Ever After by Amanda Prowse

Book Blurb

If you’re given another chance at love, shouldn’t you take it?

Enya’s life has become small. Her husband’s death has left her bereft, and though she’s only in her early fifties, she’s happiest looking after her son, Aiden, his childhood sweetheart, Holly, and her beloved cat, Pickle.

So the spark she feels for the stranger who bumps into her car in the airport car park is a complete shock. But Enya can’t stop thinking about him.

Then, when Aiden makes a life-changing decision, Enya suddenly finds her close-knit community thrown into chaos. Her best friend, Jenny, isn’t speaking to her, Aiden’s future hangs in the balance, Holly is devastated, and the stranger from the car park is suddenly in her life.

Torn between family, love and loyalty, Enya faces a dilemma: stay safely where she is, or take a leap into the unknown? Because maybe her happily-ever-after could have one more chapter yet…

My Review

It was only a few weeks ago when I opened a parcel and was met with the beautiful pink cover of Ever After by Amanda Prowse. It’s always a joy to receive a book from Amanda, her stories always captivate me and are a joy to read. I decided to start the book straight away as I needed a good easy read that I knew I’d enjoy.

Amanda Prowse is not only a masterful storyteller but she has an amazing ability to get into the psyche of her characters and then translating that to the readers. In many ways I felt I identified with the main character Enya, I am of similar age and felt I understood how she was feeling especially about her role as a mother.

Enya has her life turned upside down when her son, Aiden, decides to split from his long term girlfriend after meeting someone on a flight out to Rome. Enya not only feels like she is losing Holly, who has been like a daughter to her, but also her best friend Jenny who is Holly’s mum, just when she needs a friend. Enya also has her own life altering meeting at the airport when the handsome Dominic crashes into her car and her life.

There are so many layers to this book both plot wise and emotionally. Amanda Prowse delves into the complexity of family relationships in Ever After, from the wider fallout when a relationship breaks down, to what makes relationships work, and how they differ for different couples and what makes people happy. What I loved was how Amanda Prowse explores how women will put others happiness before their own, as a mother, a friend, a sister and a daughter.

I’m so glad I decided to read this book straight away, it was exactly the escapism I needed. The characters were complex yet relatable and I was rooting for all of them to get their happily Ever After. The writing and storytelling were sublime as always and I felt liked I’d been on an emotional rollercoaster that left me on a high. If you haven’t read any of Amanda Prowse’s books then I highly recommend them, and Ever After is a great book to start with.