Book Review | A Little Love

A Little Love by Amanda Prowse

Publication Date: November 1, 2014

What’s the Story?

Everybody needs a little love in their lives…

Pru Plum is the celebrated owner of a famous Mayfair bakery. She wears Chanel and her hair is expensively cut. Few would believe that this elegant woman turned sixty-six last year.

But Pru is not the confident, successful businesswoman she appears. She has done shameful things to get to where she is today. And she will do anything to protect the secrets of her past – especially when, for the first time in her life, she has finally fallen in love…

From bestselling author Amanda Prowse, this is a story about love, loss and lies – and finding happiness before it’s too late.

My Review

A Little Love is a story about learning to overcome difficult situations and ultimately allowing yourself to be happy. You must get past any lingering regret from decisions that were made in the past. Sometimes people are put in terrible situations that make them feel like it’s the only way to survive, no matter how terrible of a thing they feel they must do. Pru Plum, the co-owner of Plum’s Patisserie, is different than most of the main characters in the chic-lit genre I normally read; at 66 years old, she’s got a few decades on her. Pru and her cousin Milly (one year younger than Pru) grew up in extreme poverty but together they made their dreams of owning a Patisserie a reality and have had great financial wealth in their adulthood. Their age added a nice dimension to the story and it wouldn’t have worked if she’d been younger because she wouldn’t have lived the interesting life that she’s led.

The novel started off a bit slow, but the reading was enjoyable and kept me guessing. With small hints given throughout the first three quarters of the novel, I was eager to know what Pru’s deep dark secret was. The last bit of the book you’re left rooting for her to overcome her past and hoping that she gets the happily ever after that she truly deserves. I got to about 75% and was curious that there would be so much of the book left when I felt as though it was almost over, that would be because it was! I was quite surprised when I reached 80% of the novel on my kindle reader and the book ended. I didn’t realize that excerpts of her other novels took up 20% of the e-book. Mental note to self, check table of contents page before reading e-books!

One of the things I took away from reading this novel is how incredibly important it is to not judge others so harshly when you don’t fully understand what their circumstances are, especially if you don’t know what drove them to make the decisions they did. Rather than judge others, it’s important to have compassion and understanding for people when they hit hard times and be there to help them see better days. Devastating things happen, it’s a natural part of life, and what we do to move on and get past these terrible things shapes the people that we become. It is important to enjoy our life while we have it and savor the moments with the important people in our lives. We cannot let the opinions of others dictate how we view ourselves and one another, we must think for ourselves and be the best people that we can possibly be.

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Receiving novels free of charge in no way reflects on my honest opinion and no monetary compensation was provided for my review. Writing a review is the best way to say thank you to an author. I encourage you to write reviews and share them on sites like Goodreads and Amazon so that your fellow readers can see what you think!

About the Author

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Amanda Prowse

A bit about the author from her Facebook bio:

Amanda Prowse is the author of six novels and four short stories. Her sixth novel, Christmas for One is out in the shops now.

Currently, Amanda lives in the West Country with her husband Major Simeon Prowse MBE and their two teenage boys Ben and Josh. As an army wife, she is accustomed to being uprooted and moving on at a moment’s notice, a pattern that has shaped her life – as the oldest of four children, she was born raised in London before moving all over the world. She hopes one day that her nomadic life will cease, allowing her to fulfill an ambition of planting a garden and remaining somewhere long enough to watch it grow!