self as well as the woman she has become throughout the years. I also adore the way in which Molly is portrayed, showing her to be a strong woman who is unfortunately pushed down by life, then having to use all of her inner strength to get herself moving forward once more.
The storyline itself was so brilliantly constructed and full to the brim of drama, love, and mystery. A story that will pull you in and keep you invested in the characters and their lives to the very last page. I adored everything about this book and it is undoubtedly a must read for 2021.
You can purchase your own copy of this book here: https://bit.ly/_AnOrdinaryLife_
About the Author
Amanda Prowse is an International Bestselling author whose twenty six novels and seven novellas have been published in dozens of languages around the world. 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. Her books, including the chart topping No.1 titles ‘What Have I Done?’, ‘Perfect Daughter’, ‘My Husband’s Wife’, ‘The Girl in the Corner’, ‘The Things I Know’ and ‘The Day She Came Back’ have sold millions of copies across the globe.
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 also 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. Described by the Daily Mail as ‘The queen of family drama’ Amanda’s novel, ‘A Mother’s Story’ won the coveted Sainsbury’s eBook of the year Award while ‘Perfect Daughter’ was selected as a World Book Night title in 2016.
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…
Praise for Amanda Prowse:
‘A powerful and emotional work of fiction’ – Piers Morgan
‘Deeply moving and emotional, Amanda Prowse handles her explosive subjects with delicate skill’ – Daily Mail
‘Uplifting and positive, but you will still need a box of tissues’ – Hello!
‘A gut-wrenching and absolutely brilliant read’ – The Irish Sun
‘You’ll fall in love with this…’ – Cosmopolitan
‘Deeply moving and eye opening. Powerful and emotional drama that packs a real punch.’ – Heat
‘Magical’ – Now magazine
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Victoria Wilks 