A heart breaking book, that took me on a journey of courage, loss, and determination. An ordinary life that is nothing but that, and sometimes sacrifices needed to do can leave us forever wounded. ( )

An Ordinary Life by Amanda Prowse An Ordinary Life had me riding the emotional rollercoaster throughout this story. The trials/ challenges Molly faced were overwhelming and how she coped and overcame them kept me engaged and sitting on the edge of my seat. Her life was anything but ordinary and I really enjoyed reading each page of this book. I definitely recommend An Ordinary Life - 4 STARS!

I received this book for free. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are my own. Thank you to Ms. Prowse and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to review this book. ( )

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, at the age of ninety-four, lying in her hospital bed, Molly can’t escape the memories of what she lost all those years ago.

Will she be able to find peace—and finally understand that what seemed to be an ordinary life was anything but?

When I started reading this, I did not think that I would love this book. It was such a beautiful and heartfelt story; I was so lost in Molly’s story that I did not even realize how the time flew and within a few hours I had finished reading it.

Often when we come across stories of people during the World War II, we hear and read examples of sacrifice, courage and exceptional strength through their actions. This story is no different.

This book takes us on a journey through Molly’s story. It covers the different experiences and emotions that one faces in life such as love, loss, grief, anger, joy and hope. Faced with some of the toughest decisions she did experience some emotional breakdowns but with every challenge or circumstance that Molly faced, she just grew stronger and never lost hope.

What’s amazing is that Molly considers her life ordinary but for us readers, it is far from that. In fact, I found her life both extraordinary and inspirational!

I would highly recommend this historical fiction to everyone! It is definitely worth reading!

Thank You NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for this ARC! ( )

I've read a couple of this author's books before and really enjoyed them. An Ordinary Life particularly appealed to me as I always enjoy books that look back over what is essentially an ordinary life. The life in this book is that of 94 year old Molly. The book begins with her writing a very important letter and then having a very serious fall down the stairs. We are then taken back to the 1940s as Molly meets a man who makes her heart sing, does some very important war work, but ultimately has to make a heartbreaking decision.

This is a book that is full of the author's trademark warmth and it's a story of the sacrifices made by women when society and circumstances left them no choice. Molly is brave and strong and I liked her a lot. The story is quite a sad one in many ways, with some moments of happiness shining through at intervals during Molly's life. It's very much focused on what happens to her in the 40s though, with then brief sections set throughout the ensuing decades. I would have liked those sections to be longer as I really liked seeing how she was coping with the consequences of her decision and in many ways I preferred her ordinary life to her moments of derring-do.

An Ordinary Life is a sometimes gritty, sometimes heartbreaking, and sometimes uplifting story of a woman who has to live with her choices for her whole life. It certainly made me think about how precious life is. It's a very easy read with a wonderful main character in Molly and although I guessed a lot of what happened, I found it to be a thought-provoking and interesting read. ( )

An Ordinary Life by Amanda Prowse is anything but an ordinary book. To say it is extraordinary is not enough. It is magical, first page to last page. With many, many tissues in between. What a love story – love between Johan and Molly, Molly and Joe, Molly and Joyce.

It starts out just an average (well, actually marvelous - it is Amanda Prowse, after all) story, until Molly and Johan meet. Now I’m swooning, sighing, wanting to read straight through but afraid at the same time because I know there will be tears, lots and lots of tears, ahead. What an amazing writer to always hook me so strongly so early. An Ordinary Life is one of the best historicals I have ever read, and it doesn’t stop there. It’s an historical but at the same time it’s a riveting, bittersweet journey through Molly’s life.

We meet Molly on Christmas Eve, 2019. She’s ninety-four years old and has just had a stroke and a very bad fall. She’s in the hospital, unable to speak, but not unable to think and remember. And as she remembers we are privileged to take this fascinating trip down memory lane with her.

Molly’s young life was not easy, especially after her father died. Her sister Joyce is warm and caring, but her mother is distant and cruel to her. And then Molly meets Johan. Their love is so intense, so perfect, it nearly jumps off the page. It feels so, so right. But it’s wartime London, and people have to make sacrifices. Some more than others. Much more.

Molly’s memories take us through dangerous work for the war effort, sacrifice, loss, secrets, career, friendships and disappointments – and love. The only constant in her life is her close relationship with her sister. It seems that Molly is destined to have a life of “almost” - every time opportunity seems right there, hers for the taking, something intervenes and she remains in what she considers her ordinary life. She regrets not having what might have been, but she doesn’t regret the choices she’s made. And as she lies in the hospital bed, an old woman unable to communicate with others, she realizes her life wasn’t so ordinary after all.

I can’t say enough good things about An Ordinary Life. It drew me in after just a few pages and held my interest – and my heart – for every single page. Everything author Amanda Prowse writes is beautiful, and this book is no exception. Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance copy for my reading pleasure and honest review. I recommend this wonderful book without hesitation. All opinions are my own. ( )